My mother is so clever sometimes.
 
For one thing, she provided us with fabric play tubes for the ferrets,
homemade, for Christmas.  She went to a store to buy us presents for the
ferrets and was shocked at how much tubes, hammocks, etc were going for.
She said to the clerk "I could MAKE that for under a dollar!" since a
play tube generally starts at $14 here.  So he said "Go ahead, then/"
and she did. :D  She simply got some heavy duty tapestry style material
that's often used for upolstry, sewed together a length and used a serger
on the ends for a really cheap but very sturdy play or sleep tube.  Plus,
it looks excellent because of the patterns on the fabric.
 
She also suggested, when I was talking about purchasing some packets of
receving blankets to put in the ferret cubbies, that I might want to go
to yard sales or church sales and look for unwanted flanelette sheets.
She apparently used to cut them up for recieving blankets and could get a
dozen or more out of a set of sheets, with the edged tucked back and sewn
of course.
 
Such the smart mum!  And to think, she didn't originally even want to SEE
ferrets.  How ferrets can change people's hearts :)
 
Melissa Smith
http://www.cafepress.com/ferrettoons/
[Posted in FML issue 4147]