Paper Trufflez

Link: Making Memories Noteworthy Embellishment Paper.

I *want* this paper.  I *need* this paper.  But, it's awful big . . .  no, I don't scrapbook.  OK, to clarify: I do not like to scrapbook . . . throw all the tomatoes you want at me, but I still won't like it.  But, that is irrelevant.  I like purdeeee paper, and I will buy it.  Cuz, I'm a collectaaaaaaah. Bwah ha haaaaaaaaaaa!!!--isn't everybody?-- *snort*

I wonder . . .  if I said: 

See here, now.  I likes it, I wants it. *muchly*. 

Buuuut, smaller. 

Preferrably 6x6".   

Could you get on that for me?  Right away?

 

So . . . whaddya' think the chances are that the moguls over at MM would listen to l'il 'ole me?

Tonight seemed like a good night for an appletini . . .

We got approval from the surgeon the other day for Hayley to play in basketball camp at the end of July--two weeks ahead of her 6 month post-ACL reconstruction surgery mark, so she's a pretty happy camper!  Her persistence with physical therapy has paid off!  Today, we got her fitted for a hi-tech ortho brace for that knee--Ouch!  I had no idea how expensive these things are . . . But, she's happy, and feels more confident, so that's what's important.  Now, we are hoping for an injury-free senior year! *wink*

As we pulled down the driveway (seems like a day off island always takes up the entire day), I found the new Stampin' Up! catalog in my snailbox, courtesy of SU!.  I'm not a demonstrator any more, but, as a total rubbah fun-addict, it's always fun to see new releases, and, I heard through the grapevine that SU! was still sending a complimentary catalog to demonstrators that deactivated over the last year.

The cover is gorgeous, reflecting a sense of fall with rich tones of blues, greens, pumpkin, and aqua.  I held my breath anxiously . . . last year's cover was stunning, but, the color schemes throughout the catalog seemed tired and didn't do too much for me.  I'm happy to say I was not disappointed!

This is probably the most visually appealing catalog SU! has ever released in the 10 years that I was a demonstrator!  I loved the concept of "Style Watch", and showcasing 3 trend collections:  Boho West, Tapestry, and Corner Office.  Stamps, patterned papers, and accessories were all designed to coordinate together with these three particular styles!  Smart and sophisticated!

This year's "In Color" palette features 6 wonderful colors that I found particularly appealing:  Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, River Rock, Groovy Guava, and Purely Pomegranate.  Beautiful colors that work well with each other, and the rest of SU!'s 48 exclusive colors.

Most of the Hostess sets appeared to cater to contemporary tastes, with Oh, So Lovely and Garden Silhouettes (both florals) taking a more subdued and artistic vein.  The Level III "Happy Me" Simply Scrappin' Bundle is fresh and darling with paisley and daisies!!!  For me, it doesn't get much better than that, and it features the In Color Palette to perfection!

Start Simply heads up the beginning of the catalog offerings, featuring all inclusive beginning stamping kits, with stamps, papers, and accessories that are designed to work well together, and should make it very easy for the novice to get started.  All very charming, and featuring primarily contemporary/whimsical floral motifs, and one with a more sophisticated, baroque type elegance.

I was really thrilled to see that each section of the catalog is introduced with a beautiful, full-color photo of some gorgeous projects, and, throughout the catalog, rather than having the "flat" effect of samples shot straight on or scanned, they did a fabulous job of filming them dimensionally (which I personally find so much more appealing!), and, some in groupings, nicely, but, not overly, staged/propped.

A particularly nice touch?  Along the bottom of many 2-page spreads, they feature products such as ribbon, punches, patterned papers, and other accessories that were either used in the construction of the samples, or would perfectly coordinate.  VERY NICE!!!

At long last, SU! has finally put together an accessory section that makes it easy to identify the product with the description, and along the top of every column in the inkpad/marker/paper charts there are icons for each item type.  This should make many very, very happy!

