zakka life

Craft Project: Origami Glitter Cranes

2009-11-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I've been working on more Christmas ornaments. Above is a picture of the results, Origami Glitter Cranes. I've had this idea for awhile now but just finally got a chance to test it out. The craft came out just as I envisioned (love when that happens). The cranes are surprisingly quite elegant considering they're made with paper, glitter and glue.

Supplies:
Gold and Silver Paper - I used wrapping paper.
Gold and Silver Glitter
Glue
Acrylic Gloss Spray - can find at most craft stores
Paint brush or foam brush

* when working with glitter I recommend covering your mouth/nose with some kind of mask so you don't breath in the glitter.

How To Fold an Origami Crane on Howcast

1. First you will want to fold a crane. Here's a video that best demonstrates that. I used a 6" by 6" square for mine. Use the same color paper as the glitter you plan on using.

Once your crane is folded, paint one wing with glue. Cover in glitter. Shake off extra glitter. Continue doing this until all sections of crane are covered in glitter. You only need to cover the top of the crane with glitter. Let dry. Spray a coat or two of the acrylic gloss spray on the crane. This will help seal the glitter and prevent it from flaking off. Done.

I think these would look lovely in non traditional Christmas colors such as pink, blue and lime green. What do you think?

Craft Project: Russian Nesting Doll Card

2009-11-05T16:48:00.000-08:00

Matryoshka Doll Card Opened

Card Closed

Today I felt like making a matryoshka doll card, for no particular reason. Sometimes it's nice to make something just for the fun of it. The hard part is finding the time. That's why I like making cards, they're quick and easy. Not to mention, all you really need is paper, scissors, and glue. This card is no different, it's quite simple to make. The most time consuming part is just the cutting.

Supplies:
Card stock with print
Tan Card stock
Scissors
Glue stick
Fine point markers in black and red

Right click, copy, and save on a 11 by 8 1/2 landscape size page. Print on the back side of printed card stock. I used my 12 by 12 scrapbook paper and just cut it down to fit in the printer.

Once you print out the template, cut it out with scissors. It should look something like this.

The back side of the card should look like this. As you can see, I cut on the outside edge of the black lines.

Accordion fold the card (refer to picture). Make sure when folding the card that the second largest doll can not be seen behind the largest doll. It just fits behind the large doll so you have to fold it just right.

Print circles out on a tan colored card stock. Draw faces as desired. Glue to all the nesting dolls. Add details with black marker. This is where you can really add your artistic spin on the dolls. You could also add glitter, lace, gold paint, anything really. Have fun.

*This card stands nicely on it's own (sorry no picture).

Craft Project: Felt Christmas Ornament

2009-11-03T15:14:00.001-08:00

It's official, Christmas crafting is in full swing. Lots of great Christmas crafts are appearing around the web such as here, here, and here. And to officially kick off Christmas crafting on Zakka Life, I'm sharing how to make this felt sphere ornament. It was inspired by one of those paper party decorations that fold into a ball. I just took that idea, scaled it down and used felt instead of paper. Enjoy.

Supplies:
6 Felt circles - The circles I used are 4 1/2 inches in diameter. I do not recommend using anything smaller than 4 inches.
Embroidery Thread
Sewing Needle
Scissors
Ribbon 3 inches in length

Line up all six circles on top of each other. Fold ribbon in half and place in the center of the circles (three in front & three in back). Stitch down the center sewing the ribbon to the felt and at the same time sewing all six felt circles together. Refer to picture.

From a top view the ribbon should look like this. In this picture I only have two circles on each side. Your ornament should have three on each side.

Pull the edges of the first circle together. Stitch in place where you see the white circle in the picture. Make sure to conceal your knots in the inside. Click on picture for a larger view.

Pull the next circle flap on the left hand side up to the center. Stitch together where you see the white circles in the picture. This will be the pattern for the entire sphere.

Pull the next circle flap from the left hand side and stitch to the center of the last flap. Stitch where you see the white circle. Continue with this pattern(one center stitch, two top and bottom stitches) until you've created a sphere and every circle flap is attached to each other. Done.

Top view of sphere.

