Cute Cat Crafts to Make

By Tamara L. Waters

Meow! Cats inspire more than just cartoons and humor, they can inspire crafts too. If you are a cat fan or know someone who is, try out a few homemade projects to decorate your home or give as gifts. If you have kids, they will also enjoy these kitty cat crafts on a rainy day or to bust some boredom.

Printable Cat Crafts for Kids

For young children, printable paper crafts are fun and easy to do. Whether you are looking for templates to create toilet paper tube kitties, cross stitch patterns or other simple cat crafts, this website has lots of them. This is my favorite go-to site for simple crafts for the kids.

Kitty Treat Jar

Save a plastic peanut butter jar with lid to create a cute kitty treat container. Wash the jar out thoroughly. Use felt to cut out cat eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Glue them onto the jar to create a cat face. Be sure you don't glue anything in such a way as to obstruct the lid. Store your kitty treats in the jar.

Assorted Cat Crafts

I found a great website that offers a variety of cute crafts: daniellesplace.com has cat-inspired crafts that are fun to make and appeal to all ages. From a decorated tuna can food bowl to placemats for feeding your kitty on, to simple paper plate crafts and more, you can find it here. There are step-by-step instructions and links, and it is definitely a craft site worth checking out. About.com also has a listing of assorted cat crafts and links to websites featuring cat crafts.

Cat Face Luminary

For this craft you will need craft paint, slick puff paints, clear spray paint (to seal the paints), a glass jar and a candle (a battery operated tea light will be safest).

Start by making sure the jar is clean and dry. Use the puff paints to create a cat's face on one side of the jar. Leave parts of the face open (the mouth, the eyes) to allow the candle to shine through. Paint and decorate the rest of the jar so it looks like a cat. Use a fine-tipped paint brush and black paint to create whiskers. After all of the paint has dried, take the jar outside and spray the outside with clear spray paint to seal it. Allow the jar to dry thoroughly, add a candle and you've got a unique decoration!

Sock Mouse Toy

This craft is more for your kitty than for you, but you will benefit from the fun of watching your kitty play. Cut the toe end off of a sock – any color will do. Put a jingle bell and a bit of crinkly cellophane (or use a piece of a grocery bag – you know, the noisy kind) in the sock piece. If you have catnip, add some of it.  Sew up the sock piece then sew a length of yarn for a tail onto one end. Tie another jingle bell onto the end of the tail. For a variation, use a pipe cleaner instead of yarn (you might have to attach it by pushing it through the sock material then twisting it back onto itself). My cats seem to adore pipe cleaners. Don't forget the jingle bell on the “tail.”

Books

There are lots of books that offer instructions for fun cat crafts. I checked Amazon.com and found "Cat Crafts (Kids Can Do It)" by Linda Hembry, "Cat Crafts: More than 50 Purrrfect Projects" by Dawn Cusick, and "Sassy Cats: Purr-fect Craft Projects" by Sheila Haynes Rauen. Browse through your local bookstore or library to see what is available, and enjoy your crafting fun!

Photos:  paper plate cat crafts, daniellesplace.com

Read more articles by Tamara L. Waters