Thursday, January 30, 2014

Don't Let the Door Stop You Blog Hop!



My New Door Stoppers!
Don't Stop My Playful Quilty Kitties!

My quilty kitties and I say "Thanks, Madame Samm, for hosting this hop.


This is one of my new door stoppers!
It is a toy box for my quilty kitties. 


My quilty kitties like to play.


Their favorite place to play is the doorway to my sewing room. 
Butterfly is on guard here and she says, "These are MY toys."


When she is done playing and guarding she leaves.
The Cat does not pick up her toys.


Katniss  arrives and says, "Who has been playing with MY toys?"


After perusing her options Katniss selects a  favorite toy.


Bats it behind the door ... as Butterfly arrives ...


... to see who is playing with HER toys. 


Katniss and Butterfly will chase this into the other rooms
and just like my kiddos when they were little ...


my quilty kitties leave their toys all over the floor 
and I am always stepping on them.


So when it came time to decide what to make for a new door stopper 
for my sewing room doorway


a fabric "Kitty Toy Box" 
seemed a great way to go!


I got the idea for making this fabric box from


I started with 12.5" squares as I wanted the finished box large
 enough to hold a few kitty toys and 
I and followed her tutorial HERE
Tina has a great quilting blog.
Check out her beautiful quilts!


My quilty kitties all time favorite toys are marbles.


Katniss plays marbles.


Butterfly and Katniss Play marbles together.
There was a marble on this table before Butterfly rolled it onto the floor.

(Yes, I know ... My Cats Are On The Dining Room Table!
This is the table that also has a big cutting mat under the table cloth.
It is a multi-use table.
I always clean the table and put a fresh new cloth when it is actually used for dining.)

Marbles are the weight that keeps my new door stopper in place.
This makes my kitties very happy.


 Butterfly can scoop a marble right out of the box.
Butterfly is a smart cat.


Katniss can try to scoop a marble out of the box.
She will learn.
Katniss has learned most of what she knows about being a cat from Butterfly.

This is my second new door stopper!


I love the colors and print in the multicolor floral print in the
  She Who Sews line from Quilting Treasures

Sew ...


I used it for the door stopper for my sewing room!

I found this idea and followed the tutorial in this link ... 


The cost of two long tubes were under a dollar  
and I could make one two-sided door stopper per tube.



These are foam insulation tubes for pipes and are easily available at any home improvement or hardware store. Real insulation so they really stop the drafts.
I like this economical plan!

The covers can easily be removed for washing, too!

I will be making more of these for the cold drafts that sneak under the doors
during these cold winter months in the scrapatch.


I hope you like my door stopper ideas as much as my kitties and I do.

Do not let the door stop you from visiting all the blog hoppers today ...

January 30th

Thanks to 

our blog host, Mdm. Samm @ Sew We Quilt,
and
our great cheerleader, Carla @ Creatin' in the Sticks,
for this fun blog hop!


Now, if only I can get my kitties to put their toys away in this basket!


Katniss Says, "Thanks for the toy box and for picking up my toys!"
and
Thank you for visiting my scrapatch today!

Before you go ...

If you have not entered my


Grow Your Blog Hop Mug Rug Giveaway

There is still time to do so.
Click on the above link for details!

The winner will be announced on February 15th!

Happy Hopping!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update:  Katniss reminded me that she has been to visit with the pretty kitties 
@
Feline Friday @Sarah Did It

for way to long.

So we are linking up today.

Katniss says, "Purrrrrr!"

:)

60 comments:

Kristen King said...

What great projects, I'm not sure you will get them to pick up their toys though. :)

Carla said...

Your new door stops are so puuuuurfect. Great ideas for both. You can tell how happy you will be to have a place for all those kitty toys and how happy the kitties will be to have toys in place for them to play. I love the tube idea.
Thanks for hopping. What a fun post.

Createology said...

Butterfly and Katniss are precious and I adore how you showed them playing. What a great door stop which also holds their toys. I also really like your double draft stopper. Thank you sew very much for Hopping...

Marian said...

If they were dogs, you might have better luck training them LOL ... but this is sew absolutely adorable and a clever idea as well. Easy enough to just pick up the toys and put them away, although the marbles might give me pause, I'd hate to fall because of stepping on one of them. sewwwwww be careful!!! Hugs

Carol Swift said...

