Handmade Dog Toys

Yesterday I shared our homemade doggie biscuits- today I'm sharing some plush toys that I made to pacify little canine chompers after indulging in their pumpkin treats:)

 I chose the classic 'dog bone' shape, found an image online (although it would be simple to just free hand!) and began cutting my fabric...

...which I scored at a garage sale- black felt & a cute black & white quilting cotton with doggie verbage:)

I cut a black felt back & white cotton front for each bone and sewed RST (right sides together), leaving a gap for turning- I also ran my pinking shears around the perimeter.

Once turned out, I ironed flat and stuffed chock-a-block with polyfill!

I then delved into learning the "invisible stitch" and hand sewed each gap closed.

These may not last long but were made with love and Livy enjoyed helping to stuff these gifts for her canine cousins:)

Next, I'll be sharing the 'people' gifts:)

Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Well, now that our Christmas gifts have been shared, I can share the details with you:)

In keeping with my love of themes, I used a "Baby it's Cold Outside" theme as a springboard, creating something to be shared indoors for our family, including the canine members:)

For our beloved doggies, I chose this recipe for an all natural, treat- I didn't have any "guinea pigs" but the reviews were good so fingers crossed these biscuits are being enjoyed!

This was a perfect activity to get my little Ms involved, so with much flour and dough flying, we began!

Livy dove in with her "favorite shape" aka the mini heart cookie cutter...

...and quickly got the hang of popping out the dough...

...while Jonah found that his tummy somewhat inhibited his ability to cut very many biscuits...

...but he didn't mind arranging the "star!" and "har!" biscuits on the cookie sheet and popping a few bits of dough into the bag of flour- "mess!":)

Livy, my serious helper, switched to the star cutter...

 

...and with four baking sheets laden with stars & hearts, Mama baked them:)

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 15oz can pumpkin puree

2 eggs

3 Tbsp all natural peanut butter

3 cups whole wheat, brown rice flour or GF flour- we used GF!

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/2 cup oats (optional if your dog is on a grain free diet)- we left out the oats too!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degreess
2. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs & peanut butter.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats & cinnamon, if using.
4. Stir wet ingredients into the dry and pour onto floured work surface- dough will be sticky so have extra flour on hand:)
5. Roll out to approx 1/2 inch thick and bake for 30-35 mins, until golden brown.
6. Place biscuits on cooling racks and let cool thoroughly- the biscuits will harden as they cool.
7. Store in an air tight container and use within 2 weeks.

*Cinnamon is safe for doggies but not pumpkin pie mix which is toxic!!!

We ended up with over 6 dozen treats since we used small cutters but this will obviously vary.

There are many dog treat recipes floating around the web so I would love to hear of any that you make:)

Next I'll be sharing part 2 of our homemade doggie gift:)

Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany

Winter Applique For Jonah

Greetings all.  I've recently gotten on a kick about applique and have been stashing tops for the kids, ready to be transformed into something unique and special:)  Result:  I have tops that need to be finished or they won't fit soon!

So, I pulled out one of Jonah's Ts (a GAP goodie from Kid to Kid that looks new!) and spent an ungodly amount of time trying to decide what images I wanted to showcase...because it "has to be, has to be" (random You've Got Mail quote...) just right!

And here is what I decided on:

A simple "doughman" as Olivia would say:)  Somewhat anti climactic after all the gray matter I used up, but it seems just right for my little boy- unfussy, classic & all boy:)

This was really tough to do; I took craft felt (yeah, not even the good stuff!) and cut all the circles using the Sizzix Big Shot (don't know how to create without it!) and free handed the other 'bits'.  I top stitched the body in place and then applied fabric glue to all the smaller 'bits'- I did go back over those 'bits' with a few stitches since this is for my little "destroyer"!

So what do you think?  Ready to try this out for your own little tot?  This would make an easy Christmas gift:)

Here's what you need:

T shirt (a nice one...if you're taking the trouble to embellish, don't use something "chinchy"!)
Felt (craft or the good stuff)
Fabric Glue (I got 'Api's Crafter's Pick' from Hobby Lobby with a coupon!)
Needle & thread
Scissors


When 'Ricky' saw Jonah's new shirt he said, "What does 'Brr' mean?"  After explaining (since it doesn't get cold here that often!) I found myself laughing while remembering Lucy's frequent response of "He's from Cuba"!!!  Case in point:)

Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany