Riot and Frolic

 
 
If you can explain the random association between the title and this article, I will send you a dollar.  So, you have the chance to win $1.44 (including postage).  Score!

Here's some fun stuff to check out if you have time to kill on your computer or iPhone:

[Oh, you don't have an iPhone?  Um… maybe we can't be friends…]

I found this new website called Picnik, which is like Photoshop for dummies and cheapskates.  I tried using Mac's Pixelmator recently, but really wanted something where I could create graphics and not just edit photos.

Did I mention Picnik is free?  Oh.  It's free.  You can edit photos, create graphics (here's where I learned how to do it on Homemade by Jill, who has a pretty amazing website), and make picture collages in a very intuitive way.  Gah, I'm so happy with it.  

There's also a premium service you can upgrade to, which gets you some extra editing features (like layering, and I hear that's neat) and fun doodads you can add to your pictures.

Like my new graphic (for the $1 giveaway)?  That was a ten minute project.  I'm pleased with it, but not ecstatic over how it saved to my computer.  Anybody know how to fix that?

I also messed around with some photo editing stuff today and came up with this…

Oh, Mae Cake.

You all know by now that I spend way too much time on Pinterest, but I like to think of it as "the best of the web."  If I just check out some pins, then I don't spend too much time Googling everything under the sun.  It's really saving me time.  Yeah.

Etsy is another fun place to spend seven hours.  Mostly handmade goods from crafty people, Etsy is a great place to support non-commercial products.  I have heard some nasty stories about rip-off vintage pieces and bad service, but if you check out a seller's feedback, and stick to the positive ones, you're pretty safe.  I assume it's about the same risk as eBay.  

My fav stores on the good olde Etsy are:

Sew Fresh Fabrics, selling some great prints and solids at great prices.

SeaPinks, who has the most amazing and adorable pincushions.  Really, you have to go look.

SakuraDancer's Kanzashi Shop, where she makes these mind-blowing folded fabric flower accessories.

NaomiLynn, whose stationary has rocked my world for a year now (she did a special order for me and I adore my flat cards for writing thank yous and hellos on).

Haute Ice Beadwork has beaded jewelry that makes my brain hurt in a good way.  Most craftiness I can figure out, but how she makes the shapes she does with beads is beyond me.

There's so many more, but let's stop.  It's 3am and you need to get some sleep.

For some ambience, I dig Stereomood.  It's a groovy little website where you click on a mood (duh) from a huge list, and it delivers you an appropriate playlist.  I love using it while I'm cooking or putzing around the house.  

Onto my fav iPhone apps (in short form, since you all don't have iPhones and you can't really check them out from here):

– Where: it has a brilliant weather forecast feature and that's basically all I use it for.

– Yelp: like the Yellow Pages, but with reviews.  

– PageOnce: it's a little banking app that tells me when all my bills are due, how much moolah is in (or not in) my accounts, etc.  I really dig the bill due date feature.

– Shazam: you hear a song you like and want to know what it is, you open Shazam and it will listen to it and then tell you what it is.  This was probably the first app I bought.  It is simply neat.  I use it at ballroom competitions a lot, even though it's hit or miss with songs that have been edited (speed-wise for competitions).  

– iWriteWords: this one is making my kid smarter, I swear.  And it's fun if you need to shut off your own brain for a couple minutes.

– Hipstamatic: if you didn't know, almost all the photos on my blog are taken with the Hipstamatic app on my phone, and not a regular camera.  My friend, Nea, got me hooked and I haven't looked back.

Have you found the title/article connection?  To keep you all from cheating, why don't you send me an email with your guess (riotandfrolic@gmail.com).  I'll keep the giveaway open until next Friday and announce any winners then.