Reviews by collmal

collmal says "Inspired!" about Cathy Zielske - Clean And Simple Designs for Scrapbooking: Ideas for Design, Photography, Journaling & Typography Books

collmal — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:01:19 GMT

I tend to buy all of the idea books from Creating Keepsakes and Simple Scrapbooking, but Cathy Z.'s books are my favorites! She uses clean lines and simple techniques, but her pages are graphically arresting and makes you choose: should you keep reading or go scrapbook immediately? I truck it through to the end, marking my favorite pages, and take it into my scrapbook room, newly inspired to create! This is one I reread frequently when I feel strapped for ideas. ...

collmal says "Versatility and convenience!" about Cricut

collmal — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:56:19 GMT

I absolutely love my Cricut! I bought the Quickutz tool but never bought any more alphabets because they were so expensive and it was so labor intensive to punch out the letters. This is so, so easy! I also have seven cartridges, since great deals can be found on them as well. I can cut any size letter from one inch to five and a half, and now that there is a computer software program to weld letter and create designs based on the shapes for each cartridge, your own creativity is really the only limit to what this machine can do!...

collmal says "Six years of rental bliss" about Netflix

collmal — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:47:19 GMT

I have been a member of Netflix since 2001, and never had a problem with them. Yes, I've gotten a few movies that were scratched, and one was cracked, but it isn't such a big deal because I have three others to watch while the issue was resolved. I also appreciate that over the last six years, two movies have been lost in the return. A simple click on the website, and my next movie was on its way! That would never work at a store! I initially joined as a six month free trial, since I was an employee at an electronics store. When it came time to pay, I was more than willing; we could never seem to return movies on time, and with the late fees, our subscription fee was like renting two movies a month! We watch considerably more than that, especially as members of Netflix. We rent a lot of movies we normally wouldn't, because if it isn't any good, there's no real loss. We just send it back and get another one!...

collmal says "This is my bathtub magazine" about Real Simple Magazine

collmal — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:35:24 GMT

I save this magazine for my baths - it's relaxing, and one of my favorites. It's nice and long, so it usually gets me through a whole month of baths! I tend to read all the articles and features. Being pregnant, many of my magazines are not quite as fun to look at right now (the fashion magazines only apply for shoes and accessories and my workout magazines - well, I haven't been to the gym since I saw those two lines!), but this one remains a constant. I love the easy recipes and the product comparisons! I also enjoy the homey articles about organizing and decorating. A friend and I share a subscription, so that cuts down on the cost. ...

collmal says "Sad but satisfied" about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

collmal — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:26:25 GMT

It's over . . . I have finished the Harry Potter series and J.K. Rowling promises there will be no more.

I fell in love with these books late, long after the rest of the world. We were at Lake Almanor and decided to watch the first movie on DVD since it was the only one up there we hadn't seen. By then, the second movie was already out on DVD, too. After the movie, I was hooked and had to read the book. Usually, I read the book first, but I had dismissed the Harry Potter books as kids' books and hadn't bothered to read them. Boy, was I wrong! I was sucked in by the first page and devoured all the ones in print. At that time, there were only four. Every book since I made sure I reserved and then reread all the prior books before the new one came out.

These books are riveting. I stay up reading them until my eyes won't stay open. From the moment I open the cover, I am lost in Harry's world, living all his adventures with him. I cry and laugh out loud while I read. I gasp and comment and sometimes......