2015 Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar

Panda With Cookie is thrilled to be a vendor at the Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar on Sunday, December 6th, from 9-4. Laurelhurst School is located at 840 NE 41st Avenue in Portland, Oregon.

There will be over 80 handmade vendors, BUNKtruck for lunch, and their annual wreath auction.

You’ll find a couple of my onesies in their raffle, and I’ll have a good selection at my table as well, including the popular Sasquatch onesie above.

Hoping to spend a good amount of time shopping? They will be offering onsite child care! Check out the Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar Facebook page for details and to reserve a spot now.

As always, all my 2015 holiday shows can be found on my event page.

Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes for Everyone

Photo from Just the Food.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It’s an excellent day to gather with friends and family to enjoy each others company, play board games, and eat a big home cooked meal.

I’m not big on going overboard on the holidays with a huge meal that takes 3 days to prepare. I want to sit on the couch to watch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day marathon while my partner cooks and then we continue to sit on the couch with George.

So here are some vegan Thanksgiving ideas for people who want an easier day to enjoy.

But a Tofurky roast or a Field Roast. Channel your inner Ron Popeil and set it and forget it.

Our preferred green bean casserole is the one from Campbell’s soup. Classic! Double the fried onions. Paul makes a big batch of the cream of mushroom soup from Cookin’ Crunk in advance and we freeze some for later casserole. This does require some advance work, but it is well worth it and easy to make day of.

A big bag of Pepperidge Farms stuffing will last through the holiday season. Stuffing in a bag! Yes!

I’m not making these this year, but if you want to really go all out with some homemade bread, these are the rolls. I-40 Vegan knows what’s what.

We always have a pile of roasted vegetables and this crispy cabbage recipe from Cadry’s Kitchen looks like a nice addition to those. Toss in some easy roasted Brussels sprouts from Dianne’s vegan kitchen, too. Remember, roasting is your friend. Set it and forget it!

Finish it all off with an easy pumpkin cheesecake pie from Joni at Just the Food. Make a day in advance and eat the night before.

Vegan Thanksgiving! Fast and delicious.

Lewis and Clark CFA Cat Show 2015

Panda With Cookie is pleased to be participating in the 2015 CFA Cat Show put on by the Lewis and Clark Cat Club. I’ll be at the Double Tree Inn at the Lloyd Center at 1000 NE Multnomah St. in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, December 5th and Sunday, December 6th from 9-4.

I’ll have a select number of catnip toys and beds and a large selection of my cat ornaments with options to order your custom cat ornaments at the show.

Admission to the Lewis and Clark CFA cat show is $4, with $1 going toward the Cat Adoption Team food bank. There will be over 200 show cats to see, as well as a household cat division, cat adoptions by Cat Adoption Team and vendors with cat toys and gifts.

New Handmade Cat Beds at Panda With Cookie

I am thrilled to show what I’ve been busy working on for the past few weeks. I have new handmade cat beds for sale at here at Panda With Cookie.

Available in a pizza pie, with pepperoni, green peppers and black olives on a saucy crust or as a blueberry or cherry pie with lattice topping.

These handmade cat beds measure roughly 20 inches in diameter and are machine washable! Wash in cold water, gentle cycle and dry on a low heat for about 20 minutes. They are sewn with anti-pill fleece and poly fil.

Here’s our model George demonstrating proper use of the pizza cat bed. It’s his pick for the 2015 Holiday Gift Of The Year For Cats and Those Who Like Cats, so you know George means business. Available at Panda With Cookie or pick up at one of my local Portland, Oregon shows this season.

How to Make Your Own Headband

If you’re looking for an easy sewing project to start learning to sew or want to make your own stocking stuffers this Christmas, then it’s time to learn how to make your own headband!

Most crafters have a large stash of scrap fabric and remnants to pull from, but if you’re new to sewing this project doesn’t require a big stash. You can buy a small amount of a fabric you like or rummage through some remnants and seconds bins to find something suitable.

Tools you’ll need:

10 x 4 inch piece of fabric or larger

Matching thread

5 inch piece of 1/2″ elastic

Paper and pencil for making a pattern

Iron for pressing

Scissors

Step 1: Trace Your Pattern. I’m a fan of learning to make your own patterns and make all of my own. I am not a fan of downloadable patterns that require sizing up or down to get the right proportions. This is an easy pattern to start with.

Using graph or plain paper, you’ll need a 3 inch line at top and 1 1/4 inch line at the bottom. Mine is 8 3/4 inches in length and tapers at the ends, but you can customize to whatever width or length you want. Cut this out as half of your pattern. If you have long paper, you can cut on the fold of the 3 inch line to create a 17 1/2 inch pattern. If you don’t have long paper, you can tape 2 of the above sections together.

You can see the full pattern below. I prefer working with the full length rather than a pattern that is cut on the fold because when I made this I used the paper pattern to figure out the length and width I wanted for my head. When figuring out your size, don’t forget to allow for 1/4 inch seam allowance on all sides.

Step 2: Cut out your fabric. Place you pattern on the part of the fabric you want for your headband. For prints, take notice of which part will be visible. Pin the paper pattern on the fabric and then cut out around the pattern making the line as smooth as possible.

Step 3: Place the 2 fabric pieces wrong (unprinted) sides together and pin. You want the pins parallel to the fabric.

