Cat Tree

The second of my DIY projects is now complete. Surprisingly it didn't take very long.

I bought 3 large SNACK boxes from Ikea and 2 small ones, then I marked out what bits I wanted cut out of them. The thinking was that the 3 large boxes could be stacked on top of one another with cat-sized holes cut out the bottoms allowing a cat to go in the bottom box, then climb up to the top. I also wanted some peep holes facing the window so Lily could spy. I got 2 small boxes so I could turn one into a bed at the very top and .... I'm not sure why I got 2, maybe a spare?


After I'd marked out the cuts I wanted, a quick trip to B&Q to get a hole saw drill bit and we were ready to start cutting. I say 'we', I mean Pete. He spent a joyous couple of hours cutting wood with power tools (he loved it), then I sanded all the peices before putting it all together. Then I added 2 coats of clear varnish to the outside and it was all done, total time 1 day.


Lily is not so impressed, last night when I errected it she sniffed it then went back to bed. This morning I plonked her in the bed at the top and she stared at me before leaping out. Granted she did leap back onto the bed from the sofa, completely ignoring the complex box-hole structure.


I've screwed on two scratching panels so she can scratch away and they also lend more support to the boxes. The boxes themselves have little feet which fit inside the box below it so they are quite sturdy.


I'm also going to add either cardboard or carpet tiles on the top and bottom box. At the moment she has a cardboard box which she loves scratching in, I'm hoping that the cat tree will replace the box so I need to give her an alternative.

Jewellery Box Success!

I've finally finished my first DIY project of 2009!

I bought 2 FIRA boxes from Ikea, spent 2 weekends staining them then a further day varnishing and finishing the inside of the drawers.

I also bought 6 GRUNDTAL containers and cut sponge to fit inside each so I can fix my earrings in them.

Each drawer is lined with grey felt stuck down with No-More-Nails.


After I'd emptied all my jewellery boxes and gone round my flat picking up all the odds and ends, I found I can fill these six drawers very easily! Might get another box at some point, then glue them all together and add legs - but that's another project.

Next project is the cat tower made with SNACK boxes from Ikea, I'll update you when I finish that in the coming weeks.

Chocolate Failure

OK, so the chocolate ban didn't quite work. I lasted a whole 2 days before accidentally eating many M&Ms.

They were just there! It was an automatic reaction to chocolate, must scoop into mouth.

D'oh.