Cute Cat Coasters

This adorable cat coaster is as cute as it is easy to make. WingItVegan provides a step-by-step tutorial as well as free design templates. Get the instx here.

Book: Cat Designs: Patterns for Craftspeople and Artisans

If you're looking for a book chock full of cat designs for a wide range of different cat crafting projects, check out Cat Designs: Patterns for Craftspeople and Artisans.

More than 30 original designs convey the aloof attitude and languid posture beloved by cat lovers. They may be enlarged or reduced for use in a wide variety of crafts such as appliqué, card making, embroidery, glass, mosaics, quilting, silk or china painting, and stained glass.

The patterns, centered upon characteristic feline expressions ranging from “Where’s My Dinner?” to “Why Did You Stop Scratching Me?” each contain between 11 and 30 pieces, making them accessible to crafters with basic skills as well as advanced crafters seeking a quick, dramatic project.

While the illustrated examples are primarily designed for stained glass pieces, each provides an inspirational color guide for application to other crafts. In addition, line drawings are featured alongside each design, and a few technical tips are included for those choosing to execute the designs for stained glass construction.

Click here for more info.

Cat Craft Projects for Kids

Looking for crafts projects to keep your cat-lovin' kids busy during the holiday vacation? DLTK Kids has a couple of dozen super easy projects that are the cat's meow! Click here to check 'em out.

#002: Christmas Cat Memento Ornament

Christmas is just around the corner, and here's a holiday project that's both easy and inexpensive.

I love making these each Christmas season. It documents my feline family as they age, and nicely complements the cat ornaments on my Christmas tree -- almost all of which are handmade. You can adapt the concept for other pets, kids or family members.

You can get by without purchasing supplies for this one. It's a great way to repurpose leftover bits of wrapping, ribbons and cards from previous Christmases.

TIME REQUIRED: Less than an hour, plus drying time. 

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: Very easy 

COST: As little as $0 if you have Christmas scraps and basic crafts supplies available

SUPPLIES:

• Screwtop Jar Lid (You can upcycle lids or other circular thingies you might have around the house. In a pinch you can buy 2-inch art jar lids from Dick Blick [39 cents ea.] or other art supplies stores. (I used Gerbers baby food lids and Starbucks drink lids for this project).
• Cat Photo, sized to fit within the confines of the lid. (On photo paper is best.)
• Acrylic paint and brushes (craft quality paint and brushes are fine).
• Water-soluble varnish or decoupage medium
• Ribbon that's approx. the same width as the rim of the lid (You only need a few inches.)
• Rubber band
• Anti-fraying agent or clear nail polish
• Red and white paper scraps.
• Gift tags, old Xmas cards or scraps of wrapping paper
• Embellishments (beads, glitter, cord, ephemera)
• Black ink pen with indelible permanent ink

STEPS:

1. Assemble all of your supplies and take a look at your papers/ribbons, etc. Determine your color scheme and which papers and ribbons to use together. 
2. Paint the lid with red or green acrylic paint. Let dry, then add a second coat.
3. Paste the photo inside using a glue stick or collage medium.
4. Paste a gift tag or wrapping to the backside of the lid. If using wrapping or other decorative paper, pull over the side of the rim and glue down. (This will be covered by ribbon later.)
5. When dry, add a Santa hat or elf hat to the image using scraps of red or green and white paper. (Not necessary if your cat is wearing festive Christmas wear in the photo.) Or, paint on a hat, and outline hat in permanent black ink. 
6. If desired, add beading, cord, or other embellishment to the inside rim. (These are mini-collages - use your imagination!) We line the inner rim with glue glitter.
7. Using 20-guage copper wire (we chose a red color), cut a piece that is as long as the circumference of the ornament, plus an additional couple of inches.
8. At the halfway point in the wire, create a loop by twisting the wire a couple of times.wrap the non-loop part of the wire around the ornament -- a strand of wire on each side. Tightly twist the wire wear it meets at the bottom. Loop it around several times to hold. Cut off one the strands and wrap around the remaining piece of wire - a couple of twists is fine.
9. Thread glass beads onto the remaining strand at the bottom of the ornament. When finished beading, fold and twist the wire up and around the last bead.
10. Glue ribbon around the outer rim. Using an Exacto knife, cut a very wee hole in the ribbon where the top copper loop will poke through. the top for a hanger. Let dry, then apply collage medium to the top of the ribbon.
11. If needed, wrap a rubber band around the rim to hold the ribbon in place as it dries.
12. Dab anti-fray agent or clear nail polish on cut end of ribbon to prevent fraying.
13. Coat the image with water-based varnish or resin*, let dry completely.
14. Coat the back side with water-based varnish or resin, let dry completely.

* Resin requires 24 hours to dry, and an additional week or so to cure, so plan ahead if you use resin.

This is a great gift for cat-loving friends or co-workers. It's also a great project for a DIY ornament party. It's easy enough for kids (8 yrs +) to do with adult supervision.

#001: Black Cat Halloween Cookies in Candy Corn Pot

 

This is a fun cooking project that's pretty quick and easy to do. It's a good project in which to engage kids, and this makes a PURRfect centerpiece for any Halloween pawty.


Black Cat Halloween Cookies

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Degree of Difficulty: Easy, as long as you aren't cooking-impaired
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Cost: Less than $20; you probably have most ingredients on-hand

You Will Need

• 1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 24 wooden craft or Popsicle sticks
• 48 candy corn candies
• 24 red-hot candies

Cookie Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.

2. Insert a wooden stick into each cookie. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch top of cookie to form ears. For whiskers, press a fork twice into each cookie. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from the oven; immediately press on candy corn for eyes and red-hots for noses. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Serves 12

Candy Corn Clay Pot

Time required: About 20 mins. to paint plus additional "dry time" periods
Degree of Difficult: Easy

Materials

• Ruler and pencil 
• New 6-inch clay pot
• Sponge brush
• Acrylic craft paints -- white, yellow and orange
• Craft knife
• Candy corn

Instructions

1. Use ruler and pencil to measure and lightly mark a line around clay pot 2 inches from the top rim of the pot and 1 1/2 inches from the bottom of the pot. Center a rubber band over each marked line.

2. With sponger brush and white paint, basecoat bottom and top sections of clay pot, taking care not to allow paint to puddle along edges of rubber bands. Also basecoat inside of rim. Let dry. Paint outside top section and inside of rim yellow. Let dry.

3. When pain is thoroughly dry, use craft knife to score paint along painted edges of the rubber bands to break any paint seal that might have formed.

4. Position edge of bottom rubber band along the white painted edge and top rubber band along the yellow painted edge for painting guides. Paint center section orange. Let dry. Carefully remove rubber bands as before. Line the pot with plastic wrap; fill with candy corn and cookies. 

[SOURCE: ReadersDigest.com]

What This Blog is All About

We love crafting. We love our cats. Frequently, we marry these two passions, creating cat-themed crafts for ourselves and as gifts for friends and family.

In this blog, we'll share tutorials with you of easy DIY crafts projects with a feline twist. And, if you don't have time to complete the projects yourself, you have the option of buying them in our online store.

We'll also link to pawsome cat craft projects we find online, so CatCrafter.com can be THE place on the Internet to find the best cat crafting projects!