Month: April 2022

Guitar string rings

On By CarynIn Craft

In looking for fidget rings to stick in easter eggs I saw a few guitar string rings. I have used guitar strings since my kids play, so it seemed a neat project to try. My strings aren’t aged much, we were having trouble with tuning one string and tried changing out all the strings. It turned out the issue was a broken washer in the tuning mechanism, and I had to replace the whole mechanism. Still, it left some wire wrapped strings with which to experiment.

Guitar string ring with pressed glass faceted beads

I found some beads in my stash that would fit onto the guitar string. I used one of the beads as the anchor, gluing both ends of the string into the bead. The other beads are not glued and can be rearranged, although they are quite stiff.

Three guitar string rings

I rather like the look of the beads on the guitar strings, but they aren’t as fidget friendly as I’d like. I think maybe a tube bead with a wider inside diameter might work better. Time to sift through the stash again!

Operation Desensitization

On By CarynIn Cats

Setting up the live trap and leaving it for a couple days worked to desensitize the cats to its presence.

View from my vehicle of four cats circling the live trap

I used a prop to hold the trap open, with fishing line tied to the bottom so I could control when the trap closed. I had at least three already fixed cats circle in and out of the trap before an unfixed torti finally went in far enough for me to close the door. She was not happy, but I got her in to be fixed, so no kittens from her.

Unhappy torti

I saw three more unfixed while I was watching. So we’ll run this setup again. We are up to 12 fixed in the colony.

Tying it down

On By CarynIn Cats, Craft

We are down to the most skittish of cats in my neighbors colony needing to be caught and taken to be fixed. The slightest breeze ruffling the trap cover sends them running. So I did a little tailoring on the scrap of sheet I use to cover the trap. I sewed seams along the backsides for a close fit, then sewed buttons and button hole elastic along the bottom so it won’t have room to billow.

Button and button hole elastic sewn on the bottom of the cover

The button hole elastic did not come this thin. When I was in a frenzy of making fabric masks and all the thin elastic was sold out, I bought thicker elastic and cut thin strips, leaving a narrow button hole band. It works quite well for this purpose.

Trap on its side showing how the button and elastic hook around the wire
Trap with secured cover

I left the front part of the cover loose so it can easily be put back to set the trap, and be pulled forward when the cat is caught to help reduce freakout. The trap is also sitting closed at my neighbors house so the cats get used to seeing it (and not only seeing it when they see me).

Summer do

On By CarynIn dog

It was time. Time to give the dogs their summer do and shave them down. Griffin is a good boy and comes and sits to get shaved, if a bit forlorn. It takes two of us to shave down Missy, who is less than half Griffin’s size. She is just so wiggly and everything tickles. But it is done, and they are much happier black dogs in this Texas heat. We had enough hair to make a new dog. Literally. I’m quite impressed with my eldest’s fast sculpting; she even arranged the white hairs on the chest.

Before
After
The aftermath of shaving two black dogs
A dog made of hair, created by my eldest

No, I didn’t keep the fur to spin. My dogs produce wiry hair with no crimp which I have not figured out how to spin, and the thought of a hair shirt is not a pleasant one.

Crossvine

On By CarynIn Garden
Crossvine in bloom

The three-year-old crossvine on our front fence is really starting to come into its own. It is filling in and expanding and this spring has an abundance of blooms. We have a one-year-old plant next to the chicken coop that is in full sun that I am hoping in a couple years will even surpass the glory that this one displays. It too is blooming now, but still has the look of a gangly youth.