Image: sxc.hu

Here are 13 that seem interesting:

1. Yo-yo maker
2. Mini quilt display stands (shaped like room dividers)
3. Needle sharpener
4. Compact travel sewing machine
5. Seam ripper and thread cutter combined
6. Pre-wound bobbins
7. Buttonhole spacers
8. Bendable sewing machine mini light
9. Sharpener for rotary cutter blades
10. Lazy Susan spinning carousel for holding thread
11. Wax pastels for enhancing landscape quilts
12. Rotary cutters to prepare fabric for hand stitching
13. Easel caddy for sewing/quilting tools

What are some of your favorite tools and gadgets?

Post from: Blisstree

Thursday 13 – Sewing/Quilting Gadgets

The PooTrap is, as the site says, a Magic Poop Collector that you attach to your dog’s butt using nylon straps and a U-shaped bracket (of course there are different sizes). The purpose is to automatically catch your dog’s doo before it even hits the ground, thus making for a supposedly easier pick-up during walks or outside playtime.

First off, I think it’s an interesting gadget. I understand why the creators came up with it. However, I just really don’t think it’s a necessity. It’s stressed on the site that dog poop is just so difficult to pick up and how inconvenient it is and on and on, but really? I’ve never had a problem cleaning up after my dogs. You just do it and don’t give it much thought.

Attaching a bag to my dog’s butt with nylon straps, however, is giving it a little too much thought. And I can pretty much guarantee I’d have a blocked dog or two by the end of any walk, or they’d just wander off to do their business with some shred of dignity in my own yard after the Magic Poop Collector was removed.

What do you think? Would you try this?

[image: pootrap.com]

Post from: Blisstree

Make Your Dog Carry Its Own Poop

We’ve considered getting a cat tree that they can hang out in, but we can never seem to find just the right place where one would go, so we put it off.

Today I came across these “cat clouds,” wall-mounted shelves made especially for cats who like to lounge. The shelves are pretty big at 20 inches by 10 inches and have a foam pad with a removable faux sheepskin over it. They’ll support 70 pounds of weight and are held in place with four heavy duty wall anchors.

The powdered coated shelves come in three colors — off-white, white and black. I especially like that they take up no floor space!

[image: the refined feline]

Post from: Blisstree

Kitty in the Clouds

If your life is always a party or you own a club, pub, tavern, whatever, then this Margaritaville DM-3000 is probably what you need. And pay for coz well, it ain’t cheap.

Look at that bad boy. Whewwww. I suddenly feel thirsty all of a sudden. How about you? Here are the details :

# 700 watts of combined shaving and blending power
# Brushed nickel-plated accents, stainless steel trim and bamboo wood finish
# Extra-large ice reservoir holds enough ice to fill three 24-oz. pitchers
# Ice melt reservoir to prevent slushiness; rotating ice shooter
# Includes three lightweight blending jars
# Six automated settings: Ritas, Daiquiris, Coladas, Mojitos, Slides and Smoothies

When I said this Margaritaville DM-3000 ain’t cheap, I mean it’s like $500. It used to be $599 but it’s now on sale for $499 at Macy’s. Wowzer! Now either you’re running a business to justify buying yourself this or you’re hosting a party every Friday night all the way to Saturday night. Gotta rest on Sunday, right?

(Image : Macy’s)

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Margaritaville DM-300 Tahiti King

The Leash Light is a handy little gadget that actually attaches to your retractable leash with a strip of Velcro, taking care of two issues at once. For the responsible pet owners who bring their own little doggy-doo bags with them on walks (and unfortunately there are several in my neighborhood who are not!), the light frees up a hand for doo duty, or allows you to give your dog a treat or a sip of water too.

It retails for an affordable $10 and runs on two Lithium batteries.

[image: finny pet products]

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Light Up Your Walks With Leash Light

At some point, it’s bound to happen to all of us, but implementing a few good habits can help keep your panic in check, and minimize the need for you to retrace steps to find out where you’ve left something behind.

Here are some suggestions to help you get your forgetfulness under control, help you access what you need when you need it, and make things easier to retrieve should items go missing:

