We turned our patio into a CATio!

Blog, this spring we could wait no longer to create an outdoor space for our cats that would permanently and completely thwart their escape attempts. While Cody is pretty well trained to stay on the concrete pad, and the girls are a bit on the lazy/homebody side, new resident Archie gave us no indication that he wouldn't take off after the first bird that appealed to his wild Tabbysinian breeding.

So, it was time to turn our patio into a catio! Well Blog, I puzzled and researched and found that there wasn't anything similar online to our situation that offered a good solution. You see, the Magic House patio is surrounded by house walls on two sides and an evergreen hedge on 80% of the hypotenuse of the space. All we needed was a way to make the hedge impenetrable, as well as a means of closing up the entry gap.

After much thought and deliberation, I determined all we needed was these four items you see on the left, and a cat gate. Not much expense at all from Amazon, and pretty simple! So here's how it went down, Blog....

After much thought, I decided the least visually obtrusive way to deal with the hedge was bird netting. I got a package of black Bird-X netting in a 7' x 20' piece. I started by cutting the piece in half the long way, yielding 40 feet of netting that was 3.5 feet in height. I took Makai's nylon paracord in a nice dark moss color, and wove it through the netting on the bottom edge. Yes, that was time-consuming, Blog.

I ran this netting under the hedge, as far back from the edge of the patio as it would go, and tacked it down with Dalen steel garden staples, keeping the cord as tight as possible. I got 20 staples for the approximately 35 feet of hedge we have, and I'm going to supplement them with another 20 just to keep that cord snug to the ground.

Lastly, I filled in all the gaps under the hedge with netting, by hooking it on branches and affixing it with green Velcro plant ties here and there to hold securely. Yes, Blog, that was also time-consuming. The toughest part was blocking the area between hedge and house. Naturally that weak point was the first place Archie tested the system, so I had to adjust it immediately. Naughty tripod kitty...well, can't really blame him for being curious on the first venture outside since he made his home with us!

The entry way to the patio was the final issue, and happily while I was installing the netting, FedEx delivered the new cat gate! I used a Cardinal Versagate pet gate because it is stable, has flexible side panels, and has narrow gaps between the bars to block small tuxedo and Tabbysinian cats. That was ALSO time-consuming, Blog--I can't really recommend this gate on the grounds of easy assembly. However, it did work out to be just the perfect design for the job.

So, now we have a catio where cats will be able to play and rest contentedly with minor supervision, and humans will no longer be required to watch with vigilance and give the felines timeouts when they try to sneak away. Spring weather has arrived late in Wisconsin, Blog, but we were prepared for that first 70-degree day so our guests and cats could party together in perfect harmony!

My Angry Birdcage

I play Angry Birds almost every day, and what of it, Blog? I will not go to rehab, no, no, no. In fact, I was determined to celebrate my addiction with some sort of appropriate craft project. Hence...my Angry Birdcage.

Obviously polymer clay was the medium of choice for making some Angry Birds, so I thought about what best to do with some Bird sculptures. I considered jewelry with Bird beads, but worried that their little crest and tail feathers might break off. To keep the bitty creatures safe, what better solution than a cage? Of course, that would require a cage in the proper scale...

Optimistically, while out on a walk with Davie, I scored a nice fallen branchlet to use for perches in my cage. And then Saturday, while shopping the 99% useless and pretty scary Everything Must Go sale at our local closing World Market, what should I find but a perfect cage for six bucks! Kismet.

So I modeled my birds to the scale of the cage, which I won't deny was a bit of a challenge, Blog. Itty bitty beaks, itty bitty tails, and almost invisibly small eye pupils, oh my. And that Blue Bird? Kinda maddening to sculpt.

Our cat Selke will demonstrate the size we are talking about here. Keep in mind she is a very small cat.

The Red Angry Bird looked nervous as well as angry. Even after he was joined by his brethren, he appeared quite on the verse of swooning. Life would be safer in a cat-proof cage.

And so I installed my twigs in the cage, lining the bottom with some moss. I mounted the Birds with Fabric Glue, which I have to tell you is awesome for an application like this. It acts as if you are creating tiny, gripping rubber bands on the fly, that can be moved around a bit to secure Bird to branch. Thank heavens for that glue...it was a real pain (ship in a bottle variety) arranging those Birds.

Quite a fine habitat if I do say so myself, and the Birds seemed pleased as well as angry.  Green Boomerang Bird looks elated, and Black Bomb Bird looks thrilled, don't you agree, Blog? I mean, as well as angry?

And here are Blue Splitting-into-Three-Birds Bird, White Egg-Dropping Bird, and Yellow Zipping Bird, getting their party on.

You'll be glad to know we have the perfect spot for this cage to hang, in the faux tree o' lights in the living room. Check out how totally awesome it looks at night, like an Angry Birdcage Disco:

Soooweet! Now our only challenge is to keep the Toast-Powered Levitating Cat from dive-bombing the little critters....

