Day 97

Today's craft was inspired by a treat jar I saw online.  I was at Michael's craft store the other day and picked up two glass jars that have a seal, one a bit bigger then the other.  This is the smaller of the two for the cat treats.  We have been keeping the treats in the bag they come in, but sometimes the bag doesn't get closed all the way and the treats dry out.  Such a waste of money!  This way they treats will stay fresh and the jar is adorable.

I used enamel glass paint in black and red to make cat paw prints and little hearts.  I have never made these designs on glass with a paint brush and the brushes I have aren't the best for small painting so the prints and hearts are a bit messy, but overall I think it came out cute!  And I put "Don't Make Me Beg" on the top for added charm.  Be sure to check out the last picture of Cody checking it out...

Here it is done:

Here is the jar plain, the way I bought it:

I started painting it:

All done!:

Another view:

And another:

Close up of the lid:

And here is Cody showing his indifference to the finished jar, I think he would like it more if it was full of treats!  But it had to dry....:

Day 89

Since I had stuff to do I decided to do what I thought would be an easy craft.  I pulled out the Kirigami book and chose to do the Bell Net fold.

It went well, until Cody grabbed the finished craft (not before ripping it while I was trying to take pictures of the finished work), he ran down the stairs, only to be attacked by Izzy and well...this is how it ended:

R.I.P Bell Net paper craft....

Before the carnage, I folded the paper and free handed the design for the cutting:

I then cut the lines, being careful not to do all the way to the end:

I gently unfolded it:

I then strung a thread on a piece of scrap paper and used it to pull the center up, to unfold the bell:

And here it is open, and this where Cody decided it was a cat toy:

And ripped it.....sigh....:

Here is an attempt at trying to show it hanging:

Right after the last photo I put it down flat and turned around, with my back turned that's when Cody grabbed the bell and ran down the stairs.  Refer to the first photo for the end of the story.  Ah well they are pretty cute, and I forgive them.  :)

Day 75

I was flipping through my book "365: Make Something Everyday and Change Your Life", the book that got me started on this journey.  I was looking for some inspiration and I found it on day 217 - "Create a flip-book animation in the corner of a notebook or book."  So that is exactly what I did!

I remember doing these simple flip books in school years ago, so I just went with a simple stick figure cat or dog, or deer, or whatever...use your imagination...and drew one on the corner of each notebook page (small so I can reuse this notebook for other things in the future) in pencil.  On each page, alternating, I did one with the legs out and one with the legs in.  And for an added bonus, I had Stan help me record it on the camera so we have a movie today!  After the craft video, be sure to watch the second video below of Cody molesting me while I was trying to record the craft!

Grab some popcorn and tune in:

And now here is Cody (if you turn your sound on you can hear him purring like a crazy kitty):

Day 54

This was just a crazy day, and I can honestly say that I almost decided to skip tonight's craft, even stop forever because it was just one of those days where I didn't want to deal with anything, let alone trying to figure out what kind of craft to do!  But then I remembered that life has good days and bad days and you have to take it for what it is, and keep going.  So that's what I did.

I didn't get to even think about a craft until 8:30pm, which is pretty darn close to my bed time, so I rushed around looking for something and decided on a Origami Suncatcher.  I did a two colored one this time and I had help from our cat Cody!  All in all, I'm really glad I took the time to do it, though I did rush and it's a bit sloppy.  But it grounded my thoughts and Cody had me laughing so it was really a great stress reliever for me.

I started with a sheet of orange and a sheet of red origami paper:

I folded each and was left with 8 rectangles for each color, but I only used four of each color:

I started folding each one, and Cody supervised, he licked the paper accordingly and at one point walked over them, getting them stuck to his feet, and freaked out.  I was laughing to hard to be mad:

Here is the finished suncatcher, notice Cody's paw of approval on the left:

Another shot of the finished suncatcher:

Day 48

So I was thinking all day that I just wanted to come home, do a simple craft and relax.  My first thought...bookmark.  I realized today that I had contact paper for a wedding craft I had planned and could use it as a laminate.  I mention all this to Stan and he helps me find a bookmark template online to make it even easier, just need to insert a photo and quote.  BONUS!  I tell him I want a picture of a moon, and he starts searching while I go to my trusty book of quotes to find something relevant.  I figure this will be done in no time...

Not so much...

Stan finds a nice picture, I find a good quote, we insert, print...and realize I had regular paper in the printer, so we print again, on white card stock.  Alright, no big deal.  I pull out my paper cutter, and the stupid thing is of course not cutting straight, so I try to fix it with regular scissors and I'm not straight.  I have a minor temper tantrum and have Stan trim for me.  Okay, I'm alright now, so I get out the hole punch and punch the hole at the top of the bookmark for the fringe string I want to add.  Low and behold I'm too close to the top, and end up splitting the hole open at the tippy top!  O..M..G...I fall to the ground and start slamming my head against the floor.  (Don't worry, we have carpet!)  I beg Stan to go downstairs and pop open a bottle of wine while I try to now cover the bookmark in contact paper to salvage the hole for the string.  I'm starting to hate bookmarks.  Alright, contact paper....I've never used it before, I cut a nice big square, put the bookmark face down close to the left side and fold the right side over to sandwich the bookmark.  Guess what??  I'm not straight, so the contact paper buckles and sticks...I toss the bookmark across the desk, and start swearing like a sailor.  Stan comes with wine...after a long silent gulp...yes, I admit it, a gulp...I feel better.  Stan takes over and trims it up for me.  Wine slowly goes through my body, I'm now feeling better.  I get the string and start stringing it through the now complete hole and can't get the knot to tie.  I keep trying while silently laughing manically in my head.  After about 5 attempts, I get it, I cut trim, I'm DONE!!!!

YAY!!!

And then I try to take pictures....sigh...our cat Cody decides he needs to help....sigh....I send Stan down for another glass of wine....here are the pictures..../headdesk

Bookmark with Cody trying to get the camera strap:

Close up or bookmark:

Another closeup and Cody:

Cody willing to rip my face off for the camera strap:

Day 45

When I got home from work tonight one of the first things Stan said was "I have a craft you can do tonight!".  And my first thought was "YAY!!!" because I wasn't too sure what I was going to do!  

His computer came with a bunch of craft software and he was checking it out today.  There was a template for a photo cube, you just add your pictures, print it out, cut it, score the folding lines, fold and glue!  That's it!  It was easy and fun and now I have an adorable photo cube of the 6 loves of my life to adorn my desk at work!!!

Printed on card stock:

All cut out and ready to be scored, folded and glued:

Folded, a little flimsy looking but it's holding up well:

Top view:

Another side view: