It's the little things

This is just a quick little post dedicated to the little things that mean a lot. 

One of my best friend's grandmother passed away yesterday and it's been a difficult time for her and her family. I know people usually send food as condolences, but I figured that this might cheer her up a little more than a casserole. It's a patch, hand-embroidered with her nickname onto linen and felt. I put it in an envelope and will post it tomorrow because I don't know when I'll see her next and I know that, personally, receiving mail always brightens my day so I thought it was worth it to try and brighten hers. 

Often times, the little things mean a lot more than we think they do. This took me under an hour, and hopefully will bring a smile to her face. I always try to keep that in mind, that things that don't seem big to us may mean the world to someone else. (I'm not saying this gift will cure her grief, I'm just hoping it brings her a little joy.) 

Have a nice week and give your loved ones a hug.

P.S. I have some exciting sewing things lined up for this summer, so get pumped. Maybe not too pumped, maybe just moderately looking forward to seeing more life on this blog! 

Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful colorful Christmas!

Too much listing not enough doing

Hello there!

So, I'll just be straight with you. The only thing I have made in the last two weeks is a bunny and his scarf isn't finished so I don't have a picture for you. I was going to sew a bunny this afternoon, but instead I cleaned my room, which turned out to be a much better idea. I did work on my Book of Inspiration and Happy Thoughts a little bit, I added pictures and several lists, which brings me nicely to my next topic.

Lists.

If you've been keeping up with me for a while (in which case hello, thank you for your loyalty and continued interest) you will know that I love lists. I love making them, and I love reading lists that other people have made. I have lists of everything: lists of things to do that day, to do in the future, of books to read and books I've read, of music, of movies, of countries I want to visit.

However, it has come to my attention that making lists is definitely my most pronounced form of procrastination. Sure, I have several methods of procrastinating things, I'll go on YouTube or Tumblr for a while (several hours), I'll eat, I'll clean my room, I'll cuddle my cat... The list goes on. However, what I do when I most want to fight off actually doing things is that I will make a list of things that I should be doing. It motivates me to a certain extent because I have a moment of realization where I tell myself "This list is getting too long to justify writing it". So I get up and do things. Other times, and this happens a lot, I write the same list many times. Sometimes in a different order, sometimes copied basically word for word. It's a huge problem and I'm working on doing rather than listing.

I'm telling you all this because I started this post thinking "I'll just write a list of upcoming projects" and then I realized that I never abide by my lists anyway, so I wrote a whole spiel based on that thought instead.

I did have a creative funnel this week though, because I planned my birthday party. I made invitations a few weeks ago to send by mail. I love getting and sending mail, so I thought, why not? Then I planned the menu (and made part of it) and some of the minimal decoration. Let me tell you, stringing up twinkle lights on our back porch is one of the best decisions I've ever made. They look beautiful. I'm hoping my parents will forget to take them down. The only decoration thing I got a picture of were the candles in the Mason jars which were largely inspired by Tumblr but looked really adorable.

On that note, I hope you have a great week and that I will have a more interesting post next time!

My Book

Hello!

The school year is now officially underway, which of course means that my brain is just about bubbling with equations and monomers and the Civil War and the present tense of Spanish verbs. I have never really been overwhelmed by school, because I genuinely like learning and gaining new knowledge. However, this year, we are three weeks in and there are days where I feel like I'm drowning in school-work, which is never good. So, last week, I decided to start a new, on-going project that would have no deadline and would serve no purpose other than to distract me from school and to give me an accessible creative outlet for the days where it all gets to be too much.

This is My Book, or My Book of Inspiration and Happy Thoughts. Basically, it's going to be a compilation of things that make me happy. For the outside cover, I took pages from a book of poetry I bought for $0.75 at the library (if you ever need books for a project, hit up your library they always have books for sale for really, really cheap) and used Mod Podge to glue them to the book's front and back cover. There are a few air bubbles, but really it isn't that bad and the Mod Podge also acts as a varnish so it's all nice and polished. 

For the inside cover I cut out a road map and glued it on to hide the mess of the book pages. 

I found a bunch of pictures that I've liked over the last few months on Tumblr, printed them out and made a collage across the two first few pages.They're pretty and they make me happy, so they fit. Over time I think I'll also add pictures of myself, my friends and family. I'm also going to have poems and quotes written in. The page after this one has the list of my recent music obsession, which I will link you at the end of this. 

If you want a fun, stress-relieving project, I suggest this. It was inspired by my journal for art class (yes, I'm finally taking an art class and it's amazing). You can get an 8.5x11 notebook at a local arts and crafts store for about $10 and everything else is either printed or thrifted, so it really doesn't cost much. The best part is that there are no rules and no deadline, it's basically a visual brain dump. It's a lot of fun. 

