Leftover 2x4s Became Halloween Cats With One Cut That Created Both Ears
Rectangular lumber does not need a carved face or curved outline to become a Halloween cat, as this project reveals through three upright blocks with pointed ears. Black paint, googly eyes, and raffia finish the figures without hiding their straight sides.
Clover House creator Dee made the cats in three heights and paired them with an orange pumpkin assembled from four short pieces of 2×4. Both designs use the wood’s thickness to stand upright, leaving the decoration to suggest what the shapes represent.
The approach builds on the same material used for these scrap-wood candy corn decorations, with different cuts producing another set of seasonal pieces. Here, the reveal starts at the top of each board, where removing a triangle leaves two ears behind.
Removing a triangle gave each block two ears
Three lengths of wood—12, 10, and 8 inches—establish the cats’ different heights. Each receives the same marking at the top: a center point 2 inches below the upper edge, connected by pencil lines to both corners.
Cutting out that marked triangle with a jigsaw leaves a V-shaped opening between two pointed ears. The rest of the board stays rectangular, preserving a broad body and flat base.
The unpainted pieces show how much that cut achieves before any decoration goes on. Standing together, the blocks already suggest cats through their ear profiles and staggered heights.
Black paint left the faces to two small details
After sanding the rough edges, black acrylic paint covers the sides and faces of the wooden figures, leaving the bottoms unpainted. A mouse sander then exposes narrow strips of wood along the front edges.
Those pale edges trace the ears and bodies against the dark finish. Googly eyes supply the faces, while raffia bows tied below them suggest necks without another cut or a separate head.
No noses, mouths, or painted whiskers are needed for the silhouettes to read as cats.
Four straight pieces formed a pumpkin without curved cuts
The pumpkin uses two 5-inch blocks and two 4-inch blocks, arranged with the taller pair in the center and a shorter piece on either side. Their stepped outline gives the assembly a raised middle and lower shoulders.
Glue joins the blocks along their adjoining sides. Dee used hot glue for this version and listed wood glue as an alternative with a longer cure time.
Vertical seams remain between the four sections, suggesting pumpkin ribs while revealing how the object was assembled.
Orange paint and a short stem completed the shape
Orange acrylic paint covers the joined blocks, followed by a stem measuring 2½ inches tall and 1 inch square, glued at the top center. The original instructions also suggest a garden stick or cork as an alternative stem.
Sanding brings patches of bare wood back through the finish, with a raffia bow adding loose texture around the stem. The pumpkin remains square-edged, relying on its color, raised center, and stem to establish the familiar form.
Finished figures joined the Halloween mantel
Grouped together, the three cats rise at different heights beside the block pumpkin. Their raffia bows spread across the display, connecting the small wooden figures through one repeated material.
On the mantel, black web fabric, a miniature tree, skeleton figures, and a stack of pumpkin-and-ghost faces surround the handmade pieces. An ornate mirror reflects flying bat decorations above them.
The cats retain the clearest clue to their origin: long, straight bodies with flat bases. Their ears and eyes make those proportions feel intentional within the Halloween scene.
Would you turn leftover lumber into the black cats or the block pumpkin first?