Cat Toys!

I recently decided to take a hiatus from working with fabric yo yos. Since the weather has been great for the most part I headed outside to work on carving some sticks. I carve them and then use them to make cat toys with. Several sticks are now carved and just need to be cut to size and have a small hole drilled in the top. Then I will put a piece of elastic through them and tie a knot at the top to keep it attached. And finally I will sew three cat toys to each piece of elastic. And voila!

I have also been sewing up some catnip fortune cookies with some cat themed fabric I got at JoAnnes. I am not sure what I am doing with these yet. I enjoy sewing these while I sit and watch TV.

And finally I have been working on a new line of cat toys. These are similar to the cat toys on sticks except they are on rings. I am thinking of trying to sell these in our artfire store. I don't know if they would sell or not but I guess it is worth a try. I would appreciate any thoughts or opinions on them. :)

Etsy Office Finds

Add some pizazz to your home office with these fun and functional Etsy items. They are sure to brighten your day!



Monkey Pencil Cup-Kenya by MonkeyTravelClub



Small Fabric Boxes Set of 3 by PALEOLOCHICHomeDecor



Magnetic Pen, Pencil, or Chalk Holder by MooreMagnets



I LOVE WASHI - Medium Binder Clips - ASSORTMENT by nancym4



Minimally Abstract - curved domino magnets by RunAliceRun



Tiny Blue Square Glass Tile Push Pin Set by ninjavspirategifts



Decorative Clipboard by box64studios

It's Alive!!

I wasn't sure how my basil plant would fare given my history with growing plants. I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I saw that indeed it had started growing. There before my eyes were two tiny little seedlings! I cant wait to see it sprout some more.

~Chelsea

Antique Store Finds

Mom and I found some great pins at The Antique Marketplace of Lemoyne. We thought that they were the perfect presents for Eric (older brother) who's birthday was this Wednesday. It was hard not to keep looking through all the wonderful antiques. Their website can be found here:

http://www.antiquemarketplaceoflemoyne.com/

Independent Order of Odd Fellows Pin, 1800s

Egyptian Style Pin

Works in Progress

I always seem to have a bunch of works in progress going on at once. Since I like looking at other people's works on blogs I thought someone else might too. Here are just a few of my many projects.

Here are some fabric yo yos I made with the largest of my clover yo yo makers. These are going to be made into keychains. I love these yo yo makers and cant stop making fabric yo yos. These here are made from a book of fabric samples. I am always looking for new uses for these.

This box is the latest in a series of boxes using modgepodge and fabric scraps to create decorative boxes. The idea came about when I was trying to figure out what to do with the fabric scraps I was collecting. I really didn't want to throw any of them out because I felt it would be wasteful. Most of the bigger scraps I have already made into a whole bunch of cat toys. And best of all the box I am using now came from a Trader Joes box of caramels we got for Christmas. The label actually peeled off nicely.

The power company came and cut part of the tree out back so it wasnt in the way of the power lines. They left us with a log that I decided to make some wooden coasters from. So I got my grandpa to cut the log down into coasters for me. I have about half of them sanded already. Since the weather is warming up I should be able to finish sanding them before too long. Then all I need to do is put a clear coat of sealant on them. Then sand them and put a final coat of sealant on them. And voila!

Growing Basil

Since I got some basil seeds in a Triscuit box I decided to plant them and see what happens. I got an adorable little pot to grow it in from the Christmas Tree Shops. I planted them last night so I just have to wait 10 to 12 days to see if I am successful. I will keep you posted. :)

Roasted Cauliflower

We decided to try roasting cauliflower last night. I found this recipe on simplyrecipes.com and then we modified it a bit to suit our tastes. Here is the recipe with the modifications. It was quite tasty. :)

~Chelsea

Roasted Cauliflower

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely minced (used 4)
• Lemon juice (from 1/2 or a whole lemon)
• Olive Oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper (only used salt)
• Parmesan cheese (used pecorino romano)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Cut cauliflower into florets and put in a single layer in an oven proof baking dish. Toss in the garlic. Squeeze lemon juice over cauliflower and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Sprinke with salt and pepper. If the oven hasn't reached 400 degrees Farenheit yet, set aside until it has.

2. Place casserole in the hot oven, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown. Test with a fork for desired doneness. Fork tines should be able to easily pierce the cauliflower. Remove from the oven and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

My Birthday!

I just got back from spending the weekend with my grandma and grandpa. We were celebrating my birthday. I had a lovely time. We went to Olive Garden last night and I ordered the Four Cheese Pansotti w/ Chicken. It was very good. Now that I have been spoiled and am all partied out I think it is time to get back to the normal routine. I am still contemplating what to blog about in the future. I don't want to become to boring. If anyone sees this please let me know what makes a blog interesting to you. Thanks! And before I wrap this up I want to show you the cake I got from The Pennsylvania Bakery.

Have a good rest of your Monday!

~Chelsea