February 2010 – CatChick6 Creations

Drawing….

(Buzz and Woody by River February 22, 2010)

River seems to have reached a new level in her drawing skills. She no longer just scribbles on the page. She thinks about what she is going to draw and really plans it out…she loves to draw with a pencil. She insists that she erases “her mistakes”..though I constantly tell her they aren’t mistakes and her picture looks wonderful. After she is done drawing with the pencil, she wants to color everything in…

I wonder if part of her advances in drawing are due to having older siblings. They sit down with her and very patiently show her “how to draw….” They never criticize her drawings, she seems to have developed that herself. It is always fascinating to watch a child’s development through their drawings.

When Quinn is doing his homework, he lets her sit at his desk and draw. He is learning to be very patient with her.

Thoughts on Barbies…..

Yes, River has reached that age/stage. She likes Barbies. As a parent, I think we all dread this moment….but we know it will come. Her favorite thing is to take off their clothes….they all seem to love to do that..not sure why…then I get to put the clothes back on..so she can rip them off again. She was very excited that this Tinkerbell Barbie had earrings….”how stylish”..she told me….Yes, that Barbie is stylish….she’s got me beat when it comes to style….I don’t own as many high heels, my feet aren’t permanently arched..and I don’t have as many outfits as she does…even veterinarian Barbie has a nice mini skirt..that she always wears to care for the animals…..I am just not as stylish..that’s for sure…

Empty space…..

There is an empty space on my desk. Where my embroidery machine normally sits…..there is an empty space. My embroidery machine has decided to be sick…it has some parts that need to be repaired…and the shop has to order the parts…so my embroidery machine will be away for a week…a week…that seems like a life time…..I can’t use my embroidery machine for a WEEK! I don’t know what I am going to do……without it…….

I guess I will be forced to finish all those other projects around the house…that I normally put off…..I guess it will be a very productive week…..

But are they recyclable?…..

Yes, I have saved them for years….in a closet….hundreds of them….feeling too guilty to throw them away…and yes, I have used them for hundreds of craft projects. I have used them for building blocks. I have used them for everything I can think of….I am tired of them sitting in my closet…..I want to be rid of them. I need to know if they are recyclable??? I feel too guilty throwing them all away…so I just keep adding more and more. I sew A LOT, therefore I have a lot of empty thread spools!! I have tried to email Gutermann and Coats & Clark…but I never get a reply….

Does anyone out there know if plastic sewing spools are recyclable?? Help!!

UPDATE: I JUST GOT AN EMAIL FROM COATS & CLARK…THEIR PLASTIC SEWING SPOOLS ARE #5…..WELL..SO, THEY ARE RECYCLABLE…THOUGH MY TOWN DOESN’T RECYCLE #5..SO I HAVE TO SEND THEM OFF TO SOMEWHERE THAT DOES……I’ll keep ya posted…

Dog Cookies…….

Basic Dog Treat Recipe

2 cups whole wheat flour

½ cup cornmeal

2/3 cup veggie broth

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Optional: wheat germ, egg, molasses, honey, peanut butter….add more veggie broth as needed

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Drop onto greased cookie sheet using spoon

3. Bake 350 F for 10-12 minutes.

Okay, these don’t LOOK pretty..but the dogs LOVE them….and they are EASY!

Did I mention that the dogs LOVE them….

Don’t forget to go over to Loves Jurn3 to enter the giveaway for a free custom woolie!

Another review/giveaway….

Hi everybody…exciting news….Tricia over at Loves Jurn3 just put up a review/giveaway of my woolies. Go on over to her site to check it out….and then enter it as many times as you like…for a free custom woolie made by me!! Good luck!!

Nostalgia…..and brown sugar cookies

Nostalgia….longing for something past….do you ever get that feeling……longing for the past? I guess with all that snow I got that feeling…I hadn’t made my grandmother’s brown sugar cookies in a long time…and I finally made them…..after playing all day in the snow….

Growing up, my grandmother’s brown sugar cookies were my favorite. My grandmother only made three types of cookies…chocolate chip, vanilla and brown sugar. Whenever she made cookies she would put them in her cookie tins and they would be in her dining room…waiting for you….as you came into her house. Well….I actually have my grandmother’s dining room furniture and I have her cookie tins…..I love those cookie tins…my grandfather made them….they are a set of four…they are one of my most treasured items. Unfortunately, the cookie tin is already almost empty! But here is the recipe. It is a very simple recipe, but delicious…

Nana’s Brown Sugar Cookies

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup butter

1 egg

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Cream together brown sugar and butter. Add beaten egg. Add rest of ingredients. Add walnuts if desired. Roll into balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Use fork to create criss cross design on each cookie.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.

Yields approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Recycled Chunky Crayons…Part Two……

Well..It is a blizzard out…or so they tell me….so we decided to work on Quinn’s Valentine Day cards…..He wanted a star mold..not hearts (too girlie)…..and the only mold I could find had six stars….so we had to do it four times…in hindsight..I should have bought two molds..but I figured how often am I really going to use these molds…….

I think I lost count of how many crayons we took off the paper…I wonder if Crayola sells “unwrapped” crayons for craft projects like this…..I will have to check into that…..I would say each mold took about 3 crayons…and we did 24 molds….that’s only 72 crayons..it SEEMED like a lot more….(I like all the icicles in the windows in the background….)

Well…..then after doing all the lovely star crayons…..Quinn then had to make the actual cards…..we stuck the crayons onto the cards using two sided foam tape……they turned out great……now back to this blizzard…..

Craft Hope…

Okay…I am not a knitter and I am not a crocheter……that is for sure! But I am almost done my red scarf for Craft Hope’s latest project. The scarf has to be at least 60 inches long and it is due by February 14th…so I must mail it by Thursday! I have been working on this one scarf for about 3 weeks. I must finish it. I don’t think I will ever make another again….though never say never…this is something I have definitely learned in life! Wish me luck!

Oh..and it is the last day to enter for the custom woolie giveaway…..check it out…..at the Etsy Cloth Diaper Team blog.

Beautiful Snow….

Over the weekend we had lots and lots of gorgeous snow! My children love to eat the snow…they would eat and eat and eat it all day…if I let them.

It was almost too much snow…..River had a hard time walking through it…she stayed out for over 2 hours…she loved it so much. I think she would have stayed out longer.

The dogs weren’t too happy about it. I tried to get them to play in the snow…but they didn’t want much to do with it..until I dug a path for them.

Don’t forget to go on over to the Etsy Cloth Diaper Team blog….enter to win a custom made woolie……custom made by me!!!