Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Big Sur

Ahhh....Big Sur!!!

I have been to Big Sur many times, but I am always enchanted with the beauty.

This last weekend the weather was spectacular, the wildflowers were in bloom and I saw so many new things.


Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Kids' Craft Dinosaur Glitter T-shirt


Sparkling Kids' Dinosaur T-shirt

Create a friendly glittering dinosaur for your special little one with a stencil made from freezer paper!

What You Need
Tulip Glitter Bond
Tulip Fashion Glitter (desired color)
Tulip Iron-On Crystals
Aleene's Jewel-It Glue
Pattern (coloring books are a great source)
Wiggle eyes
Scissors
Iron
Scratch paper
Cardboard

How To Make It
Prewash your shirt to remove sizing. Don't use fabric softener in the washer or dryer.

To make stencil, place freezer paper over pattern, with shiny side down. Trace. Cut on inside of lines.

Place stencil on T-shirt. Iron to adhere. Place cardboard inside shirt to keep glue from seeping through the layers of T-shirt.

Using sponge included with Glitter Bond, dab into Glitter Bond and dab into openings of stencil. Immediately, sprinkle on the glitter. Tap the glitter with your finger to adhere. Tap excess glitter off on scratch paper. Remove stencil.

Glue on crystals and wiggle eyes with Jewel-It. Let dry.

T-shirt can be washed after 72 hours. Turn inside out and for best results hand wash or use gentle cycle. Hang to dry.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Lattice Spring Wreath

A Touch of Spring!

Need a little touch of color on your fence or patio? The Aleene's Platinum Bond Patio & Garden Outdoor Adhesive keeps this project all together no matter where you hang it!

What You'll Need
Aleene's Platinum Bond Patio & Garden Outdoor Adhesive
Lattice
Saw
Silk or plastic flowers and ivy
Ribbon, waterproof for bow

Here's How to Make It
1. Cut lattice to desired size, using saw.
2. Glue flowers and ivy around edges of lattice.
3. Tie a bow using ribbon. Glue at bottom center of lattice.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Saturday in the Mountains

What a fabulous day!!!



Let's see - we packed so much into one day in the mountains it's hard to remember everything - it was incredible. That's me behind the wheel of Lindy and Doug's convertible and yes, that's snow behind me.

We stopped by a stream to check it out and crawl around on downed trees.














The weather was FANTASTIC, the air clear and the company was so much fun!












Here's Lindy and me getting ready to do the zipline at the Moaning Caverns. More on those caverns in a minute!

You approach the zipline by crossing a 60-foot long sky bridge before being strapped into a full-body climbing harness and then rigged to the cable. The zipline is 1500-feet long and you go in excess of 40 miles per hour across the 1/4 mile line. No experience necessary, all you need is the courage to step off the platform.





Here's Lindy and me hoofing it up the stairs in the cavern. Thank goodness we've been exercising at lunch.
The walking tour descends 234 steps to a depth of 165 feet below the ground through marble passages into the cavern. The tour ends on the spot were scientific excavations revealed the bones of prehistoric people who had fallen into the cavern thousands of years ago.







Me 'rock' climbing - shhhh, Lindy - don't let out my secret!

Me on the stairs in the cavern.

Lindy and Doug!!!














Mark Twain's Cabin - it seems a whole lot simple and oh, so SMALL!


























This wasn't all of our exciting day - we went into Calaveras Big Trees, picked up ginormous pinecones, had the most awesome burger at the Snowshoe Brewery in Arnold - I even tasted Apricot Beer. Shopped a little in Jamestown on the way up and just enjoyed our way meandering through beautiful country.

The planning for the day actually started several days before this...and there was plenty of deception!!! Doug's birthday is coming up and Lindy wanted to surprise him with something special - I'd mentioned the zipline and Doug wants to bungie jump, so the planning began. There were phone calls, there were grocery shopping trips, there were plenty of giggles.

