31 Days of Halloween

Well, I had this bright idea of having my own "31 Days of Halloween" and my husband didn't even disagree with it! A different Halloween show/movie every night. I want to do some Halloween/fall things to, but not necessarily every night. So on the first night, we had homemade vegetable soup in the crock pot and caramel apples. I made hot chocolate to drink while we watched Hocus Pocus....my husband fell asleep before the movie was halfway over! The second night we watched The 'Burbs and we both fell asleep...it took us 4 nights to get that movie watched! I watched Monster House with my nephew on the way to a reunion on Saturday. Sunday I spent the day taking pics and visiting with my sister and my new niece. I have a new movie coming tonight and thinking I'll do a Pumpkin Pie. Here are a few of my favorite Halloween movies. I subscribed to Netflix and I have way more than 31 on the list:

1. The Great Pumpkin/Charlie Brown

2. Monster House

3. Hocus Pocus

4. Frankenweenie (the old one--can't wait to see the new one!)

5. Nightmare before Christmas

6. Young Frankenstein

7. Ghostbusters

8. Edward Scissorhands

9. Beetlejuice

I will watch some scary ones, but I really prefer the fun ones, especially Tim Burton stuff!

Some fun ideas for Halloween/fall:

*Hayride

*Haunted House

*Caramel Apples

*Pick out/plan Halloween Costumes

*Sunday Drive to look at and/or photograph fall foliage

*Visit a Pumpkin Patch

*Bake a Pumpkin Pie

*Roast Hot dogs

*Roast Marshmallows & make smores

*Make Popcorn balls

*Make popcorn & watch an old scary movie (The Blob, anyone?)

*Tell Scary stories around a bonfire

*Decorate your porch or yard for Fall or Halloween

*Visit a store and try on masks

*Make your favorite soup in the crock pot (ours is potato soup) when it starts to get cool

*Paint each other's faces

*Melt caramel in crock pot and have apples ready to dip with extras to dip them in after the carmel (mini chocolate chips, nuts, crushed candy corn, pistachios would be soooo good)

Baby shower tables

Here are some ideas for baby shower tables (or for any party, wedding reception, etc):

*Cover used, clean tin cans with scrapbooking paper (or fabric, newspaper, etc)

*Save glass jars for candles

*Put flowers from your garden in cans and/or jars

*Use scraps of fabric, burlap, etc. as runners on table to add color

*Print old photos to scatter on table

*Use brightly colored, old school candies in old glasses (I used lollipops and pixie sticks)

And this was my favorite idea....actually didn't even need pinterest for this one. haha! I picked out the perfect branch and carried it around in my truck for 2 weeks just so it would be dry!! I hung photos from twine and hung some fabric owls I made. I hung the whole branch from the ceiling with twine. The banner is made from scrapbook paper and decorative tape.

To make these, stick a paper straw in a marshmallow (wish I had gotten the huge ones) and stick in the freezer for a few minutes. Dip in melted white chocolate, then in sprinkles, colored sugar or toasted coconut.

Wishes for Baby

This table was so much fun to do! I brought all kinds of stuff from my house to decorate with...I used an antique table cloth (over one that was already there), an old doll chair, an antique folding chair I painted, some of my cloth owls, a painting of owls, paper covered cans, jars of candy, old photos, etc. I made some "wishes for baby" papers for people to fill out and put into the bucket in the back and had a place for everyone to sign in. I REALLY wanted to read all the wishes for baby, but I didn't! My sister said she read them and they made her cry.

I designed those wishes for baby notepads on the computer and ordered them online. 

And these are my sister's first "babies". They are in a cradle our cousin's husband made for her waaaaay back when with an owl I made from her nursery fabrics and a blanket knitted by a friend of mine.

Baby shower decorating ideas

I found this CUTE  idea on pinterest too! I hung a piece of twine as a "clothesline" and hung some onesies with clothespins I painted pink & teal. Wish I had taken a close up of the clothespins. They were easy to make and so cute! The ones that I didn't use I put in an old gallon jar for decorations. Little Oakley really liked this clothesline. I can't count how many times he pulled it down, along with the "It's a Girl" sign below. I made the letters on the computer, printed and cut them all out, then strung them on some twine.

Fancy Water bottles

This is another idea I found on pinterest...we bought pretty duck tape (found in the craft department) and wrapped around some water bottles. We filled a galvanized tub with ice and put them in it along with a tub full of juice boxes beside it for the little ones. You can't see it in the picture, but we filled a punch bowl with some crushed ice, Milos tea and some orange slices.

