We have a winner!

I laughed really hard when I made this picture. The winner is an actual person, I promise…Not the mannequin pictured above.

So, congratulations The Mannequin! When you decide which apron you would like all to yourself, send me an email to erika(at)oopsicraftmypants.net. Please include your mailing address and which apron you would like.

Everyone else, thank you so much for entering. You guys are fantastic (notice, I didn’t say “awesome”) Also, a big huge thanks to Flirty Aprons. This giveaway was so much fun!

(ps. Does anyone know how to get my comments numbered? It would make giveaways a lot easier! I can’t figure it out no matter what tutorial I use. I’m the worst at computers…)

Passion and Google Reader Collide

I’m passionate about a lot of things in life, such as family and friends, to name a few. Another thing I’m passionate about is Google Reader. I’m serious. I don’t know how people live without it.

I was shocked when my mom and my friend LeDawn (check her out, she’s awesome) told me they didn’t know what the heck Google Reader even was. WHAT!? So, then I did a little poll amongst my friends and found out that lots of people have no clue what I’m talking about when I say stuff like “So then I checked my Google Reader…” My mind was boggled people. Bog-gled.

Now I feel like it’s my duty to let you, my loyal friends and readers, in on the greatest thing known to (wo)man.

So, fasten your seat belts and let’s get going.

First, what IS Google Reader, anyway? Google Reader is the easiest way to read blogs, without having to remember pesky URLs. You just simply input the URL once (yes! Only ONCE!) and it’ll show you every single update on that blog. Swoon.

So, how do you get  Google Reader? Simple! Just go to www.google.com/reader. You’ll need a Google account to continue, but seriously don’t sweat it. It literally takes two minutes to set up. Once you have an account, you can log in.

When you log in, the page will look like this:


Completely empty.

Now’s the fun part. Click on add a subscription to well…Add a subscription (the blog URL).

After you add your subscription, it should look like this:

Keep on adding subscriptions until your heart feels content. Here’s my real Google Reader (the one above was just for example). This is what it looks like when I first log in.

Oh look! 26 posts were made (by different bloggers) since last time I logged in. If you want to see ALL of those, instead of just the most recent on the home page, you click on all items.

It looks like Mer in Cashmere updated a ton, but she just moved to a new blog and imported all her old stuff… No worries! Definitely go check her out, though. She’s awesome.

So awesome, in fact, that I’m going to use part of her post to show you how awesome it is to click a post title!

Look how great that post looks. No ads, no annoying background, no music…Just clean and beautiful (though, her site is always clean, but you get the picture).

Ready to move to the next post? Awesome, just scroll down and click on the next title.

So, there you have it. A mini how to on using Google Reader.

I must warn you, though…Google Reader IS addicting and you probably WILL double (or triple) your blog reading time because it’s so addicting to add new blogs, and so easy to remember those blogs you always seem to forget to write down (and kick yourself later for)

I must also warn you that sometimes there is heartache regarding Google Reader. Like, when this message pops up.

It’s the worst.

What are you opinions of Google Reader? Love it? Hate it? Use it? Had no idea what it was? Let me know!

** These are my real, true opinions. I wasn’t asked to write this post.

Edit: I will never use the word “awesome’ again. Sorry about that, I got a little excited.

everyone needs a little color in their life

Today, I went to my parents’ house for dinner. The first thing my mom said when I arrived was “Erika, you HAVE to come see my basement… I just cleaned it all out!” I willingly obliged because I had a feeling she’d have lots of crap to give me. I was right.

I also found a box full of clear jars. Immediately, when I saw them, I remembered a little trick that was going around blogland to make clear bottles have color. I knew that I needed to make a few changes, though.

One of those changes was to paint the inside of the bottles, rather than the outside for a more polished look. I also decided to use a mixture of Mod Podge and Tacky Glue for maximum coverage and a smooth finish.

I wish I could give you an exact recipe, but I honestly just eyed it. If I were you, I would use one part Mod Podge/Tacky Glue mixture to a 1/4 part water. Then, add as much or as little food coloring as you need to to get the color you prefer.

Once the mixture was made, I decided that the easiest way to get the bottles dyed evenly would be to pour some of the mixture into the bottles and secure the lid. Once I did that, it was easy to shake the bottle around and make sure the each and every little centimeter of the bottle was covered. Then, I set them out to dry.

Here’s the finished product. They’re still a little streaky, but I just couldn’t wait to post about them so I didn’t wait for them to fully dry.

Sorry for the billion pictures. I absolutely loved this project. It was so much fun to make and probably the easiest project I’ve ever done. Need proof? My craft challenged sister even helped out!

(Don’t you LOVE those vibrant colors while they’re drying?)

Psst! Fellow Utah friends!

Do you live in Utah?
Do you need some gals to craft with?

A few friends of mine and I are trying to set up a little craft club…Want to join in on the fun? Shoot me an email! erika(at)oopsicraftmypants.net with the subject “Utah”.

I’ve also set up a private Facebook group, which you can request an invite to here.

The “club” will most likely meet in Utah County.

Okay, carry on.

Ps. Did you sign up to win the apron yet?