Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

Saturday, June 27, 2015

DIY Dog steps

We've never owned a "springy" corgi before.   Until now.  Which can be a problem.   Corgis are not supposed to be jumpers because of their long backs.  
Well, tell that to our dog.
Osa jumps onto the BED, sofa, chairs...just about anything the cat can jump up on.   If it weren't for her back, I wouldn't worry.  But I don't want a dog with wheels....so..........I decided she needed to be trained to use steps.  And to stay off the bed.  She has her own bed, no need to get on ours!

I looked for steps and the ones I brought home were skinny and plastic and she wouldn't use them.   Back to the store.  The only other types I found were incredibly expensive and had to be special ordered.   My sister has some foam ones that I considered but I decided to try and make some first.

I got the idea off pinterest about 2 months ago and saved some boxes.  (I just love summer, I simply didn't have the time to do this during the school year!)

First of all, I got my boxes together.   I used a low wide boot box for the bottom and some wind chime boxes for the "step."   I filled them first with stuffing so they could hold a corgi!  Corgis may be short but they are like walking watermelons so the steps had to be sturdy enough for that.  

One of my boxes needed some length so I tore another box apart to use it for that support.   Then I taped it all together like so:





Afterwards, I went upstairs (with Osa in tow) and got out my batting.   After watching Osa tunnel through the batting like a mole and taking photos of her doing that....LOOK AT THE HEART ON HER BUTT!!!!!



...I got back to work and wrapped and taped the steps.  They looked like this:



The last step was to "upholster" them. Hahaha...upholster, riiiiight!  
I just cut out and sort of pieced the fabric together.



The best part is that she used them right away with no problem.  Up and down she goes!


Oh and since you haven't seen her today, here she is in all her floofy glory!


She weighs 23 pounds now, my little girl is growing up.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Wrist pincushion...

I was mailing something to a friend the other day and wanted to add a little something extra.  Nothing major as I was busy with another project I'll share later this week.

Kerry is like me and can always use pincushions so I made her this cute wrist pincushion she can wear while doing light jobs like hemming.




Here is how I made it.

I took the lid from a drink bottle a drilled a couple holes in it.  





Then I tied some elastic band through the holes and tied 2 knots.  One at the end and one closer in to tighten it up.   I pulled them into the lid and glued them down.



On to the actual pincushion.  I cut a circle of fabric and stuffed it and sewed it up.  Once that was done, I hot glued the ball of stuffing down into the lid, covering the elastic up.




 I ended up using 3 pieces of trim because the lid was wide.   I used baby piping to cover the bottom that meets your skin.  On top of that, I use a piece of single ply bias tape.  The top piece is just ric rac.  (I have no idea why I didn't take a photo of that process...oops.)

I think it turned out cute for a 20 minute project and would be super easy to do a more elaborate pincushion in the same way



I'm sure you could use a thin pony tail holder instead of the elastic but I like how stretchy the elastic is, especially when making something as a gift.  

Friday, April 24, 2015

DIY treat dispensing toy

I hate leaving Osa alone for hours at a time.  Mo and Ginger had one another, and the cats.....but Osa is pretty much on her own.  The cats are trying but still haven't warmed up to her.

I was looking for a treat dispenser at the store but didn't like any of them so I found this idea on pinterest:



Genious!  Pure and simple.    Use an exacto knife to cut a hole slightly larger than the treat.  Then fill it up and set it down.  Osa LOVES it.  I put an entire meal into the ball, along with a few soft dog treats.


Saturday, August 16, 2014

Side yard redo...

Whenever we move, we tend to redo the yard....or at least spruce it up.   This house was no different.  In the 7 years we've been here, we have added foundation plantings and several beds along with cutting a veggie gardens.   But there was one thing we put off until this month.  The side yard.

Our side yard is a weird shape and skinny and flat out ugly.  At the gate, it is 7 feet wide but by the backyard it is 5 feet wide.    I've always wanted to do something with it, so for my birthday, Dean got it started with the help of a sod cutter.   
Our neighbors love us...they got to re-sod part of their front yard for free!


Here is it in it's almost naked glory.  


We went and bought lots of mulch and have begun reworking this little space.  Dean did some shovel work to form a curved bed and we put in the deer grass from the front yard.  It needed more sun that it was getting.  I have to do a stepping stone by the hose but it already looks much more inviting.  The butterfly bush will get large too and is already attracting lots of butterflies.


The yellow plant is butterfly vine and that will grow over the lattice by summer's end.  The birdbath was being thrown away by an elderly lady.  Her handyman was taking it to the curb as I drove by.  I backed up and I asked for it and he put it right into my car!  I intend on mosaic-ing it one day this winter...
BTW, if you don't know what deer grass looks like in bloom, click here.  It is gorgeous and blooms in the fall.

close up of the butterfly bush...I love this stuff!




looking much more inviting than before...still a bit of clean up to do..


