Stripes

When I noticed this shirt at the Goodwill I nearly did a little jig once I had my hands on it, it was that amazing. The best part was, the shirt had the correct barb for that week's 50% off sale. Final cost with tax: $2.08. When I bought it, it was a man's dress shirt, but now it is a shirt for my daughter. I made it tunic length, so right now she can wear it with leggings, but in a year or two it should still work with jeans. (It's quite roomy.)

She prefers the softer feel of a knit fabric so this shirt isn't one of her favorites, but when we're traveling (and there are fewer choices) it gets lots of use.

Cat Party Table Decorations

I tried not to spend an arm and a leg decorating for this party, because I really tend to go overboard on birthdays. I bought a pack of cat-toy mice at the dollar store, a pack of six styrofoam balls and a few skeins of yarn at Wal-Mart. The cat stuffed animals, and shrinky dinks I already had. (More about what I used it all for in a minute.) Oh yes, and I did buy the fabric to make the napkins.

About three weeks before the party I started stashing all the stuffed animal cats I found around the house in my sewing room. Surprisingly, the kids never seemed to miss them. I guess that means they have too many toys!

The photo isn't the greatest, but I used the shrinky-dinks to create place markers for each guest. When each person sat at the table he or she was greeted by a cute little kitty wearing a collar with his or her name. I just stitched the tags to a piece of ribbon and tied it around the cat's neck. My daughter really loves cats right now, so I had a ton of stuffed animals to choose from. If you don't have any little kitties lying around, you could probably find a few of them at your local thrift store. Our guests were all adults, but the stuffed kitties could make a cute party favor for kids to take home.

I made the collar place cards using shrinky dinks. They shrink down to one third their original size, so I made three-inch circles in Word. (That way I would end up with once inch name tags for each stuffed animal.) Within each circle I stuck in some cute cat clip art and the name of the guest, and then I printed right onto the plastic sheets using my ink-jet printer.

On my first sheet I discovered that black and gray ink ran - badly, but dark blue didn't. Why, I have no idea. And the dark blue really looked black after they shrank down. I also needed to adjust the fill of the clip art about 40%. As the plastic shrinks the colors concentrated and got significantly darker. Finally, I punched a hole for attaching the tag to the collar before they were placed in the oven. The plastic gets much thicker as it bakes, so punching holes afterward wasn't an option. If I hadn't already had the shrinky dinks, I would have just printed them out onto card stock - they would have been every bit as cute.

As for the table, I created a centerpiece using balls of yarn. (Which, of course, coordinated with the napkins.) I created the "balls" by winding yarn around styrofoam balls - just thick enough to cover up the styrofoam. It was a lot less expensive that buying all that yarn. Then I used the leftovers to string all over the table. I wanted it to look like all those little cats had been playing with it all afternoon. I added a few bowls of gold fish crackers (the perfect snack for hungry kitties,) a few candles and the toy mice and the table was done.

Cheap, easy, not too time consuming - and it looked great. This morning she told me, "Next year, I want a hummingbird party." I'm sure she'll change her mind 18 times between now and then, but it's fun to imagine what I might do...

Cat Cake

While planning the cat birthday party, I had visions of cute little cat shaped cakes, but my husband had other plans...

This part of my daughter's cat party was all his idea. Personally I thought this had to be the most disgusting looking cake ever. I was also a little worried it would make her cry. (Especially after my son got this cake on his last birthday.)

Luckily she loved it! It was my husband's brilliant idea to ask her to help him make the cake. She was thrilled to help, wanted to know exactly what the "secret" ingredients were and loved how her grandparents reacted when we brought it out. Of course, she thought it was the best birthday cake she'd ever had. Trust me when I tell you that while it may look disgusting, it tasted great!

My husband found the recipe here.

You Guessed It

Thank you so much for playing along! Several of you guessed our destination correctly. Go back and click on the photo of the condo and look at the railing on the porch. Do you see the "hidden Mickeys?" They are all over the parks: shaved into the back of a sheep, arranged in rocks in the bottom of the aquarium and even in the opening of the slide at Disney's Old Key West Resort. The kids had a hoot searching for them.

We had such an amazing trip!

My son nearly passed out from all the choices at the Lego Store, guarded by this guy. My daughter, whose world currently revolves around dinosaurs (and stuffed animals and cats) loved this place. If you are going to Disney I highly recommend getting a reservation ahead of time. We had them for all of our main meals and never had to wait for a table.

