Tuesday 31 October 2023

HALLOWEEN STORY TIME **CLAWS OF TERROR** A BRAND NEW BASIL AND THE B TEAM ADVENTURE FOR 2023 ~ CHAPTER ONE

Claws of Terror ©BionicBasil® Adventure Story

Tuesday Tails Text Banner ©BionicBasil®

Tuesday Tails Banner ©BionicBasil®

Tuesday Tails Text Banner ©BionicBasil®

Claws of Terror is an action-packed and immersive adventure that takes mew on a journey through a world of danger and excitement. With vivid and detailed descriptions of the intense battles and spine-tingling encounters, the story draws mew in, making mew feel as though mew are right there with The B Team, fighting for survival.

HANG ON TIGHT GUYS, THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE WILD NIGHT!!!

Claws of Terror ©BionicBasil® Halloween Adventure - Divider

Claws of Terror

~ Chapter One ~

Twas All Hallows' Eve, and the mist rolled across the fields surrounding Mewton-Clawson. Now, rolling mist isn't something mew usually need to be concerned about, and in all honesty, it's usually furry therapeutic to watch. However, this was not a normal mist... this mist was something else entirely.

Earlier that day, The B Team had been preparing for our annual Halloween Pawty, and everypawdy was busy in the bunker.

The bunker had been decorated over a week ago for Amber's and Pandora's joint birthday pawty (and in all honesty, that pawty has been going all week on and off) so the only thing we had to do was get the food and drinks set up on the buffet table in the Nip Nirvana Lounge on Level 11. 

As we busied ourselves, well, everypawdy but Amber, as she said, she was too old to be carrying out such menial tasks. So the rest of us busied ourselves. Smooch and Humphrey were busy setting up the spooky mist machine with the added bonus of extra primo catnip being infused directly into the machine; catnip mist, whatever next! MOL

Fudge and Melvyn were getting the spooky playlist ready and at random intervals, Thriller kept blasting through the bunker tannoy system.

Posie and Snowie were putting the finishing touches to this year's Halloween costumes in the Repairs Room on Level 2, and Parsley, Pandora and I were doing one last security sweep of the village before nightfall.

"Basil," Parsley asked. "Did mew invite anypawdy extra to the pawty?"

I sighed. "I asked Chuffer, G.D., Solitaire, MadCat and Winston to join us, but after their torturous time in The Clockwurk Labyrinth, Halloween is the one holiday none of them will participate in, like ever. And they are staying on Level 8 with Horice, locked and barricaded in the biosphere."

"I can understand that," Pandora chipped in, in her odd, little foreign accent. "I wouldn't want to be reminded of all that creepy stuff if I were them either!"

Parsley nodded, then added. "So mew definitely didn't invite anypawdy else?"

I stopped and looked at him. "No, why?"

We were standing on the outskirts of Mewton-Clawson in the middle of a dew-laden field. The air was chill, and a damp breeze was ruffling my fur in all manner of ways I didn't like.

The church was just off in the distance, and Parsley was fixated on something in the field next to the church. He lifted his all-seeing binoculars and peered at the same spot again.

Pandora was transfixed too, and I flitted my gaze between them for a few moments, watching as they tensed up and teeth were bared.

'Oh fluff no!' I thought. 'What the fluffing fluff is about to happen now!'

Focussing in on what they were fixed on, I suddenly saw it. A thick, white mist was roiling and bubbling up from the ancient well in the field next to the church, and just as I was lifting up my own binoculars, a crow cawed ominously in the tree above us. "Jumpin' juniper berries!" I said, nearly dropping my binoculars. I looked up, and the crow was flapping its wings and hopping on the branch with much agitation. Its wing suddenly pointed back towards the centre of Mewton-Clawson, and I turned to see more mist emerging from the old dry stone sheep pen, which was used for escapee livestock many, many years ago.

Pandora spun around and saw the mist, "Basil, there's something apaw," she said worriedly and held out her paw to me, and I saw the Aethereal Magi sigil; an infinity sign surrounded by the five elements of fire, earth, water, metal and air which was branded on her paw and it was glowing bright red. (If mew aren't sure what an Aethereal Magi is, check out Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 in The Clockwurk Labyrinth).

I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and nudged Parsley. He turned, looked at the glowing mark and spat. "Fluffing fluffer!"

Remembering what he'd just asked me a few minutes ago, "Why did mew ask if I'd invited anypawdy extra to the pawty?"

He pointed off towards Fuskerston on the right side of us and the woods that stood between the two villages. "Over there," he said. "There's a clowder of cats in raggy costumes."

I raised an eyebrow and stared at the precise location he was pointing at. 

"Where?"

"Right fluffing there!" Parsley replied, jabbing his paw.

"I can't see a thing," I replied. "Only trees. Pandora, can mew see anything?"

She spun around and looked, then gulped. "I see dead cats."

"What?" I asked.

