Sunday 31 October 2021

Halloween Selfies ~ The Mogwarts Cats Are Back! on The Sunday Selfies & Caturday Art Blog Hops

Halloween Selfies Banner ©BionicBasil® www.britishmoggies.com

Spooky greetings supurr furiends

Happy Hallowen ©BionicBasil®

And welcome to another selfie selection and today the

Mogwarts Cats ©BionicBasil®

are back!


We love being wizarding cats, it's the best fun ever! MOL


We're also joining in the spooktacular Athena's Art Hop so do stop by and show off your pawesome arty-farty skills.

https://www.athenacatgoddess.com/

Cats dressed for halloween in a spooky forest, cats flying on broomsticks

We're back with the Prisma IOS App, and this week we used the filter; Surf, we think it turned out epically spooky.

We also turned this fab arty-farty picture into a puzzle, so do stop by the puzzle page and take the Puzzle Challenge, see if mew can beat our time of 9 mins 44 secs. 



Anyhoo it's time for us to go on kitty patrol around BBHQ before the zombie cats rise, ghastly ghouls gallop in, the frightening fog engulfs the village and all the scary monsters come out to play!

Don't forget mew can read our epic spooky Halloween Tale here:

All Hallows Eve ~ Short Story

Wishing mew a supurr fun Meowleen, and we'll see mew on the morrow for another Colouring with Cats.

Supurr Sunday Purrs

Basil & The B Team






Don't furget to join in the pawesome Sunday Selfies Blog Hop with

 Angel Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Angel Giulietta, Angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy and Sawyer ~ visit them at their pawesome blog:

















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Saturday 30 October 2021

**THE BEST THING WE'VE EVER MADE** Spooky Crafting With Cats ~ Part XXV ~ Halloween Special ~ How To Make The Trick or Treat Halloween Monster Truck aka MOG1


Supurr Spooky Greetings Pawesome Pals

Thanks for joining us for Part XXV of our Crafting with Cats segment. Mew know we have so much fun making all this fun stuff for feline enrichment, and we hope mew enjoy seeing it and/or making it too. 

If mew missed any of our previous CWC posts, stop by the Crafting with Cats Page and see all our previous projects, and mew don't have to be an expert in anything to make any of them. Plus we offer workarounds and no-sew projects for those who don't like to sew.

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**A quick note before we begin**

All Crafting with Cats ideas and creations are of our own design, and we share them for purrsonal/home use only.

  So purrlease do not copy for commercial/resale purrposes.

Copyright ©BionicBasil®

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The Trick or Treat Monster Truck aka Mog1


DIYT cardboart unimog for cats with working lights, tow rope, aerial, 6x6,

Isn't it epic?

Halloween Pawty Divider ©BionicBasil®

What We Used:

3 x cardboard boxes

Non Toxic glue + Glue gun

Black spray paint

Black felt fabric

6 x plastic jar lids for hub caps

Silver spray paint

Long wooden dowels to strengthen the pick-up bed

Extras: 

Hemp rope

Battery operated lights

Reflective stickers

Small round cardboard scratcher for steering wheel mount

Sticky back plastic

Pumpkin stickers

Long play wand with feather and bell for the aerial

Small cardboard reel for steering wheel

Silver paper for side windows

Halloween Pawty Divider ©BionicBasil®

Let's Get Started

1. & 2. We only had a small square box and a long shallow one when we started. And to be honest, we had no idea what to make, but then inspiration struck.

3. We cut halfway down on one side of the smaller box.

4. Then we cut out the windowscreen. leaving the bottom edge attached.

5. 6. & 7. We glued the windowscreen on an angle to the side flaps and cut off the excess. Then we folded the top edge down and glued it to the edge of the windowscreen.

 8. & 9. We used the windowscreen flap to make the nose of the truck and added a couple of pieces of leftover cardboard from the flaps of the shallow box. 

Halloween Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Trick or Treat Monster Truck Mog1 Step 10 -18

10. Next we cut out the back of the box and opened up the cab.

11. 12. & 13. Then we cut out the end of the shallow box and glued the flaps down securing the cab to the truck bed.

14. At this point we decided the top of the cab needed a light bar.

15. 16. 17. & 18.  So we created a long narrow box out of some spare cardboard we had in the craft room.

Halloween Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Trick or Treat Monster Truck Mog1 Step 19-27

19. 20. & 21. We glued the light bar in place and this is what our Unimog looked like with no wheels.

