DIY Decor: Little Wooden Cats

Last year I made these cute little ghosts out of wood that I had lying around from an old college project. A decoration made out of wood feels more substantial and something that will last for years to come. Today’s project is something I know I will be putting out for years to come. Cutting wood may feel a little daunting but it’s easier than you think. I used an old jigsaw I got from my dad and an iron table with clamps. If you don’t have a saw, Home Depot allows you to rent power tools. You can also check with your local hardware store for the same service.

When I was 13, my dad let us get our first cat. His name was Gus and he was the love of my life for 19 long years. I still think about him to this day. Gus is the inspiration for this project as he was a beautiful black cat. I hope you try this one and let me know what you think!

Supplies:

5 1/2″ wide Wooden Fence Picket (Mine is cedar. You can get them in the lumber section at any hardware store)
Rafter square or ruler (Here is a rafter square from Home Depot)
Jigsaw
Clamps
Electric sander or sandpaper
Acrylic paint in black, white, and orange
Orange Baker’s Twine (I got mine in the Crafter’s Square section at the Dollar Tree)

Method:

Using the rafter square, I marked the mid point of my board about 3 inches down from the top. Using the angle of the rafters square I drew a line from the mid point to the each of the top corners to make the shape for the ears.
Next, I measured down 12″ for the first cat and 10″ for the second cat and drew a line straight across. This creates the body of the little cat.
Using my jigsaw, I cut out the triangle for the ears and cut across the bottom line to remove my cat from the rest of the picket.
Next, using my electric sander I sanded down both sides of the picket as well as the edges to remove any roughness. You can also do this manually with sandpaper
Once the pieces were sanded, I applied 3 coats of a matte black acrylic paint all over the front and on the sides. Once that was dry I used the white paint to create the eyes and little whiskers. This required 2-3 coats. I added pupils to the eyes with my black paint and then added a little orange nose.
For the last little touch, I wrapped some orange baker’s twine around a few times and tied it in a bow!