Free pattern Friday: 10 free DIY cat toys!

It's pretty late, but I still think I can squeeze some free patterns in today. 

I absolutely love spoiling my cats. A lot of the time, I buy them toys (crinkly balls? Giant sparkly pom poms? Ikea mice, which are Luna's favourites?) but I also enjoy occasionally making the toys myself.

I've seen quite a few patterns/how to's online for making cat toys and other cat paraphernalia. For now, I've compiled a list of DIY cat toys here for you so that you too can feel the joy of indulging your little sweet furbabes!

(These include sewn, crocheted, felted, etc. toys, as I am not specific to my method of crafting!)

10 Free DIY Cat Toys!

1. Crocheted sardines in a crocheted tin can

You may need to create an account to see this pattern, but it is free and totally worth it to create a Lion Brand accounts. And of course, fill it with lots of catnip!

2. Sewn felt "fishing rod" style toy

I've made toys similar to this using pom poms on string, and my cats (mostly Luna though) go crazy for them! You can also crochet a fish with this free pattern to attach to the rod.

3. Felt catnip-filled "junk food" 

These are just too cute, and you could easily make any food with these methods!

4. Recycled toilet paper tube toy

This toy is not only easy to make, but you can recycle toilet paper tubes, bells, and even leftover scrap yarn!

5. Door knob hanging cat toy

This toy is good for cats that like danglies, but are alone a lot.

6. Catnip pouches

Sometimes, just a simple pouch of catnip is all you need! You can also make a pouch out of recycled material, as demonstrated in this diy.

7. Knitted mouse toy

What cat toy collection would be complete without some mice?

8. Felt mouse toy

For those who don't knit or are better at sewing, a felt mouse toy!

9. Felt gingerbread man cat toy

Christmas might still be far away, but you can still get a head start on Christmas-y gifts for all the kitties in your life with this cute pattern.

10. And last but not least... Our own eyeball pattern from our tumblr!

This one is especially appropriate for this time of year. Who doesn't want eyeballs rolling around their house for Halloween? Just add catnip and let your cats have some spooky fun! You can even get a little gruesome and add some red curlicues for the optic nerve :)

You can similarly turn many crochet patterns into cat toys just by filling them with catnip and letting your cats have at them. Just make sure the toy is safe for your cat and has nothing they could get caught on. Crochet them little vegetables and pretend they aren't carnivores! Crochet tiny people they can chew on! The possibilities are endless.

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Have fun with these and spoil your cats! If you make any and share them on social media (especially the eyeballs!) please tag us @Cutieshack so we can see the good work!

<3B

I feel like every time K or I post, we're saying "It's been so long! We'll be better, I promise!".... Whoops hahaha.

We just moved though! That's exciting! And we moved from a cave in a basement to a bright sunny apartment. What a change! And with that change will come more change, hopefully, Like regular updates!! Hehehe.

What's going on in our lives right now? I'll let K fill in his half. But for me, I finished my Master's degree last year and I've just been working full-time as a barista since. 

I just recently reduced my hours to part time, however. In part, this was so that I could dedicate more time to my loves, arts and crafts, and to Cutieshack and you lovely readers! But also in part, it was so that I could dedicate more time towards my goal of getting into vet school. For me at least, it's hard to have all this going at once! I only have so much energy in a day, and it's not much! Hehehe.

What I hope to have in store this week is a collection of my favourite crocheted and crafted cat toy patterns! So cute <3

In the future, maybe weekly themes? Youtube tutorials? I won't have a time-frame for these because I don't want to disappoint anyone, but they'll happen.

For now, this sleepy puppy is going up in the shop!

So stay tuned for more regular updates on here! And if you haven't already, follow us on...

Facebook @Cutieshack

Instagram @Cutieshack

Twitter @Cutieshack

Tumblr @Cutieshack

(And feel free to view our photostream on Flickr if you're bored).

Love, B

Free Crochet Eyeball Pattern

Hello all!

Sorry it's been a bit quiet on the blog front. Since I got back from Seattle, I've been studying for the MCAT every day, and started a Master's degree. I've taken the MCAT now, and only have two classes this semester for my master's, so I should have more time to party post things.

For example, JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN, I posted a pattern on tumblr!!
Now YOU can make your very own crocheted eyeball pins!

The photos are a bit crummy, but I only took them on a whim while crocheting eyeballs for the lovely artist behind Koyamori.

That's all for now. If you have a tumblr account, please follow us on tumblr! I usually reblog cute patterns and make little updates on our going-ons on there.

<3 B

Shop update + I'm in Seattle???

Hello everyone!

