YAPPING CAT STUDIO

M I A ?

Nope.  M-I-C. 

As in, M-I-C...K-E-Y...M-O-U-S-E! 

Yep.  Ears.  I wore em.  For several days.  And liked it!

It's been hard to come back to the real world, sans ears.   That's for sure.

This was so much fun.  Especially for a person that grew up watching as Tinkerbell flew over that magical castle every Sunday evening, fireworks exploding in the sky behind her.  She still holds a special spot in my heart. 

I still can't really believe that I was there. 

For it really was, quite M-A-G-I-C-A-L!

So thanks Sweet Hub! for one of the best birthday's that this little girl (in spirit anyway) has ever had.  It truly was magical in every sense of the word. 

And thanks to ya'll for such wonderful comments and sweet compliments on the bluebirds and roses goodies.  I hope to get more things done this week (as soon as I stop mooning around and wearing my ears), and get some of it loaded on Etsy. 

Happy Mo....Hey wait...is it Tuesday?  Ah, behind again. 

I guess that means I'm back in the real world. 

Happy Tuesday. 

**edited to say**crap!  Just realized...it's Wednesday!  LOL.  I am behind...big time.  Well, off to try and catch up on reading the 755 blog posts in Google Reader.  You guys have been busy.  LOL. 

On the road again

OK, confession time.  So I wasn't totally working last week.  I was really mostly playing.  I got to go down to the Hill Country for a few days and it was absolutely wonderful.  Sweet Hub and I had not been there in ages, actually about 8 ages. 

To say that this year has been hard...total understatement.  So, was nice to get away with for just a few, short, days and drive, shop and eat.  Not always in that order.  LOL. 

And while more booth pics just might send you running and screaming from the room.  I did think you might enjoy these.

Alas, this is not my booth.   But a booth in the fantastic store that is Homestead in Fredericksburg.  Texas, that is.  I loved this space and all her things were so nicely displayed.  I love an all white look, but in my own home, I know color would continuously sneak in.

Loved these little glittered eggs in taupe's, silver and cooper. 

This was funky, cool.  An old, wicker hamper with an "altered" top. 

Just so lovely and peaceful looking.

Is this piece not amazing?  Would have soooooo loved to have it.

And that red transfer ware?  Equally yummy and equally out of my price range.

But thankfully this yummy was not!  Yep, that would be a cinnamon Muffin and blueberry scone from the Rather Sweet Bakery.  Rebecca has also opened a second restaurant called, Rebecca's Table, which is equally delish.

Her bakery is always one of our favorite stops in F'burg.  As is the 5 and Dime.  You can't beat Dooley's for fun.  We meandered through Comfort, Boerne, and back through Austin again (oh the changes!, oh the toll roads!).  Was a great few days and wonderful to relax, but always good to be back home.

Its beginning to look a lot like...

the North Pole. 

Yep. They are here.   Where I work. 

It's that time of year.  Although seems like we are doing it a wee bit early this year, but hey, those penguins and their little happy feet could be contained no longer.

Come with me, I'll give ya a little tour. 

From top to bottom, the front of the store is a winter wonderland awash in shades of red, black and white.  One can almost feel an icy chill as you step through the door.

These little snow birds look right at home with their dancing counterparts.

As do these little guys.  How cute would these be just clipped to some bare branches in a pretty white urn?

The penguin tree is cool!  Literally.

 

Lots of great ribbons and decorative accessories.  LOVE that striped ribbon.

This guy never wants to have LAU after his name!  LOL.

Lots to see and take in.  Just hearing people "oooh and aaah" yesterday, made all the hard work worth while.

Up front, it's all a red, black and white wonderland wonderful!

Now, if your idea of Christmas is a little warmer, but no less magical, think Enchanted. 

A frosty, enchanted forest.

A sun-dappled forest, where icy leaves crunch under foot.

And little birds snuggle warmly into nests under shimmering boughs. 

But not to worry, still lovely bits of Fall about.

Pumpkins and leaves.  Cute Red Robin sign!  Wonder "who" does their signs?  LOL

Crows and Candles.

And Halloween bits of spooky fun.  And candy.

Gobble, gobble.

Cool greens and concrete cuteness.

Texas Honey.

Kitchen fun.

And Sister's and my little booth?  Think pink.

I'll post more pics of our booth on the week after next, for Pink Saturday. 

Hope you enjoyed the tour of The Doves Nest .  Come down and take a peek for yourself!

And the Winner is...

... but first a  word from our sponsor.  Me.