"They are definitely dead," she replied with a shiver. "And it looks like they've seen us!"

Lifting my binoculars, I looked again, and fluff me. I saw them. About thirty of them, stumbling around in the shadows of the trees. And even more emerging from the woods.

Note to self, get some glasses stat!

There was also heavy white mist was creeping from the wood, at ground level and heading our way in a rather disconcerting manner. 'This is not good,' I thought. 'Like seriously, NOT GOOD!'

The crow cawed again. Its screeching sent shivers down my spine. This time, it flapped its wing towards the field to the left of us; a small brook meandered along the far side of the field, and it too, was oozing thick white mist that was puthering over the ground, tumbling towards us. 

I spun around looking at all the sources and realised that this mist wasn't natural. (Yes, I know I'm a bit late to the game, but if I'm honest, I've had a lot of catnip this week, blame Amber and Pandora's pawty!) Anyhoo, it suddenly dawned on me that the mist was springing up at compass points, and this was some hinky hoodoo kind of vibe.

"Something must be drawing the mist," I said. "Where is the centre point for all four sources?" 

Parsley and Pandora stared at me like I'd grown another head.

"What?" I asked with mild frustration.

"Mew seriously have had far too much nip this week, Basil!" Pandora chided. "And did mew try Humphrey's new blend, the Total Wipeout yesterday?"

I cast my mind back and tried to remember last night. I just nodded because I actually couldn't remember a thing.

Pandora looked at Parsley and said. "Mew owe me £10 dude!"

"That explains it!" Parsley said. "Dude, mew seriously have to stop trying all the nip mixes. They're messing with your mind!"

"Pay up!" Pandora demanded.

Parsley harrumphed and pulled a crisp £10 note out of his rucksack and passed it to Pandora. "Thank mew furry much!" she grinned, stuffing it in a side pocket on her utility belt.

"Mew bet on me?" I said, with utter incredulity. 

"Yep," they both said in unison and laughed.

'Fluffing fluff, I'd better not have any more of Humphrey's catnip!' I thought. 'It's severely impairing my Basildom!"

Dragging my mind back to our predicament, I asked again. "So where exactly is the centre point?"

Pandora gave me quite a withering glance and pointed at the ground, "Right here commander, this is the centre point."

"But there's nothing here," I declared, as if that made it all ok.

But sadly, I'd spoken too soon.

The ground began to shake and quiver beneath our paws, and Parsley grabbed me, dragging me back towards the village, with Pandora leading the way.

Once we'd jumped the fence and reached the road, we turned to see what was happening. The ground was still shaking, and we looked at the spot we'd just evacuated to see the ground rupture and a stone circle emerge from the earth. Nothing as fancy as Stone Henge, more like the Avebury Circle, but with a lot fewer stones. 

Nevertheless, there was now a henge in Mewton-Clawson, and it was quite impressive; some of the outer stones were at least ten feet tall, and a secondary smaller inner circle pushed through the earth and stood at about five feet tall.

A deafening crack boomed through the sky as a blinding flash burst like a fireworks display at the centre of the circle.

I turned to Parsley, "Dude, this is bad, real bad."

He nodded, and Pandora said. "Basil look, there's a figure walking out of the circle!"

Darkness had descended, and the only light was from the rising full moon as I watched the tall figure stride towards us, with a large cat bringing up the rear.

"Basil, dude, we need to do something," Parsley murmured. "I only have a taser on me, and I think we need something a little more robust!"

"Parsley, don't panic," I whispered back. "We've got a Pandora, one of the most powerful magical cats in the world."

"True," he replied, relaxing just a smidge.

"Pandora," I hissed. "What's the plan?"

Pandora watched the figure approaching, and she said through gritted fangs, "Hold the line!"

**AND CUT**

Claws of Terror ©BionicBasil® Halloween Adventure - Divider

Guys, we are sorry to cut it there, but we know mew don't have much time to read a saga today.

If mew would like to read Chapter 2, let us know in the comments, as we've got a feeling this is going to evolve into quite the story. (And one that isn't written yet! MOL) However, if mew want to see where it goes, we'll gladly continue a chapter a week, but that is up to mew.

Basil and The B Team Halloween Selfie 2023 ©BionicBasil®

And if mew want to read last years Terrifying Tale, click here for a one post story, and don't forget to check out yesterdays brand new Crafting with Cats post, and we'll be back tomorrow with some more Midweek News.

In the meantime...

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Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 











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Copyright © 2023 by BionicBasil® & Cathrine Garnell  ~ Author & Publisher

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Monday 30 October 2023

**THE NEXT BEST THING WE'VE EVER MADE** Spooky Crafting With Cats ~ Part 31 ~ Halloween Special ~ How We Made the **TWO IN ONE CAT SCRATCHER**

The B Team's Halloween Crafting with Cats Banner  ©BionicBasil® October  23

Supurr Spooky Greetings Pawesome Pals

Thanks for joining us for Part 31 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.