I hope you have a great week!

Here is the link to my music love: http://8tracks.com/deadsoulsx/look-how-the-autumn-leaves-fall

It's really not that easy

Hello!

As a crafter-sewing-knitting-person, I have to find some inspiration somewhere.

That's what I use as an excuse when I spend hours looking through various social media at things people have made.

What I've noticed while browsing through blogs, Pinterest, Tumblr, you name it, is that there are a lot of projects that are two steps long or something and say "You can do this really quickly and easily."

NO. You can't.

I thought I'd give it a go anyway, because I needed a quick and easy but cute craft for my friend's birthday. I knew she loved Mason jars and I thought "Who else loves Mason jars? Oh that's right, most of the Internet." So off we go.

I found this idea for a hot chocolate mix that I really liked and decided to follow it. So we begin. I will write here an accurate instruction for this project.

Ingredients/materials:

1. Unsweetened baking cocoa (2 cups)
2. Sugar ( 3/4 cups)
3. Chocolate chips (more rather than less)
4. Mason jar
5. Marshmallows
6. Ribbon
7. A paper tag

1. Gather your ingredients. And by that I mean, have your mom drive you to various stores because you can't drive and none of them are within decent walking distance. Find Mason jars. Go to next store. Spend ages finding unsweetened baking cocoa. Also grab extra chocolate chips because you didn't check if you had enough at home. You're pretty sure you have sugar at home, so you don't get any. Luckily you do have some.

2. Mix cocoa, sugar and chocolate chips. Promise your brother some when you're finished. Try not to get it all over the windowsill. Did I mention you have to do this around 5 o'clock when the lighting is starting to fade away slowly but surely?

3. Move to the kitchen counter for added precaution. Realize that you are hopelessly clumsy and decide that making a funnel out of printer paper is a good idea to avoid getting chocolate mix all over the counter as you pour it into the jar. You are wrong. The counter will be coated in a beautiful dusting of chocolate within 20 seconds of beginning this operation. When this is done, you realize that you said you would give some to your brother, so you scoop some out of the jar. Then you realize that  it only fills about half the jar, so you close it and ponder possible solutions.

4. The next day, get marshmallows at the local market when you get off the bus after school. Hurry home before the light fades and you can't take anymore decent pictures. Get mini marshmallows because you'll be able to put more in the jar and also you'll feel less guilty if you eat more, because they're smaller right? Stuff the marshmallows in the jar to the brim. Decide to wait until the next day to finish decorating the jar and to take pictures.

5. Add two ribbons to the lid. This step went relatively well.

6. Realize you should probably add a tag to the jar. Remove ribbons and write nice message on a paper tag before tying the ribbon up again.

7. Admire your finished product.

So you see? All the blogs and pictures that makes little projects seem really easy are hiding the real aspect of doing any kind of craft. It takes time, forethought and also a driving license. Although you can manage just fine without one, but it does help.

In the end, this was fun project to do and the taste was approve by my brother, so it must be good. Also, I do really love Mason jars. I bought one for myself, I don't really know what I want to do with it. I keep seeing recipes that have salads or desserts in Mason jars and I kind of want to try it. I'll keep you up to date.

I will be taking something of a break from sewing for a while, due to the fact that I stuck a sewing needle in my knee, that I made a dress two sizes too big and that I will have neither the time nor the patience for sewing in the next few weeks. However, I can't ever not do anything, so we'll see what happens. Stay tuned for more Blue Cat misadventures!

(PS. Tell me what you think of the bigger pictures! I kind of like them, I might stick with them.)

At least you get some music out of it

Hello!

Yes it's been a while.

I have been insanely busy.

Before I started high school I was told that it would be a lot of work, a lot of free time that I wouldn't have, and frankly, I didn't really believe it. Last year, aside from a few theatre meetings during the week and horse-back riding I didn't have that much to fill my time, which is why this blog was much more active at the time.

And then this year happened.

And I understood.

I have theatre, which has been a huge time commitment as I was appointed a leader position. I have a job at the library now. I have (and this is going to come off as sounding really strange) a lot more of a social life than I've ever had. Which means that my crafting-sewing-knitting time has been severely reduced. All the things that keep me busy are good things (the unmentioned million hours spent surfing the web do not count among the good things) but they are a significant time consumer. I also have my Etsy shop that has been needing stocking up. Usually when I make stuff for the shop, I don't post it here because it's a little repetitive. I will be adding more things hopefully this month, as I should have a little more time.

