Here's to Never Growing Up with Straw Shooter Jets and The World According to Klutz

I like to do arts and crafts, eat ice cream for dinner, and stay up waaaaaay past my bedtime playing video games. So if you were to call me childish... I just might have to agree. But mischief, well, that’s never really been my strong suit. This sweet little face of mine is an open book. Forget lying and deception — I'm too easy to read. But since April Fool’s Day was just around the corner, I decided it was time to work on my poker face in preparation for a day that’s all about playful pranks. I grabbed some supplies and began my week of April Fools prep.

If I was going to earn my stripes as a prank-master, I needed to do a little studying first. Where else would I turn but the silliest books around to get a view on The World According to Klutz. Within this little box set, you'll find three volumes of utter hilarity! The Greatest Facts in the History of Facts for some believe-it-or-not conversation starters, a hall of fame edition of The Klutz Book of Inventions, and the manual for my week of April Fools' Day prep: The Encyclopedia of Immaturity. As a sweet bonus, this little box set also included some silly stickers to get me started.

After I had learned the basics, it was time to branch out. My weapon of choice? Straw Shooter Jets, Klutz's latest incarnation of paper airplane play. Klutz's DIY aircraft had already taken me to the moon with my dad, on a wild dragon ride, and to battle evil with Buzz Lightyear, but these newest, far-flying paper planes were just plain up to no good.

No family photo, piece of food, cereal bowl, unsuspecting pedestrian or plant was safe from my wild stickering or dive bombing planes. And now that I’ve test-driven some truly silly stunts, I’m all set to celebrate today in style.

Happy April Fools' Day!

Get Inventing! (with The Book of Inventions)

Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes. Give me some paper, glue and ribbon, and watch me get to work. My friend Lisa, well, she couldn’t craft to save her life, but she writes some of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. And Karen, she could McGuyver her way out of any situation!

If your creativity tends towards the latter, you have to check out the Klutz Book of Inventions. It's packed with tons of cool, crazy, can’t-believe-they-don’t-actually-exist creations that will inspire you to start inventing!

I found so many wacky contraptions that could have saved me in the past. Like the Storytelling Sling which would have spared me the embarrassment of having to repeatedly explain how I broke my leg skiing in my backyard or how I dislocated my knee jump-kicking off my parents bed.

And I bet my parents wish they thought of Sibling Blinders for my sister and I when we got cranky on the way up to the cottage.

But most importantly, how much do I want a Snack Shirt with a pocket made just for ice cream cones? Mom and dad, take note, I know what I want for my birthday!

After nearly 200 pages of wacky inventions, Klutz challenges you to design your own. They even break down all the ways they came up with their out-there ideas to get you started. 

I sat down with a pencil and notepad and started to think...

For me, waking up in the morning is the worst! It’s a daily battle between hitting the snooze button and sinking back into sleep,  or getting in the shower like the clean, responsible young person I should be! I'm embarrassed to tell you how often sleep wins… Therefore, I think I’d invent a shower bed so you can take that extra 15 minutes of sleep while you get squeaky clean. I’m still ironing out a few design kinks, but expect to see my Shower Sleeper in stores in 2014!