Our table was in the "ice cave." Several times while we were there a meteor streaked across the ceiling, but luckily the only thing to become extinct was our appetites. Attached to the restaurant is a shop similar where kids can build a dinosaur (just like the Build-A-Bear store.) My daughter built Sparkle, a diplodocus, who was her favorite friend of the trip - until we rode this.

photo courtesy of Disney

My husband thought his little dare devil would like it, but when she got off she said, "Papa, I'm NEVER going on that ride again!" Poor sparkle spent the rest of the trip in the closet...

Interruption

So sorry that I've been ignoring this space lately. I've got a very good excuse, I promise. We've been on vacation! It didn't seem wise to inform the world that our house would be empty for a week, so I opted to post about the trip once we returned home. Let me tell you, leaving on vacation the day after school got out made those last two weeks in May a little crazy, but it was so worth it.

Can you guess where we went? Perhaps a few clues will help...

Of course, from that first photo you know we flew. Actually we rode our bikes, took a ferry, drove five hours to Detroit Metro Airport and then got on the plane.

We went some place warm; considerably warmer than the 65 degrees (about 18 C) we left behind on Mackinac.

Our destination had amazing ambiance. And great light fixtures. Through my travels I've noticed that I seem to have a thing for lights. On this trip alone I probably ended up with pictures of ten different lights. Anyone out there recognize these little beauties?

Your final clue is our condo. I suppose it isn't really ours, but it was our home for the week. It was huge; two bedrooms, two full baths (one with a whirlpool tub), a kitchen, a living room, and a lovely little porch that overlooked a pond. It was bigger than pretty much every apartment I've ever lived in. We owe our friends Mark and Karen a HUGE thank you for helping us with that condo. We never could have done it without them.

I know it's not much to go on, but give it a shot. Where do you think we went? Awww c'mon, take a guess!

My apologies to my Facebook friends. Since I already posted a few photos there, you guys already know...

Cat Birthday Duds

The birthday shirt has become somewhat of a tradition round these parts. This year's shirt, of course, went with the cat theme. (The shirt is essentially the same shirt her brother got when he turned five.) The only problem is - it has disappeared! She wore it on her birthday and we haven't seen it since. I'm stumped. Hopefully it will reappear at the bottom of the toy box or in the dark recesses of one of the kids' closets. If not, I'm glad I got a picture of her in it.

For the last couple years I've also made the kids crowns for their birthdays, but this year I opted for ears instead. My daughter loved them. She has gotten them out a few times since the party; crawling over to me, nudging my leg, and asking me to pet her.

They were super easy to make. I just wrapped gros grain ribbon around a cheap plastic headband. (I hot glued every few wraps to make sure it would stay together.) Each ear is simply a triangle with a smaller triangle of felt appliqued on the front. Actually, it's two triangles sewn together, turned right side out, and then hot glued to the headband. The whole thing took less than an hour.

Such a sweet kitty...

Spring

I love living on Mackinac, and one of my favorite things about the island is the sound of freighters. After a long winter without hearing them (the Soo Locks are closed), I can't seem to get enough of those horns. I'm sure some people find that low deep sound annoying, but I find it soothing.

Maybe it's because when I first came to live on Mackinac Island (back in 1989) it was only in the summer time. Mackinac has a way of leaving her mark on your soul; it's hard to explain to people who don't have that connection, but it really is a magical place. So much so, that while I was only here for three months out of the year back then, that first night back in the Mission House* each June, as I lay down in my bed - window open - listening to the sounds of those freighters, I always felt like I had finally come home.

*The Mission House, originally a mission school for native children and later a hotel, is now used as a dormitory for the people who work for Mackinac State Historic Parks. I lived in that building for seven summers and have more wonderful memories than I can count...

Back to Work

Lots of horses have been returning to the island - ready to get back to work.
They travel just like the tourists do.

By truck,

and by boat.

I wonder if they argue about who gets to be by the window?

Cat Party Wall Decorations

The only ready-made cat party supplies I could find cost an arm and a leg, and they were pink. Not that there's anything wrong with pink, but it's not my daughter's favorite (much to her grandmother's disappointment.) Deciding to make the decorations worked out perfectly because I wanted them to coordinate with those napkins...

