Category Archives: art/craft/design

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Cable management

Lark’s Head or Cow Hitch knot for crazy cheap cable management with any string/yarn/etc. you have: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/basic-macrame-knots-4176636

Or a noose knot can work too:

Noose Knot | How to tie a Noose Knot using Step-by-Step Animations | Animated Knots by Grog

If the Cow Hitch knot loosens too much you can secure it with the Noose Knot (or a true Slip Knot).

Now I want to go prettify my cables with macrame…..

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Wood Fidget Working

Discussion on woodworking and needing to sand something:

the best way to do it was honestly just to run my fingers all over it and feel for burrs and rough spots. Doing so was deeply satisfying

Allowisious

I just got into woodworking because of this, I’ve been picking up little bits of wood and either using a small file, fingernail, rock, stick, whatever I have available to work on them. I figure I can make a “fidget wood” (driftwood) mobile when I have enough of them. 😀 It’s so satisfying!

I have been trying to do it outside so I don’t have to worry about dust, but now I’m thinking a mini pouch – like a drawstring bag that opens flat – to store the wood & tool in and catch the dust when working it indoors would be good. I think I recall research about touching wood vs manmade stuff that I’m going to go look for now that I’m thinking of it…..

I also like to use pet nail grinders, nail drills or a Dremel (heavier, so that’s why I like the nail ones) for when I want to work on something, but my fingers or hands are too tired.

I’m thinking I might try making some worry wood, like a worry stone, just to carry around in a pocket to rub.

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Ikea Hack Cat Tree

Everyone always likes this idea when they see it, and I haven’t seen anything like it yet on Ikea Hacker. It cost maybe $45? The shelf was in the as-is section in Ikea for $20-25 because it has plastic stuck between the shelves that got caught when they nailed them together. I yanked/cut most of it away. The sisal rope I think was $10 from the hardware store, and no glue or staples needed to attach it. $10 Petco donut bed sits on the top shelf. Sweater and two random carpet samples on the other shelves were free. Not the loveliest, but easy, fast, and not really any uglier than those carpet trees that run $100-$200.

Although you could do this with a standard shelf, the corner one makes it super easy to stagger the shelves so the cats have easy steps (especially nice for my older cats).

The cat tree/tower in use:
1-IMAG1699

2-IMAG1216

3-IMAG0893

4-IMAG0792

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Happy New Year!

Got VixenArts.com running today for a friend, read most of Spirits in the Wires (borrowed from same friend) – who we had yummy Japanese with at Katana in Sunnyvale yesterday. Also went to see The Princess and the Frog – it was great!

Having a family dinner tonight, the cooking started at three, and folks should start to arrive shortly. Tomorrow we plan to see either Avatar or Sherlock Holmes.

And before I forget – Mel’s brownie sundae sucks, bleh! Only one as bad or worse than Baskin Robbins so far.

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Today’s Stuff of the Moment

Too bad this place doesn’t ship here:

  • sofa 1 – Alabama Sofa – This is the kind of sofa I think is most comfy – rounded arms and loose pillows you can arrange however
  • sofa 2 – Granada Sofa – I like how this looks, though it’s not what I’d want for myself.
  • table – Valentino Oak Table – Love the table, hate the chairs.
  • rug – Dash Rug – Why are nice rugs like this so hard to find?

More pretties!

This stuff supposedly works great for pet hair too: Gal Pal Garment Deodorant Remover

Felt is the new fabric of the moment it seems. Here’s “How to Make Felt Doors” (from apartment therapy).

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Only this past year did we get around to building our own felt doors, and we love them. They slide easily, baffle sound and take up no room.

The toughest part was finding the right felt. It turns out that to get good felt you have to go to industrial suppliers who sell this stuff for aircraft engine mounts and other heavy vibration situations. Here’s what we ended up with.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 inch white wool felt from Sutherland Felt Company @ $75 a yard
• Hospital track, endcaps and rolling hooks from MedicalProductsDirect.com
• Thick brown leather from a place on Bleecker Street that charged me too much
• White spray paint
• Silicone spray

Other felt suppliers:
• Southeastern Felt
• Central Shippee
• Aetna Felt

Tools:
• eXacto knife
• Drill with 1/4 drill bit

Steps:

1. Measure your doorway and order your felt large enough for both panels to more than cover the opening both side to side and up and down. It comes 72″ wide so you are in the best shape if you only have to buy one length and have them cut it down the middle for two 3′ wide pieces.

2. Order your hospital track to all felt door to slide out to the side in both directions. It only comes in silver, but don’t worry, you can paint it.

3. Mount your track on the ceiling and as tight to the door as possible so that the felt will hug the opening.

4. Insert end caps and rolling hooks. Spray with silicone to ease movement.

5. Masking off area around track, spray with white paint to blend in with ceiling.

6. Hold up felt and measure to fit.

7. Trim felt down with eXacto knife.

8. Using 1/4″ drill bit, drill holes in top of felt about 1″ down and 3″ apart. Also drill holes for leather handles as well.

9. Stitch leather handle on with leather thong.

10. Hang felt from hooks.

If desired (We haven’t done it yet, but plan to) you can use extra felt to attach at the top and hide the hooks that are poking out. We would stitch it together in the same way as the handles.

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Cuteness for the win!

http://farm.avocadolite.com/
But if you’re looking for patterns to learn how to make these kinds of animals, Google is your best bet. Just search using “amigurumi pattern” as keywords, you’ll see long list of pattern you can use.

Links to finish with later:
http://www.meomi.com/
http://www.meomi.com/calendar.html
http://www.pixelgirlshop.com/
http://www.octonauts.com/goodies.html
http://www.dreamessentials.com/a_mask_dream_pillow.aspx
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/09/index.html
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/08/index.html
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/07/index.html
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/06/index.html

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Link Bonanza

Hardware options for my place (I almost lost all these, luckily the browser unfroze):

Other stuff: