Cat Scratching Post Supply List:

4×4 lumber, or two 2×4 pieces attached together
2×6 lumber, or something equally strong and heavy, for the base
wood screws
staples or tacks to attach the carpet
tools - hammer, saw, screwdriver, and staple gun if you’re using staples; utility knife to cut the carpet
scrap of carpet, indoor-outdoor carpet, sisal rope, or another suitable scratching surface
Caution: Wear work gloves and protective eyewear to make this woodworking project.

Cat Scratching Post Instructions:

1. Cut the lumber that you are using for the scratching post to the desired height. Keep in mind that the post must be stable, as your cat is unlikely to use it again if it tips over even once. The scratching post shown here is 28″ tall, with a base of about 18″ by 12″. At minimum, the post needs to be the length of your cat plus enough extra length to allow the cat to stretch out nicely.

2. The base on this model has two layers. The first layer is made by setting 3-12″ sections of 2×6 side by side. Cut 2 sections of 2×6 to match the width of the first layer (about 16.5″ as 2×6 lumber is, in truth, only 1.5″ by 5.5″). Place these 2 sections of the second layer on top of and parallel to the first layer. Attach the top layer to the bottom with wood screws. This makes for a heavy and stable base.

3. Cover the base with your choice of scratch material, which could be as simple as an old piece of carpet or AstroTurf. Natural rope like sisal is also nice, but takes a while to wrap tightly. Attach the material with a staple gun, or a hammer and flat tacks.

4. Place the scratching post in the center of the base. Attach it to the base by using one screw on each face of the post. Cover the post with your scratch material, and attach as described for the base.

5. Secure a dangling cat toy to the new scratching post to entice your cat to try it out. If your cat likes cat nip, rub a little of that into the scratch material or attach a cat nip toy. Try placing the scratching post near where your cat sleeps, as many cats enjoy a leisurely scratch upon awakening.

How-to Article is based upon the WikiHow page How to Make a Cat Scratching Post, released under Creative Commons license.

By Kathy Wilson

Spring is a sign of renewal in many areas of our lives, and our homes are no different! There is something energizing and refreshing about bringing that bright, airy feeling of spring into your home. Here are the 10 best ways to spruce up and revitalize your rooms on a dime!

1. Add white! White with your present color scheme will both cool and brighten, adding the freshness that only white can! If your room colors tend toward the warm side, such as yellows, browns, or reds…then choose creamier white such as ecru or ivory. If you have cooler colors in your room, such as greens and blues, go with the brighter, cleaner whites.

2. Try painting your focal wall, (that is, the one most seen) in a sunnier, brighter, or lighter shade of your current wall color. It will add lightness to the room without drastically changing the whole scheme. Don’t worry, you can always go back to that rich red in the fall, but how about a little petal pink, or sky blue? Remember, its only paint, its cheap!

3. Add a floral print fabric to your room. Using the primary colors already in your room, visit your fabric store and pick out a floral fabric you love with at least one of those primary colors in it. (The more, the better, but don’t feel you must have every color in the room also in the fabric!) Use that floral fabric to make table scarves, placemats, pillow covers, and simple seat cushion covers. Pair it with a solid fabric color already in the room, and you have a custom coordinated look, for just a few dollars and some simple straight sewing!

4. Pick up some pretty colored glassware from the dollar shop, and display it where the sun will light it up! You could even use clear glassware, and fill it with colored water to coordinate with the room. Use your glassware as vases, pencil holders, or candy dishes, but make sure it is seen! Glass sparkles and adds a bit of sunshine to a room.

5. Take down your curtains, and just leave your mini blinds underneath. Don’t leave it bare, though, we don’t want boring! Swag some dried or silk flowers over the top of the blinds, or use some muslin to twist around a curtain rod for an informal but airy valance. (No sew!)

6. Keep your windows sparkling clean. Dirty windows cut down on a surprising amount of light, and make a room look dull. As a bonus, clean windows mean more sparkling glass, and that makes room feel larger and brighter!

7. Pot up some pansies from the garden center and use them indoors as houseplants. They are cheap, easy, and add flowers to a room without the cost of replacing floral arrangements every week! You can even coordinate the flower color to the color scheme of the room. Don’t match the colors, just pick something complementary.

8. Clear most of the artwork and accessories out of your room, and just keep a few larger, simpler pieces. It declutters the room, and helps to put the focus on the freshness of a room. Consider picking up a white lattice from the garden center, and hang it on the wall as a focal point. Place a potted plant in front of it, or hang small framed garden catalog prints from it. Let it be a reminder of the outdoors all season long!

9. Use a stencil or a stamp to add floral and nature motifs to your room for very little money. Stencil vines around windows and doors, hand paint seasonal sayings over doorways with a paint pen, or stamp a floral bouquet on the front of cupboard doors. You can always paint over those small areas with touch up paint in the fall. (Or you might love them so much, they stay year round!)

10. Finally, don’t forget your entry area when you are creating that spring glow all around your home. Remember, your entries are a visitors first impression of your home! Add a pot of pansies on the porch, paint your entry a fresh spring color, and hang a handmade wreath or a basket of flowers on the front door.

All these ideas take very little time, little or no money, and do wonders for your spirit and the spirit of those who you love. Take a little time to brighten your lives!

About the Author: If you would like hundreds more great budget decorating ideas, visit http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com.

RaisingSpaces.com had some interesting Upcycled Pendant Lamps to share for Earth Day, including instructions to make this Scooped Pendant Lamp (shown at right). Did you guess that it is made from recycled laundry scoops?

