This time of year is so fun because the kitties turn extra fuzzy as they grow their winter coats. Jem, our little gray cat, grows little points off the side of her cheeks we call her wings. Cheetara would grow a mane that made her look like a wee little lion. And don’t get me […]
[Continue reading...]Facing down a new year
January 3, 2011
Atti squealing with delight when he unwraps his new little piano toy As I was compiling my list of crafty goals and plans for the year, I was tempted to erase them all and just write down, “Have one year go the way I think it will.” Three days in and I’m already being faced […]
[Continue reading...]Goodbye my furry friend
December 31, 2010
We came home from our Christmas vacation to find my beloved Cheetara had died. She was a purebred and I feared she had kidney problems for a long time, but the vet said she was OK. I never felt great about that, but we weren’t in the position to deal with kitty dialysis, so I […]
[Continue reading...]Merry Christmas and Happy Vacation
December 24, 2010
My little family have been such a couple of troopers as I’ve spun off in my Christmas frenzy. Atti has gotten used to too much Sesame Street, Bear has gotten used to handling most of the cooking and cleaning, and both of them would like me to take my head out of the projects long […]
[Continue reading...]On the 12th day of Christmas
December 23, 2010
My true love gave to me…. Twelve lords a leapin’ Eleven ladies dancing Ten pipers piping Nine drummers drumming Eight maids a milkin’ Seven swans a swimmin’ Six geese a layin’ Five golden rings Four calling birds Three french hens Two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree It took me nearly three […]
[Continue reading...]Homemade Pirate Chest for your little landlubbers
December 22, 2010
My newly 4 year old nephew Kai is obsessed with pirates right now, and also has a December birthday. Having a December birthday myself, I know how often you get shuttled to the side with promises to make it up that never materialize. So when we go down to see family on Christmas day I […]
[Continue reading...]Tree skirts for the Christmas forest
December 21, 2010
Tree skirts always stump me. I’m not great *ahem* understatement *ahem* at sewing curves, and there’s a whole lot of curve to fill up with some kind of decoration. Plus, my first attempt at a tree skirt has been rather troublesome, so I’ve put off tackling more for years. This year, I was determined to […]
[Continue reading...]The Unveiling…
December 20, 2010
It’s been a mad sprint to the end and I just finished sewing the tree skirt about 2 minutes ago, but it’s done. When you use as many trees as I do, and you’re not independently wealthy, you can’t go for the super fancy fake trees that look better than the real thing. This white […]
[Continue reading...]Wire Candy Canes
December 18, 2010
In my brainstorming about candy canes, I of course came across the traditional idea of the pipe cleaner ornament. A staple of Christmas tree for years, I wanted to come up with something a little bit different, perhaps even a little less…fuzzy. So I wandered through the craft store and waited for creativity to hit […]
[Continue reading...]Iced Gingerbread Cookies
December 17, 2010
I spent way too much time over the last couple of months thinking about gingerbread. After the houses I naturally thought about making some gingerbread men, but I couldn’t crack a new or interesting way to make them since tutorials exist all over the internet, including this one which might just be untoppable. I was […]
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