DIY WINTER CAT ORNAMENT

It's week two of our Christmas DIY, which means we're almost halfway through December! If you didn't already know we are as crazy as crazy cat ladies get, minus the home full of cats. To show our appreciation to our felines we made a Christmas ornament purrfect for any cat lover.

M A T E R I A L S

+ Open front plastic ornament
+ Cotton balls
+ Glue
+ Mini cat figurine
+ Spray paint
+ Mini bottle brush trees
+ Glitter
+ Twine or ribbon

S T E P   O N E

Get your cat figurine and spray paint the color of your choice, we chose gold! Apply a couple coats and let dry in between. Choose a bright, poppy color for a retro or modern Christmas feel, or a metallic for a more classic holiday look.

S T E P   T W O

Pull apart a couple cotton balls for the fluffy snow and lay them inside the ornament to make sure it fits nicely. Apply glue inside the ornament at the bottom and press down the cotton on top, let dry.

S T E P   T H R E E

While the cat is drying, glue the mini bottle brush trees inside the ornament on top of the cotton. You might even want to pull apart the cotton to make an opening so they're secured to the bottom of the ornament.

S T E P   F O U R

Glue the cat on top of the snow. Depending on how heavy the figurine is you will want to dig it deeper into the cotton so it doesn't fall over, or create a small opening like you did for the mini trees to secure to the bottom of the ornament.

S T E P   F I V E

Sprinkle some festive glitter onto the cotton for a super fun, sparkly holiday touch. Don't forget to tie your favorite twine or ribbon to the top of the ornament!

We couldn't have done this DIY without the help of Rachel's cat, Butternut, who kept us on our toes while he proceeded to play with literally everything on the table– such a curious lil guy! Follow us on Instagram @rayandablog for more updates and fun!

#meowychristmas

NEW YEAR'S HOPES AND GOALS

We can’t believe that 2015 is already coming to an end as we’re getting ready to welcome in 2016. This past year we both graduated college, Ray got engaged and started her new job post college and A finally hit the West coast, went to too many concerts, and got a new cat! Things have been crazy, but good!

We’re both excited for the New Year and what is to come, but instead of striving for resolutions which we forget in a week or two, we have some New Year's hopes and goals.

FOR US PERSONALLY

Ray
+ Stay grateful — Life is never perfect and goes exactly the way I want it to, but there is so much to be thankful for everyday. It's not a bad life, just an off day.
+ Explore! My goal will be to travel somewhere new once a year when I am married. I love seeing new sights and taking in new environments. First stop (hopefully) Montana!
+ Stay calm — I need to remember that making a mistake isn't the end of the world. Each mistake is the opportunity to learn and grow from it.

A

+ Live more purposefully — to really think about why I do what I do, and do everything to the fullest!

+ Travel more! There’s so much to see out there, and so little time (and money), but it's possible, and something I want to strive to do more of.

+ Invest more into friendships — so easily overlooked, but oh so important!

FOR THE BLOG

+ Expand and grow our audience to more awesome readers like you!
+ Spread the word about more local businesses.
+ Support and get to know more bloggers!

FOR OTHERS

+ Show more love. No matter where you’re from, who you are, what you believe, everyone is worth so much more than we can imagine. 
+ Embrace creativity! Whether it’s writing, making art and music, cooking— let your creative juices run wild, it’s good for you!
+ Have compassion. It is so easy to get caught up in life and think about what is best for ourselves. If we just took more time to acknowledge others and be willing to help, the world could be a brighter place.

Now that we’ve shared our hopes and goals for the New Year we would love to hear from you about yours!

#freshstart

Photo: http://vsco.co/temicoker/

CHRISTMAS JAMS

So, tomorrow is Christmas, and it's supposed to be way way warmer than we’re used to in southeast PA. Since we haven't had any snow this season, we have relied on Christmas albums to get us in the holiday spirit. Here’s a list of our favorite Christmas albums that really get us in the festive mood!

  
Let it Snow Baby, Let it Reindeer - Relient K

Christmas Eve and Other Stories - Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Songs for Christmas - Sufjan Stevens

A Very She & Him Christmas - She & Him

That's Christmas to Me - Pentatonix

What are your favorite Christmas songs and albums? We’d love some new tunes to add to our holiday playlist for next year!   

#christmassingalong