Sissy's bath time

I caught Sissy cleaning her paws and couldn't resist some photos of her....I think she had no clue I was even there. haha!!

Cupcakes

These are our cupcakes for the baby shower. So cute!! We did 2 different kinds--the owl ones are chocolate with pink cream cheese icing. For the face, we put 2 oreo cookies, brown reeses pieces for centers of the eyes and an orange one turned on its side for the beak. We bought cute little brown and white polka dot liners for them and I just now noticed we didn't use them!!

For the Key lime cupcakes, I kind of cheated....I bought a lemon cake mix and added food color to it. No one knew, even my sister said she liked the key lime cupcakes! The icing on those is tinted cream cheese icing and we added a lime slice to some for some color.

The display is something my sister's brother-in-law made. It kind of looked like a set of steps. He made it rustic for his son's first birthday, so we laid some pretty tissue paper over it. Both kinds of cupcakes were a big hit! If you have a little boy party or shower, I think the owls would be cute with teal icing. I would love to hear if any of you try these!

Baby Shower Ideas

I've been busy getting ready for a baby shower for my youngest sister! Ever since she told me she was pregnant, I couldn't wait to start planning the shower! She just sent me a message today saying she has 49 days to go, so I guess I've been waiting a while!! I had tons of ideas, more than I could ever do, so just had to pick a few. I'm not sure if pinterest helped me or made things harder us!

This is my great- nephew, Oakley...he rearranged some furniture for us, among others things, and kept us on our toes all day!

I will post some of our ideas, recipes and photos of our decorations. We had an owl theme, plus some old things I had around the house, even some mason jars with candles. I thought it turned out really pretty!

Kitties are still keeping me busy. I actually have new one!  I tried not to, I tried my best to find him a home, but I guess he stayed too long and I got attached  to him. He was here a long time before he let me pet him. He's really sweet and loving now. I named him Smokey. I will dig out some old photos of him when he first came you will be amazed at the difference!!

 And my studio is really coming along too! I will open in October, even if it means just one room!! LOL...really, I think I will have it finished by then. We are almost ready to put down flooring in the living room, then put it all back together. Next, we will screen in the front porch, remodel kitchen and finish the outside. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Studio update

Every year I hope to get my studio open by the fall. By golly, this time I'm going to do

it! Hubby has been off work for a couple of weeks, so we took advantage of it. We have already finished my office, a music room for my husband to get together with his friends, and the back porch enclosed and made into a laundry room/fabric room. So inside, we only have 2 rooms to finish! The living floors have been replaced and new joists put in, floors leveled and new plywood. There were only 2 plugins before and just today, we are finishing getting all my plug ins ready to go, including a double one just above where my desk will go. How convenient will that be? I decided to take all the sheetrock and wallpaper down from the walls, then the ceiling too. I guess that was about the messiest job ever! I am leaving the beadboard walls bare and just putting a sealer on them and tomorrow is the day to pick out the flooring for the living room and get it installed. (Lucky my husband and in-laws are in the flooring business!)

These are my walls & ceiling before they were cleaned. They are still rustic like that, well, you will see sometime. If you can't come in person, I'll be sharing pics.

We still have a lot to do--putting up trim, painting trim & doors, new front door and building a mantel, but we have come a long way. After the living room, we still have to:

1. Finish kitchen

2. Screen in front porch (for Rusty)

3. Paint house

4. Finish roof (waiting for a "cooler" few days)

5. Decorate/Display

6. Landscaping

I may not be completely done by October, but will have it ready to open. I can't wait....if you are out of town or even out of state, I am just down the road from Unclaimed Baggage, so you can make a fun day of shopping & visiting!

Owls!!

Sorry its been so long since I posted! So much going on, I won't be able to type it all tonight. LOL! Seems like that would be the best time to blog, but I guess the days just aren't long enough! We've been really working hard on my studio and that's taking up a lot of time. I will post pics of some progress this week. It shouldn't be long until we are done (I hope)!!

I wanted to share my newest painting...if you want to see more pics, click here. I have been using lots of bright, neon colors. You can really see my 70's influence coming out, I think!!

It has been another long day, so I will keep this post short and hopefully be able to share more in the next few days.

Goldie

Y'all check out my new doll in the current issue of Create & Decorate magazine! Her name is Goldie...I always love seeing how they set up the photos there. They always do such a great job!

