Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Crafty Book Review and Giveaway- Crafting With Cat Hair by Kaori Tsutaya

****PLEASE NOTE: The contest has been won! Hooray! No more comments on this post, please. :) ****

Want to win a copy of this lovely book? Read on!
[caption id="attachment_3443" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Crafting With Cat Hair"][/caption]
In the States, cat hair is generally regarded as pesky garbage, something we just want to get rid of. That's why I did a double take when Quirk Books contacted me about reviewing one of their latest offerings, Crafting With Cat Hair. The what now?
This was something too delightfully odd to pass up. Crafting With Cat hair was originally printed in Japan back in 2009. It's written by Kaori Tsutaya, and translated by Amy Hirschman.
But! Alas, I have no cats. What I do have are two pugs who shed like they're trying to make life size replicas of themselves. Clearly, they want to get crafty.
Do these crafts work with pug hair? Inquiring minds need to know!

The book is adorable. It's a nice square format with lovely thick glossy pages. It even smells like Japan! (Okay, it smells like books from Japan. Of which I have several. Japan itself smells like rain, concrete, cigarettes and cute, at least in my memory of being there. But I digress.)
Packed into the 90+ pages are: lots of really cute photos, multiple tip pages on crafting with cat hair and living with cats, and 10 projects. Most of the projects fall into the needle felting category.

So, onto the projects! I decided to try my hand at making a portrait. I've done some needle felting in my day, so I was up to the challenge. Plus, I was a little peeved at one of the pugs for some recent bad behavior. Let the stabbing commence!
felting pug hair
And so, I stabbed the pug hair. And stabbed. And stabbed. And stabbed. Pug hair began to spread everywhere. More stabbing. More trying to compress pug hair into a shape. Ergh. Stab stab stab.
Okay. So it turns out that pug hair is FUNDAMENTALLY different than cat hair. Like everything else that is pug, it is STUBBORN. And I simply couldn't get it to felt. Ooops. Well, I tried.
There you have it. You can felt with cat hair, and (I have heard) bunny hair, but pug hair simply won't cooperate. Typical!
felting with pug hair
So! Crafty people! How would you like a copy of this lovely book? Leave me a comment below, and I will pick a winner by random Thursday the 20th.

*Want extra chances to win? Okay, we can do that.
Leave another comment if you do any of the following:
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Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon:

Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat

13 comments:

aly said...

omg I want to get this for my sister! Even if I don't win I might buy it for Christmas. Thanks for the idea!

Evie said...

I would gladly let you borrow my two cats if you are in need of hair!

Fee Berger said...

I think I need this book! My cats are shedding, and I have cat hair floating about the house like tumbleweeds in a stiff breeze. :D

Anna said...

My sister just got a long haired cat AND just started crafting! Too perfect.

maria said...

Finally, my cat would begin pulling his weight around here by providing some crafting materials.

Cindy said...

I have 5 cats and huge cat fur tumbleweeds in my house. This book sounds like the perfect solution. Plus, I get to let out my aggression and get stabby!

Juli said...

Why am I not surprised that pug hair is stubborn? If you ever figure out what to do with pug hair, btw, let me know. I have three of them, and I'd gladly ship you bags and bags of hair. (There are some days I'd gladly ship you a misbehaving pug, too. Shhh!)

Renae said...

Charcoal-gray kitty fur would make the best crafting fur ever!

Susan Wadlington said...

FINALLY! Something useful to do with cat hair! I have two cats and a plentiful supply to work with. Really need to get my hands on this book....(winning it would be even better!)

Heather said...

I.LOVE.THIS.BOOK. --well the idea of it so far! I have 2 cats just WAITING to craft ;) hehe. Thanks for the heads up!

Heather said...

PS Also linked on Facebook ;)

Heather said...

& twitter :)

Pamela said...

My cat's name is Bella.
She's a hairy mofo-a.
Could really use that book
By Kaori Tsutaya.

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