Black and White Sunday

Introducing Sebastian's new personal instagram account!

@SebastianUnleashed


Happy Black and White Sunday and thank you to Daschund_Nola and Sugar the Golden Retriever for hosting such an awesome blog hop. 




XOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

DIY Serged Cat Security Blankets for Shelter Cats


We just completed our 5th Annual Craft for Shelters event and I wanted to do a special post on these cat blankets because they are so easy to make and such a cool concept!  Sebastian is posing with our finished stack we donated to Seattle Animal Shelter.

They are fairly small in size so you can make quite a few from just a few yards of fabric.  You can do a single layer of fleece, a double layer of flannel/other soft materials, or a cute printed quilting cotton with a fleece back.  And if you have access to a serger, you can just edge-stitch the blankets!


Rounded corners are faster to serge in my opinion, but nothing wrong with squared blankets either!  Grab a plate or any round object to trace your rounded corners with and then cut it out.


Set your serger for a 3-thread overlock narrow stitch and put it on a short length (between 1 and 2).  It's simple and effective.  We also did some with variegated thread and those turned out very cool!


That's all there is to it.  It's a 10 minute project!  We tried to get a photo of one of the shelter cats with our blankets and it's definitely not easy to make them pose.  Sebastian says I shouldn't be so surprised, ha!


Here's what the shelter coordinator said about how they utilize these blankets: 

"These are very special blankets… they will carry the cat’s scent with them to the new home and while they are in the shelter as their bedding is rotated and all other scents around them are replaced, the blankets will stay untouched. Think of them as distressing blankets more than for warmth… kitties will have other bedding for this purpose."

15"X15" was their requested size, but seems to me like the blankets can be a variety of sizes.  Or how about larger ones for the dogs.  Contact your local shelters and ask them what they need!  I also found this link online to the Snuggles Project, which is another great organization encouraging people to make blankets for shelters.

Additional resources we've found for blankets:



XOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

5th Annual Craft for Shelters Day RESULTS!

 We crafted for 6 hours straight like a bunch of mad ladies, ha!  I'm very pleased with the finished items this year.  Sebastian stopped by Quality Sewing and Vacuum to count everything before we take all the items to Seattle Animal Shelter next week.

We completed:
                     - 26 bandanas
                     - 30 rope toys
                     - 9 crate beds
                     - 36 cat security blankets (new project this year!)



As usual, we had some very talented volunteers!  Check out the monster rope toys our friend Tammy made.  


Sebastian sure likes this rope toy but he knows there's another dog out there who could use it more.  Rope toys help give shelter dogs some comfort and something extra to chew on in their crates.


We had a new project this year that I loved - cat security blankets!  After I contacted the volunteer coordinator at Seattle Animal Shelter, I learned they had a huge need for these cat blankets.  The coordinator told me, "These are very special blankets… they will carry the cat’s scent with them to the new home and while they are in the shelter as their bedding is rotated and all other scents around them are replaced, the blankets will stay untouched. Think of them as destressing blankets more than for warmth… kitties will have other bedding for this purpose."

I love this idea.  Makes me wonder how many other shelters out there could use blankets like these.  They are only 15 inch squares and so easy to make.  We made some with one layer of fleece and some with double-sided flannel.  We also used a serger to finish the edges.  I totally recommend this project to anyone out there wanting to make items for shelter cats!


Cheers to National Craft for your Local Shelters Day!

XOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

Most Popular DIY's for Craft for Shelters Day with Links!

Cheers to National Craft for Shelters Day!!  The official day is July 21st and we are having a crafting party on the 23rd at our local sewing store here in Seattle.  Here's a collection of the most popular DIY's for the shelters.  What do you think?  Which ones would you make?

Click on photos to be directed to the DIY tutorials.



No Sew Dog Vests from the Etsy blog

Rope toys - the perfect craft for young kids or adults who don't know how to sew!

If you have DIY craft ideas for shelters, share the links in the comments so we can check them out!


XOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian





Wordless Wednesday - Alki Beach!

Tried out the skateboard thing tonight.  Sebastian says maybe in the next life...




XOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

Craft for Shelters 2016 is here!

If you are in the Seattle area, please check out our flyer below and come join us at Quality Sewing in Ballard!!  We need all the help we can get from our fellow crafters.

If you are planning an event in your own hometown, please share with us so we can help you spread the word!


Visit our DIY crafts for Pets Pinterest board for lots of inspiration on what to make.

And here's a link to our original post to this fabulous event with additional information on how to host your own!




XOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing all our furiends out there a happy and safe 4th of July!!


Here's some fun photos and tutorials from previous years:







XOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

Black and White Sunday

I think he's nervous about my latest addiction....





Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...



XOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

Easy DIY Dog Birthday Cake and Cake Stand!


Hallelujah, Spring is here!  After about 500 days (only a slight exaggeration) of nothing but rain here in Seattle, Sebastian and I were more than ready to get outside for some fun colorful pictures.  Here's our latest DIY and it's a super easy no-skills-needed kind of project.

I thought of this idea when Starbucks surprised us with a "Puppuccino" one day.  I'd never heard of it. Sebastian was hanging out the window as we were going through the drive-thru and the Barista asked him if he wanted one.  I said, "a what?" in my protective motherly voice.  He then brought us a cup filled with whipped cream and Sebastian went nuts for it.  Turns out the Puppuccino is a real thing and it's part of Starbucks secret menu.


Just these two pieces complete your cake stand.  I was so excited when I found this candle holder because I knew it would be perfect.  It's from Hobby Lobby and they have so many different heights (so pick one according to the size of your pet).  The clear bowl is just a small cat dish and it fit on top of the candle holder perfectly.  Score!


With just 3 ingredients, I was able to create a masterpiece I'm pretty sure no dog would turn down.  Sebastian is an Instinct boy so we stuck with his fabulous grain-free Instinct treats we already had at home.


And as you build the cake, 


Be prepared to have onlookers too (and we are not talking about just humans).  If you like Sebastian's hat, you can buy it here in our shop!


Now that looks like something to bark about.


I should also mention the Starbucks Puppuccino is ONLY whipped cream and served in a cup.  Yawn.


Sebastian says we just one-upped Starbucks.


Hmmmm, he might be skipping dinner tonight.


If you are having a birthday party, you'll definitely need to have the appropriate props for your photos.  Get Sebastian's entire birthday suit look here in our shop handmade by me!






XOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

Black and White Sunday


Happy Sunday!  Sebastian is enjoying his new snowflake scarf.  

Click here to get your own scarf from our shop!



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XOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

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