This is yet another project utilizing cardboard. It is such a cheap and versatile medium, I simply can't get enough of it. My work place received a lot of supplies this week, so I couldn't resist all that cardboard. I'm calling this little project "The Bunny Loft", but it would also work for any small animal.
Materials and tools needed:
- Box cutter
- Hot glue Gun & hot glue
- Cardboard
Materials for cushion:
- Two pieces of fabric 19"x14" (top and bottom of cushion)
- 1 piece of fabric 2.5"x 63" (you can sew multiple pieces together)
- Two Stabilizer pieces 19"x14" (optional)
- 2 (2yd) packs of piping. (optional)
- Stuffing
Begin by cutting out all your cardboard pieces. Once again I've doubled and tripled up on pieces for stability. You will need 4 pieces measuring 18"x13", 8 measuring 2.5"x13", and 8 measuring 2"x13". You will glue two of every piece together giving you 2 of the 18"x13", 4 of the 2.5" x 13, and 4 of the 2"x13".
The small pieces are your cleats, they will be holding up the top part of your loft. I tripled up on these to create more width. You will need 12 pieces for both the 2"x1" and the 2.5"x1". Glue 3 of the these together creating one cleat giving you 4 of each measurment.
Once you have everything cut out and glued together you can start assembling the loft. You will glue one 2"x13" piece to a 2.5"x13" piece at a right angle. Make sure the wider piece is on the outside as shown in the picture above. Repeat until you have 4 total legs.
Next, mark each leg 2.5" from the top. This is where you will attach the cleats.
Each leg will have one large cleat and one small cleat attached to it.
After all cleats are attached, glue all of the legs to each corner one of the 18"x13" pieces. I glued one leg at a time giving it around 3 minutes for the glue to cool and set.
After all four legs have been attached to the base, you can attach the last large piece to the cleats at the top of the legs.
To finish off this masterpiece, I made a cute little cushion to sit at the top. If you are using piping you need to pin the piping in between the right sides of your material. If you are not using piping skip this step.
There is a special sewing foot for sewing piping, but I just use a zipper foot. Sew each 19"x14" rectangle to the 2.5"x63" piece creating your cushion. Leave an opening large enough for you to stuff it. Stuff it with your preferred stuffing material. I used the stuffing from an old pillow. Once it is full hand sew the opening closed.
This project cost me $4. All fabric used was left over from a quilting project, the cardboard was from supply packages, and the stuffing was from an old pillow. The only thing I had to buy for this project was the piping.
If you are making this loft for your rabbit please avoid painting or decorating the cardboard. They are definitely going to chew on the cardboard and you don't want them ingesting anything that could be harmful to them. Enjoy!