We are working so hard on my studio, trying to get it ready by October! We have half the roof done, but it rained us out this weekend. So we are inside trying to get the living room ready to paint. If I don't change my mind, I'll be painting that room a chocolate-y brown color and the kitchen is next and will be an apple green. Those are the last 2 rooms to remodel inside, then I can move in & display all my stuff! Then on to the outside...I think we'll make it by this October. Wish us luck!!

Recycling silverware

I've been saving up some silverware that I wanted to make into some jewelry. I've had some of it a while, but found some new forks at the thrift store yesterday. Of course, when I was cleaning out the fridge, I really got the urge to create. LOL! So I took a little break and made this bracelet. Can't wait to make more! This one is listed on etsy. Click the link below to go to the listing.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/97776851/vintage-fork-bracelet-silver-hand-mad?listing_id=97776851&listing_slug=vintage-fork-bracelet-silver-hand-mad

Half price sale!

In honor of Spring...all Spring patterns are HALF PRICE! That includes e-patterns & printed patterns, but hurry because sale will end after the weekend!!

I am dying to get outside and work in the yard, but my Daddy always tells me to wait until after "Blackberry Winter". I listen because he always has the best garden. I usually end up getting more from him than out of my own garden. He always has way too much and I am always happy to take it off his hands, especially the tomatoes for canning!

I apoligize for not keeping up my blog as I should. I have been busy mostly with taking care of my cats! If you read my blog often, you probably know that Mr. Spock has been diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure (or Renal Disease). He was diagnosed almost 3 years ago and the vet said he "might have a couple of good years left". So I didn't expect him to still be with us, but he is still hanging on! A few weeks ago I learned to give him fluids under his skin. I am finally comfortable doing it and he doesn't seem to mind very much now and I can tell he feels a little better. This is an older picture. He has lost weight here (he used to weight over 18 lbs!) but he has lost even more now. I guess that extra weight may have been a blessing in disguise considering he has lost 8½ lbs. As long as he is happy and not in pain, I am happy to keep him here with me. He has been with me almost as long as my husband! We got him a few months after we met, so he has been a part of our family for a long time. I'm not sure of his birthday but he will be 17 some time this year. I think he deserves a lot of my time, so if I'm not blogging much, that may be why!

Bertha Bunny

Since Easter is coming up soon...I've temporarily marked down my pattern for Bertha Bunny to $4.00 for the epattern or $7.50 for the printed pattern. Get the epattern and you could get the pattern today & have a few made up in time for Easter!

http://www.thecatspyjamaspatterns.com/catalog.php?item=735

Sale on Cat Patterns!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecatspyjamaspatterns.com%2Fcatalog.php%3Fcategory%3D18&h=zAQHsNe2h

24 hour sale on all CAT PATTERNS on my website...starts now! Includes printed patterns & e-patterns

Feathers

I found two old feather beds in my studio when we bought it. One was still in good condition, but this one wasn't, so I took the feathers out of it and will use what I can of the fabric. Maybe I will use them one day to make something (feather pillows? Stuff a doll or toy?) I have them for sale on my website if you want to try some out. I am sure they are pretty old....let me know if you have other ideas for them! Click here if you are interested in buying some. If you are local, I'll be glad to meet you somewhere with some. We are back on track working on my studio again. Since the weather has been so nice, we've been replacing trim on the back of the house. Next will be replacing any siding that needs to be replaced, then painting the siding. I can't wait--that will make a big difference! I know we need to work on the outside while we can, but I am really dying to get the inside ready so I can work in the whole house!

Easy Crusty Bread

I found this wonderful looking bread recipe from pinterest and thought I'd try it out. I still like my sourdough bread better, but this one is so easy and doesn't take as much time if you want some bread in a hurry. But I have to say, it is ALMOST as good! I had some with homemade garlic pepper jelly and my husband had some with grape jelly, then he had some for supper so it was almost gone in a day. The recipe came from http://simplysogood.blogspot.com and she makes it with all kinds of stuff baked in it (cheese, dried fruits, herbs, etc). I will defintiely be trying some different combinations, but here is the basic recipe. I made mine in my cast iron pot with a lid and it turned out perfectly. I took mine out 5 minutes early and it was just right, so keep an eye on it the last 15 minutes!

