Love For Cats & Neon Hearts

September 11, 2016July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / Leave a comment

As autumn is quickly approaching and warm summer days soon will be long gone, I decided to play with colors. It’s always nice to have something colorful around in the wintertime, isn’t it? But this time I didn’t hold myself back with muted colors – I went for the bright neon ones! And – of course – I combined all the brightness with the love we have for our best friends, and that’s how these neon heart sweaters were born.

The first sweater is dark gray color with 3 rows of bright pink hearts around the collar. I really love the pop of color that it gives to otherwise simple and plain sweater. There’s nothing wrong with being simple (I always think that often less is more), but in this case I think that these little hearts are a very cute addition and would brighten up everyone’s mood instantly. The yarn is 75% wool & 25% polyamide. If you’d like to get one, you can do it here: Pink Neon Hearts.

This sweater was a bit of an experiment. I just couldn’t make up my mind as to whether I should stick to more conservative style or should I just go all in. In the end I decided to make it more playful, therefore it has so much more bright colors than the other sweaters from this range. There’s only one sweater available, so it’s definitely a one of a kind choice for everyone who isn’t afraid of some colorful things! The blue yarn is 75% wool & 25% polyamide and the bright lime green one is 100% acrylic. You can get this beautiful sweater here: Lime Green Pop.

And the last, but definitely not the least is this cute deep blue sweater with neon lime green hearts. It is more conservative than the previous one and will fulfill the needs of everyone, who wants something more reserved, but still likes some pop of color. This sweater is made of yarn that consists of 75% wool & 25% polyamide. You can get it over here: Green Neon Hearts.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week ahead!

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Custom order: mommy & kitty matching sweaters to spice up the autumn

August 22, 2016July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / Leave a comment

Back in the autumn of 2015, I was contacted by a nice lady, who mentioned that she’d like to get matching sweaters for her kitty – Gwennie – and herself. At first I was a little cautious and a bit concerned, because I don’t really make clothes for people and the last time I made a sweater for a person was ages ago. I expressed that to her, but she still said she wanted me to give it a go. She didn’t really have any certain deadline, so we decided that once I get better (I was sick at the time) and have more free time, we’ll talk more about it and see what we can come up with.

So here came spring of 2016, and we started planning what we’ll do. She looked through my sweaters, chose few designs and colors. In the end she wanted her sweater to be inspired by this cat sweater that I have in my shop:

When it comes to color, she really liked the mustard yarn that is available in my shop. Once we decided on the design & color, she sent me her measurements along with the wishes on the shape of the sweater, length of the sleeves, etc.

At first we were talking about me making a sweater, but eventually she decided that she would like a sweater-dress instead that would be snuggly and comfy to wear with leggings for example. She gave me the length she wished for the sweater-dress, and then my work started. It took a little trial and error, but in the end she was satisfied with the result, when I sent the pictures of a finished product.

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Even though she was satisfied with the sweater-dress, I couldn’t really completely relax until she received the item. I was constantly thinking: but what if in real life the sweater-dress doesn’t meet her expectations? Or what if it doesn’t fit right? These thoughts kept on crossing my mind until few weeks later when the buyer received the package left me these reviews:

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That was a big relief! Actually, I really thought that it will take much longer and will be much harder to make this sweater-dress for a person, because sweaters meant for cats are so much different in their structure and are knitted in different way. But… As long as I have another satisfied customer, I am happy! And I truly gained more experience, which is always a great thing. We have this saying in my country that “You won’t carry the weight of the knowledge on your shoulders”, which basically means that whatever you learn, won’t do bad to you.

But for now… Have a beautiful day everyone and I wish your week will go well!

asta

From classy lace & pearls to modern mohair & crystals

June 24, 2016July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / Leave a comment

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I last posted over here showing off the new designs in my shop. Today I want to share with you some of the designs I’ve been thinking about for a long time, just didn’t have enough time to actually make them. I hope you will like what you see, ‘cause I am really satisfied with the result!

