I thought I was so clever

Having small toys roll under the couch has been driving me batty. So I thought I might stuff pool noodles under the edge of the couches to block errant balls from rolling underneath. Being the end of the pool season, I couldn’t find them in stores, but I found some lovely black pool noodles online. I industrially cut them to size and stuffed them under the edge, only to have the puppy take singular interest in pulling them out and tearing them apart. Sigh. I stuffed them deeper under the couch, which I’m not sure will actually help, but maybe it will a little. Puppies.

Cutting black pool noodles to length
Pool noodle under the couch as a block for toys rolling underneath

Whelp

Y’all are going to get a fair few puppy posts. Needless to say, I’m not getting much crafting done. Missy the mystery pup sleeps quite a bit, but when she is awake we have to stay wary! Even when she is sleeping we have to have one eye out for when she wakes up. Potty training is still going OK, but if her little feet hit grass or carpet after a nap she will do her business. So we’ve taken to carrying her out when she wakes.

Crashed puppy

She is also chewing everything, as puppies do. I didn’t realize how many cords are in our living room for charging various devices! To help keep the little miss from getting into trouble, I put a sheet of poster board between the chairs to keep her from the cords. (Hey, I managed to squeeze something crafty into the post!)

Poster board rolled between two chairs to keep the puppy out

Guess what?!?

Another puppy post! But I managed to squeeze in another life hack/craft project.

Missy’s favorite place to nap is under feet.

I don’t know how big little miss is going to end up. She has a vet appointment soon, but I don’t want to put her in a cat carrier. I don’t want to buy a soft carrier that only holds 10 pounds if she ends up being 17. So I drew on my baby days and sling wearing. I don’t have much time to craft, so I took an old t-shirt with no side seams from the recycle box, and cut it off under the armpits to make a wide tube of fabric.

Sad little app sketch because I couldn’t reach my sketch pad with the puppy asleep on my feet

I put this on cross body, and tucked little miss in. She likes it! I’m using it periodically at home to get her used to it. It also helps when I need to do something and can’t watch her. It isn’t hands free, but it does free up one hand to do things like make tea. I tried one of my husband’s old shirts first, but that held her too low. She actually prefers the sling a little snug.

Missy in a sling made from an old t-shirt

Mail pick up (free printable)

We have a nice brick mail box, with no mail pick up flag. I tried attaching one of those plastic retrofit flags, but refused to fix it again the second time it broke. While looking for possibilities, I saw a magnet that attaches to the front of the box. I can make that. I whipped up a simple graphic, laminated it, and used a section of self adhesive magnet tape on the back.

Mail flag magnet
Magnet stuck on back

I was a little apprehensive to see how the mail person reacted, but when I went to check, there was the magnet, set neatly with my incoming mail, and the letter to go out was gone. Phew! And if it ever does go missing, it is easy and cheap to remake. If you want to make your own, print the graphic below on card stock (I printed mine 5” wide), laminate it (I used a heat laminator, but two pieces of clear shipping tape would work), and attach a self adhesive magnet to the back (available at craft or hobby stores).

Feel free to download and print your own!

Makeshift snake lock

My eldest has a 2-year-old corn snake that has learned to open her (maybe his) own cage! She bumps the latch to turn it and eventually gets it open. Sophie the cat found her under her cage table one morning, so we had to come up with a way to lock it down, but still get it open relatively easy. We used a shoelace.

Shoe lace run through the mesh on the latch of the snake’s cage

We ran the shoe lace so that we can open it without unlacing it. When it is closed, we tie it with a bow. So far the cats have not been able to get on top of the cage, so the bow should be secure for awhile. Clever snek.

Corn snake attempting another escape