The area ties into the backyard better now...needs a gate or arch....Dean?


The basil was basically added to give this spot a bit of green.  If it does well, I'll leave it but if not, I'll move it to the veggie garden.


I whacked it down and made 2 pounds of basil butter (27 sheets) with it right after taking this photo!






We still have much to do but by next year, this should be a really nice space.  Now, if I can just talk Dean into building me an arbor......

Monday, December 23, 2013

The Birds of Christmas

When I decided to accept Dean's challenge this year I didn't anticipate all the things that would require my attention.    Most of all, I didn't expect to lose my dad.    He taught me to love nature and to be gentle with God's world and all that was in it.  Yes, daddy...even spiders.

He passed on to me a love of art and craftsmanship and what he called "handiwork."   He did big stuff like curio cabinets and built in bars with stained glass doors. Maybe one day, I'll try something big too, but for now I am content with small stuff.  

Like these ornaments:









and the tree they reside in....



I chose a bird theme long before daddy passed away.  I can't help but wonder if God planted that idea knowing what the year would bring.  
This tree seems very befitting of my father's love of birds.......He would have loved our tree.  Not only because it is covered with birds, but because so many are handmade.  
I love you daddy, Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 16, 2013

little gifting

I've had a stash of polar fleece remnants in my sewing closet for years now.    I pulled it all out and made some fun scarves for kids in need at a local care center.  

I ended up with around 24 scarves in all types of colors and designs...good for little boys or girls.



I thought this was interesting since "Duck Commander" stuff has become so popular!  I only had enough for one scarf though...wonder who will get it?



I encourage you all to think creatively when you have things in your stash closet.  The lady at the Rainbow Children's Center was so grateful and I was assured the teachers would give them to those who most needed them.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

DIY charging station

Each January, I start to reorganize stuff around the house and start putting stuff on lists for Dean to do.   
This year, he beat me to it and made this charging station!

 He took this drawer...


 out of this bar....



and he drilled holes in the back of the bar and the bottom of the drawer to slip cords through...



And he put a little hook to hold up a power strip to plug the cords into...including that wine cork remover thingie in the photo so it doesn't have to stay out anymore.


Then he put an accordion plastic cover over all the wires....look!...he could be a hand model.

    
And a furniture hole cover over all the holes he drilled so they would look pretty and not get torn up.


Then we put some non slip liner in the drawer and it was done! 



Now we have a great place to keep all our wires and phones and accessories....neatly tucked away.

Thank you honey....love you!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

finished...

Dean took a picture of the entire front yard from the street this morning....it looks so pretty. Hard work does pay off.



We finished the backyard too. We just needed to do some cleanup and replant things we brought from the front.

Sheri gave me some agapanthus a few years ago so we put them in a spot and babied them....then we bought a few more, divided them all and created this bed.



Bunbun was a gift from my other sister, Page...doesn't she look lovely here!



Chanticleer looks quite handsome next to our rosemary.
The tray on his head is for birdseed but the birds use him as a teeny birdbath instead. They sit in the gardenias and take turns.


Our gardenias were about 8 feet tall so after they finished blooming, we chopped them back by half.

I managed to get a nice bowl full of the last gardenia blooms...and the house smells heavenly.

Link
Remember this post? Oh my gosh how gorgeous our yard was.
Sadly, we had to remove the lattice because of the willow tree we planted a couple years ago.
I really missed my wildflowers so I devoted this corner bed to them. I had saved a huge envelope of seeds and planted them yesterday.
I can't wait to see all the blooms with my angel in amongst them. It sounds silly but I know this will be my favorite part of the yard.


Other than a few touches, we are pretty much done. We have a few plants we haven't put back in the ground yet. We are holding them back and waiting to see if the plants we divided survive. If they do, I'll have more to share. Now maybe this week, I can get a little crafting done.

Hoping you all have a happy week....


"If a person cannot love a plant after he has pruned it, then he has either done a poor job or is devoid of emotion."
Liberty Hyde Bailey

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Leo's tower





Dean and our son built this kitty tower for Leo last weekend. They built it as a last ditch effort to keep from declawing him. The tower is about 5 feet tall and has a couple shelves to lay on and a tunnel. So far, he doesn't use the tunnel....so we may take it off and put another shelf there.

As usual, Dean didn't have any schematics....he just built it. Cracks me up. Everything he 'sees' in his head he can build.

We adopted Leo last June through PetSmart and the local shelter. We had to 'promise' to keep him indoors...not a problem.....and not to declaw him.....a problem.
At first, he never used our furniture. But we went out of town for a week and when we came back, our furniture was shredded. Since then, it has been more difficult to keep him from using it.
So far, the tower is working out pretty well, Leo is using his claws on it instead of on the furniture. He loves to climb up it like a tree.



He likes to go to the very top and sleep. Here he is looking very smug and happy with his new place.
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