Crusty Bread


3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water


In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours.  Overnight works great.  Heat oven to 450 degrees.  When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.  Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

I finally did it....finally broke down and tried the liquid laundry detergent recipe from the Duggar Family website! I've used about 1/2 gallon so far and I like just as well as the store bought but I LOVE the price! I was clipping coupons, but this is even cheaper than taking time to clip coupons and not much more trouble. I spent $8 on the supplies and it made about 10 gallons. I think the next time I may cut back a little on the water because it was pretty thin. I measured it out into gallon jugs before pouring into liquid laundry detergent bottles I had saved up. That way I could measure exactly & shake well before pouring into bottles. I didn't add any essential oils for fragrance, but I'm thinking I may try some lavender and vanilla some time. I will let you know the amounts when I try it. I tried a recipe for fabric softener and I'm not too thrilled with it, so I am still on the lookout for a good fabric softener recipe. Next on the agenda....homemade dishwasher liquid! Here's the recipe I used for the laundry detergent:

Ingredients:

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing soda
½ Cup Borax

I found all these items at wal-mart in the laundry detergent aisle for less than $8 total. The next time you make soap, all you will have to buy is another bar of soap for about $2. There was plenty of both to make several recipes of this.

Grate the entire bar of soap and add to about 4 cups of hot water on stove. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Stir slowly so you won't get a bunch of bubbles!

When the soap has completely dissolved, fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot water. Add melted soap, Super washing soda & Borax. Stir well until everything is mixed. (I used a big wood dowel I had on hand to stir but may get a paint mixer attachment for the drill next time.) Fill bucket almost to the top with more hot water. Stir again, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

The next morning, stir again and fill container half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (this is where I used the gallon milk jug. I measured out 1/2 gallon of water, poured it into the jug, then marked the halfway point with a sharpie. That way I could pour the detergent concentrate to the fill mark, then fill with water.)

If you want,  you can add your favorite essential oil to the containers.

This recipe makes 10 gallons.

To use:

Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Big tree...and a chicken casserole recipe!

I found this awesome tree the day before yesterday and it was almost dark, so went back yesterday and it was even bigger than I thought! Its hard to tell in this photo, guess I need to measure it and see how big it really is! I wonder how old it is? It appears to be dead, so don't know how much longer it will be there....

I'm still eating from the meals I put in the freezer. They are good and I haven't eaten out once since I started this and neither has my husband! He used to go almost every morning for breakfast and coffee and I guess that was the main thing that made me want to do this. I know its not healthy to eat those greasy biscuits every morning. I normally get up with him, but didn't feel like it this morning, but it was easy for him. I had the coffee ready and I just put some french toast from the freezer into the oven wrapped in aluminum foil and got back in bed. Easy enough for me!

The recipe I'm sharing today is one I got from my mother-in-law, but I know a lot of people make it. I made some minor changes and added some broccoli. Frozen peas would be good too, but I think next time I will add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and make it into a "pot pie" casserole!

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

4-6 chicken breasts

11 oz. can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. Light sour cream

1 roll Ritz crackers

Butter flavored Pam

1 sleeve Ritz crackers

   1/2 package frozen broccoli

Boil chicken until done. Drain chicken and reserve 1 c. broth, cool & tear into bite size pieces. Mix the broth & sour cream. Layer chicken on bottom of the casserole dish, cover with about 1/2 pkg. of frozen broccoli, then pour the broth mixutre over the top. Crush crackers, sprinkle on top and spray with butter flavored cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Note: I made 2 of these for me & my husband and split them into 4 small casserole dishes. (I bought them at Wal-mart--they have lids on them, so you can cover with parchment paper then with aluminum foil before putting the lid back on.) Thaw in the refrigerator and cook as above after thawing. I have been getting them out the night before, but 2 days would be even better because they are still somewhat frozen after a day.

Plan to make several chicken dishes at once to save time---boil a bunch of chicken and use it for different recipes. I will be posting more of my favorites as I test them out in the freezer!

Another tip--right now I don't have enough of those small casserole dishes to store everything in them. So I line the pan with some pan lining paper (parchment on one side, aluminum foil on the other) with the parchment paper on the inside. After freezing, I wrap again with aluminum foil and store in freezer bags. When ready to thaw, I take it out of the bag and put it back in the casserole dish.

