Introduction: Turning a Cardboard Box Into a Totoro Cat Bus
After watching a cute Studio Ghibli movie, Totoro, a particular character caught my attention. The enigmatic yet adorable "Cat Bus", who is loved by millions of children and adults alike. The Cat Bus character reminded me of my senior cat, Little S.
Little S loves snuggling herself into a variety of boxes, such as cardboard ones. But she never really had a box made specially for her use of snuggling, so I decided to make one, modeled after the Totoro Cat Bus. Stylish and Comfy. Since there was an old cardboard box waiting to be thrown out in the garage, I decided it was the perfect material for the Cat Bus, especially since she really likes cardboard boxes.
Throughout the making of the Cat Bus, I tried to make every step as simple as possible, while using the most simple material, so that it would be relatively easy to make.
I hope all Studio Ghibli fans as well as to-be fans come with me on this journey of making this special gift for my cat!
Supplies
- Large cardboard box (I used a 23’’ x 15’’ x 15’’ one)
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
- Googly eyes
- Sharpie
- Mod Podge
- Paint: brown, black, bright yellow, light yellow, red, pink
- White or grey pom poms
Step 1: Making the Window
In order to make the windows, I cut out a 5'' x 21'' (L x W) on two sides of the cardboard box. Note that the actual sizes of the windows depend on how big your box is, but the windows should take up about half a side of the box. I then rounded the sides of these rectangles, turning it into a more curved shape.
Tip: I recommend using a knife with a sharp tip to cut out these shapes, as it will create a sharper cutout on the box. But safety comes first, so if you are a kid, please ask an adult to help you, or just stick to scissors.
After cutting out the windows, take the cardboard window cutouts and cut them into five equal sectors (image 2). Cut off 3/4 of an inch from the end of each sector (image 2). These will be used as window bars. Using a hot glue gun (or tape), glue them on to the inside of the windows (image 3). Make sure that they are an equal distance apart.
Using yellow paint, I painted the sides surrounding the window. Using a mixture of brown, yellow and white paint, I painted the bottoms of both sides of cardboard. Then I sealed the paint using Mod Podge (a great sealant!).
Finally, use some beige pipe cleaners and attach them to the window bars. Trim them to make sure they're the same length and size as the window bars.
Step 2: Creating the Cat Bus's Face
To make the Cat Bus’s face, I drew a pencil outline of the Cat Bus’s face on to a piece of scrap cardboard (16’’ x 21’’) using image 3 as a reference. Make sure the Cat’s mouth is tall and wide enough to fit your cat or animal into it, as it will be used as an entrance into the bus.
After tracing it with a marker, I used brown, black, white, bright yellow, light yellow, red and pink blast to paint the cats face, using image 3 as a reference. When the paint completely dries, I recommend sealing it with Mod Podge, as it will act as a protectant for the paint, also adding a layer of gloss.
Using scissors, I cut the cat’s face out form the cardboard. Using a knife, my dad helped me cut the cat’s mouth opening out. Make sure to keep the cardboard cutout left from the mouth, as it will be used as a stencil to trace a mouth shape onto the cardboard box.
With the cardboard cutout left from the cat’s mouth opening, trace the shape of the cat’s mouth opening (bus entrance) onto one of the faces of the cardboard box. With a knife, cut out this traced shape. This should create an opening identical in size to the cat’s mouth. I used a hot glue gun to attach the cardboard cutout of the cat’s face onto the cardboard box’s entrance. Make sure that these two openings line up (image 7)
Of course, you can just draw the cat's face onto the cardboard box, instead of making it a cutout, but I wanted the head to look more 3D and pop out.
Step 3: The Legs
Using a large piece of cardboard (16’’ x 21’’), I drew ten 4.5’’ x 1.25’’ rectangles for the back/middle feet, and 2 slightly larger, 5’’ x 1.5’’ rectangles for the front feet. Before cutting these out, I rounded the edges and sides of these rectangles out, making them a more natural leg shape for the cat.
With some scissors, I cut out all of these legs. After cutting them out, roll them up one at a time for 10 seconds each into roll shapes, making sure they are all slightly bent afterwards. Bending these legs will make them easier to attach to the cardboard box later.