The following particularly caught my interest:

• Boatloads of Love:  Although cute, I wasn't ever really fond of Loads of Love, but, this little tug boat?  I just love boats (images of boats, anyway), I guess, living near the sea? Sweetly tempting!
• Polka Dots & Petals:  Polka dots, daisies, and circles are always a huge hit with me
• All in the Family and Family Accessories:  Cute, fun, interchangeable images.  If my children were younger, these would be a *must* have; I can draw a pretty good stick figure, but this takes all the work out of it and the kids would have a ball
• Sporting, Just Basketball, and Just Soccer:  YESSSS!!! Finally!!!  My family doesn't play all sports, so I have always been irritated at large sets that feature *every* sport--I only need certain images and would never use the bulk of the others.  Well done!
• Fabulous Flowers:  Two of my favorite fonts (Porcelain, and Circus) are featured in the one sentiment in this set, and the floral images themselves are nicely sized, with plenty of potential for mixing and matching
• Priceless:  EXACTLY the kind of Bohemian influence that I love--very clean, sophisticated--and, if I want to distress it, I can.  But, I think it's PERFECT as is!  LOVE LOVE LOVE this!
• Stem Sayings:  No matter what other contemporary florals you have, this set is a natural to pair with 'em
• Wild West Alphabet:  Absolutely *uber* cool.  'Nuff said.
• Define Your Life:  I love dictionary definitions, and while this set is on the spendy side, I still think it's an excellent value for all the different definitions--28 images!

Accessories:

• Patterned Paper Collections:  Fall Flowers, Linen Prints, Porcelain Prints, Wintergreen & Cutie Pie
• I don't even scrap, and I thought every single one of the Simply Scrappin' Kits were delightful!
• On Board Chipboard:  I'm not overly keen on "kraft" chipboard, preferring the white coaster board variety much more, but, there is a very nice selection ranging from ginormous to smaller scale, alphabets/accents, etc.
• On Board Clipboards:  Everybody likes clipboards--they're fun to decorate and practical
• Photo Corners Punch:   2 different sizes of BIG corners built into one punch--smart!
• Pretties Kit:  Theoretically this concept should appeal greatly to stampers, who are very inventive at duplicating the effect of their ready-made, and often times more expensive, counterparts and features blank white flowers in an assortment of shapes and sizes, that can be custom dyed to match your project colors, along with flat-backed pearls, clear rhinestones, beads, etc.
• Ribbon Originals:  beautiful, classy, as well as the Double-Stitched and Taffeta Ribbons.  Very nice to see something besides organdy, which had been in the catalog for so many years.
• If I had a deeper counter/work surface, I'd definitely consider the Stampin' Stack & Store--a spinning embellishments organizer that accommodates all the Store containers I already own.

As far as any negatives, on an otherwise beautiful catalog, I'd say that the bulk of the stamp sets cater to more of a contemporary, modern style.  Many of the gorgeous detailed vintage sets of the past are gone without much of anything to replace them, to my surprise, considering that vintage is on the rise in popularity.  I guess I'll be glad I've hung onto all the previously retired masculine fishing themed sets, which were so well done--The new one, "On the Fly", was disappointing, featuring a crudely done sketch of a faceless fly fisherman.  I wasn't overly impressed with "Winds of Grace", which also doesn't hold a candle to the retiring "Set Sail".

Refreshed color combinations and clean, sharp photography make for a beautiful catalog that not only highlights their products in a nicely organized fashion, but, is well worth the $9.95 MSRP for the well-executed and inspiring samples inside.

Have a fabulous weekend!

FAQ time

Okay, Julie, I have a question. In what situations would an alcohol-based marker be preferable to a water-based marker? Do you have a preferred brand of water-based marker?--Carole

Alcohol based markers, such as Prismacolor and Copic, can be used, and will dry, on non-porous surfaces, such as transparency and polyshrink (shrink plastic).  The "moisture" in the ink evaporates so quickly, that I don't have to worry about "transfer" if I inadvertently put my finger onto the ink, and then touch another area of my project--no unintended red thumbprints or smudges, etc.  They also don't produce the same type of "brush-stroke marks" as typically happens when using water-based markers.  They have a very deep and even saturation of color, even when working with pale colors.

Water-based markers need a bit of drying time--can take a while to dry on glossy card stock surfaces, although you can speed up that process with your heat tool.  Water-based markers can bead up or never dry on non-porous surfaces like transparency, unless used on the textured side of "ink-jet" transparency and if there is any lotion or moisture at all on your finger tips, you can "re-activate" or smear the ink accidentally. (argh!)  Water-based markers can sometimes. also "pill" your paper surface, if you over-color the paper surface, whereas alcohol-based markers evaporate so quickly, this is not an issue.

