because i really didn’t need another iPhone game to consume my life, or anything…

over a million downloads in just four days.  move over Angry Birds – Tiny Tower is the new freemium time waster for the iPhone.

a new spin on the “Farmville”-style game genre, Tiny Tower has players building and maintaining their very own tiny, pixellated skyscraper.  you build a floor, decide what type of venue will go onto that floor, and then keep it staffed and stocked to make money to build more floors.  sounds pretty lame, right?  well, it is pretty lame – but nevertheless addicting and time consuming.

first you have to build a Residential floor and fill it with “bitizens,” the peeps who inhabit your tower.  from there you can choose to build whatever your bitizens are demanding (or whatever you feel like!)  you can choose from Retail venues, Service venues, Food venues, Entertainment venues, and Creative venues.  there is even a tiny “Mapple” store that sells “Mypod,” “Myphone,” and “Mybook”!  the venues are seemingly random – you could get anything from a Vegan Food Store to a Day Spa or a Cineplex – and it seems there is a myriad of possibilities.  after construction on a floor is complete, you have to assign bitizens to fill three positions for each venue to be able to stock and sell the three products that venue provides.  you can only stock an item (1st, 2nd, or 3rd level) depending on how many bitizens work there – so if you have three bitizens working in a venue, you can stock all three types of products that venue produces – and make the maximum amount of cash for that floor.  in addition, you have random peeps showing up in the lobby who wish to be transported via elevator to certain floors as a way to earn more cash.  there are also “Tower Bucks,” which are premium currency that you can earn in-game for various reasons, or purchase through the app, to help with things like speeding up the processes on a specific floor or upgrading your elevator.  occasionally, a VIP will show up and enable you to increase the speed of a certain item – like construction and stocking time.  in the menu, there is “Bitbook”, a Tiny Tower version of Facebook, where you can see what your bitizens are up to, and a graph to see the demand level for various venues.  each bitizen also has a “dream job” and a specific allocation of “experience” for each type of venue – so you can earn extra cash by placing bitizens in their dream job or in venues where they have high experience points.

i’m currently up to 17 floors – check out the tiny Mapple Store!

a bitizen waits in the lobby to be taken up!

the in-game menu – lots of options!

the game is set up like Farmville or other time-management style games – it takes a certain amount of time for each different product to be stocked or floor to be built.  unlike Farmville, however, the game is absent of the ability to social network with other players (i.e., you don’t have to go water other people’s crops or do stuff like that to earn extra cash).  you can connect with friends and see their towers, though, and there are achievement points to be earned via the Apple GameCenter app.  as far as i can tell so far, there is no end to the game – there is an achievement for building 100 floors, so you can play… and play… and play… and play.

it all sounds pretty confusing, the way i’m explaining it, but if you were to actually play this game, you like at least a million others at this point would be HIGHLY addicted.  just like millions of people are HIGHLY addicted to Farmville.  if you don’t need to find anything else to take up more of your time, then you probably shouldn’t download this game, but if you are looking for a fun, free little way to pass the time every so often, then this game isn’t really that bad.  as i’m writing, the Notification is reminding me that i need to go stock the products in my Arcade… guess i better get back to it!  i give Tiny Tower 4/5 stars – the only reason it doesn’t get 5 is because i REALLY didn’t need another game to take up my time!

check it out in the App Store:

Category:  Games

Publisher:  NimbleBit

for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, iOS 3.0 or later

among all of the other projects i currently have going on, i decided to take some time to try to get my “scrap area” rearranged and organized this week, namely so i can find a home for my new Silhouette and my Cuttlebug, which i bought last week specifically for embossing (they were on sale at Jo-Ann! i couldn’t help myself!)  as any fellow crafter already knows, trying to organize your crafting area is like herding cats.  like many other crafters, i have a terrible hoarding problem that has resulted in having enough stuff to open a small store in my bedroom – and i’m constantly rearranging and trying to find new and better ways to reorganize my goods so that they are accessible and viewable.  the “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” principle definitely applies, so half the time i don’t even use some of the things i have just because they’re stashed away in a drawer or box and i forget that i have them!

i wanted to share a neat tip that i saw somewhere a while back, that i thought was a great way to keep clear acrylic stamps in a way that enables me to see them and store them so i can keep track and access them easily when i want to use them.

i had some trading card protectors for my ATCs that i’m not using many of and with a little trimming in some cases, these little stamps that you can get from the $1 bins at Michael’s fit perfectly in them!  i have so many little packs of stamps like this that they were taking up a good chunk of space in a drawer, so this is a lot better!  i stuck them all in a three-ring binder so i can just flip through them and take out what i need when i need it!  much better than shuffling through them in the drawer and making such a mess out of the situation that i had to repack the entire drawer just to get it to close!

it was a tight squeeze trying to stick them back-to-back, so i just decided to use some old playing cards to back them, for stability and to keep some of the thinner stamps from sliding out of the pockets.

