crafty alien: make it out of this world!

It's hot and steamy in Florida

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:12:00 +0000

I wanted to be writing blog posts about my little darling a lot earlier than I am but I've found myself stranded in the middle of Florida (many miles from Athens, Georgia) now facing being a single mom. I'm reluctant to go into details, but I am rather broken hearted; after all, I'm supposed to be enjoying my little angel who smiles the biggest smiles instead of trying to figure out how to get back on my feet with a baby, a single source of income and no home.

I've haven't had much time for crafting and designing due to my new responsibilities, but Elizabeth is finally on a sleep and eat schedule and her colic seems to have gotten less, leaving me more time to get back to CraftyAlien business. She's two days shy of being an adorable two-month old with the hairline of a guy with male pattern baldness and gas that can only bring the movie "Blazing Saddles" to mind.

Sure, I've been promising a few new things here and there - way, way back in April. All that I can promise now is that I am working on it.

And maybe some baby things too.

A shy Shroomy and a bunny in a basket

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:29:00 +0000

Here's a few paintings that I did recently (okay, well, a couple of months ago) and will have prints available in the CraftyAlien store as soon as I determine if my scanner survived it's unfortunate crash to the ground last week. Eeeek!

Bigger and better

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:40:00 +0000

I've been dying to make larger versions of my patterns and when I started converting them to crochet from felted knit, I kept on crocheting on a much larger scale. This not-so-little unfinished gnome is about 8 inches tall without his gnome hat. I'm finishing him up now and a large Shroomy as well.

Sneak peek

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:47:00 +0000

I've been working on some new projects over the past month or so. I've been listening to a lot of requests and started working on converting my patterns into... CROCHET! I guess that means I've actually gone backwards! Here's a sneak peek at the first pattern I'll be releasing very shortly or maybe a little delayed if I go into labor. One never knows when that will happen.

Oh, and if you think I've just done one pattern, I have another to show you tomorrow!

Counting the days...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:25:00 +0000

BabyAlien is due on April 27 and most, if not all, say that she'll be early. I'm not quite prepared (who ever is, really?) mentally OR physically.

On Saturday I went to the botanical gardens at UGA and got to see all the beautiful spring blooms, but was SO disappointed to find out that I had missed the spring plant sale by ONE week. At last fall's plant sale, we were fortunate enough to find a miniature pitcher plant to add to our carnivorous garden (okay, we have a venus fly trap that is pretty hurting since it almost flowered - so snip those buds quickly because it can be too stressful on the plant and the flowers are non-spectacular) and a trumpet honeysuckle to hopefully take over our wire fence. The day was lovely, the blooms were awesome (I took about 100 pictures) and I only got tired walking back to the car which was up a rather steep hill. I hope to return in early May... perhaps there will be more goodies to photograph.

Cankles and crafty things

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:57:00 +0000

It's just about baby time - my due date is April 27 and most people have the opinion that I'm not going to make it to the due date. We've been working to rearrange the house and get things neat and tidy and, well, just plain organized. I've been able to return to working on Crafty Alien things full time now, with a bunch of new items for the crafty as well as craft spectators. Right now, I'm still stuck in the gnome/shroomy theme and will have a few new patterns (and hopefully kits) for needlecrafters of several different crafty implements as well as paintings, prints, accessories and papercrafts. Now that the sun has returned, I can start taking some nice natural-light photos of everything!

Keep an eye out! Unless, of course, I go into labor...

Getting ready for BabyAlien (or not, as it seems!)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:56:00 +0000

Today is housework day. I have WAY too much out of place here. We moved at the beginning of last month and haven't quite gotten the kitchen organized (I still have piles of dishes in the corner and on the counters... pots and pans, food, you name it!). My studio space is a mess.