I made the banner using The Print Shop. It is a handy little program that I have on my computer at school. I easily use it once a week it to make banners, bulletin boards, signs and calendars for my students. Print Shop prints each pace of the banner on regular 8 1/2 by 11 paper, then you just trim one edge of each sheet of the paper away, line up the letters and tape the sheets together. Presto! Instant custom made banner.

The cat faces were made out of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper I bought at Joann's. You can see I bought a textured paper. It's a nice heavy card stock and tore beautifully. I really loved the way the tearing gives each piece the look of having a boarder behind it. (It doesn't - it's just the way that particular paper tore.)

You probably noticed that the banner was torn as well. I love the look of torn paper because it looks intentionally wonky. My perfectionist eye goes crazy when things are even slightly off kilter, so I tend to make them intentionally that way so I don't go crazy trying to make things look perfect.

Each cat face took one sheet of 12 x 12 for the main piece of the face and then scraps from other sheets for the details. (I needed three sheets of green to create two green cat faces. One sheet each of pink, black, brown blue and white was enough for all the details.) I didn't measure or pre-draw the shapes - I just tore the paper and went with what I got. I like the green cat face above the best - she has a more angular face and a larger chin. Somehow she just looks more cattish to me.

With Love

To Grandma Crissie and Grandma B,

Thanks for everything you do for all of us.
We love you both very much.

Happy Mother's Day!

(Original artwork provided by your grandson.)

Birthday Party Fit for a Cat

This year my daughter wanted a "cat party." Did I ever have fun planning this one! You've already seen our Cat's gift for her, but for the next week or so I thought I'd share I created the rest of her party.

In our house, birthday parties usually involve homemade napkins. I hate throwing the disposable ones away, and we love reminiscing about the party they were created for when we use the napkins later on. (What I've done in years past can be seen here, here, and here.) Since we often have napkins, this year I started with them.

I found the cat material at Joann Fabrics. It's part of Debbie Mumm's Classic Cats line. I usually cut my napkins out as a 20 inch square, so I can get six napkins from 1 3/4 yards of fabric. Since I'm a worrier (and I live on an island and just can't run out to get more,) I usually buy two yards just so I have some wiggle room. I've made double thickness napkins before - you know, the ones you turn inside out and then edge stitch. But since I got my serger I've been making single thickness ones. It's so easy to just roll the edge on the napkin and call it done. It's quick too - I think I made all of them in under two hours.

Once I had the napkin fabric, everything else seemed to fall into place. I had a color scheme (teal, green, and brown) so I could start working on the decorations...

The Crazy Old Cat Lady

Yeah, that'll be me in about 35 years...

It was "Future Dress-up Day" at school. Thanks to a muumuu, one of my grandmother's wigs, a ton of jewelry, red lipstick and a stuffed cat I was able to channel my inner Mrs. Roper. Let me tell you, those Hawaiian ladies had a great idea when they invented the muumuu. It was so comfortable - I think I could wear one every day.

My son went as a high school senior. He wore this shirt,

and a graduation cap. Too perfect that I had this shirt when our school's colors are blue and white. 2023 seems so far away, but somehow I know it will be here before I know it.

Making the shirt from plastic bags was a great way to whip up something for him the night before dress-up day!

Iron on decals from plastic bags tutorial can be found here.

I purposely didn't iron the letters and numbers on well. At the end of the day I peeled the letters off the shirt and can now reuse it for something else. Quite practical, if I do say so myself.

Happy Easter

This year Easter is a bit unusual for us - we're home! Usually we all go to my parent's house for the weekend, but this year we decided it was time to invite them here. Not traveling has been so nice. Now I just need to go iron my good tablecloth and get out grandma's china so we can enjoy a fancy meal. We've been in our house six years and I think this is only the third time I've gotten out the good china.

My husband is making salmon. I'm not sure that it "goes" with the green bean casserole (my son's favorite) or the baked brie and homemade bread (my favorite) but I'm sure my mom will appreciate not having to cook.

My Grandma Lilly got this china when she got married in the 1930s. The pattern is called "Chelsea Bird," though it's not my favorite as china patterns go. In fact, I use to call it "the chicken china," but I love that it belonged to my grandmother. She lived in Florida, so I never got to eat off these plates as a child, but I think it would make her smile to know that I think of her every time we use them. I'm going to have to work on creating reasons to get it out more often. Any suggestions for me?