To make this ornament more decorative you could sew on a pearl at each place you sew the circles together. If you wanted to make the ornament more full, you could use eight circles.

10 Things To Make with Halloween Candy

2009-11-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Every year I face the dilemma of what to do with all the Halloween candy. I always feel too guilty to throw it away. I try to incorporate it into recipes but instead end up eating a lot of it. So to combat the problem, I've rounded up 10 DIY projects for leftover Halloween candy plus one candy wrapper project.

Candy Bar Bouquet

Candy Bar Birthday Card

Candy Car Ornament

Candy Leis

Candy Tacks

Candy Wrapper Purse, technically not candy but close enough

Gift Mug with Candy

Indian Corn Place Cards

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Turkey

Skittles Vodka

Snickers Candy Bar Pie

How To Make Italian Sodas

2009-10-29T19:39:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite drinks to serve at parties are Italian Sodas. They're easy to make and a nice alternative to traditional soda. My Grandmother would often serve these drinks when she had friends and family over. She taught me how to make the Italian Sodas and I've been making them ever since.

Italian Soda Recipe

Ingredients:
Flavored syrup - any kind will do
Club Soda - If you can't find club soda or seltzer water you can replace it with sparkling water. But honestly, it's not the same.
Ice
Cream or Half & Half

Traditionally, Italian sodas are served in tall narrow glasses. Fill glass with ice.

Add one inch of syrup to the glass.

Fill glass with club soda. Make sure to leave room for cream.

Add about half an inch of cream to the glass. Adding cream is optional but I found it's what really separates the drink from just flavored soda. The cream make the drink more unique.

To mix the drink take the straw and push the ice from the top to the bottom, moving the straw up and down. If you just stir the drink the syrup will sit at the bottom and not get mixed in (providing you're using a narrow glass). That's it, enjoy!

Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

As I had promised, here's the recipe for the Spinach Salad that I served at the Tinkerbell birthday party. As you can see from the picture, I actually used a spring lettuce mix but the original recipe calls for spinach. Both spinach and spring mix taste equally good.

Ingredients:
1 Salad bag of spinach or spring mix

1 Avocado Sliced

Caramelized Almonds - Place 3T of almonds and 3T of sugar in small frying pan. Heat on low until sugar melts and sticks to almonds.

1 Large can of Mandarin oranges

Poppy Seed Dressing

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp dried onion
1 cup of oil
1 Tbs poppy seeds

1. Place all of dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well. Set aside.

2. Mix all salad ingredients together except almonds.

3. Add dressing to taste.

4. Add almonds and mix together. Enjoy!

Tinkerbell Birthday Party

2009-10-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well lets start with the best part, shall we, the Tinkerbell cake!. Aunt Susan created another fabulous cake for my daughter's birthday. It was a hazelnut cake with chocolate filling. The cute little mushrooms on the cake are made with meringue. You can find a good tutorial on how to make the mushrooms on Joy of Baking if you feel like giving it a try.

I served the cake with vanilla ice cream and these cute little mushroom cookies (made by Meiji). It's all about the details.

For decorations, I always like to use two colors that relate to the theme. Since the theme was "Tinkerbell" I went with purple and lime green. I recommend staying away from the copyrighted party products. This will help cut down on cost and give a more sophisticated look to your party. For example, instead of buying paper plates with Tinkerbell's face printed on them, I used lime green plates. The only Tinkerbell product I did purchase was confetti. I used the confetti to decorate the birthday banner and some other items.

Flowers - I like to use carnations because they come in just about all colors, they're inexpensive, and they last a long time.

Giant Flower Pom Poms - I made these using the tutorial on the Martha Stewart Site. I purchased the tissue paper at the dollar store. Pom poms are a great way to make a big statement for a small amount of money. It cost me about one dollar per pom-pom.

To continue with the theme, I added some radishes carved into mushrooms to the veggie platter. I found a good tutorial on how to make these at Anna the Red's Bento Factory.