And my hard drives need to be moved from my older Mac to my newer Mac, which arrived yesterday from an eBay auction. I have a ton of packing peanuts to recycle for CraftyAlien shipping, although I don't ship anything that's breakable (yet, you never know!). It will be nice to be back up and running, with a little more power than before (I'm not scared of you anymore, Mr. Photoshop CS3).

I finished up some Shroomy charms, except for a little bit of gluing eye pins in them. It's nice out, so I can use the not-so-nice glue to adhere them. If only my snappy little camera wasn't broken, I'd have some quick pictures but I'm stuck lugging the big SLR outside for an impromptu teeny, tiny Shroomy photo shoot. Hopefully, the cats won't try to eat the Shroomies.

AND... I know everyone is going to yell at me, but we still haven't bought anything for babyAlien's arrival. I think Chris is waiting to see which one of our friends is throwing a baby shower, but I'm thinking time is running out REALLY fast. I'm due on April 27. And we know how due dates are - sometimes you'd have better accuracy throwing a dart at a calendar.

EEK!

When it rains, it snows...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Based here in Athens, Georgia, snow is not a thing we get to see often. I'm originally from NJ and very used to snow... and so are the trees. We had several inches of snow last Sunday, which proceeded to break limb after limb and make Athens look like a disaster area. Roads stayed snow covered for days and most were without power for the first day. I never heard a snow plow or the sound of shovels.

Unfortunately, we lost power until Monday night. The nice Leland Cypresses used to make a privacy screen between our house and the road. One fell to the front of the house and tore down the power lines, cable and phone lines (but none were snapped and the power stayed on - a tree fell down the road a bit and took out the power). Another lost a limb and blocked off our driveway.

And here I am, totally helpless at just about 6 weeks to go until babyAlien makes her appearance. I ended up sitting at the neighbors house until afternoon while Chris was at work. I snuck home to take a nap when the power came back on. Of course, the first thing I had to do was jump on my computer to check up on business.

But it wouldn't come back on. My faithful yet old Mac G4 wouldn't start (It's almost 8 years old). My buddy was down for the count. Yup, I get attached to my computers. Occasionally I hug them. After some examination, we think it was the power supply inside the G4 that went. I tried a bunch of things that just didn't work, hoping that it would revive my Mac.

I decided to check out eBay for a replacement - found one twice as fast, etc. that I can plop my RAM and harddrives into. Now I eagerly await its arrival from the north. Until then, I'm stuck in limbo on a library computer. I have handcut paper cards and a few other things in limbo at the moment. I also have a bunch of patterns that I've been working on, but alas, they are also on the computer.

I did, however, manage to make up a bunch of Shroomy charms out of polymer clay and acrylic paint. Little guys are all of 1/2 tall. And working with clay that small is not an easy task. I'll have pictures up soon of my little fungi invasion.

I DO like to knit other things besides my own designs

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:13:00 +0000

...not that you'd know it!

One of my resolutions for the new year is to knit and crochet some clothing and other items that aren't CraftyAlien. I've started a scarf for Chris, based on the second thing I ever knit - a simple 1x1 rib with two skeins of Lion Brand homespun yarn. Not too artsy at all, but it is one of the softest yarns I've worked with.

Sylvi by Mari Muinonen

I was looking for a cardigan to knit and some people over at Ravelry.com pointed me to one really beautiful piece of knit work, Sylvi by Mari Muinonen published by an awesome online magazine, Twist Collective. I've added it to my knitting queue, know I just have to find the perfect yarn to knit it in. I'm partial to chartreuse and I think that the floral details on the back would look beautiful in that color (I don't look so good in red).

Are you still writing the wrong year?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:54:00 +0000

3-D ultrasound picture of babyAlien's face

(Her actual mouth is to the right of the word mouth and

her nose is to the left of where "nose" is written.)

I'm not how, but this year, at least I started one thing off on the right foot - and that's writing 2009 on all of the paperwork I've had to fill out so far this year. Sure, the day on the month is probably wrong, but I've gotten the year right every time. In years past, I usually get the correct year by mid-February.

