DIY Halloween Faux Pumpkin Cat Bed

Teddy is a Halloween cat through and through…what cat isn’t though?

We wanted to make him a epic and cute pumpkin home so he could curl up and live out his spooky squash dreams and he’s fascinated with it!

He hasn’t spent that much time in it, but he loves to lay next to it and if you have a cat, you know thats a win!

Before we share the how-to of our pumpkin cat house, we wanted to share some tips about working with fake pumpkins:

Best Tools to Cut a Faux Pumpkin

• Craft knife – Works well but is a slow process.

• Dremel Tool – Works well and is quick, but creates a lot of dust.

• Wood Burning tool with a Hot Knife tip – This is our favorite way. It works very well, quickly and gives nice and smooth cuts with very little pressure. The only downside is it becomes fume-y so you have to do it in a well ventilated area.

How to Make a Faux Pumpkin Look Realistic

This is such a simple process that takes little to no skill at all!

1. Thin out black or brown acrylic paint with water and mix well.

2. Use a paint brush and paint the vertical lines of the pumpkin.

3. Before the paint dries, use a paper towel and rub the pumpkin gently in the spot where you added the paint. This will take away some paint but leave just enough shade in the crevices.

How To Make A Pumpkin Cat House Bed

1. Use a faux pumpkin that has a large hole or carve one out in the center of the pumpkin.

2. Draw out two windows on opposite sides of the hole and carve out.

3. Add the paint technique to the outside of the pumpkin to make it look more realistic.

4. Create a stovetop chimney by cutting a paper towel roll at an angle, gluing it together and painting it with metallic acrylic paint. Create the top by making a cone out of a piece cardstock.

5. Hot glue the chimney the top of the pumpkin.

6. Cut out bats from craft foam and add eyes. Hot glue floral wire to the back and stick into the top of the pumpkin.

7. Create mini tombstones out of styrofoam and give them a gnarly paint technique to make them look decrepit. Stencil on RIP to finish off the look.

8. Add fabric inside the pumpkin and watch your cat ignore all your hard work! Unless you’re lucky enough to have a cat that will appreciate it, but you can never tell with felines!

For the full tutorial and lots of Teddy cameos, check out the video we made!