Cat Lady Diary: A Weird Rambly Blog Post

Time for another dairy(oops, I'm hungry) diary-style rambling.  It's been awhile.  And honestly, this may end up having nothing at all to do with cat jewelry.  I think I'm going to just list some things because I feel like writing and this is my favorite place to write.  You're welcome or I'm sorry, depending on how annoying you find me tonight.

Lately, here are things that I love: Lego Harry Potter for the Nintendo 3DS, LuLaRoe dresses (I could probably write a whole blog post just about this amazingness, but I digress)...

...Sweet Jesus, I already got distracted by cat videos on the internet and quit typing for a good quarter of an hour.

...apparently I also love cat videos on the internet (still), Saturday morning home improvement radio programs, AM radio in general, prepping visuals and floorplans for Fall seasonal transition at my "day" job, double dates, and attempting to read the entire A Song of Ice and Fire book series.

My husband got a gaming PC, so I'm actually pretty worked up to dabble in that as well.  Throughout the history of my nerdery, the gaming bug never bit me when I was younger.  I would watch people play Grand Theft Auto:  Vice City because I liked the soundtrack, and I enjoyed the occasional Tetris binge, but otherwise I would never call myself a gamer.  Even remotely.  Yet here we are. Credit where it's due, as Matt has successfully managed to teach me the ropes over the years, and I've found that I quite enjoy how hard I have to *think* to get through some of these games!  It doesn't hurt that I've met my fair share of adorable in-game cats, so there is also that.  

Hmmm.

OH!  I've been playing with a couple of different ideas for more video content on this blog.  Some cat lady things, or crafty hauls/DIYs, and maybe even slightly unrelated little sit-down vlogs.  Yes, I have the world's most poo poo webcam and close to no editing skills, but filming as opposed to writing is a cool change of pace now and again.  To my surprise, a handful of you weird cat lady friends have even told me you enjoy the videos I've posted here in the past, so I think I may make some more *very* soon.  For the record, you're weird, but so am I and I will totally oblige with more awkward vlogs.

I'm reaching the tail end of working a long string of days in a row, and can't wait for my day off to literally just shut myself in my craft room and work all day and listen to true crime podcasts and make (hopefully) lots of jewelry.  I've worn some of my newer designs out and about lately, and so far very good.  Positive feedback is keeping me super energized to work on more.  I've been loving the direction that I'm heading creatively, and have been *INLOVE* with my newer designs, but you guys know (you know, because I don't shut up about it on this blog), I sometimes can't get on a good roll, especially lately.  So for things to take a productive turn is definitely progress.  And as always, the more I work and hammer things out, the more ideas I continue to come up with.  I'm getting excited for so many things on the visual end, not just with the new jewelry, but also web design and ideas for market/fair displays.  But more on all of this very soon...

Okay, yeah.  It's past my bedtime.  Thanks for enduring this strange post.  I know I enjoyed the verbal vomit session!  Feel free to have your own by leaving a comment below!

Until next time...

Xo*

Jess

...Snail's Pace Wins the Race?

Probably not.




For those of you still alive on the other side of this thing, here is a quick update from me to you...

I've started this blog post at least three times, once with the intention of sharing my (scant) current progress, and twice to just go on a crazy cat lady rant--and I always regret ranting (see: my entire Facebook career), so yeah...

Anyway, enough is enough.  A week or so ago, our lovely aforementioned friend FB notified me that it had been two months since I shared anything on my Lady and the Cat account.  It totally bummed me out.  Being lazy is fun and all, but it kind of starts to drive me batty bananas, and apparently the minions over at Zuckerberg's joint couldn't handle it either.  They had to taunt me about it on my already gross Feed.

Nonetheless, your girl is back.  Meow.

I may or may not have started working on some details for my forever-in-progress//eventual website (still!  I know!).  I've been really digging into the basics of web design...and I suck.  But I'm stubborn as an ox, so I will master it if it kills me to do so!  Also playing around with possible re-branding for my e-Shop//handmade collection??????  Lots of *different* ideas floating around, so......

