Happy Birthday Baby Mufasa

DSC_0978Happy Birthday Mufasa!  We celebrated Baby Mufasa’s 1st birthday!  How fast does time fly!  He used to be so small and fluffy!!!

DSC_0442He used to fit inside a zipper pouch!

DSC_0561I made him a little birthday hat and he HATED it!  He acted like he was going to die!  Poor thing!!  But he looks so cute in it!

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DSC_0902  My daughter and Mufasa share the same birthday – so we had quite a party!!  The cupcakes were for her, and most of the gifts 🙂DSC_0923

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Even though he’s a big boy now, I’m going to keep on calling him Baby Mufasa 🙂

DSC_0976   For more up to date coverage on Mufasa’s antics, follow us on Instagram!

May the Fourth Be With You

star wars skirts. 13May the 4th is a HUGE holiday in our family – yes I said holiday!!!!!  For some reason we are all Star Wars Nerds!    We needed to do a little sewing to celebrate this totally awesome day and to show our true level of nerdiness!  When I saw this fabric I knew it was perfect for skirts for the girls – I love that there is pink and aqua in it!

star wars skirtsI immediately went to my Potato Chip Skirt and Chocolate Chip Skirt patterns from Tie Dye Diva.  They are FUN to make!  In fact, Ella sewed her entire skirt by herself!

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Mufasa slept on the cutting table the entire time!IMG_6517

 

I LOVE how they turned out!  The girls were both up extra early this morning so excited to wear their new outfits!star wars skirts. 14

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I put Ella in charge of the T-Shirts.  She drew the heart, applied the Heat n Bond Lite and ironed it on.  We did a little top stitching to secure.  star wars skirts. 9

Of course we needed some Jedi hair styling!!  I love the Jedi Braids!!!

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Jedi Master Mufasa also wishes you a Happy May the Fourth!!!

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DIY Cat Post

IMG_3273We have a baby Bengal Kitten in our home, his name is Mufasa and he is super spoiled!  Pretty much my life is devoted to keeping him happy and teaching him everything he needs to know.  Part of raising a well adjusted cat is having places for them to scratch, climb, and perch.  I looked online and I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted.  I sent hubby to the home improvement store and last Saturday he spent the day creating the perfect cat post for Mufasa.  I will explain a little how we made it; if you are somewhat handy, you can follow along!

We began with a wood base 29″ x 19″, a 6 foot 2″x3″ and an oak log (bark removed).  Here you can see they’ve been attached to the base.  (We recommend not using particle board).

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We cut a piece of corrugated plastic pipe the same length as the 2″x3″ and slid it over.  We used long staples and some liquid nails to anchor the post to the 2″x3″ at the bottom.  We cut a board smaller than the base and cut out a circle for the pipe to extend through.  This was secured to the oak log.

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Making sure everything is level.

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Here you can see where the staples were inserted to secure the tube to the 2×3.

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We put Liquid Nails on the pipe and wrapped sisal rope tightly around.

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We anchored the sisal with a staple.

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This is a good job for the kids to help out with!

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We continued in the same manner adding 2 more perches.  We needed something extra on the lower level for support, so we added another piece of wood.

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Next we covered all the perch surfaces with carpeting.  We had to create a kind of template to cut out where the pipe and the wood pieces were.  We used Liquid Nails and staples to secure.  On the bottom level we didn’t wrap the base in carpet, but added some wood pieces to finish off the edges.  The upper perches we wrapped in the carpet.
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It looks great and we couldn’t wait to bring it in the house and let Mufasa play on it!

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That crazy little kitten climbed it all the way to the top!  It was his first time ever climbing something that high!
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We put it in front of the sliding glass window so he can perch and look outside.  He LOVES it!!!!diy cat post. 17

Our New Bengal Kitten

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My life has been turned upside down.  On December 20th we adopted a Bengal kitten.  We lost our beloved Marbles the Bengal Cat last March and our family was finally ready to bring a new kitten into our home.  Once we found a breeder we liked we couldn’t wait for him to come home.  As any expectant mother would do, I decided to better prepare myself for the arrival of the kitten by reading – I choose the book “Think Like a Cat.”  I purchased it from Amazon and felt a little silly in doing so as I have had cats in my life for 40 years – why do I need to read how to parent a cat?
UnknownThis book is AMAZING and I recommend it to everyone who has a feline or who hopes to adopt one.  Pam Johnson-Bennett addresses so many issues we fear as cat owners – the litterbox, furniture scratching, aggression, etc.  I now follow her in FB where she gives tips and advice for cat owners.  After reading this book I was a little nervous about bringing  the new kitten home – worried I wouldn’t raise the kitten properly and follow all the guidelines to achieve a well-adusted happy cat!  I was more nervous about getting the kitten than I was about bringing my 3 babies home from the hospital!

We did everything to prepare: we created a “sanctuary” in my daughter’s room where the kitten would live for a few weeks.  It included a place for the litter box, place for meals, a soft bed, and lots of things to scratch and play with.  I firmly believe in the idea of a sanctuary for the first few weeks of kitten introduction.