Back Hat It

The hat bug has bitten once again. I just can't stop making these beanies! I think it's because I keep finding this particular sweater at Goodwill; this is the fourth one. I think I've finished eleven of these hats in the past two weeks. Now I just need to finish up all the flower pins...

Farewell to Fred

Fred, the beloved hamster in my son's classroom, died the other day. Given the tumor growing on his shoulder, the kids knew it was only a matter of time. My son wrote him (with help) a darling little note the day before he died...

Our school custodian (the old softy) built a little wooden casket for Fred, and then helped the K-1 class bury him. It was a sweet little funeral, just perfect for a sweet little hamster...

A Good Old Fashioned Barn Raising

Walking home last week we were able to watch a group of Amish (or perhaps Mennonite) men put a new metal roof on one of the island's barns. I was surprised to discover their families came to Mackinac Island with them. Apparently, that way they have a large enough group to hold their church services while they are away from home.

Each day my son looked forward to checking ton their progress as we walked past after school.

I've always wanted to spend a summer living with an Amish family. (My husband thinks I'm crazy.) I know would be quite challenging: no computer, no blog, no ipod, no cell phone, no sonicare, no makeup, etc. and I'm sure I'd be dog tired at the end of every day. But I think once my body was use to the labor, I'd enjoy it. I think in September I'd have a new found appreciation of all those little things in my life that I take for granted.

My daughter, on the other hand, would hate it - she is all about screens these days and does not understand our family limitation on "screen time." She might not enjoy an Amish summer, but there's no doubt in my mind that it would be good for her.

How about you - would you give it a try?

Our Cat's First CD Release

We're all about themed birthday parties in our family. So far birthdays in our house are a family affair, I'm sure the day will come when they ask to invite friends, but right now we usually have a special family dinner. Over the years we've celebrated with mermaids, rainbows, dinosaurs, fairies and Candy Land, but this year my daughter requested a cat cake. Since I usually tie the party to the cake request, her party will be all about cats.

My daughter loves our cat, Sushi. So I thought she might appreciate a present from her favorite feline. The cat and I spoke and decided that an album full of cat songs would be purr-fect. But it was really important to Sushi that it to look like a real CD. Sushi tried to he helpful, but her claws just kept getting in the way, so I actually made the CD by myself. It took some time, but I think the result was well worth it. (And Sushi approves.)

I began by measuring the artwork on the front of a CD. (4.75 inches by 4.75 inches.) Using photoshop, I created an image twice that size. (In my first attempt I made it the exact size I wanted but it was pixelated when I printed it. Making my image larger solved that problem.) I edited out the background of a photo of the cat, added a colored background, added the text and I was done. After getting Sushi's O.K., it was just a matter of inserting the image into Word, sizing it to 4.75 X 4.75, printing it out on card stock and trimming the edges.

The back was a little more complicated. For my first attempt I didn't measure - I just assumed it should be the same size as the front. Not a good idea. The back of a CD case is larger than the front so I had to go back and redo it. The back artwork (which goes inside the case) is 5.875 inches wide by 4.75 inches tall. The hardest part was making sure the titles for the ends of the CD were placed so they would show up when they were folded and inserted into the case. I just winged that part. I placed them where I thought they would work and then printed a tester. Then I just adjusted the placement until I was pleased, and printed my final copy on the card stock.

We already had a few cat songs in our music library, but it would have been a very short CD. An hour or two on iTunes and Sushi and I finalized the play list:

A Cat Had a Birthday - Kingston Livingston & The Party Animals
The Siamese Cat Song - Peggy Lee & Friends
Cat and the Fiddle - Heather Alexander
Alley Cat - Sherwood
The Cat Came Back - Laurie Berkner
The Cat in the Window - The Turtles
Felix the Cat - TV Theme Players
I've Got a Dog & My Dog's Name is Cat - Barry Louis Polisar
Smelly Cat Medley - Phoebe Buffay & Friends
The In and Out Song - Garrison Keillor & Friends
Smiley Cat - Parry Gripp
What's New Pussycat - Tom Jones
My Cat Can Fly - Joe McDermott
The Cat's Meow - Barbi

An odd collection I know, but Sushi wanted her first CD needed to reflect her wide musical palate. We went back and forth about including Cat Scratch Fever, Cat in the Cradle, and The Stray Cat Strut, but in the end Sushi thought my daughter would enjoy the other tunes more. Besides, Sushi assures me she's already working on her second album...

