Potato Chicken Salad

Did the chicken not come out exactly as you'd have liked?
Are you craving a really good salad lunch?
This will definitely hit the spot. Nemo will attest to its tastiness.

Dory's Collar

I was at the pet store, looking for a new collar and leash set for Dory. Nemo's was easy because I just bought him a black collar and leash which are super easy to find. However, I always try to buy them different things so other people can see the difference between them (they seriously don't look exactly the same though, I promise).
So there I was, cruising through all the collars and leashes, wondering what color I liked best that wouldn't make people automatically assume she was a boy (why is that even a thing?). And then I spotted this leash in a beautiful turquoise color and it was strong enough for Dory! That's when I found out that they didn't have a matching collar! Why would they even put it out if it didn't match anything? In fact, the only other thing they had in that color was another leash, a narrow one for small dogs.
That wasn't going to deter me, though. I bought both leashes and went home. Then using buckle parts from an old collar, and the narrow leash doubled over itself, turquoise thread, and a lot of time and a few needles, I made that sucker into an awesome collar.
By the way, the trick is to melt the holes you painstakingly make in the collar. You bore the holes with whatever you can, it's really tough stuff though so don't use a pencil like I did. And then you light a match and go around the edges of the hole which melts them together so they won't make the material fall apart.
Pictures under the cut.

Fox hat

You may have noticed we like foxes. It's in the name after all. But this could be pretty much any other animal with different colors/features.
This was my husband's birthday gift this year and he loved it. :) And it actually took me no more than two days to complete!

Hanukkah Menorah DIY

Do you not have a particularly special Hanukkiyah for the festival of lights?
Or perhaps were you looking to give one as a gift?
I made these myself adding my personal touch and I was very happy with the results.

I got some little glass candle holder cups and some wood, and used beads to elevate the Shamash a bit over the others.
The bases are hollow glass things I had - a candle holder and a narrow jar. I filled them with little cloth flowers and painted the wood (the bigger menorah has roses painted on the wood, the smaller one is just pattern) and glued them all together with an all-purpose-adhesive glue (make sure it's good for glass before you buy it, some don't stick to the smooth surface well).
And look how pretty they are! Just proves that it doesn't have to be expensive to be special.

Sofa Cover

You have a sofa, but it's stained beyond cleaning, or torn, or peeling, or you'd prefer that none of these things happen (it's a concern! especially when living with pets!)
You need a sofa cover! But it's hard to find a cover that perfectly matches your furniture. And a blanket just won't cut it. You could have in done by a furniture repair place, but that would be expensive and a schlep to move your sofa all over the place.
Time for DIY.

You're going to need basically all of the measurements. In fact, I suggest drawing the thing and writing the measurements on the drawing.
But then you get to choose your fabrics! Anything you like! It's like getting a whole new sofa personalized to a tee!
I used fluffy brown and cream for the pillows.
cut cut and stitch stitch and you're done. It takes a while but it's worth it. Nemo certainly loves it.
And the sofa is saved, at least for a little while longer. :)

Cheburashka

Also known as Topple in some English translations, Cheburashka is an adorable little animal character from an originally Russian children's show. It has also gained popularity in Japan.
He first appeared in a box of oranges. :)

He's a character from my husband's childhood, so I made him this as a Hanukkah gift.

I bought the fluffy cloth at the fabric store nearby, and with this type of fabric hemming is unnecessary. I put together each body part and then attached them, and then attached the orange. The facial features and the leaf are actually painted on with nail polish, and they're doing great. It gave me a lot more control over what they looked like as opposed to using some kind of beads, and a lot more precision than it would have had if I had sewn them on. Altogether I'm happy with the result, even if I could have done it a bit more evenly shaped a second time over.