I'm sad...

My apologies for not blogging better over the past 2 months... My talents have been required elsewhere. Tending to a sick kitten to be exact.

Remember those kittens I posted about last month? I can't bring myself to post a picture of them... because the day after I posted about them, the little orange one fell very very ill. So for the past 6-7 weeks, I've been nursing him back to health. Or trying to. This care has included weeks of giving him breathing treatments every 3 hours, round the clock. Countless doses of more medications than I've ever seen anyone, let along a 4 pound kitten, take in a given day. And more trips to the vet than I could imagine.

Yesterday morning, that sweet little kitten passed away in my arms.

And I'm sad.

So so sad.

I'll be back to posting all kinds of creative things in the coming days and weeks.

Thanks for understanding.

Bridesmaids Jewelry

I was so flattered, and a bit terrified, to be asked to design and create the jewelry for the bridesmaids in an upcoming wedding. The bride and I went to pick out the materials last week, and tomorrow I'm showing her the "1st draft."

This won't be what the girls wear, this was just a starting point so that we had something to work from. Which means I'll likely get to keep this one - something I'm not at all disappointed about.

The necklace has a black satin ribbon that ties behind the neck with 3 strands of cream, champaign and beige glass beads. One strand is straight strung on wire, another has the beads on eye pins attached to a silver chain and the third has the beads strung on a silk rope with hand tied knots between them...

The hand tied strand. My first attempt at something like this. 

I'm really nervous about showing this to her tomorrow - do me a favor and cross your fingers that she likes it. 

Coffee Hand Scrub

I enjoy cooking - what I don't enjoy are the smells that can end up on your hands when you cook, especially when you cook with things like garlic and onions.

Recently I heard that you can use coffee grounds to remove the smell from your hands - we don't drink coffee here so I bought a container of coffee and tried it. Sure enough it worked.

I figured I could get more, so I researched making my own scrub and thought you might like to make it too. It works great!

Materials:

• Ground coffee - I'd imagine you could use your left over grounds...
• Liquid hand soap
• Olive oil
• Jars
• Mixing bowl & something to stir with

Step 1 - Measure out enough coffee to fill your jar about 80% full... And poor it in your bowl. 

Step 2 - Add the hand soap and olive oil. I was making enough scrub to fill 3 jars, so I used about a cup of soap and 1/4 cup of olive oil. You can adjust it however you like, you might want more soap for cleaning or more olive oil for moisturizing.

Then stir:

You might find that you need to add more liquid, just keep stirring it 'till the coffee is all completely coated in the liquids. 

Step 3 - Then simply fill your jars.

Then when you've that garlic smell on your hands, simply open the jar, scoop some out and watch your hands as you normally would.

There you go! No more stinky hands - and I've got to say, the scrub feels great to wash your hands with. 

What I've Learned Wednesday: Freshening the Garbage Disposal

Around the Holiday's I'm able to stock up my favorite garbage disposal fresheners...

First - eat the clementine. My favorite part.

Then take the peel.

And put it down the drain (this only works if you have a garbage disposal. Try it on a regular sink and I'm pretty sure all you get is a bill from the plumber.) and turn on the disposal.

I throw all my peels in a zip lock back and put them in the freezer so that throughout the year, I can pull one out and throw them in the sink.

Callie & Mac

In April, we lost our beloved cat Otto. Since then, our daughter has been desperate for kittens. We kept waiting and waiting for the right time... then we saw Christmas on the horizon and Bug decided that Santa should bring us Kittens for Christmas.

And that is just what he did. Meet Callie and Mac:

Otto's brother Wojo is not really happy about this gift. But he's adjusting...

Earring Box

I've loved giving the earrings I've made as gifts, and the favor boxes have almost been the perfect boxes for them. The only problem has been securing the earrings in the boxes so they aren't just rattling around or getting lost in a mile of tissue paper.

But - I've found the solution in a simple square of scrapbook paper.

Simply cut a square of paper the same width as the box and about 1" longer.

Then fold the extra 1" or so of the paper.

Then cut the number of slits you need at the fold.

Slip the earrings into the slits and if you'd like, secure on the back with a piece of tape.

There you go - the perfect way to secure the earrings in the box. And it actually works for any sort of jewelry. You can thread the ends of a necklace or bracelet through 2 slits.

Christmas Update

December has been so busy - I've had no time to blog. But I wanted to let you know all know that was bitten by the Christmas bug and I'll have lots of things to share soon.

Where are you Christmas?

I'm having a hard time getting into the Christmas grove this year.

The shopping is mostly done. The cards are practically finished. The house doesn't have a stitch of decorating done and despite listening to Christmas music - I'm not feeling it yet. I've got lots of wonderful project planned, I just can't find the creative energy to get moving.

: (

I thought going to church this weekend and seeing the children sing, that was going to give me the Christmas spirit. But it didn't.

I love Christmastime, it is my favorite holiday...

Hoping to get bitten by the Christmas bug soon.

Holiday Ornament Cards

My apologies to anyone on our Christmas card list - you're seeing our holiday cards a bit early. But, each one is unique so you still won't know which is yours 'till they are all done and in your mail box.

This idea was inspired by something a friend did last year, they have a tree by their door and with every photo card they get, each one is bunched with a hole, a ribbon goes through it and adorns that tree. So I thought, why can't our card include an ornament???

The ornament on the front of the card actually comes off - there is a photo of the kids on one side, and a lyric from one of my favorite Christmas Songs. (I've set a slide show to the song for friends and family to  check out the rest of our year....)

Here is what I used to make the cards:

• Pre-made cards, purchased at Michael's, 50 of them for $6 using a 40% coupon
• Holiday scrapbook paper, cut into rectangles for the front and inside of the cards, then circles for the ornaments. 
• Holiday messages printed on velim
• Glue Sticks
• Ribbon
• Clear tape
• Photo of the kids, cut into circles

To assemble the ornaments, I paired up coordinating papers and glued the picture to one side and the message to the other.

Then I punched a hole in the top of the ornament and strung a ribbon through it.

Next, time to create the cards. Simply glue one of the rectangles of scrapbook paper onto the front of the card. I also glued a circle to the front of the cards that were more plain so that once the ornament was removed the card could still be enjoyed.

For the inside of the card, I glued in another piece of paper and then our holiday message.

Then a small hole through the front of the card, and then the ribbon from the ornament is threaded through and taped to the inside.

And you've got a Holiday Ornament Card