Showing posts with label Level Easy Peasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Level Easy Peasy. Show all posts

Thursday 21 December 2023

**CATMAS CRAFTING RERUN** Crafting With Cats ~ Catmas Special Part 4 ~ How We Made Our Furry Own Epically Epic Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments

Festive Crafting with Cats Banner ©BionicBasil®

 Supurr Festive Greetings Pawesome Pals

Thanks for joining us for a rerun of our Catmas Special Crafting with Cats segment. 

If mew missed Part One of our Catmas Crafting Extravaganza; How to Make a Purrsonalised Catmas Stocking and How to Make the Bahumbug Burlap Cat ~ click here, and Part II How to Make the Epically Epic Catmas Pudding which every kitty on the planet will want. And click here for Part III, the supurr cute catnip toys.

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®

*     *     *

In today's Crafting with Cats, we're making the only Catmas tree mew'll ever need: 

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments

Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments

What We Used:

One x Road Cone 750mm or  29.5" high

Sisal rope ~ we used 60 m x 6mm or 196ft in black

Faux fur for the bottom ~ we used dark green

Felt squares ~ we used red, white and green

Velcro tape ~ we used black

Ribbons for trim

stuffing/wadding

Optional sparkly pom poms

Catnip ~ organic homegrown extra-strong primo quality

scissors, non-toxic glue/glue gun, cotton thread, sewing machine, or needle

>^.^<

Optional Cat ~ Smooch was today's Craft Room Snoopervisor

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Snoopervisor Smooch


Let's Get Started on The Tree

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Steps 1 to 4

1. - 4. Get a road cone, we purchased ours from Amazon, and it cost £14.99. We placed it on a lazy-susan turntable which made it much easier to glue the sisal rope in place. Just glue a few centimetres/inches at a time until the entire cone is covered as above. This cone is 750 mm or 29.5" high and took approx 60 metres or 196 ft of rope. It did take a while to glue as mew can imagine, but it looks purretty nifty when done. Leave the last couple of metres/6ft or so until mew've finished steps 5 to 11.

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Steps 5 to 8

5. Take your faux fur and cut to size, leaving enough to finish underneath.

6. Measure the circumference at the base of the cone; ours is approx 90 cm or 35.4".

7.  Draw the same size circle in the middle of the faux fur.

8. Cut out the hole, and mew should have something that looks like this.

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Steps 9 to 12

9. Check that it fits properly, tucking it under the rope.

10. We used regular non-toxic PVA glue for this stage and coated the entire base in a thick layer.

11. Place the faux fur in situ and gently press onto the glue. Leave to dry and then glue the edges to the underside to finish. Finally, glue the last part of the sisal rope to finish off, we stuck ours to the faux fur and the rope above to make sure it was secure.

12. Mew should now have a finished Catmas Tree Scratcher, that looks something like this.

Let's Decorate The Tree

The Catnip Star Tree Topper

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Catnip Star

1. We created a simple 4-point design with a longer point at the bottom, so it can be stuffed into the top of the tree, but still easily pulled out.

2. Cut 2 pieces in your chosen fabric and stitch around the edge, leaving a small gap for stuffing and catnip.

3. BBHQ epically epic catnip.

4. Sew up the gap, and mew should have something that looks like this.

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Snoopervisor Pandora

Pandora came to snoopervise at this point and to also do a bit of quality control! MOL

*    *    *

 The Velcro Catnip Ornaments 

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Catnip Ornaments

1. We chose a basic square for a pressie, a shaped bauble and a bell for our catnip ornaments, but mew could make anything mew like. In fact, check out last year's Catmas toy selection for inspiration.

2. Hot glue the soft side of the velcro to the back of each toy 

3.  Decorate with ribbon. Stitch together and follow the steps for the Catmas Star.

4. Hot glue the rough/scratchy side of the velcro to the tree, attach the toy and repeat until mew have made all your catnip decorations. 

And mew should have something that looks like this...

Isn't it epically epic?

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments

We added a few red and green sparkly pom-poms, glued velcro onto those too and attached them to the tree.

It's supurr sturdy too, so don't worry about it toppling over, as it has a nice weight to it.


So what did we think of our special Catmas Tree? 

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Fudge

Fudge went straight for the star, Parsley and Melvyn also really enjoyed it.

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Fudge Parsley & Melvyn

Stop by our Instagram account as we'll be posting the videos there and mew can see just how much we love our tree and what fun we're having with it.

In all honesty, this project turned out so much better than we could have ever imagined and for all those kitties being yelled at for climbing real Catmas trees, get your staff to make mew one of these, and mew can pull the ornaments off to your heart's content, climb it, scratch it, steal the star and generally be as naughty as mew like and it doesn't matter a hoot!

We think it's one of the best things we've ever made, what do mew guys think?


Health and Safety

Here at BBHQ, toys with pom poms on are only available to The B Team when the P.A. is snoopervising the play session.

Use pom pom toys under supervision only.  

Or mew can just make the Catmas Tree Scratcher without the pom poms.  If your kitty is a total heathen toy destroyer, definitely make it without the pom poms! 