That basket is so sweet and a great way to store those kitty toys. I love the tube draft stopper, too!

Judy B said...

Love the basket idea for pet toys, and the double sided draft stopper! Thank you for sharing.

Amy said...

The basket is a great idea. I wonder how you get so much done with all the little entertainers running through the house. So cute!

Heidi [Banks of Frog Creek] said...

That basket is the perfect solution!! I've been meaning to make a draft stopper or two like yours someday... Looks great! Cute kitties, too :)

Jane's Quilting said...

Great idea and is so pretty! I see your Kitty's love to play like mine. Maybe I need to make a box for her toys. They are so much fun to watch, they are definitely entertaining.

DebraKay Neiman said...

So pretty, I especially like the kitty box. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com

Britt-Inger said...

The kitty box is adorable and your cats are so cute. Thanks for sharing.

Baa. xxx said...

That is such a coolio idea - fantastic idea and so pretty. You are so clever.

Shari said...

Love your kitty basket, and your quilty kitties. Awesome pics...such fun, thanks for sharing!

charlotte said...

I love your door stop with the tubes. I have seen those before. Great idea. The cat toybox is precious. I love all the pics of the kitties. They are too cute.

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

Both your projects are beautiful and useful! I can relate about the toys. My dog takes all of hers out of her basket and throws them all over the living room floor...and she doesn't clean up either lol.

Donna said...

Great door stop.

StitchinByTheLake said...

What a great idea for a cat toy box! I bet they are so fun to watch. I'm going to check out that tutorial so thanks for the link. Blessings, Marlene

Dorian said...

Oh Pat, that is just purrrrfect!! I love it. I loved watching your kitties play too. Your long one is very nice, it should really help with the cold drafts. Great job my Friend! Oh, where did you get that kitty fabric??

Tina Craig said...

How fun! I love the kitty fabric. Thanks for linking back to my tutorial!

Vickie said...

I loved the playing kitties story ! It's easy to see that you really enjoy your little fur babies. I bet part of the fun is watching them try to get their favorite toy out of the box ! The double sided draft dodger does the job perfectly and with such finesse !

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

very nice....kitty is having lots of fun

Sparky said...

how clever you are….now that is a great idea for the cat toy catcher too…I have made those draft dodgers…I love them still…our cats like to lie on them...

KaHolly said...

I just knew you'd come up with the most clever idea!!

Thearica said...

Your draft dodger for under the door is one I need to make. Great job.

Sherry VF said...

The dual purpose doorstop/toy box is very clever. Your cats seem to appreciate it! I'm thrilled that you included the two-sided draft stopper!! I purchased one recently and love how well it works but the drab brown fabric is terribly boring. I'm anxious to make another with your pattern link and my own fabrics. Thank you. svonfumetti at yahoo dot com

Leah said...

Your kitties are adorable! Great idea to make them a toy box. Love it! and your draft stopper is very clever. Both work great together!

sew.darn.quilt said...

I really like your double sided door/draft stop. I'm going to be making some of these for our house!
Cute toy box for a lovely pair of kitties :)

Robin said...

I really had fun reading about your kitties! Love their new toy box. That double sided draft dodger is awesome!!! Where ever did you find that foam tubing. I REALLY need one of those draft dodgers!!! Fantastic job!

Anna said...

What a great idea making them a place to keep their toys :) you have such adorable kitties! Great door/draft stopper, too. Clever design!

Carol said...

I really like the door stopper using the Handmaids floral! Your kitty toy basket is inspired! Great ideas--thanks for sharing!

Linda said...

What great ideas! And your kitty children are adorable!

Rosa said...

Great ideas,I need to make a door stopper, and your helper are lovely.Thanks for sharing

Calicojoan said...

That's a great way to keep kitty toys contained. Of course until they get them out again. Let me know if you get your cats trained to put their toys away. It doesn't happen here! LOL!

Brandy said...

Thank you so much for finding that draft stopper tutorial, I was looking for that! My sister has a drafty house and could really use one. Also, I really enjoyed seeing your cats play, we never tried marbles with our cat, I wonder if she has the energy for it anymore... Great idea with the toy basket, love it!
~Brandy

Joyce Carter said...

