Wednesday, 12 February 2025

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ~ Fudge's Got A New Spot In The Catservatory, Smooch Is In The Crystal Room, Amber's Slow Descent Downstairs, and Melvyn's Wearing This Weeks Top Pick Bandana & A Kerfuffle On The Catwalk

Midweek News Valentine's Banner 2025 ©BionicBasil®

Epic Wednesday Greetings Furiends

Welcome to the BBHQ midweek news round-up!

How's your week going? 

Well, ours has been just dreadful! The P.A. got scammed by a fake shop in a rather famous University city in the U.K. She bought some items in an 80% off closing-down sale. Turns out it was a scammer shop based in Asia, and when the goods finally arrived, they were just cheap, horrendously crappy knockoffs of the photos on the website. Anyhoo, she opened a dispute with the credit card company, supplied all the evidence, and got her money refunded, but then the cheaters in Asia submitted their terms and conditions from the fake website, and the credit card company took the money back off the P.A. for the fraudulent scammers.

The credit card company were not bothered that the website was fake, with content scraped photos and filled with lies and deception with the intent to scam, defraud and cheat. The terms and conditions at the time of sale were not even present, and there was no transparency at the checkout to say the goods were coming from Asia. There was no indication that anything was untoward at the time of purchase, it was very clever, and very convincing.

And now the P.A. is feeling very annoyed and really hissed off that she's got items worth pennies, which cost a lot more than that. Then, to add insult to injury, the credit card company said that the scammers would refund 100% if the items were shipped back to them within a certain time frame. The shipping cost is over £300, and then there's the chance that they will say they didn't receive the items within the specified timeframe, so they then have the goods and the money.  

The moral of the story is: if it looks like a high-end boutique with beautiful photos of lovely, lovely things at up to 80% off in a closing-down sale:- DO NOT GO THERE! LIKE EVER- RUN THE FLUFF AWAY!

Apparently, she's not the only one scammed. There have been thousands of U.K. residents scammed in the run-up to Christmas, yet nothing has been done to stop anybody else from getting caught in the incredibly convincing trap. And the really annoying part is they have closed the original shop and opened another one, with the exact same everything, with just a slight tweak to the shop name, with the same story about a family business closing down after 30 years due to retirement, hence the sale.

In over twenty-five years of online shopping, this is the first time the P.A. has been duped, and if we say she's spitting brimstone right now, that would be a huge understatement.

Anyhoo, nothing to be done about it today; the next step is to contact the U.K. Fraud Squad to see if anything can be done. Wish the P.A. luck in the life-draining situation of trying to claw back her money... 

And if mew're wondering about the weather here in Mewton-Clawson, it's fluffing cold this week!

Anyhoo, let's look at what the heathens have been up to this week.

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First up in the news 

Fudge's Got A New Spot In The Catservatory


The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Fudge's Got A New Spot In The Catservatory

Fudge took full possession of the stool in the catservatory the other day. The P.A. had brought it in from the shed as she needed to stand on it to reach something; she put it in the catservatory ready to take it back to the shed, and a short while later, Fudge was there, not moving with the papers that it now belonged to him! MOL

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Next up in the news

Smooch Is In The Crystal Room


The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Smooch Is In The Crystal Room

Smooch enjoyed a relaxing time in the crystal room on Sunday afternoon while the P.A. was looking for supplies for a crafting project. It had been a bit drizzly, and his fur was rather damp. They didn't stay in there long as it was colder inside than outside, so a supurr fast retreat was made to the sitting room and the warmth of the fire! MOL

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In other news...

Amber's Slow Descent Downstairs


The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Amber's Slow Descent Downstairs

Amber took three days, sorry, three hours, nope, three something to get down the stairs on Caturday.

She told me to fluff right off and that she'd take as long as she wanted to descend the stairs.

Ok then! MOL

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And finally, this week

Melvyn's Modelling The Top Bandana Pick


Melvyn's modelling Multi-coloured hearts with lilac fringing bandana, doesn't he look absolutely spiffing?

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Melvyn Modelling The Multi-coloured hearts with lilac fringing

It all started off so well, but then Fudge had to pounce and cause a kerfuffle! MOL

Check out his videos on your preferred social media channel:



Apologies for no YouTube video this week; the P.A. accidentally filmed in wide-shot, and then YouTube wouldn't allow any mewsic to be applied in that format... oh dear... and yes, we have reprimanded her for this heinous oversight. 

Which one is your favourite this week? 


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Which one should he model next?


Here's the Valenitne's Bandana Selection.

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® February 2024 Bandana Collection - Valentine's Day

The February Valentine's Collection:

1. Multi-coloured hearts with lilac fringing

2. Red hearts with red fringing

3.  White hearts with glitter ribbon

4. Red heart with red tassels

Tell us your top pick for next week in the comments!

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That's us done for today. Amber will be back on Friday with another meowvellous book, and if mew missed any other posts, here are the links:

 Melvyn's Selfie


Check out the latest episodes of The Purrminator, as tomorrow we'll be back with Chapter Thirteen in Melvyn's epically epic supurr exciting origin story:









Wishing mew a pawesome day, and remember to always...