Firstly, let’s start with classy things. These sweaters feature beautiful lace flowers and pearls, so your kitty will be classy from head (or ear!) to toe! The black sweater is incredibly soft, because it is made from 100% polyacrylic yarn, so it will not irritate even the most sensitive skin. It is also a great sweater for cats who don’t like wearing clothes or they have never worn any sweater before. The blue sweater is made from yarn, that consists of 30% wool and 70% polyamide. You can get the sweaters here: Black lace & pearls, Blue lace & pearls.

Now here comes something modern and fancy. As soon as I saw this bright colored yarn in the shop, I just knew I had to have it, ‘cause it would make some great material for amazing sweaters! And I would say I was right! I really enjoyed making these sweaters, trying to fit different beads, choosing best colors, variations, etc. Overall, I am really satisfied with the result. The yarn is 63% mohair, 27% acrylic & 10% polyester, which means that sweaters are not only very nice and fluffy looking, but also extremely warm and super stretchy. And for all of you who love mohair sweaters out there, let me tell you a secret… At the moment, I am working on more sweaters from mohair yarn! Whoop, I am guessing your kitties will stay very warm and stylish during this winter! But for now, you can get these gorgeous sweaters over here: Green mohair, Pink mohair.

Now these two sweaters might cheat you into thinking they’re made of mohair yarn too… But no, they’re not! 🙂 But it doesn’t make them any less beautiful or worthy! These sweaters are made of yarn that consists of 44% wool, 24% acrylic, 20% polyester & 10% polyamide. The sweaters are very warm, stretchy, and, of course, very stylish! You can get them here: Purple crystal sweater, Orange crystal sweater.

This sweater was made without having any prior idea as to what it will look like in the end. I just grabbed the yarn, started knitting and watched where it would take me. And so that’s how this funky looking hoodie was made! The yarn is 50% wool and 50% acrylic, which makes this sweater very warm, but it also breaths very well. If you’re feeling like having something a little funky today, check out this sweater on my Etsy shop: Funky hoodie.

Here is another interesting design – this little curly vest. It will keep your kitty super comfy, because it doesn’t restrict the movement, but still warms your kitty. This vest is made of 100% wool yarn. You can get right here: Curly vest.

And last, but definitely not least is this green sweater, which has this super interesting pattern. I’ve had this yarn for so long, but I could never think of any ideas as to what I would do with it. But one evening I sat down and decided to finally start knitting something from it. I looked through so many different knitting patterns, and this one just stood out. As soon as I saw it, I knew that this is the right pattern for this sweater. The sweater is very thick and made from 100% wool, so it will keep your kitty very warm even on the coldest nights. You can get it here: Green braided sweater.

And here are couple additional shots from the photoshoot 😉

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Important: why the prices on Etsy might rise

June 12, 2016July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / 2 Comments

Hello, everyone! And happy summer! To be frank the spring was more summery over here in Finland than the June itself, but I still hope for some nicely warm days. I hope your summer (or winter!) is going well!

Today I wanted to address one important thing, which includes both the buyers and the sellers on Etsy: the prices. If you are shopping on Etsy very often, you might have noticed already (or maybe not), that in quite many small shops (like mine) prices rose a bit. Everyone has had their own change, but prices in PurringPyjamas rose €1-2 (US $ 1.12-2.25). I really hope there will be no need to raise the prices even more. Here comes in the most important question: WHY? The answer is simple: additional VAT. Or, at least, I wish it was that simple.

As we all know, people pay VAT from goods and/or services. But in order to be eligible to pay VAT, you need to earn a certain amount of money (it differs from country to country). In my case – or PurringPyjamas case – I’d need to earn from the shop €10 000 or more in order to pay VAT. Guess, do I earn that much? Not even close. So I don’t need to register as a VAT payer for PurringPyjamas and I do not need to pay additional VAT to Finnish government, ‘cause my income from this little Etsy shop is not even close to the limit. But guess what – Etsy requires EVERYONE to pay VAT. It doesn’t matter, how much you earn from your shop – you can earn €50/year or €50 000/year, you still will have to pay THE SAME percentage of VAT, unless you already registered yourself as VAT payer beforehand. So, basically… Even if I earn that €50/year, I still have to pay VAT. And no, that money definitely does not go to Finnish government (as I am not required to pay tax), it goes to Etsy’s pocket. So, this kind of decision to take VAT automatically might be the right decision for big shops, that have huge sales on Etsy, but for small shops it hurts, because now we need to not only pay taxes to Etsy (yes, Etsy as sales platform has it’s own taxes too), but also pay VAT, for which we aren’t even eligible.