Like Butter

My mom knit this sweater for my son more than two years ago. It finally fits and he loves it! I tell you it is the softest sweater ever. So soft! It looks like yarn, but it feels like it was knit from strips of fleece - I tell you it's like butta!

You should have seen his face when he discovered the pouch pocket in the front. He got this big grin and started stuffing in the treasures. I love how the pouch is hidden; it doesn't pop right out at you. I also love how it was actually warm enough on Mackinac Island yesterday to be outside in just a sweater. He was out for much of the afternoon and didn't complain about being cold. Perhaps spring really is here.

Thanks Mom.
He loves it.

I can't wait to see what's next...

(Yes, I suppose that was a hint. Wink wink.)

Homemade Hallway Theater

We had so much fun this past weekend with our new theater. The kids had a blast putting on "shows." (Which brought up great memories of my friends and I putting on shows for our parents all those eons ago.)

First up was The Tick Tock Crock, starring Crocky the crocodile in his acting debut.

Next, I was treated to The Jammy Show, starring my daughter and every pair of clean pajamas she could find.

The final performance was an untitled work in progress about a snake, a wizard-princess, and a pajama-wearing kitten. (I gave it a standing ovation.) In this show my son wanted to change the way the curtains looked, so he decided to tape them to the wall. I kind of like the effect.

Putting the theater together was easy - I just strolled through the home area at Meijer. Armed with the width of my hallway (46 inches) I knew which of the three shower curtain tension rods to purchase and which curtains to buy. Sure I could have made all the fabric pieces myself, but I couldn't have bought the fabric for the price of the finished curtains. (Not to mention the value of my time!) If I had been willing to compromise on the color, I could have gotten curtains on clearance for $4.00 each. But I had to have red curtains; there's just something about them that made it look more like a real theater to me. Crazy, I know.

The back panel is slightly wider than the hallway - 54 inches if I remember correctly, but it works perfectly. Each red curtain is 42 inches wide - wide enough to still be gathered when they are closed. Before I bought them, I used the hanging samples in the store to make sure the rod pockets were large enough to hold a shower curtain rod. It was close, so I just used the bottom hem as the pocket. It was quite big, and it's loose enough for the kids to open and close them on their own. Looking back, I probably didn't need the big rods - smaller rods would have fit the bill just fine - probably would have been less expensive too. Oh well, live and learn.

All the costumes, A.K.A. our dress-up clothes, get stashed behind the back curtain - ready and waiting for the numerous costume changes involved in a good show. Perhaps sometime in the near future we'll have more scenic backdrops and a sign, but this will do for now.

I also could have done this cheaper by buying shorter curtains. I wanted the 84 inch long panels so my husband and I could open the curtains and walk through. That way the theater can stay up for several days at a time and my husband and I don't have to bend over every time we want to walk down that hallway.

What do you think? Should I save you a seat for tomorrow night's show?

Cousins

We spent the beginning of our spring break at the Potawatomi Inn in Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana. If you haven't been there, it's well worth the visit.*

There are miles of wooded trails through the park. Luckily Grandma came prepared; she brought each of the five grandchildren a new pair of hiking boots. After our mornings of geocaching, they were well used.

As we walked through the park one morning, it was clear someone had beaten us out that day. We weren't sure who or what those prints belonged to,

but we didn't have to wait long to find out.

The kids loved exploring the woods,

the nature center,

and the other areas of the park. My daughter, the little fish, enjoyed the pool the most, but I never seemed to have my camera out while we were swimming. Imagine that. We also did a little early birthday celebration for a little girl who will be turning five soon. Where did those years go?

S and K only get to see their cousins a few times a year. I'm so thankful that all five of them (5th grade, 4th grade, kindergarten and two in pre-school) get along so well and genuinely look forward to the time they spend together. I know it may not last forever, especially as we delve into the teenage years, but that's OK. They'll have years of memories to sustain them until they leave the hormones behind and return to sanity in their early twenties. Hopefully the bond they shared as children will still be there - waiting to be rekindled...

* If you do stay at the Potawatomi Inn, I suggest avoiding the main dining room. The service was just plain awful every time we sat down to a meal. There are many restaurants six or seven miles away; save yourself the frustration and just eat out. To be fair however, in every other regard, I do highly recommend the Inn.