Back Home for the Time Being

I got the opportunity to head back to my parents' place for the weekend, so I'm taking advantage of it to spend some time with the furry family again. 

Not much other exciting news going on currently.  I'm finally working on more cat pebbles ever since I sold out of them some months before on my Etsy shop.  About time, right?  I'll have a handful of new cat-shaped worry stones in varying color patterns soon.  They are already made and sitting out to dry so I can paint different fur colors onto them later. 

I may go back to making some super bright-colored felt and fleece goods to have at artist alleys in future cons as well.  Let's see how smoothly that goes.

Away From Home

Wow, May went by quickly.

I'm finally back from my short visit to my parents' place for the summer.  I've just unpacked and gotten settled down in my apartment again, and I'm already missing my little furry family back home.  (the human family doesn't count since I can call them anytime I want)

先月までちょっと休みを利用して実家まで遊びに行ってました。
ちょうど昨日アパートに戻ってきたばかり。
一晩しかたってないのに実家に置いてきたネコ達が恋しいです。
今は親兄弟が面倒見てくれてますけど、いつかまともな給料がもらえたらアニーとピーティー（下の写真）だけでも一緒に暮らせるようになりたいな。

The ever attentive Annie (gray) and Petey (orange) watching the neighbors' kids outside.

 Panther being his usual lazy self.

 and... Pickles.  If you can tell where she is on that couch.

I assume this look means "I'll get you for waking me up later, human."

I'm still dreaming of the day I can afford a place that allows pets, so I can bring at least Annie and Petey with me...

Superman!

I apologize for not updating for so long! The weather here has been odd lately which is causing mini power outages, and that messes with my router. It's also been hot as well as rainy and my cats are trying their best to keep cool, like Panther here cooling his tummy off on the cold kitchen tiles. My family calls this his "Superman" pose. :) Not having a reliable internet connection is a bit of a pain, I've learned to prioritize what needs to be done first while my laptop stays usable.

Thanks to all the extra time spent away from my laptop, I've been doing lots of knitting. I've got plenty of hats and a few hair accessories done that will be up for sale in the September craft show! But until then I need more items for my Etsy shop as well.

Which brings big news! We will be welcoming a new member to Noraneko Alley, the new alley cat is Sam who makes wearable accessories out of those little paper lucky stars. Hopefully I'll do some collaborations with her to make cute little accessories soon.

With the time I had I managed to whip up a more colorful banner for my Etsy shop. I'm hoping to make similar pictures for each member of Noraneko Alley to use on the shop that says "Made by _member's name here_" etc. I hope the weather gets better soon...

Thrift shop finds and cat naps

Last week was very busy with work, there were some visiting stores at the supermarket I work at with delicious Japanese treats! Some people from Rapopo (not sure about the spelling) and Kukuru came from Japan to make sweet potato desserts and takoyaki. I must say, it was very yummy! But it was a very busy week at work which kept me away from my laptop for a while. I'm still trying to recover and can't help myself from taking little cat-naps with my sweetie Panther during the recent rainy days.

先週はバイトで大忙しでした〜！パソコン使うのが久しぶり（笑）

日本から「らぽっぽ」と「くくる」の方がイベント来て、お手伝いをさせていただきました。

アメリカで焼きたての「くくる」のたこ焼きが食べれるなんて、何か贅沢☆

「らぽっぽ」のスティックポテトも美味でした♥♥

でも先週の疲れの性か最近パンサー君といっしょに昼寝してばっかり。

寝顔がラブリ〜。パンちゃんなんでこんなにカワイイんだ！！！

A little before the week my job got busy, I went around some thrift shops with my mom to see if we could find any neat things to use at the upcoming craft show/goodbye party for a friend. I just happened to find this adorable little picture frame for $2.

バイトが忙しくなる前に実はちょっとお買い物をしてました。

近くのアンティーク屋さんで超カワイイ写真のフレームを発見！ちなみにお値段は＄２（日本では２００円くらい？）淡いピンクのバラがお気に入り！

中のガラスがボロボロだったので、新しい布と網戸用のアクリルメッシュを入れてみた。

ジャジャ〜ン！イアリングホルダーの出来上がり！

メッシュの穴にイアリングフックを引っ掛けるだけ。

メッシュと布の間にはゴムを入れてあるのでフックが入る隙間はたっぷり。

意外とたくさんイアリングを付けられるし、一目で全部見えるので急いでるときにアクセを選ぶのには結構便利。

簡単に作れて机の上も可愛く♥　今度クラフトセールで手作りアクセのディスプレイに使う事にしました。

自分用にはもうちょっとクールなシルバーのフレームで作って。。。

It's a little too 'sweet-lolita' for me but I still find it attractive. I took out the old glass and added some fabric and a plastic mesh used in windows. There's some rubber strips in-between the mesh and fabric. Why do all this? To make a display for earrings of course! Since there's space between the mesh and fabric, you can stick earring hooks in the holes and display your earrings while organizing them at the same time. It's easy to make and I have a larger one I made with a vintage pewter frame for my own earrings. It's better if there was nothing behind the mesh, that way you can put studs on there too, but small picture frames don't work that way. :( But who cares! I find these very helpful since I can choose and grab earrings quickly and the frame itself is a great accessory for your desk.

It really isn't hard to make, I suggest you try it out! :) Now I'm off to make more crafts and finish drawings that I owe some people.

KITTY!

So my brother is away and I've been watching one of his cats for him over the weekend.

Isn't he adorable? His name is Panther. I actually fostered this guy when he was just a kitten for a local humane society where my brother ended up adopting him from. He used to be small enough to fit on the palm of my hand...

and NOW look at him! I put a tissue box next to him so you get a better idea. D8< Yikes! I wonder what my brother's been feeding him haha.