Hi from the Mount Vernon Kitties!

Help!!!!!!

The escape!
All snug as a bug in a rug....
ahhhhh, the sweet formula coma is setting in....
Good night everybody ( PS- Wendy told me she's keeping me... wink, wink)

A surprise on the playground

Five baby kittens were found on our school playground on Wednesday afternoon. Mama kitty left them in a little outdoor kitchenette. Our custodian handed them over to animal control before anyone new what was happening! I couldn't let this happen so I brought them home with me. We have been having tons of funs but not getting tons of sleep. These kittens require food every 4 to 5 hours and lots of help going potty! Tired It is well worth it!
Meet the babies:

Kitten # 1
Calico
Kitten #2 gray tiger-striped
Kitten #3 orange striped
#4 black and white -could be calicoKitten #5 looks very similar to #4 (this is often a problem)

I asked my students at school to help me name them by submitting a letter in our school mail. I will post any good letters I receive.
More pictures to come............. xoxoxo Wendy

TIme for FUN!!

I also had a lot of fun over Spring Break! Jeremy and I took his sister to see Horton Hears a Who and to the Pet store (always a favorite of ours). I went with my sister and two nieces to the mall and children's museum and Marissa, who is in first grade, got her ears pieced!! She did great- no tears! ( Just a little green in the face!) We also saw the movie the Kite Runner which was excellent and really kept to the book( by Khaled Hosseini.)It is a must see! (certainly more more than Horton Hears a Who)
We saw the Voom exhibit at the University of Iowa Art Museum. I admit I was not seriously excited to go see this exhibit, it had been highly advertised as a bunch of videos of famous movie stars and seemed a bit silly. I found I really enjoyed how long you were drawn to each screen. It really made me think of how quick we are to shoot pictures with cameras to capture the moment and how the little gestures and moments are so beautiful, taking the idea of still-life a little further. It was really amazing to see the animals on these high definition screeens. The whole center room in the museum that long ago housed the BIG Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell now was filled with screens of an owl with polka-dot backgrounds. It was really amazing to see. I also got to see Brad Pitt in his white boxers getting rained on..... Willem Dafoe has a portrait and it is the creepiest one ever!!!!

I also went to see a friend of mine who opened up a great new fabric store/knitting shop in Iowa City. Home Ec workshop is the greatest little place in Iowa City! Classes are offered in sewing and knitting along with kids classes or birthday parties which we witnessed yesterday! How great would it be to be able to bring 8 friends out to sew your own purses! Codi offers cookies and tea and quiche on Saturdays! If you live near by you must check it out! I bought this adorable fabric there yesterday and created this cute little bag last night. I do not sew much and it was a fun first piece for me- thanks to Kirsten for the great advice!!!!

Spring break... where did it go?

I have used every spare moment of my spring break to accomplish as much as possible from my giant TO DO list and still have fun. Now I am finally sitting down to relax a bit before going to my folks for Easter. Jeremy and I completed a list of great home repairs including some biggies like a new kitchen ceiling, cleaning the carpets, and fixing the peep hole into the bathroom ( for those of you have have been to our house- you will be glad to know it is closed up!!!)
Here are a few photos of our hard work in progress....

Meet Otis!

I went with my mom few weeks ago to help her pick out a new kitten! She fell in love with this cuddly sweetheart... she named Otis. But my mom thought he was lonely and so I brought her a second black kitty from a farm nearby. We are not sure if this new arrangement is working out as planned- Oliver the newest kitty may be having trouble adjusting, so please keep him in your thoughts, he is awfully cute as well! I will post a picture of him later on!

New Jewelry!

During all the snow days we recently had, I found lots of time to make some new jewelry. I am really into this new pendent style with the loop instead of the bunched beaded look I usually make. What do you think? Check out WeMiKiWi.etsy.com and see lots of other new jewelry!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Here is a little Valentine I made for My sister-in-law (she's 3)! Anna loves blue giraffes??

Snow Days!!!

Meet the newest Artist on the block. Any thoughts on a name for him?

Jeremy says Snow-MAN RAY!!!!
He then says he does not want credit for that bad pun.

Check out our picnic table- one more layer and it could be a cake!

Happy Snow days!!!!

The results...

I finished my scarf and hat over the many snow days we had this week.
It is soo super soft and maybe a bit bigger than I planned on!

Here are Marissa and Sophie's felt animals they requested. I loved making them but I am going to take a break before I become obsessed!

New things for the New year...

I received this great book on how to create cute felt crafts from my sister for Christmas. I finally had a chance to open it up and try one. Here is my sweet little alien. I am hooked!!!

