Cheap and cheerful - DIY Cat toy

The parts of this cattoy can be found outside and around the house. You'll need some feathers, string or elastic and some sort of stick or twig to tie the feathers to. Cats go mad for the birdsmells and can't get enough of "hunting" them. This is their favourite kind of toy.

Get ahead for Easter

On a recent walk I cut some willow twigs and put them in a vase at home - pussy willow and Easter go together. I have to keep them on top of the bookshelf until the buds pop, out of the cat's reach, she ran away with the twigs before...

Cover an egg box with pretty paper, fill with chocolate or hardboiled eggs and tie ribbon around it - nice as a present, too.

Knockoff

Lately I have seen those milkbottles on many blogs for parties and decorating - I have no intention of ordering empty bottles from somewhere when I can use perfectly formed bottles that came with the added benefit of a Starbucks Frappuccino!

Just drink the Frappuccino, soak the bottles in boiling water to sterilise and to loosen the label and there you go...

Countdown

This is what I made out of all those cardboard rolls I collected: a cracker of an advent calendar :)
I used plain brown paper, string and some glittery stickers. The numbers will be added when I have filled the calendar and then it will be strung onto a garland on the wall.

Christmastree

Experiment No3: A bespoke silver window sticker. Beware- only for patient people...

Deco

Experiment No2: Christmastree of the hard to break plastic lightshade variety. The pattern was punched through the plastic and is illuminated from the inside. Less kittenproof but also possible in black card...

Decoration

First Experiment: Christmastree made of snowflake window stickers.

The "Nightmare" before Christmas

No, this has absolutely nothing to do with the ususal "suspects" like giftlist or cost or organisation of the festivities, I'm pretty good with all that. This year our homelife has changed and all the preparation and decoration will have to change with it: I have to kittenproof Christmas.

As I write this post she has climbed up the curtains and walks along the curtain pole. You see my problem? No tree, no decorations on furniture, no baubles or wreaths on tables or hanging anywhere, no garlands, certainly no candles or even presents left out...no Christmas? I need to get my head around minimalism this season!

Customize

This is the first T-shirt-transfer I attempted. Step one is to work on the motif on your computer and save it ready for printing onto a transfer sheet. It has to be printed as "mirror image" or flipped horizontally for the writing to be the right way round and with the print quality set to the best available.
Step two is to preheat the iron on the highest setting and to cut the picture leaving a 5mm border. It is ironed printed side down onto the T-shirt (pre-ironed and wrinkle free) : Place a smooth cloth between the shirt and ironing board and iron, using the centre of the iron (including across all edges) by applying consistent downward circular pressure for 60-90 seconds, 90-120 seconds for large images.
Step three is to leave the transfer paper to cool down and peel off the interleaving paper from a corner using firm and steady pressure.

Wash fabric at a max 40C, turning the garment inside out. Do not tumble dry and protect the image with kitchen baking paper when ironing.

No, really...

These are for 8 different people

...I HAVE been busy! There is a parcel in a corner as well, but it is claimed as a seat by the cat .