In addition to the amount of regular things, we've been hit by a major icy-snowy-cold winter. I've had more days off this year than in the last two years combined. And it's only February. You would think that would be a good thing for sewing-crafting-knitting. And it can be. I finished the back and most of the left front of my cardigan.
However, I was planning on sewing some things on the sewing machine, which didn't work out as planned. Two problems occurred: I ran out of supplies, and the store was closed. Secondly, the power went out which is inconvenient when one needs the aid of an electric sewing machine.

So there you go. To make up for this lousy post, I will be giving you a list of music that I have been obsessively listening to. Somehow this is always my go-to excuse.

Requiem for Blue Jeans by Bastille
Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey
A Little Party Never Killed Nobody by Fergie (featuring a bunch of people)
Who We Are by Imagine Dragons
Icarus by Bastille
Monster by Imagine Dragons
Pompeii by Bastille
Ready, Aim, Fire by Imagine Dragons

As per usual, I have a very eclectic music taste. Lots of Imagine Dragons. And Bastille, which is slowly climbing up the ranks to becoming my favorite band.

At least you get some music out of it.

First update, first excuses

Hello!

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted anything since last year (I like bad jokes, haven't we established that already?). That is because, and I'm sure many of you can relate, I have been insanely busy for the last week. I have been on a constant school, theatre, homework and work on Mondays and Thursdays schedule.

In addition and because of how busy I have been, when I get home, the sun is nearly set and I usually don't have the time or the light to take pictures of things. As much as I enjoyed my light box, I like the look of "normal" pictures with natural lighting.

I think I should mention that my cats - as was inevitable and predictable - have destroyed my light box and it is no longer usable. If I make a new one, it will be out of wood and fabric, not cardboard and paper. It was good while it lasted though.

To make up for the lack of pictures/posts in the last two weeks, here are some pictures of a really cute lemur that I custom made for a family member back in November. Considering I completely improvised the pattern, I think I did okay.

Since this post is basically turning into a mess of nonsense and random facts, here is another.

If you have been on my Etsy recently, you will see that my stocks are severely depleted. By which I mean, I have all of one thing there at the moment. There is a valid reason for this. Actually, two valid reasons.

a) I didn't actually expect anyone to buy anything. I mean, I was hoping people would, but it seemed like a far-fetched idea. But apparently people did buy stuff and now I have nothing there. So thank you very much if you're one of the people who bought something. I hope it fulfilled all your stuffed animal dreams!

b) I have run out of some supplies. Plain as that. I will be restocking... eventually. Hopefully.

Yes.

So anyway, if you're here from my Etsy, and especially if you're one of the many people who has favorited my Otterbatch (thanks for that by the way) I will be making more, have no fear. They will be back up for purchase soon!

That's it, I believe, for the 2014 updates.

See you next time!

(I'm sure other bloggers have actual structures and ideas for when they write posts. I admire those other bloggers.)

A little quote, just a little quote

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." - Neil Gaiman

Happy New Year to everyone and anyone!

Happy Birthday Blog!

Hello!

It has now officially been one year since the creation of this little piece of the Internet.

Since then, much has happened (including setting up an Etsy shop, because what harm can a little more self-promotion do? clicky here to see it)

So here we are, a year later. And here's to many more to come!

Thank you,

Blue Cat

The Grand News

Hello!

So as you very well know, I haven't been on very much as of late and that is for several reasons, one being school, the other being theatre and the third being that I had some big news that I wanted to share with all of you. It ended up taking longer to set up than I had thought, but now I can finally tell you!

I have been wanting to set up an Etsy shop for a very long time and now, I have at last accomplished that goal!

For those of you who don't know, Etsy.com is an online international community of people who sell handmade things. There is jewelry, furniture, journals, art... Everything you can imagine someone making is there for you to buy. It's pretty wonderful.

And now, I'm there too!

At the moment, all that I have listed are Benedict Otterbatches (made to order, so if you want one for Christmas, I would suggest ordering now), a bunny, and a polar bear. More will be made this weekend and in the coming days, but now you know!

You can see my shop by clicking on the Etsy button to the right, or by clicking here!

Happy November - what day is it? - 16th... Happy November 16th!

A big thank you!

Hello!

So, I just hit 2000 views on this blog!

That may not seem like a lot to the bigger bloggers out there, but I haven't even had this blog for a year, so this is incredible to me.

Thank you to everyone who has visited my little corner of the Internet!

As a sign of my gratitude, here is a picture of my cat.

I imagine she thinks she's helpful. Poor dear, she't not very bright.

Happy friday!

A very loud idea at the back of my mind

Hello!

I've had this idea at the back of my mind, well not really at the back, more like screaming whenever I took pictures, but I've been wanting to do this for a while.

I wanted to build a light box.

So I built a light box.

Using this link here I knew how I wanted to make it. I scavenged the materials from here and there (seriously, the cardboard box was the hardest to find) and today I finally had everything I needed, including time.