The night before our big adventure, we set the plan into motion and it was quite the plan. Per my instructions, I called Lindy the night before to plant the seed for Doug. I told her about this gigantic sale at a plant nursery. Doug and Lindy are redoing their yard and Lindy knew this huge sale would get Doug excited. When I made the phone call I was in the middle of a store - it was so hilarious! Lindy played it to the hilt!

We're already planning our next adventure - something about Circus Trees...

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Zipline

Zip, Zip, Zipline!!!!

My friends, Lindy, Doug and I had an awesome time this weekend doing a local zipline - more details to come - I took 96 pictures of our adventure and I think Doug took more than me! We also did the cavern tour - I about chickened out, but Lindy went into 'sistermode' and I made it down the 265 steps to the cavern.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Organize It!!!

Share Your Organizing Tips

Would your closet just love the organizer set we're featuring? Well, share your favorite techniques, tips, products, anything and everything related to crafting with Tulip and Aleene's products and you could be the lucky recipient of this decorated Organize.com closet set. Send us your tips and we'll review all the messages we receive with our technical experts to make sure that each tip will be problem-free for you. Then we pick the lucky recipient for the closet set.
How to Enter
Send your entry to editor@duncanmail.com
Please reply in 100 words or less. Give your full name and COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS so we can send the prize award to you! Entries without mailing addresses will not be considered. We promise not to publish or sell your name. Submission of messages constitutes consent to use writers' names and messages for editorial, advertising and publicity purposes without further compensation (except where prohibited.)

Friday, April 04, 2008

Cherries Jubilee



Cherries call up scrumptious images of decadent culinary
delights. Cherry Cobbles, Chocolate Covered Cherries, Cherries Jubilee, a combo of dark sweet cherries, kirsch and vanilla ice cream - I love those flaming desserts!!!

Here's how to make them
~ Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint™ (Slick® Leaf Green, Bright Red, White, Brown) ~ Plastic partyware - plates, glasses, ice bucket, pitcher

Here's how to do it


Wash and dry partyware. Print off cherries design desired size. Tape on inside or back of partyware piece. Outline one leaf with Leaf Green 3D Paint. Fill in. Continue with remaining leaves. Follow same procedure to paint cherries with Bright Red and stems with Brown. Paint highlights on cherries and random pattern of dots with White. Let dry. To wash, wipe with sponge. Do not soak in water or place in dishwasher.

Have a cherrie-o weekend!



Joan





Slipper Fridays

It's Official - It's Wear Your Slippers to Work Friday!!!

I've heard of Hawaiian Shirt Friday, but not Wear Your Slippers to Work Friday - until last Friday!

We had a Marketing Department meeting last Friday and Valerie, our boss, decided to have a little fun. She gave us all different numbers when we walked into the room - a little scary, might I add. She went around the room (by number) and asked each of us a question. Some were: 'How many pairs of shoes do you have?', 'Have you ever been to Bentonville, Arkansas?' (BTW, it's where Wal-Mart's headquarters are.) When she came to me, I got the question 'Have you ever worn your slippers to work?'

This question came about because of Josh - one of our co-workers. Josh, is a very sophisticated guy - great clothes, great shoes, just a great guy...well, the story goes that he wore his slippers to work one day - he says it was a accident. So, that's how I got the question about wearing slippers to work. So, Valerie, declared Wear Your Slippers to Work Friday's.

I went around the building this morning and found some participants - not many mind you! Strangely, our two Linda's, who happen to work side-by-side, have the same slippers - Sock Monkey's!!!

AND, Joshua, the person who started all this, wore TENNIS SHOES!!!


The first Linda I encountered!















Then, I encountered the second Linda (Lindy). Too cute!











Joshua's shoes!












I have to admit that I have errands to run after work, so I brought 'regular' shoes to change into.

Don't let your weekend 'slip' away!

Joan

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

organize.com

Organize in Style
This is MY kind of project!
Ready to get your closet organized? Check out how to make these polka dot organizers painted with Tulip Soft Fabric Paint.
The organizing products are available at http://www.organize.com/