DIY Ugly Christmas Sweater 2012

No such thing as enough fluff.  This Christmas tree is made from a feather boa and we love it!


All you need:  A needle, thread, plain sweater, and the 3 items in photo.


With thread that matches sweater (black thread for black sweater), tie a sturdy knot at top to start the tip of feather boa christmas tree.  Shape the feather boa as shown in photo and tie knots as needed as you work your way down.
  

Using same zig zag method, hand stitch a row of mardi gras beads starting from top of tree and work your way down.


And what's a tree without ornaments?  We love these mini balls we found at the craft store.  Hand stitch as many as you'd like to the tree.


That's it!  So simple.  Jump for JOY in your new christmas sweater!


Don't forget to check out last year's Ugly Christmas Sweater here.

And here's one I made for myself entirely out of ornament balls.  Doesn't quite work as well for dogs because the ornaments just fall to the sides (we tried).



xoxoxoxoxo,
Erika and Sebastian

Personalized Dog Bowl and Placemat

Oh how we love this cute little placemat and dog bowl set that fits right in with our snowflake holiday decor around the house!  Not to mention these items would make great gifts too.


We received an awesome package in the mail from Martha Stewart Paints to make this project.  The paints, brush tools, and stencils make personalizing items easy.  


For this project, we used the following Martha Stewart Paints supplies:

1. Adhesive letter stencils
2. Dauber set (mini sponges on handled tips...love these!)
3. Metallic Glass Paint
4. Snowflake adhesive silkscreens
5. Handled squeegee brushes
6. Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Craft Paint in "Wedding Cake" white


Instructions:

We added personalization to both the dog bowls and placemat with letter adhesive stencils from Martha Stewart Crafts.  Adhesives make everything better, including letter spacing!  Plus you can reuse them over and over.  Simply position stencils on your item and lightly press small dauber sponge dipped in paint over stencil (shown in above photo).  Let paint sit for a few minutes and then peel off the stencils.

For our placemat, we applied snowflake adhesive silkscreens randomly to a 10.5 X 22" piece of fabric. These measurements were based on Sebastian's eating area.  Placemat can also be square, shaped like a bone, etc!  Use Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Acrylic Craft Paint for fabric application.  Start by squirting some of the paint directly onto the stencil and then use a handled squeegee for an even spread.


Then slowly peel off stencil and let paint dry.  So easy!


Here is Sebastian enjoying his new feeding area.


Instructions for finishing the placemat after paint dries:

1.  Apply an iron-on vinyl sheet to top of entire surface.
2.  Cut another 10.5 X 22" piece of fabric for bottom of placemat.  
3.  Pin bottom piece to top piece with vinyl right sides together.
4.  Sew them with a 1/4" seam allowance and leave at least a 3-4" opening.  
5. Clip all 4 corners.
6.  Turn place mat right side out through 3" opening.
7.  Press flat.
8.  Fold in opening 1/4".  
9.  Topstitch entire placemat in thread color of your choice (we used white).


Check out Plaid Crafts facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for more awesome ideas using Martha Stewart Paints!


Find my post disclosure here.


Cheers to the beginning of Holiday Season!

xoxoxoxo,
Erika and Sebastian


The Traveling Sweater

Sebastian and I are going back in time today recycling clothes from way back.  Hard to believe I've held onto some of these clothes for sooooo long.  



xoxoxoxoxo,
Erika and Sebastian

Halloween DIY Dog Bed Coffin


Time to decorate for Halloween and we can't think of a better way than decking out the obvious pet items around the house.  Besides, every pet needs a coffin...er, I mean, bed.  We also used Mod Podge for the first time ever with great success, wouldn't you say?



You'll notice in the next photos the cardboard is black.  That's because I originally spray painted it black. The cardboard still looked so crappy.  Mod Podge to the rescue!!!  Mod Podge is a glue/finish/sealer all-in-one product that's pretty awesome.  Sealing fabric or paper to the sides will help hide all the imperfections of the cardboard too.

We used Mod Podge Wash Out for Kids (and for Mod Podge Virgins like myself?).  There's a lot of cool varieties out there, including Mod Podge Sparkle and Mod Podge Dimensional that we will get our hands on later.


Here's where you can get extra creative and use Mod Podge to decorate/seal the outside of the coffin.


There is no sewing involved in this bed.  Just cover the pillow and tuck the sides of the red fabric in.  Voila! 


As usual, Sebastian loves all of his projects made by his momma.  He jumped right in and got cozy...a little too cozy.


Check out more ways to use Mod Podge on their facebook page.

Find our post disclosure here.


xoxoxoxoxo,
Erika and Sebastian

Halloween DIY Bloody Bandana


Scary, right???  Good thing it's just a bandana.  Yep!  

Chances are, if you have a dog and you sew, you've probably made him or her a bandana before.  If not, no worries!  All the details for this pawesome NO SEW and bloody bandana is right here.


INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut a triangle shape out of red felt (or fleece).  You will need to know your dog's (or cat!) measurement for this.  Make sure the top part is 1-2" longer than your dog's neck.  Sebastian's neck is 11" so we cut a 13" triangle.  Then draw a curved neckline and draw "dripping blood."  See below photo.




And that's it.  This is perfect for dogs that hate to wear full-on costumes, don't ya think?




xoxoxoxoxo,
Erika and Sebastian



DIY Hostess CupCakes Pet Costume


Super easy DIY Hostess Cupcake costume from our dog coat tutorial!


We traced our curly frosting design with chalk first and used a ruler to keep a straight edge.  If you mess up, you just brush off the chalk with an old toothbrush and start over. 


Then we followed the chalk line with some white fabric paint (it took a couple of coats to suit our liking).  We brushed the paint on with a thin brush and then lined it up evenly with a half inch brush.


After the paint dries, follow the rest of the instructions for how to sew the coat together.


It's pretty much that simple!


Looks yummy to us.




XOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

Sebastian Proposed!

The rumors are true!  Sebastian proposed in Vegas and Leela said YES!


Leela has a lot to bark about because Sebastian went all out!

The 24 carat diamond ring was custom made for the one and only Leela from Ooh Leela!


Even the little blue box was something to bark about.


The little details count!


She "rocked" it.  BOL!!!


Are you thinking about proposing?  You can buy your own engagement ring here!


xoxoxoxoxoxo,
Erika and Sebastian

DIY Pet Coat Pattern - Sewing it Together!



This is part 2 of our coat tutorial.  To get your pattern pieces, visit our first tutorial on making the pattern here.





Since we are recycling junkies, we decided to make this coat from an old wool shirt.  And since the old wool shirt had pockets and a collar, we decided to incorporate those items (because how could we not?).  It's SEW easy!  Of course this coat can be made without a pocket or collar and still be cute (just skip those steps if not using extra items).


First things first: cut out all your pattern pieces.  


If you are using the shirt pockets and collar, keep following along.  If not, just skip the next two illustrations.


Now, anything you might add to the outside of the coat needs to be sewn on FIRST (i.e. pocket and collar).


If you are skipping pocket and collar, continue on here!


You are now ready to start sewing entire coat together!


Almost done!!!


How about adding some buttons from that shirt?


He's workin' that new coat.


Now flip that collar up and prepare to look bad@$$.




XOXOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

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