**VALENTINE'S CRAFTING RE-RUN**PART II** Crafting With Cats Valentine's Special ~ Catnip Hearts and Kicker Toy and Come Say Hi to Young Melvyn (Melvyn's First Time on The Blog in February 2019)

Welcome to

Supurr Furbulous Greetings Pawesome Pals

Thanks for joining us for Part II of our supurr fun Crafting with Cats re-run. We thought we'd get a head-start on the Valentine's Crafting, as the big day is only three weeks away, so if mew want to make anything we share over the next couple of weeks, mew should have plenty of time! 

If mew missed Part I, click here to see how we made an epic heart shaped crinkle mat.

Stay tuned for more epically epic crafty fun!

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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**Purrlease Note**

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

  So purrlease do not copy for commercial/resale purposes.

Copyright ©BionicBasil 

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This time we're making 

What Mew Will Need:

Felt squares

Cotton fabric of your choice

Ribbon

Tailors chalk or similar fabric marker

Scissors

Thread and Needle or Sewing machine

Stuffing/Wadding

and we used lot's of home grown BBHQ catnip and catmint

Optional Cat ~ Parsley was today's Craft Room Snoopervisor

Here's our selection of fabric

Ooooh what purretty colours!

Making The Catnip Hearts

1. Parsley was snoopervising today's session and making sure all Health & Safety protocols were carried out.

2. Cut out a cardboard template of your chosen heart.

3.  Pick which colour felt square and trace 2 x heart outlines. 

4. Repeat No. 3 then cut out hearts and place right sides together.

5. & 6. If mew don't have a sewing machine, that's ok.  Mew can hand stitch the hearts together.  We used the sewing machine and left a good inch so we could turn the right sides out.

7. Turn right sides out and your hearts should look something like this.

8.  Get your catnip and stuff to the brim, then hand stitch the last part the of the seams together.

Making The Catnip Heart Kicker Toy



1.  Take your chosen fabric, we used this lovely cotton print. Cut a rectangle, mew can make to a size of your choice, though ours is approx 8 x 4 inches.

2.  Fold the rectangle along the long edge [in-half] and sew along the bottom and long edge, either by hand or with a sewing machine. 

3. Turn right side out and get your wadding ready.

4.  Stuff kicker toy, alternating with wadding and then catnip until full.



5.  Cut your ribbon into approx 4 inch lengths and add to top edge, tack in place if mew need to.  Stitch securely along the top edge to fully secure ribbons. 

And mew should now have something like this - some epically epic toys and a crazy cat or two, or maybe even three! MOL



Smooch was loving it!

Here's Melvyns furry first photo on the blog in 2019 - what a cutie! 

Before we go any further, we need to make a quick introduction, my young nephew Melvyn has just moved in so purrlease say hi, mew can see the furrmily resemblance can't mew? What a cheeky little chap he is! MOL 



Even crotchety Amber got stuck in too.



In total from start to finish, these 3 toys took about 25 mins to make. It would have been quicker but the P.A. couldn't see to thread the needle - PFFFFTTTT  - OLD TIMERS!

As mew can see the Valentine's toys were a total hit, the P.A. said she'd never seen so much cat drool and made a note on a post-it to use less potent nip next time - though we promptly ate said post-it note as we really like the extra potent nip! MOL 


And that furriends furry sadly brings us to the end of today's fun Crafting with Cats post, we do hope mew liked it and if mew decide to make your furry own Valentine's toys, we hope mew enjoy them as much as we are still enjoying ours! 

Amber will be here tomorrow with this weeks top book pick and we do hope mew can join us then.

Epic crafty purrs

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 

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

mewsic used under paid licence www.audiojungle.net

**NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS DAY** Crafting with Cats ~ How We Made Supurr Easy Catnip Cushions Using Fabric Scraps

Welcome to another 

NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS DAY

It's Day Three of our Annual Craft Fest for National Crafting for Your Shelters Day, and today we're finishing with a brand new project.

If mew're thinking of making things for your local shelter, we have projects to suit all crafting levels and no-sew ideas too, for those who aren't into sewing or just don't like it! MOL

If mew missed our two previous posts here are the links:

Craft Fest Day One ~ Funky Grass Pots (no sew)

Craft Fest Day Two ~ Mini Cardboard Scratcher (no sew)

SO LET'S CRAFT ON

Supurr Easy Catnip Cushions

Mew know how we like to upcycle, recycle and use stuff we already have to make new things, so everything we used today was already kicking about the craft room.

And if mew don't have any spare fabric or scraps, mew could always use an old item of cotton clothing that purrhaps mew were thinking of donating to a charity shop or clothing bank. Using old clothing to make new things is a great idea, especially if mew love the fabric.

What We Used:

Fabric Scraps

Wadding/Stuffing Scraps

Catnip (Homegrown organic)

Sewing machine

Thread
 

  Scissors 

Iron + Ironing Board

>^.^<

Optional Craft Room Snoopervisor

 

Today Pandora was in charge of the craft room!

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Let's Begin

1. We used a couple of off-cuts from some fat quarters. (Approx 20" x 7" or 50 cm x 17.8 cm)

2. After pressing we laid them flat, to gauge how many cushions we could make.

3. Folding in half, we cut down the fold.

4. Fold again and we cut along the fold, so we had enough for 4 x cushions.

5. Pandora had to sign off on the sizes at this point! MOL 

6.  We decided to make our cushions with a different design on each side.

7. & 8. Pin the right sides together. And sew around the edge using a straight stitch. Remembering to leave a gap of approx 2" or 5 cm for the stuffing and catnip.

