**NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS WEEK** Craft-Fest with Cats ~ The Snuggle Buddy for Shelter Pets ~ Day One

Welcome to our week long craft-fest kicking off

NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS WEEK 

Everyday this week we'll be showing you how to make all kinds of stuff to take to your local shelter to give the kitties and K9's so they get to feel some love, and you get to flex your crafting skills. Any excuse to make something right? MOL

Now we know that some peeps don't sew and/or don't have access to a sewing machine or the like, so we will be incorporating some ideas that are completely NO SEW during the week, and don't think that the items are just for us cats, 3 of our items are for our K9 furriends too, so don't panic we've got you covered - of course we do, we're The B Team we've got everything covered! 

Also we love to upcycle, recycle and re-purpose items here at BBHQ, so most things can be made without having to buy anything in.

Here's what we've got on offer throughout the week

 As modelled by our youngest B Team memfur; Melvyn, and you can see he's absolutely blissed out.

1. Snuggle Buddy    2. Kicker Toy    3. Snuggle Mat  

4. Mini Cardboard Scratcher    5. Catnip Cracker

SO LET'S CRAFT ON

First up is: 

The Snuggle Buddy for Shelter Pets

We know there are lots of little kitties and K9's in shelters that are scared/lonely/needy 
who would really benefit from this little snuggle toy, and you can see Melvyn loves it.

What you will need

Fabric*

Stuffing**

Catnip***  

Sewing machine - needle and thread

Pins

Scissors

You can download** the PDF template from our google drive here or make your own template.

**Please see our Download policy**

>^.^<

*Fabric ~ we used felt squares that we had in stock, but any cotton fabric [other than jersey as that is too stretchy] will be fine.  Use an old cotton shirt, bed sheet, anything like that will be fine. 

**Stuffing ~ we used regular wadding as we also had that in stock, but we suggest for our larger K9 pals to stuff with old socks as it will make the Snuggle Buddy at bit more robust.

***Cats Only ~ Catnip is for the kitty side of the shelter only.

*    *    *

Use our A4 template above or make your own. 

You can scale the pattern up for larger K9's.

Cut out 2 pieces, leaving approx 1/4" extra all the way around - see pic 1 below

1. & 2. Pin together [front and back view]

3. Sew together leaving the bottom of the legs open

4.  This is how your snuggle buddy should look

5. Start stuffing your snuggle buddy, use a pencil or similar to poke to stuffing into the hard to reach places.

6.  Alternate stuffing with the wadding and catnip.

For our smaller K9 friends just use wadding.

And for bigger toys use old cotton socks or the like.

7.  Once stuffed to your liking, sew up the bottom of the legs.

8.  Your snuggle buddy should now look something like this.

Here's our finished Snuggle Buddy 

We did hand-sew some small pom poms for eyes and buttons, and added a little a felt smile as this one is for demonstration purposes.  Though we would advise not to bother with that if you're taking yours to a shelter, just leave them plain. We will be making a few more to take to our local shelter without the pom poms. If you make one for home use and do add the pom poms, we suggest that you check the toy regularly just in case things come loose.

*    *    *

And that furriends furry sadly brings us to the end of Craft-Fest Day One. We do hope you've enjoyed it and feel inspired to make something, and we'd love to see how your projects turned out so feel free to post your pawesome crafty pics on our Facebook page at:

Bionic Basil & The B Team @Facebook

And if there's anything you'd like us to make, leave a comment with your idea/s.  

We'll be back on the morrow with how to make the pawesome kicker toy and do hope you can join us then.

Bestest crafty purrs

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team xox

If mew missed any of our previous Crafting with Cats posts, here's the links:

Merlin's Wizard Hat   Smoochie's SupurrHero's Cape  Magical KittyLantern

Supurr LuxePom Pom Hammock  KittyObservatory ~ Cativity Centre

Halloween CatnipToys  Valentines Heart Crinkle Mat  

PuzzleTreat Box ~ Fish Fur Treats   Haunted HouseSet & Catnip Pumpkins

Catnip Easter Eggs

Disclaimer:

We at BionicBasil HQ are not responsible or liable for any injuries to person/s and/or cat/s, crafting addictions, glue on cats, paper cuts, misplaced pins and needles, cats stealing your supplies, broken scissors, cat fur stuck on your projects, or your project not turning out as planned. Be super careful if you're using cutting tools, take your time and always cut away from yourself and we do recommend that you wear some special cut resistant gloves like this: Cut Resistant Gloves for Safety. these are just an example we found on Amazon and this is not an affiliate link. This project is not suitable for younger readers without parental/adult help. By using this information you hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless BionicBasil and staff from and against any and all claims for personal injuries or damages of any kind arising from use of any Crafting With Cats posts we may share. 

Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com and www.pizap.com