Kitty House!

Can you tell what we made this kitty house out of? We used fabric bolt cardboard inserts. I've known that I wanted to do this project for our new kitten for weeks, so I had been collecting these inserts. But, I still had to unroll a few pieces of fabric to get enough for our final build, and now my fabric stash is a mess. Your local fabric shop should have plenty of these inserts to share if you want to make you own--just find your friendly fabric cutter and I am sure she'll hook you up with plenty.

My son and I made this Kitty Play House in one evening, and it only took us an hour or two. We used a tape measure, a Sharpie, an Exacto knife (careful with that!) and about 7 cardboard bolt thingies. We liked the thicker cardboard inserts better for the main structure of the house, as they're just so much stronger. Aidan helped me get the first shelf/ledge level, so once we had our marks, we used (I used) the Exacto Knife to make notches in the vertical and horizontal bolts. We did this for strength--after all, someday that kitten will be a cat!

Next, we added some of the tri-fold cardboard bolts to add levels and some vertical structure. We didn't have a plan, just a good imagination and sense of humor. Some things we tried just didn't work, so we had to play around a bit (meaning we debated a lot)! NOTE: If and when we make another one, I will double up these tri-fold platforms as they are a bit flimsy! 

After we had made a couple of levels and a tall tower, we decided that Ozzy needed a place to hide so we enclosed the bottom with another tri-fold bolt, creating a nice peek-a-boo spot. Once we were all done with the main construction, we shored it up by giving our key joints a once over with packing tape.

Then came the fun stuff... for us and our kitten! We added a jumbo puff ball dangling from some yarn for a fun toy that hangs from the tower roof. We also poked a simple piece of pipe cleaner through the cardboard for yet another toy. We have plans to add more little surprises for him once these become old hat!

And here is a photo of a rare moment where Ozzy is just hanging out and being cool. Aidan, Ozzy, and I hope you enjoy this project too!!!