Let's make rocks!

As you know, Blog, my friend Martha from Chicago is visiting this week for what she dubbed "Social Media Boot Camp."  And what summer camp experience is complete without arts and crafts time?  So, taking a break from lessons about Facebook (she's already addicted), we had a little seminar about polymer clay.  The theme?  "Let's make rocks!"

I have tried like 50 different things to do with polymer clay, which I swear is the most versatile art medium in the world.  But I'm finding I am best at creating abstract stuff with an organic feel.  You know, imitating themes from plant life, water, and rocks and minerals, some of which you can see in the header of this blog, Blog.  That kind of thing also goes well with the Prairie Style/natural decor in our house.

So, for my next project I'm going to try doing a small (12" x 9") mural on canvas.  I will reveal all about this later, but the thing is, I needed a lot of small rocks.  Happily, Martha is the only other person I know who is obsessed with rocks.  She's been curious about polyclay for awhile, so was the perfect person to be my Polymer Clay Rock Making Sous Chef.  We set up the kitchen with pretty much every polymer clay supply I own, and settled down to making rocks till we could make rocks no more.

It seems people out there are curious about how to make rocks from polymer clay.  So let's start with the basics of what you need for this most simple of polyclay projects.  Get yourself some clay from a place like Michaels or Joann.  Obviously choose rock colors.  You'll definitely what to get some metallic colors (silver, gold, copper) and some translucent (essential), along with white pearl and various neutrals (black, gray, white, browns, and tans).  A mossy green can work too in moderation.  You may also spot the "Granitex" kind of clay which comes with little flecks already in it, another great choice.  The more colors the merrier, obviously!  As far as brands, anything works, but Sculpey III is very easy for newbies to work with and although it's not sturdy enough for many projects, is fine for this.

Clay needs to be softened up when you start to work with it.  That means either just mushing a piece up on your workboard (plastic, ceramic tile or glass), or running it through a clay-designated pasta machine, folding, and running again till blended.

There are a few basic concepts happening in rock-making that you employ individually or in combination.

1.  Color blending.  Take two or more colors of clay and combine them.  You can roll out and stack thin layers of clay, fold and twist them, or just take globs of colors and smoosh and knead them together till it looks cool.  Blend a little or a lot and get totally different effects.  Then make into rock-like shapes.

2.  Texturing.  Add texture to your rock if you want.  I made ridged rocks by rolling them over the crinkles at the corners of my aluminum foil pans.  We also rolled some in kosher salt.  After baking, washing them dissolved the salt leaving little pits.  You can also texture rocks with rough tools like a scrubber sponge, or just poke them with a needle.  But for smooth rocks, remember to smooth out your finger prints!  (Sometimes we forgot.)

3.  Inclusions.  There is no end to the stuff you can try blending into the clay to get neat rock effects.  We used herbs (ground black pepper, oregano and paprika are great choices), plant matter (finely crushed bark, dried flower petals), Perfect Pearls embossing powder, craft sand, tiny unblended bits of clay, metallic leaf, and glitter.  What really worked well too was the scrapings of clay residue from the craft mat (which we dubbed "detritus," quite an accurate term).  Other possibilities are dryer lint, inks or paints, or pretty much anything of fine texture or good blendability that won't rot or stink.  (The "Rot or Stink Test" eliminates ideas like chocolate chips and used kitty litter, neither of which is fine enough texture anyway.)

After you've made your rocks, bake them on a tray, tile, or piece of cardboard.  Polymer clay is non-toxic, but it's still not advised to use utensils or trays with it that you will later use for food preparation.  Bake at 270 degrees.  The time is determined by the thickest size of clay; 15 minutes for every 1/4" is the recommendation but I did our batch for 25 minutes, and the thickest stones were like 5/8".

Translucent clay appears clearer if you go straight from the oven to cold water.  So we dumped our whole batch of rocks in water right away.  This also dissolved the salt we used for texture. 

Dry your rocks and then sit back and enjoy the many cool effects you achieved!  Some may look amazingly like real rocks, others more like something J.R.R. Tolkien might envision, but either way they will pretty much all be rockin'.  Sorry, Blog--you knew that pun was inevitable.

What can you do with your rocks?  Well, you can use them for jewelry by poking holes through them before baking, or drilling holes afterwards, or mounting them in settings of metal  clay.  You can tile them on other clay projects like my mural, or switchplate covers or coasters.  You can build little houses of them, or put them in the bottom of clear flower vases, or sprinkle them in the litter box for a festive look.  J/K on that last, Blog.  Let your imagination go, as we so often do here at Magic House, wild.

Any questions?  Post in the comments!

Artist of [Undetermined Timeframe] #5: Graphic Designer Jennie Brown Hakim

Blog, my friend Jennie and I have known each other for over a decade but never met in person. (I should have told you to thank the Internet yesterday for friends like Jennie too.) She’s an experienced graphic artist who has used her skills to create a little cottage business. She’s living proof you can use the Web to share your creativity with the world, and make some money in the process.

