I just turned the big 3..0.. on Wednesday (YIKES huh) No, but seriously I had a really nice Birthday and my future hubby got me some really awesome kitchen gadgets as well. Years ago, I'd have been highly offended by such gestures (inner feminist, ahem) but I really enjoy doing crafty "chick" stuff in the kitchen and around my house now. I had a former boyfriend buy me a blender for my birthday many years ago (17ish) and we'll just say the reception was not a warm fuzzy one ;) I was like what's next... a vacuum, what is this the 1930's?!? (lol) I find it SUPER COMICAL & WAY IRONIC, because I actually asked for a blender this year for my B-day, and I look forward to purchasing a new vacuum come tax time!!! Sorry (not sorry) EX (you know who you are) this wild child was just not ready to be tamed or ready for birthday blenders or the "girly" kitchen life then LOL! Anyways... I received a late B-day present via mail today, which happens to be a new set of 4 super cute soup bowls!
They are fiesty, but darling and they match my SW decor :) (am I really saying this, I'd have slapped myself ten years ago for that very statement) WOW, how we change as time goes by, huh!??!
With these CRAZY changes, I've also become much more environmentally friendly and considerate of my carbon footprint on this lovely planet. That being said, I was sort of bummed when I opened this massive box FULL of packing peanuts (like aren't those things illegal now, seriously?!). To find four glorious, but nonetheless, small soup bowls in this HUGE box filled with those wretched packing peanuts made me a tad sad. With all this high tech stuff in the world, we still haven't discovered a more eco-friendly way of protecting soup bowls (banned packing peanuts, ELLO) and the like during shipping!?! SERIOUSLY, I haven't seen packing peanuts used for years!
I was able to fill 3 grocery sacks full of those lame things! I didn't have the heart to just go dumping them into the trash, so with my thrifty hippie wheels turning, I bagged them and decided to store them away for a future craft. Maybe fluff for a pet bed or a beanbag type chair, not quite sure yet, but I do know I wasn't about to throw them into the trash to go float around in the cosmos or rot in some hideous landfill. :/
As for the box, I had an immediate plan! It's almost Christmas (FYI) and you know who loves a good box??? CATS! Cats L.O.V.E. boxes. I've truly NEVER, met a cat that disliked a nice box lol. SERIOUSLY tho. If your cat is anti-box, you might want to seek medical attention because they are seriously ill! Why waste money buying your cat something it might not love, when a good box will be 99.9% effective in making them super happy this holiday season and chances are you have a nice box that needs a good home just laying about anyway?! As soon as I brought that over-sized, foam-filled box inside, my cats eyes lit up like it was already Christmas!
So commenced the way effective and SUPER cheap KITTY CUBICLE aka cat tent!
I had recently seen on Pinterest a cat tent. I thought to myself well what a glorious, yet way simple idea! However, this method involved wire hangers, tools, and just much more work than really necessary for my furry rascals. My cats were ready to just chill in the new box as is, but the cat tent inspired me when I saw that large box to take it up just a notch, since it is Christmas time for humans and ANIMALS after all! Personally, I'm always looking for a simpler, yet effective way of doing things. Call it lazy, but I call it crazy to put anymore effort/work/time/stress/ resources or the like into something unless it truly generates a better outcome! Hence, the kitty cubicle was born. No fancy tools or deconstructing of hangers necessary, just a decent sized box, scissors &or strong tape, staples, a large T-Shirt, and a normal, box-loving cat :)
What you need:
~A cute, large T-Shirt (that you are ready to re-purpose and that can be feasibly stretched across the size of the box you choose)
~Scissors &or Heavy Duty Tape (like a masking or duct tape)
~A basic stapler and staples (a heavy duty staple gun would work too, just be cautious that kitty might get stabbed by the staples if they go to far through the box, so you might want to either bend those larger staples or just use a smaller stapler)
And a box big enough to comfortably fit a cat or 2 in it. (my cats will find a way to squish into a shoe box, but you want a bigger box for safety purposes, a nice cozy sized box lol)
Gather your gadgets and supplies ^. No need to gather the cats, if you build it they will come (lol). No, but seriously they will! My three cats were very involved and wanted to hangout in the cubicle while I was building it LOL! WIN, well for them at least. For those constructing, not so much, but I could tell it was going to be a smash hit right from the start :)
1st tape down or cut off the open ended box flaps to your soon to be entrance for the kitty cubicle.
Next, simply stretch the T-Shirt over the box and align the neck hole with the open end of the box. If the shirt has a design element you are particularly found of & (or a stain you don't) want visible, align it now before any staples are committed.
Next pull the sleeves as snug or tightly across the box as possible and apply a few staples to the very ends of the sleeve. Penetrating into the box to secure. Just a few staples per sleeve ought to do.
Then, stretch the open ends of the T-Shirt tightly across the closed bottom of the box and secure with staples. You want it to be stretched as tightly as absolutely possible when stapling to avoid floppy loose ends or sagging. When the T-Shirt can't stretch anymore without heavy tension, apply staples as close to the T-Shirts edges as possible! I also recommend stapling the T-Shirt in direct opposites. Meaning, Top-Bottom, Side-Side just like when folding wrapping paper on a present.
Pull the fabric as tightly as possible the entire time and only secure the very edges with as minimal staples as possible. Though it is just a box covered in a shirt(lol), you don't want it to look like you got into a staple shootout with it or be a complete eyesore laying around! Last, but not least, back away vurry slowly and watch the cats curiously creep toward the magical kitty cubicle lol! So easy, and WELL worth the 10 minutes labor, old T-Shirt, and the few staples needed to construct this little play palace! I hope your furry family members enjoy this little creation as much as mine do. Furthermore, you could lay an old pillowcase or such in the bottom for bedding or watch them get jiggy with it by sprinkling a little catnip inside! Cats Christmas present~check :)
~My Kitty Cubicle was (P)inspired by this neat Cat Tent Bed found at http://www.practicallyfunctional.com/diy-cat-tent-bed/#_a5y_p=2507733 go give it a glance for further inspiration of your own :)
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