The Flare Pendant Light, (pictured at left), is a tassel-styled cluster lamp made from recycled glass bud vases. Thrift stores usually have tons of these glass vases on display for very reasonable prices.

This piece is called FLARE, and is part of the VESSEL lighting series at RaisingSpaces, a variant made using trumpet-shaped clear glass bud vases arranged in a bouquet. How-to’s are provided if you’d like to make a similar DIY chandelier.

Although glass baby-food jars have been partly replaced by plastic containers these days, you’ll probably find a sizeable stash somewhere near the bud vases in the thrift store. If so, consider making this Baby Food Jar Candle Chandelier from Natural Home.

You’ll need lots of baby food jars and tea lights, plus some barrel hoops, a length of rusty chain and a few other bits and pieces; a complete materials and tools list is included on the page, as well as detailed directions to make your own.

If you happen to have one or two wire planters hanging around, recycle them into an Outdoor Pendant Lamp like this one (at right), perfect for al fresco dining on the patio.

Finally, check out How to Make a Teacup Chandelier which, as you might expect from the name, is a cluster chandelier made from a teapot, tea cups and saucers.

When the dust settle (it does, eventually, on everything), you’ll want your home renovation project to meet not only your own expectations but those of the building inspector as well. That means maintaining control (and your sense of humor) as the job progresses from conception to completion. It also means throwing routine out the window along with the construction debris. But, if you can keep the contractor on time and the kids off the jungle gym of ladders and scaffolding, you’re halfway to your dream home.

Whether you’re planning a professional addition or a DIY makeover, accept the fact you’ll be under siege for the duration: dodging mountains of rubble, dealing with power and water disruptions (which always last longer than anyone predicts) and breathing not only dust but paint, solvent and adhesive fumes as well.

If you can’t face the mess, and will be hiring someone to do the work, consider timing a major remodel to coincide with your family vacation, preferably in early spring when more contractors and sub-trades are available. “Working around a family slows the whole process down,” says Ray Orser, a Kitchener, Ontario contractor. “It’s best to actually leave the house if possible. Alternatively, you may want to move on to one floor and leave the other the builders.”

Consolidating your living space - for instance, asking the kids to share one bedgroom and converting the other into a living room - makes sense, particularly if you’ll need to move or protect the living room furniture anyway. The builders will function more efficiently when they don’t have to mind your prized collection of crystal stemware, and you’ll be more comfortable knowing it’s safe. Ask tradespeople to confine tools and materials to the designated work space and, in return, keep toys, pets and family members out of their way. Assigning bathroom facilities, or renting a portable toilet, helps the work crew feel less intrusive and safe-guards your really special hand-embroidered bath towels.

Since home renovation affects everyone in the family, it’s important to discuss what home conveniences will be disrupted and for how long, and to agree on coping strategies.

If you’re doing a kitchen renovation, says Orser, you may be without sink, stove, fridge, cupboards and counter for one to two weeks, longer if you’re doing the work yourself. Let everyone choose a favorite restaurant for the days you’ll be eating out. Otherewise, view the experience as an escape from kitchen drudgery. Paper plates and plastic cutlery can eliminate dishwashing, while a microwave oven, toaster oven and electric kettle, plus boxes and tins of convenience foods, will produce edible, if not gourmet, meals with a minimum of fuss.

A bathroom replacement, especially if it’s your only full bathroom, inevitably means sponge baths (brrrrr….) while the tub and shower are off limits. And it’s not easy to keep damp feet clean while the floor is littered with sawdust and shavings. Buy everyone an inexpensive pair of flip-flop sandals to prevent splinters and avoid tracking debris throughout the house. Use old towels as a substitute for fluffy bath mats and pack away your fabric shower curtain, toilet cover and best linen until it’s time for the finishing touches.

Is home renovation worth the hassle? Rural Ontario resident Dee Greenhough believes it is. Over the past 10 years she and her husband, Dennis, have improved upon their basic three-bedroom raised bungalow by adding an attached double garage, a recreation room with fireplace, and a two-storey entrance foyer which incorporates storage space in an upper loft. A winterized sunroom with twin skylights and an attached raised deck was completed last year, as was a kitchen and bathroom facelift.

The result is comfortable, efficient, modern home packed with custom-designed features which add significantly to its resale value. Not that the owners want to sell. “We’ve pretty much got the place looking and feeling the way we want it,” says Dennis. But Dee adds that renovation is an ongoing process. “There’s a sense of satisfaction when you see the end result of a project you conceived. You start to look around and think, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if….’”

The Greenhoughs’ did much of the work themselves, learning the pitfalls of framing, drywalling and painting the hard way. Major jobs such as brick-laying and final electrical connections were left to professionals. Both agree that the worst part of any renovation is the dust and dirt. “Plaster dust is insidious stuff,” says Dee. “No matter how tightly you seal up door openings or clothes closets it settles, like dandruff, everywhere.”

Prepare for the indoor snowstorm by closing heat registers and return air vents and covering “every single thing you can think of,” advises Orser. Dust from old plaster and new drywall is lime-based and will eventually eat through fine fabric and upholstery. And, Orser warns, you don’t even want to find out what happens if it seeps into the back of your televison, computer or other electronics. Remain in blissful ignorance by protecting them with plastic covers until you’re certain all the dust has settled. Plastic sheeting will also protect appliances, furniture and carpets.

Renovation can be fun if you’re the adventurous type willing to pick up a hammer and let the dust fall where it may. But if, like most of us, you’re not such a free spirit, take heart: with careful forethought and adequate survival techniques even you can endure a renovation and live to boast about it.

First published in Highlights Lifestyles Magazine
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