In other news, I finally addressed the desk-in-shambles situation in my craft room, which means back to business, bum.  I've since found some good podcasts (to listen to my podcast du jour, just click here.) to work along to, and for the first time in what feels like a very long time, I'm having some legit game-changing lightbulb moments, creatively speaking.  These things keep me much more productive long-term!  Dare I say I've gotten my groove back?

So there is that.  

Not complaining at all.  Not one bit :)

I'm so pleased with the direction things are going lately.  If you dig these first few glimpses of things to come, please stay tuned for more!  Pretty positive you won't have to wait months this time, either :)

Xo*

Jess

Art Therapy: May 2016

Hello, strangers.  Want to know what I've been up to lately?  Well, I've made tons of progress in Downton (to be clear, I'm referring to my town in Animal Crossing here, not the best show to have ever graced PBS, although I'm almost finished with the series as well).  I'm reading and loving Neil Gaiman's American Gods after years of insistence by my loving spouse.  And Teen Mom 2 is back, but I mean, I don't need to elaborate there, you guys know how I feel about reality TV.

All of this bumming around has definitely been nice, but as of late, bumming around has transformed into bummer city.  Today I realized how downright despondent and almost depressed I've become from doing so much of nothing lately.  

For the record: "empty" time is enemy #1 of an anxious brain.  

I had to get out all the built up nervous energy from the past few days of my brain eating itself.

So today I decided to get back into my workroom and play around.  Remember that awesome jewelry haul I shared with you a few months back?  Today I finally broke the seal on the new goodies and made a couple pieces.  And it felt SO GOOD.

The work itself was so much easier since I finally have the right tools and a giant range of raw materials.  Not to mention, I've had a number of ideas floating around in my brain that I was itching to get out of my system.  I threw on one of my best Spotify playlists (if you want to get on my level, you can listen to it here) and had my own little DIY art therapy session.  It's funny that I convinced myself that worrying about making more jewelry was a huge cause of stress for me, but yet nothing in the last few weeks has centered me as much as sitting at that desk and working again.

These are the two pieces I made today...

(Antiqued chain necklace featuring a neon cat charm, gold accents, wooden trinkets, and round teal beads)

(Pink charm bracelet with trio of kitties and an assortment of glass trinkets)

Today's art therapy session is exactly the kick start I needed, a therapy that bears repeating in the future, for lots of reasons.  I only spent a handful of hours working and I already feel re-aligned somehow.  You know?

Until next time...

Xo*

Jess

 

Cat Lady Coffee Clutch: Real Talk...

Time for a gossip/catch up session, friends.  I've somewhat been avoiding this post for a few weeks now, even though what I'm going to say is actually quite positive.  So anyway, let's do this heart-to-heart, a coffee clutch amongst girlfriends style.

Over the past several months, I've been hemming and hawing in many ways.  If you know me personally or follow me on social media, you may or may not know that I suffer from anxiety.  Over the last several months, I've hit a particularly rough patch for some reason.  What's funny is this recent bout of nervousness has had no explicit trigger...things personally and professionally are going well and none of my "problems" are out of the ordinary, but alas, random and irrational define the nature of the beast that is generalized anxiety.

Anyhow, in the mix of all of this, I've tried my best to keep up with prepping for handmade markets this summer.  And I just can't.  That's not to say I haven't been creating.  Quite the contrary, actually.  I've come up with some really great new ideas and made some important tweaks...but more on that in a second.  What the "I can't" means is simply that I am choosing not to pursue any shows this summer for my own well-being.  Between my day job workload and getting mental health back on fleek after a rough couple months, I really just need some rest.  Yes, creating is therapeutic.  Scrambling and rushing to get yourself ready for a show, while juggling a million other things, is a whole new beast, though.  I'm in need of a proverbial cat nap.

While I'm sad that handmade markets aren't in the cards for me this summer, I couldn't be more excited about what's on the horizon for Lady and the Cat.