i also put some of my bigger packs of clear stamps in regular page protectors, thinking that might work with some of the ones i would like to use more often… but it’s not as good as the smaller ones.  i’m sure there’s a better way to do that….

overall, the binder turned out a little on the lumpy side… but i think that can be alleviated by buying a bigger binder.  one of the big fat ones.  i also think maybe finding a way to stick or clip the bigger stamps into place so they won’t slide around so much might help, as well as inserting a piece of heavy paper or cardboard in with them so that it gives the page protectors a little more stability… right now they are floppy, so they just kind of slide around in the binder and hang out of the bottom when i stand it on end.

i’m sure that i’m not the first person to do this, and i’m also sure there is some pricey apparatus that you can buy to store your stamps in but for right now this is fine for me!  i reclaimed over half a drawer, so i’m happy.  just thought i’d share – i know i’m always on the lookout for good organization tips and appreciate it when i find one that works for me and the supplies i have!

now back to the room… ugh.  my butt always ends up hurting from sitting on the floor for so long trying to sort through and restash everything, and then there’s the actual moving of objects… but it’s always so great when it’s finished!  i will post a pic when i’m done!  :)

happy crafting! 

YAAAAYYYYYY!!!  go me!  lol.

for the first time in my life i am on an actual Design Team, and i couldn’t be more excited!!!!

i am one of the new card designers for Paper Lovelies Kits!!!!  i am so thankful to Carrie (the owner) for picking me – i just kinda threw in my hat not really expecting to get picked… there are so many talented designers anymore that it can really be a gamble getting onto a design team… but i figured, why not – since i’m about to be a stay-at-home-mommy in just a few days, i wanted to have something productive to do with whatever free time i have, and what better to do than what i do best!  i can’t wait to get started working with Carrie and the other fabulous ladies on the team – i am certain we are all going to be amazing together!

Paper Lovelies offers really affordable monthly scrapbooking kits that feature some of the latest products on the market.  for only $15 per kit (plus S/H) who could go wrong?  plus, Carrie has fantastic knack for putting together some really cute kits!  just check out July’s kit:

this month’s Paper Lovelies kit features Fancy Pants’ “To the Moon” line, with some extra goodies from Donna Downey, Maya Road, Webster’s Pages, and Prima thrown in for flair… i love it!  the “To the Moon” line is one of the cutest i’ve seen in a while – robots/space theme is what we decided to do Kellan’s room in, and it even has the same color scheme we were thinking about using!  i really want to get my hands on this kit!

congratulations to all the other designers – Amber, Ilene, Sara and Kassidy – i’m sure we are going to have fun working together and with the kits that Carrie puts together!  this is definitely going to be a fun new experience for me – i just can’t wait to be able to design for Carrie and showcase her kits in a way that makes people want to buy them.  go check out the site!  you won’t be disappointed

well, off to play with my Silhouette and surround myself in paper and stickers and try to get my crafty muscles in shape for this big “debut”!!!  thanks again to Carrie for giving me this wonderful opportunity, and to my sweet hubby Travis for always believing in me and encouraging me to keep at it and keep trying, and to God for giving me the talent that i have to be so good at all the fun stuff i do.  i knew it’d pay off someday!

my amazing awesome hubby decided that i needed this – as a reward for all my hard work and for another reason (a big announcement i will be making tomorrow!) and MAYBE {hopefully} so i will stop buying so much scrapbooking stuff all the time! {i know, i thought it was wishful thinking too, but… we can all dream a little, right?}

so i’ve been begging for a die cutter for years.  more specifically, the Cricut.  i don’t know why, i just always felt left out because i didn’t have one… okay, so i have the Slice, but it just wasn’t doing what i wanted it to do, and i only have two cartridges for it because i seldom feel like it’s a worthwhile investment to drop $60 on an SD card with a bunch of images that i’ll probably only use half of… {same theory i have about buying an entire CD – thank goodness for iTunes!}  Travis, however, was not convinced that Cricut was going to be much better – the cartridges for that sometimes run $70 and again the issue of being limited to the designs on the cartridge was a stumbling block

then a few weeks ago i stumbled on this little gem – the Silhouette SD.  i think my heart stopped beating for a second.  i was like, “what’s a Cricut?”  i mean, really.  i *NEEDED* to have this.  ASAP.  i wasn’t taking no for an answer.  i mentioned it on a daily basis.  i pulled up the website frequently and ogled while Travis was sitting next to me.  then yesterday, i went to the door to find out why my dog was barking like a complete idiot, and saw this giant Amazon box sitting on the porch with my name on it.  i thought, “well i certainly didn’t order anything…”

but my honey did! 

since i’m one of those “save the best for last” types, i ended up waiting ALLLL day before i finally busted it out – had to take care of the not-so-fun housecleaning, cooking dinner, putting babies to bed… then at 10pm i finally gave up and ripped the box open and dug it out.  i can’t even explain how ecstatic i was!  this baby is FANtastic – i’m about to go all Vince from ShamWOW! here:

