Hats for your lols!

It was my husband's birth month. I spoiled him for two weeks leading up to his birthday with ninja toys, robot toys and tokidoki tees and then on his actual birthday, I realized, I was short 1 gift. Actually, I wasn't, the ninja suit just hadn't arrived yet.

What to do?!

He didn't want a party or a big fuss but I didn't want a completely dull day for him. Luckily, there were 3 kitties in the house who are always looking for a way to show their dad how much they love him, and me, with crafty brains ready to concoct some wacky fun

With that... Kitty party hats were made. And once they were on... all bets were off.

What you need:
Decorative Paper
Plain white paper
Scissors
Raffia or ribbon
Pencil
Glue stick
Round object
Kitties or doggies too I suppose

I'm not going to post all the how to pictures here. For more detail images, go to the Noh Wear kitty cat hat set on flickr

First do a test hat to see if your hat is the size you want. Use the round object to trace a circle on the plain white paper. Cut it out, fold in half then half again. Cut down one of the quarter bends. Twist it into a cone and see if it fits your pet.

You'll actually probably only use half the circle, but I like to test with the full one. If it doesn't fit or you don't like it, find a larger round object to trace and try it again.

If it's good, repeat it all on the decorative paper. Be sure to trace on the side you want inside, just in case so no pencil lines show on the outside. Glue down the sides and trim off any excess paper. You might need to use a touch more glue after you trim it.
Cut two pieces of raffia. One about 3 inches long, the other about 1.5 - 2 feet long. Fold the long one in half and in half again, repeat until it's about 4 inches long. Tie it off in the center using the shorter one. You'll want to use a double or triple knot (this will keep the tassel from pulling through the top of the hat).

Feed all the folded pieces of raffia through the top of the hat. If the top isn't big enough you can snip off the very tip of the cone but don't do it too far or the tassel will pull through. It should be hard to fiddle them through and it will get harder the more that are through. I used my pencil to help feed them through (tweezers or even the end of a small paint brush will work).
After they're all through, cut at the center bend of each fold. I like to use raffia because the strands can be un-rolled and then torn into long strands creating even more tassels.

Using some of the same decorative scrap paper. Cut 3 small squares, about an inch or a little less each. Punch a small hole using your sharp pencil on the inside of the hat where the edges of the hat over lap. Do this as centered as possible within the overlap just about a 1/2 inch from the bottom. Glue one square on the inside and use your pencil to continue the hole through this paper. Cut another length of raffia about 6 inches. Feed the raffia through the hole, tie a double knot on the inside of the hat and glue the second square on top of the end of the knot. (
You can glue first then try to poke the hole though, but I found that depending on the paper, 3 layers might be too much to get through without wrinkling the hat.)

At this point, you need to hurry up, the kitties know somethings up and are anxiously waiting to see what you're going to do. And try not to get mad at the little one who keeps running off with the paper scraps.

Find where the second hole should go, opposite of the first. Glue the third square down and poke a hole through it for the other end of the raffia. Feed the other end of the raffia through from outside in. Don't tighten it and don't tie a knot. If for some reason something happened, (kitties might freak out!) you want it to be able to come off easily.

Then find your target. Put the hat on his/her head (I found over-an-ear works best) and the raffia under his chin. Pull the raffia so it tightens up enough to hold but not choke your kitty. I did a simple tie, like the first part of tying your shoes - no knots, before tucking the end under the hat.



Obviously you can see how thrilled they all are.

i can has cake now?