Finally got around to.... renewing some items in the shop (I didn't even upload new ones! Shame!)

Check them out here with their cute new photos~

When I get back from Seattle, I will be uploading new items. It's a bit hard to get their measurements when I'm across the continent and in a different country!

So you heard me right. I'm in Seattle right now!! I've been here since last Tuesday.

I actually spent most of my life here in the U.S. west coast. In fact, I spent most of my child hood on an island off of Seattle that I just revisited yesterday - Vashon Island!!

 It's really hard to capture the beauty with a phone. Like, this road went on like this - just walls of green on either side.

 Obviously there's lots of beach on the island too. I actually used to live in a house that was only a minute on foot from the beach. So good!

 A picture from the ferry to show that the island is just COVERED in trees. COVERED.

Vashon is really, really beautiful. Probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen, and I've lived in California! People who know me know how much I love green. Like, even southern Ontario doesn't have enough green for me. Definitely not!

I really miss the island. If the feel of it was a bit different for adult life, then I would probably move back. Maybe I'll retire there?

I mean, who wouldn't want to live on a peaceful beautiful island a hop away from SEATTLE, one of my most favourite cities?
Maybe I'm just biased.I love me some north-west coast.

Anyways. Other than visiting my family on and off the island, I've sort of just been bumming around Seattle a bit. Mostly Daiso and Kinokuniya <3<3<3
I've also been eating lots of tasty food... Siiiigh.

That's it for now. Here's a peek at something new(ish) from K to come to the shop!

More project and life updates later! WOOSH!

~B

Post-Atomic Lollipop Post

So K and I sold things at Atomic Lollipop in Toronto.... A couple weekends ago now.. Sorry we didn't really say anything before hand, it kind of snuck up on us!

Kevin has been busy working on a Master's degree, and I've been busy working full time, doing a work share at a farm once a week, and applying to/getting into a masters myself (and being introduced to the lab I will work in). So I know, I know, our excuses are always "we're too busy to post!" but this time, it is pretty true, haha.

So yes! Apop! It was a bit different this year than previous years, but I think it was still a success for us. Maybe not monetarily, but we broke even and had some fun, so what more could you ask for? It was held at the Toronto Science Centre, which I had never been to before, so we did lots of exploring while the artist alley was closed (it was only open from 6PM to 2AM Friday and Saturday! Like a said, a bit different this year!).

We rolled out some new products, but as always, i forgot to take photos. Hopefully, though, I will be making some of them again! Until then, here's a peek at some other new products I've been working on:

I recently got some small clear cups, so I've been trying out crocheting drinks for them. How do they look?!

I know the quality is terrible; I tried to make them cuter with my phone...

I've also been working on some coin purses for a fundraising project for my current employer.

They are fully lined with my trusty (er...) new Ikea sewing machine. More about that later maybe?

I'm going to try to get the shop back up and full of stuff soon, so keep an eye out.

For now, I have to get back to work.

<3B

Sorry for my leave of absence!

I have been super busy with work lately! Please wander over to my most recent post on our tumblr for a longer explanation~

That's all for now!
~B

Etsy update in the making

We’ve finally taken photos of all of our leftovers from APop and will be putting everything up on Etsy soon! Maybe some tonight even!! WOW!

<3B

We're at Atomic Lollipop!

We're at the Toronto anime convention Atomic Lollipop right now pedaling cuteness! Tune in a couple days right now for an update and a poor excuse for our absence!

April Ice Storm

Hello!

    We've had an ice storm in the city where B and I live. It wasn't particularly destructive, though the ice on the power lines caused power outages in a few areas and some small tree branches came down. It started yesterday, and continued until at least 5am today (I had a bit of a late night). Everything was coated in about 1cm of ice.

    It's warmed up a bit today (sitting at around 3 degrees C), so the ice has started to melt and drop off of whatever it had previously been stuck to. Trees are surrounded in bits of broken ice. Underneath the power lines are inch-long U-shaped bits of ice in straight lines that had obviously fallen from above.

    It certainly is pretty.

<3K

Spring Update Post

Hello, beautiful people!

    It's been far too long. Here are some things I've done.

    I finally finished that tortoise that I started a while ago. If I had to redo it, I'd make the top half of the shell larger than the bottom half, so that I didn't have to attach the limbs flat. They flop around like that, though, so I guess it's cute. I also sewed the limbs onto the bottom before attaching the top, so the one round on the outside kind of curls under (you can see that in the above photo, sort of. It's the cream part on the bottom.). Next time I'm going to sew them to the top and attach the bottom, so it makes a little ridge thing.

oh hi

    I also made a cat.

