**NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS WEEK** Craft-Fest with Cats ~ No Sew Catnip Crackers & Surprise Project ~ Day Five

Welcome to our week long craft-fest

NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS WEEK 

Here's a quick re-cap just in case you missed Mondays post:

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

Today we have another no sew project and our easiest craft project of the week which takes less than 10 minutes to make, so if you can cut a small square of fabric you can make this no problem.

What you will need

Fabric*

Stuffing**

Catnip***  

String

Pins

Scissors

>^.^<

*Fabric ~ we used felt squares that we had in stock, but any cotton fabric including jersey or no fraying fleece will be fine. Use an old cotton shirt, bed sheet, t-shirts - test various types of fabric to see what works for you.

**Stuffing ~ we used regular wadding as we also had that in stock. 

***Catnip is for the kitty side of the shelter only.

*    *    *

Lets Begin

1.  Cut a small piece of fabric - ours are approx 7" x 6"

2.  Cut into the sides approx 1" to add that frayed effect and add catnip.

3.  Place a small amount of wadding on top of the nip - this helps to keep the catnip in place.

4. Roll up as tightly as you can and pin to hold together.  Next get your string and tie both the sides off, forming a small cracker.

And now you're done, and should have something that looks like the picture below - and yes, it really was that easy! MOL

Here's our finished Catnip Crackers

Obviously these are not suitable at all for our K9 Buddies.  

Our top tip, when they start to come apart which they will after a few play sessions or less depending on how vigorous the kitty is, throw away and make more.  These are the simplest, easiest toy to make and the only cost would be the catnip, and if you grow your own, then they'd cost nothing.  How epic, epically so!

Super Dooper Easy Surprise Project

How To Grow Cat Grass

A high proportion of kitties that end up in shelters have usually come from the streets and are probably used to nibbling on a bit of grass for medicinal purposes as and when they like, so being put into a shelter with no access to any fresh greens is even more depressing, than it was already.  But we can make it a little better for them while they wait to get adopted.

So if you only have a few minutes spare, this could be the project for you.  

What you will need

 Cat grass seeds

Organic compost or soil

Small plastic containers*

Cling film 

Sunny windowsill or outside space if its warm enough

>^.^<

*Containers - we used a ready meal container with a lid - the lid doubles as a tray.

plastic butter/margarine containers, small ice cream containers, yoghurt pots etc... will all be perfect for this project, just make sure they have a lid, and plus you get to re-purpose these items which is pawesome. [Obviously wash well before use.]

We've used our containers multiple times, they're still going strong after 6 months and we grow fresh pot or two of cat grass every week.

*    *    *

Lets Begin

1. Our ready meal container and lid - carefully put some drainage holes on the bottom before you begin.

2.  Put your organic compost about halfway up - top tip - use protective gloves when

 handling soil or compost.

3. Get your grass seeds ready - ours came from amazon, and this is a new variety we're trying.

4. Sprinkle seeds quite thickly over compost surface.

5.  Cover the seeds fully with another layer of compost.

6.  Water well, until the soil is saturated.  At this point you can add the cling film to assist with germination if the temperatures are a little cooler.  Although it's been absolutely scorchio here the last few days so ours have been outside.  It takes about 3 to 4 days to sprout and we usually wait a week to ten days before we bring it inside - you'll know when its ready.  Don't forget to keep the compost moist if its warm/hot weather.

If you want more detailed growing instructions, visit our previous Gardening with Cats post.

And after approx 10 days you should have something that looks like this:

Now you may be wondering what the flashy red and pink pots to the right are..  well dearest friends they're our next Crafting with Cats post coming soon, we call them:- Happy Grass Pots - so do keep an eye out for that.

*    *    *

If you missed our previous Crafting For Your Shelters post, here's the links:

The Snuggle Buddy   The Kicker Toy  The Snuggle Mat

Mini Cardboard Scratcher

And that friends very sadly brings us to the end of our Craft-Fest Week. We do hope you've enjoyed a really crafty week with us here at BBHQ and feel inspired to make something to take to a local shelter/s, 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.  

Thank you all so much for joining us this week on our epic craft-fest, and finally before we go we'd like to say a very special thanks to Ann from the fabulous blog Zoolatry who asked us many weeks ago if we'd like to be involved in a crafting sesh for shelter anipals, which then evolved into this entire week.  So without Ann and Dougie this fantastic crafty week would never have happened, so please go visit her blog and leave a word of thanks.  Ann you're EPICALLY EPIC!  And The B Team thank Dougie the lab for keeping them focused throughout the week, dude you're pawesome!

See you on Sunday for another pawesome selfies post, until 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 fur 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.  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