Homemade Oreo cookies

I was over at Dirts and Rocks earlier this month and happened upon a recipe for homemade Oreo-style cookies.

I can't wait to try making them! Yum!

Mabel's Labels: Introducing "My 411 Wristbands"

Tired of using a marker to write your cell phone number on your kid's stomachs?

"My 411 Wristbands" include the child’s first name, the parent’s first name and cell phone number and any allergies or special needs the child may have. They can be customized to fit any parent’s needs.

From the Mabel's Labels website:

Resistant to water, sunscreen, chlorine and perspiration. Available in 5 original designs.

The information on the wristbands can be whatever you like to a maximum of 50 characters. Information is printed exactly as you type it.

Mabel’s Labels will donate 10 percent of all sales of this product to Autism Speaks, an organization that promotes research and awareness about autism.

references: Flickr: downloading video and images in bulk

I was very excited to see that Flickr has added the ability to upload and share "long pictures" (video). However, it took me a long time to figure out, how as the owner of said video I could download the original file.

From the Flickr Help Forum, here's how:

"Click the Embed link above your video, the download link is on that page."
(At the very bottom)

Interested in downloading files from your Flickr account in a batch? Apparently Flishr did that for a while. (Not sure if it still does.)

Juan Pablo has a interesting sounding solution involving Firefox and some extensions.

From his blog:

It involves:
- firefox
- greasemonkey extension installed
- DownThemAll! extension installed
- Flickr - Link Original Image script for greasemonkey
- and of course, a flickr account

So, go to a page in flickr for where you want to download the photos, the best is a set page photo or a tag one, where all the photos are displayed.

In the page, right click and select DownThemAll!..., and then in the links tab select "Images" in the Inclusive Filters section.

Then, click Start and wait for the downloads. That's all.

Thanks Juan!

MLF&H: Removing iron-ons

Mabel’s Labels – Labels for the stuff kids lose!® clothing labels resist the wear and tear of laundry and children beautifully! Iron-ons are the classic choice for clothing labels.

But can they be removed?

The short answer is, it depends.

Many people are able to just pull them off by picking at a corner that has come loose over time. By design, however, the iron-on label ever so slightly melts to adhere to the fabric.

If you have been aggressive with the iron (by heating longer than recommended on the package) to adhere the labels (as I was with the socks shown to the right*), you may be left with a little bit of residue on your clothing. Note that I was able to remove the name part of the label, but not the base part that melted into the sock.

Some people recommend to "Try ironing it and when it is warm ease up a corner and pull fairly hard." I understand that some people have had success with the following method:

1. Place a piece of parchment paper over the label and heat the label with a hot dry iron.
2. Remove the parchment paper.
3. Pull it from a corner while the label is still hot. (Be careful not to burn yourself! Use a blunt knife to do this.)
4. Peel label away from the clothing.
   
5. The label may break as it cools.
6. Repeat as necessary.

I haven't had a chance to try heating up the label and then removing the residue -- when I do I'll post back here with the results.

Alternately, one could iron a new one over the top (should the item be used by another member of your family).

Variables which may affect the ease with which labels are removed: washing in hot water, excessive washing, time, fabric (smooth cotton vs fleece).

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* The labels on had been on these socks for about six months. In that time they had only been washed in cold water.



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Disclosure: I'm a Mabel's Labels Buzzmama and I receive free products for my involvement in the program. I'm also a Mabel's Labels web affiliate and I earn a commission if you use the following link to purchase your Mabel’s Labels – Labels for the stuff kids lose!®

MLF&H: What else can I do with Tag-Mates™?

Mabel's Labels Tag-Mates™ (stick-in clothing labels):

• are ideal for quick labeling – no iron necessary!
• resist the wear and tear of laundry and children beautifully!

But that's not all! Here are some ideas I've heard about (but haven't tried)*:

• Tag-Mates™ are the perfect size for Leapster / GameBoy cartridges. (I've heard that Skinny-Minis™ work well for this too.)
  
• Used by the elderly residing in assisted living centers. (Name and room number on the label.)
• Identifying baby soothers.
• Use on fabric sandals (beachy ones) with clothing tags in them.
• Hockey gear.
  

An additional note, if you order the labels without an icon, the text tends to be larger and easier to read.

--
*Your mileage may vary!

references: How to Draw Caricatures

Tom Richmond has begun publishing tutorials on creating a caricatures!

• Part One: How to Draw Caricatures: The 5 Shapes
• Part Two: Relating the Features

[I'll be editing this post adding the links to the rest of the tutorials as they come down the pipe.]

I hope to make some time to work on Tom's lessons as well as getting back to John's. I've previously posted a line drawing or three of mine which are clearly not caricatures.

Here are some older more humourous line drawings, which I'll call "cartoon-ish," because I don't feel they are quite at the caricature level.

(Please do not reproduce these images without my permission!)




And one a little more serious, based on a photograph:

I'll get there one day! Thanks Tom, for posting such wonderful resources!

--
PS: Can anyone out there identify the subjects of the above cartoons? [Bonus points if you can do it without Googling "David Acer."]

Downloadable Figure Drawing Books (For Free)

Over at Diary of a Process Junkie they've posted a number of free downloadable figure drawing books.



[h/t: Neatorama]

Vector Magic

From the Vector Magic website:

"This site converts bitmap images to vector images - it's an online auto-tracer.
Just upload your image and we will vectorize it for you. "

Hrm. Maybe I'll never have to master Adobe Illustrator!

[h/t: BoingBoing]