(Thank you, everyone, for all the kind words on my last post. It’s truly uplifting. We’re totally subscribed to the “one day at a time” mentality right now. And today happens to be a blog updating day!)

Before my schedule derailed into a mess of appointments and tests, I tackled a huge closet clean-out. We bagged up sweaters, pants, and tons of shirts, but for some reason I had a hard time parting with the massive pile of animal welfare t-shirts I’ve accumulated.

You know those shirts you get at events, runs, rescues, walks, conferences, and more? It seems like they never fit. Or you wear them on daily dog walks and they wear out super fast.

My drawer overflowed with those shirts, shirts I never, ever wore. But they all had a fun memory associated with them, so I came up with an alternative use: I repurposed all those old animal welfare t-shirts into a blanket for the boys!

We have this nasty chair:

It’s old. It’s stained. The arms are toothpicks from when Lucas was a pup. It sits in the corner of the office, and the boys take turns sleeping there when I’m working. Instead of replacing it since they love it so much, I wanted to get a blanket to cover it.

I gathered a big stack of animal-related t-shirts.

I cut out the front panel of each shirt. I aimed to get a 14″ x 14″ square from each.

Here is a good place to pause and say that I am not very good at sewing. I can’t measure, and I go too quickly. However, this was a super simple project because it was just straight lines. I started by sewing together four of the shirts, side by side. Then repeated for two more rows of four.

Since my measuring was off, I tried to correct it once I had the rows finished. Then I sewed the three rows together.

For the back, I had this huge piece of fuzzy fabric my mom gave me. Emmett is fond of fuzzy.

I just did straight lines the whole way around to attach the t-shirts to the fuzzy – no fancy quilting or slipstiching for me!

Ta daaa! I tossed it on the chair, and Cooper tested it out.

Then Emmett kicked him off and went right to sleep… I think it’s a sign that he likes it!

Some of the organizations that appear in their repurposed animal welfare t-shirt blanket (that’s a mouthful!) include:

• Monroe County Humane Association – and I used the back of that one, too, so they could have the logo of their pet sitters on their blanket
• BlogPaws, of course
• Help Joey
• Indy Pit Crew
• and Super Levi’s super cute t-shirt

It was an easy project that gave me the perfect way to use those t-shirts instead of having to get rid of them!

(Please pretend that there’s gorgeous food photography to accompany this post a la The Pioneer Woman. I totally forgot to photograph the treats before I gave them to the boys. Sigh.)

I love making treats for these guys. Why? Treats are expensive, for one thing. Also, it’s tough to find reasonably-priced, healthy options. I started whipping up healthy treats from stuff I already had around the house. I even got to write about it and showcase some of my simplest dog treat recipes on Petside.com. In fact, click over there and that photography can substitute for no photography here!

Here are two of my favorite (and easiest) DIY dog treats:

Microwave Bites

Here’s what you need for these goodies:

• 3 jars of baby food (I used sweet potato this time around because of Cooper’s restrictions, but anything – especially the meat varieties – work)
• 1/2 cup of uncooked cream of wheat
• 1 tablespoon of ground flax (optional)

Stir the ingredients together and drop the mixture in bite-sized bits onto a microwave-safe plate. The size can be adjusted for the size of your dog. I like to make teeny-tiny drops so they can work as training treats. Microwave for 3 minutes. They should be firm, but since microwaves vary, you can increase in 30-second increments as needed. Refrigerate until they cool.

Roll-Out Peanut Butter Cookies

These are a smidge more complicated, but are still pretty simple and definitely very wholesome. Here’s what you need:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted natural peanut butter
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 tablespoon ground flax (optional again, but a great addition)

Preheat your oven to 375, and grease two cookie sheets. Using an electric mixer, beat together the milk and peanut butter until it’s really well combined. Slowly add the flour, baking power, and flax (if you’re super Martha-y, you might want to mix the dry ingredients together in advance, though I usually eliminate that extra step). 

Roll out onto a floured surface, and use cookie cutters to create fun shapes. If you don’t have any on hand, the top of an empty glass jar works well. Place them a couple inches apart on the cookie sheet, and bake for 20 minutes. Allow them to cool completely before balancing them on your dog’s nose.

Do you cook for your dogs? Any recipes, tips, or tricks to share?

After my (moderately successful) attempts at sewing eco-friendly dog toys, I decided to take it up a notch!

Over the weekend, I decided to make a travel blanket for Cooper for our upcoming trip to BlogPaws. I wanted to do it well in advance so that he’d have time to get used to it and so that it would smell a little like home!

