April 30 • Hairstyle Appreciation Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Hairstyle Appreciation Day!  Be proud of your hair today.  From pristine bouffants to second-day messy buns (ahem...me haha), wear it with pride!  

April 29 • Happy Zipper Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Zipper Day! I don't really have anything clever to say about zippers.  But I'm glad they exist.

April 28 • Happy Cubicle Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Cubicle Day!  I think someone took my stapler.

April 27 • Happy Morse Code Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Morse Code Day!  Every time I think of Morse Code, I think of The Office.  Pam is my spirit animal.

April 26 • Happy Pretzel Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Pretzel Day!  My first job as a teenager was at the Auntie Annes in the Annapolis Mall.  I can still twist a mean pretzel!

PS: There will be no Fun Stuff post today because I've been online much this week and Andy and I have been / will be running around getting ready for Re:Make this weekend.  Check out past Fun Stuff articles to see some of my finds from the last few months!  And peep the Happy Day tag to see all the other drawings from this week.

Have a great weekend!

April 25 • Happy Arbor Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Arbor Day!  Hooray trees!

The Road to Re:Make

It's been quiet over here on the blog and I wanted to pop in and share some photos of what I've been working on.  The preparation for Re:Make has been a lot more intense that I expected it to be.  It's been heads-down/plow-through for the last couple of weeks.

I'm debuting a collection of spring scarves at the event and I couldn't be more excited to show you!  There's vintage fabrics, bleached denim and lots of fabric dying going on over here.  Seriously stoked and totally nervous about this first show in Texas.  I've shown on the East Coast at Crafty Bastards, BUST and countless anime conventions (an awesome un-tapped audience, you guys), but this first show in my home state is definitely giving me anxiety haha!  There are so many amazing makers here who have been so welcoming and supportive, I just want to make a good showing.

Here's some snapshots of the madness that is our apartment right now ^_^

Sprinkles doesn't appreciate the lack of attention.  But, she generally doesn't approve of much, really.

But despite Sprinkles feelings on the whole thing, you should totally come out to the show!  Check out this post to see more details.  I'd love to meet you!

April 24 • Happy Pig In A Blanket Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Pig In A Blanket Day!  I still get just as excited for pigs in a blanket as and adult as I did when I was a kid ^_^

April 23 • Happy Picnic Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Picnic Day!  It's a beautiful day in Austin, so hop outside if you can!

April 22 • Happy Earth Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Earth Day!!!  I always loved Earth Day when I was a kid.  It was always such a big deal at school and everyone would get so excited to save the planet.  I hope kids are still like that ^_^

April 21 • Happy Kindergarten Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Kindergarten Day!  Kindergarten was the best.

April 20 • Happy Easter!

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Easter! I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of fun and family!

Fun Stuff • Embroidery Genius + Space Shirts + Scallops

This week was full of making and planning for Re:Make, again.  That and our new little kitten Mooch, who we just rescued as a feral in our neighborhood, have been keeping me extra busy this week!  I'll definitely share more about Mooch's store here, but until then, you can see some pictures of the little girl on my Instagram.

Here's some stuff I found on the internet between juggling yarn and kittens!

• I'm all about super easy DIYs and these 5 minute, no-sew pillow covers are just that.
• Jenny Hart shared her genius way of organizing and displaying her embroidery floss this week.  Seriously...genius!
• I love everything that Twinkie Chan does and these crocheted chocolate bunnies are no exception.  
• Cat crafts!  I love the cat pillow that Rachel shared this week.  I've been working up a pattern of my own and I really like the retro feel of her design.

• I found this dress from this post and I neeeeeed it in my life.
• Andy and I have been loving the new Cosmos show and this would be the perfect shirt to wear while watching it.  If you get cold, there's a sweatshirt, too.  I love space!
• I'm pretty sure this bag sells out instantly every time it's restocked.  But, some day it will be mine.
• Oh my gosh, these earrings are Turks!