I just thought to clarify this a bit as eventually it might raise some questions. I simply didn’t want the buyers to think that I rose the prices for absolutely no reason. Shipping prices will not change (at least in my shop), even though Etsy charges tax from shipping too (crazy, I know!).

I hope you all are having a beautiful morning/afternoon/evening/night! 🙂

asta

What’s New In PurringPyjamas In April?

April 29, 2016July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / Leave a comment

Oh, the time flies! It seems like just a moment ago we celebrated Christmas and beginning of the 2016, and here we are now – almost half a year is gone. Everything is green again, the sun’s shining and we meet the summer soon. But it doesn’t mean that life in PurringPyjamas stops! This month there came quite a few new designs to the shop. And here they are – I hope you like them!

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We start with this beautiful white sweater. It is made from very thick and warm yarn, that consists of 75% wool & 25% polyamide. The sweater is white with small dots of brownish and orange color, which makes it a little more fun. And oh, don’t even get me started on these gorgeous marble beads! I bought them a while ago, and once this sweater was crocheted it just came together perfectly – it looked like these beads were meant for it! You can get the sweater here: Marble Sweater.

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While making sweaters, I didn’t forget about the beds too! When I noticed how much my cats enjoy sleeping in cat beds, I just couldn’t resist, but make one for you too! This beautiful bed is made from 100% acrylic yarn, it is very thick, holds its shape like a dream and also is extremely comfortable to take with you while traveling. Get the bed here: Blue & Brown Cat Bed.

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Continuing with the sweater topic, here comes in this super thick beauty. It is extremely warm and breaths very well. And oh, it is so soft! I personally haven’t seen such soft wool in my life. The sweaters are made from 100% pure new wool. They are not only very comfy and super thick, but different sizes have different patterns. That means there’s no chance you will meet 10 other cats wearing the same looking sweater! Get this woolen beauty here: New Wool Sweater.

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And here is something for those, who love something a little more unusual and fluffy. This sweater is very warm and soft. It is extremely stretchy, so it won’t restrict your cat’s movement at all! I also love the color of the sweater – it’s so funky! Yarn that the sweater is made of is 45% wool, 30% polyamide & 25% acrylic.

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Now this is the design I wanted to try for a while. The thing is that I had its scheme for a while and I forgot how it originally looked like, I just remembered one thing: I liked it. So one evening I took this graphite gray color and started knitting. And this is how it turned out! I think it looks really good, what about you? The yarn is 75% wool and 25% polyamide, so it is very warm & soft. You can get the sweater here: Graphite Grays.

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For some reason I never really had many green sweaters in my shop, I don’t even know why! I found this gorgeous yarn and I just knew I had to make something from it. This sweater features the same design as my previous sweater that was made from soy & wool yarn (unfortunately, it is sold out). This green sweater is very warm and super soft. It is also really stretchy, so it is really comfortable to wear. Yarn is 100% wool. If you like this sweater, get it over here: Green Wool.

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Am I the only one, who thinks that this bright pink color suits Bacha really well? I am sure it would suit any cat, because just take a look at it – isn’t it one of the cutest sweaters you have ever seen? This pattern makes the sweater super stretchy, so it will fit well both very thin and chubbier cat. The yarn is 80% acrylic and 20% polyamide. Get the sweater over here: Think Pink.