Mew should regularly check shop-bought toys too, and throw away anything that is damaged, broken or defective.


And that furiends, furry sadly brings us to the end of our fourth crafting rerun post, we do hope mew liked it, and if mew decide to make your furry own Catmas Tree Scratcher, we'd love to see it, so feel free to post your pawesome crafty pics on our Facebook page at:


So we'll sign off on this bright and breezy Purrsday, and Amber will be here tomorrow with another cat-tastic book review!

In the meantime

Keep calm and craft on!

Festive purrs

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team







Follow Us @BionicBasil®  at TikTokInstacatTwitter and Facebook

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.

Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com 

Thursday 24 December 2020

Crafting With Cats ~ Part XXI ~ Catmas Special ~ How We Made Our Furry Own Epically Epic Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments

Festive Crafting with Cats Banner ©BionicBasil®

 Supurr Festive Greetings Pawesome Pals

Thanks for joining us for Part XXI 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 fur commercial/resale purrposes.

Copyright ©BionicBasil®

*     *     *

In today's Crafting with Cats, we're making the only Catmas tree mew'll ever need: 

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments

Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments

What We Used:

One x Road Cone 750mm or  29.5" high

Sisal rope ~ we used 60 m x 6mm or 196ft in black

Faux fur for bottom ~ we used dark green

Felt squares ~ we used red, white and green

Velcro tape ~ we used black

Ribbons for trim

stuffing/wadding

Optional sparkly pom poms

Catnip ~ organic homegrown extra-strong primo quality

scissors, non-toxic glue/glue gun, cotton thread, sewing machine, or needle

>^.^<

Optional Cat ~ Smooch was today's Craft Room Snoopervisor

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Snoopervisor Smooch


Let's Get Started on The Tree

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Steps 1 to 4

1. - 4. Get a road cone, we purchased ours from Amazon, and it cost £14.99. We placed it on a lazy-susan turntable which made it much easier to glue the sisal rope in place. Just glue a few centimetres/inches at a time until the entire cone is covered as above. This cone is 750 mm or 29.5" high and took approx 60 metres or 196 ft of rope. It did take a while to glue as mew can imagine, but it looks purretty nifty when done. Leave the last couple of metres/6ft or so until mew'ved finished steps 5 to 11.

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Steps 5 to 8

5. Take your faux fur and cut to size, leaving enough to finish underneath.

6. Measure the circumference at the base of the cone; ours is approx 90 cm or 35.4".

7.  Draw the same size circle in the middle of the faux fur.

8. Cut out the hole, and mew should have something that looks like this.

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Steps 9 to 12

9. Check that is fits properly, tucking it under the rope.

10. We used regular non-toxic PVA glue for this stage and coated the entire base in a thick layer.

11. Place the faux fur in situ and gently press onto the glue. Leave to dry and then glue the edges to the underside to finish. Finally, glue the last part of the sisal rope to finish off, we stuck ours to the faux fur and the rope above to make sure it was secure.

12. Mew should now have a finished Catmas Tree Scratcher, that looks something like this.

Let's Decorate The Tree

The Catnip Star Tree Topper

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Catnip Star

1. We created a simple 4 point design with a longer point at the bottom, so it can be stuffed into the top of the tree, but still easily pulled out.

2. Cut 2 pieces in your chosen fabric and stitch around the edge, leaving a small gap for stuffing and catnip.

3. BBHQ epically epic catnip.

4. Sew up the gap, and mew should have something that looks like this.

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Snoopervisor Pandora

Pandora came to snoopervise at this point and to also do a bit of quality control! MOL

*    *    *

 The Velcro Catnip Ornaments 

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments - Catnip Ornaments

1. We chose a basic square for a pressie, a shaped bauble and a bell for our catnip ornaments, but mew could make anything mew like. In fact, check out last years Catmas toy selection for inspiration.

2. Hot glue the soft-side of the velcro to the back of each toy 

3.  Decorate with ribbon. Stitch together and follow the steps for the Catmas Star.

4. Hot glue the rough/scratchy side of the velcro to the tree, attach the toy and repeat until mew have made all your catnip decorations. 

And mew should have something that looks like this...

Isn't it epically epic?

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Velcro Catnip Ornaments

We added a few red and green sparkly pom-poms, we glued velcro on to those too and attached to the tree.

It's supurr sturdy too, so don't worry about it toppling over, as it has a nice weight to it.


So what did we think to our special Catmas Tree? 

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Fudge

Fudge went straight for the star, Parsley and Melvyn also really enjoyed it.

Catmas Crafting with Cats Special ©BionicBasil® Catmas Tree Scratcher with Fudge Parsley & Melvyn

Stop by our Instagram account as we'll be posting the video's there and mew can see just how much we love our tree and what fun we're having with it.

In all honesty, this project turned out so much better than we could have ever imagined and for all those kitties being yelled at for climbing real Catmas trees, get your staff to make mew one of these, and mew can pull the ornaments off to your heart's content, climb it, scratch it, steal the star and generally be as naughty as mew like and it doesn't matter a hoot!

