A Toy For Chickie and Her Kittens

I usually like to get small gifts for my friends when I'm away from the store. Chickie had to work for me, so it was a long week for her. I always try to find or make something unique for her that won't be a lot of additional clutter in her apartment. I can't promise that I didn't add to the clutter, but the enjoyment her cats are going to get from what I made her will be worth it.

These cat faced beads came in many colors. I bought an
assortment of them and a single fish bead for them to
be chasing. 

I wandered the sales floor of the conference more than fifteen times over three days. I found the perfect thing for Chickie on Day 2 of my wander in some little bins on one of the tables of a Chinese-based vendor. The small, brightly enameled cat face beads were cute and came in many colors. I tried to find one of each available color in the bin and ended up with nine. I added a fish bead so that the total was nine kittens and one fish for them to chase.

I assembled each bead with a bell below it to
ensure a wind-chime sound when the breeze
(or cat paws) hit it. 

Early yesterday morning I spread them out, wired each cat face with a bell below the bead, and made a quick mobile for her. It's guaranteed to make sound when disturbed by a breeze or the swipe of a cat paw. Since she has two kittens under a year old, I'm betting the mobile might have a limited lifespan, but I used stainless steel cable for the beads and 12 and 24 gauge wire for the mobile framework, so maybe it will last for a while.

The full mobile hangs about a
foot long and makes a gentle
noise. It was a rough and fast
assembly job but turned out really cute. 

Chickie texted photos to me as soon as she got home. Each kitten was curious and stretching their paws out to bat the mobile. LOL My job here is done - cat toy accomplished. Here's hoping you have a great Wednesday. I'll be playing catch-up all day, and will talk with Aearwen later this afternoon, (always a high point of my week). Stay cool and be smart, if you're under the heat bubble in the Southwest. Don't push your physical limits. Tomorrow I'll show you the projects I worked on while at the conference.