Sorry I'm late.  I had hoped to post the winner this morning.  But you know me, late as usual.  You know how a doc will have PhD after his/her name, lawyer's are AAL (Attorney's at Law)...I'm thinking of putting one after my name, as in Cindy, LAU.  Late as usual.  That way, I will never have to explain my constant lateness.  It's there, after my name.  But, I digress.  So without further adieu...our winner is:

Kathy at Mimi's Garden

YAY.  Kathy was number 17, the winner, as randomly generated by Sweet Hub.  When asked to pick a number between one and twenty-three.  LOL.  So  Congrats Kathy and I will get your little tea cup out to ya.  Thanks to everyone for taking the time to leave a comment and playing.    I hope to have more kits on my Etsy by the end of this week.

On Saturday, I did something I rarely ever do...I took a class! 

 

Our LSS offered an incredible class taught by the wonderful Wendy that is pretty much the same as the Ranger 101 class.  We learned the basic inking techniques and methods used by the pros.  It was fun and fab to finally learn exactly what to do with that stack of inks that sit on the edge of my desk and mock me daily!

And practice is the key.  The tag in the middle (that says "nevermore") was my favorite.  It was called Burnt Edge. 

And I sat at the "cool kids table".  With this one, this one, this one,  and this one.

Was alot of fun.  Now off to the studio to play.

Eye candy Delish

I love eye candy!  It makes my heart flutter, my mind run amok, spurs the old creativity and best of all, its not fattening. 

So, with those thoughts in mind, feast upon these pics.  While they in no way do justice to the wonderful, little shop that is Laurie Anna's  .  Hopefully they will spur you on to take a trip to her wonderful store and see the goodness for yourself. 

Each little vignette draws you in and tells a story.  Pulling you along to the next spot.  Filling every nook and cranny of space with delightful, affordable finds.  One can envision a single piece or a entire display in their own home.  I had to have that wonderful little birdie on the wood base (to the right of the concrete candle holder).  As well as a few other things.

Brown is a color after my own heart.  I'm just a brown girl I guess.  But mix in the coolness of white and a little sophistication of black and the ordinary is elevated to classic.  And texture...love texture.

And Laurie has the most wonderful mix of wood, fur, feather, metal and more.  Pleasing to the eye and to the touch.  Look at this gorgeous dress.  Loved it.  And that little basket of owls.  I wanted a few, but was afraid they would become cat fodder.  So, I left them in the basket. 

See the textures?  Love it!  Is your heart fluttering yet?  Mine was.

Now, I know this pic does not make sense.  I only captured a small area.  This is a huge bird cage.  It's filled with sheet music, twiggy wreaths, and lots of cool cups and saucers, wood pieces and burlap.  It was such a contradiction, but it all works.  So much fun.  And this, as they say, is just the tip of the iceberg.  The shop is chock full of wonderful goodies and Christmas things, but out of the ordinary, not your run of the mill red and green.  And so beautiful.

But the best part of the day...getting the meet the wonderful Missy Laurie Anna herself.  We've "talked" several times (via email) but had not gotten to meet.  She is as warm and beautiful as the shop she creates.  Was a joy to meet her and see the new location.  If you get a chance, stop in and see her.  You won't be disappointed.  And I bet your heart will flutter a bit too!

From there down to the flea market piles and dollar tables that make up part of the fun of Canton.  There with five million other Texas gals.  LOL.  Was anyone at Round Top?  Hard to believe with the crowd that was pushing their way through the Arbors today. 

I had lots of fun.   Between today and last weekend, I've got ideas for ktis and new creations and lots of new things.  Plus, the vintage goodies, that I found today.  I'll share more next week. 

Have a good weekend.

Let's go to Canton!

C'mon Peeps...let's take a little field trip to Canton.  Yeah, I know it's early.  But hey, hopefully it will be cooler in the early morning. 

Well, that was the thought process and theory behind our leaving the house at 7 am.  Boy Howdy! was that a theory that was proved wrong.  Even at 8:45 in the morning, it was hotter than blue blazes.  Or as Shawna kept saying, "hotter than the devil's house".  LOL.  But we persevered.  Missy Shawna (What the Junk?) and I. 

But it was hot.  I think even my eyelids were sweating.  So after ambling aimlessly among the junk dealers under the trees, which proved to be even less cool, we headed up to the Arbors. 

We did stop in at The Veranda  first.  And look at some of the lovely things we saw.

Those lovely ladies at The Veranda, Lillie and Maggie, never fail to impress.  I always love the unusual finds and wonderful goodies they have on hand.  And their displays, always works of art.  And such wonderful details.  The Veranda is always one of my favorite spots for eye candy galore and great "cool finds" shopping.   