9. Mew can't really see, but these are all stitched.

10. & 11. Snip the corners off at an angle. And trim any excess fabric from the seam edge.

12. Turn right sides out and they should look like this after a quick press with the iron.

13. Next top stitch around the edge of the fabric, remember to leave the gap open.

14. & 15. & 16. Then take your wadding plus catnip and stuff your cushions. We used a wooden chopstick to push the wadding in the corners.

17. Once they are filled to your total catisfaction, they should look like this.

18. Next, top stitch the gap shut.

19. & 20. And now mew have 4 supurr epic catnip cushions which measure approx  5" x 6.5"  or 12.7 x 16.50 cm (depending on how big your seams are if mew used similar size fabrics scraps to us).

Let's See If The B Team Gave Them The Paw Print of Approval

And surprise, surprise, look who claimed them all! MOL

Watch the video:

Direct link to watch on YouTube - Click Here.

Fudge took ownership of all the catnip cushions for the video, but Melvyn, Smooch and Parsley did get to try them out later!

They all said, "The catnip cushions were epically epic!"

Now we'll make some more and send them to a local cat shelter, well we can't send those as they've been slobbered on! MOL

And that furiends furry sadly brings us to the end of our mini craft-fest, we do hope mew enjoyed it and we'll be back tomorrow with our usual selfies post and new UK Travel destination, so we do hope you can join us, until then...

Keep calm and craft on

Epically crafty purrs

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team

If mew missed any of our previous crafting posts, visit our dedicated crafting page: 

Crafting with Cats

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

Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com    Paid Music Licence Soundstripe   Artist: Revielle - Track: You Got This

**NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS DAY** Crafting with Cats ~ How We Made Cute Pots For Our Cat Grass **SEE OUR EPICALLY FUNKY CAT GRASS POTS**

Welcome to another 

NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS DAY

It's National Crafting for Your Shelters Day, and we thought we'd do something a bit different.

Mew can use this idea to offer a nommable treat to kitties in shelters, who may be in need of a little grass therapy! MOL

As we love to upcycle, recycle and re-purpose items here at BBHQ, today's project can be made purretty much without having to buy anything in.

SO LET'S CRAFT ON

Are mew bored silly with horrendously dull and uninspiring pots to grow your cat grass in? Us too, so we decided to funk things up a bit, and this is what we came up with.

What We Used:

Plastic tubs

Jazzy paper

Laminator + pockets

Flower embellishments

Glue non-toxic
 

Scissors or craft knife**

>^.^<

**purrlease be super careful if mew're using a craft knife or cutting tool, take your time and always cut away from yourself, and we always recommend using 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. 

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Let's Begin

1. We recycled/repurrposed two plastic tubs, these were ideal, the P.A. said the chocolates were purretty nommable too! MOL  And the lids make purrfect plant pot trays/dishes too.

2. Next, we put some holes in the bottom - we used a bradawl tool, a small craft hammer and placed the tub bottom-down on a piece of flat wood to protect the table before punching the holes through.

3. This is our holographic jazzy paper, we chose pink and red.

 

4. & 5. Place jazzy paper in laminating pouches and laminate. This step isn't necessary but we found when watering the pots can get wet, and the laminated paper is more robust.

6. We measured the depth and circumference of the tub and cut laminated paper to size. 

7. Glue the laminated paper to the tubs.

8. Get oodles of fun embellishments.

9. Decorate the tub.

And now we have some epically funky grass pots! MOL

Growing Some Nibbles

What We Used:

Organic compost

Gravel

Cat grass seeds

A sunny windowsill or warm location

1. Put some stones/gravel in the bottom, this will assist drainage, and the extra weight will help prevent the pot from tipping over during effervescent grass nomming sessions.

2. Add organic compost and fill to 2/3 full.

3. Sprinkle in cat grass seeds.

4. Top up with more compost. Don't fill it right to the top, leave space for watering.

5. Water and place in a warm spot. A sunny windowsill is ideal, mew can also cover with clingfilm to speed up germination. As it's the summer we just leave ours in the potting shed where it's nice and toasty.

6. Keep watering or spritzing with a spray bottle daily; a few days later, it should look like this.

7. The red pot was a little slower growing than the pink one, but it soon caught up.

8. Ready to NOM!

9. We use all kinds of little plastic tubs to grow cat grass in at BBHQ; small ice cream tubs, ready meal containers, yoghurt pots etc... just give them a good clean furst. 

What's this got to do with Crafting For Your Shelters Day we hear mew ask? 

Well, fluffy furiends mew could grow several little pots of cat grass to take to your local shelter, and we're sure the kitties there would love some fresh noms. And mew could use plain tubs or plastic pots, no need to decorate.

To see a more in-depth tutorial on growing cat grass, visit our Gardening with Cats post.

Watch the video

See what Melvyn and Fudge thought...

...or watch direct on YouTube.

We think that was a hit and such a stylish way to NOM your greens! MOL



And that furiends furry sadly brings us to the end of today's post, though we'll be back on the morrow with how to make a  Mini Cardboard Scratcher, so we do hope you can join us, until then...

Keep calm and craft on

Epically crafty purrs

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team

If mew missed any of our previous crafting posts, visit our dedicated crafting page: 

Crafting with Cats

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

Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com    Paid Music Licence Soundstripe   Artist: PALA  Track: Astro Vision