Homemade frozen pizzas

Like I mentioned, I have been filling my freezer. I am trying to:

1.) Save money by not eating out and going to to grocery store as much

2.) Eat healthier

3.) Save time by not having to cook every night

So far, things are going well! It is so easy to buy those cheap little frozen pizzas for when you are starving and in a hurry, but they are so greasy and full of calories & sodium! So that was one of my first "freezer projects".  First, I made 2 recipes of pizza dough. (Find the recipe for the dough here.) This dough is easy to make, freezes well and tastes so good! I save a couple of dough balls for the freezer for making a bigger pizza for dinner. The rest I cut into smaller portions to make smaller 1 serving pizzas. After letting the dough rise as directed, I made them into small pizzas and cooked in the oven about 5 minutes. After cooling a bit, I added store bought pizza sauce (maybe the next time I will make my own sauce too!), toppings & cheeses. I tried a few different version (spinach, pepperoni, veggie...). After topping them, I wrapped in parchment paper, then aluminum foil and put them all in ziploc gallon freezer bags. (I can get 3 or 4 in a bag.) Both I & my husband have enjoyed them and they are so much better and better FOR you than the ones from the store! You can cook them frozen, but I recommend removing them from the freezer a little while before cooking. Let me know if you try these and how you like them!

I'm still taking my sunset photos....I liked this one from yesterday. I took these at the

boat ramp, so there were boats coming in as I was there and I caught one in the photo. It ALMOST makes me want to go out on a boat....almost!

Make Ahead meals

Ever since I saw this photo of someone's freezer on joelens.blogspot.com, I have been

wanting to make some meals and fill my freezer! So I finally made preparations & did it this week! For 3 nights, I cooked extra and prepared it for the freezer. On the first night I cooked a whole bunch of chicken and made chicken enchiladas. That was enough for our supper and 3 dishes for the freezer. I also had enough to make 3 chicken & broccoli casseroles and some chicken left over for my kitty, Mr. Spock. On the 2nd night I cooked a lot of ground beef & turkey and made spaghetti for supper. I had enough left for 2 servings for lunches, 3 dishes of lasagne and several containers of baked beans. Tonight I made homemade pizza dough and we had pizza for supper, so I have 2 crusts to make pizza later, plus I made 7 small pizzas for lunches so we won't have to buy those yucky, greasy frozen pizza for when we are in a hurry. I also made "Aunt Shirley's baked beans" in the crock pot and they are a whole meal with cornbread. I did a few other things, so now I am hoping I can be set to not go to the store for a month except for things to fill in (milk, bread, fresh veggies). I even have several breakfasts in there because I hate getting up early to cook! I will try to get some of my recipes and let you know how they turn out after being frozen. I finished all my cooking tonight, so should be able to use up the food for about 3 more weeks and take it easy and hopefully concentrate on creating now!

We've had a new kitty hanging around for a couple of weeks. I was hoping to find him a home on my own, but my kitties outside were so upset by having him here. Monday I took him to a local no-kill shelter. I was sad to take him, but I know he will find a good home. All his tests were negative, so he is ready to be neutered and start looking for his new home! I wish I could keep them all, but at 13, I am pretty full here. They can get expensive and I want to be able to take good care of the ones I have now. Maybe someday when I am rich and don't have to work.....I am still waiting for that day though!!

Sunsets....

I am obsessed with taking photos of sunsets lately....there is a good spot across the road from me where I love to go, or its fun to find a new spot some days. My next goal is to learn to take some pictures of the moon. That will be a challenge, haven't had much luck so far! But right now, I am still enjoying the sunsets. Its amazing that they can be so different every day, isn't it?

We have had some really warm days lately and its hard to believe it is winter! I'm already thinking about my garden and all the things I can do outside. Its so tempting to plant when its nice, but guess I should wait...Poncho (in the photo) is taking advantage of all these warm days!!

In the meantime, I have some new things to try that I can do inside. First is making some homemade laundry detergent. I am almost out, so will be trying it soon and will let you all know how it works out. I have been doing some early spring cleaning and cleaned out a lot of "stuff" (like my Raggedy Ann collection) from my laundry room. This will make room for things that are needed, now I just need to find a way that looks pretty!!

Tutorial update

I just updated the post below with the correct link for the Cat Palace tutorial:

http://www.box.com/s/amvu7z2h88jmkbvf16t8

Please let me know if this doesn't work for you!

Turn an old stereo cabinet into a Kitty Palace!

If you prefer the printable pdf version of this project, click here:  

http://www.box.com/s/amvu7z2h88jmkbvf16t8

 Text version:


1. Gather items needed





Old stereo cabinet, sand paper, paint for outside & accent paint for inside cabinet, paint brushes, newspaper (to put down on floor), fabrics for pillows, hammer, small nails, sewing machine, matching threads, hand-sewing needle, tape, scissors, polyfil, plywood cut to fit back, velcro (sew on kind & sticky back kind.)












