Category Archive for "Feral Cat Crafts"

February 2026

Thursday, February 26, 2026 0 Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

Why is February the shortest, yet the longest month ever? February 2026 has dragged on for 1,000 days. We did have two days of thaw, which was nice, but not enough. Either the weather is going to break – and stay nice – or I’m going to break. Seriously. I’ll remember February 2026 as the month of animal hoarding raids, and the worst images I’ve ever seen in my life which documented suffering beyond imagination (and I have a great imagination), and it has affected me. I’m not sure how to work my mind around it still, honestly. And from that, I seem to have developed a whole bunch of physical ailments that match the mental ones.

Anyhow, February 2026 was also surprisingly productive creatively. The top image is something I put together for all of the staff member Valentine baskets this year. I’ve been making the paper/journal clips to include with Etsy packages as well. Etsy sales for my shop were good this month, mostly for purse charms and zines. Bracelets aren’t really selling.

As Valentine’s Day is over, as well as the Super Bowl and football in general, I’ve been working on making some purse charms for Mother’s Day. I also have Cat Mom and Dog Mom, if you’re interested. I received a comment from a customer who had ordered golf stroke bracelets to use to track daily water intake, so I made a couple of bracelets specifically for that purpose. If they sell, I’ll make more in other colors and themes. You take the charm on the lobster hook and move it between the numbered beads after each eight ounce serving of water you drink. I suppose you could use it to track your alcohol, too, in case you happen to lose count regularly.

I’ve had a few zine sales for the Collage for Motivation zine and I always include an original collage artist trading card as a gift with purchase (along with a blank ATC and ephemera to make your own!), and so I needed to make up a few more cards. You can’t really see it, but they are coated with glittery Mod Podge so they shimmer a bit. I have one mini zine completed that needs to go to the printer and two more I need to paint up.

The shelter’s annual Whisker Mixer event is May 7, and I put together two baskets for the silent auction, plus some pins and journal clips for the coffee pull bags in this year’s theme of Alice in Wonderland. One of my baskets is strawberry themed and I think it is cute AF. The other is Alice in Wonderland, and I made this decoupage box to go in the basket. I’m not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to do so, but there it is. The basket is pretty cute, too. I’ll post them on my Instagram when we are closer to the event.

I attended a couple of gardening webinars this month. Michigan State University Extension’s Plant Quest was excellent! Four sessions, three of which I love and two of those I took lots of notes on. I took another webinar on shade gardening which was not great. I have lists and lists of garden projects I’d like to consider and plants I may purchase. If we all make it to spring and planting season, that is.

January 2026

Friday, January 23, 2026 0 Feral Cat Crafts, Garden, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Weather Update No tags Permalink

January 2026, as a month, is moving pretty fast. January 2026, each day, is an eternity. The month started out with a bit of a warm thaw, and since then we’ve had lots and lots of snow and terribly cold weather. Today’s high should top out around two degrees. For the high. Not counting wind chill. There’s not an end in sight until sometime at February.

In the meantime, I’ve been busy with projects for Feral Cat Crafts and Etsy. I’ve done well with football themed purse charms, selling one for the Chicago Bears and one for the LA Rams. I made up a few for the upcoming Olympics (pictured above). Over the next few weekends, I’d like to get a couple of mystery trinket boxes up in the store. I’m also working on a trio of mini zines with a music theme. One is done, one is started, and the third I haven’t even put thought into.

You might have seen my garden resolutions post. I’m continuing to watch garden videos and take a few online webinars. I signed up for Michigan State University extension’s Plant Quest, and have one more webinar to go for that. I especially loved the section on gravel gardening, and it gave me a new idea for the “Paw Garden” at the shelter! I’m signed up for Foliage Driven Garden Design in February. I’ve got lists and notes everywhere!

This month I seemed to have a ton of meetings for work. I went and did the teen night at the Marshall District Library, and the generator project at the shelter was FINALLY completed (nearly a year later!). Next project, stray side dog kennel indoor ceiling replacement.

February, just a week away, I’ll be working on finishing up the newsletter at the shelter, continuing to post twice weekly Substacks for the shelter, and getting through the annual audit and animal welfare org groups meeting. I’m working on various projects for Twin Peaks Day and will need to get something together for staff member Valentines. By the end of February, we will have earlier sunrises and later sunsets, and hopefully a return to temperatures at least nearer to freezing.

October Update

Thursday, October 16, 2025 0 Crochet/Knitting, Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

Suddenly, it is mid-October and time for an October Update. We’ve had our first frost, and it is looking and feeling like autumn.

Despite having lots of projects and books lined up for spooky season, it’s half-way through the month and I haven’t done anything spooky except collect stacks of ingredients for projects, and work on a blanket for someone who I don’t personally know but is facing a grave illness and could use a hug.

I am on skein 7, and with the ruffled border it should take 8 total so I am closing in on the end. It is Red Heart Soft Baby Steps, and I’m using an L hook. I will need to put together Halloween bags for the staff members, and I should get another spooky book or two before the end of October.