• Non-Creepy Networking.  Being an awkward turtle most of the time at meet ups and events, I love this advice from Jessica Hische.  
• I thought this piece by Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky was really great.  I'm so inspired by all the folks speaking out against beauty norms.
• In case you wanted to waste some time, take the "Which Quentin Tarantino Movie Are You" quiz on Buzzfeed.  I got Kill Bill and couldn't be happier!  Vol. 1 & 2 are both in my top 5 favorite movies of all time ^_^
• Kat is my hero.

• How amazing is this custom scalloped range hood? 
• These geometric shelves remind me a lot of this DIY from ABM.  PS: I totally have those exact DIY shelves in my garage right now!  Seriously...I bought them from Joshua Rhodes on instagram ^_^
• Amy Merrick shared this gorgeous photo on instagram and I love the idea of adding a cot beneath a window to make a cozy nook.
• Scalloped tiles forever!!!

FUN STUFF ON THE PINK SAMURAI THIS WEEK

• I shared photos of my ever-expanding kokeshi doll collection.  
• I got to kick off CraftyPod's blog hop with some DIY cat coasters.
• These DIY embroidered canvases are super quick to make and the technique is really versatile.
• Eep!  I've partnered with Mister Dressup to feature some Popcorn Cats on a shirt!
• These week's Happy Days were: Scrabble Day, Reach As High As You Can Day, McDonald's Day, Stress Awareness Day, Bat Appreciation Day, Velociraptor Awareness Day, and Record Store Day.

If you love cats and other fun stuff, check out more articles like this one!

April 19 • Happy Record Store Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Record Store Day! Go to your local record store and support vinyl ^_^

So, every music-related day is going to have Herb Catbert's Kittyjuana Brass Band in it.  I will never not think it's funny hahaha!

April 18 • Happy Velociraptor Awareness Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Velociraptor Awareness Day!  Did you know that Velociraptors are really nothing like the ones they show in Jurassic Park?  They're actually a lot smaller and had feathers.  The ones in the movie were more like the Deinonychus.  You guys, I love dinosaurs.

April 17 • Happy Bat Appreciation Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Bat Appreciation Day!  I've always thought bats were cool little creatures.

Vintage Kitten Finds

So, I might have to change the name of this blog to, "Crazy Cat Lady Writes about Cats and Cat Related Things."  I think every post this week has featured cats in some way.  I might actually be a crazy person haha!

That being said, here's some vintage kitten things I found at the Antique Gallery of Round Rock.  There's no way I could've passed these gems up!  

Laura Busony called this a book of lies when I posted a photo on Instagram.  I whole heartedly agree with her!  It looks like this girl has the situation totally under control.

These sassy kitten prints were too ridiculous to pass up, even though the condition of a couple of them is a little rough.  The teal plastic frames were too cute and how amazing is the little cow polk?  I just can't.  They're so good!

Whenever I go out looking for new thrift stores and vintage boutiques I never know what I'll find.  That's the fun of exploring places like that.  There's so much history, so much individuality to be discovered!  It's fun to discover these hidden treasures add my own story to theirs.  Hooray for old stuff!

April 16 • Happy Stress Awareness Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Stress Awareness Day!  I suppose, since it's the day after taxes are due, that a lot of people are aware of their stress today.  Womp womp.

DIY • Embroidered Canvas

I saw these bitty canvases at the craft store the other day and picked them up because they were just so cute.  I haven't painted in years, but knew I could use them for something.  I mean, they're tiny canvases!  So, as I was stitching up my Easter embroidery patterns, it dawned on me that I could stitch on canvas, too!  Easy peasy.

Do it, to it!

SUPPLIES

• 3" canvases - I found a pack of 4
• Embroidery Floss - I used Sublime Floss in Petal and Amazonite
• Embroidery Needle
• Scissors
• Paper cut to 2"

DIRECTIONS

• Trim regular printer paper, or whatever you have on hand, to two inches square.  Because these canvases are stretched, there's a half inch of frame all the way around the back, so the workable area is only 2 inches.
• Draw your pattern onto the paper.
• Center your paper on top of the canvas and poke holes along the pattern with your needle.  Be sure they're spaced relatively evenly.
• These holes are what you'll be stitching into.
• Backstitch into your holes.
• Repeat this technique with any other shape and display them proudly.

