Megan Miller is adding some jingle to the holidays for homeless pets.
The Voorhees 10-year-old is creating and selling custom cat toys, donating all proceeds to a local animal shelter. Megan’s jingle mice — cute little critters that jingle as they move — are selling for $2 each, and so far the fifth grader has sold dozens.
“I was planning to just make a few and give them to The Animal Orphanage,” Megan explained, “but then my mom and dad had an idea to sell them.”
Her parents, Missy and Rob, suggested Megan then donate the money she raises to the animal shelter. This was only two weeks ago, and Megan has been sewing her custom jingle mice ever since.
“She starts when she gets up in the morning,” Missy said, “and continues after school and keeps going until she goes to bed.”
Megan designed the toys on her own, devising a simple, two-piece pattern out of scraps from her mom’s fabric bin. She sews the pieces together to create the mouse’s body, stuffing it with cotton and a jingle bell. The mouse is then finished with a tail (“Feather, rope or a piece of yarn,” Megan said.) and a pom-pom nose and ears. Megan uses a marker to draw on two beady eyes and whiskers.
“It takes about 30 minutes to make one,” she said.
While Missy enjoys sewing, she admits her daughter has more creativity.
“I just follow patterns,” Missy said. “She looks at the fabric and sees how it can turn into a mouse.”
So far, the feedback on Megan’s jingle mice has been overwhelmingly positive, with customers saying how well made they are for a 10-year-old. Most have been purchased from friends and family, but Missy’s online Etsy shop has also seen some orders from strangers.
One customer ordered 10 mice, paying for her purchase but asking Megan to donate the mice she ordered to the cats at The Animal Orphanage.
“So they’ll get some toys, too,” Megan said.
When not busy making jingle mice, Megan is preparing for her upcoming production of “The Nutcracker” ballet, practicing her cello, helping with the Girl Scouts and reading. She admits it’s not always easy to find time to create the cat toys, but the effort is worth it and she’s going to keep going as long as she can.
The mice will at least be available through the Christmas holidays. Missy helps Megan restock the Etsy shop when possible, and at this point Megan is also taking orders of mice if the shop’s inventory appears low.
Megan said choosing to donate her money to an animal shelter was an easy decision.
“It makes (the animals) have a happier life. The volunteers can’t get all the money they need themselves,” Megan said, adding that “every penny” helps a homeless pet.
Check out Megan’s jingle mice at www.etsy.com/shop/mopp22 and find out more about The Animal Orphanage at www.animalorphanage.org.
