Shroom Decor

  Look what I grew in my studio:

A couple of plush mushrooms. They're currently transplanted downtown at Happy Delusions but I can grow more. I'm going to try a few more color combos and offer some custom plush shrooms on Etsy soon. Try saying some custom plush shrooms 10 times fast. It's hard!

Crazy Cat Lady Craft - A Fish Tank Litter Box

When we remodeled our bathroom last summer we got our cat Bella a new litter box to match the decor. Unfortunately, she refused to go in it because the rigid plastic door slammed behind her and freaked her out. So for the last 10 months we've had it doorless. I was getting tired of looking at her smelly clumps so I decided to turn it into a fish tank.

 

 Well, not a real fish tank. That's actually part of a vinyl shower curtain we had in our bathroom years ago. I loved the print so I kept in my fabric stash for years.

 

I simply cut out a small piece the size of the cat door and duct taped it to the inside top of her litter box. It's thin enough for her to easily push through and it doesn't slam behind her, plus it gives her some privacy and gives us something nicer to look at than clumpy cat poop.

 I was a bit worried she might not like it...

 But after a little investigating,

she gave me her approval by stepping inside and scratching around. Fish don't intimidate this kitty!

Recycled Robot Children

The kids raided the recycling bin and made these robots over winter break last week.

Now, if only they could program them to clean up crafty messes.

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue...

(Shout out to Carole King in the title up there.)

That tapestry I posted last Thursday? Soon after I posted it I went in my studio and turned it into a skirt:

 

It inspired me to seek out my collection of tapestries that I had stashed away. To my surprise I found another Dogs Playing Poker tapestry, same theme, but a totally different rendition. Years ago I had tried to turn it into a skirt but didn't like how it was turning out so I stashed it away. Looking at it again, I realized my mistakes, took it apart, and reworked it in the same style I made that first one.

After that skirt I was on a tapestry kick, so I made this one:

and then this one:

and then I made a dress:

Sage likes that one. He said, "You should wear that to church!" Ha. It would turn heads, that's for sure.

I also made a bag:

and a pillow:

And now, sadly, my tapestry stash is depleted.

And I also just realized that these technically aren't tapestries by the Wikipedia definition, just printed cloth. Oh well, they're in the tapestry tradition so I'm going to keep calling them tapestries.Real woven tapestries wouldn't nearly be as soft and wearable as these.

Thrift Thursday - For the Dogs

I got this flannel tapestry at Goodwill today for $1.99:

It's pretty big - 4.5 feet wide by 3 feet tall. What do you think I should make with it? A wrap skirt? Tote bags? Pillows? A big dog bed?

Made with Love

I know Valentine's Day is a consumer-driven hyped up holiday that ends up making some people feel lousy, but I have to admit I always end up getting swept up in the love. A few years ago Sage started a tradition of making all his Valentines for school friends (see my previous post) and now McKenna is following in his footsteps.

She drew 6 different Valentine-themed pictures and I printed them out on card stock and she embellished them with hearts and suckers. One the back of each one was this printed this message:

I tried to get her to write Happy Valentine's Day but she insisted on "I LOVE YOU," which seems like a rather bold statement to hand out to people willy-nilly, but she didn't care.

While we perused the Valentine aisle at the grocery store she oohed and ahhed over all the stuffed bears and monkeys and whatnot decked in red and white and holding hearts. I couldn't bring myself to buy her one though.While she saw a goofy, fluffy, Valentine stuffed animal, I saw a cheap, Made in China sweatshop symbol of ridiculous American consumption. And besides, her bedroom is beginning to become one big symbol of ridiculous American consumption and I don't want another stuffed animal to have to pick up off the floor, so I made her a pillow instead:

It's soft and furry and has an even furrier M stitched on the front. I love the feel of that fabric but holey moley my studio now looks like I murdered a Muppet.

For Sage, I took this too-big Super Mario shirt I found at a thrift store,

and turned it into this:

It's not a pillow, but a "pipe":

It's super cozy like a big long muff. He was a tad perplexed at first but I showed him how he could put his Super Mario Bros. figurines through it and send them to different levels just like in the video game, or he could use it as a muff to keep his hands warm, or as a single leg warmer, or an elephant trunk warmer... the possibilities are endless!

I didn't make anything for Erik this year, but I did get him an IUD, well I got me an IUD, so we don't make any more babies. I have enough things to make and people to love in my life right now, I don't need any more.

A little handmade paper puppet love...

Sage and I spent the weekend making 45 of these:

 They're origami hand puppets, called "Gabbies". He decided to make one for each kid in his class and give them as Valentines.

 We put a chocolate conversation heart in the mouth of each one.

Isn't that sweeet!? They're lots of fun...

We learned to make these years ago but I forgot how to do it so he re-taught me the steps. He was such a good teacher that we decided to make a video so he could teach you how to make one too. Here's his YouTube debut:



And here are the steps in order:

 

Happy Valentines Day!