22. 23. & 24. We cut 12 circles from the remainder of the shallow box flaps and 6 long strips to construct the wheels.

25. 26. & 27. We gently scored the edges of the long strips and carefully cut with scissors to the scoreline creating lots of little tabs. Then we gently bent the strips and glued them to the circles, creating the wheels.

Halloween Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Trick or Treat Monster Truck Mog1 Step 28-36

28. 29. & 30.  We glued the wheels to the Unimog and this is how it looked.

31. Realising that we needed to add a bit of strength under the chassis so the truck bed didn't sag when we cats got in it, so we used some long wooden dowels we had in stock and punched holes through the inner wheels and glued the dowels in place.

32. & 33. This was our finished mog pre-spray shop. Oh, we did add a jerry can as we thought the back looked a bit flat.

34. 35. & 36. The Unimog went into the spray shop and came out black.

Halloween Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Trick or Treat Monster Truck Mog1 Step 37-45

37. & 38. We used some old paper stock to create the number plates and glued them to some small cardboard rectangles.

39. The Unimog was ready for customisation.

40. & 41.  We used some plastic jar tops for the hubs and sprayed them silver.

43. 44. & 45. We used a large piece of black felt to line the inside of the cab floor and truck bed and glued it in place using non-toxic PVA glue.

Halloween Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Trick or Treat Monster Truck Mog1 Step 46-54

46. 47. 48. & 49. Deciding that we needed a steering wheel, we found a small cylindrical cat scratcher in the craft room which was purrfect for our needs and just changed the colour on the sides with some sticky back plastic that we had in stock.

50. & 51. We used a small cardboard reel, leftover from some hemp rope and pulled one end off, and sprayed the remaining part silver and glued it into the existing hole in the scratcher, before glueing it to the inside of the cab just below the window.

52. 53. & 54. Next, we added the number plates and silver hubs to the wheels.

Halloween Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Trick or Treat Monster Truck Mog1 Step 46-54

55. No Unimog is complete without a tow rope, so we added that next, glueing it under the truck nose.

56. Then we added the battery-operated headlights and sidelight reflective stickers.

57. Then we decided it needed a grill, so we used a small rectangle of cardboard and sprayed it silver before adding a pumpkin sticker.

58. & 59. We attached the lights to the light bar and tested them - EPIC!!!!!

60. 61. & 62.  Using some silver paper, we created the side windows and then made the sills from leftover cardboard sprayed silver.

63. Finally we added the rear light-reflective stickers, and a sticker to the jerry can, plus the long aerial toy was glued to the back of the truck bed. Mew can see Melvyn attacking in the video.

And there mew have it, only 63 supurr simple steps to making your very own Unimog! MOL 

But seriously, it didn't take long at all to make and considering we pretty much made it up as we went along, it didn't turn out too shabby. We also added one of our lovely snuggle mats in the truck bed to make it extra cosy.

And for those who'd just like to watch us make it, here are the videos.

Direct link to watch on YouTube

Direct link to watch on YouTube

Are mew ready for the video of The B Team with Mog 1? Of course mew are! 

Direct link to watch on YouTube

LET'S GO TRICK OR TREATING!

What do mew think to our Unimog for cats?

We think MOG 1 is probably the best thing we have ever made.


See our previous Halloween Crafting Posts Below:

Check out the epically epic Spooky House and Catnip Pumpkins 



and

The Halloween Crafting Special from 2019

The Pumpkin Pouffe with Catnip Leaves and Kicker Stalk Creepy Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil®Halloween Special

Featuring oodles of fun projects including this giant furry pumpkin.


Gordon the Ghost Spooktacular Meowoleen Snuggle Mat 2021

Creepy Crafting With Cats Part XX ©BionicBasil® Spooktacular Meowoleen Snuggle Mat


or check out our YouTube Channel for all our fun DIY Cat Stuff videos.

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And that furiends furry sadly brings us to the end of our 25th Crafting with Cats post, we do hope mew enjoyed it, and if mew decide to make your furry own Trick or Treat Monster Truck tag us on social media @BionicBasil.

Don't furget to check our yearly Halloween tradition of Spooky Story Time, as we know mew won't want to miss that, and we'll see mew on the morrow with our supurr spooky selfies.