Very clever and oh so cute. I loved all of the pictures of your cats and the sweet story Thank you so much for sharing.

Linda C said...

We have very similar tastes in music, Pat! Love Karla Bonoff and that is what is playing now.

Those kitties are adorable and yes, I do see the resemblance of Butterfly to my Skyler. What entertainment they are providing with your as they play. Skyler is partial to pom pom balls but now I have to wonder what he might do with marbles!

I love your idea of the fabric kitty basket for their paraphernalia and that they can get their stuff OUT if not back in, LOL. The draft dodger is made from a pool noodle, right? Clever idea there too. I've got to at least find that multicolored floral piece of the fabric line.

jan said...

Pat - I love the idea of a basket for the kitties toys. I definetly need to make one of those. Also the draft stopper is great. Thanks for sharing.
xo jan
PS I haven't made it around to you yet on the GYB hop. I started with those less than 50 followers and working my way up. xo jan

Purl Buttons said...

Clever projects! We bought insulation tubing for our cellar door, but I never thought to make it pretty--don't know why! Clever kitty basket. I see they have already taught you to put away their toys ; )

Carrie P. said...

great door stops. how nice of you to make your kitties a little toy basket. thanks for sharing.

Margaret said...

I really love your doorstops. Thanks for the link to make the draft dodger. I sew need this in my sewing room

Marcy said...

Great. The kitty toy box is sew cute and I really like the door draft stopper.

Janarama said...

Great ideas for door stoppers! Looks like your cats love them too.

Suze said...

As usual, I'm amazed at your projects. I think many of us could definitely use a draft stopper. The other evening I got a pizza pan out of the cabinet over the ovens - what an arctic blast that was. I knew it was chilly in the kitchen and just thought about the cold coming in from the garage. I hadn't thought about the cabinets. I often open my cabinet under my sink to get more warm air in there. The only vent in the kitchen is in front of the sink, so thus far I've never had frozen pipes. Again, you did an impeccable job. Thanks for participating and sharing your creativity.

LJ said...

I love it when the projects are so useful and your stoppers are sure that. To have the kitty toy box was inspirational. Great idea to make a double door draft dodger!

Jeanie said...

Love your kitty toy box! My cat has a little red wagon and I pick up his toys every few days and put them back in the wagon until he drags them out again. Aren't cats a hoot!? Thanks for sharing all of the cute pictures to go along with your projects!

Michelle said...

Great door stops.

Terry@ a quilting blog said...

Your kitty toy box is adorable (I used Tina's pattern to make a couple small ones for my sewing studio to hold my Wonder Clips etc). Thanks for sharing :)

Kathy H said...

Cute toy box and i enjoyed all of the pictures of your cats. i had seen that type of draft stopper with the tube before but only as a pattern, not made up. it looks like it might work really well.

maggie said...

I need to make a cat toy box too..Love your idea and it worked out so pretty. Now should you figure out how to make the cats pick their toys up and put them away, let me know..lol
cheers maggie

maggiemine42@gmail.com

Lydsfire said...

NICE!

tink's mom said...

Great toy box. What's not for the kitties to love. Super idea for a draft stop too.

sandra said...

So cute pat I love both of your ideas , come on I bet you can get the kitties to put their toys away.

Mary Pat Callihan said...

Hey there Scrapatch! That door draft stopper is exactly what I need! You are brilliant! I live in Florida, the land of drafty doors in the winter. Thanks for the great idea!

MoeWest said...

That's a neat idea for a draft stopper!

Anonymous said...

Nice door stop and draft guard! Cute kitties! :)

Sarah said...

What an adorable post! I have yet to get my crew to pick their toys either - only mine like to carry them all over my entire 2100 sq foot house. I *never* know where I will find a toy. I toss them into the current fav cardboard box, a small basket and the kitty tunnel but they don't stay stored very long =^..^=

gpc said...

Lovely AND useful! :)

Mara said...

Not sure if my comment posted, but I love both.

Mari Bein said...

Ter gatos em casa é uma maravilha!
Adorei conhecer o teu blog e as tuas artes.
Mari

Anonymous said...

Your fur babies are adorable & I love your draft stopper! I had to pin that tute!!