Since this party consisted of mainly adults, it was important for me to have a good menu. To cut back on prep time I purchased Vietnamese sandwiches (top right & bottom left pictures). Sometimes it's actually cheaper to purchase food rather than make it, seriously. These 12 inch sandwiches cost $2.50 each. I served this with two salads and fresh fruit, easy right? In the top left corner is a spring mix salad with poppy seed dressing. I'll be posting the recipe for that Friday. In the bottom right corner is a delicious sweet potato and poblano salad with honey and rosemary dressing. You can find the recipe at Epicurious.

* most of the pictures were taken by Uncle Danny

Have any good party tips? Feel free to share in the comments.

How To Make Mini Birthday Banners

2009-10-25T19:44:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we celebrated my daughter's birthday so I've had birthday decorations on the brain. This is one of the ideas that has been on my mind, mini birthday banners. The letters in the birthday banner are only 1 1/2 inches high. Because the letters are tiny, the banner fits perfectly in a bedroom doorway. You could also hang it on a bulletin board or the fridge. Wouldn't you want to be surprised by one of these in your office or at home?

Supplies:
Small Letters - There's a couple of ways to go about this. I cut mine out using a Cricut. If you don't have a personal cutting machine another option is to buy small letters in the scrapbooking section. Another way to make the letters is to type them out in Word to a size you want. Print the letters on the back side of nice card stock and cut out the letters.

Small rectangles - the ones I used were 1/4" by 1 1/2" Will depend on the size of your letters.

Extra small brads

Small hole punch

String

Glue

Glue each of your letters to the center of the rectangles. Punch a hole on each side.

Overlap the holes of the two rectangles and secure with a brad. Continue to do this until you spell out the entire phrase. Tie string to the each end. Hang for everyone to enjoy.

*Later in the week I'll be sharing how we celebrated my daughters birthday including decorations, food, and cake.

U900 - Walk Don't Run (Isogabamaware)

2009-10-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

I'm busy party planning for this weekend so I'll just leave you with this cute video I found via Cutesypoo. Hope you all have a great weekend!

How To Make a Barrette Holder

2009-10-21T14:28:00.001-07:00

Looking back to my own child hood, I can recall my fascination with Chinese lanterns. As a child I was attracted to the vibrant colors, intricate detail, sparkle and mystery of them. So to capture a little piece of that nostalgia, I've created a lantern barrette holder. Directions below.

Supplies:
Printed pattern
Scissors
Embroidery thread in black and pink
Pink and Black Felt
Sewing needle
Black Lace
Pollyfill
Right click, copy, save to file and print. This image was designed to be printed in landscape.

Cut out all pattern pieces. Cut out two lanterns. Cut out one bird on branch (cut leaves separately). Cut two rectangles if substituting felt for lace.

Sew bird/branch on the front of the lantern using a running stitch. Sew on leaves next.

Sew lace (or felt) on the bottom and top of lantern with a running stitch. I personally like the lace which mimics the intricate detail you would see on an ornate lantern. Next using three strands of black embroidery thread, backstitch on the lantern detail.

On the other lantern peice sew on three 24 inch strands of ribbon folded in half onto the bottom of the lantern. On the top of the lantern sew on lace in a loop for hanging.

Place lantern pieces wrong sides together and sew together with a blanket stitch. Leave a two inch opening to stuff. Then finish stitching all the way around. Done.

Place barrettes on ribbon.

* A miniature version of this would make a cute Christmas ornament. If making an ornament, I would substitute the ribbon for a small tassel.

Embroidery Thread Storage

2009-10-18T15:51:00.001-07:00

Lately my embroidery thread box has been out of control. So to combat the mess, I decided to place the thread in baseball card holders that are stored in a binder. So far it's working great and I like that I can see everything.

Book Review: Haiku Knits

2009-10-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

Haiku Knits by Tanya Alpert

I recently received a copy of Haiku Knits to review. It's a new knitting book scheduled to hit shelves October 20th. The book features 25 knitting patterns inspired by Japanese design. There's also a section of essential techniques which includes knitting stitches, the yarn weight system, knitting abbreviations, etc. The book is for knitters of all skill levels, beginner through advanced. Even though some of the patterns look very sophisticated, the patterns themselves are quite simple.