Spooky purrs

MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 










Halloween Pawty Divider ©BionicBasil®

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Halloween Pawty Divider ©BionicBasil®
Disclaimer:
We at BionicBasil HQ are not responsible or liable fur any injuries to person/s and/or cat/s, crafting addictions, glue on cats, paper cuts, misplaced pins and needles, cats stealing your supplies, broken scissors, cat fur stuck on your projects, or your project not turning out as planned.  By using this information you hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless BionicBasil and staff from and against any and all claims for personal injuries or damages of any kind arising from the use of any Crafting With Cats posts we may share.

Halloween Pawty Divider ©BionicBasil®
Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com 
Music used under license from SoundStripe. Track: Wax on Wicks Artist: Empyreal Glow -  each video has its own content-id code. 

Friday 29 October 2021

Love To Read, Halloween Edition? Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library #176 featuring **Spells and Spiced Latte** by Jinty James PLUS Friendly Fill-Ins + Photo Fails Blog Hop

Halloween Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library ©BionicBasil®

 Hello gorgeous library guests 

and 

Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ 

Thank mew for joining me in the stacks today, I can't stay long as my epically epic birthday pawty is still raving in the bunker and even if I do say so myself, it's the best pawty ever! MOL

Ginger tabby cat on a yoga mat

I did take a little break to do a spot meowga the other day, as I've eaten far too much cake and drank far too many niptini's but then at my grand old age, I need to celebrate as much a pawsible!

So let's dive into what's happening in the library this week.

Part of The Mewton-Clawson Library ©BionicBasil®
Amber's Book Review Library Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®
Today the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.

1. My main concern right now is _________.

2. I plan to _________ for Halloween this year.

3. If I saw a ghost, I would _________.

4. This time of year, _________ is a personal tradition of mine.


The P.A.'s answers are...

1. My main concern right now is trying to find staff to hire for my business. Apparently, nobody wants a job. 

2. I plan to do nothing for Halloween this year. Sadly I'm not feeling a vibe for it at all.

3. If I saw a ghost, I would - funnily enough I live in a haunted house, so ghosts don't bother me. Now if it was a big, hairy scary monster I'd probably run away very fast! LOL

4. This time of year, collecting pine cones is a personal tradition of mine.

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

Today, as it's the last Friyay of the month, we're also joining in the furrbulous...


So do drop by the marvellous Mudpie's blog at www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com to join in.

Cute ginger tabby cat dressed up as a witch for Halloween

This months fail is from October 2016 when I really didn't want to be a witch, and I was trying to shake the hat off.

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!

Amber's Book Review Divider ©BionicBasil®

This week's top book pick is...

Amber's Book Reviews - What Are We reading This Week ©BionicBasil® Spells and Spiced Latte
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy

Spells and Spiced Latte

by

Jinty James

       Here's a little snippet of the book blurb:      

Can a witch who can only cast one spell solve a murder?


Maddie Goodwell, Trixie, her Persian cat (who might also be her familiar), and Maddie’s best friend Suzanne Taylor, run their coffee truck, Brewed from the Bean, in the small town of Estherville, Washington state.

Maddie always thought it was a sleepy kind of town, apart from the fact that when she was seven, she found an ancient book, Wytchcraft for the Chosen.

Now, twenty years later, she can only cast one spell successfully from the book – the Coffee Vision spell.

Amber's Book Review Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®

As mew know I supurr partial to a cozy mystery, especially one with a cat and a dash of magic, so this book ticked all the boxes.

A really fun little story, not overly complicated but enticing enough to keep mew reading. The main characters are interesting, and the kitty, Trixie is very cute. The plot rattles along with some interesting twists and turns. 

If mew're looking for a new cozy series to try, this one has six to read, so even though the actual book-length isn't too long, mew can get another helping straight away. A purrfect Sunday afternoon read.

  • Publisher: ‎ CreateSpace; 2nd edition (4 Dec. 2017)
  • Paperback: ‎ 160 pages
Amber's Book Review Library Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®
My Rating Scale

Amber's Book Review Paw Ratings Scale Pink ©BionicBasil®

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

Ratings of:

Spells and Spiced Latte

Overall Enjoyment

4 paw rating
Amber's Book Review Divider ©BionicBasil®

Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today

         Catblogosphere        Feline Friday        Nature Friday        Flashback Friday     Friendship Friday       

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

I really hope mew enjoy the book as much as I did if mew decide to read it.

It's time fur me to say BFN or bye-for-now as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time and I'll be back next week with another specially paw-picked book just for mew, and don't furget that all my previous reviews can be found on my Book Review page.

Until next time...

Keep calm and read more books

Amber 


Amber's Book Reviews Pink Review ©BionicBasil®





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& @BionicBasil® on Instacat

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 graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com