Kitty TARDIS

As you may know from some of my previous posts, I'm a big Doctor Who fan.  And now, my cat Milo is too.  My awesome husband build this kitty TARDIS so that Milo could have a place to climb away from the baby.

He was inspired by this design, but created his own piece.  There are multiple levels and it is open on the side to allow for delightful sunbathing.  Milo is pretty happy.  Just don't tell him it doesn't really travel in time and space.

Cats Love Ironing Boards

Is it just my cat or all cats?  As soon as I pull out the ironing board he is on it.  Usually he knocks it over when he jumps down.  Thankfully there is usually not a hot iron on it when he does this.

Cat Bed or Backpacks?

Obviously, the backpacks.  Things like this are why we have stopped buying cat toys.

ICC#42- My Imaginary Kitty Friend

Our Iron Craft Challenge this week was to create an imaginary friend.  I decided to make something for my niece because she's perfect and I love her.  I made her a stuffed orange kitty because I have an orange tabby named Milo and their family has an orange kitty named Murray. 

I had seen stuffed animals done like this before so I thought I would give it a try.  I drew a cat on paper and then cut it out.  Once I had traced it onto the fabric, I stitched the outline with my sewing machine.  I then filled in the details.

Finally, I stitched two pieces of fabric together around the cat, turned it inside out and stuffed it.  Now I have a little kitty pillow/stuffed animal.  I can't wait to give it to Adriana over Christmas!

Want to see more Iron Craft pieces?  Check out the flickr group here.  Want to join in the fun?  Check out the blog here.

My Cat's Not Very Good At Hiding

This isn't craft related, it's just cute.  Yes Milo, I can still see you.

I Love Orange Tabbies

I have an orange kitty that I adopted five years ago from a shelter in Kansas City.  At the time, I was going to look at another kitty that was advertised.  I entered the "Kitty Weight Watchers" room which was reserved for the chubby kitties on diet food.  It was then that I laid eyes on him.  A big ball of orange fluff that climbed right into my lap.  There was just something about him.  He was mine. 

His name was Coors, like the beer.  I tried calling him that for a day because he was six-years-old and I thought he might be used to the name.  But I just couldn't do it and renamed him Milo after Milo and Otis.  Since then, he has been my annoying, loving, licking, kitty companion.  I'm so glad I could give him a home since so many older kitties don't get adopted.  In honor of my little buddy, here are some cute orange tabby finds.

Oliver the Orange Kitty

Sinister Tabby Print

Orange Tabby Pendant

Orange Tabby Notecards

Ceramic Orange Tabby

It's just one of those days...

I'm sick right now and slept all day yesterday.  I don't have the energy to get a thoughtful blog post ready, so you are getting a picture of my cat today.

Photo Session Helper

I was taking some product pictures yesterday when my kitty Milo decided to help out.  One minute I'm taking a picture of my necklace and the next thing I know, there's a kitty in my photo.

He's cute and all, but i would rather not sell him on etsy.

Cat Swap

No, I didn't send Milo away.  But I did participate in a craft swap where we sent each other handmade items for our cats.  The only store-bought toy my cat likes are little catnip mice.  So for my swap-partner, I made a little catnip bird.  I used this pattern I found on pinterest and just shrunk it down to cat-size.

From my partner, I also got some cute little cat toys.  She sewed some little fabric balls with pom-poms.  Milo has been quite pleased with them so far.

Cat Tag Update

Do you remember the tag I made for my cat awhile back?  Well, I had to redo it.  After nearly 3 months of normal cat wear, the lettering was starting to rub off. 

So, I made another one and this time I sealed it with clear varnish.  I'm hoping this will prevent the lettering from rubbing off.  I actually think this new design is even cuter.  And Milo looks pretty happy, don't you think?

I covered over the phone number in this photo b/c I didn't want to share it on the internet.

Here you can see where the phone number would be, but it's pretty blurry in this photo.

A Collection of Good Stuff

Here are a few fun things to brighten your day:

Sea Otter Print on etsy-I love this shop.

Mr Tea mug on etsy

Whale Tissue Holder on etsy

Pickmaster pick punch-wow, if only I was good at practicing my guitar

My Kitty Milo-He's just so cute!

Sleepy Sunday

I have several art projects in the works, but no good photos of them.  So I'm taking it easy on my blog and I hope you enjoy your Sunday.

Game Shelf Curtain: Before and After

We have a shelf in our apartment that holds almost all of our board games (the collection has just started overflowing to the sides).  While this game abundance is fun for parties, it looked a little busy.  See?

