Crafting with Cats

This is Gingy Pingy...also known as Gingybread and other names I will not type because children might be reading this...

...and this is Sophia the Fuzz, also known as Judy because she glares at us in silent judgement (as one can observe in photo below).

While their colors and overall personality differ, they have one thing in common: they're both supreme craftholes.

I don't know if it's the sound of the scissors that intrigues them, or the sparkling glitter or metallic glue gun smell but once I sit down to create, they decide it's a great time to be all up in my business.

Yes, please feel free to completely trample over my creations. Sophia, don't forget to crumple my print-outs and also, Gingy please do enjoy plonking your fuzzy behind on top of my supply container. You know full well that you are too cute and look too comfortable so I cannot move you.

Yes, they sashay all over my desk, trampling new ornaments, smearing or knocking over paint and stealing the brushes. Sometimes Gingy even decides to have a taste, just to be extra jerky. He probably pooped glitter that day (I hoped it scraped him on the way out).

Despite their dastardly doings (mostly by Gingy, as you've probably gathered), I still managed to produce a fair amount of Christmassy goodness this year. Here's a final shot of Gingy commandeering a container...I should have shipped him off to the Craft Fair as well but I think they would have returned to sender. Such a sweet CATastrophe. The struggle is real!

These lollies don't suck!

Hi crafty people! I know, I know...I've been a procrastinating poster over the last few weeks, but not because I've been lazy. I've been busily elfing away in my little corner office fulfilling a flurry of lolly orders! Who knew that this lil' cute idea would be so popular!?

Pictured: Sugar spirals of love and glue gun burns. Please take note of my awesome new mug which I bought from me to me for my Birthday in late November! I think I'll get a paint pen and draw a check mark next to "spice" (I'll tell ya what I want, what I really really want).

Crafting epiphany - I love making ribbon bows, however I found that I do NOT enjoy making 30 ribbon bows at once. Also, is it possible to get a glue gun callous on my hand from constant use, cuz, ouch?

Bonus picture - Cat-ception: Me, wearing a CAT shirt while holding my Mom's CAT!!! "Boy" the ginger tom was duly impressed, which is obvious by his dozy expression.

Wakey, wakey, Eggs & Bakey (& Toast)

My cousin's all-day breakfast restaurant inspired me to make these cute (kawaii) Christmas ornaments. I think the toast is my favorite, with its little pat of melting butter. 

These Gingers have Soul

I'm not a cookie person (chips are more my thang) however Christmas cookies are an exception! Since I live in Belize where it's generally 100 degrees (ooh rhyming), using a hot oven is not a fave past time. Anyways, feeling crafty I was inspired by cookie clipart and set out to make some gingerbread ornaments from craft foam.

I thought I would document the process in case a fellow Christmas-crayzee wants to try it for themselves.

Follow along with the pictures:

1. Make templates: Trace shapes onto cardboard to make your templates (I recycled cereal boxes for this project). Then using a pencil or ball-point pen, use the template to trace the shape onto brown foam sheets.
2. Cut shapes out: Carefully cut out your ornament from the foam. I find that small, needle tip scissors work best.
3. Crispy-fy your cookie: To get a sort of "crispy cookie" scorched edge effect, use an oil pastel crayon along the edges. I guess you can also paint the edges if you prefer.
4. Icing time: I ran out of white puffy paint, so I experimented with "icing' options. In the end, I used my glue gun silicone glue to create the raised icing effect. You can also use puffy paint or even flat white paint.
5. Berry nice: Using a single hole punch, I cut "berries' from a sheet of glittery foam, then glued them in place.
6. Paint your icing: The dried silicone glue lines were painted with white acrylic paint to look more like icing. I applied a several coats with a thin brush.
7. Voila! You just no-baked cookies! Add magnets or a ribbon/string and you're good to dough...I mean go!

Hey Sweet Thang!

Dieters beware! I've been busy "cooking up" some sweet treats in my little crafty corner! See the high-calorie cuteness below:

Ooh Shake your flakes! I tried my hand and painting, and it didn't come out too badly. I painted directly onto craft foam with really cheap acrylics lol. Note the chenille stem poinsettia. They don't call them pipe cleaners anymore...I guess cuz everyone uses them for crafts and not cancer?

Mesmerizing swirls of delight (and foam). I'm just glad that I finally found a use for these wooden craft sticks that I impulse-purchased like....years ago. Anyone else do that? I buy craft supplies that I "might" find a use for. I do eventually...mostly...

Oooh La LA! I tried the heat-forming (thermoformado) thing again to make a cupcake, and it's kinda cute. Well, the biscotti or whatever it's supposed to be, are sort of positioned like tv antenna (yes, I'm old ok) so that needs changing...but all in all, CUTE!

What do you think?

High Elf Esteem

So, in my crafty research I keep coming across video tutorials on a craft foam technique called heat forming or "termoformado" in Spanish (craft foam is reeeeaaally popular in South America). Basically, the craft foam is heated (carefully) on an iron or some other hot surface, and then stretched/pressed into or over a mold. When the foam cools down, it retains the shape of whatever you used.

I saw a video showing how to make these adorable elves, and I was totally motivated... the heat forming part of this craft involves stretching hot foam over polystyrene balls.

My first attempt was a disaster, UN DISASTRE! So, I set the idea aside for a little while. Then I found this video, demonstrating a simple technique to help you shape the foam over the ball...And I was like...LET'S DO DIS!!!

So I DO-ed it, and it came out pretty decent!!He's comfy in an egg cup while the paint dries, then he'll get a hanger and be ready for the tree.

Termoformado level: Elf Esteem!!!