The best part of my self-imposed vendor vacation is that now I can really take the time and care to refine some of the new ideas and tweaks that I mentioned a second ago.  In less than two years, I've done more with Lady and the Cat than I originally set out to accomplish in that time frame, and I couldn't be more pleased, but I often beat myself up for not working on my handmade line every day until my fingers are bleeding.  I had to finally remind myself that I'm doing this because I love it.  Because it's fun, and it creates a connection between myself and people with common interests.  Because it was always intended to be a form of therapy/hobby with the possibility of becoming lucrative, and not the other way around.  And truthfully, even exciting new ideas and concepts couldn't stop me from feeling like I was grinding my gears too hard.  Hence, a re-evaluation of priorities and this garbled blog post.

I'd much rather take some time off in order to make my brand better for the long haul, rather than churn out some mediocre cat poop just to say that I have another show under my belt.  I'd much rather get my anxiety in check and re-charge my batteries than drive myself up a wall to bring in a few extra bucks this summer.

I can promise a couple things, though.  One is that I do plan to continue working on my website while I am away from vendor shows, and I can't wait to finally share the finished product with you all!  The second thing is that the accessories you (hopefully) already love about Lady and the Cat will be back and even better as soon as humanly possible.  I am confident that if you already dig my handmade line, you will love what is to come!

As for this blog...while the posts may not be as frequent in the upcoming months, I definitely don't want to stop posting completely.  Writing is another great outlet for me, and I think utilizing the blog for brainstorming and such is going to work in my favor.  So you're in all sorts of lucky if you happen to enjoy nonsensical, creative-type cat lady ramblings and rants.

Okay.  I've yapped enough for all of us.  If you've made it through today's novel, you're a superhero and a gem, and I couldn't love you more.

Xo*
Jess

Fast Fur-ward to Spring!

I'm happy to report that spring fever is still alive in the Midwest!  Not only that, but I recently received an unexpected massive haul of donated goods.  An old friend of mine mentioned a couple weeks ago that he and his wife had some jewelry and jewelry supplies to get rid of.  He asked if I'd be interested in taking them before they just tossed it all.  Of course I took him up on the offer, thinking I'd get a box of old necklaces, a few things a I could use here and there, whatever.  Little did I know, these beautiful, amazing, generous people literally unloaded their entire car of jewelry, beads, findings, display elements, books, and tools for me to use at my leisure.

I may do tons of complaining about life, but in this instance, I'm fully aware of the fact that I'm #blessed.  I will never be able to repay my friend for the generosity, and to think that they were just going to throw this treasure away!  I seriously have almost everything I need to continue making jewelry for years, and the best part is that it is all donated/secondhand, and there are plenty of finished pieces that I can de-construct...all keeping with the upcycled theme that is so important to Lady and the Cat designs.  I'm more thankful than anyone will ever know.

Here is just a small portion of my new haul...

Roland had to be involved, too.  As per usual.

It took an entire day to sort through and re-organize everything, but you guys know me...I'm the biggest dork, so I loved every second of it.

Another project I started this week is ceramic collar charms for cats...this is something I've only recently been thinking about, but executing these suckers has been surprisingly simple so far.  But get back to me when I start to decoupage...collar charms are way more delicate than the charms intended for humans, so I foresee the appearance of tweezers, a microscope, and a swear jar in my future!

This is my first batch of collar charms, shown after drying overnight and right before being sent to the kiln.  My only regret is that my own two cats refuse to wear collars, much less embellished collars.  But for all of you who have fancier cats than I, these charms will hopefully be purrfect for your babies!  If I can't partake in the excitement, I can at least create it!

I will say, though, that my felt cat toys continue to be a hit in the household...the few prototypes I threw together are forever MIA, as my cats keep stealing them from my (poorly chosen) hiding spots.  Best product research ever!  

