Hello my lovely cat ladies, you look purrfect today. Do you have any cat stories to share this holiday season? Is your cat knocking over your tree? Is your cat catching those lights? Is your cat cozy sleeping under the tree? Is your cat knocking over every ornament you have? It’s Goblin’s first Christmas and he treats everyday like it’s the best day ever. I am pretty sure he thinks every ornament is a toy that we gave him. He just doesn’t understand when we tell him we can’t knock them down. I know he’s thinking.. “Give me toys so I can look at? No, Goblin must play!”. What else does Goblin love.. garland! Hours of entertainment when there’s string involved! To step up my cat lady game though, I decided this would be the year of cat garland. Garland is so much fun for any day of the year, but especially around the holidays. It’s great for trees, walls, front door and parties! The great thing about making your own garland is customizing it to whatever color or pattern you want.
This year I found a great cat die cut that made the job much easier than hand cutting them. Below I have a tutorial on how to make your own cat garland but first let’s check it out! I decided to use 2 holiday paper patterns, one is a candy cane like design and the other is a soft blue with snowflakes.
I use this all over the house. It’s on our big tree, our small sparkly trees, our cabinets (without string) and our front door! Oh and it’s also a great activity to do with your cats. 2 of the 3 of us are really enjoying ourselves right now.. Xanadu: “I think I can get this, but Goblin get over here, I need you to help.” Goblin: “I was busy eating this mini tree, what do you need? Oh there’s garland.. I’ll be right over!” Cat teamwork!
How to Make Cat Garland (for all My Cat Ladies) Supplies: Paper Card Stock (good quality paper so it doesn’t bend or fold) Cat Die Cut (I used Sizzix 655442 Dress Up Kitty) Sizzix Big Shot Machine (one of the best investments ever!) Hole Puncher Twine I love my Sizzix machine. I’ve already used it for so many recipe photo shoots and this Christmas I’m making my own holiday tags of all shapes. If you like crafts, parties and cute things I think you should get one! A holiday gift to yourself! :D) Shown here is the Sizzix along with the Extended Multipurpose Platform and 1 Pair of Cutting Pads. Here’s my die cut. Like I mentioned I’ve been on the lookout for a big cat. I found this on eBay. I’m not sure if it’s still available by Sizzix but try auction sites too if you can’t find it. Both of my paper choices came from card stock paper books. This paper is 12×12 and is double sided. For each piece of paper I cut it into 4 pieces – so one sheet of paper will get you 4 cats. When you got all your supplies ready this is how you’ll want to stack them. From bottom to top: Cutting Pad, Cat Die, Paper, Cutting Pad Here’s a great diagram to explain the order too. After stacking them then you will roll it through once. It only takes one time and you’ll see your first cat. In just a few minutes you’ll have a bunch of cats! The silhouettes are pretty cute too. I’m sure you can do something with them too?! The cats are friends right away! Then take the hole puncher and put a hole at the very tip. Take your twine (I found some cute red/white twine at Target) and pull it through. Ta-da! You have cat garland… Have fun!