    I'm pretty places with how it turned out. I used a pattern that I've used before, but I was much worse at crocheting last time I attempted it, so it turned into a weird monkey-rat thing. I also used a slightly different method of doing the muzzle and ears, which I think are a vast improvement.

Also it can stand, because of the tail.

Best friends.

Cutieshack will also be at Con Bravo and, possibly, Atomic Lollipop this summer. More news as events warrant.

That's all for now.

<3K.

Free Pattern Friday - Mushroom Pouch

Hello!

It's been a bit. I don't have an excuse. Today is going to be a Free Pattern day, where I highlight a free pattern from someone else's site that I really like.

This week, it's the mushroom pouch from crochetme.com. Click here to see it. I really like this pattern for a number of reasons:

1. Mushrooms are cute

2. Pouches are occasionally useful.

3. The flip-top on this pouch is kind of inconspicuous, so you're like a secret mushroom spy.

Using buttons as spots on this looks terrific, and makes the button you use to actually close the flap basically unnoticeable. I really super like this idea. I haven't made this myself yet, but it is certainly going to be my next project. I'm still working on that tortoise, somehow. I've been caught up in other things. Mostly video games.

Maybe I will talk about video games next time I don't have anything to post.

<3K.

Free Pattern Friday: Twinkie Chan's Gummy Bears

Hey everyone!

We're sharing another free pattern from Twinkie Chan today! If you don't know who she is (and you should!), you can read our little blurb about her in the Free Pattern Fridaypost that featured her super cute crochet cotton candy Christmas ornaments!

  

Today, we're featuring her pattern for glittery gummy bears! She made this pattern for Lion Brand to feature their new line of yarn called "Bon bons!" Such cute little balls of yarn! I wish I could get them here, but I haven't been able to find them yet.

You can still make this pattern from other kinds of yarn! And believe me, I will! <3

I can't wait to make some of these. Maybe I'll make some keychains so I can put them on my purse?

Hope you guys try out her pattern! Go over to her blog here and let her know how awesome you think her pattern is!

Happy hooking?

B

B's SUPER LATE Giant Christmas Post

Hey guys!

So I realize it's a bit late, and I bet you've missed me! (Har har). But here is the long overdue post of Christmas-y goodness!

Also, New Years happened.
My break went by really fast!
But a lot happened during it.

K's Late Christmas Post

Hi folks!

I know I'm a bit late for this one, but Christmas happened and needs to be blogged about. Needs to. Also, I'll have some work-in-progress photos for my current project. It's going to be good.

First: Christmas gifts from B. Her gifts this year were really great, it made me feel kind of bad. Mine for her were also freakin' awesome this year, though, so maybe not as bad as I originally thought.

This is a pen strap. It goes around your sketch book and holds your writing whatsits in a convenient orange pouch. The cat in a fez button was one I had previously, but I really like it on this thing. I think this is a great idea, because I always tend to fumble with things or forget them.

Lefty. Scissors. Folks, I am left-handed. I've wanted (and looked for) lefty scissors for quite some time. B found me some, and they are lovely. I'm pumped to use them, though I'm already worried about ruining them somehow. The grip is also big enough for my man hands, which is nice, and the blades are made of Adamantium or something.

That beautiful bit of wood is a "spreader." Handmade by a local artist and treated with food-safe mineral oil and beeswax. Last year, I was given a larger version that I use a lot. This one will be great for peanut butter, cheese, whatever I want, really.

This is a cheese set. An hors d'oeuvres set, I suppose, because of the fork. The handles are owls. I like owls a bunch. I was lookin' at these when B and I were at a place, and she sneakybought them for me. I am happy that she did.

This ring was another one of my gifts. I got spoiled. It's a fidget ring, the middle bit spins. I am a particularly hand-fidgety person, so hopefully this can be the focus of that, rather than picking at my cuticles and such. Plus, it's quite pretty.

B made this backpack for me. It's lined and everything. I'm really happy with it! I can use it for lunch or whatever. I'm not in school at the moment, but will hopefully be doing my M.Sc. soon, so I can use it for my Master's stuff like an adult turtle.

And now, my work-in-progress.

I know it doesn't look like much, but I hope that eventually it'll be a tortoise. The spiral bit is going to be the top of its shell, and the cream part will be the bottom. They fit together to make a whole shell, as in the picture below.

I still need to make and attach the legs and head, but I'm happy with it so far. I know their shells aren't spiral, but it seemed like it'd be cute. I started this after my snail, and now that the Christmas cuttlefish is done, I've resumed work on it.

That's it for now.

<3K.