My preferred brand of water-based markers?  Because my experience is limited to two brands when it comes to water-based brush tip markers, I dunno that I can say I have a "favorite" . . . I enjoy using  Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write Dual Tip Markers, which are juicy, with quality tips, and designed to coordinate with SU!'s line of exclusive ink pad colors and card stock colors.  I also like Marvy Uchida Brush Markers--the ones with the big/wide brush tips (not Marvy's Le Plume line) --for direct to rubber on larger/bolder/solid style images.

Both have been very good quality in my experience, and I haven't felt compelled to search beyond them for another brand to try.

I own the regular Sizzix die cut machine and have been very happy with it's sturdiness. Over the weekend I bought a Big Kick and I've been playing with it and am just not sure if this is for me. I find the whole "sandwhich" thing awkward. So many layers to keep together. What I would like is your opinion and those of others who have experienced both machnes to explain to me just what this Big Kick will do that my old sizzix can not--Mary

Mary, I don't own a Sizzix regular machine, so I'm afraid I can't really compare thoroughly what I do own/have had experience with vs. something I have little to none. I have read/heard that the Sizzix regular machine is heavier, and "cumbersome" to transport, over the more recently released personal die cutting systems.  It features lever-based pressure, as opposed to roller-based, and the width of the feed on that machine is smaller than that of the newer machines.

I bought a Big Shot with the intention of making window cards, however, I've only successfully achieved this using Cuttlebug dies, so far, and there are size limitations, due to the size of those particular dies.  I have had no success using Sizzix Sizzlit dies for cutting windows into cards.  I don't own any Zip-e-Mates or QuicKutz dies to compare to.

All Sizzix dies can fit through a Big Kick (which is basically the same as the Big Shot, just a different color, and by the same manufacturer), but not all Big Shot/Big Kick dies will fit through the Sizzix.

For further of my own findings on the Big Shot, which may relate to the Big Kick, due to the fact that they are designed and function the same, please visit:

Die Cutting Machine Comparisons
Big Shot FAQs

In the end, it comes down to your own personal preference.

Punches & Prismacolors Markers . . .

The sun is shining magnificently on Whidbey Island today, which I think calls for a super sunny card design to celebrate! *grin*

Lion and Sentiment:  Summer Release, 07.  All stamp images, 4 1/4 Papaya Note Card, and Papaya Bold Stripe Pretty Little Papers are by A Muse Art Stamps; Palette Hybrid Ink in Noir; Colorbox Fluid chalk Ink in Lime Pastel; Prismacolor Markers; Martha Stewart "Cornflower" Punch; Mega and Giga Scallop Square Punches by Marvy Uchida; Black Mini Brads by Doodlebug Designs; Black Gingham by May Arts

BOOYAH!!! *wink*  It WORKED!!!

I've seen the idea of a lion as an actual dandy-lion FLOWER done a few times over the years, but, I can't recall if I ever actually tried one myself.  So, I here's my rendition! 

Lion's face make the perfect center for Martha Stewart's new Cornflower punch!!!  I punched it twice, and elevated the top layer of petals, to make him extra fluffy!  His face is actually mounted to the center with a piece of foam mounting tape.

I'm wishing now, that I had some orange Liquid Appliqué or flock--do they make that stuff in orange???  I think it would have looked quite nice on his mane.  But, either way, I'm still thrilled with how he turned out!

I'm havin' more fun than a girl has a right to, with the A Muse Summer '07 images--keep your eyes peeled for 'em at your local stamp/scrap stores!

My personal favorites:

• Recliner
• Sandcastle
• Lawnmower
• Camper
• Hammock
• Tent
• Skunk(ette) *wink*
• Campfire
• Lion
• Tiger
• 3 Trees

I've been playing with my Prismacolor Markers, since I got 'em.  My findings?

Pros:

• Non-bleeding, permanent, depending on stamping ink used
• Excellent and wide color range, from pale to dark with all kinds of variations.
• Great intensity of coverage
• Dual tips (bullet and bold), that appear to be very durable/long-lasting
• Little or no streaking
• You can actually use a lighter colored marker over the top of a darker colored marker and achieve some interesting blending effects! 