My nieces loved it so much that I took them to Micheal's and let them each pick out some felt so I could make them each one as well. Sophie ( who is 3) has decided she would like a purple and pink polka dotted cat. Marissa ( who is 7) would like a pink and blue peacock or pink and white panda (whichever I think is easier.... I now have my work cut out for me.

I stumbled onto a great frame sale this weekend and got several great new frames to hold my favorite pictures of Mexico!

To go with my new houndstooth coat, Kirsten and I went shopping for a purse. I was able to find a great kelly green bag in little old Mount Vernon. We have this great little gift shop called the Silver Spider. I searched all weekend for some yarn to match my bag. I am dying to knit a hat and scarf for my new coat. My search did not pan out, so I will continue on through the week!

Ahhh, home from Mexico!!

Here are some shots from our trip to Mexico. We had a great time, although it was a bit more primitive than I was anticipating. We had fun exploring and being adventurous!
Below is a photo of Miramar beach where we stayed.

The Highlight

Jeremy and I, along with two friends, took a boat ride on "La Tovarra" a river and estuary. What an amazing experience! We saw all kinds of wildlife and beautiful mangrove trees everywhere. . The boat stopped half way so we could check out the small crocodile farm.We were excited to see them, but were very surprised when we saw just as many along the river as we passed by. We ended our fabulous tour at the restaurant at the head of the spring for some swimming in the warm pool amidst the turtles and tropical fish and a fantastic lunch over looking it all.

Our Favorite meal

A view from el Encanto, our hotel

The best shopping was in Guadalajara, on our last day. We took a cab to a huge market and I bought a gorgeous papier mache skeleton bride and lots of jewelry. We had a great lunch with a couple we met from Chicago before jumping on our plane to head home.

Off to Mexico....

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Jeremy and I are flying out tomorrow to meet up with 6 friends in Santa Cruz, Mexico. We are staying at El Encanto, a cute little resort that is very eco-friendly and far away from all the tourists. We will be staying right on the beach in little apartments with showers open to the stars and open air kitchens so we can all cook together.
I will post lots more when we return!!!! Hope everyone has a great Christmas! xoxoxoxo

Attack of the Zombie Gingerbread men!!!!

Run, hide, lock your doors!!! The Zombie gingerbread men are coming!!!

Ok- maybe I have seen too many Zombie movies, but last night as I sat decorating my gingerbread cookies for Christmas, I laughed out loud as I started arranging my cookies to attack!!! I thought their big red eyes, and arms straight out, like they were walking right toward me....... like Zombies !!!

Here they are attacking a village of innocent gingerbread people- yikes!!!!

Well- maybe they are not super-scary but they are very delicious!!

Merry Christmas!

Ice storm 2007

Check out our icy landscape! We spent over 24 hours without power again during this crazy storm.
The ice was so beautiful and treacherous. The whole little town of Mount Vernon was covered in a beautiful layer of a sparkling glaze. The storm was silent except for the eerie sound of the branches cracking and falling. The trees around us were so waited down with ice that hundred pound branches came crashing down all around us, snapping power lines and landing on cars.

Check out Bead trends Magazine......
Kirsten and I have a nice two page spread in it on how to make our paper bead jewelry. It is so exciting to see our work in this great new mag. Check it out!!!

Holiday Craft Open House

Kirsten and I are having an open house with all of our hand made crafts Thursday November 29th from3:30 to 6:00pm at my friend Alicia's house. We are displaying our jewelry along with a few other handmade items like felt ornaments and knit hats. We have been so busy creating new kinds of jewelry... bracelets, pins, wine charms, and festive pieces for the upcoming holidays.

Check out these beads I made just in time for Christmas.

Raking leaves with Anna

Jeremy's sister came to visit us last weekend. We had a fantastic time playing in all our leaves. We also beaded bracelets and made pancakes. Anna had so much fun playing with our dog Dottie, who just can't get enough of her.

New ATC's

Funky Tree Swap

Polka Dot Swap
Colorful Collage Swap
Insect Swap
I have been very bad about posting work.... so I am playing catch-up tonight!

sock animal swap

I am so excited to introduce my new sock friend to my sock animal family (the far right) from Spike! What a fun creature with great characteristics and such a cute tongue sticking out!


I had so much fun creating my sock animal to trade, I decided to make three. I couldn't decide which one to send though because I love them all so much! So Chantale, you will have to wait and see which one you are getting! Here are all my cuties together.
Meet Cozie, my Cute as a Button Cow, Betty my beloved Bunny, and last Mitzy, my Polka-Dotted Mouse.



Goodbye to one of my sock animal friends! Have fun in Canada! xoxoxo Wendy