It’s been a little while since we’ve posted, and I apologize for that. Between day job deadlines, birthdays, and the holidays, some things had to take a back seat. The blog was one of them. Zoodle and I were still making crafts, I just didn’t have time to write up posts. One of the crafts we made was this one: simple, fun cat toys to enjoy with your furry family members.
This is one that Zoodle came up with all by herself. She came up to me one night and told me she wanted to blog, and she wanted to make cat toys as her blog post. She’d already convinced her dad to cut down the dowels, all we had to do was make the rest happen. I couldn’t really say no at that point, could I?
Well, I probably could have, but I’d have felt like a huge jerk.
You don’t need much for this simple craft. The materials list is simple:
2 wooden dowels
Trim, of varying lengths
A hot glue gun
Scissors
Cut your trim to different lengths. You can make it all the same length, too, if you really want. I don’t think the cats care all that much.
Collect your bunches of trim into a bunch and tie a good, solid knot at the end.
Use the hot glue gun to attach the trim to one end of the dowel.
Let it dry.
Go run and frolic with your cat. As an alternative, you can use these as odd magic wands for imaginative play with your child.
As you can see in the video, the whole project was developed from start to finish by the Zoodle, who was seven at the time. It’s definitely a kid-friendly project. As always, you know your child and their limitations best.
Not too long ago, my day job was absolutely killing me. I had a big deadline, I was desperately behind, and I had no child care at all. I needed to find some way of keeping the Zoodle entertained while I worked. Fortunately for me, I had one already on hand: a no-sew blanket kit I bought for her years ago.
I bought the no-sew blanket kit for her when she was still a toddler. I wanted Zoodle to develop some more fine motor skills, and this seemed like a good way to do it. I was profoundly wrong, of course. The activity was not age-appropriate for my child at that time.
Now Zoodle is older. She resisted at first, wanting something more appropriate for two people. Once she got into the task, though, she loved it. She sat there quietly and worked on that blanket for a couple of hours. I got to finish a chapter in my project.
Her no-sew blanket is now her favorite piece of bedding. She insists on sleeping with that blanket first, every night. She’s proud of her hard work, and she’s warmer to boot.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 new-sew blanket kit (We got ours at Jo-Ann’s five or so years ago)
OR
2 equal-sized pieces of fleece fabric
1 pair of scissors. Rotary cutters and a matt are fine, but not necessary
Time
Cut the ends of your fabric into roughly equal lengths of fringe. You don’t have to be precise. My advice is to cut them together. (A grown-up should do this, if kids are involved.)
Tie the fringe pieces together, knotting each piece of fabric to the other.
Cover yourself and go to sleep, content with a job well done.
It really is that easy. As with everything, you know your kids best. The Zoodle is not able to handle big-people fabric cutting scissors. Your child might. Safety first!