The cool thing about this project is that you can use any design.  I just drew cats and hearts, because I'm me.  But you can use this technique to embroider letters to spell out names, or just make abstract patterns.  You could also make silhouettes of your favorite people or pets.  There's really no limit to what you can do!

The Pink Samurai + Mister Dressup

I've got some exciting news!  I partnered with Mister Dressup to make one of my favorite designs from this year's Happy Day project available on shirts!  Mister Dressup features work from indie designers all over the world and makes them available as shirts for 30 days.  Both women's and mens shirts available in v-neck and crew.  They're based in Canada, but they accept PayPal, so you don't have to worry about pricing if you're in another part of the world.

Popcorn Day is still one of my most favorite illustrations from the whole project and I thought it would perfect on shirt.  It will only be available till May 10th, so click here to see the page and pick one up!

April 15 • Happy McDonald's Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy McDonald's Day!  Maybe, after you've stressed out about taxes (or celebrated getting them done early!) you can treat yourself to a chocolate shake ^_^

April 14 • Happy Reach As High As You Can Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Reach As High As You Can Day!  Today, think about all those impossible goals and dreams you've got and just go for it!

DIY • Cat Coasters • Plastic Canvas Blog Hop

When I saw Diane of CraftyPod tweet that she was planning a blog hop around plastic canvas projects, I got way excited.  I'm stoked to be the first blog on the list to show my plastic canvas creations!  I had to make something cat-related, because my home still has a few things that don't have cats on them and that must be remedied immediately.

My family always had these funny plastic canvas coasters that looked like little rugs with fringe on the end that said "mug rug" on them, so I thought it would be fun to make my own set of coasters.  These aren't quite as kitschy as the mug rugs, but I think they're fun!

After getting some inspiration from CraftyPod for circular designs, I set to work on these lil guys.  Have a look!

SUPPLIES

• Round plastic canvases
• Worsted weight yarn -  I used Vanna's Choice for each color.
• Large eye plastic needle
• Scissors
• Sharpie -  I have a pencil pictured, but it didn't work very well.  Definitely use an ultra fine tip Sharpie instead.

DIRECTIONS

• Draw the cut-out shape with your Sharpie.  This is the line that will make the ear shape.
• Cut along the line to define the ears.
• Sew whatever design you want into the canvas and you're done!  It's ridiculously easy.

Seriously, they were super easy to make.  I made all three in one evening while watching TV.  If you're looking for some inspiration on what kinds of designs to use, definitely check out CraftyPod.  She's got lots of great tutorials.  I used this one to make the black coaster and this one to start thinking outside the box for the grey and white coasters.

I hope you like them!  Plastic canvas DIYs are really easy to get into and while larger projects can be time-consuming, I think they're really fun.  And I can always get behind a crafty medium I can use to make cats.

Be sure to check out the other projects in the blog hop!

InLinkz.com

April 13 • Happy Scrabble Day

• This is part of my Happy Day, daily drawing project!  Check out the first post for more info. •

Happy Scrabble Day!  I'm pretty sure "catlady" isn't officially recognized by the Scrabble dictionary.  But, then again, I'm really bad at Scrabble.

Collections • Kokeshi Dolls

I am totally fascinated with Japanese culture (as evidenced by my blog name haha).  Japanese art history in particular is just so cool and my Kokeshi doll collection is a great example of how the culture of the time impacted the art.  They were made in the 1600s by artisans who normally specialized in tableware.  The artisans used a lathe in their regular trade and started making small dolls as souvenirs for people who would visit hot baths near their villages in the winter.  They grew in popularity and started to spread all over Japan.

I found this amazing video of different artists who still make them today.  It's so cool to see them take shape and see how each artist decorates their work differently.

Some of mine are newer and mass-produced, others are vintage and handmade.  I've gotten them as gifts from Andy, as thrift store finds and as vintage boutique treasures.  Some even have hand drawn signatures on the bottom and would LOVE to find the artists who made them! 

I don't really have any favorites because each one is so different, it would just be impossible to choose.  I love all my girls, and one boy, equally!

This is an ever-growing collection and I can't resist a new one when I find it.  It's just physically impossible.  So if you ever see one you think is cute, let me know!  I always need more help scouting them out ^_^