This will be an interesting year! babyAlien is expected to make her debut (yup, it's a girl) around April 27, 2009. I nearly passed out at the last ultrasound. I got really light-headed and sick to my stomach! Chris made asked me how it felt to be a giant mouse-pad. Um, not completely comfortable! Everything looks good and of course, I got teary-eyed seeing babyAlien's little face for the first time.

I'm not sure how having a little babyAlien will affect things around the CraftyAlien world - hopefully, I'll have a bunch of new patterns and goodies lined up so no one notices if I take a couple of weeks off and have someone else do the shipping and emails.

Right now, all but the patterns are out of stock while I work on creating more inventory of everything. I've actually found some items that I never listed as well as a few items I thought I was out of. I'm branching out with more things for the non-crafters, and items for the non-knitters. I also took some time to work on a few more paintings as well as painting on other things besides canvas!

A preview of more Backyard Critters

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:02:00 +0000

I just wanted to show you a sneak preview of some long promised backyard critters. They've been sitting on the back burner for a bit too long and know a bunch of you have been waiting to get your hands on the badger, wolf and bat.

The mouse and mallard duck are a part of Backyard Critters, Volume 7, which also includes a European badger (not shown).

The bat and wolf are a part of Backyard Critters, Volume 8, which will also include a snake!

These should be going through the proofing and test knitting process soon and will be available soon after!

The lonely box of unfinished things.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:12:00 +0000

Last year, I realized I had started on some holiday patterns too late. I had all of my sketches done, the knitting roughed out on paper. It was early October 2007 and I would have had time to get them done except for the fact that in mid-October I flew to Athens, Georgia to sign a lease on a house (with a landlady I could not recommend to my worst enemy) and visit my mom in Florida for the rest of the weekend. I didn't bring my knitting because I really didn't want the airlines to take my knitting needles.

My lease in NJ was up on the 31st of October (which ruined my Halloween, really.) and all I had knit up was a Christmas tree. He was cute, but kinda lonely. I moved into my parents house in NJ for part of November and ended up helping my dad with an estate sale so the house would be nice and empty to go on the market. And I will never do an estate sale again. Everyone wanted something for nothing, broke things, stole things. I'd rather give the stuff away than deal with that again. I did, however, manage to knit up a Santa between the estate sale and Thanksgiving, but unlike the Christmas tree, Santa never made it into the felting jacuzzi.

When I finally arrived in Athens, four days later my cow was featured on Grumperina's blog and I hadn't even gotten the cable hooked up. Santa and the Christmas tree were put in the lonely box of unfinished things while I scurried to fill orders and make more cow kits.

This year, I thought I had enough time to get some patterns done. In fact, I almost finished up a jack-o-lantern, a witch, a ghost and a piece of candy corn. They're actually felted and just waiting on faces. And now I'm wondering if it's too late to finish up my thanksgiving ones. I still need to make three hats, two collars, one beak and one body before I put them in the felting jacuzzi or if I should continue on with my Christmassy and wintery ones and put the turkey day ones in the lonely box of unfinished things until next year.

Gnome if You Want To, Gnome Around the World.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:42:00 +0000

Oh, Gno!
Gnomes and Shroomy Felted Knit Pattern

Oops! Sorry for the delay - I was really eager to get this pattern finished and accidentally deleted the cover file.

Well it is definitely time to hang with some of my gnomies! This pattern, besides introducing my first whack at people and things, also introduces a brand new layout, new logo, metric conversions and our new mascot alien, Wasabi! It's available now in the store and in our Etsy shop. I ran into a last minute problem with the gnome beards (as sometimes when we felt, it just doesn't turn out as expected) and redid them. It's that perfectionist part of me. ; )

A few kits are out of stock in our store and we're working hard to get restocked. We'll have new clam kits as soon as possible - we found a replacement yarn for our clam and gnome faces. A bunch of yarn has arrived, which means all kits should be back in stock and two new seasonal patterns will be available soon!

