How to be a Cat Lady

I always said I'd be a cat lady when I have a house of my own and a big yard and I won't have to worry if the cats are getting run over or lost.



Last night I heard some yowling outside my screen door and sitting there waiting to be let inside was a charming orange cat. He was a little skinny, but SO nice. He wouldn't come inside (not that I could let him because my two spoiled inside kitties wouldn't allow it), but his meows were so vocal I could swear he was saying "come outside and play with me!". I'm still not convinced he's a stray even though Lou says he must be. He lets me pet his tummy and he doesn't appear to have fleas or other buggies. Plus he responds to the "pssw psww" sound you make to get a kitty's attention. Although..I did spy a large set of *hm hmms*, and most [responsible]people nowadays get their kitties fixed. I gave him some dry food and water and he inhaled it and hung around for a while longer before disappearing into the night.

Then today I heard that same yowling and there he was at my screen door. "Hey I'm back!" I gave him some more food and water and we hung out for a little while. Lou said "oh great, now he'll never go away". But I don't mind. It's like I have a no-maintenance outside cat...who I'm feeding "inside cat chow".

If he comes back tomorrow, then I'll give him a nickname. Like Harold, or maybe Franklin. We'll see..

I baked you a cupcake...

..out of clay. You silly goose.

I realized today that I haven't listed anything new in the shop in a while. I have a tiny mountain (..or a decent sized hill if you will) of custom orders that I've been working on, so I haven't had a lot of time for new goodies.

But this cupcake locket managed to sneak its way into my busy hands and onto my camera and then on my computer. I'm going to try and have it listed in the shop in the next day or two. I also have a pink frosted one!

For those not in the know...

Time management...

...I have none. Has it really been a week since my last post? Yes, indeed it has. But I have excuses! I've been knee-deep in custom orders galore, plus Lou's sister had to go and have a college graduation party 2.5 hours away this past weekend which I {of course} had to attend. Say goodbye to 1.5 days of good ol' production time. I hate that. Don't get me wrong, I love doing things non-craft related with other human beings, but it really pushes me back seeing as my weekends are my most productive times.

Last Thursday the most exciting thing came in the mail. My promo buttons from Promos In A Snap. They're really something. The packaging alone was so lovely, I almost didn't want to take them out. I'm really impressed with the color quality too. And a bit relieved to know that the colors on my monitor aren't too terribly off {which I had been suspecting for a while now}.


Today I was telling Lou that I was willing to put myself in more debt just so we could buy a couch that doesn't suck. This couch that we have was a hand-me-down from our old roommate, and while it looks decent, I swear to you that it is the devil. The cushions you sit on slide out from under you and before you know it you're practically sitting on the back cushions. I'm ready to duct tape the cushions in place that's how abnoxious it is.
The other day I found Lou blending into the couch, which I found a bit strange. He seems to be a fan of brown. Which might be why he sticks up for the couch when I threaten to drag it out into the street so a car can run it over.


Oh! And I found a really neat tutorial on how to make bath bombs. Earlier this week I was scouring the internet for a good bath soak to soothe my achy bones {hehe}when I stumbled on this. It even has pictures, which I love in a good how-to. Now where do I get citric acid?

It grows!

Check out my progress on my amigurumi ball. It's coming along nicely if I do say so myself. I've tried to loosen up my grip on the yarn and my fingers have (for the most part) stopped feeling like they want to fall off. I imagine I'll finish this ball on my break tomorrow at work. But then that just means I'll have to bring in stuffing to stuff it. Do I really want to look like that much of a weirdo at work? Probably.

And guess what. I was accepted into Trunkt! Trunkt is a fancy schmancy directory of artists and their works, and it helps to get you exposure. It's pretty hard to get into. I was denied the first time a year ago, but mustered up the courage to try again and was accepted within a few hours! I'm hoping to use the site as my "online portfolio", so we'll see how that goes. You can find my Trunkt page here if you're curious.

Oh! And I also listed another Wedding Couple in the shop. A lovely blonde pair.

amigurumi...yes please.

I've been trying to teach myself amigurumi on my lunchbreak for the past few days (because it's the only time I have to myself lately!). Why didn't anyone tell me amigurumi equals instant arthritis?? The tips of my fingertips are KILLING me. All of this yarn pulling and wrapping and grabbing and sliding and yadda yadda. The plan is...once I manage to teach myself the basics, I'll be able to whip up some crocheted versions of my Plinis. How adorable would that be? At least in my head they look adorable. For those not in the know (mom) amigurumi is the japanese art of knitting or crocheting small adorable creatures or other inanimate objects with anthropomorphic features. Back in the day..my first glimpse into the amigurumi world was the work of Roxy Craft to show you an example of awesomeness.
So here's how far I've gotten...



..mind you, this is after many attempts at getting the hang of increasing and decreasing my stitches so as not to make a lopsided mess.

In other news....look what has matured! The first fruits of my labor from my jalepeno plant! I immediately made salsa (naturally), which is now currently "brewing" in the fridge. mmm..I can't wait!



Oh, and can you see my toe in the bottom right of the photo near my wrist? Yeah...I took this picture with my chin. I'm skilled like that.

a coincidence...or perhaps not.

Complain and ye shall receive!

Seems like everyone is whining over what's fair on Etsy. Who's on the front page, who gets featured, who can nab a treasury, who's in the gift guide, who's in the gift guide MORE than once, and so on and so forth. I usually prefer to whine to myself. But yesterday I was browsing the gift guides looking for a present for someone's upcoming birthday (shh!) and noticed the same item listed twice in the same section. That was the last straw! I retreated to the Etsy forums to complain and received an acceptable answer. I should report the duplicate to the admin and they'd fix it. An oopsie on their part.

Coincidentally...today one of my items shows up in the gift guide! Pocket Cacti

I'm not sure if this is the first time that one of my items has ever been in Etsy's gift guide, but this is the first time I've witnessed it. so yay! ...and also interesting.

I shall ponder this occurrence longer.


Also, say hello to my new pony charm freshly listed!

a word about hamsters.

..well kind of. There's one in my shop! I don't know why it took me so long to get some photos going of these lil hamsters. I have two more not listed yet. Actually, I do know why it's taken me so long. My camera is insisting on throwing a temper tantrum after five or so pictures. I don't think it's a fan of the macro setting. Speaking of the macro setting...am I in the minority when it comes to knowing what the macro setting is? You know, the little tulip setting as opposed to the mountain setting on your camera? I was casually taking about it to Lou the other day and he had no idea that was what it was called.
Anyways, I think my camera needs a new rechargeable battery. I've been avoiding it because I'm lazy and don't feel like looking up the one I need. But now that it's come to the point where I actually have time to list more items, but can't because my camera won't stay alive for longer than five minutes I believe it's time to "bite the bullet" as my mom would say and get a new one.

I started making more wedding figures today as well. They're all sculpted out and ready to be painted. I'll be working on that tomorrow, along with hunting down a camera battery.

*sigh* In a perfect world...my creations would take their own pictures and list themselves.