Three New Scarf Colors!

I just added three new ruffle scarves to our Etsy shop. This time I have pink, purple, and blue! I have really enjoyed making these scarves because the self-ruffling yarn is a lot of fun to work with and I love seeing all of the gorgeous colors that it comes in. I hope that like these scarves as much as I do!

-Baby Cat

Pink Scarf

Purple Scarf

Blue Scarf

Nesting Table Reinforcements

The nesting tables with their metal tops!

This post has been a long time in the making. As many of you probably remember, I made a set of three nesting tables at school last term. They turned out very well but I was told that since the joints at the top are so thin, it would be a good idea to strengthen them with brackets to keep them from breaking over time.

Corner brackets in three sizes

A box of short little screws

Over winter break, Momma Cat and I made a trip to the hardware store to get the brackets. The people at the True Value store in Sellwood are always super friendly and helpful. They helped me find the kind of brackets that I wanted, and short screws that would hold them to the tables without going all the way through and ruining the look of the table.

Corners without reinforcement

Little hand drill from a garage sale

My trusty screwdriver

After using a pencil to mark where I wanted the brackets to go on the table, I drilled pilot holes with a little hand drill I found at a garage sale over the summer. I don't have an electric drill yet but this one worked fine for my purposes.

Voila!

Then I attached the brackets using the really nice screwdriver that was part of the awesome tool set my equally awesome aunt and uncle gave me for my most recent birthday. Now all of the tables feel extra sturdy. I hope they stand the test of time once I start setting things on them!

-Baby Cat

Daddy Cat Buys Momma A Mouse!

Today, even though it was very cold and wintery outside, it was also very sunny, fooling me into thinking that it would be great to go for a walk.  Well, I talked Daddy Cat into going for a walk with me, because he wanted to get some exercise too.  It turned out to be a lot colder than I thought, and I didn't wear a hat, so I had to suffer a bit because of it.  Oh, well...

 During our walk Daddy Cat and I passed a shop called Unique Antique at 7908 SE 13th Avenue.  We weren't planning to go inside, but there was a box sitting on a bench outside the store, and who should I see peeking out over the top edge?  A mouse!  In fact, the most famous mouse of all!

My New Mickey Mouse

Well, being an intelligent cat, I got very excited when I saw this mouse, especially after noticing that he was priced at $3.00!  I found him to be in perfect condition.  He even smelled brand new!  So Daddy Cat, seeing that I was enamored with this mouse, bought him for me!

How lucky is that?  You don't even have to be a mouse lover to know that this was an extremely good deal!  My only question was, why would anybody ever want to part with a mouse this great?  Whatever the reason, it was my good fortune.

So, I got some exercise, good company, fresh air, and a mouse!  It really turned out to be a red letter day!

-  Momma Cat

Etsy Update

I recently had some trouble with our Etsy shop, LaughingCatCreative, but it is all fixed. If you tried to buy something and couldn't, it should work now. Also, I am working on some more scarves which you can expect to see soon, as well as a new idea for headbands which you will see if they turn out well! I am working on getting a fun variety of things up on Etsy, all of which I will blog about here as well.

That's all for now, sorry I don't have a fun new project to show but I wanted to let people know what was going on with the Etsy shop, and I will have new stuff to show you soon!

-Baby Cat

Pretty Necklaces for Valentine's Day

If you are looking for a treat for Valentine's Day, what could be better than something red and sparkly? That's a trick question, because red sparkly things are the best any time of year. However, if you are looking for something red and sparkly for Valentine's Day or any other day, I have just added these three necklaces to the Etsy shop!

Drop Pendant

Heart Pendant

Square Pendant

Each Necklace is made with sterling silver chain, a silver lobster claw closure,  and a red glass pendant. They are all the same color red, although they came out looking different in the pictures, and each on has its own unique shape. Of course, the heart-shaped one is the most obviously "Valentine-y" but who says you have to follow tradition all the time?

-Baby Cat

For more information, please check out LaughingCatCreative on Etsy!

Flannel Kitty Shirt

I was lucky enough to be working at JoAnn Fabrics this last November when they had their big flannel sale, and I fell in love with this bright pink flannel with cats all over it!  I bought six yards, then I bought a few more, so that I could make Baby Cat and I both a shirt and still have some left over.

Here's a photo of Baby Cat in her new shirt.  I'm still working on mine.  Hopefully it'll be done in a couple of days.