I found some “recipes” online, but ended up winging it.

Materials required:

• fabric – any length! You can customize this blanket to your dog’s size!
• coordinating thread
• cotton batting
• pins
• measuring tape

A few caveats/reassurances:

Alright, enough background! This project has five simple steps, which took me about an hour. I would have been finished much faster, but I had a “helper” while I tried to measure everything.

1. Cut two pieces of fabric and the batting to your desired size. For simplicity, I did one yard, which was plenty big for Cooper.
2. Put the two pieces of fabric together with the right sides (the sides that will be OUT in the end, so whatever has the print or design) and lay the batting on top. Pin them together leaving a five- or six-inch gap. (You’re not going to sew that gap – hence, no pins – because that’s where you’ll flip it right-side out in the end).
3. Sew! If you accidentally sew over your gap, whip out that handy seam ripper! And if it’s not a straight line, don’t worry. Remember: This is the insides.
4. Flip the entire blanket right-side out through the gap you left, and use a ruler, pen, hanger, whatever to poke out the corners.
5. Sew a border the whole way around. This adds a little decoration, but – most importantly – it closes the gap you left. You COULD close the gap by hand, but this seemed way easier to me.

Ta-daa! A travel blanket!

Bones on one side, pawprints on the other with white thread. I think he likes it!

If you’re feeling fancy – and if your skill level exceeds mine, which isn’t much at all – you could embroider something cute into the blanket, sew in your dog’s name, and so on! Those are beyond me at this point. Maybe next time around.

Assuming he doesn’t chew it up between now and then, this sucker will be coming to BlogPaws with me and Coop. If you’re there, feel free to fawn over it!

Between Lucas’ playfulness and Emmett’s love of chewing, chewing, chewing, we go through a lot of toys around here. But with the cost of dog toys and the amount of waste we toss each time they destroy a toy, I started making easy toys that actually last. We call these homemade toys a “bug.” They are so easy to make and are an eco-friendly use of remnant fabrics. In this example, I used felt trimmings leftover from my nephew’s pumpkin Halloween costume.

Start with at least 3 pieces of a durable remnant fabric. Also, make sure you have a supervisor, like Emmett:

Next, tie one of the pieces across another piece to form a T. Again, it helps to have supervision.

Tie the third piece at the opposite end. If you have more than three pieces, continue to tie them on. Any random pattern is great. I do find it helpful to double knot the strands, though if they come apart, you can easily retie them.

Your supervisor might really, really want the bug before it’s complete…

But once you’ve tied all the pieces together, it’s ready for his quality assurance check.

Looks like it passed!

The best part about making a bug is that you can toss it in the washer and dryer when it gets dirty. If it comes apart during tug-of-war, you can easily tie the pieces back together. In addition to a thick felt, denim and canvas work great, too, along with any cotton fabric without elastic. If you’re using old t-shirts or sweatshirts, be sure to cut out cuffs and collars because they often have elastic threads, which can be harmful if swallowed.

Avoid: Socks and any fabric with elastic bands, anything silky, and anything with a stretchy or Lycra material.

Have you put together an eco-friendly or DIY dog toy? Any winners or losers?

Eco Dog: Healthy Living for Your Pet

Books are my weakness. I can’t walk into a bookstore without snatching up an armfull of books and magazines. In attempting to be both eco- and budget-friendly, though, I’ve been working out my library card lately, which has been awesome! However, when I saw this book when I stopped into a local bookstore (gah, I know, I know, I shouldn’t even go in one, but with my Barnes & Noble member card I get cheaper coffee… right??), I had to buy it. And it was totally worthwhile!

Chock full of useful information on how to identify and eliminate toxins, the book also has a ton of great DIY projects ranging from making dog toys to pet-safe household cleansers. I’ve already tried a couple of the treat recipes, which Emmett and Lucas loved. Rumor has it I’m getting a sewing machine for my birthday, and if so, I’m going to try the fabric fish! I’m not the most crafty of gals, but they include lots of step-by-step instructions along with color photographs, which is awesome!

I highly recommend this book, especially if you’re looking to reduce your pup’s carbon pawprint or just integrate safer, healthier practices in your home, or even if you’re looking for some fun DIY pet projects.

Any other eco-friendly pet books you would suggest? Or does anyone have a recommendation for a good (preferably organic) dog treat cookbook?

Disclaimer: This was not a paid review, though the link above goes to my Amazon Associate’s page.