Awesome backyard project

Dear Shayne,

Unfortunately, I don't think we have the room for this in our backyard (since the trampoline takes up most of the room back there), but I just had to share it with you because, well it's Pure Awesome:



Aw, yeah! Outdoor larger-than-life Scrabble set! You could sort of get exercise while playing this thing!

I got these photos from this article in at the Sunset website, where you can find the DIY details if you have the room to make this in your backyard. Check out the tiles:


Swoon.

Perhaps I need a smaller trampoline?

love,
kelly

Happy Birthday, Jan!

Dear Shayne,

Yesterday was my friend Jan's birthday (Hi, Jan!) and she is now...


Well, perhaps you can guess how old Jan is.

In fact, you might think you know what it's going to say inside of the card, right?


Hee hee. Maybe not!

I cracked myself while making this card, but boy did that ink drive me nuts! After giving it 24 hours, I thought for sure it would be dry and it was most certainly not. To get the card in the mail on time, I had to put a piece of vellum inside to keep things from getting too smudgy.

As it was, it was still a little smudgy.

But that's the beauty of handmade, right? You won't find a wacky smudgy card like this in any Hallmark store!

Meanwhile... got any tips for making ink-that-refuses-to-dry dry?

love,
kelly

PS -- The cute little calendar inside was from Etsy seller Elle's Studio. I got a whole year's worth and they're really fun for personalizing cards!

A case for a very cool new toy

Dear Shayne,

I got a very cool new toy last week, so I had to make a case for it:


And the cool toy? An iPad! Wheeee!


(Love. It.)

I used a very soft flannel for the lining:


So I could pull it out to polish the shiny, shiny screen:


The case isn't perfect, but it does the trick -- it protects my precious baby from the harsh cruel outside world.

love,
kelly

And then I'm 7.

Dear Kelly,

I saw this kit in the craft store the other day:



And since I can't knit, have forgotten how to crochet and Randy loves pandas, I used my 40% coupon and bought the kit. It took one episode of True Blood to stitch him (now named "Harold") together with the 5-inch plastic needle and yarn. Harold pretty much looks like the picture on the box - his head is a little squishier. I decided against recording my own message because really, what do pandas say anyway?

Love,
Shayne

I'm 12.

Dear Kelly,

Remember this? Well, I also did these last fall, but just got around to scanning them now.








I still have a list of more spam subject lines - I may have to revisit this project soon. Except I don't know what to actually do with these. They just amuse me to make.

Love,
Shayne