We think it's one of the best things we've ever made, what do mew guys think?


Health and Safety

Here at BBHQ, toys with pom poms on are only available to The B Team when the P.A. is snoopervising the play session.

Use pom pom toys under supervision only.  

Or mew can just make the Catmas Tree Scratcher without the pom poms.  If your kitty is a total heathen toy destroyer, definitely make it without the pom poms! 

Mew should regularly check shop bought toys too, and throw away anything that is damaged, broken or defective.


And that furiends furry sadly brings us to the end of our twenty-furst Crafting with Cats post, we do hope mew liked it, and if mew decide to make your furry own Catmas Tree Scratcher, we'd love to see, so feel free to post your pawesome crafty pics on our Facebook page at:


So we'll sign off on this bright and breezy Catmas Eve, and we'll be here tomorrow to wish mew all a totally splendid Catmas!

In the meantime

Keep calm and have a niptini, well it is almost Catmas! MOL

Festive purrs

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team







Don't furget to subscribe to our blog and never miss another post. 

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 use of any Crafting With Cats posts we may share.
Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com and www.pizap.com

Saturday 14 December 2019

Crafting With Cats ~ Part XIV ~ Catmas Special Part 1 ~ Make Your Furry Own Purrsonalised Catmas Stocking ~ Level Easy Peasy

Crafting with Cats Catmas Special Banner ©BionicBasil®

Supurr Greetings Pawesome Pals

Thanks fur joining fur us fur Part XIV of our Crafting with Cats segment. Mew know we have so much fun making all these fabulous things for feline enrichment and also just for fun, and we do hope mew enjoy seeing it and/or making it too/ 

We really like the idea of a handmade Catmas [Christmas to the normal folk out there!], and we've been making lots of things over the last few months as our old decorations are getting a bit tired after 20+ years, and in all honesty we don't like what's available in the stores; plastic, plastic and more plastic, so this year we decided to go another route and so here we are with a more natural approach.

All of our previous CWC posts are on the Crafting with Cats Page, 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 fur purrsonal/home use only.

  So purrlease do not copy fur commercial/resale purrposes.

Copyright ©BionicBasil®

*    *    *
Candy Cane Divider

This time we're making a pawesome easy peasy 

Crafting with Cats Catmas Special ©BionicBasil®  Purrsonalised Catmas Stocking

Ready fur Santa Paws to stuff full of goodies just fur mew!

What Mew Will Need:

Mini pom poms

Faux fur 

Burlap/hessian or a fabric of your choice

Ribbon

Red and white twine or a colour of your choice

needles/thread/scissors/glue gun, or regular fabric glue

optional sewing machine

>^.^<

Optional Cat ~ Smooch was today's Craft Room Snoopervisor

 Basil's Catmas Stocking - Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil® Smooch Craft Room Snoopervisor

Catmas Divider

Lets Get Started

How to make Basil's Catmas Stocking - Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil®

1.  Choose your fabrics and trims - get your supplies together

2. Make a simple boot/stocking shape template, ours is A4 sized

3.  Cut out 2 pieces

4.  Take your pom poms and make initial of your choice - glue in place onto one piece - use a piece of card so mew don't accidentally glue it to your table top

How to make Basil's Catmas Stocking - Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil®

5.  Once dry - stitch both pieces together - right sides out - a basic zigzag stitch will be fine or hand-stitching will also be ok

6.  Take your faux fur trim and cut to size - ours was approx 5" or 13 cm deep and just over 2 times the width of the top of the stocking

7.  Make sure the nap [direction of the pile] on the fabric is correct - in this case facing downwards - test this before you sew in place

8. Sew faux fur approx 1.5" or  4 cm from top of stocking

How to make Basil's Catmas Stocking - Crafting with Cats ©BionicBasil®

9.  Fold faux fur into stop of stocking, so it looks like this and hand-stitch in place; a simple running stitch will suffice

10.  & 11. Next take your twine and a large needle, and sew in stitch of your choice around the stocking edge, ours is just a basic stitch

12. Finally, take a loop of ribbon and attach to the inside of the stocking, and mew should now have something that looks like this

Isn't is fabulous, and we made a few more so no-purrdy feels left out! MOL

Crafting with Cats Catmas Special - Part 1  ©BionicBasil® Catmas Stockings

*    *    *

And that furriends furry sadly brings us to the end of our fourteenth Crafting with Cats post, we do hope mew liked it and if mew decide to make your furry own Catmas Stocking, we'd love to see, so feel free to post your pawesome crafty pics on our Facebook page at:


We'll be back tomorrow with our usual selfies and do hope mew can join us then. But don't furget we'll be back next week with more exciting things fur mew to make, including our furry special Catmas Pudding Pouffe with catnip accessories which we know mew won't want to miss.

In the meantime

Keep calm and get crafty

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team







Follow Us @BionicBasil®  at InstacatTwitter and Facebook

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 use of any Crafting With Cats posts we may share.
Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com and www.pizap.com