Every few months, Kate Pruitt, editor of the website Design*Sponge (design sponge.com) would purchase a new scratch pad for her cat from a local grocery store. Upon close inspection she realized it was basically a box full of corrugated cardboard! Rather than spend more money on scratchers, Kate decided to find a new use for her old shipping boxes by creating a recycled cat scratcher with a decorative edge. Now her cat can scratch away, and Kate has found a new way to recycle old cardboard boxes. (Excerpted from “,” by Grace Bonney, Artisan Books, $35).
SUPPLIES
• Cardboard boxes (all sizes, all kinds, at least 5 medium-sized boxes)
• Ruler
• X-Acto knife
• Masking tape
• Scrap paper, felt, or fabric (optional)
• Glue (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Choose a height for the pad (Kate’s is 4 inches tall).
2. Measure and cut your cardboard in identical-width strips. Cut so that the ridges in the cardboard are going across the width.
3. Start rolling the cardboard in your hands and bending at each corrugation. The cardboard will start to curl naturally.
4. Wind one strip tightly into a cylinder and tape closed. This will be the core of your round.
5. Add another piece of cardboard at the edge where the first ended and secure it with two pieces of masking tape. Choose which side will be the top, and make sure that side is always even. It is less important if the other side is slightly uneven — it will still sit properly and the top will look perfect.
6. Keep adding until the pad is at least 1 foot in diameter. Tape each piece right next to the end of the last piece and keep the coiling tight.
7. Cut your paper or fabric to size, and wrap it around the outside. Tape to secure.
8. Trace the bottom circumference of the scratcher onto the scrap paper or fabric and cut out the circle. Tape or glue to the bottom.
Tip
Catnip can be sprinkled onto the scratcher from the top — the fabric or paper liner on the bottom will keep it from coming through.