Step 4: Sewn with a 1/4 inch seam allowance on both of the long sides, leaving a 2 inch gap on one of the sides. Leave the short ends open for now as the elastic will be sewn in here. When making your pattern, you can make a larger seam allowance but for something simple I generally sew without trimming.

Step 5: From the 2 inch gap, flip the band inside out so the printed side of the fabric is now on the outside. Press the long sides with a hot iron and then fold in the short ends so the entire headband has no cut edges showing.

Step 6: Top stitch the two long sides. Top stitching is just sewing close to the edge for a decorative effect, but I also like how it holds a pressed edge in place.

Step 7: Cut a 5 inch piece of elastic. I’m using 1/2 inch wide, but you can use what you prefer. Insert 1/2 inch of the elastic into one of the short ends of your headband and secure with a pin.

Step 8: Topstitch across this end, backstitching to ensure the elastic is firmly caught in the seam. Now do the same thing with the other end of the elastic on the opposite side, making sure the elastic does not get twisted. You want it to lay flat as in the above photo.

Step 9: Put it on! Wear it with pride! Give it to someone else! Now you’re ready to sew a metric ton of headbands. Ask any questions about this headband tutorial in the comments and I’ll help you out. Make matching ones for you and your cats.

Llewellyn Holiday Market 2015

Panda With Cookie will be at the 2015 Llewellyn Holiday Market on Saturday, November 21st from 10-5. The Llewellyn elementary school is located at 6301 SE 14th Ave in Portland, Oregon.

I’ll have some of my new 2015 products like the pirate pizza and my magnet sets. I will also have my 2015 ornament collection available.

The 2015 Llewellyn Holiday Market is a fundraiser for school field trips and after school programs. In addition to all handmade vendors they will have a raffle (enter to win my pirate squid onesie!) and food available.

Check out their Facebook page for more information and additional vendors. Last year was a great event and I’m looking forward to this year as well!

Crafty Wonderland, Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar, and More in 2015!

Hey Portland! Tis the season of the holiday craft show. Panda With Cookie is pleased to announce I’ll be selling my wares at the Crafty Wonderland holiday show, the Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar, and more in November and December. My full schedule can be found on my 2015 holiday show page.

I’m also in production with my custom cat and dog ornaments. If you’re interested in ordering ornaments made to look like your cat or dog to be picked up at any of my Portland area craft shows, please send an email to pandawithcookie@gmail.com. I can get your order prepared for you to pick up at any shows you plan to attend and avoid shipping costs.

There are a lot of great craft fairs and great artists and crafters this year. Consider supporting them when buying your Christmas gifts.

2015 Give Guide in Portland Oregon

It’s that magical time of year when the Willamette Week 2015 Give Guide comes out and you get to decide which Portland area non profits you want to donate to!

This year they’ve picked 143 organizations in 9 different categories that you can learn about and donate to. They have a number of different packaged incentives from local businesses including free slices at Sizzle Pie ($10-$999) or a $10 gift certificate at Tender Loving Empire ($2000-$3999).

And there are six big give days this year which enter you into a drawing for a Powell’s Books $500 shopping spree, Portland Thorns and Timbers tickets and more.

Take some time to browse the 2015 Give Guide and check out all the worthy recipients. A lot of groups have matching donations set up or have incentives listed on their pages. Want to make sure low income families can feed their pets? Check out the Pongo Fund. Do you think women should have a 24 hour hotline to call for domestic violence support? Look at the Portland Women’s Crisis Line. Mentoring homeless and transitional youth? You can give to p:ear. Take a look and find your groups for the year.

National Cat Day 2015

Every day is National Cat Day here at Panda With Cookie, home of the personalized cat ornament. We spent 30 minutes this morning feeding and brushing our resident cat George, who wanted to send a greeting to some of the great cat shelters here in Portland, Oregon.

Photo from Feral Cat Coalition

The Feral Cat Coalition does great work with trap and release programs to spay and neuter feral cats to help keep their populations down. You can visit their website to find out how to take in your neighborhood feral cats. Look for that distinctive tipped ear to see if they’ve been fixed.

The Cat Adoption Team is where our buddy George came from. They always have a variety of cats and kittens to choose from and it’s always great to adopt from a shelter. They also have a thrift store at 3848 SW Scholls Ferry Road, with proceeds going to benefit the shelter. Buy some new cookie sheets there, or donate your old crystal wine glasses.

The Pixie Project is also a great place to look for a new cat friend. They have a sweet George looking for a home right now, too. Maybe you need to take him home this week?

November 7th All Saints Holiday Bazaar in Portland Oregon

Panda With Cookie will be at the 60th Annual 2015 All Saints Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, November 7th in Portland, Oregon. The show runs from 9 am to 5 pm and All Saints Church is located at 601 NE Cesar Chavez Blvd, Portland.

I will be debuting my 2015 holiday ornaments. In addition I will have a table full of plush products and baby onesies like my popular sasquatch on green.

There will be over 40 handmade vendors and All Saints Church will have a cafe and bakery table open all day. They also have a raffle with $1 tickets. Grand prize is $300 and a number of local businesses have donated prizes such as restaurant gift certificates and Portland Trailblazers tickets. Come out and say hello!