I can't wait to show these new items for the first time at a show...these "for cats only" items are exactly what I needed to jump start my creative energy.  Between them and my beloved new treasure trove of upcycled goodies, I can barely contain myself.  It's refreshing to feel inspired again.  I hope the rising temps have all of you feeling inspired, too!

Thanks as always for staying updated!  I love you all and hope you have a great weekend!

Xo*

Jess

What the Cat Dragged In (Late Winter Update 2016)

It's officially March, and while my part of the Midwest has gotten more snow in the past week than we have all winter, I swear I can smell springtime in the air.  I've taken to driving with the windows down and nixing a coat most days, and the hankering for a vase of freshly cut flowers has never been so strong.

I've finally been super-motivated and inspired again, too.  Thank goodness for this, because I was truly getting concerned over the amount of Jersey Shore reruns I'd been tearing through all winter.  Now is the time to ditch the mass trash TV consumption (okay, okay...cut back) and get into the swing of things again.  I have a few weeks left until I submit photos to Hunt and Gather's curator for their summer show in June, and I really wanted to dig into making these cat toys.  I've wanted to do this since I started Lady and the Cat, but the whole jewelry thing took off and I haven't found myself able to re-focus on cat toys until now.

The good news?  These birdy toys are already a hit...before I even added wings or stuffed the first test pieces, my two Maine Coons were hounding the felt cutouts like their lives depended on it.  The bad news?  I now have to hide from my cats while I work, and then hide the finished toys so the cats don't hijack them!

This is just the beginning of my process towards getting a cat toy line ready for my next vendor fair.  I have to admit that they're more work than I expected, from the initial template design to bonding fabrics to the precise hand-stitching involved.  But what else is new?  I'm actually super happy with the end results, so I can't wait to keep working on them regardless.  Time and again, I tend to secretly love a rigorous, meticulous handmade process.

I've also started making more rings in brand new prints, but more about those later.  Now is the time to get into high gear for this summer market, so you can rest assured that like last year at this time, the blog will be filled with prep coverage from now until June.  I can't wait to post more as I keep working, and promise to share more details about my next show as soon as they become available!

As always, thanks so much for reading.  I hope you all have a meowvelous weekend!

Xo*

Jess

Behind the Scenes Vlog: Lady and the Cat Workroom

When we moved into our place almost three years ago, my big project was turning one of our spare rooms into a crafting workspace.  Until we moved here, I was stuck shoving totes of supplies into whatever closet space I was lucky enough to have at any given time.  So while my current craft room is teeny tiny (roughly an 8'x8' space), it is both much appreciated and perfect for my needs.  It is also the same room we used to acclimate Hermione to our household when we rescued her.  Because of this, it still serves as her nap room/safe haven, and she's a constant companion to me when I am working on Lady and the Cat stuff.  And by default, Roland is usually there, too.  He's obsessed with me and Hermione, so work sessions typically end up being a family cat party.

Anyhow, getting this room in working order was a challenge to say the least.  When we moved in, it was a hoarding den of sorts, as the previous tenants of our place decided to just leave a ton of their old (literally) garbage in there.  Let's just say I saw my first dead mouse ever cleaning up that room.  After I gutted, cleaned, and thoroughly disinfected the room, I began the first of many re-styles of the room itself.  It wasn't until Lady and the Cat was born that the room truly started to take shape and become a place that I wanted to spend my time.

Today I decided to film a quick tour of my current workspace, something I've wanted to do for awhile, but never really planned out in detail.  I kind of just got a crazy tick and filmed this out of nowhere this morning, so I apologize if you get a glimpse of any random messes.  I kept my face out of the mix because that thing was definitely a random mess today! HA!  Either way, I had a lot of fun filming this...enjoy!

I eventually would love to upgrade this room even further.  For example, that wood paneling has needed to go since always, and I need new furniture badly (in the video, I chose to ignore the tripod that's underneath my current ratchet desk, supporting its dear, sad life).  I have even thought about doing little vlogs as I find thrifted upgrade pieces, choose paint colors, create cat lady decor for the room itself, etc.  Would you watch a cat lady craft room upgrade?  Let me know in the comments below, or leave a comment on my YouTube video!  Thanks so much for watching/reading today!  I appreciate any and all love, especially considering how awkward I still am when filming (Um City-Population: Me)...you're all the cat's meow!

