Cat in the Hat Scarecrow Featuring Sugru

We entered a scarecrow contest and since we ARE a library, our scarecrow was literary themed. We made the Cat in the Hat! AND we won second prize! He is a pretty traditional scarecrow, but we used Sugru to form his facial features. They turned out great and they lasted through the elements!

We used a LOT of Sugru for this project. To make the face and the bow (not to be confused with the Face of Boe) we used approximately:

• 6 black Sugru packets
• 3 red Sugru packets
• 5 white Suguru packets

I say approximately because you may need more or less, depending on the size of pumpkin you use. We also needed:

• various Sugru packets to make pins
• safety pins
• one skewer
• box cutter
• hollow plastic pumpkin
• sharp knife
• plastic bags
• straw and newspapers
• wooden posts
• super glue and/or hot glue gun
• laminating machine
• cat in the hat costume
• staple gun
• awesomeness

Sugru works much like Play-Doh--only it's way stickier and hardy. You can form it much the same way you do with Play-Doh. It will stick to any tools you use, however. Working with our hands alone worked best for us.

It helps to bring out an example of what he actually looks like! We made gray by adding little bit of white Sugru to the black Sugru. We made the pink tongue by adding a little bit of white Sugru to red.

We cut a skewer in half and formed the ears on the dull ends of the skewer. This way, the sharp ends can poke into the pumpkin. We once again made gray by adding just a little bit of white Sugru to the black Sugru.

You'll need to cut a hole in the pumpkin. If you set up the wooden frame as in a traditional scarecrow, the pumpkin will sit on top of the board. We used a really sharp knife to cut the hole, but you might have a better (and safer) suggestion! We super glued the pumpkin to the frame.

If you put the Sugru on your pumpkin before it sets, you shouldn't need additional adhesives like glue.

We used Sugru to make some Dr. Seuss themed pins. We used Sugru to attach the safety pins as well. We had to give props to Sugru and Instructables, so we also made pins out of stickers by laminating the stickers and then attaching pins using Sugru. Give the pins at least 24 hours to set so that the pins stay attached.

We put the Cat in the Hat costume on the frame and then stuffed it. We used both straw and newspapers as stuffing. If you put the stuffing in plastic bags or garbage bags first, this will keep your scarecrow from getting mushy if it rains (or snows!). We stuffed his hat too so that we could position it ever so slightly askew.

We hot glued his hat to his head. We also stapled his costume along the neckline to the frame.

The ladies love The Cat in the Hat!

After 24 hours, the pins are set. You can now attach them to the Cat in the Hat. Your scarecrow is complete!