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From bright pinks to neutral beige – this is how I like it! I love it when everyone can find something to suit their taste, for that reason as much as I love bright & fun colors, here’s something sophisticated and elegant. This sweater is made from 100% wool, it is very stretchy, soft and warm. It also has amber beads to make it look even more stylish. If you have a cat at home that simply loves being stylish, you should definitely get this sweater! There are two sweaters available – one is with sleeves, another one – sleeveless. Get the sweater of your choice over here: Beige Amber With Sleeves; Beige Amber Without Sleeves.

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The next sweater is made for the little kitties out there: this sweater is available in the kitten size and it is adorable! It is made in the same pattern as the pink sweater, just has some white stripes too. It is really soft & stretchy, so it will fit your little kitten for a while. It is also a great sweater to start with, because it is made from acrylic, which means that the sweater will be incredibly comfortable and will not irritate even the most sensitive skin. You can get this cutie here: Striped Kitten Sweater.

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And we have more green sweaters! This one looks extremely Christmasy to me not only because of its green color, but also because of this super cute reindeer Rudolph button! If this doesn’t say “Christmas” to you, I don’t know what else could! The sweater is quite simple, yet very cute. It is warm and soft, made of 75% wool and 25% polyamide yarn. If you feel the holiday spirit of this sweater, get it here: Rudolph Sweater.

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And the last, but definitely not the least is this sweater, which I call Christmas tree. Wonder why? Because it is green with some other colors mixed in, so it looks like a nicely decorated Christmas tree! The yarn is extremely soft and warm, because it consists of 50% acrylic, 30% wool and 20% mohair. Want some softness for your kitty? Then get this sweater here: Christmas Tree Sweater.

And here is a little picture from behind the scenes – Bacha was yawning in this picture. Isn’t she hilarious?

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Addiction to hoodies and colorful cat beds

March 24, 2016July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / 2 Comments

And here comes another blog post just before Easter! The sun was shining so much these days that I just couldn’t make gray things anymore. So what happened? Look below!

So the most colorful thing in this post definitely has got to be this cat bed. I crocheted it a while ago, but just couldn’t find time to take some proper pictures of it. But I did today! This bed is super comfy, so my Cornish Rex cat Coco got immediately addicted to it – she just didn’t want to give it back! I think I will have to make one for her too. This bed is hand crocheted from 100% acrylic yarn, so it’s really soft & thick at the same time. It holds the shape perfectly, weighs about 400 g (almost 1 pound) and is very easy to take with you while traveling! You can purchase the bed over here: Colorful pet bed.

Now here come the hoodies! I haven’t made hoodies in a while, so when I found this soft acrylic yarn, I knew immediately what I’m gonna do with them. This yarn is 100% acrylic, so it is super soft and will not irritate even the most sensitive skin. It is also very stretchy and snuggly, so if you want your kitty to have something cute & soft, this sweater will meet all your expectations! You can get the hoodies here: Brown cable hoodie, Forest green & blue hoodie.

I hope you all are having a wonderful day!

asta

The Jungle Spirit

March 15, 2016July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / Leave a comment

And here we are again – a week later there’s more sweaters and more designs coming to my shop! This time it’s all about those bright and beautiful spring colors.

These first sweaters are from “Colibri” series. It was a limited edition yarn, which (unfortunately) I found a little bit too late, so I could grab only couple different balls that were still left. I absolutely love the color of this yarn – it’s so bright and just associates with warmth, sun, good mood and great times! The yarn is not only beautiful looking, but also is very thick due to the pattern I chose for these sweaters. It consists of 100% acrylic, which means that it’s soft and doesn’t irritate even the most sensitive skin. Only blue colibri (the middle one) is still available, so make sure to grab it if you want it! You can get it here: Blue Colibri.

Another sweater continues the jungle theme. Because where else could you see such an elegant leopard?! Well, probably at your home if you get one of these sweaters! This style is available in few sizes, so it will make quite a few kitties happy and wild. The sweater is hand knitted, while the decorations around neck, bottom of the sweater and sleeves are hand crocheted. This sweater was designed very fast and impulsively as I didn’t know how I want it to look like once it’s finished. But I am happy with the result – I think it looks really good! The yarn is 75% wool and 25% polyamide, so it’s very warm and breaths really well. You can get the sweater here: Elegant Leopard.