*    *    *
**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®

*     *     *

THE Two In One Cat Scratcher


Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher

Isn't it epic?

Halloween Pawty Divider ©BionicBasil®

What We Used:

5 x pre-made cardboard cat scratchers (£17.99)

1 x  large cardboard box

Non Toxic glue + Glue gun

Black spray paint (+ face mask)

Black non-toxic paint

1 x cardboard tube

Mini Ghosts

White + black felt fabric

4 x pom poms

catnip 

stuffing

**see Gordon the Ghost link below, and just reduce the pattern size**

Halloween Pawty Divider ©BionicBasil®

Let's Get Started

CHAOS IN THE CRAFT ROOM

Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher - Steps 1 - 4

1. & 2. We had bought these five cardboard scratchers from Amazon with the intent of making something totally different, however they were much smaller than we thought, so idea one, was literally tossed out of the window. And a few minutes later we had another idea, and that  needed one large Amazon box too.

(Note: mew could make your own scratchers - see our tutorial here)

3. Making it up as we went along, this is what we decided. First we cut all the flaps off. And cut the side of the box out. 

4. This is what it looked like.

Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher - Steps 5 - 8

5. 6.  We repeated on the other side and this is how it looked.

 7. & 8. Next it was spray painted - always use a mask - and #8 was after a couple of coats   
(we didn't have time to apply more paint). 

Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher - Steps 9 - 12

9. & 10. Next we glued four of the scratchers in place to the back.

11.  Then we glued the last one in the bottom.

12.  Using one of the flaps we measured to make an infill piece.

Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher - Steps 13 -16

13. 14. & 15.  This is what the infill looked like, we scored the sides along the line and bent them into postion, before gluing in place..

16.   We repeated the previous steps to make infills for the other side and front.

Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher - Steps 17 - 20

17. 18. & 19.  Taking a long wrapping paper cardboard tube, we cut it in half and glued along the sides of the other scratchers. So it filled in the tiny gap, and this is what it looked like.

20. Next we scored and folded the top flap in half.

Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher - Steps 21 - 24

21. We glued it together.

22. Then we glued the flap down securing it to the edges of the box. Then we painted the rest of the cardboard black.

23. If mew look at the top corner, mew can see we added a corner piece, as when we initially cut the flaps off in step 2, we were a bit slap dash and didn't cut it level so were left with a small gap, and this piece just covered our butchery! MOL

24. And this is what your Two in One Cat Scratcher should look like now. 

And there mew have it, only 24 easy peasy, supurr simple steps to making your very own Two in One Cat Scratcher! MOL 

It took just over a couple of hours to make, so not that long, and that's us making something that we've never made before so, it should take mew much less time.

Plus we made the two small catnip ghosts and added the catnip pumpkins from the Haunted House project. See links below for instructions and other Halloween crafting projects.

And we know mew're wondering why it's a two in one cat scratcher, well it was intially desgned to go up a wall, thereby offering a nice tall scratching scenario, but then we realised that it could also be used flat, and it makes a wunderpurr bed and scratcher, so the choice is yours on what your purrsonal preference is, vertical or horizontal! MOL

Smooch and Fudge are demonstrating the horizontal position, and there's more than enough room for two cats, two ghosts and three pumpkins!

Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher - Horizontal with Smooch and Fudge

And Fudge demonstrating the vertical position.

Crafting with Cats - Halloween 2023 ©BionicBasil® The Two in One Cat Scratcher - Vertical with Fudge

Fudge has pretty much claimed ownership of it, and is currently reclining (Sunday Morning - we only finished it late on Caturday) in the horizontal position in the sitting room! MOL

And for those who'd just like to watch us make it, here is the video - it's only 28 seconds long for those short on time! 

We'll share The B Team using it on The Midweek News, as we just didn't get time to add all the footage in and get posted on time.

Direct link to watch on YouTube

LET'S GET SCRATCHING!

What do mew think to The Two in One Cat Scratcher?

We think it turned out pretty well, given that we had no clue what we were making, and that we were really short on time due to the flood.

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 bed with catnip leaves and a catnip kicker stalk.


Gordon the Ghost Spooktacular Meowoleen Snuggle Mat 2020

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



The Trick or Treat Monster Truck aka MOG 1

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

Isn't it epic?

Here's how we made it ~ Click here


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


Halloween Pawty Divider ©BionicBasil®


And that furiends furry sadly brings us to the end of our 31st Crafting with Cats post, we do hope mew enjoyed it, and if mew decide to make your furry own Two in One Cat Scratcher tag us on social media @BionicBasil.

Don't furget to check our yearly Halloween tradition of Spooky Story Time tomorrow in a **Brand New** B Team adventure called **Claws of Terror**, as we know mew won't want to miss that! MOL 

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 for 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:Rave Kids Artist: PALA