**NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS WEEK** Craft-Fest with Cats ~ The Kicker Toy ~ Day Two

Welcome to our week long craft-fest 

NATIONAL CRAFTS FOR YOUR SHELTERS WEEK 

Here's a quick re-cap just in case you missed yesterdays 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're making this pawesome catnip kicker toy, which can also be easily adapted and made in a larger format for our bigger K9 furriends, who will probably chew it to pieces in minutes, but that's ok; we all need to vent at times and we all do it differently! MOL

What you will need

Fabric*

Stuffing**

Catnip***  

Sewing machine - needle and thread

Pins

Scissors

>^.^<

*Fabric ~ we used part of some fat quarters that we had in stock and a cotton lining fabric, but any cotton fabric [other than jersey as that is too stretchy] will be fine.  Use an old cotton shirt, bed sheet etc... non-stretch denim would be an excellent choice for our K9 furriends, as it's hard wearing and will last longer, well maybe! MOL 

**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 kicker toy a bit more robust for them.

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

*    *    *

1.  Our chosen fabric remnants and lining.

2. Cut 2 pieces of your chosen outer fabric, and if needs be cut 2 pieces of lining fabric to add extra durability.  Our are 10" x 4" which is a good size for smaller K9's too, although for bigger dogs, scale up as required.

3.  Pin right sides together and sew around 3 sides leaving one end open.

4.  You should now have something that looks like this.

5. & 6. Turn right side out - front and back view.

7.  Get your catnip ready - CATS ONLY OPTION - ours is homegrown and dried, hence the box full, but you can get catnip from most pet stores. 

8.  Get stuffing ready.  For a larger K9 option, don't forget you can use old socks or the like - cotton sports socks are epic.

9. Alternate stuffing with wadding and catnip for kitties until you're happy with the level of filling.  

K9 option:- we think more stuffing is better for our K9 buddy's, as a floppy kicker won't last as long.

10. Fold raw edges in and pin, you can either hand-sew or machine sew together, the choice is yours; we hand stitched ours.

11. And you should now have something that looks like this.

Here's our finished Catnip Kicker Toy 

Being very closely inspected by today's Q.C.O. [Quality Control Officer], Fudge and as you can see he loved it!

Who wants to snorgle that tummy? MOL

*    *    *

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

The Snuggle Buddy



And that furriends furry sadly brings us to the end of Craft-Fest Day Two. 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 super comfy snuggle mat 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