Mini Rat Cage

The cage is miniature, not the rats. Yes, those exist.

So, I'm getting a new rat in about a month, and I needed a separate cage for her to live in for the first few weeks, before I start socializing her with my other two. There is a common method people use for making a spare cage (often referred to as a hospital tank, because it's also used when a rat is sick and needs to be separated from the colony.) It's also a great travel cage, because it's so light, has built-in handles, and it's spill-proof.

It's fairly simple. You start with a plastic bin. Cut out the top, and insert an appropriately-sized piece of chicken wire.


The chicken wire is kept in place with wire tied through holes I drilled in the top.



I drilled some small holes in the side for the water bottle. Two small holes for its wire hanger and one large one for the nozzle to go through. This part was a little trickier because the tub is made of a sturdier plastic than the lid, so there was a danger of it cracking. I did get one small crack, but it didn't go very far, so I'm not too concerned about it.


That's it! Now I have a spare cage for my new rat when she arrives in February. I'm very excited. I'll post pictures when I have the new rat and the cage is furnished.

More crafting news later in the week.

Bento Boxes

I haven't had much time lately for official crafting, but I did take a minute this weekend to treat myself to a hobby I haven't indulged in in a while: making bento boxes.

Brandon was in town for the weekend, and I like to pack him a lunch for Monday at work when he's in town. I decided to throw together some traditional bento recipes, with a bit of a twist.

You may remember my spicy carrot salad recipe from back at my old craft blog (the imported entry is here.) It's one of my favorite bento staples. It's very salty and spicy, so it adds a bit of zing to a mostly-white-rice bento.

I was out of sesame seeds this time, so I didn't add any. But it was still yummy.

Then I tried a couple new things. Firstly, I have some homemade cole slaw in the house, which is new. Brandon showed me how to make it, it's way easier than I thought. In any case, I usually use yogurt as a creamy balance to all the salty soy sauce-based dressings I make. But I found this time that cole slaw works wonderfully!

Lastly, I wanted something with a bit of tang. Brandon doesn't like plain hard boiled eggs, so I knew I had to marinate them in something, so I used red wine vinegar. It gave the egg a lovely pink color, which contrasted beautifully with the yolk once the egg was cracked open. However, I don't think I marinated them long enough. Lessons for next time.

Here is the completed bento!

So, there's green peas for nutrition and color. And that's rice seasoning on the rice for flavor and color. And some chocolate gold coins for Channukah in the corner.

It turned out really well. I loved the balance of colors and flavors. I just need to do it again, fix my mistakes from this time, and make it PRETTY! I'll post a photo when I have a more professional version of this bento.

Back to crafting soon, I promise!

Valerie: Facebook Halloween

Hey everyone,

I'm going to interrupt our normal posts with a handmade Halloween costume, because I'm just that proud of it.

About two weeks before Halloween, Mike and I decided to head up to a Halloween party in Michigan. Frantic brainstorming for costumes began, and Mike popped out the idea, "Let's go as Facebook and Twitter!" Awesome. Unfortunately, I ended up having to work, so I could go to the party, but I still managed to whip together a Facebook costume for Mike in one night. I don't have "in process" pictures, but it should be pretty simple to follow along anyway.





For the front, I chose to use the Facebook icon logo. I used a 12"x12" square of blue felt for the back, and white felt for the front. I drew the "f" by hand on a piece of card stock, using a ruler to get my lines straight and referring constantly to the computer to make sure I got the dimensions right. Then I cut out my cardstock "f" and traced around it on the felt using my disappearing ink marker (seriously, the best tool ever). Cut out the "f", pinned it, and then veerrryyy carefully sewed the two pieces together. I have a big problem with sewing curves, so I went very slowly. Then I pinned the whole icon down and carefully sewed it to the shirt.




For the arms I just used a ever-useful Sharpie and carefully copied down the "Information" column from Mike's profile (sorry for the covered information), and the side column from the main page. I tried to pay close attention to the details to make it more realistic.



The blue band at the top of the front and back is spray paint. I just taped off the lines I wanted and covered the rest of the shirt with newspaper. I should have been a little more careful taping down the newspaper in the front, because some of the paint got through, but it's not too noticeable.

The white text and "News Feed" were done with puffy paint straight from the bottle. I tried to use only a small amount so it would be more 'flat paint' than puffy paint. The rest is more sharpie. I sent Mike off with keychain sharpies so people at the party could write their own status updates. Mike says everyone loved it, and the shirt came back covered, so I must have done something right!

Have a great week,

Valerie

Catching Up: Personal Projects

Amanda, here. And I'm armed and ready with my official excuse for being so scarce around the ol' blog here. I've been crazy busy with personal projects lately. Luckily, I took lots of pictures so I could share with you guys.

