The Trouble Makers

Today as usual, I was trying to clean house and get things done and the kitties were tearing through the house and knocking every thing over. Dora is full of energy and tears through the house and Izzy is enjoying following her and getting into trouble herself. Never a dull moment around here.

Of course when I come in with the camera, they play the sweet and innocent act and the moment I put the camera away, the are rolling around on the floor, play fighting.

Cats on the Prowl

This week I am making the mad dash to finish up one last present to be mailed and a couple for my kids. I am making a wonky quilt for my daughter and a punched piece for my DIL. I will share photos when I finish.

Today the cats were in their bug mom mode. First Dora decided that 6 am was late enough to sleep in and proceeded to irritate me for an hour until she got bored. Of course I had no intention of getting up, so I ended up over sleeping. Then the two of them spent most of the day tearing through the house, knocking over whatever was in the way. They do not just run, the leap, slide and fly around, so it can be quite a circus at times. I think I should have asked Santa for a video camera, no way will I ever get a shot of them at that speed;)

Dora loves to help with laundry and she was in her stealth mode, hiding in the mesh basket. She makes the cutest face when she is in attack mode, but she always closes her eyes when I take a shot. I thought it was the flash, but realized that Izzy didn't shut her eyes, so it is Dora. She is just being a smart alec and closing them on purpose, haha.

(Dora had too much eggnog;)


This is what we usually call Psycho kitty. She is my son's cat and whenever she comes over she goes into a hissy fit and scares the heck out of anyone who goes near her. He moved and they cannot keep her, so I seem to have gotten stuck with her. She is finally coming upstairs more, and stopped hissing at me. She loves Dora and playing, and dora loves having someone new to harass. I asked my husband to give her a name and he said Isabelle, so she is now Izzy.

( Cat with attitude problem;)

More decorations and free designs

It was a rainy and windy day today, so i decided to clean and see what new decorations I could make with what I had.
I made some paper cuttings and finally hung them. I had an old wreath and I put that to cover up the big hole in the wall;)
I love the hanging ornaments and if you would like to make your own, you can now get the patterns free on papercutters.info
Look for the link to back street designs. They have the books scanned in and lots of other patterns too, even stitchery patterns.



On the kitchen side, I added some greenery and a poinsettia swag, along with my red candle holders. A nice simple gathering.



I decided not to put out my ceramic nativity, it is a larger set, and I am running out of space, lol. I always put my first nativity up, it is just plastic, but I love it. Sometimes I get lucky and find pieces for it, at the thrift stores. Someday, I would like to make a creche to go with it.

Candy canes and paper trees

Yesterday I hit AC moores and found some fat red and white pipe cleaners.
I grunged them up with walnut and tea and cinnamon and cut them to make mini canes for my feather tree.
My friend joanne made me the tree and tree skirt and I think the prim canes fit perfect with it.



I tried an experiment today with my paper tree and deer. I used a heavier stock and then used antique ink, a tea stain and the green one, to color the paper. It gives a nice look with the color and I have put it on a top shelf so it shows up nicely. I love the antique inks, you can get them in all different colors and they are perfect to antique items. I had to dampen the sponge, I was using, so it blotched a bit. I need to find something better to apply the ink with.

More paper cuttings and a bird ornie

I spent most of my night cutting paper again. These ornaments are usually hung with a string, but I put them in the tree for display. Plus it is late and I am too tired and lazy to string them tonight;) These are from a book by backstreet designs. I hang them from archways and windows, they are great decorations since they are light and can go anywhere.

I also made candy canes. I used red and white pipe cleaners that had a glitter in them. I twisted the two stems together, then folded it and twisted again to get the look that you see. Then I put them in some tea and a bit of java spray which blackens them a bit. Love how they came out and so simple to make.

The wonderful prim snowman ornie was made by my friend, Kelly (Kanknchester).





I made this bird last year, looks great on the tree. It is from a pattern by RK Creations. I used ticking and sewing around the outside edges to give it that frayed look. I buy real ticking and then tea stain it before I use it.

More Holiday Decorations

One of the things I am doing this year, is using what I have with little outside expenses for decorating.
I am actually enjoying making items and being creative with what I have. One of the things I have collected is red glass. It is perfect for holiday decorations. I do have to limit it though, to high places, away from kitties. I made this little arrangement with just a few new pieces of red glass and a candle and it really warms up the spot.



I loved making the trees so much, that I had to make a more elaborate one, lol. Today I made this one from an old pattern book I have. I love how it has little items on the branches. I haven't glued it together yet since I am thinking watercoloring the tree and objects, might make a beautiful colored piece. I will use my watercolor pencils and less water so the paper doesn't get too saturated. For the cuttings I have used laid paper. Check out your local library, they usually have paper crafts and they are great projects to do with the kids too.

Christmas cuttings and carvings

I thought I would show you something new and something old. The first are two santas that I made years ago. One was a cast santa that I painted and the one on the right is one I carved and painted. I am not the worlds best carver, but I do enjoy creating things out of wood. I haven't carved in years, not sure my hands can handle it anymore.



Today I was tired from running around so much and working on gifts, so I took a me day. I made paper trees and reindeer. It is amazing how long it takes to cut paper, but maybe I am just slow and easily distracted;) I made these to go on top of the tv unit, but i had to put down lower to get a picture of them. The glue is still tacky, so once it dries better, I can pull out the trees a bit better. If you would like to make paper snowflakes that are unusual and artistic, check out Daves paper snowflakes. A search will bring his site up. Lots of great snowflakes to copy and ideas on making your own. The trees I made from an old pattern in Better Homes and gardens. I think the old issues had the best patterns in them. If you check out your local thrifts or library, you may find hard copies of their christmas issues.