We were ready and we drove to Pasadena to pick him up.

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He could not be any cuter.  We can already tell he has a nice disposition and loves to be around people.bengal kitten 3

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The poor kitten didn’t have a name for almost a week.  It is very difficult for 5 people to agree on a name.  Some of the suggestions were: Napoleon, Leopold, Thor, Zulu, Stuki, Mowgli, Bagheera, Marvin, Harvey, Wasabi, Obi Wan, Fuzzy, Waffles, and the list went on and on.  We finally agreed on Mufasa from the Lion King.  We still call him fuzzy though.

The best way to insure a happy cat is to have lots of interactive playtime.  I ordered every cat toy known to man from Amazon.  Let me tell you which ones are Mufasa’s favorites.

Neko Flies – ordered from Amazon

You purchase a rod and then you can select interchangeable “bugs” to attach to the end.

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These bugs are very realistic.  Mufasa loves the Kittycada the best.  He also loves the Kattipede, and the Kragonfly.  kittycada-cat-toy

The instructions say not to let the cats chew on the toys.  This is hard to do because part of the fun of chasing a bug is getting to catch it and chew on it.  Mufasa bit off the antenna of the Kattipede.  I quickly trimmed the antennas off the Kitticatterfly.  With any toy like this, when you are done playing the toys should be put away.

The next toy we love is from Go Cat called Da Bird  – I also ordered from Amazon.  This toy has a feather teaser at the end and also comes with 2 replacements feathers. For some reason we like this better than other feather teasers – maybe it feels more like a real bird?  What ever it is, Mufasa LOVES it!

 

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All my kitties have always love the Cat Dancer or Cat Charmer.  Mufasa is no different – again, I ordered from Amazon71aGjSRxIUL._SL1500_A new kitten in the house feels a lot like having a new baby in the house.  I find myself whispering and tiptoeing around when he is sleeping.  When he’s up, he’s up and it is time to play and interact.  If I need to the leave the house I have to time it with his naps so he is not left home alone while awake.  He eats on demand and cries when he is hungry.  When he is tired I can hold him and he purrs and I know he’s ready for bed.  We clean the letterbox every time he uses it – much like diaper duty!  I want him to have a positive experience with the litter box so we keep it extra clean.  We make sure to give him fresh water several times a day.  It’s a lot of work having a new kitten.  We have gotten so attached to him already and we think he’s the cutest kitten in the world!!

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Vintage Sheet Pillowcases, New Bedding, & the Bengal Cat

I bought new bedding for my bedroom!  That is always a big deal for me!  Are you like me & need like 5 pillows to sleep???  Which means I needed more pillowcases then the 2 that came with the sheets.  I got out the box of vintage sheets and came up with these!
This is how to make them: (this will make 1 standard size pillow)
Cut the main fabric on the fold measuring  21″ high and 26″ long (fold is on the long side)
I used the lace ruffle off a different sheet.  I cut this 1 1/2 inches away from the ruffle seam.
Sew it to the edge of your pillow fabric.  Press seams.  The lace on the sheet was super crooked.  I came up with a way to cover it up.
 
I bought this bolt of lace in the LA fabric district.  50 yards for $15!!  I will be using it on everything!!
 
Sew the lace covering the seams.
 After the trim is sewn on, fold the pillow right sides together and sew the 2 sides.  I didn’t sew French Seams, I just zig zagged so it wouldn’t fray.

 
 I love how they turned out!  So does Marbles!  He loves my new bedding and sleeps there everyday now!  The quilt is Tahari from TJ Max, sheets are from Target.  I was hesitant about buying sheets from Target.  I LOVE these!  They have super deep pockets and a double row of elastic to keep the sheets in place.  And they are super soft and comfy!  The quilt at the bottom of the bed was $16 at Home Goods!


Amanda

How to Ruin a Quilt


This is a new topic for me.  I usually spend my time creating new, beautiful quilts.  Today I will share with you how to ruin one!  First put your newly-finished quilt on the living room couch.  Then wait for your psycho Bengal Cat to attack the quilt.  Let him bite it and claw out all the stitching you’ve worked so hard on!  When he is done you are left with tiny holes in the fabric and loose threads!!

Don’t let the cute little sleepy head fool you!!!

If you look closely at the quilt – you can see the threads!!  I have since removed the quilt & placed an older quilt there.

Skinny Strips Quilt

I love this Skinny Strips Quilt.  You can download the pattern for free HERE.  

 I found this version on Pinterest from Steph’s Stuff. – I love her colors and her quilting. 
 This is my quilt top.  I just finished piecing it together.  It is from Moda’s Fandango line.  Today I am quilting it.  I think I will use straight line quilting like in the example above.

 This is how fun it is to sew with a Bengal cat.  As soon as anything goes on the floor – he’s in it.  I have to lock him in a room while I pin baste a quilt!  The videos are pretty funny too!