I have a number of projects waiting for the holidays including some soap-making, crochet washcloths to go with the soap, and simmer pot kits. I made a few Christmas bracelets and some Detroit Lions bracelets, which are up on my Feral Cat Crafts Etsy. I have a Detroit Tigers bracelet set up and ready to go as well. I love making the beaded bracelets, though they aren’t selling well.

Autumn Update

Tuesday, September 23, 2025 0 Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Garden, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Weather Update, Zines No tags Permalink

Holy cats, I’ve missed so many updates! As of yesterday, it is now officially autumn, so here is my autumn update covering what I did over the summer and what I have coming up.

Crafts

In my last update, July 7, I was working on items for the August Mutt Market. Mom broke her wrist and was in a brace for the market, and she didn’t get to work on all of the stuff she wanted to. Here’s my market prep video, and my market recap video. I did well with some things (a few purse charms, key rings, Blind Date with Books, and lip gloss key rings, making a total of $200. Other things, like all of the Halloween bracelet stacks, didn’t do well at all. I’ve got them up on my Etsy, and they still aren’t selling.

Honestly, if none of the Halloween stuff goes, I’ll break down the sets and give them in the staff member Halloween gift bags next month. I love making bracelets in general, and Halloween stuff in particular. I’m not sure why they aren’t selling. If you’re interested in Feral Cat Crafts, and whatever I’m doing with craft projects, the Facebook page for FCC is here.

Family

In July, Mom and I drove down to Bowling Green to see Aunt Suzie, Gail, and Sydney. I had such a great time! Love them so much. We were also fortunate to have a few coffee sessions with Cyn and Evan. And my monthly video calls with Amy and Kat bring so much joy. Bob and I worked on various small projects around the home, but really just enjoyed spending time together. It was a great summer.

Mom and I went on the annual Leila Arboretum Society Battle Creek Garden Tour again this year, and had an AMAZING time. You can see the video of the garden tour here. It gave me so many ideas, as well as recharging my soul. I used some of the inspiration to remake an old garden bed (photo of before and after, above). I made a full video as well, in case you want to see how it went. This summer was hot enough, but more than that, it was SO HUMID. The heat index was regularly over 100° and I felt like I was melting every minute. June and July were overly wet, and August was overly dry. The vegetable garden reflected the weirdness of weather, but the flower beds looked fantastic.

Zines and New Projects

I have been selling a good number of zines on my Etsy, and over the weekend I completed another one. It’s painted in gouache with added photos and hand lettering. I dropped it off at the printer, and should have it back this week and maybe get it up on Etsy over the next weekend. This one is about Halloween costumes, past and present.

My latest project is a new Etsy, separate from Feral Cat Crafts, called Whiskers & Words Book Club. Mostly, it’s a print on demand (POD) attempt, but there are some things like stickers and book marks. I’ll also make some bracelets (that probably won’t sell) and maybe have some Blind Date with Books or other items up there, too. The Facebook for Whiskers & Words is here, and I share all kinds of book things as well as doing my promotion for the Etsy shop.

I have a few October craft projects planned, and will hopefully get some YouTube videos up for those, too. It often seems like I’m managing quite a lot online, with multiple Instagrams, Facebook pages, and YouTubes. Any time you look for advice on why stuff on Etsy isn’t selling, it’s because you need to post more on your social media! I’m managing so many different things now, I probably need Chat GPT to put together a schedule for me. It sure would be nice to see some responses from what I’m putting together, at least. Is it all just going out into the nothing of the universe?

June Crafts

Monday, July 7, 2025 0 Feral Cat Crafts, Good Reads, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Summer Reads No tags Permalink

I somehow missed all of June. It was super hot and even when it was in the 80s, the humidity just sucked the life out of everything. I did manage to get some crafts done somehow, so here are the June Crafts update. First, I kept making purse charms (see above). I mostly did a beach or coastal chic theme for them, but this one above is a pink coquette theme. I put them up on my Etsy, and have sold none.

I also made a ton of phone charms. I really like to make them, like the purse charms! I put them up on my Etsy, and again have sold none. I made one and did a tutorial for my YouTube channel (for the love of all that is holy, please please subscribe and if you watch a video, can you just like it? Please?), and put it on my own phone. It did hold up to the wear and tear, but it bugged me so much I took it off after about ten days. How do the young people manage to use phones with charms on them?

Here’s some more purse charms! Only these aren’t for the store. My dear friend Amy came for a short visit to the shelter on her way to vacation, and I made her a cat-themed purse charm and a dog-themed one for her sister Mary (with whom I was on the school paper, The Crystal, back in 1993). Seeing Amy was one of the highlights of my summer for sure.

Bob suggested I try making some bracelets, and so that is the plan for July. I’m making stacking bracelets, sets of threes. I’m also making some Halloween-themed bracelets, as I saw that people start searching Halloween stuff in July on Etsy. Will they sell? I don’t know. I like stackable bracelets, especially surfer or beach themed bracelets, but generally if it’s something I like, it might not sell.

