Box Cat
Recycle some boxes by crafting them into these cute feline friends.
Featured Crafts
Supplies Needed
- 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)
STEPS
1Find a box.
Find a small and relatively tall box such as a medicine box or a tea box.
2Glue the flaps.
Glue the top and bottom flaps in place using white glue or a glue gun.
3Draw an outline on the wide panels.
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.
4Draw an outline on the small panels.
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.
5Cut along the outlines.
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.
6Draw the cat's head.
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.
7Glue the head.
Cut out the head. Glue its bottom tab onto the front panel of the cat's box body.
8Draw the tail.
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.
9Glue the tail.
Cut out the tail. Glue it to the back of the cat's box body. Let the glue dry completely.
10Paint the cat.
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.
11Paint or color the ears.
Paint or color the inner ears. Use a color that constrasts with the rest of the cat's body.
12Create the cat's face.
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.
13Add more details.
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. Check out more crafting ideas below.
More Ideas
Create fur patterns.
Instead of a single color, paint your cat with two or more colors. Patterns like stripes, blotches or spots are also fun to make.
When painting using light colors like yellow or orange, you will need to prime the box with white paint so that any text or print on the box do not show through. Wait for the white paint to dry before painting with the final colors.
Make a furry cat.
Make your cat look furry by cutting fringes along the lower half of its head in Step 6 and at the end of its tail in Step 8.
Add some texture by painting dry streaks of paint. Do this by dipping the tips of a dry paint brush into a slightly lighter or darker shade of paint. Move the brush in short, quick movements to apply the dry streaks.