2. Choose your paint & fabrics




Remove any unnecessary hardware. Sand all surfaces to be painted. This will scratch up the surface & allow the paint to stick to the surface. Try to get one of your cats to help you sand to make the job go a little faster.4. Paint Inside of cabinet

Paint inside of cabinet & back panel with your accent color. You can put the back panel on first but I think its easier to paint it, then attach to the back of your cabinet. It will probably take several coats to cover well. Its best if you DON'T let your cats help with the painting. They will be ready for a nap after sanding anyway

 5. Add back to cabinet

6. Paint Outside & back of cabinet 



Paint outside, edges and back (if you want) and allow to dry. If you are going with a light color, it will take several coats. I think I painted mine about 4-5 coats. You can work on the pillows while you are waiting for the paint to dry.

 7. Antique your cabinet








Hold your piece of plywood in place and nail with small nails. You can glue it too if you want...but I didn't want to....



When completely dry, sand the piece a little to make it look old. Especially concentrate on the edges and corners. I didn't sand the inside at all, but you can do that too if you want. I didn't seal mine because I like the flat finish, but if you choose to seal it, do it now, before you add the pillows and be SURE it is dry before moving on.





8. Measure for pillow


 Measure inside your cabinets for the pillows. Add 1/2" to the measurements. For example, my shelves were 13" x 17.5" so I made my pillows 13.5" x 18". I wanted to make my pillows thick, so I added a strip 3.5" wide, but that isn't necessary and I don't think I would do it that way if I had it to do over.

9. Cut fabric & get ready to sew


 Cut out all pieces for your pillow. I made a pillow for the top, but didn't like the look. You might like the look and want to try it. Cut 2 pieces for each pillow. If you want the gusset to make the pillows thick, cut it 3.5" (or the size thickness you want) and long enough to go all around your pillow, plus a little extra. The extra can be easily trimmed away.

10. Add velcro strips



I used 2 sets of velcro strips to hold my pillows in place. (You can leave off this step) I matched a sew on strip to a sticky back strip. Sew 2 strips on the back of each pillow. Stick the sticky back one on the sewn on piece but don't remove sticky back just yet...




11. Sew Pillows


If you are making pillows with 2 pieces, just sew the 2 pieces together with a small opening for turning & stuffing. If you are addign the gusset, pin the strip to the top piece (wrong sides together) and sew all the way around, matching the strip to the corners as you sew. Pin the bottom piece to gussett and repeat, leaving a small opening to turn & stuff. Stuff lightly and hand sew the opening.


 12. Add pillows/final approval


Place pillows on shelves and get final approval on placement. When you get them where you want them remove strip from the sticky back and place on shelf. Press down and mash them firmly against the shelf so they will stay put. Step back and admire your work--along with your cats.

13. Add cats


Place cats on shelves in a pleasing manner....or just wait and they will find the perfect spot!

14. Little extras


I sprayed some catnip spray on the pillows--some like it, some could care less. I thought later that on the taller shelf you could put an eye screw and hang a toy from the top on the inside. You could line the sides (inside) with cork or sisal for scratching. Or you could elminate the pillow in the middle and make a big hole for them to climb through. OR Cut a hole in the side, just above the middle shlf and build some steps for them to climb on to get to the 2nd level!



Note: you are welcome to place this tutorial on your blog or website, but you must link it back to my blog or website (below), give credit to Denise White of the Cat's Pyjamas and you must include all pages,




 www.thecatspyjamas.typepad.com or www.thecatspyjamaspatterns.com


You may not sell this project or tutorial or print in a publication without my permission. Any questions, email denise@scottsboro.org

Bilbo

I am sad to say that we lost Bilbo last Tuesday. He has been diagnosed with a heart condition for almost 3 years and has done well with it. Besides one upper respiratory infection last spring, he has done well and got a really good report from his heart doctor this summer. One Tuesday morning, he started having blood clots and was struggling to breath. It was a hard decision to let him go, but we were both able to be with him until the very end. I will miss him so much, but it does help me to know that he was one of the happiest cats I have ever been around. I am sharing this Christmas picture with you because this just shows his personality perfectly. We used to laugh because he would purr if you just looked at him or just touched him with your finger. He was the one cat that was happy to let the kids pet him when he came over and always wanted to snuggle with the other cats. He has been like that since Kenyon brought him home almost 12 years ago. I am glad for every day that he got to be with us...we will miss you, Bilbo!!