If you haven't found us on Twitter.com, follow us here to know up-to-the-minute announcements, hints on upcoming patterns or just simply what is going on at the Crafty Alien studio.

Sneak Peak!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:54:00 +0000

Just a quick sneak peak of tomorrow's upcoming pattern. I ran into a few problems while trying to get some pictures. Who knew that cats loved gnomes too? After wrangling up some kitties with the crack of canned food opening, I was free to photograph these guys without pause. After some final proofing from me while enjoying a cup or ten of tea with Vanilla Chai coffee-mate (yum, I'm so glad I found some more at the store. I always thought I'd have to mourn the loss of my budget chai!) and a look over by my test-knitter Grace, the pattern should make its debut late tomorrow afternoon.

And now back to the show!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Ready for felting!

I hate when I've neglected the blog. I had every intention to keep coming back to show you what I've been up to, but that didn't happen... well, until today! The website has been revamped with the new Crafty Alien logo, the blog has a new look too. Our Crafty Alien mascot is brand new and he has a name - Wasabi! He's going to be making an appearance in many places, so keep an eye out.

The knitting needles have been going 'round the clock lately, and there will be many new patterns making their debut in the next few days. I am finishing up one more beard for the Oh, Gno! felted knitting pattern and it will be available at CraftyAlien.com as well as in our Etsy shop for you. We ran into a snag with one of yarn suppliers early last week - the yarn we use for the gnome faces and many upcoming designs, as well as our bull and clam kit, was discontinued. (We're working on a solution, which probably means hand-dyed yarns from our studio with colors available in our online store.)

Off to felt I go!

Take the A Train

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:55:00 +0000

While I work on redesigning how the patterns look and feel (I'm introducing my NYC subway system for identifying patterns and related steps and diagrams with color-coding and lettering.) and finish up "Oh Gno!" (A super cute collection of felted knit gnomies and a shroomy) I'd like to share two more paintings!

"Siesta Shroom"

8" x 10" acrylic on canvas

"Aw, Shucks!"
8" x 10" acrylic on canvas

Prints are now available in the store.

Taking a Plunger to Cool Off

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:10:00 +0000

A few new prints snuck into the store last week with little fanfare. I was having internet issues here (as I do pretty much every day, thank you, Charter Cable!) and by the time I got them up in the store, I felt a bit antisocial and hungry. It's been hot here the whole week and about 90 degrees inside my house because I have windows in the kitchen and living room that don't open and the fans don't seem to move the cooler air out of the bedroom. I had to disassemble one of the windows in the living room to put in an air conditioner. Luckily, ONE window was redone with wood so I could pop the trim off and suck the Plexiglas out with a plunger (yup, a stinky bowl plunger!) Now I can have friends over again without having to peel their melted bodies from the floor.

So I'd like to formally introduce a few paintings:

"Taking it to the Bank"

8" x 10" acrylic on canvas

"Lady in Red"
8" x 10" acrylic on canvas

Prints are available in the store now. I'm going to start selling the actual paintings soon, a la blackapple style, I just don't seem to have the heart to part with many of them now. Or put nails in the wall. Go figure.

Cheating is a Ciné

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:11:00 +0000

I had the opportunity to shoot a great picture two days ago. Unfortunately, while I did have my camera, I was also on the highway traveling 60mph and would not be able to catch the same shot at the next exit. Picked up my camera and held it near the window without looking and snapped the image. A few seconds later the clouds separated and an opportunity for a second shot was gone. I luv photography.

The film I saw at Ciné was produced by Ashley Epting of Athens, Georgia. Honestly, I went in with low expectations and came out surprised. It was shot in and around Athens, with Kathleen Richardson of "90210" fame and Sara Rue from "Less Than Perfect" (side note: yummy Less Than Perfect's Kip, aka Chuck's Zachary Levi, who I have a thang for.) The film was still in a rough cut, but they did have a montage near the end that was perfectly scored with an REM song that I do hope they get to keep. The film's working title was "The Hill" but has unfortunately been renamed to a sappy "Not Since You" which doesn't have anything to do with the film. At least "The Hill" references the setting for the film. Pre-9/11 NYU alumni reunite for a wedding in Georgia and have issues to work out, including one dealing with 9/11, best friends fighting over the "stolen" girlfriend and a married woman and her husband facing the boyfriend who abandoned her for Europe. A few parts dragged a bit, hopefully those will be fixed in the editing.

Big Cosmo Phó

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:45:00 +0000

I got a bit nostalgic for Manhattan on Friday night. I saw Sex and the City with some friends after having some tasty Vietnamese food at Just Phó. No one opted for the phó, but who really wanted soup after spending the day in a hot kitchen? My dish of choice is eggrolls on rice vermicelli with yummy fish sauce, cilantro and peanuts, which followed my Vietnamese watermelon bubble slushy.

Yummy Vietnamese food!

Needless to say, the theater was full of women, with a few men scattered in (the ones dragged in by their girlfriends kicking and screaming and those who know a Prada bag from a Louis Vuitton). I did get a little teary eyed in a few scenes, but that was mostly from laughing. I'm a fan of bodily function and Freudian slip jokes, so if you've seen the movie, you know what I am talking about. SJP looks so much better with dark brown hair. Funny, I too would look so much better with dark brown hair that I will be dying my hair when my scalp isn't burnt anymore.

Have I mentioned that I am peeling? Like a fruit, perhaps an orange but less tasty!

Gawker Stalker, Athens-Style.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:04:00 +0000

Last week I went to Ciné in Athens to screen a film. On the way there, I caught a glimpse of the elusive Emily Martin (aka the Black Apple) and her beau going into a local downtown eatery for lunch. Had I known it was really her at the time, I might have stopped in to say "hi" or I might not have, seeing as how I am still half chicken. For some reason, I thought Martha Stewart was tall (Emily appeared on the Martha Stewart Show earlier this year). She let me know it was indeed her, and if we cross paths before she migrates to Portland, I will definitely introduce myself!

SIDE NOTE: This evening I might be hiding. Weird things happen to me on Friday the 13th.

Cha-Ching, My Huckleberry Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:57:00 +0000

Saturday, I traveled to Cashiers, North Carolina to tend bar at a wedding. I left at 11 a.m. on Saturday afternoon and returned to my house at almost 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. Cashiers is SUPPOSED to be a lot cooler than Athens, Georgia, but is currently having a heat wave of its own. The roads leading to Cashiers resemble a slalom, with steep drops on either side. While it was a fun trip up (only one person in the car I was driving wanted to yak when we got there), I had to hitch a ride with one of our large trucks on the way back, so it was a SLOW trip back (because who really wants to take a plunge off a mountain in a refrigerator truck full of stuff?) and I didn't have satellite radio, which is my new best friend.

Sampling the Grasshopper

My discovery of the night was 44° North Huckleberry infused vodka, made in Idaho, with the Idaho potato stamp of approval. It was a hit among the peeps doing shots, which did not include poor me. I did sample a small bit of Grasshopper, but that was because the bartender didn't realize he was using a huckleberry-flavored vodka in a minty drink.

It's NOT the Bee's Knees.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:35:00 +0000

I took a job with a catering company a few months ago, pretty much just to meet people since I'm somewhat of a homebody. I relocated to Athens, Georgia without knowing a soul here and also wanted to get to know the lay of the land. It's actually led to a lot of new friends and journeys. Last Monday, I took part in a kayaking trip down the Broad River. We got to the water after noon and spent the next seven hours on the water, with stops every so often to take in the scenery and tasty cold beverages. Lesson learned here: Bring the sunscreen with you in the kayak, don't leave it in the car. I got sunburn on my lower back and KNEES. If anyone knows how to even out a really awkward and spotty tan, let me know. I'd like to wear shorts again but I look like I got beat up. The kayaking was fun, I went over a small waterfall, and got a craving for bigger rapids in poor dehydrated Georgia.