Cons:

• They don't work for direct to rubber
• Can't watercolor with 'em
• Can re-activate some stamping inks and cause it to smear out--argh!
• No refills available as there are with their more expensive Copic counterpart
• More expensive than water-based markers
• Color "seeps"through most card stocks; if you're layering the image, this isn't gonna be an issue, but if you are doing a single layer card, if the paper isn't dense enough, keep that in mind.

So far, after my trials with  Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Staz-On, and Palette Hybrid Inks, I have found my own personal preference is to use them with Palette Hybrid.  I seemed to only have smearing issues with Palette, if I went over the ink repeatedly with the marker, whereas I suffered "issues", when I used any other inks.  Versafine is a very popular ink among stampers, but, I've discovered I have "transfer" occur *every* time I use that ink (onto my hand, and then onto another part of the project), so I've given up on it . . .  If anybody has tips to help me love that ink, I'd like to hear 'em--I wish the manufacturer wouldn't tout it as an "instant drying" pigment ink, because I can't get it to dry quickly even with heat setting to avoid the transfer problems . . . drives me nuts! (*snort*)

I'm not a professional illustrator, so I decided to invest in the Prismacolor Markers as a "more affordable" alcohol-based marker; sometimes I need the properties of alcohol based markers, over water-based, for certain projects.  Prismacolor Markers are available at a wide variety of art supply and stamp stores, both B & M, or online, but, if you're an "A Muse Fun-Addict" looking to purchase colors that specifically match A Muse papers, or wanna know Linda's favorites (*grin*), then I suggest checking out her My Favorite Things Album.  They carry all Linda's favorites in the A Muse store and can help you with ordering.

Fellow Splitcoaster *danavee* actually conducted some very extensive tests with both Prismacolor and Copic Markers, so rather than re-inventing the wheel, well, that and the fact that I don't own a single Copic Marker with which to compare (yet, anyway! *wink*) I'm providing the link to the results she shared on Splitcoast.

Link: The results are in: Prismacolor & Copic vs. black ink - Splitcoaststampers.

Have a great weekend, and a wonderful Mother's Day!  We're celebrating my son's 11th birthday this weekend, filled with taking him and his two good buddies go-karting, the cinema (Spiderman 3--Woo hooooo!!!  I love Marvel Comic Heros on the silver screen!  My son and I have a pact that we ALWAYS hit the theater whenever they come out!), a Dairy Queen ice cream blitz, and sleepover.  maybe Mother's Day will be relatively peaceful and relaxing by the time Sunday rolls around . . . *chuckle*

Martha Stewart's New Line

When I attended CHA 06 in Las Vegas, Martha Stewart had just announced joining forces with EK Success to produce a new line of scrapbooking and paper crafting products.  It's been a long wait . . . but, it's finally here!  (Martha Stewart to Launch Line at Michaels)

I had a chance yesterday to get off "The Rock" (Prom dress accessories for tonight's big dance--NO, not me, Smarty Pantses--HAYLEY.  Her date was unable to attend, but, she's still goin' stag, with her girlfriends and their dates--OMG!--does she look killer in the dress we were able to borrow from a friend, too . . . ), and after accomplishing the primary mission, and dinner at Panera's (I *love* that place), I batted my puppy dog eyes at my daughter, and she sweetly humored me with a pit-stop so I could ogle this line, debuting exclusively at Michael's stores nationwide.

While I frequently refer to myself as the "Anti-Martha", due to my lack-luster skills as a domestic goddess, I have always been an ardent admirer of Martha Stewart style--contemporary, classic, and with a graceful simplicity, that exudes fine quality, which, lucky for those that like it, can be duplicated with more modest budgets. (In my house we say, "us p'oh folk", *chuckle*)

The first thing I saw as I entered the store were paper crafting kits--charming lunch bag puppets, 3D tissue flowers, festive table decor, accordion books/journals, and scrapbooking papers with juvenile themes. Then, I turned and saw "The Wall".  There's probably more, than what I'm about to list, but, here's what memory recalls:

• Full color complimentary idea sheets, featuring simple instructions, and shopping check-off lists referencing products used (nice!)
• I was *very* impressed with the construction of the punches, which feature a flat top, so they are very easily stored, unlike the usual EK Success Punches ( which rarely remain upright, due to their rounded tops)
• Nice selection of ribbon in all types and price ranges 
• Colored Glassine Paper on rolls
• Food packaging die cut boxes
• Scrapbook papers
• Colorful tissue papers
• Clear stamp sets (these appeared to be non-yellowing photopolymer, but I couldn't tell for sure).
• Several large pairs of wood mount stamps (I drooled over the birds, but, the leaves were also lovely)
• Rub-ons (I'm not fond of rub-ons personally, so I'd love to see these reproduced in clear stamp sets)
• Pre-punched vellum/glassine embellishments
• Beautiful shades of fine/ultra fine glitter
• Paper crafting accessories such as clear acrylic grid rulers, and white handled tools (scissors, rotary blades/handles, craft knives, etc.)
• Vast array of adhesives including glues
• Dimensional embellishments
• Scrapbooks ranging up to 18x18" formats
• Pre-packs of patterned papers
• Rolls of gift wrap
• Stickers for scrapbooking, as well as die cut labels for packaging purposes

The line is designed to color coordinate all across the different themes and easily mixed and matched, whatever project you are working on.  Martha's signature colors included white and cream, chocolate, pale and more intense shades of apricot, cloud blue, celery/sage/evergreen, teal, lavender, red, "kraft" . . .

I felt the whole line was very competitively priced, when compared to other major scrapbook manufacturer's lines, and, in some cases, seemed to me to be exceptional value, considering the quality--like this ribbon in the photo below:

I came away on this trip only with:  3/8" nylon ribbon with chocolate piping (apricot and cloud) at 12 yds/$2.99 US, and a Cornflower Punch, $9.99--I've never seen spools of ribbon with a straight side, so it doesn't go rolling off your work surface; clever touch on the packaging, I thought.

And, I am totally KICKING myself that I didn't also at least get:

• The set of 2 Birds Stamps (wood mounted and quite large images)
• Double-sided Flora Sticker Roll (stunning with the beautiful colored glitters)
• Clear Ornamental Bodoni (?) Alphabet Stamp Set
• Pointed Circle, Butterfly, and Birch Leaf Punches

Argh!!!  This is one of those times when I probably should have trusted that impulse buying voice, that nagged in the back of my head, and which is STILL nagging at me today . . . (grimace and frown)

I personally like Martha's new paper crafting line very much, and curious to know if it will remain exclusive to Michael's stores only, or if that is limited to this debut . . .

At any rate, I'm already anxious for my next trip to Michael's! *wink*

Palette Hybrid Ink Review

After some experimentation, I discovered the following with Palette Hybrid Ink Cubes:

• The names are NOT on the cases; when you first get them, be sure to generate labels so you can properly identify them when you take them out of the blister packaging.
• I also stamped the labels with a pencil eraser so I could get an accurate indication of the color.  Why?  Well, the lids are a smokey grey/brown, and the color screen printed on the lid is not indicative of the true color of the ink, so don't rely on that!   Definitely stamp the color on the label or make yourself a color chart!
• They arrived very juicy/well inked.
• They perform beautifully on ink-jet printable transparency/acetate, with a little gentle/quick heat setting.  I was able to color images in with the Sharpies without smearing, if I colored with care.  I believe the tip of the Sharpie actually is abrasive and that's what actually lifts the Palette color off the acetate surface, as opposed to a chemical reaction like what happens with Staz-On?
• The New Canvas color ROCKED on the acetate, as well as SU! Vellum Text and Vellum Card Stock papers and provided an excellent crisp white color!!!  It did need to be gently heat set, but seemed to dry very quickly.   It did not perform well on dark printed or dyed card stock and practically disappeared into the paper, leaving a faint, ghostly impression; I'd stick with SU! Craft Whisper White or Brilliance Moonlight White for best results on dark colored card stock.
• The other Palette colors seemed to stamp more crisply on Vellum Text/Card Stock, after blotting the surface of the pad so they weren't quite so juicy.
• On SU! Whisper White card stock, which is a very high quality, ultra-smooth surface, Palette Hybrid did feather out ever so slightly, and did not stamp quite as crisply as SU! Classic Dye Inks.  However, there were no bleeding issues when waterbased markers were used.  I'm wondering if it's because the ink cubes were fairly juicy . . . ?  I seemed to get more crisp results when I blotted the ink pad a bit.  Perhaps air-drying them for a short while will alleviate that juiciness . . .
• Unfortunately, on Fabriano the Palette Hybrid inks feathered substantially*and I think I'll stick with Colorbox Fluid Chalk Dark Brown, Brilliance Black (heat set), Staz-On Black, or Memories Black as far as watercoloring on Fabriano or watercolor paper.  *After reading about Ellen's experience on Fabriano, I am wondering if perhaps I was a little premature on this, due to the juiciness of the Burnt Umber ink spot I was working with. I noticed when I went back to re-test on Fabriano, with a full-size Noir pad, there was barely any feathering at all.  I'll have to continue experimenting, but I suspect the results I achieved on my initial test run, may indeed have been largely due to an overly juicy ink cube.
• On printed card stock, Palette Hybrid seemed to feather ever so slightly, but, then, so did every other dye ink I tried, including SU!, Staz-On, Memories, etc.
• The colors are very intense, rich; I was a little disappointed in the yellows, hoping they'd be a bit warmer in tone.  The blue tones were beautiful and I can see myself using Cote d' azure quite often, and Ballet Blue was a lovely pale blue with aqua undertones.  There didn't seem to be a "true red" among any of the red tones, but L'amour Red will suffice.  Landscape Green was my favorite of the green tones, reminiscent of Olive; Chartreuse was definitely a bright, and intense lime green.  Haystack may prove to be a uniquely versatile neutral--it reminded me of khaki
• Clean up was very easy, and resulted in relatively little staining, with the exception of some of the reds/deep pinks, and deep/dark blues. That, however, is typical of just about any ink.