1. Limit the electronics and valuable that you travel with.  Packing less means there’s less you can forget or lose.  This is easier for me to say than to do when it comes to gadgets – cause I really do need my cell phone, laptop, iPod, camera, flip video, and all the attachments that go with them, when I travel.  That’s why the next tip is so important!
2. Use the in-room safe to keep valuable secure.  Put everything in there, and keep it there.  Take it out when you are using it, or when you leave the room, and return things there when you return to your room.  No more wondering where you put your wallet or where they keys are.  They’re in the safe!  (NOTE:  If there isn’t an in-room safe, or your items are too large for it, establish ONE place that you’ll put everything all the time, and don’t deviate.)
3. Put your room key in the same place, in every hotel room, on every trip.  For me, this spot is right next to the alarm clock on the night stand.  If there’s an emergency and I need to evacuate my room in a hurry, I’ll be able to grab the key and head out.  (You’ll want to take your key with you in an evacuation in case the situation is dangerous and you need to return to your room.)
4. Label everything.  Use your name, address, and a phone number.  Make it easy for someone to contact you should they find any of your items.  A lot of times people may be reluctant to turn something in to a front desk or official (fearing institutionalized theft), but will make a personal effort to get it back to you.  Make it easy for them.
5. Pack the night before your departure, keeping out only those things you’ll need for the next day.  This helps get the bulk of the packing done, and means you’ll have less to worry about at the last minute.  Packing at a slower pace also helps ensure that nothing will be left behind.
6. Open all drawers, closets, look around the bathroom, on the floor, and especially on the bed, before walking out the door to check out.  That last check may help you find the book that was left on the bed, or something that fell out as you were packing.
7. After everyone is out of the room, and all the luggage is out the door, take one last walk through looking for items.  This extra 30 seconds can make a BIG difference.
8. Keep credit cards and other important identification in the same place in your wallet or purse ALL the time.  When you take it out, put it back in this place right away.  A quick glance will tell you that you have your credit card or ID, saving you panic that you may have left it behind somewhere or have had it stolen.

Do you have other tips to make sure you don’t forget something while you’re traveling?  Please add them in the comments.

Photo credit:  markresch @flickr

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8 Tips for the Forgetful Traveler

If you have no limit on your cell minutes, or have someone else paying the bill, it probably doesn’t matter.  But the last thing you need when you get home from vacation, along with all those other bills, is to find an outrageously high cell bill.  And if you have teens with their own cell phones, this probably is an issue even when you’re not traveling.

The release of Cell Minute Tracker for the iPhone helps integrate the detailed billing information into a personal productivity application that allows you to monitor usage for all accounts on your family cell plan in real time.  You can view daily logs of minute usage, track rollover minutes, and monitor text usage.  You will receive an alert when your are at 90% of your limits as well as when your bill is due, hopefully keeping you from the expensive over limit charges or late payments.  The information is encrypted, and you have a pass code for additional security.

The Cell Minute Tracker application can be downloaded directly from your iPhone or via the iTunes App store.  At a price tag of 99 cents it’s the equivalent of about 2-3 minutes of over limit air time.  Available for the iPhone and AT&T users only.

Do you worry about your cell phone minutes and text limits?  Is it worse when you’re traveling?

Photo credit:  flickr

Post from: Blisstree

Cell Minute Tracker for the iPhone

CompuShade anti-glare laptop hood

CompuShade is a foldable hood that attaches to the lid of your laptop.  It’s small in size and doesn’t add a lot of weight (about 7 ounces).  When opened, it surrounds your laptop, forming a 9 inch darkened, glare-free tunnel for you to work in.  An added benefit is that it serves as a privacy barrier — no one around is going to know what you’re working on.  When your laptop is closed, the hood closes and folds up with it, allowing for easy storage.

I’m a big fan of enjoying your beach time, rather than working, but if the only way you’re going to get to go on vacation is to work on the road, this would be a good trade off.  Yeah, it’s going to mark you as a geeky, but that’s better than being stuck in your hotel room all day.

The CompuShade will fit most 10 to 17 inch laptops.  It sells for $29.95 plus shipping, and can be purchased online.

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Try CompuShade if You Must Work on Vacation

Southern cuisine queen Paula Deen was on the Today Show earlier this week, live from International Home & Housewares show in Chicago.

Paula talks about changing the look of your kitchen by changing what you put in it, instead of doing a whole makeover. This year’s trend, she says, is all about color and that red is currently the #1 choice for colored pots and pans.

She also mentions some fun kid-sized tools, specifically for gardening, and of course she’s found some fun stuff for the 8 dogs in her life, too!

I especially like the new foil bags the Paula talks about at the end. The heavy duty foil has three layers sandwiched together. The first layer contains ground up wood chips and the second has perforations for the smoke from the wood chips to enter the meat inside the bag. Pretty ingenious!

[image: msnbc]

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Paula Deen’s Favorite New Kitchen Gadgets

I came across these electric boot warmers recently, and it took me a bit to figure out what they do…they dry your wet and freezing boots.

Great gadget. The only problem is that here in the eastern portion of the U.S., the temperature hasn’t been cold enough outside to cool off a beer…never, mind freeze one’s toes.

Why is the weather so spooky this winter?

Maybe there is something to this global warming thing… just ask the poor Polar Bears if they need boot warmers!

Polar bear image: Time.com

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Gadgets In A Global Warming World