DIY No. 04 - Puppy Poinsettias

I know this is a little late, but I just wanted to share a little doggie-DIY project I did for Christmas...

Fact, when my extended family gets together for holidays, we are out numbered by dogs.  This year I took inspiration from pup's christmas collar and made all the dogs felt poinsettias that attach to their collars with a little elastic band.  The felt is super soft and didn't seem to bother them one bit (unlike the jingle bell collars some of the dogs where shamed to wear last year, very unfortunate).  The packaging was super easy - a ziplock bag with a 2" strip of scrap book paper folded to conceal the opening, hole punched and tied with twine.  easy, cheap, and super adorable.  Great way to get the dogs "dressed" for the holidays!  Leave a comment or email me if you would like the template I created to make these.

p.s.  Lots of possibilities to take this idea into other seasons... what about a sunflower or daisies for that 4th of july party this summer?

DIY No. 01 - Christmas Dog Collars

The Holidays are just around the corner and every pup should feel festive!  This is a q&e (quick & easy) craft that took me less than an hour ... including the walk to and from the fabric store!  enjoy! -k


Let's get started....

What You'll Need:  (clockwise from the top left)
- scissors
- circle template (or something circular to trace - cups, coins, etc)
- felt (you can find colored squares of it in a fabric store for about 20 cents each)
- dog collar (from the pet store, or make your own!)
- buttons
- pen
- thread
- needle

Off The Shelf Cost:  $18
My Cost: $8 (darn $7 dog collar!)


Time to Craft!.... 

1.  Cut out felt circles of various sizes.  Snip "V" shapes around the edge with scissors to create petal shapes.  Also cut out leaf shapes.
tip:  for the leaf, make the end that will show pointy and leave the other end square so there is more surface area to sew

2.  Layer your felt shapes and place on dog collar.  Cut 4 pieces of thread and thread them all through the needle (this creates a stronger stitch).  Tie a knot at the end of the thread.  Sew on the flower starting from the back of the collar.
tip:  you can also sew the flower to a loop of elastic if you don't want it permanently attached to the collar.  simply slip the collar through the elastic loop.

3.  Repeat with different sized flowers, leaves or other shapes until top-cuteness is achieved.

4.  Add dog.

{{{visions of sugar plums....}}}

create: christmas stockings

 stockings by rikrak

ok, so maybe it is a little too early for christmas.  i mean, technically it's still october.  but planning early is the only way i can get things done around here.  been toying with the idea of making stockings for me, b & the pup out of muslin or burlap.  in searching around etsy for inspiration, i happen to come across the cutest felt stockings from rikrak - aren't they fun?!  i especially like the advent calendar in white, red and gray.