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 













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Tuesday, 11 February 2025

**VALENTINE'S CRAFTING RE-RUN**PART 6** Crafting With Cats Valentine's Special ~ How We Made The Love Shroom ~ The Double Decker Cat Bed

 Welcome to

Crafting with Cats Valentine's Special Banner ©BionicBasil®

Supurr Furbulous Greetings Pawesome Pals

Thanks for joining us for Part 6 of our supurr fun Crafting with Cats re-run. We thought we'd get a head-start on the Valentine's Crafting, as the big day is now only a few days away! 

If mew missed Part I, click here to see how we made an epic heart shaped crinkle mat, and here for Part II, when we made some epic catnip hearts and kicker toys. Check out Part III for the most epic Valentine's Cat Cottage ever. Click here to see Part IV, the Best Cat Tree Glow Up ever! And for Part V click here to see the Catnip Cookies.

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 Love Shroom


Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Love Shroom with Melvyn

What We Used:

2 x large cardboard boxes

glue gun + non-toxic glue

wadding

white felt squares

pale pink crushed velvet

grey felt

loose pom poms in greys and pinks

White pom pom trim

sewing machine ~ scissors ~ pins

Optional cats ~ Fudge and Pandora


Let's get Started

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 1 - 4

1.  We used two large cardboard boxes.

2. First, we opened one box fully and cut off the top flaps.

3. Next, we rolled the cardboard to make it cylindrical.

4. Then we trimmed the bottom flaps, and cut vertically, so it made it easier when we attached the bottom in step 8.

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 5 - 8
 
5. This is how it looks when it's rolled and the edges glued together.

6. & 7. We checked the diameter before cutting a circle to fit inside the bottom.

8.  Next, we glued the bottom in place.

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 9 - 12

9. & 10. Fudge came to inspect the shroom for size, and gave all paws up to continue.

11. & 12. Then we drew a doorway and cut it out.

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 13 - 16

13. & 14. Using the second box, we measured for the mushroom top and made the outer rim approx 3" or 7.6 cm wider all the way around.

15. & 16. We cut it out and tried it on top of the base to make sure it was the right size.

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 17 - 20

17. & 18. Using our pale pink crushed velvet, we placed the cardboard top on it to make sure we had enough fabric to get under the rim once it's padded, so it would completely cover the cardboard when the top is attached to the base. So make sure that your fabric is quite a bit bigger.  Mew can also add an extra layer to the cardboard circle to strengthen it.

19. & 20. And then we cut out lots of white felt circles in different sizes. We placed them on the cardboard just to get the best pattern. 

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 21 -24

21. & 22. We pinned all the way around the cardboard circle on the fabric, as our white tailor's chalk didn't show up, and we needed a guide for the edge. And then we placed all the felt circles and pinned them in place before sewing with a zig-zag stitch on the machine. Mew could glue or hand sew at this stage.

23. All the felt circles are securely attached.

24. Next we used the wadding out of an old cushion and heaped it up on top of the cardboard circle.

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 25 - 28

25. We carefully placed the crushed velvet in place, and mew can see how much extra fabric was needed. We also tried to shape the wadding so it was higher in the middle. Then we flipped the entire thing over and glued the crushed velvet in place, pulling it taut. Think of covering a chair bottom.

26. This is the finished mushroom top, we cut off any excess fabric underneath, but we also made sure that underneath portion of the rim was completely covered, so it looks like mushroom gills. 

27. & 28. We covered the entire base in a light grey felt and glued it in place.


Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 29 - 32

29. We snipped the felt edge like step 31 and glued it down. 

30. Next, we cut out the doorway, leaving plenty of fabric.

31. & 32. We snipped the fabric back to the edge of the doorway and then folded and glued in place.

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 33 - 36.jpg

33. We used the remaining felt to cover the inside of the mushroom.

34. Next we got our small pom poms and began to glue them around the opening.

35. Pandora came to check on the P.A.'s progress and to make sure she wasn't slacking off! MOL

36. The pom poms look great! 

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® How We Made The Love Shroom Steps 37 - 40

37. We glued the mushroom top to the base.

38. Then we decided the top needed some pom pom trim.

39. Then we decided we had enough crushed velvet left to make a cushion.

40. And here's the Love Shroom finished. Isn't it cute?

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Love Shroom with Melvyn, Smooch and Fudge.

These three wasted no time at all, and as Smooch says, "Mew snooze, mew lose!" As he got there first! 


Watch the video:


or watch on YouTube

What a totally fun project to make, all the cats love it and if mew watch the video to the very end mew'll see Fudge wanted Melvyn off the top, and well just see for yourselves! MOL

Valentine's Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® The Love Shroom with Melvyn and Fudge

We've now moved it into the upstairs lounge, we swapped it with The Observatory for something different, and Melvyn has moved out of his glamping tent and into the shroom! MOL
 

And that furiends furry sadly brings us to the end of today's pawesomely fun Crafting with Cats post, we do hope mew liked it. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel as we've got lots of videos there, and some of which mew might have not seen before.

Epically crafty purrs and don't forget to...
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Wing Commander Basil & The B Team










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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.
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Music Used under licence from www.soundstripe.com ~ Artist: Pala - Track: Lost Without Love