**THE NEXT BEST THING WE'VE EVER MADE** Spooky Crafting With Cats ~ Part 31 ~ Halloween Special ~ How We Made the **TWO IN ONE CAT SCRATCHER**

Supurr Spooky Greetings Pawesome Pals

Thanks for joining us for Part 31 of our Crafting with Cats segment. Mew know we have so much fun making all this fun stuff for feline enrichment, and we hope mew enjoy seeing it and/or making it too. 

If mew missed any of our previous CWC posts, stop by the Crafting with Cats Page and see all our previous projects, and mew don't have to be an expert in anything to make any of them. Plus we offer workarounds and no-sew projects for those who don't like to sew.

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**A quick note before we begin**

All Crafting with Cats ideas and creations are of our own design, and we share them for purrsonal/home use only.

  So purrlease do not copy for commercial/resale purrposes.

Copyright ©BionicBasil®

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THE Two In One Cat Scratcher

Isn't it epic?

What We Used:

5 x pre-made cardboard cat scratchers (£17.99)

1 x  large cardboard box

Non Toxic glue + Glue gun

Black spray paint (+ face mask)

Black non-toxic paint

1 x cardboard tube

Mini Ghosts

White + black felt fabric

4 x pom poms

catnip 

stuffing

**see Gordon the Ghost link below, and just reduce the pattern size**

Let's Get Started

CHAOS IN THE CRAFT ROOM

1. & 2. We had bought these five cardboard scratchers from Amazon with the intent of making something totally different, however they were much smaller than we thought, so idea one, was literally tossed out of the window. And a few minutes later we had another idea, and that  needed one large Amazon box too.

(Note: mew could make your own scratchers - see our tutorial here)

3. Making it up as we went along, this is what we decided. First we cut all the flaps off. And cut the side of the box out. 

4. This is what it looked like.

5. 6.  We repeated on the other side and this is how it looked.

 7. & 8. Next it was spray painted - always use a mask - and #8 was after a couple of coats   

(we didn't have time to apply more paint). 

9. & 10. Next we glued four of the scratchers in place to the back.

11.  Then we glued the last one in the bottom.

12.  Using one of the flaps we measured to make an infill piece.

13. 14. & 15.  This is what the infill looked like, we scored the sides along the line and bent them into postion, before gluing in place..

16.   We repeated the previous steps to make infills for the other side and front.

17. 18. & 19.  Taking a long wrapping paper cardboard tube, we cut it in half and glued along the sides of the other scratchers. So it filled in the tiny gap, and this is what it looked like.

20. Next we scored and folded the top flap in half.

21. We glued it together.

22. Then we glued the flap down securing it to the edges of the box. Then we painted the rest of the cardboard black.

23. If mew look at the top corner, mew can see we added a corner piece, as when we initially cut the flaps off in step 2, we were a bit slap dash and didn't cut it level so were left with a small gap, and this piece just covered our butchery! MOL

24. And this is what your Two in One Cat Scratcher should look like now. 

And there mew have it, only 24 easy peasy, supurr simple steps to making your very own Two in One Cat Scratcher! MOL 

It took just over a couple of hours to make, so not that long, and that's us making something that we've never made before so, it should take mew much less time.

Plus we made the two small catnip ghosts and added the catnip pumpkins from the Haunted House project. See links below for instructions and other Halloween crafting projects.

And we know mew're wondering why it's a two in one cat scratcher, well it was intially desgned to go up a wall, thereby offering a nice tall scratching scenario, but then we realised that it could also be used flat, and it makes a wunderpurr bed and scratcher, so the choice is yours on what your purrsonal preference is, vertical or horizontal! MOL

Smooch and Fudge are demonstrating the horizontal position, and there's more than enough room for two cats, two ghosts and three pumpkins!

And Fudge demonstrating the vertical position.

Fudge has pretty much claimed ownership of it, and is currently reclining (Sunday Morning - we only finished it late on Caturday) in the horizontal position in the sitting room! MOL

And for those who'd just like to watch us make it, here is the video - it's only 28 seconds long for those short on time! 

We'll share The B Team using it on The Midweek News, as we just didn't get time to add all the footage in and get posted on time.

Direct link to watch on YouTube

LET'S GET SCRATCHING!

What do mew think to The Two in One Cat Scratcher?

We think it turned out pretty well, given that we had no clue what we were making, and that we were really short on time due to the flood.

See our previous Halloween Crafting Posts Below:

Check out the epically epic Spooky House and Catnip Pumpkins 

Click here

and

The Halloween Crafting Special from 2019

Featuring oodles of fun projects including this giant furry pumpkin bed with catnip leaves and a catnip kicker stalk.

Click Here

Gordon the Ghost Spooktacular Meowoleen Snuggle Mat 2020

Click Here

The Trick or Treat Monster Truck aka MOG 1

Isn't it epic?

Here's how we made it ~ Click here! 

Check out our YouTube Channel for all our fun DIY Cat Stuff videos.

And that furiends furry sadly brings us to the end of our 31st Crafting with Cats post, we do hope mew enjoyed it, and if mew decide to make your furry own Two in One Cat Scratcher tag us on social media @BionicBasil.

Don't furget to check our yearly Halloween tradition of Spooky Story Time tomorrow in a **Brand New** B Team adventure called **Claws of Terror**, as we know mew won't want to miss that! MOL 

Spooky purrs

MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 

Don't furget to subscribe and never miss another post!

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.  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 the use of any Crafting With Cats posts we may share.

Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com 

Music used under license from SoundStripe. Track:Rave Kids Artist: PALA   

**NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS WEEK** Craft-Fest with Cats ~ Mini Cardboard Scratcher ~ Day Four

Welcome to our week long craft-fest

NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS WEEK 

Here's a quick re-cap 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

This is our first completely NO SEW project of the week, sorry it took so long to get here! MOL 

Our Mini Cardboard Scratcher is purrfect for our kitty comrades in shelters, as its small and will fit easily inside small pens and give the ktties a much needed scratching outlet.  We don't advise to make this for our K9 pals as they'd probably eat it!

What you will need

A small cardboard box*

Scissors or craft knife** or cutting wheel**

Extra cardboard boxes***

Ruler

Pen or pencil

Glue non toxic

Optional catnip

Optional ribbon

>^.^<

*we used a small amazon prime box  6.5" x 9"  approx size

**please be super careful if you're using these 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. 

***save all those home delivery boxes to recycle 

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Lets Begin

1. Get a small box - this is ours.

2.  Measure approx 1.5" up from the bottom.

3.  Draw a line all the way around.

4.  Cut surplus off and you should be left with something like this.

5.  Use part of the surplus cardboard to cut a test strip, it should be a fraction less than 1.5" high.

6.  Try the test strip to make sure it fits snuggly, and its not too long or too high.

7.  Once you've got the correct size cut lots of strips.

8.  Before you begin gluing the strips, stick the flaps down in the bottom of the box.

9.  Begin gluing the strips in place.

10.  Smooch was on paw to offer more boxes when we needed to cut some extra strips.

11. & 12. A short while later, and you should now have something that looks like this.

Here's our finished Mini Cardboard Scratcher

You can leave it as is, or if you'd like to add a little more pizzazz like us; we used a length of hessian ribbon and simply glued that around the outside. 

Also, you can add a little sprinkle of catnip to add to the fun.

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

The Snuggle Buddy    Kicker Toy    The Snuggle Mat



And that furriends furry sadly brings us to the end of Craft-Fest Day Four. 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 no sew Catnip Crackers and we have an extra surprise project to share so do hope you can join us, until then...

Keep calm and craft on

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. 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