Craft Ideas: Box Cat

Material Required

• Small box (e.g., medicine or tea box)
• Acrylic paint, tempera, or poster paint
• Paint brush
• Wiggle eyes
• Small pompom or button
• Cotton
• String or ribbon
• Pencil
• Scissors
• White glue
• Fishing line or thin florist wire (optional)
• Glue gun (optional)

Directions to be followed

• Find a small and relatively tall box such as a medicine box or a tea box.
  
• Glue the top and bottom flaps in place using white glue or a glue gun.
• Position the box horizontally so that the widest panel is facing you. Mark the bottom outline of the cat's body by drawing 3 sides of a rectangle at the bottom of the box-the horizontal line corresponds to the cat's tummy and the vertical lines to its legs. Create an identical rectangle on the opposite side of the box.
• Turn the box so that the adjacent small panel is facing you. Repeat step 3 on this panel and its opposite panel, making sure that the top horizontal sides of your rectangles are about the same height.
• With all four panels marked with lines, you are now ready to cut the box into a cat's body. First, cut out the entire bottom panel. Then cut along the outlines on each side panel.
  
• Draw a cat's head on cardboard, heavy card stock, or on the box scraps from the previous step. Draw shoulders below the head and a rectangular tab at the bottom. You will need this tab to attach the head to the box. This tab should be as wide as the box's small side panel.
• Cut out the head. Glue its bottom tab onto the front panel of the cat's box body.
• Just like the head, you can draw the tail on cardboard, heavy card stock, or on the box scraps from the previous step. You can make it straight, curvy, or bushy.
• Cut out the tail. Glue it to the back of the cat's box body. Let the glue dry completely.
  
• Paint the cat using acrylic or tempera paint. Acrylic paint clings better to glossy surfaces than tempera. If using tempera or poster paint, apply it undiluted. Let the paint dry. Apply a second coat of paint as needed.
• Paint or color the inner ears. Use a color that constrasts with the rest of the cat's body.
• When the paint is dry, glue a pair of wiggle eyes. Shape some cotton into two small ovals and glue them below the eyes. To add a nose, glue a small pompom, a round bead, or a circle made of craft foam or paper between the cotton ovals. Create whiskers by cutting six short strips of fishing line or thin florist wire. Glue three strips onto each cotton oval.
  
• Add a cat collar if you like. Attach a small button, a bead, or a jingle bell on a short length of yarn or string. Tie the string around your cat's neck. That's it! Your cat is ready for hours of play.