I’m not officially doing a summer reads this year, but I have been reading. Since my last reading update, I’ve completed the following:

Hospital Hill by Katherine Anderson (hard copy)
The Long Walk by Stephen King (audible)
We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin (audible)
Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin (audible)
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods (hard copy)

I’m most of the way through the audible format of Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd, and I’m getting ready to start Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. The Long Walk was quite memorable and it’s coming out as a movie September 12. I’ve already forgotten what We Are All the Same in the Dark was about, though I know it was a murder mystery. Her Paper Ghosts was a murder mystery as well, and pretty good, about a woman who takes a suspected serial killer with dementia on her search to find out if he killed her sister, but I wonder if I will remember it in a few months. I felt the same about The Lost Bookshop, which was about 100 pages too long to get to the point it needed to make. Murder at Gulls Nest is about a nun who left her order to solve…you guessed it…a murder mystery! Again, kind of cute but probably will be forgettable after a few weeks. I need to update my reading journal and do a YouTube recording soon.

The Mutt Market is just over four weeks away. What all will I finish? I suppose some of it depends on how hot and humid my art space is. Last night it was over 80 degrees and I had two fans blowing on me. I managed to get a little work done, as it felt cooler in there than it had in the previous several days.

End of May

Wednesday, May 28, 2025 0 Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Kitty, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Weather Update, Zines No tags Permalink

Suddenly, it’s the end of May. The month went super fast, as happens this time of year. Why doesn’t February or March go so quickly? Anyhow, the Whisker Mixer is over. My Blind Date with a Book basket (above) was really successful and went well over value. I’ve kept quite busy, working on items for the Mutt Market booth. I had three different varieties of bookmarks created, including this one:

I’ve been making purse charms of all varieties:

Charm bracelets and necklaces:

And key chain wristlets of several varieties, including silicone beads and the sewn ones I made last year:

I know, I know. The sewn ones didn’t sell last year. Maybe they will this year? I will be making matching airpod case pouches to go along with them. I also have plans to make larger, quilted pouches. I have yet to start any of those sewing projects as I’ve been busy with beads and charms. My plan is to get these up on Etsy, and maybe sell some before the Mutt Market. I’m back to watching tons of market and studio vlog videos on YouTube which always makes me think I could be successful, except the only thing I’ve been successful at selling are zines.

Speaking of, I did teach a zine class to four middle school students at the Marshall District Library this month. Those kids were so energetic and cute, and you know how I feel about kids in general. I’ve never seen anyone so happy about using old magazines for collage.

Morris came back to us. He was adopted out nine years ago. It’s an unfortunate situation.

Overall, May was more cold that average, with three days well below average. Mom and I did the greenhouses on the 21st and planted the cemeteries on the 23rd as Memorial Day was early this year, on the 26th. I planted our gardens on Memorial Day, and I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t get another frost as this upcoming few days are cold and rainy again.

April Update

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 0 Art Projects, Battle Creek, Feral Cat Crafts, Misc. Blatherings, Sew Cool!, Zines No tags Permalink

As I haven’t posted since last month, it is more than time for an April Update. Things have been scattered since March. I’m hoping everything will settle out once the warm weather comes and stays. We will have a few days of lovely warm spring weather, then it gets cold again. We’ve had a freeze warning the past two days. Anyhow, the month started out with the moss terrarium class. As you might remember, I offered a private class as part of a package for last year’s Humane Society silent auction. The day came when I actually had to teach the class. The folded sleeves above were given to each of the participants. They were made from vintage children’s book pages, washi tape and stickers and included a small description of each moss in the terrarium as well as a page about moss and how to care for the terrarium.

I’d teach a class like that again, but I wouldn’t do it in someone’s home. I feel more comfortable at my Mom’s church or ideally if I had a studio space.

Zine Update

I did manage to get one zine done in April. I have an idea for the next one, but not sure I will have time to work on it. Collage for Motivation and the Star Trek zine are now up on my Etsy. I’ve had a good month of zine sales as well, which is nice.

Slow Stitch Meditation Rolls

April Update slow stitch meditation roll

The weather has been too cold for outdoor work. I started on a new project, slow stitch meditation rolls. The idea is the slow stitching itself is a meditation for you, and when you gift them the roll becomes a meditation tool for the recipient. They can look at the individual bits of fabric scrap and the different stitches, and run their fingers over the different ways the fabrics feel. These scrolls would be especially helpful for someone with anxiety or dementia.

The scrolls are created using fabric scrap. For the first one I did, I purchased vintage fabric scraps from Etsy. I’ve also purchased vintage trim and lace for upcoming scrolls. However, if you have your own scrap at home, especially if it was meaningful, that would be especially nice. If I could go back in time and save scraps, these are some of the fabric pieces I wish I had in my collection:

the yellow and white gingham curtains in my bedroom on Winston
a piece of fabric from one of Hudda’s house dresses
a bit of my favorite skirt from junior high, purchased from Mervyn’s
a bit of the red upholstery fabric from Grandma and Grandpa’s couch at Long Blvd.
some of the orange curtains that covered the doors up north in Ocqueoc
a piece of the turquoise Camp Merrie Wood tshirt I wore at Girl Scout Camp

What are some pieces of fabric from your memory that you’d like in your own meditation scroll? Share in the comments below.

Category Feral Cat Crafts