Xo*
Jess

Neko Atsume: Cat Lady Gamers Club

As many of you can testify, one of the hardest parts about being a crazy cat person is resisting the urge to bring home every cat you meet. Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector is a simple-yet-addicting, first world solution to this #catladyproblem.

Now, if you're more hip than I am(chances are, you are), you know that this game isn't even "new" by internet standards, but I must rave anyway, because it is an absolute unexpected delight.

When I first started playing, I wasn't quite sure if I enjoyed the game. It felt boring and a little slow. Turns out, I didn't yet understand how the game works, much less its intensely addicting nature. Once I got my feet wet, I was hooked. The adorable cat buttholes certainly don't hurt, either. What is it about kitten rectum that is so endearing? Am I alone? Should I stop? Are you still reading? What is life?

But I mean...

I digress.

The concept of Neko Atsume is simple...attract neighborhood kitties using treats, cozy cat beds, and toys. Each time a kitty visits you, it will leave you gifts in the form of fish. The fish are your currency to buy better, more pimped-out cat accessories for your hoodrat feline friends. There are over 40 cats to collect, as well as different "mementos" that cats leave you after repeated visits (a sign of ultimate affection). I now find myself obsessed with the need to collect every cat, goodie, and memento. Not to mention, there is a strategy to the game, as different treats and toys attract different types of cats. Some cats are more rare than others, and you're given a Catbook to keep track of all your pals, complete with photos, descriptions, and stats. It. Is Glorious.

But my favorite part? The cats come pre-loaded with unique names, but you can choose to rename them. So naturally, I now have a backyard full of ragtag cats named mainly after Young Adult fiction characters or members of popular boy bands. Again--Neko Atsume. Is. Glorious.

Have you played Neko Atsume yet? If not, you probably should. It's available for download on iTunes and Google Play, so get on that and let me know what you name your cats...

Xo*
Jess

Dot com kitty

Well, hello again, my feline friends!

How has 2016 been treating all of you?  So far, this new year has brought me a wicked upper respiratory infection, too many work-related tasks (the day job, obviously, not any fun kitty stuff), and family emergencies...but I am keeping my head above water as best I can.

The good news is I've had some free time to start a new collection of decoupage kitty rings, which were by far the biggest hit of all the shows I did last year.  And while I don't sit around timing myself with a stopwatch or anything, I'm proud to notice how much more quickly I get rings made these days.  A year ago, it would take close to an hour to finish one ring.  Now, I can make four rings in that same span of time.  Amazing and awesome and mind-blowing, I KNOW.

#practicemakesperfect and such.

But enough of that.  Let's talk about the reason I wanted to write a blog post. 

I have some big news, and while there's no set date, I simply cannot hold this in any longer!  I believe I hinted at this news last fall, both in a sit-down vlog and on my Instagram feed, so some of my loyal readers may already know where I'm going with this (or at the very least, be chomping at the bit for me to finally spill the damn beans)...so without further ado...

Sometime this year, this blog will be moving to a full-blown Lady and the Cat website!  This is something I tried for a couple months when I first started Lady and the Cat, but I relied on free web hosting and as they say, you get what you pay for, so that inevitably didn't work out for me.  This time I will be paying for my domain and 100% in control of the entire site, from graphics to the online shop to site design to blog integration.  I hope to get the site up and running ASAP, but I'm not a web designer at all, and I don't want it going live too early just because I have ants in my pants.  So once it's ready and fully functional, online shop, blog and all, I will be sharing the link here first!  I'm itchy to get it officially up, but don't want to rush it.  The reason I've done as well as I have with Lady and the Cat is because I've somehow had the self-control to ignore my tendency to rush rush rush every little thing!