Firstly, I had a chili sauce party a few weeks ago. I had a bunch of friends over and we spent the day making two big batches of homemade chili sauce. Here are the highlights:

It was like tomato-mania in my kitchen for a while. We had approximately 60 tomatoes and 20 onions. It was wild.

First, we had to blanch them (heat them up, then cool them down really fast)...

then peel them and chop them up...

then we strained them, and finally we threw them in the pot with the onions, vinegar and sugar.

I'm not sure how, but we never ended up getting any photos of the pots full of chili sauce. How disappointing. But I did get photos of the canning process:

You have to sterilize the jars before you fill them.

... and if you forget to bring a canning funnel, filling them can be kind of messy.

We ended up with a lot of jars. It was fantastic.

My other project was the new rat cage! Brandon assisted me as we built a new, improved rat complex based on Kelli's own design. I didn't get many 'in-progress' photos of this project, as it basically sat on our living room floor for 2 weeks and we would work on it whenever we got time. But I can show you a bit of it:

Brandon drew up a blueprint because, unlike me, he understands that carpentry requires planning.

We bought a bunch of 2x2s and I spent two mornings staining them all. Two coats, for extra water-proofing. Or, in the case of a rat cage, urine-proofing.

Brandon assembled the frame, then I took the chicken wire, cut it, bent it to fit, and tacked it in place. The finished product is amazing. The litter boxes slide underneath for easy cleaning.

They love to climb around and play in their new cage.


I also decided to put their food in the top hammock, to encourage them to climb. Otherwise they would just hang out on the bottom.

So now you know what I've been up to lately. And I'm sorry again for the hiatus. But I should have lots of projects to show you soon. Stay tuned!

Val: Experimental Knitting and more!

Alright, so. Life has been a bit crazy lately, what with the wedding and moving and all. But, we're finally settled in, and still unemployed, so there's been an explosion of crafting.

First, before we moved, Mike and I spent a few days with Amanda and did some shopping. We found this great, huge, old desk for $20 at a university surplus sale!

Getting it the hour and a half back home with us was an interesting challenge, but Amanda generously loaned us the back of her pretend SUV and drove the hour and a half to drop it off at our house.

It obviously needs some work, but it's turning into a fun project for us. We're currently in the stripping/sanding stage, and we discovered a beautiful reddish wood underneath the gobs of light finish. More details as the project progresses.


Next up, I've been playing around with knitting. I'm really, really new to it - this is only my second project - but I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. I wanted to play around with knitting and purling, so I was planning on making a scarf using stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row). Well ... only a third of the way through it, I was getting a bit tired of the project and I realized that I wouldn't have enough yarn to make a proper scarf, so instead I turned it into the Etsy favorite: a cowl!

So, here's the process. I totally made this up as I went along, so no guarantees that I found the easiest way to do it.

The would-be scarf:


I had a lot of fun when I started knitting with this yarn because I had no idea how it was going to knit up. Once I decided to make my piece into a cowl, I knit a few more rows to make sure it would be large enough to go around my neck with a bit of overlap. When it seemed long enough, I cast off from my needles and sewed the extra yarn into the ends of the scarf. Just a warning, since it's stockinette stitch, the edges naturally curl a lot.

The cowl would have tried to suffocate me if I'd worked with it as is, not to mention being unruly from the curl, so I folded it in half (wrong side in) and bound the edges together essentially making a tube. I was lucky that my yarn made a striped pattern, because I was able to match up the lines and make sure that I was sewing evenly. When I was done with the side, I also bound one of the ends.


All bound up and ready for buttons:


I apologize for the slightly blurry photos, it wasn't until the next picture that I realized my camera has a manual focus that makes shots like these so much easier!


I had no idea how to make button holes, and I had a tiny inkling that I needed to have knit them into the piece itself, so I decided to use loops to secure my buttons instead. I braided three strands of the yarn together and eyeballed how long they needed to be to hook around my buttons (which I hadn't attached yet). I pulled the braid around a stitch and made sure both ends were tightly knotted. As an afterthought, I used normal sewing thread and sewed the knots together so they wouldn't pull back through the knitting.

To attach the buttons, I just threaded one short length of yarn through the button and the knitting and tied it tightly on the inside.

A note: While you're working on the loops and buttons, one hand needs to be inside the tube, so it can get a little awkward at times, but it isn't too bad. For the most part, I worked with my tube inside out so I could get to the knots easier.


Turn your work right-side out and you're done!


The next step is to put your cowl away somewhere safe and enjoy the rest of the summer!







Let me know if you have any questions!

Next up: A long sleeved t-shirt refashion.

Val: Cake Topper Success!

So, since my wedding is in just two weeks, there have been tons of DIY craft projects flying around my house (in the case of tissue flowers, quite literally). I just found my camera, and got batteries and the computer cord for it so I'll hopefully be posting about several more of these in the coming weeks.

