What's the tip jar for?

What's the tip jar for, you ask? Besides creating & designing, my other "job" is taking care of all these kitties! I have kind of made it my mission to take care of the kitties on my street that need it. I have gotten all the strays fixed and release them back here. Most of them stay, some just come back to eat once in a while. I now have 11 that live with me (some inside, some outside) and it takes a lot of time and money to feed them all and make sure they are healthy. So any little bit you want to share will be greatly appreciate by me and all the kitties here! Check out the kitties section over there on the left to see some pictures of my kitties. Some aren't around enough to get pictures, but I posted all 11 that hang around. My neighbors are always commenting on how "pretty and clean" all my cats are, so they are well taken care of! I am trying to count and if I haven't left any out, I have gotten 18 cats fixed. But it feels like I have forgotten to count some of them....

I really appreciate Dr. Garner and her staff at Critter Care/Kayleigh's Haven. They have a TNR program that has helped out a lot and they answer questions and give me tips on a weekly basis!

Surprise! 2 new designs in Create & Decorate!

I got a nice surprise today! I got my issue of Create & Decorate in the mail and was flipping through the pages....got to page 10 and there were my little twin kitties and Halloween sitchery! I didn't even know there were going to be there....so that was a nice surprise for me! If you haven't checked out their magazine....go get one now! I love it....it is just full of patterns. Truly, I wanted to make almost everything in every issue. I never get the time, but I always WANT to! If you don't get to pick up this issue of Create & Decorate, you can still go to my website to order these patterns. For the cats, click here or go to my website, www.thecatspyjamaspatterns.com and you will see the links on the home page. For the stitchery, watch here for the free pattern!

Is it ever hot here!!

It has been close to 100 all week...and supposed to be hotter next week! And my air conditioning is out on my truck!! Lucky for me I don't go anywhere much. ha ha! My poor flowers are wilting. I did snap some pictures of some zinnias that came back from last year. I didn't do much in my garden this year and it shows.

I cut some of the zinnias to bring inside and the kitties all had to take time to smell the....zinnias, of course!

So today, I got about 15 doll dresses cut out and 3 dolls are dressed and only need hair! Where does the time go? I thought I would have all the dresses ready and on the dolls by tonight. Now its 7:35 and its almost time to quit!! I am TRYING to get myself on a normal schedule--get up at 7, workout, etc. and be ready to work by 9 am, then quit around 5. I haven't had that schedule in so long, it is hard. But I have some things coming up and I need to have a set schedule. I am dying to post what's going on....but I don't like to "count my chickens before the hatch"!!! SO.....pretty soon I am sharing my good news (I hope).

Oh, and those of you who asked about Pumpkin, he is just fine. He went to the vet and just sat there under a chair looking pretty! He would barely walk and when he did, he was fine. I felt like a fool because they couldn't see anything .... said maybe his foot was asleep. My husband saw him doing the same thing that night so I am not crazy!! My sister asked about him and my Momma told her "Pumpkin is fine, but they sent Denise to a psychiatrist." LOL...very funny, Momma!

 

Pay it Forward (and other stuff)

Yesterday I was just browsing around on the internet, like I had nothing better to do. ha! I ran across Missy's blog and found a link to her Pay it Forward swap thingy....darn it, I was too late to get in on that one, but I'm starting my on. Here's how it goes....

I promise to send the first 3 people that comment on this post a small gift within the next year.  And in return, they post a pay it forward swap on their blogs!

What fun!

I got up this morning, ready to get to work. But noticed Pumpkin must have injured his foot in the night--noticed he had trouble getting up, but I thought maybe he was just stretching, but he's walking instead of running around like a maniac and his foot tries to slide out from under him. So I have to take him to the vet this afternoon....poor baby!! Had to share a cute picture of him......Now, I normally don't dress up my kitties, but I found this little knit cap and I just couldn't resist putting it on him. He actually didn't mind it too much! He's a pretty laid back kind of kitty anyway. Oh, and its been one year since we rescued him! I still think about it every time I drive by the briar patch where we found him. I wonder if he remembers????

Today....I have whole piles of dolls all over my kitchen! I'm concentrating on a bunch of raggedy ann dolls for today. My husband found this huge old apple basket, so I'm trying to make enough raggedies to fill up the basket. I am just realizing it is HUGE and it will take a lot! My next show is The Yellow Daisy Festival and its only about a month away!! I guess that means I better GET BUSY!!

Okay, last night I did something I knew I shouldn't do....we have a problem with raccoons because I sometimes forget to bring the cat food in from outside. I tried buying bins with lids and that "lock", but they are too smart for that. They drag them off and open them, then clean them out! So last night, I went out to put my food up and there was a kind of small raccoon on my porch. The cats were hungry, so I put them a little food out and waited on the porch to keep the racoon from eating their food. Well, it wasn't long before he was back, trying to eat the food off the porch. He got too close and it scared me, so I shook the bag at him. He just ran under my truck, but would come right back. He was so darn cute, I threw him some food and he was just grabbing it up as I threw it. He got pretty brave and shaking the bag wouldnt' scare him off and he eventually went under my truck and wouldn't leave. I am afraid he will be hanging around for a while! We one had a momma with about 4 or  5 babies that used to come. That was BAD! I have too many cats, I can't afford to feed all raccoons too! I did see a girl walking down the road a few weeks ago with a BABY RACOON in her back pack! He was so cute and tiny, I had to stop and ask her about him. She said they were remodeling a house and he fell out of the ceiling --she raised him and now he goes everywhere she goes. If a car hadn't pulled up behind me, I would have talked longer Now I wish I had asked to take some pictures of him. For a couple of weeks I was halfway wishing I would find a baby I could raise. ha ha! I'm over it now though....I raised one kitten on a bottle from 1 day old and that was a lot of work. Definitely worth it and I would do it again if I HAD to!

