Thoughtless Thursday: Another Craft!

Everyone!

You heard it: another crafty post!  Yahoo!

I decided to showcase the little puppy jacket I had last winter.  Unfortunately, I am now much bigger than I was when I was tiny, and no longer fit into it.  Fortunately, Boss is considering making me a bigger one so I can still support my football team in style!

Tiny me in my tiny coat.

Boss usually doesn't dress up animals, she says, but last winter was frigid up here in Minnesota (as is this year too, apparently).  Schools cancelled classes because it was too dangerous to wait for a bus, cars wouldn't start, businesses closed, it was just that cold (no, we're not wussies up here, either)!

My Iowa State Cyclones jacket!

Bosses were fostering a dog at the same time they initially adopted me, and he had very short hair (black lab mix).  Foster brother Harley refused to go outside to do his business unless he had little booties on and a jacket.  If I had a short buzz cut like that, too, I would've demanded some outerwear as well!  All factors considered, Small Boss whipped out some dog jackets and bought some coordinating dog booties.  It made the -40 raw temperatures more bearable, that's for sure!

Take a look!  Pretty functional.  It was originally a flannel dog pajama pattern that went along with a pattern for bosses/small mailmen pajamas, but Small Boss decided it would work well for a fleece jacket.  It was a success!  I certainly like it, do you?

I really do wish that I didn't grow out of this....it's just so comfy!

Maybe Small Boss will make a few for a GIVEAWAY someday!  She'll have to get her mind working on that one- I'll make sure I run this by her.  Literally, and I gueeesssss I can bark at her and let her know.  I just like running better.

Well, I see that it's snowing outside, and it's warmed up to a balmy -15F (windchill included), which is at least better than yesterday's -35F! :)  Time to go out and catch those snowflakes!

Chow!

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2015/01/thoughtless-thursday-51-checking-out.html#sthash.R0nsZv0F.dpuf

Thoughtless Thursday: DIY Durable (and Cheap) Dog Toy!

Hello, Pals!

We have been burning through dog toys around here, having 3 of us and all!  Boss has to get (yet again) crafty to make sure we're not learning how to eat furniture or kitties.  So.....with that in mind, she has come up with the solution:

DIY Dog Toys!

This is the first prototype of her "line" of toys for us.  This one is made of 4" wide, and long pieces of fleece.  Boss picked 1 color this time to make them look cute, but you can use any combination! She also uses 2, 3, and 4 color combinations- it's really up to you.  First, I must apologize for my Boss's horrible picture quality- taking pictures in her "craft room" is tough, especially when the sun is coming up!

Once she had the fleece laid out, she cut 4 equal segments of each color.

To start the toy, she tied a knot at the end to keep the work from coming undone.

Then, she started doing the knots.  You have to sort of "weave" the 4 strands- it's difficult at first, but once you get going and have less yarn to work with, it gets easier.  I always make an upside-down U, and on the other side of the knot, a "U", then think "over, under" to get the correct knot going.  It's slow going at first, but after a while, it's just habit.

Keep making knots until you decide that the toy is the right length (there is no "right" length- it's all up to you)!  Tie a knot at this end too, to finish the project off.  The tighter, the better!

You can also do this project with t-shirt yarn, but you have to use 4 strands to make 1 thicker "strand" to weave, resulting in 16 pieces of t-shirt yarn total.  Those tend to be really stretchy, but I still liked to play with them, nonetheless!

Ta-da!  A cheap, durable doggie toy that us friends LOVE!

We LOVE our new toys!

Chow, and Happy Crafting!

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2014/10/thoughtless-thursday-39-because-real.html#sthash.ew5q13ZG.dpuf

Thoughtless Thursday: DIY Doggie Bed

Good Morning, Every"paw"dy!

If you have read my past posts about my crafty Boss, you'd already know this!

But if you haven't, here's one thing: Small Boss is really crafty.  Her creative mind is always flowing, and she loves to make me new things!  If you have a little bit of sewing knowledge, you can definitely make your furry friend a doggie bed.  Here are the various ones she has made!

The first bed is for my kitty siblings, Thor and Allie.  Bosses got these guys off a free Craigslist ad almost 3 years ago when they were 9 weeks old.  Since they cuddled together all the time, Bosses decided the kitties needed a bed.  I don't blame 'em, maybe they should get another one so they stop encroaching on my bed!  Ugh!

My kitty siblings, Thor and Allie, when they were babies.

Aren't they cute?

Typical kitty sibling Thor...letting it all hang out.

Cuties in their kitty bed!

Sorry.  I digress. :)

So, that was the kitty bed.

The second bed was made for me.

Napping on the pre-made materials when I was a tiny thing

Willie and Me in my huge doggie bed!

Modeling my HUGE bed.

I can really stretch out in this thing!

The third bed was made for my friend, Willie.  His Bosses got a bigger place to live, so naturally, he needed a bed for both levels of their townhome!  Small Boss made him one for their living area.  Rumor has it that he loves it!  I made sure to sit in it while Boss was making it so that he could smell me all the time when it got to his house. He he he.

The fourth bed was made for, well, me again.  Boss has been experimenting with different shapes and sizes to see which bed I would actually sleep in.  So this time, she made a super fluffy rectangle.

Being a good little "momma" to my baby friend, Jax.

Chewing on a bone on my fluffy dog bed.

The fifth bed was made for my other buddy, Jax.  He went home with his Bosses and needed a puppy bed!  So, our family gave him a "welcome home" kit, which consisted of some of my little puppy toys and a fluffy little bed he could call his own.  I love my little puppy friend- I needed to let him know how much he meant to me!  :D  I tried to sit in his bed.  Not quite as successful- it kept my rump pretty cozy, though.

One of my good buddies Jax in his little puppy bed. So sweet.

Boss made these using some simple Geometry.  She drew out a couple sketches of what she would like the bed to look like, then she made these shapes into different "pieces" of which to sew together to get the 3-D shapes she needed.  Can you tell that Small Boss ditches me Monday-Friday to work in 4-6th grade Math class? ;-)

After she got the pieces cut out, she sewed the outer tubes together, as well as the bottom liner portions together.  Once those two portions were sewn, she assembled them by sewing the tube to the bottom liner portion, leaving a 5" portion open so that she could stuff each spot.

She stuffed them, and then hand-sewed the hole shut.  Voila!

Do you think they turned out alright?  What shape would YOU pick?  Or better yet, would anyone like her to make a detailed tutorial? :)

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/search/label/Thoughtless%20Thursday#sthash.HcMlCwWn.dpuf