Tag Archives: feline

Castle, Cats

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castle cats

It’s a castle, it’s a tossing game, but mostly this project is about an awesome abundance of…CATS!

We read A Castle Full of Cats by Ruth Sanderson (Random House, 2015). The Queen looooves cats, and they are everywhere in the castle. The king, despite all the cats’ winning efforts (scratching art into the wall, leaving dead mice in his shoe) feels more then a little left out. So he gets a dog. Is the dog there to chase away the cats? NO! The dog’s job is to play with the cats. With the felines otherwise occupied, the king can now spend a little time wooing his beloved wife.

You’ll need:

  • 1 large box (ours was 4.5” X 4.5” x 9” – a large tissue box works too!)
  • An assortment of toilet paper and paper towel tubes
  • Construction paper
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • Hot glue

finished cat castle

First, the castle! Cut the top off a box of your choice, then decorate it with construction paper and/or markers. Our castle towers are shortened paper towel tubes with cone water cup turrets. The flags are mounted on wooden coffee stirrers. We used self-adhesive foam to add some texture as well. Like THIS castle. Just look at that texture!

awesome castleWe also decided to add a carrying handle to our castle, so our towers are hot glued slightly to the front of the box. The handle is a 1.75″ x 16″ poster board strip that pivots on 2 brass fasteners.

finished cat castle handleFinally, the CATS. These are variously-sized toilet paper and paper towel tubes decorated with construction paper. We used self-adhesive foam bits and eye stickers to create the faces, but plain old markers work too!

all the castle catsTo play the game, place your castle on the floor, and then try to toss all the cats into the box. The more cats that land in the box, the more likely the last few will bounce out, so warning…a major case of the giggles may occur!

Meow, Dahling

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meow dahling

Bring on the bling! This glamorous feline is festooned with rhinestones, bangles, and brilliant bobbles. But that’s not all. She also has her own designer blanket, jewel-encrusted water dish, and solid gold mouse toy. Meow, indeed.

We read Glamourpuss, written by Sarah Weeks, and illustrated by David Small (Scholastic, 2015). Glamourpuss lives with Mr. and Mrs. Highhorsen. She has everything a cat could want – a diamond collar, attentive servants, a lavish private room, and total adulation from her owners. Then Mr. Highhorsen’s sister Eugenia visits with her pet chihuahua, Bluebelle. In addition to having a stunning array of outfits, Bluebelle can do tricks. Glamourpuss soon finds herself upstaged, and vows revenge. However, whilst stalking Bluebelle, Glamourpuss discovers that Bluebelle hates her outfits and tricks – she really dreams of simple elegance. Well. Glamourpuss can certainly help Bluebelle with that! They become close, and very glamorous, friends.

You’ll need:

  • 1 large oatmeal container
  • White construction paper
  • White poster board
  • A strip of gold poster board (approximately 1.5″ x 17″)
  • 3 pieces of twisteez wire (approximately 7″ each)
  • A small, rounded triangle of self-adhesive foam (approximately 1.25″ tall)
  • A pair of wiggle eyes
  • Cat jewelry & accessories (more on these later!)
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • Hot glue

Wrap the oatmeal container with white construction paper. Use extra paper to make the ears. Attach wiggle eyes with hot glue, then use a marker to add a smile (and maybe some eyelashes!). To make the nose and whiskers, curl the ends of 3 pieces of Twisteez wire, then bunch them in the middle and tape them to the container.

cat curled whiskersPeel and stick a triangle of self-adhesive foam over the tape.

cat curled whiskers with noseTo make the cat’s hind legs, cut a 4.25″ x 6.25″ rectangle of white poster board into the shape you see below. Hot glue it to the bottom of the oatmeal container.

cat hind legsThe front legs are two, 1.75″ x 4.5″ rectangles of white poster board. Round the rectangles at both ends, then fold one end to create cat paws. Hot glue or tape the legs to the front of the container. And don’t forget to add a tail!

finished cat legsNow to fancy things up! We crafted paper bangs, a little gold poster board crown, and a gold poster board collar embellished with large gemstones. We also offered small gemstones, gold embossed foil paper, and gold star stickers. The final touch were self-adhesive rhinestone stickers Katie found in a discount bin after Easter

meow dahlingIn a stroke of crafting genius, Katie cut one of the rhinestone flowers into little bits and gave the cat a fancy feline pedicure.

kitty peticureYour cat is finished, now for the accessories! The blanket is a 7″ x 11.5″ piece of fleece trimmed with gold tape. The water dish is a be-jeweled gold paper cup (cut down to 1.75″), with 2 blue cotton balls.

glam accessories The gold mouse toy is a 2.25″ x 3.25″ rectangle of gold mirror board trimmed into a mouse shape. We added ears, a gold craft tie tail, a diamond nose, and finished with a pair of eyes drawn on with silver metallic Sharpie. Absolutely fah-bu-lous dahling!

gold mouse toy