End of Summer, foster kittens, Home repairs!

Hello August! I swear, this month gets warmer each and every year now. But soon, those autumn temperatures will be joining us shortly. The trees foliage has not started yet but the leaves are beginning to fall.
I had some short staying visitors ~ foster kittens! They arrived at my home as orphans and just 5 weeks old. They were sisters and it was unknown what happened to their mother (or any other litter mates). The runt of the two had some special needs that I was informed of. She seemingly was much smaller then her sister and had a underdeveloped jaw. She may have other issues yet unknown, since she was quite small.

the littlest one, named Felicia

her sister, Freida

Needless to say some fosters have more challenges then others. These two were not litter trained at all. Despite my best efforts they returned back to the shelter about 9 days earlier then expected. I tried my best, had two littler boxes, they had their own room - but as a volunteer I could only do so much. Also a concern about Felicia not growing as fast as her sibling was something the shelter wants to address. I volunteer for a no-kill shelter which never turns away special needs or special medical care pets. I can pop in whenever I want to check on their progress!

In the meanwhile, I had been doing small home repairs and redecorating! If you ever have a house you will know how daunting even the smallest of tasks can be. I wanted to re-paint the closet shelving along with re-paint the closet door in our bathroom. My husband kindly stripped the old paint off the door - turns out, it was solid wood. I picked a pale blue shade since the walls are a pale grey colour. I've been posting with updates of my project on my Instagram page for my crafting. It did come out nicely and I'm happy we did this ourselves!

the before and after of the closet shelving

before the finished project

I decided to add something to hang my many hair decorations up on. I decided on cork board and floral pins! It was very affordable and an easy project for any novice to try. This way my barrettes, clips and other hair decorations are easily visible. And the floral pins have a pearl faux end to them, so you can hang elastics easily. It made for a simple way to display things without needing any nails or tape to keep the cork board in place.

square cork board and large floral pins

the finished project

easily find hair items and can move the pins as needed

I hope you have been enjoying the end of summer where you live. We have had some record breaking hot days here and I'm happy they are behind us. It won't be long now and we will all be bundling up in layers and the foliage will be here! Com on autumn, I am looking forward to you arriving!

Welcome Summer, Vest repairs, baby gift

Let's all give a warm (ha, get it?) welcome to the summer season! It's hot, it's humid and you want to stay indoors and in the cool breeze of a fan. So what have I been working on? Plenty of things, that's for sure! Of course stop by my Instagram to view weekly things I do or share about.

Each season I enjoy decorating and celebrating the season. On June 21st we had Summer Solstice, which did these photos for and a staff.

summer decor

summer solstice

I've been sewing, crafting and doing repairs to thrifted clothing I already own. The vest above needed some TLC recently. The piping on this (the edging) was frayed and just falling apart with time. So how do you repair that? Well I wasn't going to tear apart the piping edge on this! Instead, I find a simple (beginner. easy) solution that can be done in an afternoon. 

a paint brush and puff paint

before & after

I purchased puff paint to make repairs with. I used a dark brown shade which matched perfectly! With the use of a paint brush, I could simply dip it in puff paint, then paint the piping. This left a nice smooth coverage and no more frays or cracks! Just put down a little paper and use a wide brush, easy as that.

plush toy pattern design

I am also working on a toy plush for a friends soon-to-be baby boy (due in autumn). I based this off Nightwing from the Teen Titans series. Since it's for an infant I kept a simple round pillow shape to it. I am going to use flannel fabric, felt and sew it mostly by machine. I try to never put any pieces that an infant can tear off - safety first! So no buttons, ribbons or the like. I only recently cut the pattern pieces out and traced them onto fabric.

If you are in the mood to shop for handmade gifts, do visit my Etsy shop (linked in the side bar). I have over 35 items for sale currently. I have felt creations, plushes, hair accessories, upcycled clothing and much more! Support small business, support artisans and gift handmade when you can. 

Decor, a Sleep mask and my Pets

Hello and welcome to 2018! I know, several weeks late and almost a month so (ha haha!). Winter has been a mixture of storms, warm spells and my pets having little colds. I know, the poor fur babies!

So if you have not paid my etsy shop or Instagram a visit ~ you should! I update with photos, new listings and projects I am working on. I also enjoy posting short videos of projects, techniques or things I have found in craft stores. You can also keep up with me on those places since I enjoy posting often.

my DIY fawn sleep mask

An ongoing project is my Fawn sleep mask. This is a project I've had going since last month. I used a homemade pattern based off a current sleep mask I have. From there I sketched ideas of what I wanted to make, coming to the idea of a fawn or deer. I used cotton printed fabric, flannel for the back (against your eyes) and felt for the ears and antlers. You can use any elastic for the piece that goes around your head, I used soft elastic used for clothing.

I also made a new front door decoration for the coming of spring. I based it on Saint Brigid's cross. She is often associated with Ireland and Gaelic stories and lore. Her cross is unique in it's shape and is weaved from many types of materials. I used faux grass reed, flower and ribbon for my decor. And on the back I did add some glued spots to keep it together in the outside weather. 

my St.Brigid's cross

So far no birds have decided to use my decor for their nests. It was an afternoon project that I greatly enjoyed making. You can also find many tutorials online about how to weave the middle cross part. Once you get the hang of it it's not too difficult for children to learn as well. Mine is hung on my front door but can also be made smaller and hung on the hearth of ones home.

And now for my pets - goodness me! Our calico got sick and needed medicine. And if you have a large cat (she is 13 pounds) you know what a challenge it is to trick them into taking it. The dog got quite sick after a vet visit, we think he caught something while there. The poor boy, you could tell how uncomfortable he was. Off to the vet (again) to give him medication and a shot, he has since recovered. And the boy cat, my fluffy mutt. He surprised us all! He is newly diagnosed as diabetic. The veterinary first suggested we try a special RX food for him. We return for a follow up next month to see if insulin daily will be the next step.

my boy, Howl cat

So next month I hope to share more projects, new listings in my shop and pet updates! Be well friends. Please be sure to visit my Etsy shop and Instagram, links on the side bar.