I personally liked the patterns in the book and would wear just about all the pieces. I like solids with a lot of texture and that's what you'll find in Haiku Knits (pictures below). What I did find lacking was information on techniques. Even though there is an "essential techniques" section in the book, I wish it included more. For example, there were no directions on how to block a garment even though some of the patterns call for this. Since this book is intended for knitters at all levels, I would have liked that technique included. That being said, overall the book is well written and has some exceptional patterns.

Below are some of my favorites from the book.

Lantern floating: softly felted top and skirt

Snowflake: lacy long-sleeve cozy

Hazy Moon: ethereal scarf

Here's what I'm working on, the half-moon rising two-color vest. Promise to show you when it's done.

Edible Mini Jack O' Lanterns

2009-10-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

I was peeling a clementine when it occurred to me that they look like mini pumpkins. At first I thought it would be fun to add a little green paper stem to the top of one. As I thought over the idea it evolved into mini jack o' lanterns. I got out my edible markers and quickly went to work. First I washed the fruit to make sure there was no wax or residue on the skin. Then I just drew a cute little face onto the clementine. If you can't find clementines, oranges will do.

I can't wait to slip one into my son's lunch box and surprise him!

Sneak a few into the fruit bowl and see if anyone notices.

Craft Scraps in The Kitchen

2009-10-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

If you like to craft, chances are you've got die-cuts, ribbon, buttons, and yarn scraps stored away. I like to use all these little craft leftovers for food packaging and presentation. Here's just a few ideas of what I like to do with them.

1. Wrap single serving baked goods in waxed paper. Cut out a strip from a brown paper bag with some decorative scissors. Next add a ribbon. Last use a die cut as a label for the package. You could substitute the ribbon with yarn or embroidery floss. Lots of possibilities with this one.

2. When I go to any kind of potluck I like to label what I brought. I think it's helpful to guests and most people are more likely to try your dish if it's labeled. I also will do this for parties on occasion. Once again, I used a die cut and taped it to the back of a toothpick. Nothing fancy, but it looks nice and it's practical. If you don't have die cuts, you can use any kind of paper.

3. Sometimes my husband will bring cookies and such to share with co-workers. Instead of throwing the food in a giant plastic bag or tupperware container, I place it in cookie tins or clear plastic take-out shells. I actually save plastic take-out shells just for this purpose. I always place a doily on the bottom and tape a label to the top of the lid. Besides die-cuts, I also like to use these gift tags for the labels.

Designing Moms

2009-10-11T14:17:00.001-07:00

I recently discovered the site designing moms created by Cat Seto and wanted to share it with all of you. It's a site comprised of moms sharing about their professional and family lives. It has now blossomed into over 20 moms who design as their career...ranging from amazing cake designers (Shinmin of I Dream of Cake),to editorial (Chronicle Books), toy designers (former senior designer for Manhattan Toy, Mari Richards) and so many more. Below is just a sample of what to expect.

There's a tutorial on how to make these cute "treasure cards". I already have plans of making a few myself.

How to make Notebook Journals

Discovered any new craft or design sites that are a must read? Please share in the comments.

Giveaway Winner

2009-10-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Karen who is the winner of the Elmer's Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Kid Craft: Mrs. Pumpkin Head

2009-10-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

This year we're keeping it kid friendly around here for Halloween (no spooky decorations). So instead of the traditional carved pumpkin, we're making Mr. & Mrs. Pumpkin Heads. What's great about this project is one, you don't have to hollow out the pumpkin. Two, your kids get to make the pumpkin instead of just watching. And three, it's fun for kids. My daughter played with her pumpkin for a good 45 minutes.

Supplies:
Mr. Potato Head Pieces - if you don't have any, check your local thrift store or borrow some from a friend
Screw Driver
One pumpkin

With the screwdriver, puncture holes for the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, arms, hat, and feet. Make sure the potato head pieces fit well. Place pieces in the holes just like a Mr. Potato Head. Done

Chill with your pumpkin.