I loved this "Miss Haversham" (remember her from Great Expectations?) display of layered mirrors and tattered old lamp shades.  Very lovely.

Here's a wider shot, so that you can see the entire display.

 

Loved this.

And really loved the fun of this Fall table scape.  Wish it felt like Fall.

I thought this was so funny! "Say Please".  Hee, hee, hee. 
See along with artful, eye goodies, they teach ya manners too!  LOL.

And doesn't this look cozy?  Wouldn't it be great on your own veranda?  Too bad its 145 degrees outside.  Otherwise it would be a wonderful spot for sipping lemonade and cracking open that summer page-turner paperback. 

Next stop.  The Arbors.  Erroneous thinking again.  Hoping to find a little AC in the Arbors proved wrong as well.  But that did not keep us from shopping.  We picked up lots of fun, Fall decor and goodies.  So many lovely things that I wanted to take pics of, but I was a little apprehensive.  Judy Hill's booth was amazing.  Also in cool shades of white, black and green.

As was LaurieAnnas booth.  So, lovely.  But I did not see her around, so I decided not to take any pics.  Pity too...cause it was amazing.  Time restraints kept us from being able to visit her new shop.  We sadly waved "goodbye" to it as we headed out of town.  Hopefully we will have more time next month.  I'm sure if it is anything like her booth, it's amazing. 

And these lovely folks!

I

was fortunate enough to get to meet Linda and Ludmil a few months ago at a sale here in town.  They are not only lovely and gracious, but so talented, as well.   I always enjoy talking to them and seeing the wonderful things that they find and add their detailed touches to.  Never fails to take my breath away.

Is above not the sweetest?  Would be adorable in a child's bathroom.  And look at this bit of playfulness.

I always love the sense of whimsy at Willow Nest .  I'm into details and they have it in spades.

Look at this wonderful display for cards.  See the tiny, folded hats in the bottom?  Too cute. 

Loved the textures in this little bowl of hay.  Old velvet and silk roses nestled alongside a glittery little birdie.  It's all in the details.  But for me, the cream on the cake was this:

Mr. Bones and his lovely spider friends seem to be tripping the light fantastic.

And why even Little Miss Tuffet herself could not resist this...

Why it's Miss Princess Spider herself.  Details.  Details.  I always love the details.  The difference between ordinary and extraordinary. 

Well, time constraints again kept us from shopping and gabbing more.   So we dashed out the door of the Arbor building to find something cool to drink and to head to the van.  We gathered our goodies before beginning our trip homeward.  Knowing that next month, we can come shop again.

Thanks for coming along today. 

Our next field trip will be in a few short weeks.  Yep.  It's Antique Alley time.  And that means Whippoorwill Hill.  I can hardly wait.

Here's wishing everyone will have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day Weekend.

OUt and about

Sweet Hub and I took the day off Friday and headed to BIG Downtown to see the J.M.W. Turner exhibit.  We had not taken a day off together in ages.  And the day was gorgeous.  Perfect for getting outdoors. 

Turner was a renowned British artist who's use of color and light revolutionized landscape painting.  Many of the pieces are huge.  But the way he interplayed the light, be it in the sky, the valley or the ocean waves, truly breathtaking. 

We enjoyed the exhibit greatly.  And got a big kick out of the school children that were also having a field day.  Many were oblivious to the surroundings, but you could see a few of them..wide-eyed and taking it all in.  One teacher had them all sit in front of key paintings and would point out facts and ask questions.  Made me wonder which child would be influenced most by this day and would it lead him or her down a path to creating art of their own.

For me, the gift shop is too much fun.  Look at these purchases.

Of course, we had to bring a prezzie back for the "kids".  I knew Boy Cat would love this bouncy, rubber ball...that LIGHTS UP.  And he does.  He loves to carry it in his mouth and to chase it.  He does not like to swipe at it though.  Each time he does he shakes his paw in annoyance.

I thought these were too funny.  I picked the most appropriate.  I did stop short of buying the scented pencils though.  Sweet Hub informed me that they were stinky.  And they were.  But still kinda fun stinky.

Isn't this gorgeous?  Looks kinda like an aquarium seascape or something.  This is a huge window that one looks out while enjoying a little snackie from the cafeteria.  Well, I did anyway.

These blown-glass pieces were huge.  At least three times larger than the human head.  And the colors were just amazing.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our little "back-yard" vaca day.  Thanks for coming along.