Photos from our National Craft for your Local Shelters Day 2014 Gathering!

This is our third year crafting for shelters and we keep growing.  It's so exciting to see something like this come together and to have such wonderful volunteers!  We've got 9 local shelters on our list and Sebastian can't wait to hand out all of the finished items.  If you've had any craft event for your own shelters, please let me know because I'd love to share it.

The rope toys - we made 78 of them this year!  This is such a popular craft amongst the kids and adults who don't sew.  Check out this link for a list of pawesome rope toy tutorials.

Crate Beds!  We've never made these before so I'm super excited we were able to accomplish the beds this year.  We made 13 in one day.  But I also had a wonderful mother/daughter team offer to take the remaining bed material home and make more on their personal time.  I could not be more grateful!  Check out this link to make your own crate beds.

"Adopt Me" bandanas are the number one item the shelters request from us.  Yep!  That puts them pretty high on our priority list.  We made 66 this year and also turned them into a No-Sew project by using pinking shears around the edges (this prevents fraying).  The "Adopt Me" message is created with Tulip Fabric Paints and stencils making it easy enough for anyone to make.  Check out the iLovetoCreate Pinterest page to see pawesome ideas for painting on fabric. Tutorial on our bandanas coming soon! 
Along with the "Adopt Me" bandanas, we added "Adopt Me" leash accessories.  I think these will be a hit!  You slip them over the leash and they are double-sided.  Perfect for shelter dogs who don't like to wear bandanas.  These leash accessories are also a "one size fits all," which I love.  Click on this link to see how you can make your own!  They can be sewn or sealed with fabric glue.

Painted pet bowls!  We made 30 of them, oh my.  I am still waiting for all of them to be finished and fired so I'll have an updated picture later.  But how cute are our volunteers?!  These bowls and painting supplies were once again generously donated by iLovetoCreate.  Be sure to check out their Duncan Ceramics product line here.  We are so happy to have their continuous support for this great cause!  Link to see our finished pet bowls from last year.
photo courtesy of Jamie Ibey


If you are a crafter or a shelter looking to start an event like this in your area, check out our blog post on how to throw a successful craft party!

We want to give a huge shout out to:
-iLovetoCreate for donating pet bowls, paints, fabric paints, stencils, and more!

-Me'n'Eds pizza for donating pizzas to all of our volunteers.

-Craftopia Craft Studio for providing their store space.



-And most importantly, we want to thank all of our volunteers who donated their time.




Until next year, fellow crafters!


XOXOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian


DIY Pet Crate Bed


New craft project that just so happens to be perfect for Craft for Shelters!  We always ask our local shelters what they need the most and one item that always comes up is beds.  We're happy to say this year we are going to make that happen!  This bed in particular was made from an old flannel pillow cover and a strip of quilt batting.  So simple!

Read on to see how easy this is to make.  It does require a sewing machine, but is easy enough for any beginning sewer to make.

What you'll need:
Soft Fabric
Quilt Batting
Sewing Machine and Thread
Fabric Chalk
Ruler
Cutting mat and rotary cutter
Iron and Ironing Board


INSTRUCTIONS:

The most important step is to call your shelter and find out what size the majority of their crates are.  For example, this crate shown measures 21"X12" inside.




If you are a beginner sewer, you might be asking why you have to stitch a smaller rectangle in the center of the bed.  It's to help keep the quilt batting in tact.  You don't want to skip this step, trust me!


And you are literally finished!  You can see the smaller rectangle stitching in the below photo.  Also, notice how I topstitched around all 4 sides.  You only have to topstitch the side that was open, but your bed will have a more finished look if all 4 sides are cohesive.



I hope you join us for National Craft for your Local Shelters Day and make some beds for your local animals in need!



XOXOXOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

DIY "Adopt Me" Leash Accessory



Craft for Shelters is just around the corner so Sebastian and I have been busy organizing our local event!  We wanted to add new items this year for our volunteers to make and this is one of them.  The "Adopt Me" leash accessory is an easy no-sew project that slips over the dog's leash.  The bandanas we've made in the past are great and have always been a huge hit, but finding enough volunteers who know how to sew always seems to be a challenge!


Check out how easy these "Adopt Me" signs are to make!

INSTRUCTIONS:

What you'll need - Sturdy fabric (I used recycled denim from old jeans)
- Letter Stencils or Fabric Chalk
- Tulip Slick Paints in bright colors
- Black Fabric markers or Black Sharpies
- Fabric Glue (Aleene's new Quick Dry Fabric Fusion worked great for this!)
- Iron and Ironing board


Sebastian is modeling the small sign we made.  Luckily for me, he loves everything momma makes!


1. Cut out a 9"X6" rectangle for small sign or an 18"X6.5" for large sign.  You can also change this size based on the size of the stencils you are using.
2. Iron the piece in half lengthwise to create the middle crease and open back up.  Then iron all 4 sides inward half an inch to hide all the raw edges.
3. Glue all 4 seams in place. (Picture 4 shows how it should look when finished with these steps)


5.  Use chalk to place your letters - this will help prevent mistakes!  Notice how that middle crease you made in the beginning helps with the placement of the letters on both sides.
6. Trace the letters with fabric paint.  I made my letters extra thick with two lines of paint.
7.  Pick a table to set all of these pieces down to dry.


I made the stenciled sign 18" long only because I measured my stencil at 17" long when I taped the letters together.  Ended up working out perfectly and I'm diggin' the size for the large dogs.


8. Once the paint is completely dry, glue the two long sides together at the seams.  The middle crease will help everything line up.
9. Let the glue dry completely before testing out your new leash accessory.


I hope you guys like it!

XOXOXO,
Erika and Sebastian

link within

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...