How To Make a Fairy Wand

2009-10-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased a Tinkerbell Costume for my daughter at the Thrift Store. My daughter felt it was missing something, a wand to be exact. So I came up with a wand fit for a fairy. It's easy to make and is made of basic materials. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
Fake flowers
Styrofoam ball with a 2 inch diameter
Hot Glue
Wood dowel
Ribbon
Fabric Glue

Glue wood dowel inside styrofoam ball (refer to picture).

Hot glue flowers to the styrofoam ball. The hot glue can melt the styrofoam so I recommend placing the glue on the back of the flower, let it cool a few seconds and then place it on the ball. Make sure to glue the flowers close together so none of the styrofoam shows.

When you're done it should look something like the picture above. You'll notice I added a couple leaves at the bottom too.

Starting at the top, adhere the ribbon to the dowel with fabric glue. To hold it in place, secure it with a clothespin. Wind the ribbon all the way down the dowel to the very end. Glue in place and secure with another clothespin. When dry remove clothespins and tie a bow around the top of the dowel. Done.

If you haven't purchased a costume yet, I highly recommend checking out the secondhand stores. The costumes are inexpensive and are usually in good condition. The Tinkerbell costume above only cost three dollars!

When I was putting this post together, I remembered that I was in an article about thrift store Halloween costumes. At the time, my mother worked at the Sonoma Index Tribune so I got to be in a couple photos for the paper.

Here I am holding up a pilgrim costume. I think the costumes were picked over at this point. Because really, what teenager wants to be a pilgrim for Halloween. The title of the story was "When a Batman mask is not enough".

Here's a picture of my friend Alyssa modeling a fairy costume. I guess the fairy costume is a classic.

Happy Monday

2009-10-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

This makes me smile every time. Hope you enjoy it too.

Elmer's Craft Supply Giveaway

2009-10-03T08:29:00.001-07:00

Elmer's sent me all these craft supplies to giveaway to one lucky winner! Included in the supplies are the Painters that I used for Thing 1 & Thing 2. You can click on the picture to see everything that's included.

This contest has been moved to another site. Click here, to enter. If you left a comment here earlier, you are entered in the contest. I'll post the winner on both sites.

Craft Project: Thing 1 & Thing 2

2009-10-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

Thing 1 & Thing 2 Peg People

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities. Dr. Seuss

Picture from the book "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss

A glimpse into my crafty crazy mind:

looking at clothespin "peg person"

looking at pom pom "looks like hair"

placed pom pom on top of clothespin "looks like clown hair"

"gasp, it looks like thing1 & thing 2!"

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. So if you would like to make a Thing 1 & Thing 2 set of your own, simple directions below.

Supplies:
Glue
Blue pom poms
Wood clothespins or wood peg people - both are inexpensive and can be found at the craft store
Red & white acrylic paint or paint markers - I actually used both for this project but not necessary
Paint brush
Black fine point pen - I used a Micron 03
Acrylic Gloss

If using a clothespin, you'll want to saw off the bottom it so it will stand on it's own. To prevent the clothespins from falling over when painted, place a folded index card in the slot of the clothespin (refer to picture). Paint head, neck and circle on stomach with white paint. You'll want to do 2 or 3 coats so it's opaque.

Paint the rest of the body red. For this part I used a red painter's marker (painters) by Elmer's. The company sent me the paint markers to test out. I was surprised how they actually write like markers, the paint does not come out thick at all. I also liked how there was no brush strokes. If you click on the picture, you'll notice that the red paint is very smooth compared to the white paint.

Once the paint is completely dry, add the details. I used a fine point pen to draw the face and stomach details. I've made a lot of peg people and I've found this method works best over using black paint. Let dry for at least a half hour. Apply 2 coats of acrylic gloss.

Apply glue to the top and back of head. Place pom pom on top. Hold in place for a minute to secure. Done.

Come back Saturday for a fun crafty giveaway.

Easy Japanese Curry Recipe

2009-09-29T13:06:00.001-07:00

It's beginning to feel like fall around here. In just a matter of days the temperature dropped by twenty degrees. And with the cold weather, I'm starting to crave comfort food such as spaghetti, shepherd's pie and Japanese curry. I never thought I would think of Japanese curry as a comfort food but some how it won over my heart or should I say stomach?