My idea was to make a little curtain.  I had a beautiful scarf from a thrift store that I hadn't found a purpose for yet, and lo-and-behold, it ended up being the exact right size!  Yee-haw! (I don't think I have ever said yee-haw in real life).  All I had to do was fold down one side and sew across to form a hem.  Of course, I had a little help from my trusty orange kitty.

Then, I found a short tension curtain rod and slipped it in.  It fit right across the top of the shelf.  Voila!

It is a little too long and touches the floor, so I may hem up the bottom a bit.  I haven't decided yet.  In hindsight, I probably could have just folded down a bit more on the top.  Oh well, live and learn :)

ICC #13-For the Cat

My Iron Craft Challenge this week was to create something for or inspired by animals.  This is awesome, because that's exactly what I wanted to do!

Conversation the Night Before Challenge Posted 
Me: We really need a new cat tag for Milo
Husband: You should make one. 
Me: Great idea!
Husband: You should make that for Iron Craft this week, no matter what the challenge is.
Me: Well, maybe this week's challenge will be something pet-related.

Whoa.  Freaky huh?

Milo is an indoor kitty, fairly scared of the outdoors, and not likely to run out.  However, I like to have a tag on him just in case.  Only one problem, there was an old phone number on his tag.  You can call it, but I will not answer.

"Yes, I am extremely handsome.  No, you may not call me; my phone number is wrong"

I thought about making a wooden/fabric tag like the way I make my necklaces, but I wanted something a bit sturdier for the cat.  The answer?  Shrinky-dink.  Here are some inspiration photos:

Martha Stewart Pet Tags

Personalized Dog Tag

Dog Tag

I used plain white shrinky-dink and colored it with sharpies.  I traced a circle and then drew in my design.  I ended up making two, learning along the way to punch my hole before coloring.  The first one I made did not leave enough room for punching and I ended up taking out half of "Milo."  On my second try, I altered the design a bit.  Note-I did remember to write the phone number on the tags, but I erased it in the photos so as not to share my phone number with the internet community at large.

Pre-shrunk designs.

 I baked them for several minutes at 325 degrees.  This was the most exciting part; if you have never done this, go, do it now.  There is quite a thrill to watching the shrinky-dink twist and turn in the oven.  I watched through the oven window.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Finally, it began to move.  Satisfaction.  Here are some photos of the finished product.

Tag attached to collar

One Satisfied Customer

Update: I learned that the lettering will rub off after some time.  I made a new tag and sealed it.  I think this will help protect it.  You can see my new tag here.

Best Mail Day Ever

Yesterday, I was excited to receive not one, but TWO, packages in the mail.  Let's celebrate with a photo tour:

Milo is mainly excited about the boxes.  Kitties love boxes.

 First, I got a special quilting/sewing grab bag that I won on a blog giveaway.  Yay!!!!!  Remember the macrame plant holder that I made several weeks back for the Iron Craft Challenge?  Well, I got the pattern from This Year's Dozen blog and also entered a giveaway while I was there.  And I won all of this good stuff!

 

 I'm particularly excited about this purse pattern and the pin cushion.  I really have been wanting a pin cushion!

Next, I got a great package from my mom (you can check out her blog here).  She sent me her old bread machine.  She never used it and I had really been wanting one.  I can't wait to cook bread!!  She also included some beads that they found while cleaning out their house.  Good stuff.

Renegade beads.

Saturday Morning

I woke up to a gorgeous day. The sun was streaming in (a blessing in Seattle) and my orange baby was sleeping in the sunshine. I tried to photograph him, but he found me to enticing and walked over meowing.

So close to capturing that fuzzy white belly.

 I then sat down to my morning coffee and my Google Reader.  I'm currently enjoying chocolate-caramel creamer in my coffee.  My blog choices are mainly crafty-design blogs, but I do enjoy a few others (Defining Family and Leaving Oxford).

My pristine home office/work space.

I put on an episode of What Not To Wear and enjoyed a little style transformation.  I admit, I love this show.  It makes me really happy when the women feel better about themselves at the end of the show. 

The flat screen, my husband's other love.

I think I may spend the rest of the morning working on some new projects and possibly photographing some of my new finished pieces.  I've noticed a BIG difference between the photos I take utilizing the natural light or not, so I will want to take advantage of this.  I'm also working on a new project, combining my bird paintings and my fabric decoupage techniques.  It's a birdy box!  It's still a work in progress, but I'm excited.

Painted Bunting Box

Tonight, date night on the cheap.  Free passes to "I Am Number Four" and a gift card to Olive Garden.  The breadsticks are calling my name...