- it slices!
- it dices!
- it even does your laundry! watch this!!!
BUT WAIT – THERE’S MORE!

no really, this is an amazing machine.  it cuts paper/cardstock, vinyl, fabric, and heat transfer material – up to 9″ wide by 40″ long.  you can also buy special pen inserts so it can draw the designs rather than cut them out.   it can make markings for rhinestone templates so you can perfectly lay out a rhinestone design.  AND it can make temporary tattoos (with the aid of special paper and an inkjet printer) AND create designs for glass etching (by cutting a stencil out of vinyl then using etching creme to make the final product).  i am in LOVE! 

but what about cartridges, you ask?

well… that’s what made this my #1 choice.  you can create your own designs to cut out using the software that comes with it – it will cut almost any clipart or fonts you already have on your computer – and they have a HUGE online database of premade individual designs for 99 cents each!!!  no more buying a cartridge just to get specific designs; you just buy the ones you want and it imports them automatically into the program so you can manipulate them to suit your every need!  (really, i feel like i’m running an infomercial here!)  plus, it costs about the same price as the higher-end Cricut so in my opinion that definitely makes it a MUCH better bargain.  goodbye, Cricut – HELLO Silhouette!

i used it last night to cut out a hot air balloon design for a card i’m working on, and let me tell you – it was MAGICAL.  there is so much possibility with this machine – i can’t wait to make stuff with it!!!

i am so thankful that i have a good husband that encourages my obsession and continues to fuel my craftiness   LOVE YOU HONEY!

buy it from Amazon (for $199.99!) or you can get it directly from the Silhouette website – they also offer rolls of vinyl, adhesive cardstock, the drawing pens, and other tools and goodies!

happy crafting!!! 

yes.  you read that right.  read it again.

THIN. MINT. CUPCAKES.

fo’ real.  and they were pretty good too.  recipe courtesy of i am baker.  oh, also, a cake… she made a cake… i made cupcakes AND a cake, because well, i’m just not fat enough.  and i thought maybe i might have some friends who would be glad to help me polish them both off, but so far i haven’t had many takers – well, i mean *i* have been eating this stuff but… a little help from my friends would help me tremendously.  and my waistline.  and my self esteem.  and my willpower.  but if you’re not nearby or haven’t already been badgered by yours truly to indulge, you should definitely check this recipe out for yourself.  Amanda {i am baker} is like, a wizard of cakes.  oh, and if the idea in itself just wasn’t terrible enough, i decided to hollow the cupcakes out and stuff them with the included chocolate mousse from the cake mix i used prior to frosting.  and the cake?  four layers.  cake, buttercream, cake, mousse, cake, buttercream, cake.  yeah, that’s right, MOUSSE.  eat your heart out, Martha Stewart.

the only problems i had were:

1.  the frosting.  Amanda recommends her new favorite “buttercream” frosting recipe, which i totally do not find anything to favorite about.  it’s not even made with butter, it’s made with SHORTENING.  which, i guess if you like eating sugar-laden lard, is fine for you, but so far i’ve eaten so much of it that it’s making my hair greasy.  not really, but i think i’ll try a regular buttercream next time.  Amanda says, and i quote:  ”Yes its got shortening in it.  No I would not substitute butter. Just try it. Once.  Then you can go back to butter.  Trust me, I always go back to butter.  And no, I am not just talking about frosting anymore.”  i’m gonna go back to butter.  i mean, if you had been there for the first bite of cupcake and watched Courtney (my stepdaughter) dramatically GAG and then SPIT IT OUT IN THE TRASH CAN AND PROCEED TO THROW THE REST OF THE CUPCAKE AWAY WITHOUT ANOTHER BITE… well, let’s just say i was hurt.  and we won’t be doing shortening-based anything anymore.  (really, the frosting isn’t THAT terrible, the rest of us mature adults were able to manage at least one cupcake – some of us several, ahem, ONE of us – but as soon as she saw me drag out the dreaded can of shortening she started sweating.  i think if she’d have not known about it, the whole incident might have gone over better… but… well, you just never know with Courtney!)

2.  my terrible photography.  please excuse that in advance.  i guess it may not be *as* bad as i think, but it certainly leaves something to be desired.  but hey, leave me alone, i’m still trying to figure out this ginormous Canon Powershot that i’ve had for over a year and literally have no clue how to use.  also, i feel like there’s not really a place in my house (without carpet covered with dog fur) that is a nice “backdrop” for my photography.  so i make do.  don’t hate.

here’s a couple more pics of the cake/cupcakes in all their minty glory.  oh, and if you’re wondering whether or not they really taste like thin mints?  well… close enough, for a cake.  i will definitely use this recipe again in the future.   thanks Amanda!

(the best true-color shot i got of these, before it got dark)

(look at all that mousse!!!)

(cake AND cupcakes!)

(me trying to be artistic about it – ignore the door/windowblind background)

until the next time… 

a lot of amazing things debuted at E3 this week… BUT.

the Chief is BACK. get your guns.