The jute rope wrapped around one of the scratching posts was really getting worn. I ordered some new 1/4” rope, then cut off the top of the old rope. The bottom portion was still in decent shape, so I stapled the old end to the back of the post (which is actually two 2×4 boards.) I then stapled the new rope on and wrapped it tightly around the wood. I cut off some of the carpet so I could take the rope higher, because I have a couple long cats. I used a heavy duty stapler designed for furniture, with 1/2” staples.
Photo description: carpet and rope cat scratcher post with new rope on the upper half of the post. Gray tabby looking like he is about to start something standing behind the post.
I was down to two hair combs and a few pins. Where are all my hair ties? They usually end up on my side table after a long day, but there weren’t any where I usually leave them. At least, they weren’t on the surface. They were all in the side pocket. It appears Thor the cat (really a kitten since he isn’t a year old yet) has the “let’s push it and see where it goes” feline tendency. At least that is my theory on why all my bits and bobs were at the bottom of the pocket. It is a good thing he is cute.
Photo description: Approximately 20 elastic hair ties, a dozen hair combs, three dozen hair pins, and a couple barrettes on a side table with a pocket on the right where they were all hiding.
I was commissioned to do a desktop inspirational piece on leadership recently. The parameters required fancy paper and something subtly rebellious. I found deckle edge recycled cotton paper, and did a design in Adobe Illustrator that says “Leadership is helping others grow” with custom mirrored leafy vines. The dot and dash borders are actually morse code and the bottom line says “let me work”. The top line uses more colorful language.
The paper went through my inkjet printer beautifully. I painted the leaves with various colors of iridescent inks, so each piece was unique.
Photo description: Deckle edge paper printed with black ink and colored with iridescent inks on cardboard surrounded by ink bottles and a paint pallet.
I then suspended the finished paper in a purchased desktop frame that uses two sheets of glass slid into a slot in the side of the frame. I really like the look of suspended art, especially with the lovely raw edge of the paper.
Photo description: Light wood frame with suspended art in the foreground, an additional two frames just visible in the background.
This design is also now available on my brand new TeePublic site!
Site note: My slide over to the blog title: Critters and Craft seems to have worked. The old link ofchickensandcraft.home.blog links to the new crittersandcraft.blog domain. Gotta love dynamic labels.
Photo description: Gray tabby with his back paws standing on the floor and reaching his front paws onto the counter. Calico cat watching on a pink fuzzy blanket on the couch in the background, and in the foreground, one fuzzy ear of a black dog.
I saw Thor the cat stretch up to reach the counter and marveled at how far he stretched. To get the picture I put one of his toys up there. He’s 10 months old.
Oops, WordPress helpfully reminded me that it was my 5th year blogging anniversary… on January 19th. The traditional 5-year anniversary gift is wood. I love carving wood and making shavings and sawdust, but I currently don’t have time. I thought I would have AI whip something up for me, but it kept wood burning the edges of the “5”, so I grabbed a leaf photo and some wood grain from my collection, then added a chiseled emboss and a drop shadow. The original picture of the leaves and the wood was nearly the same tone, so I played with a hue adjustment layer and fell in love with the teal. (I really wanted to do a color-shifting background in an animated GIF, but wasn’t sure it would work on the site. Future tests are in order.)
Photo description: Carved wood number 5 on a bed of teal colored leaves, completely Photoshopped.
I also just secured the crittersandcraft.blog domain name. My chickens are aging, and I’m not going to get more, so it seems strange to have a chicken and craft blog, when I don’t post much about chickens. Now to figure out how to make the switch and not break anything. Or maybe I already have. Technology is my frenemy.
Critters and Craft 