And what will happen to this blog once the site goes live?  Most likely, Lady and the Cat blog as you know it will be kept up on the new site in archive format, or as a link, while I continue to blog from my new main URL.  Tentative, of course, but that's my thought so far.

Anyhow, I'm so happy to finally share this with my fellow cat ladies and can't wait to keep working on this exciting project!  Thanks so much for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

Xo*

Jess

New Purr, New Yurr

Greetings, cat ladies!

I can't believe it is officially 2016 and another Catmas has come and gone.  I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday!  I know I did!  But like so many others at this time of year, I'm sadly not immune to the stress and exhaustion that comes along with the holidays.  Now that all the seasonal craziness is winding down, I'm happy to re-focus my energy from Christmas gifts and family events to the future of Lady and the Cat.

With the new year, I've done lots of reflecting on where this blog (and Lady and the Cat in general) has come since its inception in September of 2014.  In typical fashion, my first instinct was to criticize myself for all of my goals that fell short over the last year.  For example, my dreams of farming mass quantities of catnip (laugh if you will, but this prospect was a thing at one point), opening a hugely successful Etsy shop, and getting myself a paid web domain obviously did not happen.  Not completely from lack of trying, but alas...no catnip farm to speak of.

Sorry to disappoint.

What I can say, though, is that I've actually accomplished a whole heck of a lot.  So now it's time for the gooey, gross part where I talk about all the good stuff.  A year and a half ago, I had the lightbulb moment to start Lady and the Cat as a way to simultaneously express my creativity and connect with other crazy cat ladies.  I honestly didn't know what Lady and the Cat would be exactly, just that I felt so claustrophobic without an artistic outlet of some sort.  So I did a ton of reading on handmade markets, started to blog, networked with other indie crafters online, and quite literally got my hands dirty making any and everything cat-related to see what kinds of creations I landed on.  And while my expectations and realities didn't always align, I'm pleasantly surprised with the things I've pushed myself to do.  While I have slacked for a few weeks here and there, I've consistently blogged over the past 18 months.  I've met other crazy cat ladies and other handmade artists.  I've developed a small yet original product line that, while polarizing, is surprisingly appealing to a particular demographic of people.  I tested the limits of my own productivity and landed a spot as a vendor at my absolute favorite local handmade market.  I've sold at said market twice now and come out having made a profit both times, something I would have never expected during my first year of such a brand new endeavor.  I overcame my social anxiety and actually did these shows despite the strong instinct to throw up and stay home under blankets.  I've taken my failures and come up with ways to improve upon them in the next year, and in fine-tuning these creative adjustments, come up with new and better ideas for the next year.

It's crazy to sit back and look at how far Lady and the Cat has come...and even crazier to think about how this is still just the beginning for me.  There is so much room to continue learning and growing, and the more involved I get with this, the more inspired I am.  Which is wonderful, because for the first time in my life, my deeper involvement in a project has caused my passion to grow rather than falter.  For the first time, I'm enjoying a project so much that the "finish line" isn't the important part, but rather the journey.  And while I still have so much to accomplish, I can't help but feel proud of the positivity I've cultivated in my life all thanks to this little kitten of a project.

So to anyone still reading, thank you so much.  I know I always thank my readers at the end of a post, but I truly do mean it from the bottom of my heart.  I'm a weird, anxious, hermit cat lady artist whose best friends are a couple of Maine Coons.  I never expected to receive so many good feels from all of you simply by sharing what I love.  So to all the people still sticking around on this blog, "Liking" my Facebook posts, sharing these entries, or coming back to my vendor booth to buy another kitty ring, you all are the real MVPs.

I'm so happy that you're still here to continue this ride with me, and I can't wait for you to be part of Lady and the Cat's continued growth.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now that I've gone and made a huge cornball of myself, I'll give it a rest.  But I can't wait to keep the momentum going in 2016, and will continue blogging and sharing as much as possible with my awesome cat-loving community!  There are still some really exciting announcements that I'm hanging onto that you won't want to miss!

Until next time...

Xo*
Jess