Now this sweater is a real improvisation! I started it with this beautiful brown yarn that has tiny golden threads in it and ended up with soft wool & mohair mix. This sweater is really comfy and will keep your kitty really warm! Peach color yarn is 48% acrylic, 32% polyamide, 10% wool and 10% mohair, while the brown one consists of 100% acrylic. Get this warm sweater for your one of a kind kitty here: Peachy Golds.

And the last, but definitely not the least is this sweater made of 100% acrylic yarn with little golden threads. I am really unsatisfied, that it was quite impossible to show in the pictures all the shine that it has, but my camera just refuses to see what I see! 🙂 Probably it’s because the golden shine shows up in certain light and only in some parts of the sweater. It also has this cute kitty button, which nicely finishes up the sweater. You can get this nice and soft sweater over here: Golden Shine.

I hope you enjoyed this little blog post and have a wonderful day! 🙂

asta

Where birds of paradise flee and Arctic foxes sleep

March 5, 2016July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / Leave a comment

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I last made not only a blog post, but also something new for PurringPyjamas shop. I was so busy working on different things, making sweaters that are already staples in my shop and still trying to keep PurringPyjamas Facebook page updated. But now I have more free time, which means I can make more new stuff. And so here are some sweaters I made over the past few weeks. Let’s get right into it!

The first sweater is what I like to call “Bird Of Paradise”. I know that the colors might not be exactly the same, but it was the first thought that came to my mind once I finished it. It is very soft and warm, made out of 100% acrylic yarn. This is not an actual sweater, because it is quite short, so I like to call it a vest or a crop top – whichever you prefer. There’s only one sweater available. You can get it here: Bird Of Paradise.

Continuing with the fluffy theme, here we have yet another sweater, just this time it is called “Moss”. That’s how the yarn was called, and I think it describes the color & general appearance of the sweater quite accurately. It is extremely soft, very comfy and warm. The yarn is 40% polyamide and 30% acrylic, which gives it the softness, and it also contains 30% wool to keep the kitty warm. You can get it right here: Moss sweater.

And the last one – but not the least – sweater in this fluffy series is this Arctic Fox sweater. It is M size, so none of my cats fit to model it (considering it’s 3 sizes too big for my cats). I tried my best to show how it looks like, but then again – when the sweater is this fluffy, you can’t even tell whether you’re looking at the front of the sweater or the back of it. 🙂 Nevertheless, this sweater is the warmest, fluffiest and thickest out of all three fluffy sweaters. The yarn is 100% acrylic. It is available over here: Arctic Fox.

This yarn I had for a while. I think I bought it back in the summer of 2015, because as soon as I saw it, I fell in love with it and had to have it. Especially, that it was a limited edition yarn, which means that once it’s gone, it’s gone. Few days ago I checked the company’s website, and I was so happy I bought quite a bit of this yarn, because it is not available anymore. This sweater has beautiful ombre effect that goes from dark gray to gorgeous baby blue/bluish mint color. The neckline has a design of cable knit, while the front of it is decorated with metallic beads. I was thinking for a while about the design of this sweater, but in the end I decided to leave this gorgeous yarn on it’s own without adding some crazy patterns and instead I played with the neckline a bit. The yarn is 100% acrylic, so it is extremely soft, very stretchy, thick and warm. There are quite many sweaters available in different sizes. Get one of these gorgeous sweaters for your friend over here: Fresh mint.

Now these 3 sweaters are made out of the same yarn, just in different colors. Let me tell you: these sweaters are the softest things you’ve ever touched in your life! They’re extremely stretchy, which means that they give maximum movement ability for your cat. The yarn is made of 48% acrylic and 32% polyamide, which provide the softness and stretchiness, while 10% of mohair and 10% of wool give the warmth and nice fluff to the sweater. These sweaters are available in few sizes, you just need to choose the color you like! You can find the sweaters here: Soft Beige, Browns & Grays, Deep Blues.