Jennie shares with us:

I have designed charming little characters called Roundhedz. Roundhedz have no mouths, but they sure do have a lot to say. In real life, I don't speak out loud that much, so I often let the Roundhedz talk for me.

When I am creating Roundhedz, I get a boost in mood. Look at them – how could I not?

I have put Roundhedz on birthday cards for my friends and family, and am selling Roundhedz products on the web at:

www.CafePress.com/3Roundhedz
www.CafePress.com/Roundhedz
www.CafePress.com/TUQ
www.GreetingCardUniverse.com/RoundhedzAndMore

And here you see Jennie at work, with her creative juices flowing and some handy tea and treats to feed the muse.  I just love the bright colors she uses in her work.

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Jennie! These little guys are cute and clever, all right. So you let inanimate objects talk for you, huh? I can’t imagine what THAT’S like!

Yes, Blog, that was intentional irony.

Blog interviews Transport Tray

So, Blog, I see you have another special guest with us today. Please introduce our readers to my BFF Transport Tray!

Blog: Readers, Transport Tray. Transport Tray, readers.

TT: Oh I’m just a little tray,
       But I’m here to save the day!
       You only have two hands,
       So I’m here at your command.
       Just put your stuff inside,
       And I’ll take it for a ride.
       Basement trip or second floor,
       There’s no hassles anymore!

Blog: Cute, Transport Tray, bravo. Please tell us, and prose will suffice, how you came to be Diana’s “BFF.”

TT: Well, Blog, you see, Blog, it’s a cool story! Very exciting! Just check it! It went down like this, Diana has to have Navie, her blood glucose info receiver, near her at all times, and then the landline went away and yikes! What a situation! The landline went away, so chaos!

Blog: Settle down there, Tray. I think your thread is unraveling a little--

TT: I’ve carried thread for her too! Oh but YEAH, with the landline gone and ’Berry instead--

Blog: ’Berry being Diana’s Blackberry smart phone--

TT: Right! Right! Well, he had to be near her all the time too, I mean at first there were missed calls, it was her kids and they were all like “Momzi! You missed our calls! What’s up with that?” So ’Berry, and Navie, all the time. All the time, and what if she was in her pajamas?

Blog: What if she was in her pajamas, Tray?

TT: No pockets! Yikes! Missed calls, the kids all, “Yeah, Momzi’s gonna miss calls without a landline, she can’t handle no landline I guess.” And you can’t have pockets all the time, you know that, you KNOW that!

Blog: Diana’s not a marsupial, you’re correct.

TT: And only two hands! Not an octopus either!

Blog: ...because octopi have hands...

TT: But no fear! She found me in a drawer, just storing some stuff she doesn’t much bother with, cards and check pads, check pads, old keys, so I was........REPURPOSED.

Blog: Oooh.

TT: OOOOH!!! Repurposed! To carry her stuff! So in the morning, I carry Navie, and ’Berry, and sometimes other stuff downstairs like the drawer cookie bag.

Blog: And what, exactly, is “the drawer cookie bag”?

TT: She keeps a cookie in the bathroom drawer! For low blood sugar during the night. If she eats it, she needs a new cookie from Professor Snowcaps!

Blog: And we all know the Professor.

TT: Yes! Yes! I carry the bag, she gets a new cookie. But at night, lots to carry at night, there’s ’Berry, and Navie, and Checkers--

Blog: Hold it, I don’t believe our readers have encountered Checkers before.

TT: He’s the regular glucose monitor. For checking if Navie is right. Or when Navie is sleeping, every five days he sleeps all night. But I carry them! And other stuff! How would she carry all this, Diana isn’t square and doesn’t have rectangular sides!

Blog: She’s been called “square,” but she definitely doesn’t have rectangular sides, you couldn’t be more correct.

TT: It’s a Super Important Job.

Blog: Well yes, it certainly is, Transport Tray. And I can’t imagine anyone in the household more capable of doing it than you.

TT: Nope. Nope. Snowcaps: too big. Kitchen Lion: too small, no sides. Cody: too much fur. Alice: too much fur. Selke: too much fur and would vom on Diana’s stuff.

Blog: Indeed.

TT: ICU: too small, no sides. Drawer cookie bag: too small. A.B.: too big--

Blog: A.B. is the stove, and yes, Tray, that’s fine, let’s just stop--

TT: Davie: also only two hands. Racer Y: Not allowed in the house. Ipo--

Blog: TRANSPORT TRAY!!!

TT: What?

Blog: We are out of room now.

TT: Sometimes I’m out of room.

Blog: Yes, exactly. So say goodbye to the nice readers for today!

TT: Goodbye, nice readers, for today!
      Don’t you covet a Transport Tray?

Blog: Everyone does, Tray, everyone does.

Readers, it may be April Fool’s Day, but I assure you, this is my real life.  Honestly.  Sorry to freak you out a little bit.