01 January 2018

Fixing the cats' scratching post


This cat tree is several years old now and they just still love to dig their claws into it. The rope startet to come off which is why it was about time to fix it. While we're at it, I decided to upgrade it with a splash of color.


Materials

To fix a cat scratching post you'll need: 
  • Sisal rope
  • Stapler gun and staples
If you want to add a bit of color you'll also need textile color,  I used this pink textile color for example.










Instructions

First remove the old, worn out sisal rope from the scratching post with scissors if necessary. Also remove any staples you might still find that are sticking out of the scratching post. If you leave part of the old rope fixate the end of the rope with the stapler gun to the scratching post.

Next make sure your new rope is as thick as the remaining sisal rope on the scratching post. The natural colored rope on the bottom half the original rope that came with the scratching post while the pink rope ended up slightly thinner. Since I couldn't find any other sisal rope I ordered the thinnest rope (⌀ 8mm) I could find and then untwisted the rope into four thinner ropes.


Optional: Color the rope in any color you like. Make sure you follow the instructions of your textile coloring product. I used the bath tub to color all the sisal rope so that I could stir the water and turn the rope whenever I felt it was needed and I made sure the water was at least 60°C so that the color would adhere to the rope. 

As soon as the rope has dried you can start wrapping it around the bare part of the scratching post. Staple the beginning of the rope to the post so you can pull around the post as tight as possible. When you're done just staple the end to the post again and voilĂ !



09 December 2017

Christmas decoration

There aren't many possibilities in our hallway for seasonal decorations, but our "landing stripe" can make for a little something. I arranged tiny trees and a few ornaments in a basket on some sort of decorational silver wool. The Christmas mouse just didn't have anywhere else to go.

03 December 2017

Christmas wreath

The space in our apartment is limited and so are the possibilities for Christmas decorations. So this is where I get creative to make use of space I normally wouldn't or actually don't need for anything else. Since the stair case is the least festive part of our building I figured to start at our apartment door.

I (to be honest my fiancé) used a self-adhesive hook to hang the wreath. The wreath is made of plastic so I can use it again next year because I really love how it turned out!