Guest Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I was inspired the other day while Gizmo was out of his cage he slid down the side, grabbed the straw out of my empty soda and climbed back to the top of his cage where he proceeded to play with it for the next 2 hours. While I was at the store picking some things up I grabbed a bag of straws with the bendy ends and some cotton string (total cost $3.75) now I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it at this point but I knew I was going to make Giz a super cool toy! So I made the fist toy simply by stringing the straws on the string, then bunching them up. My thought was with them all strung together they cannot fall apart and the toy will remain intact. Well I got it done and threw it in the cage, Gizmo immediately ran over to it and played for some time with it. But it did end up kind of falling apart. SO a new design, this time I took a bunch of straws (good handful) and bunched them together then I wrapped the string around them until there was about a 3" wide band of string on them, then I took the bendy ends and stretched them out and made them look all crazy! Gizmo LOVED this one too he climbs on it and chews on it for hours. So tonight I decided another improvement was due (even though this whole thing started 4 days ago, first toy was built 2 days ago lol) I want crazy bendy straw ends out BOTH ends! That's right we are getting wild here! So I thought along the way I would take some pics so you guys can build these too! So here we go... Step 1: Select a straw and tie a knot around it about 1/4" above the cool bendy thing, I used a simple slip knot. Step 2: Arrange straws so every other one has the cool bendy thing at opposite ends. Don't worry about what order they are in you just want half of them pointing in opposite directions. Step 3: Begin wrapping the string around the straws, the first wrap or two will be a little loose or you will just be pulling the one straw around. After 1 or 2 wraps you can pull it a bit tighter. But not to tight, you don't want to crush the straws. Now just keep on wrapping... and wrapping until you are about 1/4" away from the cool bendy things on the other side! Step 4: Weave the string in through the straws long ways, this will lock the wraps in place and tighten them up a little bit more. You want to wrap it around long ways several times just to make sure everything is good and snug. You don't have to pull it super tight, but good and snug is good. Finished going long ways... Step5: Cut your string off with a LOT of extra (like a foot or so) It's easier to cut it shorter later than need more. Tie a knot (I used a clove hitch) than you can tie on the other end of the straws to form a piece to hang the toy from. Clove hitch: Clove hitch in the straws I used the center so there is less of a chance of Gizmo chewing it off Here you can see the loop made to hang the toy Hang in there ALMOST done! Step 6 Stretch out the cool bendy things on the straws on ONE end. Once they are all stretched out pull the straws until there is about 1/2" sticking out on the other side. Don't pull them out too far, or too fast. Also keep an eye on the straws and make sure no other straws are coming out with it. Take your time it's not difficult takes a minute or two but makes the toy WAY cooler! Once you have stretched all the straws and pulled them out to about a 1/2" from the other side repeat those steps on the other side of the toy. Step 7 Place cool new toy in your birds cage and watch your bird totally LOVE your inexpensive new toy! Here is a picture of Gizmo playing with the single sided one I made earlier today. I will be putting the new one in his cage tomorrow. If you have ANY questions let me know!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolandFamily Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 That looks sooo cool! There is a homemade toy section here on the forums and I think it would be great over there too. I make a few toys too for our babies with the straws and they loveeeee them....Thank You for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eckobird Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Great idea!! I will be making one! I have the straws and rope, I just never knew what to make out of it. Thanks for the idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Grey't toy my birds just love straws I make wiffle ball straw toys all the time but your way is even cheaper thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Thats a wonderful toy and with instructions as you have posted, it's a walk in the park to make. Thanks!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Great toy Maxxheadroom, thanks for the step-by-step!!!! I think even I might be able to make one for Ana Grey!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 That is very cool, and Giz looks like one happy bird!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now