Baby Cat in her new Flannel Kitty Shirt

I also bought some red flannel that has cute little bears on it.  I plan to make a shirt out of that for myself after I'm finished with my cat shirt. 

- Momma Cat

New Name and New Clothing!

Over the last two months I have been a very busy girl indeed!  I started working a part-time job, I bought and wrapped about a zillion Christmas presents, I decorated the house (with some help, of course), I wrote and sent Christmas cards, I made two pairs of pajama pants, one pajama shirt, one flannel shirt, and last but not least, I made two complete sets of clothing for my new little baby doll.

You probably remember this doll from an earlier post.  I found her at Thrifty Cottage early in November.  It took me a while, but I finally came up with a name that suits her perfectly.  Because she is a German-made doll, I decided to name her Lena, after a favorite Great-Aunt of mine.

When I found Lena, she was dressed in some lavender pajamas that really didn't really fit her at all.  Well, that just about drove me crazy, so I decided to make her some new clothes.  The hardest part was finding a pattern for her because she's a 19 inch doll, and most of the current patterns are for much smaller baby dolls. Luckily I had a pattern from when Baby Cat was little, and I was able to use it to make Lena's clothing.

Here's the first outfit I made for her.  It's a playsuit with matching bonnet, shoes, and blanket.  The shoes and bonnet are both lined with the gingham that makes up the cuff on the bottom of the pants.  The blanket is two sided with the dotted flannel fabric on one side and the gingham fabric on the other.

Lena's flannel and gingham playsuit

Her other outfit is a cotton Christmas dress with a red background and poinsettia pattern in gold.  Her gown is full length, with matching panties and bonnet, and a pair of crocheted booties that were made exclusively to fit her particular little feet.  She'll be right in style when the holidays roll around again next year.

Lena in her Christmas outfit

Special crocheted booties to match Lena's Christmas outfit

I have several more outfits in mind for Lena, but I also have several other projects that need completion first.  Lena  may have to wait a while for her next present.  But she's very patient. I hope you enjoy her for now.  She really is a very sweet baby girl.


-Momma Cat

Laughing Cat's New Etsy Shop: Pretty Ruffly Scarves with Sashay Yarn!

I just opened an Etsy shop! I currently have three scarves for sale there (I already sold the turquoise one.) The scarves are made from the popular self-ruffling yarn, Sashay. I plan to have some more things up for sale very soon. I hope you will check it out and give me more suggestions of things you would like to see there!

-Baby Cat

Mardi Gras Scarf with three other pretty yarn colors!

Burgundy scarf

Black and white scarf

Happy New Year! Check out these cute miniature houses!

Happy New Year! Here is my Christmas project, finally completed. I got the pattern for this crochet gingerbread house a couple of years ago from my grandma. I did all of the crocheting a long time ago but didn't completely finish putting it together. This year, I decided to finally finish it and turn it into a cute centerpiece instead of a bunch of little crocheted pieces taking up space in Momma Cat's house.

Front View

The crocheted walls and roof of the house have a backing of plastic canvas to stiffen them. Even so, the house was pretty wobbly once I sewed it all together. I consulted my favorite engineer, who suggested making a structural frame out of wire hangers to strengthen the walls against wobbling. I bent a few wire hangers and sewed them along the edges and corners of the inside of the house, and it worked very well!

Side View

The base is a foam disk that I crocheted around with white sparkly yarn. Then I sewed the house and all of the little candy decorations to the base. The little peppermints are my favorite, but the gumdrops, lollipops, and gingerbread men were all fun too!

Back View

The smoke billowing from the chimney is just some polyester stuffing I arranged to give it  a cozy feel, along with the warm glow from the yellow crocheted windows.

Side View

And now, for my next house project...

I bought this beautiful dollhouse kit from my friend Jennifer of plushpussycat.com. If you haven't seen Jennifer's blog she makes amazing dollhouses, miniatures, and adorable needle-felted animals! She even gave me a bag full of wonderful miniature treasures to put in my house when it is done. 

I have heard that when making a dollhouse it is best to do the painting and wallpaper before you put the house together. For me, the wall finishes are among the hardest decisions to make because they have such a huge impact on the overall look of the house, even after the rest of the design work is done. For this reason I might have to do a lot of thinking and looking at different color combinations before this house will be finished. Right now, I am thinking of trying to make the exterior look like stone. I am going to research this and see if it looks like something I can do. 

I can't wait to see what my finished house will look like and who will live in it. I guess I better get to work!

-Baby Cat