For today though, our cake toppers!

I started with a lump of Paperclay, which is made mainly out of volcanic ash and so dries fairly lightweight. 8oz was enough to make both toppers, which ended up about 6 and 7 inches tall.
This was the first time I'd worked with Paperclay. It was slightly more frustrating to make minor adjustments than clay from my past ceramics class, but not too bad overall. I found that the key was to keep it wet enough.


(thank you, Thing)

I didn't have my camera so I don't have "in the making" shots. Instead, I'll get straight to the good stuff! A warning, we are giant nerds.

Ta da!



I worked on Jedi Mike first, since his basic shape was a lot easier. There weren't any major problems putting him together, but it is really difficult to get a dowel into a lump of clay straight without ruining the form. It actually sticks up a tiny bit on the side of his neck, but only I'd notice
.

Mugshots!

Making Jedi Val was a lot harder, since I'm a lot more curvy. I tried to break it down into basic shapes and then piece them back together. I was really glad no one was looking over my shoulder while I was shaping her though, she looked pretty awful for a while. Hips are really hard to get even! She took about twice as long to do as Jedi Mike. I also put her on her dowel earlier in the process than Jedi Mike, which had benefits and drawbacks. The benefit was that she was a lot easier to hold and shape, the drawback was that she kept sliding down and trying to take off her own head. Kind of sad, but she ended up with a "scar" in the same place on her neck where mine is, which I found endlessly amusing.




One of the great things about Paperclay is that it dries hard in 24 hours, and after that is easily sandable. This helped me get rid of a hunchback on Jedi Val (whoops!). I used a 220 grit sand paper because it was what I had lying around, and it wasn't too harsh.

I'm hoping we'll get pro pictures of these at the wedding, so I can share better pictures eventually.

This is something I can do again, but very likely won't for a while. It was a good 8-10 hours of work, all told.

Tell me what you think!

Val's Thank-you cards (Amanda's old blog)

I finally finished the "H" block print! So, I drove up to Lansing and hung out with Val for a day. We went to Staples and she bought some cardstock. I cut the sheets in half, then used my (Martha Stewart) bone folder and folded them into little cards. Then it came time to start printing them!

I was in Farmington staying at my mom's place this weekend because it was my stepsister's baby shower on Saturday. I gave her the baby blanket I knit (which I forgot to get a final photo of, sorry!) and she liked it. So, I knew I was going to have some time on Friday night while I was staying with my mom, so I brought the block print and my printing gear, and set up shop in her living room (as usual).





We used her clothes-drying rack to hang them overnight to dry.

Some of them were a bit off center, or too crackly or too heavy. I'm printing way more than they need so I can toss the rejects.


I'm back in Kzoo and I decided to do another batch today.


The printing part is the easy part of the process, carving the prints takes much, much longer. To print them you just have to roll the ink out on a smooth surface(That paper is laminated, it's all I have at the moment. I'm just using it up until I can get something better.), then once you have a nice, even coat on the roller, you roll it onto the block itself:



Then, center the paper carefully and press down:



It takes a little bit of time and rubbing around, feeling to make sure you've hit every portion of the pattern. But the results are great! Cue the super artsy blog photo!


Yay for thank-you cards!



I'm pretty excited about this project. While Val isn't a customer, this is my first large project - and my first real project for someone else. It turns out it's really easy to print a large number of prints, and it means less ink goes to waste, since you have to use enough to roll it out - no matter whether you're printing 50 or just one.

A rookie mistake (Amanda's old blog)

Hello! Sorry it's been so long. Life has been too hectic for crafting. But I did start a knitting project today. I hope to have photos of that later.

I'm just checking in really quickly and uploading some photos for Val to check out.

You know that "H" block print I was doing for her thank-you notes? Well, I made that same rookie mistake I keep making. Yeah, I carved it backwards. You see, when you do a block print, the image should be backwards in the linoleum so it prints frontwards. But it looks so pretty frontwards, I keep carving it that way. I REALLY need to work on that.

But I decided to do a test print anyway, just in case this style isn't what Val wants. So I have some photos. If Val likes them, I will re-carve it (properly) and re-print it. And then I can be done with that hard linoleum block I hate so much. I'm using the soft stuff from now on.

Here are the three prints I did:


Yeah. I know. Backwards H. It's a bit disorienting.


So, there are a few areas I want to touch up. Namely the curve at the bottom - it's not smooth enough, it looks more like an ink droplet. Also the right side (which SHOULD be the left side) is too thick. I could still fix that on this one, actually. And that bottom rectangular part didn't turn out as uniform as I would have liked.

I really think I can fix all these things on a second try. I'm really proud of this print - except for the backwards part, of course.



Ta-ta fa na!