If you've hung in this long on the Palette Hybrid Ink Review, you've got considerable stamina! (chuckle!)

Overall, I think they're a good dye ink, with a reasonable selection of colors.  I'm very glad to have the Noir and New Canvas in a full-size pad, as well as the cubes.  I think they will prove a very useful addition to my collection of Inks, and I'll reach for them often.

Here's a fun Halloween design that I created using all Palette Hybrid Inks, and you can clearly see how faded New Canvas appears on the dyed black card stock.  In this case, I was pleased with that, because I didn't want the stitching to overpower the focal image; it's a nice subtle effect:

Pumpkin, Harlequin background, "Boo" rubber stamps, and orange note card all by A Muse Art Stamps.  Crossed Stitch and Ghost, clear stamps also by A Muse  Palette Hybrid Inks in New Canvas, Sunflower, Orangerie, Noir; Waterbased Brush Markers; Black Mini Brads; Tag Punch by EK Success; Black Gingham by May Arts.

Except for the black "Boo", the pumpkin and the ghost were stamped onto white card stock and then closely trimmed to layer onto the harlequin tags.  I wouldn't normally do that for anything mass-production, but I don't send out more than a few Halloween cards.

I am brilliant!

OK, so not really. (snort!)  I just had a momentary flash of pure EINSTEIN!!!!  So, humor me, eh?!

I'm a die-hard wood-mount fan.  No matter how many different ways and times I have tried in my 13 years of stampin' to embrace the UM concept, I still no likey.  Does it mean I refuse to buy or use UMs?  No.  It means, that, given a preference, I buy and use WM stamps over UMs because *for me*,  they are more convenient.  I find UMs very frequently all too time-consuming.  Doesn't mean they're "bad".  It means I simply like wood waaaaaay m'oh bettah.  That's it, end of story on the WM vs. UM debate--which, IMHO, shouldn't even be a debate because, for cryin' out loud, it's about personal preference and what works best for the stamper herself.

Now, back to the momentary flash of Einstein, for which I am seriously thinkin' somebody--anybody-- should be handin' me a trophy (OK, I'd take chocolate over a trophy, chortle!):

Storage and organization, as far as ease and convenience, has always been one of the teeth-gnashing draw-backs for me in regards to clear stamps/rubbah UMs, and, therefore, why I tend to avoid using them.  But, WaterPixie had sent me this waaaaaay cool box for storing greeting cards, which she found at Target.  I was unable to find them at the sucky Target an hour away from me. (insert frowny face).  Pixie to the rescue!!!  {{{{{{{Pixie}}}}}}}

I know what you're thinking:  Good GAWD, woman!!!  Shut the Hades up and show us the goods!!!!!!!!

OK! Alright already!!!! (cackle!)



And, you can get it in bigger/longer sizes, too!  You can check 'em all out at:  Cropper Hopper

"Show me the chocolate!!!!" --modified, Jerry McGuire (ROTFLMAO!)