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Post by John on May 7, 2006 19:44:05 GMT -7
I went shopping for bird toys today but I didn't go to the pet store, I went to the craft store. I was probably the only male in the place but I found some neat stuff for toy making. I got 25 yards of leather lace, a bag of assorted size heart shapes 57 pieces, a bag of 1.5" toy wheels 12 pieces, a bag of 1" round beads 16 pieces, and a bag of wood spools 20 pieces. I paid $25.00 for all of it. The hearts will need to have holes drilled but the others are pre-drilled. img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img24202yb.jpgHere is the first toy I made, I started with 2 30" leather laces which I doubled and tied in a not. img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img24216je.jpgThen I added some of the wood pieces and tied a knot in between them, I added a hanger and here is the finished toy. img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img24226pk.jpgAnd now to test the toy with my toy testers... img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img24252lt.jpgAs soon a I put the toy in their cage the both attacked and and were having fun hanging from it. They love toys. John |
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Post by Jane on May 8, 2006 5:50:22 GMT -7
Great savings!
Mine like toys with wooden pieces on leather laces as well but whereas Monty will chew happily for hours, Mitzi just chomps straight through the leather. Monty plays, Mitzi destroys!
Something really simple that Monty likes is a CD (I use the free ones that come through the door offering internet trials etc.) attached to the cage bars using a plastic Early Learning Centre button and string.
Jane
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Post by patty on May 8, 2006 6:10:29 GMT -7
another good place to get supplies is a dollar store. we have gotten wooden spoons and childrens blocks and any other thing we can drill a hole thrugh.
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Post by John on May 8, 2006 8:44:33 GMT -7
They had wooden spoons at the craft store for .49 cents. They have a ton of wooden things some of which are sold in bulk. I will check out the other craft stores as well as the dollar store. Wal-Mart has a craft section too, I will have to look there also.
With the things I got I am able to make 8 tots like the one I made, that comes to $3.00 per toy. That toy would sell for $10.00 in a bird store so I saved a bunch of money and my birds are happy.
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Post by patty on May 8, 2006 9:00:19 GMT -7
do you have fleet farm stores down there?? we got a large bag of leather strips there and i think they were only 5 or $6. We found them in the horse section, i think they are used for repairing saddles or whatever, the leather is much stronger than the spools you get in craft stores so the birds dont break them as quickly. another thing our birds really like are the little rawhide bones you get for small dogs. we drill holes thru them and string on leather.
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Post by John on May 8, 2006 9:51:53 GMT -7
Thanks Patty, I am in the city so we don't have any farm stores here but that is a good idea.
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Post by cmapeters on May 8, 2006 19:51:47 GMT -7
Excellent information you guys!!! Instead of spending a fortune on bird toys, I'll just go to the craft store and make my own!! That's awesome, it's going to save me so much money!!! I love this forum!!  |
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Post by spookyhurst on May 8, 2006 20:07:23 GMT -7
Not bad for a one armed bandit  . How did you tie the knots with only one hand? I make almost all of Nikko's toys. She destroys them so quickly, it's just not worth the money to buy the already-made ones. She really likes breaking little wood shapes, like stars and snowflakes. String some of those on leather or rope, and she's a happy camper. I've never been able to find vegetable tanned leather at any place other than online stores that sell toy parts. It would be nice to be able to buy it locally. |
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Post by John on May 8, 2006 20:13:52 GMT -7
Spookyhurst, looks like you are feeling much better. I had no problem tying knots, I just had to bring the leather closer to my right hand. Now if I had to tie my shoe strings that would be a different story, I tied my shoes loosely before my surgery so that I could just slip them on. My shoe strings are looking a little ratty and they need to be retied but they will have to do for a while.
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Post by Adele on May 9, 2006 6:05:17 GMT -7
I like making my own toys too. A good idea I heard about pieces of wood is that you can safely dye them with kool-aid. I have done that and it works pretty good. I don't add sugar, I just add the little packets of power to a bit of water and then let it soak for a couple of hours. Manzi bit all of the color parts (the top layer) off of his wooden blocks within a week though. Fortunately, the layer underneath, when dyed, held the color much better. I think it makes the toys a bit more fun and Manzi definitely prefers the colored blocks.
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Post by patty on May 9, 2006 6:13:00 GMT -7
kool-aid!!! thats a great idea! it sure leaves pretty rings and splotches on my counter tops.
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Post by cmapeters on May 9, 2006 20:05:56 GMT -7
Kool aid will also color your hair if you want some funky highlights. Just make a paste out of it and put it where you want it, and Voila! I found that out the hard way. A few years ago my babysitter decided to use some Kool-aid packets for that project and got it all over my pastel colored couch. Her hair looked pretty cool, but my couch was ruined. Oh well, I have a new couch since then. It's DARK blue! I learned that lesson!
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Post by flamingo on May 10, 2006 17:21:35 GMT -7
great post and pictures john! i actually went out today and bought some supplies to make toys with!! i opted for food coloring rather then kool-aid though. our Micheals store here sells bundles of left over leather strings from the local ft. worth leather company for cheaper then you can buy on the spools so i picked those up.
THREE MORE DAYS and my baby comes home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm soooo excited, and nervous ;D
we built a great play gym for the little guy too, i'll have to take picts. and post them. we built it for $40 including toys/bowels and i've seen them for upwards of $100 and $200 online.
again, thanks so much for the wonderful post with pictures!
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Post by nancyd on May 10, 2006 18:24:23 GMT -7
As to rawhide doggy bones--make sure they're made in America--Seems like the Chinese brands are coated with something thats no good for birds !!!!
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Post by spookyhurst on May 13, 2006 21:37:09 GMT -7
Here's a toy I just made for Nikko. The yellow thingy in the middle I bought from an online bird toy parts store, and I've also seen them on ebay. They come in many shapes and colors. I hung some plastic chain from it (I buy it by the foot), and on the bottom of each chain, I tied on some leather with wooden stars (Nikko loves to bust the points off the stars). In the middle, I tied on some braided rope (supposed to be safer than the twist rope) with some wooden tulips (again, Nikko likes to bust the tips off) and plastic tubes. For the hanger, I looped a piece of leather and added a couple more wood shapes and plastic rings. I use a paste for coloring icing to dye the wood shapes. I bought it from an online bird store. Add a little of the paste to water, dip the wood pieces, and boring wood becomes brightly colored. Nikko doesn't care for natural wood, she likes color. i43.photobucket.com/albums/e373/spookyhurst/birdtoy.jpgi43.photobucket.com/albums/e373/spookyhurst/nikkotoy.jpg |
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. How did you tie the knots with only one hand?