Okay...waiting to hear from the first 3 bloggers so I can "pay it forward"!!!

Bad Blogger!

I have been a bad blogger....how long has it been? With so many things going on, it is hard to remember sometimes! So a lot has been going on....We just got back from the beach last week. I went with Momma, 2 sister, my niece & 2 nephews. It was a lot of fun! We spent a lot of time on the beach, shopping/browsing at souvenir shops, and of course eating. We ate at Lamberts (www.throwedrolls.com). I had never been and never had rolls thrown at me before either! Its a fun atmosphere and the food is so good....the best fried taters ever!

As my sister & I were walking across the beach, I thought I saw a feather or piece of fuzz blowing across the beach. I decided to get a closer look and it was this tiny crab. How cute is that?

Soon I am hoping to have a bigger studio and maybe even start giving some art lessons! I should know in a couple of weeks for sure....I can't wait, but trying not to think too much about it until its a "done deal"!!  And we are about to start on remodeling our house again.....this time the living room and kitchen. I will be SO happy when I have a brand new kitchen! This house was built in 1930 and probably not remodeled since the 70's. It has light blue sheet rock walls & ceiling. I have started tearing that  down and there is bead board I will keep. There is an old chimney. It was covered with sheet rock, but one of the first things I did was uncover that....one of my favorite things about the kitchen!! When we moved there was nothing but a refrigerator, ugly metal cabinet with the sink and 2 tiny cabinets hanging on the wall. (One was in the corner!) So I have removed most of the sheetrock and painted the beadboard, put in dishwasher (but it has to be replaced now) and moved in some old cabinets, including a hoosier type cabinet. Right now it is just piece together....can't wait to have a real set of cabinets! A refrigerator with an ICE MAKER and new floors! Oh...and a door going out of the kitchen to the outside! So far we have remodeled a bedroom that we are using as a living room for now, bathroom, laundry and walk in closet. The best thing about finishing the living room & kitchen is the next thing will be a new roof and vinyl siding!

Have you looked at the current issue of Create & Decorate magazine? I have a star make-do pattern in there. Then it will be a while before I have another project in there. I haven't submitted things in a while until recently, so I will miss out on several issues! I do have some projects coming up in magazines/websites but I don't want to say what they are until they are published.....so keep checking back and I'll post the news when they're published!

The new kitty

I let the new kitty stay inside last night because she was still a little wobbly from her surgery. She stayed in another room in a cage. I let her out first thing this morning. I set her down on the porch with some food hoping she would stick around, but she took off to the shed she had been living in. I am sure she will make her way over here when she feels better. I wish I had taken pictures of her to share....she is really pretty! The girls at the vet's office thought she looked like she had a little British Shorthair in her....I agree! I would love to find her a new home soon. If I don't find them a home within a couple of days, I get attached and have a hard time letting them leave. I have only ever given 2 cats away in my whole life!  haha!

Well, this is a short one today. Maybe there will be pictures of the new kitty soon....and maybe new dolls will be done soon too!!

Holy Moly....is that Alfred Hitchcock?

  I just finished several new paperclay pieces....some Snowmen, Santa and this guy. I thought he looks like Ziggy, then my Momma pointed out he looks like "ALFRED HITCHCOCK"! "Good Evening...." she says. Anyway, decorating a Christmas tree is the last thing I ever imgined Alfred Hitchcock doing, but here he is doing it! lol! You can go to www.thecatspyjamas.com and click on the Papier Mache section to see "Alfred" and my other new designs. There are lots of moon ornaments there (of course). My favorite is Santa with his big belly, bottle brush tree and stack of wrapped gifts beside him. Look for me at Homestead Hollow (Springville, AL) in October, Christmas Village (Birmingham, AL) October 31-4 and Yellow Daisy Festival (Stone Mountain, GA) in September. I'll have these and bunches of new designs with me at the shows. If you do make it to one of the shows, come by and introduce yourself!!

Check out the next issue of Create & Decorate magazine....I have an Americana Make-Do in there! Seems like so long ago that I sent it in. I was surprised when I looked at their site yesterday and saw it was going to be in the next issue! Go to www.createanddecorate.com and look at next issue and you can see a sneak peek of the make-do.

In the cat department....a few days ago a new kitty came to our neighborhood. She is skinny and a little sickly, but after a few days of food, she is feeling better. And today she is at the vet getting fixed so there won't be a whole litter of kittens in a few months! ;) The vet's office had EIGHT kittens and two big cats for adoption. Couldn't resist going to see the kittens. As soon as I got near their cage, every one of them stuck their tiny little paws out, reaching for me. Its almost tempting to bring the whole bunch of them home and snuggle with them!!