Magnetic Jewelry Clasps

These genius little attachments really made it easy for my Mom to wear her favorite necklaces. Mom had trouble with grasping small items and after my Dad died she couldn't put on or remove her necklaces or bracelets without help. You can find these a number of places, including eBay, but here is a nice site called Dynamic-living.com that offers them. dynamic-living.com.

These are also great if you are a jewelry maker who would like to add this item to your work! I found them at my favorite craft store in, Michaels in the Jewelry Findings section.

Finally, if you're a sucker for Amazon like I am, you can find them here: CLASPS AT AMAZON.

Favorite Deal Sites

Ok, been a few months but Suzzy is back again with some of my favorite places for great deals!

There are at least two kinds of "deal" sites: the ones like overstock.com that have low prices on a bunch of stuff all the time and the ones on this list that usually just have one or two great deals each day.

The best overall is:

woot.com

woot.com is more than your average deal site. Once a day at midnight CST they throw out a good deal on one item. And it usually is a VERY good deal. It might be refurb but I can tell you that all of the refurb stuff I've bought from them has worked like new. Much of the time it is just new overstock that they are reselling. What makes woot.com better than all the others is the community and the FUN they give away for free. Contests, Woot-Offs (see description here: WOOT-OFF, hilarious daily (M-F) podcasts and so much more.

Here is a list of other nice daily deal sites:

sellout.woot.com - another Woot owned site with daily deals.

Yet another woot.com site: shirt.woot.com - a new, limited edition, artist created t-shirt each day! Even better, they are only $10 each and have free shipping. I have two or three of them already.

tanga.com - great prices on great games for all ages plus other fun stuff for kids and adults alike.

yugster.com - Yugster has 2 or 3 daily deals. If you sign up for their newsletter you can find out about the private and preview sales. WORTH IT! Their shipping has been very good and the items are just as they are described.

So there are a few sites for you to try! I'll put up more in a future blog.

Did you say Eneloop??

Can you think of anyone who doesn't need lots of AA or AAA batteries? Cameras, remotes, toys, etc. We all need 'em and this couldn't be a greener gift. Check this out - they retain 85% of a charge after a YEAR. What parent wouldn't want that to go along with the kids' toys and electronics?

Here is the Amazon.com Description:

Amazon.com Product Description
In years past, you had to recharge your rechargeable batteries before leaving on a trip or sliding them into your electronic device. Otherwise, you ran the risk of depending on nearly dead batteries once you reached your destination, as stored power tends to degrade over time. Now GE/Sanyo steps into the void with its eneloop line of batteries, which come pre-charged and ready to use right out of the pack. Even better, the batteries have an extremely low self-discharge rate, with the ability to maintain 85 percent of residual capacity after one year of storage and 70 percent residual capacity after two years of storage. As a result, leaving home without recharging the batteries won't ruin your Bryce Canyon vacation or cross-country plane trip.

Eneloop batteries offer a number of advantages over traditional alkaline batteries, including up to four times more power when used in a digital camera, high performance even at low temperatures (down to 23 degrees F) during your winter vacation, and a vast cost savings in the long run. The eneloop advantages are even more glaring when compared to typical NiMH batteries: not only are they ready for use right out of the box, but they generally last longer than most NiMH batteries (continuous and frequent recharging can destroy other NiMH models) and save both time and money (traditional NiMH charging is slow when you're in a hurry, while rapid chargers are expensive). All told, you can recharge eneloop batteries up to 1,000 times without experiencing a memory effect; just charge the amount you need and you're set.

This four-pack of 800 mAh AAA batteries is ideal for everything from electric shavers to TV remotes to portable flashlights.

Product Description
precharged And Can Be Used Immediately Out Of The Package retain 85% Of Charge After 12 Months Of Storage take 4x More Shots With A Digital Camera Than With Any Other Disposable Batterycan Be Charged Up To 1000 Times And Compatible With Other Nimh Battery Chargers no Memory Effect- recycleable - And Environmentally Friendly - special Recyclable Packaging Can Also Be Used As A Convenient Storage Case For Your Batteries.

Oh the Dremel!

This was a gift to myself! If there is an artist or do-it-yourself-er that you will be exchanging gifts with, a dremel is a must have tool.

You'll find that a dremel and/or a bunch of attachments for it will make any polymer clay or jewelry artist cry with joy!

Here are some links and ideas:

How to make a better Dremel polishing tool

How to make a decorative polymer clay egg

The Swiss Army Knife - not weird at all!

Kathy tells me that the first "best gift" or "favorite gift" that comes to mind is her handy dandy Swiss Army knife. I have to agree with her that having one in your purse or pocket makes small tasks easy to do. Cutting the tag off that new shirt? Swiss Army knife. Opening a stubborn package of Corn Nuts? Swiss Army Knife.

My Dad carried a knife in his pocket at all times. He carried a gun too, but we won't go into that here. We were constantly running to him to open stuff, especially gift packaging at parties or holidays or stubborn foodstuffs in the kitchen. It was actually very endearing and somehow reassuring knowing that he had it covered.

"I don't think most people would think a Swiss Army knife as being a special gift" Kathy told me. But I totally disagree...what makes it special is in the eye of the receiver.

Now, when I was in High School I always carried a Swiss Army knife in my purse or backpack. It was simply a handy thing to have. Now that our society has gone to heck in a handbasket, kids cannot even have a plastic knife without getting frisked and thrown out of school. Yes, I am bitter. Thanks for asking. But anyway, must put this gift in the "Over 18" category. I don't want any angry parents showing up at the door.