Cat and mouse

I have a new cat since November. My old buddy passed away and a new baby found her way to us.
Her name is Sedona, and she has been adjusting to us and we to her. She is not like my old gal, but sweet in her own rite.
I do craft fairs, and the few things I always sell are 'cat' items. So today's project is for the cat lovers and their cats or friends who have cats...
today's project is:
Cat Nip Mouse

You will need:

gray felt, fabric scraps (4" square), 6" ribbon, cat nip, fiberfill stuffing

 

 Cut two pieces of fabric (I use cotton, something thin so the kitty can smell the cat nip through it).
Place them wrong sides together.
Cut two ears from the felt, about 1 1/2" long. Place them inside with the ends sticking out just beyond the seam line.
Place the tail inside the mouse with just the tip sticking out of the end. Pin.

Now sew three sides encasing the ears and tail. Turn right side out. Fill with about 4 teaspoons of dried catnip. Then stuff the rest with fiberfill.
Hand stitch the remaining side shut.
Your cat will LOVE this, just like mine....

tip of the day:
When doing laundry, make sure you unfold any pieces and also unfold and unfurl before throwing into the dryer.  I washed some napkins without unfolding them, and they came out of the dryer with the same folds in them. Telling me that perhaps they didn't get washed all the way inside.
That's all for now...
Dee





wine bottle gift bag

I have some great sewing buddies who pass on fabric. And I love to figure out ways to recycle it. I got a particularly fun batch of fabric samples that used to be attached to a large sample book.     

                                                                       They have two grommets in the tops and all four sides were serged and finished.  I figured out that the height was a perfect size to fit a wine bottle in. But what about those grommets... so what I did was use them to put a ribbon through to close up the gift bag around the neck of the bottle.  And to minimize the amount of sewing, I turned the top down, stitched a casing into which I threaded the ribbon. If you look at the photo at the right, you will see that the top part is a little different than the bottom part. That's because it's the 'inside' pattern of the fabric.

The ribbon comes out of the grommets and they give a nice finished touch to the gift bag. I also made four wine glass coasters to match the bag. So now when I go to someone's house for dinner, I can bring a bottle of wine in a gift bag that can be recycled over and over. But the coasters can be kept by the first recipient as a hostess gift.  The coasters were made by zigzagging a circle of heavier fabric. Then trimming away the outside close to the zigzag edge.

 

If you don't have access to fabric samples, but have some fabric that would make a nice bag, you can still make some simple cloth wine bottle gift bags very quickly and easily.

Measure the fabric 18" X 13", and a length of ribbon about 24" long. (The ribbon in this picture was a little too short, it was 18" and I couldn't tie a bow with it when I finished. So I would rather have a longer piece) Fold the top down 3" toward the wrong side. Fold the ribbon in half and tuck it inside with the folded end extending out a little bit.

Sew up the bottom and up the long side, catching the ribbon into the seam. You don't even have to hem the top down. Because it will be hidden inside. Turn the bag right side out. Put your wine bottle in, take the ribbon ends, wrap around the bottle and tie. And tell your hostess that she could pass on the gift bag to THEIR next dinner party hostess.

tip of the day: I have an ivy plant which is getting a bit leggy. So I took a wire clothes hanger, curved it into a circle, straightened out the hook and stuck it in the middle of the pot. Then I wound the ivy around the circle to create a faux topiary.

That's all for now...

Dee

picture perfect

The daffodils are blooming everywhere here in California.
I love it, that means that winter is on its way out. I know some of you love the snow,  but it ain't me, babe!
April Fools Day has always been a fun day for my mom and me. She always tried to fool me (usually first thing in the morning) with silly things. Like: 'You have a spider on you', or when I got older 'Your sister is getting married', etc. Usually I figured it out and she couldn't fool me. Well, this year, I got one daughter, but not the other (but it was close). But my hubby got me, and my neighbor got me. ARG!  How did this happen? I'm slipping. Have to be more aware of the day next year... Look out you guys, I'm putting in my phone to remind me...APRIL FOOLS DAY!

Anyway, this nice weather makes me want to be outside and taking pictures. And of course, when you get that one great photo, you will want to put it in a cool frame. So today, we will be making our own frame from recycled materials....
Today's project is:

Picture frame
You will need:
cardboard (from cereal boxes, etc.)
paper, fabric or old maps
glue, scissors, xacto knife or box cutter

First, decide how big your photo is, and measure it, so you know how big to make your "open" area on the frame.

After that, measure a couple of inches larger and that will be the outside edge of the frame.

Cut two pieces of cardboard of the outside edges of your frame. And one long rectangle for the frame easel base.

Then cut out the inner area where the photo will be displayed. Make sure you leave about 1/4" all the way around smaller than the photo. So when you slip in the photograph, it will have a nice nest to rest in.

Now you need to cut three pieces of paper (scrapbook paper, old maps, magazine page, etc.) to cover the cardboard. It will have to be at least 1" larger than the cardboard pieces. Because you will be folding it around and gluing it so it covers the ugly cereal box cardboard.

For the easel and backing: lay the cardboard down on the plain side of the decorative paper.
Fold the corners  down and glue. Then fold down the edgesd and glue.

For the "open" frame, you will lay the cardboard frame down onto the plain side of the decorative paper. Cut an X from inner corner to inner corner, you will fold and glue these edges down. And then fold over and glue the outer edges.

Glue the front and back together on 3 sides. Leave the top unglued, so you can slip in the photo.
Then fold the easel back about 2" from the top, and apply glue to this top edge, and glue to back.

This works great on purchased notebooks. You only have to make the "open" frame, and glue to the front of the notebook (leave top open to insert photo), and you have a custom notebook! Cool!

tip of the day:
Lots of you are trying to get a jump on planting those veggies. Here's a little tip to help you out ~
Protect your seedlings from the wind by planting them in paper bags, partially filled with soil. Dig a hole in your garden for each paper bag. Place the bag in the hole, but leave about 2" of the bag sticking up. The paper will protect your little plant from the wind and will disintegrate as the plant grows, letting the roots unfurl into your garden's soil.

That's all for now...
Dee