To paint the base color of these legs, I used brown, bright yellow and white. For the stripes, I used brown and black, with image () reference. Once again, I finished things up with a coat of Mod Podge.
Step 4: Adding the Fur Around Windows
The cat bus has a lot of fur, so I will start by adding fur around the window. First, I outlined both windows with the Beige Fuzzy Craft Stems, gluing them on with a hot glue gun. The amount of these fuzzy craft stems used really depends on the size of the window, but make sure they outline the window fully. I had to use a lot of glue, as I didn’t want the fur to fall off if my cat ever picked at it.
After securing the beige fur around both the windows, I outlined that fur with some Giant Brown Pipe Cleaners. I folded these pipe cleaners in half first before gluing them around the windows (image 2), this makes them easier to glue on. For both windows, I used about two packs of the pipe cleaners, but how much you might use still depends on the size of the window. Throughout, I used image 6 as a reference for the placements of the fur patterns.
Step 5: Adding the Fur on the Cat's Back
Next, I decided to add the fur on the back of the Cat Bus. For the back fur, I used brown Bernat Blanket string. First I cut up long separate strands of this fur, each as long as the top of the cardboard box. Once again, the amount and size of string/fur used depends on the size of your cardboard box. After cutting up about twenty strands of 23 inch string, I glued them all on separately with a glue gun onto the top of the cardboard box. If the strands of strings are too long, tuck them into the flaps of the cardboard box and glue them on.
Step 6: Adding the Rest of the Fur
After I made sure all the fur I added so far was secured and sturdy, I started adding the rest of the fur. I will go through the steps one by one:
Image 1: Using the Giant Brown Pipe Cleaner, I outlined the Cat Bus’s face completely, this used up about half the pack of the pipe cleaner. Using the remaining half, I filled in the spots of cardboard on the top half of the cat’s head, leaving the corners for the brown Bernat Blanket string and the bottom half for the beige fur.
Image 2: Using the Bernat Blanket string, I filled in all the corners of the Cat Bus as well as the showing cardboard near the tops and sides of the windows. I had to make sure I covered up as much of the remaining cardboard as possible, so the Cat Bus would look furry.
Image 3 & 4: I outlined the bottom of the Brown Pipe Cleaner on the sides of the Cat Bus using Beige Fuzzy Craft Stems, once again making sure they were glued properly. Afterwards, I cut up several pieces of the fuzzy craft stems to fill in the bottom of the Cat Bus’s face (Image 4).
Image 5: Finally, I used the beige and brown pipe cleaners to fill in all the remaining spots of cardboard needed to be filled with fur, with an exception of the places the legs would be attached.
Step 7: Attaching the Legs
Using the middle/back legs made from step 3, I hot glued them onto the beige fur beneath the Giant Brown Pipe Cleaners. Make sure that they are each about 2-3 inches apart, or at least spaced evenly depending on the size of your Cat Bus. Then, I glued the front legs on to the beige fur underneath the cat’s face. Make sure the legs are secured and flexible to bending.
Step 8: Final Touches & Decoration
After attaching all the fur (hardest part), it was time for making all the decorations (best part). The Cat Bus uses two rats as headlights in the Totoro movie, so I made them first. Because I didn’t have grey (their color in the movie), I used white pom poms. I used a big pom pom for the body of the rat, and a small one for the head. I made the rat’s eyes by attaching two small googly eyes on the sides of the heads. For the nose, I cut out a really small triangle and colored it pink, then glued it in the middle of the two eyes. For the ears, I cut out two relatively big circles and attached them to the sides of the rat’s head. I made two rats for the front and glued them onto the sides of the Cat Bus with hot glue.
For the red sign in the middle of the Cat Bus’s head, I cut out an oval piece of cardboard and painted it red. After the paint dried completely, I wrote a few words on it. You can choose what you write on this sign. I coated the sign with Mod Podge and hot glued it to the center of the cat’s head.
Step 9: Presenting the Product to My Cat
Voila! The Cat Bus is ready to be presented to my cat. I put some blankets inside to make the box more cozy and comfy. Although she didn't go in at first, as she wasn't used to it yet, it's safe to say that it's her new home now!
I hope you enjoyed this instructable and maybe try making it for your cat or animal! :)