Here's the best part: my dad just got a lot of used professional lights and I get to use them! So that's my lighting (I would have used some of the brighter lamps we have if I hadn't had the pro ones) and now, all that remained was to make it.

I kid you not, my entire day has been building up to this. I had a chemistry test to study for (which I did for a very long time) and math exercises (which didn't take as long as I thought) and once those were done, I could start! I even used an Exacto knife for the second time ever, which was a little worrying because I like all my fingers where they are.

But enough chit chat and suspense-building: look!

I took a few pictures of my little bear and then my brother came in and I took pictures of his Legos for him. I'm still playing around with the zoom and the background, but that's details. 

Just like all the cardboard that is covering my bedroom floor right now.

Details.

My room is a mess.

But what you should really take away from this post is that it is currently pitch-black outside my window and I still managed to take decent pictures! This is my revenge on horrible winter light.

Have a wonderful day/night/whatever!

A quick quote and some nice music

Hello!

As I don't have a proper post set up at the moment, here is some food for thought.



"When you're a kid, they tell you it's all grow up, get a job, get married, get a house, have a kid, and that's it. But the truth is, the world is so much stranger than that. So much darker. So much madder.

And so much better."



That's from Doctor Who, by the way.

And because we're not doing anything specific with this post, have some music:

Breakfast at Tiffany's, by Deep Blue Something
Sinnerman, by Nina Simone
This is War, by Thirty Seconds to Mars
Everything Has Changed, by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran
Let Her Go, by Passenger

I may have mentioned before that I have very eclectic music tastes.

Hope you're all having a lovely Back To School week (or just a lovely week for those who aren't returning to school)!

A little summary

Hello!

I have returned! I think that it would be far more interesting to show you than to tell you what I've done.

Exercises in photography

The island of Bréhat

More exercises in photography

 This was in Brittany in France (otherwise knows as the most gorgeous place on Earth) and then we went to the British island of Jersey (which is the closest I've ever gotten to visiting England).

No one can ever tell me it's always raining in England

And then we went to one of the most magical fantastic places I've ever been to. It's called Les Machines de l'île and I promise that no matter how old or humbuggy you are, you will shed your worries and you will become a child again, filled with wonder and awe. All the details and information are on their website.

(Blogger is being weird on me, so I'll just tell you here: there will be a normal post soon, in the meantime, enjoy these pictures!)

You can ride an elephant (which I did)

or a caterpillar (the finished version will be twice this size)

or you can fly with a heron (he's asleep at the moment)

I rode a terrifying sea horse

and admired a mischievous dragon

Well hello Mr. Turtle

 A walnut shell for the smaller adventurers

I highly recommend you go there.

Lazy Summer Sunday

Hello!

I had decided that today I would get up early, sew a bit, start to clear my computer's hard drive, do many intelligent and productive things. Then I woke up two hours later than I usually do.

So I slept in, had a good breakfast, browsed though this lovely piece of the Internet and went outside for a tiny little bit to do some archery. I came back in, kept reading through various blogs, and you know what?

Sometimes, that's all I need for a happy Sunday.

 I took a few colorful pictures instead of cleaning my room. I am almost as happy as my cat is right now.

Have a good week-end!

Of course I forgot

Hello!

I knew I wanted to tell you all something and now that there is one more hour left of today, I just remembered.

Today is Knit In Public Day. Was. Today was Knit In Public Day.

I didn't knit in public, because I didn't have time, although I do need to knit the second half of my pair of gloves. Yes, now that it's June, I'm making myself a pair of fingerless mitts. What is this logic you speak of? It seems I have none.

Happy Knit In Public Day! Gosh, I'm horrible at remembering this kind of thing, aren't I?

Well, see you next time in an episode of Blue Cat-forgets-stuff!

Oh look a blog...

Hello!

Yes, it's been ages, no I don't have to explain myself to you.

I'll be back soon, but I didn't get any good pictures so here is a sneaky preview!

More will be revealed soon when I actually take the time to take a good picture!

With that mysterious hint dropped, I will see you soon, I promise!

Good-bye!

Stroll along a hidden river

Hello!

A while ago I mentioned a little yarn shop that I really loved.

This time I remembered to bring my camera.

 Picture overload!

Those were fun to photograph...

The store is called Hidden River Yarn. You can read about it over here.
The address is 4358B Main Street, Philadelphia, PA.

I really recommend you go there and while you're in Manayunk, it's always nice to take a stroll by the canal and through the streets.

I found many stairs into Narnia, Middle Earth, Hogwarts and Camelot, but someone had blocked the passage-way, so I couldn't get through.

Oh well, maybe next time.

Have a nice day!
Bye!