Japanese Curry Recipe
adapted from the S & B recipe
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
4 cubes of Golden Curry sauce mix
2 cups of bite sized carrots
1 onion chopped into bite sized pieces
1 lb of chicken chopped into bite sized pieces
2 Tb of cooking oil
3 cups of water

1. In a large pot fry chicken and onions in oil till chicken is browned and onions are translucent.

2. Add carrots and water and bring to a boil for about 10-15 minutes or when chicken is cooked.

3. Take pot off heat. Add 4 cubes of the curry (half of 8.4oz box). Mix until the curry cubes are dissolved.

4. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

5. Serve over rice.

* Optional - we like to eat our curry with raisins, pickled ginger, and chopped apples. If you're the adventures foodie type, you might want to try this.

Winner of the Mushroom Clothespins Giveaway

2009-09-29T08:35:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Southerner who is the winner of the mushroom clothespins!

As always, thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway.

Mushroom Clothespins Giveaway

2009-09-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

If you read this blog, you know that I like to shop at Daiso. Often in the comments I read that many of you wish you had a Daiso close by. So, to bring a little Daiso your way, I purchased these cute mini mushroom clothespins to giveaway to one lucky winner.

How to enter

Leave a comment at the bottom of this post no later than Monday, September 27th, 2009. One entry per person. Please leave your email address in the comments if it's not linked to your profile. The email address is only used to notify the winner, I do not save the addresses. I'll choose one winner at random and post their name Tuesday. Contest open to everyone. Good Luck!

This contest is now closed.

Craft Project: Giant Candy Corn

2009-09-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the phone conversation that went down before I made this giant candy corn.
DH (Dear Husband)

Me: Where are the orange soccer cones?

DH: In the trunk of the car, I'm afraid to ask why?

Me: I need them for a post? How much did they cost?

DH: You're not going to ruin them are you? I need them for soccer practice.

Me: How much did they cost?

DH: One or two dollars each, why?

Me: I'm going to make one into a giant candy corn.

DH: (Silence)

Me: What?

DH: I knew I didn't want to know.

I'm afraid this is what one has to deal with when they're married to me. And I can't say this is the first time I've confiscated an item for a craft project. A few Halloweens back, I dyed one of his white dress shirts yellow to make a Curious George costume. I'm sure there's been other incidents but I just can't seem to remember them. Oh well.

How to Make Giant Candy Corn

Supplies:
Plastic Orange Cones - can be found at your local sports good store
Yellow & White Acrylic Paint
Foam Brushes

1. Paint the top of the cone white and the bottom of the cone yellow. Yep, it's that easy. If you want the lines to be perfect and clean, you can mark off the sections with painter's tape.

2. For each color paint 3 or 4 coats on the cones. Let dry about 10 minutes in between each coat.

*Optional - to prevent risk of the paint scratching off, coat with clear acrylic spray.

So what do you do with giant candy corn you might ask? I envision these lining the walk way to the front door on Halloween night. Maybe place some flashlights inside the cones so they glow. Or, you could just run soccer practice with candy corn cones. It's really up to you.

When my son came home from school and saw the giant candy corn his exact words were, "I know what that is. Dude, it's candy." But what I really want to know is why is he saying "dude"?

What I'm Knitting

2009-09-20T15:39:00.001-07:00

My Sister in Law just had her first baby so I knit up this hat/baby booties set for her. Baby hats and booties are one of my favorite things to knit. They're easy to make and require little time commitment (my favorite kind of projects).

The pattern I used for the baby booties is from the book "Knitting Pretty" by Kris Percival. It's one of my favorite patterns.

As for the hat, I used this pattern omitting the eyelets. I thought it needed a little something extra so I added some curly ribbon on top.

My daughter knew I was making something for the baby so she wanted to make something for the baby as well. I suggested she make a card. That's a picture of the card with her trademark "smiley face" which always has a giant belly button underneath the mouth. Cracks me up every time.

Last, I wrapped the gift and used one of Amy Karol's gift tags. Now, if she would just make one that read " I spent all my extra time making this so if you don't like it let me know, I'll buy you something instead". Tell me I'm not the only one that feels this way?