Actual Crafts? On a craft blog? (Amanda's old blog)

My dad commented today that this so-called craft blog has sort of degraded into a rat blog. And he's right. Things have been hectic lately, and I haven't had much time for crafting. But I managed to fit in a small project today, despite the fact that this week is pretty jam-packed for me. I think it's a definite example of 'if you want something done, give it to a busy man.'

My roommates Stacy and Eric are getting married in a couple months, so Stacy has got her plate full with lots of wedding projects and planning. Yesterday, she was looking at designs for their guestbook. She found a graphic of a calla lilly that she really liked. She showed it to me and asked if I could do a block print of it for her! We also discussed the possibility of me actually making their guestbook for her, which would be really fun.

I happened to have some linoleum lying around, so i took one of my smaller pieces, cut it in two and made 2 prints. The first print was a bit too heavy, also it was facing the wrong way. I still like it. I think I can clean it up and make it a bit more delicate. The stamen in the flower turned out beautifully.


This is what it looks like when it prints.


And here's the actual linoleum block after I inked it up.

I love the woody texture in the background of block prints. But stacy didn't want that, so I had to carve it deep so all that would print is the flower.

The second try was aimed at getting it facing the right direction, and also making it dantier and more detailed.


This is the print - sorry for the strange angle. Lighting in my living room was not very good today.


And here's the block print. This one is so pretty, I really like how it turned out.

I'm pretty impressed with myself. The second try turned out really nicely. I was very patient with it - I knew Stacy wanted something delicate, so I had to be careful. She didn't end up liking the second print because of the little spiral at the base of the flower. She also changed her plans for the guest book later today, but I was glad to have the inspiration. She gave me a design, specific instructions, and incentive to be very delicate with my work. Now I have 2 new prints for my etsy shop when it opens in July! I'm very excited about this.

I'm thinking my next few block print designs will be:
-A dagger or sword (or both)
-the Heroes symbol
-Some Star Wars symbols, like the rebel alliance and the galactic republic symbol.


I'm glad I finally have crafts to share with you! Sorry dad, about all the rat updates. They're just so cute. ^_^

Rat Stuff! (Amanda's old blog)

Finally! I cleaned out the rat cage and took photos. The rats weren't too happy with me. I put them in their running ball while I cleaned the cage, and they kept running it up to me and bumping me in the side.

So, I made their cage more or less from scratch.


Here's the whole cage. Their water bottle is hanging off the side on the right. There are 2 access panels, one at the front and one on the top. The running wheel is on the right at the middle, the hammock is at the top left. Their food bowl is at the bottom left, their litter box is at the top right. Their nesting box is hard to see here, it's on the left in the middle.


You can see the levels a bit more clearly here. There are some cardboard toys on the bottom right. A paper towel tube and a macaroni and cheese box. The wad of paper towel hanging on the bottom left is a 'ratty pinata.' The tube leading from the bottom shelf to the second shelf is 3-inch PVC pipe.


I used the panels from an old collapsible shelving unit for the sides. It was Brandon's idea to connect them using zip-ties. The only problems were the corners, which had big escape-able holes. So I took some heavy wire and covered them.


Not all the corners are quite this tidy. I plan to fix up the messy corners some time.

The floors are linoleum tiles cut to fit

Isn't he a cutie? See the rope in the background? it's a doggie rope - they crawl up it to get from level 3 to 4.


Here they are hanging out in the hammock and nesting box:

Their nesting box is just an old tissue box. I change them periodically, when it gets too messy or too chewed up.

The hammock is SUPER ghetto, it's just a washcloth hung up by oversized paper clips:

I change it every couple weeks. It gets pretty messy. I have a couple that I cycle through. They LOVE the hammock. It's where they spend most of their time.


When I want to play with them outside their cage, I put up the 'play pen.' It's made from some cardboard boxes I cut apart and taped back together in a line - one of the boxes is from the espresso machine Brandon got me for Channukah!

On the right side is the 'box game' as I call it. It's just a cardboard box filled with crinkled papers and tissues, with different treats hidden amongst the mess. There are 2 exit holes for them to crawl out. When I close the top, it's nice and dark. They really like it. I got the idea here. Unfortunately, the play pen is too short. They can jump to the top if they try hard enough. So I need to make a taller one some time soon.

They normally like the box game, but I think they were overwhelmed by all the commotion today. They immediately tried to jump out, even before I could close it!



Another really cheap toy is the little hideaway box.

I call it that because the rats always need a safe hideaway when they're playing and exploring on the floor. They need somewhere they can feel safe.


That's everything I have photos of for now. I forgot to get pictures of the closures on the doors. It's not too exciting, I just wound some wire around the edge of the panel, then bent the other end so I could clip it into the mesh on the other side.

I hope you enjoyed this entry! The rats are having fun running around inside my hoodie. ^_^