Happy Cactus

On By CarynIn Flora
Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) in bloom

My Thanksgiving Cactus is doing double time. Many of the stems have two buds rather than one like last year. I’m still not doing anything special: it hangs in a northern facing window, and I water it twice a week. Every few months I add fertilizer to the water for all my plants, but this is haphazard at best, even though I have a reminder on my phone to do so. This is the window that leads to the catio, so often it is open below where the cactus hangs. The plant is often festooned with house spider webs. I am bemused that it is happy, thriving, and blooming, but I certainly enjoy that it is.

Ode to buttonhole elastic

On By CarynIn Craft, Life Hack

I first discovered button hole elastic in clothes purchased for my kids. This ingenious addition to the inside waist of pants helps harried parents tighten the waist band of their offspring’s pants without resorting to a belt, which is particularly important during the bathroom independence revolution. I purchased some for my stash, and have used it to adjust clothing, for mask elastic (during the cloth mask years), and now to hold together a rolled mat. Sewing a button on both ends of the elastic allows an adjustable way to secure the roll, and the elastic between acts as a carrying handle.

Buttons sewn to the end of button elastic
Button hole elastic used as mat roll control

I would put forth that button elastic deserves a place in any crafter’s stash, along with hot glue and duct tape.

Blanket catch

On By CarynIn dog, Life Hack

A fuzzy blanket on the back of the couch is the favorite spot for both Izzy the cat and Missy the dog. But the blanket doesn’t stay there. Up and over the back of the couch is also Missy’s favorite race track path. (I still don’t quite understand how a 20 pound, stubby-legged dog can vault up and over the couch.) The blanket usually ends up on the floor behind the couch. Arg. So I’m trying a blanket stay. I took 1/2” elastic and wrapped it around the couch cushions (these cushions are not removable).

Half inch elastic wrapped around the couch

I pulled the elastic quite snug and tied it off, then tucked the tied ends into the cracks. The blanket then gets folded in half, slid under the elastic, and folded in half again.

Blanket installed with elastic

When my youngest needs to wrap up in the blanket, it is easy to pull down, but so far I have not found the blanket on the floor, a victim of a high speed ball chase.

Missy in rest mode

Snake hide basket upgrade

On By CarynIn Craft, snake
Lid collapse

The picture above was taken the day after we put the new rope basket (see yesterday’s post) in the snake cage. He did investigate it, but in doing so knocked off the lid and squished the basket. The basket is semi-flexible, but doesn’t make a good hide if the lid is off. Hm. I decided to add a hinge and latch.

Decorative frog from my stash

I had a premade rope frog (latch) in my stash that has been stashed for a couple generations. I sewed it on the basket. To make the hinge I just sewed one side of the lid to the basket, since the sides are flexible. As I was sewing, Izzy the cat decided that she would try out the basket on my lap. She didn’t fit.

Izzy trying to squeeze into the basket
Basket open
Basket closed

This has become quite the fancy snake basket. Well, currently it is just a basket. The snake has yet to curl up in it, but it survived a night in the cage without collapsing, so we’ll see if he takes to it. At least it is washable if he decides we just gave him a second bathroom.

Snake hide basket

On By CarynIn Craft, snake

My eldest’s corn snake is a big boy, and has outgrown his favorite hide. We’ve been trying different things: he likes the large PVC tube section, but sticks out the ends, the large black plastic rectangle tub he decided was better as a bathroom than a hide, and the slabs of cork bark are fun to climb around, but not hide under. So I thought I would make him a basket. I purchased half inch polypropylene rope, which it is used for boating and is mold and mildew resistent, and sewed it together with bonded nylon thread.

Starting the basket

Sewing a coil basket was easier than I feared. I chose a method where the needle is stuck through the top of the previous row, then wrapped around the current row. To make it better for snake habitation, I built in an entrance near the base.

Basket in progress, with entrance for snake

The 50 feet of rope wasn’t quite enough to make an 11” diameter basket, so I added some red rope from my stash to the lid.

Finished snake basket with lid
Snake basket in terrarium

Now we’ll see how he likes it.