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Crafty?

What do you think of my crafty idea? Should I enter it in the county fair?

squirrel nesting wreath

What am I?

It’s part mutant octopus, part over the top wreath. It might even show up on a Pinterest board entitled “Crafts Gone Terribly Wrong.”

So, can you guess what it is?

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Give up?

It’s part of my squirrel nesting experiment.  After destroying the slipcover in July, the squirrels returned to hand-pick the stuffing from the lining of the swing. I disguised the damage with a cotton shower curtain which only slowed them down. Now they carefully fold back the edge of the cover and continue to pluck the stuffing.

garden swing exposed stuffing

My sorry-looking garden swing

My experiment

I smoothed the curtain/cover over the exposed stuffing and placed two things on top:

The soft, exposed lining of the sunflower…

sunflower fluff

Exhibit A: Sunflower Fluff

The idea came to me this morning when I found a shredded sunflower head in the middle of the lawn. I couldn’t believe how soft it was. Maybe they’ll use the pulp for nesting.

…and my octopus wreath.

squirrel wreath

Exhibit B: Octopus wreath

My ‘wreath’ will not be entering any craft fairs, but with luck it will serve its purpose: Lining the squirrel’s nest.

Stay tuned.

Sunflowers in Art

Yesterday, Val at Nikitaland said “I love that flower painting on the glass as it makes a nice statement in the backyard, not to mention, I love how it adds instant color! I bet it looks beautiful when the sun hits it!” Thanks Val!

I tried capturing the light this morning with mixed success, but you can see why I hung the painting over the back of a trellis instead of the fence or wall. The sun pours through the glass window around ten in the morning. If I’m lucky enough to be home, I get to enjoy it.

sunlight through the window

Whitney Pintello: Reverse painted sunflower on salvaged window

15 thoughts on “Crafty?”

  1. Ok, you had me fooled. I was certain you had slipped a crafting cog here. I have had those same squirrel experiences as you well know and they didn’t much care what I did to coerce them away from their prize. I wish you luck but at least they give you plenty of photo ops.

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  2. Ha, I’m with Marlene – I thought the heat had finally taken you out 🙂

    But what an ingenious idea! Can’t wait to hear if it works – are squirrels more like cats or more like dogs I wonder? They will either say ‘Oooooh look – fun stuff!’ and rip into it or they will say ‘Oh no you don’t we want what’s under here’ and ignore your crafty offering and continue to molest your old swing cover!! Can’t wait for the next episode. 🙂

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    • Both you and Marlene have me in giggles this morning. LOL…the heat may yet take me out, but fortunately not in my crafting endeavors. We’re expecting a high of 88F (31C) by the end of today. What are your temps today as you head toward spring?

      Your comment posted at 12:12 pm 9/4, but I’m thinking it must be your birthday by now. Happy birthday. Wishing you all things wonderful today and throughout the year. xoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

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  4. Hmm, sorry, but I don’t get how the octopus ring will work. Is there something about squirrels that I know? I can see how you would like the squirrels to take the sunflower fluff for nesting material instead of your swing stuffing — brilliant idea! But the octopus has me perplexed. Your sunflower window is stunning!

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    • Sorry Anne, I realize that more context is in order. The cording stuffed into the wreath is left over from my original sewing project. I made a slip cover for the swing a few years ago, and this past July a squirrel chewed through the material to get to the soft cording inside. I have no idea how she new it was there. She made off with pieces of it for her presumed nest. She was back the next day to get more. Once I realized the cover was a loss, I removed the remaining cording and that too disappeared within a day. I put out the strips of cord you see in this photo, but they kept blowing off in the wind, and of course by then I had no takers. I finally put it away thinking I would bring it out in the spring. That’s when she came back and started to dismantle the stuffing. What you see here is a small metal wreath covered in yarn with bits of cord inserted to hold it in place till the squirrels come claim their prize.

      I must go tag Whitney on this post so she too can see all the compliments on her beautiful art.

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  5. Sorry … I just can’t get beyond the “slipping your crafting cog”.
    Funny!
    I’ll be interested to see if your idea works, and like Val, that glass window is so, so pretty!

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  6. LOL, very entertaining bit of conversation here. That is eeeerrrr………an interesting bit of crafting. I give you an A+ on function and perhaps the ‘form’ part has a ways to go but also A+ on creativity. Your ‘octopus sunflower fluff wreath’ will either scare the bejeebers out of your squirrelly marauders or provide hours of hilarious photo-ops. Either way it’s a win-win. I’d have to say, as an expert in the field of craft fails, you’ve got a winner there. Mmmmm, I think that doesn’t sound like what I meant to say, LOL xoxo

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