As you know, a great favourite in perheeni is the Packing Tape Toy, and I have even sent some out as gifts and the recipients have confirmed these are great fun. So I have persuaded Äiti to show how they are made. They are very, very easy to make - and in fact this one was done before Äiti's cup of tea was ready to drink.
So you need: packing tape, maybe about 1m, thicker cord, a cable tie (for some reason there are four in the picture), scissors, pliers and a flame - this is why we have the lighter. The cup of tea is optional.
The packing tape we use is about 1cm wide - it is the stuff that is pulled around large cardboard boxes and is really bad for the environment as it is so tough.
An optional extra is a helping paw from a feline assistant - Seppo took away the cable ties. Now we know why there were 4 - the spares were to distract helpers!
Cut the tape into lengths of about 8cm long put them on top of each other in a pile, and then fold over.
Thread the cord through the top
Wrap a cable tie round so the cord is caught between the fold and the cable tie.
Pull the tie tight with the pliers.
Cut off the end of the tie - it might be sharp.
If it is sharp, gently heat the end with the flame. Be careful not to melt anything else, just gently heat and the end of the tie melts and smooths itself off.
Now you can see the cord is held firmly.
Knot the cord.
Trim the cord on one side. If it is nylon it will fray.
So use the flame to heat it to melt the ends. Be careful again.
Cut the the end of the cord to whatever length you want. Then attach this to a wand or stick.
And if you want, fold out the pieces of tape. In time they will get pulled and chewed anyway.
Test the toy.
If it meets with approval, you have succeeded.
Remember though that string toys can get tangled and also some of us like to eat the string, so make sure that it is used safely.
If anyone does make one, send us a photo of it being played with - we'd be very proud! And if any companies are reading and want to market this - we got the idea first so we should get all the profits, hehehehe.
We have found this is a great interactive toy for many of us to play. Our string is over a metre long so many of us can join in as it is swung around the living room.
13 comments:
What a neat toy!
Hey Peepers! Come see this neat toy!!! Do you think you could handle tryin' to make one of those for me, Peepers? Looks pretty easy. What do you think?
Purrs,
Nissy
Thanks for the instructions on making that super toy....we're not sure Mom's talented enough to make one for us.
The Florida Furkids
Well thank COD you published this as ours is already sadly ragged!
That is so easy, even my human could make it! But I must disagree - I do not consider a feline supervisor optional. It is absolutely necessary.
One werd: "PAWSOME"
Cool! I have to show this to my secretary and tell her to do one for me! If only I can found the packing tape...
Very clever! Ja hyvät ohjeet myös.
We are going to ask Mommy to make one for us. Thank you for the tutorial!
Also, we saw the "cable tie spider" you made for Spitty and we asked Mommy to make us one, then two, then three. We LOVE them!
We need to send our mom out to buy supplies TODAY!
What a pawsome toy! We is going to have a talk with the mom. It seemed simple enough for her feeble brain, MOL
Sasha, Sami, & Saku
What a pawsome toy! We is going to have a talk with the mom. It seemed simple enough for her feeble brain, MOL
Sasha, Sami, & Saku
That is a great toy and so easy to make with Aiti's good instructions.
A great toy and looks easy to make with your clear instructions. think there are going to be lots of kitties trying those out.
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