Time to hit the parched rapids

NEXT TIME: Waterproof bag, cooler with water and food, hat, sunglasses on a strap, and watch out for that dang rock under the bridge.

Foxy Lady, Here I Come!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:42:00 +0000

I've been thinking for a while about reformatting the "Life of the Alien" blog and making it more of a daily journal of things that have been occupying my time, of course, still mentioning all of the things that I've been doing in the Crafty Alien studio as well as the things that I enjoy outside of the studio. I'll be making a separate blog for CraftyAlien.com, which will just keep everything business, like new products and such. Well, I will as soon as Blogger.com plays well with my web server, which it is refusing to do. You can check out either blog for the latest on CraftyAlien.com, but this blog will be for the blog readers!

This fox is traveling the US, maybe the world!

A fellow Ravelry.com member (emjayknits) is sending her little "travel bug" fox around the world from yarn store to yarn store. Right now I believe this little cutie is in Florida. You can pick him up and take him to a new location if you'd like to participate. It's a new trend called geo-caching. Usually, people use GPS systems to locate a cache listed on the website, which they then remove the contents and replace with something new, and relocate the cache to somewhere new. It's an internet treasure hunt and treasure hunts are cool! So if you're in Florida, get this guy on the road to California!

Don't run in the forest...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:17:00 +0000

...because you might trip on a mushroom.

After working on animals that you find in some backyards, I can across gnomes. Mine aren't the exploding kind - they're just your run of the mill "I have no arms or legs, so I tend to fall over and sleep right there" kind of gnomes. And you can't have a gnome without a toadstool with eyes and a conscience. Shroomy doesn't need arms or legs because his roots are firmly planted in slightly damp and shady soil. He's the guru of the forest, sitting in the little ray of light pondering the age old question "If a tree falls in the forest, will I sprout legs and be able to move out of its way?"

I still wonder what gnomes do for a living, defend gardens or pester home owners? It is a secret little world those little guys have, with their funny little clothes and beards, hiding behind trees as you walk by. I'd keep an eye out for these guys.

Toadally kewl, really dude.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa, the Crafty Alien.) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:00:00 +0000

Where and when did I pick up the word "dude" because I'd like to go back and smack those people. "Dude" is not an appropriate term to call a female. I hate when I find that I've caught myself saying that. Yes, I can clean the foul words from my vocab, but I can't de-dude the dang brain. Dude, I hate that.

Yesterday, I got stuck behind horses. Well, guys dressed up like cowboy dudes with white shirts and cowboy boots and hats. Girls were dressed up in crinolines and pastels, getting situated on a flat-bed of a big rig, sitting pretty on top of bails of hay. It was some sort of Fraternity/Sorority parade of sorts. I'd say it was a mighty-fine welcome to Georgia that ate up about $2.00 in gas while I sat sweaty in my gas-guzzling Jeep with depleted air-conditioner. I hate idling.

Speaking of Idling, um, er, IdOling, why wasn't Miss Cook eliminated last week? Or ten weeks ago. I could have really used a Michael Johns version of a Mariah Carey song. Okay, No. That's a lie. I don't even want to hear a Mariah Carey version of one of her songs. Next album should be "The Elimination of Mimi." How the heck did she end up with the most number one songs? Not on MY charts. People, remember Glitter? Actually, I don't think anyone would. I'll stop now, before I poke my eardrums out.

I have a bunch of critters waiting to hit the jacuzzi, and somehow, while pondering things in your backyard, I came up with a set of back-yard non-critters that'll be released soon. It will be one crowded jacuzzi this weekend, and I'm not invited.

Kits for the latest Backyard Critters will be available beginning next week, including the cougar.