The Making of Flat Cat

In June, we will be taking the Motorhome and driving to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend Blogpaws. It will be one of a several stops we make since we will be taking bikes and plan on going to Moab for some good cycling too. Of course tsk will be coming with us, and being that Blogpaws is all about animals he would be welcome at the conference. But even though he is a very easy going kitty, we feel it might be a bit too much of a sensory overload for him. So we made a Flat TSK to take into the conference. It was surprisingly easy to do, so if any of you are thinking of leaving your four legged furbabies at home but want to bring a Flat version of them, here's how:

Items needed

Foam Board (I used one 20x30x3/16, plenty to make 2 flats)

Xacto knife

Spray Adhesive (photo safe)

11x14 Photo of your pet

The above items cost $12.70, before tax

For the photos, I used my photo editing app to remove the background from the image, figuring it would be easier to cut out that way. Also using an image that was taken straight on at them, as opposed to looking down or up at the kitty. Since the photo was going to be printed out large, I made it 990x1260 pixels to ensure a clear image. I used Costco's online photo store to upload and order the 11x14 prints. But Target and many other stores have the same type of deal. Costco was $2.99 for a 11x14 print and Target was $7.99. Make sure you chose a non glossy finish. 

Items at the ready

 

 

I cut a piece of the foam board to the size of the photo to make it easier to handle. Spray the back of the photo and the foam board, firmly attach the photo. I wiped the front of it with a cloth to ensure no air in between.

Using the Xacto knife I carefully cut along the fur line, leaving a flat bottom edge so it would stand. The xacto knife worked well in a sort of semi sawing motion. Here are Flat #AngelPetie and Flat TSK.

Using a piece of scrap foam board, affix with heavy duty tape making sure one side will lie flat for easy transport.

tsk checking out his Flat self!

The finished Flats of #AngelPetie and tsk, ready for BlogPaws!!

If anyone needs help with some photo editing of their pet to make a Flat Pet, let me know.

Last Leg....

...of our trip. Dropping the RV off at storage, then making our way back up the hill.

All in all we had a good time. The weather wasn't always perfect, and the scenery wasn't always pretty we were able to get on our bikes and ride. And we did have sunshine with no snow.

But the best thing of all was that we were all together.

tsk ready to drive!

A relaxed tsk on my lap while we are on the road.

One thing we did see while staying at some RV parks was the real 'snowbirds'. Folks that come from Canada, Montana, Wisconsin, etc and spend 6 months at the RV parks where it's warm. Many of them were starting to pack up and make their way home where the snow is starting to melt.

At our house, sadly, it's been snowing...a lot... while we have been gone. Seems winter is here now. 

Might have to plan another trip soon!