And here are some behind the scenes pictures. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂

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Review: Zooplus Advent Calendar For Cats

December 2, 2015July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / Leave a comment

Even though I don’t have an Advent calendar for myself, as soon as I saw this on Zooplus website while buying cat food, I knew I needed it in my life. You know how they say that many toys for kids are actually made for their parents to attract them? I’m telling you: that’s the case with me. Just my kids are my cats.

Yes, I know I’m a bit late here, but I just received it yesterday! Finnish post offices were on strike for a week, so yeah… Everything got kind of stuck somewhere. But regardless of the fact that it’s already December, let’s see what this calendar has to offer!

The calendar has 24 days in total (needed to clear that out, because apparently there exist calendars with fewer days). And can we just appreciate all this beautiful-crazy-cat-lady-like art on the cover? I mean, come on, even the snowman is actually a snowcat! It’s just so adorable.

The back side of Advent Calendar.

Beautiful little text.

Types of snacks and ingredients.

Calendar has 4 different types of snacks: chicken, beef, duck and tuna. Everything is freezer dried and super healthy for your pet – I mean, what could be healthier than 100% meat treats with no additives? Each day you get different treats. For example, on December 1^st we got a pack of 2 beef treats, while today (December 2^nd) there were 4 small pieces of tuna treats. I wonder what tomorrow holds. 🙂

You might ask: OK, you like it, but what about your cats? Well, firstly, let me tell you, that Beliza doesn’t eat meat, so I knew immediately she won’t like this calendar. And yes, she doesn’t. Bacha eats meat sometimes, especially if it’s treats. Meanwhile Coco absolutely loves everything meat related. So yesterday she was the one to finish up both beef treats and then she thanked me by rubbing against me and purring as loud as she could. She is just so sweet ❤ Anyway, today there were tuna treats, so both Bacha and Coco enjoyed them. Overall, I think it’s a great thing to have – this calendar is fun and if your cat loves healthy meat treats, he/she will be beyond happy to get something like this. The price of the calendar won’t empty your pocket either – I paid for it around €5-€6.

Sleepy Beliza.

If you’d like to get an Advent calendar like this one, simply go to Google and type in “Zooplus”. I advice to do it that way, because Zooplus has different websites for specific countries, so there would be no use if I gave you the Finnish version of it. But if you’d like to take a look at it and read more, here is link to the English website: Advent Calendar For Cats.

Let’s share the beauty of December with our purring friends too. 😉

P.S. Christmas giveaway is still up on Facebook! You can participate right over here: Christmas giveaway.

asta

Coco’s 1st Birthday + Christmas Giveaway

November 27, 2015July 27, 2018 / Asta Lamminen / 2 Comments

The last post being kind of negative, I think it’s time we come back to being positive! And while many bad things happened, I am blessed to say that even more good things are happening! One of them – Coco’s birthday. Yep, this little coconut turned 1 year old this month. Even though it’s been less than a year since I got her, it seems like she has lived with me for ages. And though she isn’t seen by the public as much as my Sphynx sisters, she is loved just as much! Coco is such sweetheart, who purrs and rubs against you all the time. She is just one super happy and positive kitty!

I still remember how I could hold her in my palm – she was so tiny and cute! Now she’s a real lady – super soft one, who loves to play and run around. And sleep under the blanket of course.

I am so happy that she and my two Sphynx girls get along so well – Coco is just a sister from another mister. 🙂

I don’t know about you, but it starts to feel like Christmas. Now I just need some snow, and Christmas songs will come to my home! But at the moment it’s cold, windy and rainy. Not very Christmasy, huh? But I refuse to accept that and that’s why I decided to do a giveaway! It’s my way of saying “Thank you” to all the wonderful people, who support me and believe in me. All the information about participating is in PurringPyjamas Facebook page, you just need to follow this link: Christmas giveaway. I wish you good luck, because that is the only thing that will decide who’s the winner! 😉

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But for now, have a wonderful Friday evening and an amazing weekend!

asta