Suitcase Cat Beds

So let me start off by saying that I'm seriously addicted to Pintrest.  I mean 12 step program addicted.  I can't stop.  I spend hours pinning.  There are just so many good ideas!  

On that note, I found a fantastic pin of pet beds made out of old suitcases.  Seeing as how I have the 4 most spoiled cats in the world I had to make them.  

I went to my home town over the 4th of July.  My mom lives across the street from a fantastic little thrift store.  I found these gems for a dollar each.  I decided to only make beds out of the smallest 2.  The big one was definitely too big.

  

The original pin on Pintrest used the big, chunky furniture feet that screw on.  Being the thrifty crafter that I am, I didn't want to pay a minimum of $3 a piece for them.  I also thought the cats might take exception to getting stabbed in the butt by those long screws.  So, I found these 3.5" wooden game pieces at Amazon.  I got 10 of them for under $20.  I decided to leave them unfinished because they were actually a nice color and really smooth to start with.

Here's what it looked like after I added the feet.  They worked pretty well.  They're a wee bit rickety, but I think they'll hold up.  I did learn one valuable lesson, when you screw the legs on put a washer under the head of the screw.  I had one go all the way through the suitcase...

I decided that I should add an L bracket so that the lid wouldn't fall down and crush the kitties.  I have a couple black and white terrors that would make sure it did.

My lovely assistant, Sprocket, was kind enough to test the first one to make sure it was sturdy.

I made a simple pillow out of some fabric with old cars on it that I already had around.  This is wear I learned another valuable lesson.  I only made the pillow slightly larger than the measurements of the bottom of the suitcase.  It was way too small.  This is my second attempt.  I cut it 5" larger than the bottom.

This is directly before I learned my 3rd very important lesson.  Suitcases are top heavy and will tip over.  I recommend leaning it against a wall or maybe fashioning some sort of support on the back.

Here's the finished product.  They don't look half bad if I say so myself.

And here is a happy customer.