It's Tutorial Tuesday! Super easy no sew portable dog bed

This one has nothing to do with wool, but I thought i'd share anyway. All you need is an old throw pillow & vintage suitcase, that are size appropriate for your dog or cat.

Step 1: Place pillow in suitcase.


Step 2: Place thick bungee cord around hinges, with the hook parts in the back. This will keep the lid from falling down on your pet. I made a fabric cover to go over it, but it really didn't look that bad before I did, so that is totally optional.





Step 3: insert pet. This one will happen automatically. They will most likely be waiting to jump in.


You are done! Now, you can embellish all you want from here, but you have a cute recycled pet bed right now. I like that it is still a functional little suitcase, because I plan to pack all her doggie things (dog food, dishes, toys, leashes, extra bags) in it when we go on trips, and this will traveling with her so much more convenient!
I pinned a tiny quilt to the lid, that I had found at a sale somewhere. Not only do the dogs on it look like Spots, but it even says "spot" on it, so I thought it was perfect. Since I would like the option of being able to clean it, it is just loosely pinned to the lid.



Now, if you are really industrious, you can embellish further by adding legs, custom upholstery, and decorations, like some have done. Here are some impressive & adorable ones I found online. Just click on each picture to go to the website it originally came from.

It's What I've Been Working on Wednesday

That quilt I blogged about yesterday took up most of my week's sewing time, but I managed to get sidetracked and make a couple of other things. I hate most store bought dog beds. They fall apart if you look at them cross eyed, and they always seem to be made from something synthetic & uncomfortable looking. When I found a crib bumper at the thrift store for around 50 cents, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.



Spots loves a good "nest" (she'll paw at a blanket to create a nest, unless she has a dog bed with sides). She was very happy with her new nest!

It took me less than 5 minutes to sew the bumper to the pillow, the whole thing cost under $1 in materials, and is sturdier than any dog bed that I have bought. The colors were just what I had on hand, but doesn't it look like a big egg?

I made a couple of fitted tablecloths too. My son wanted me to make a tablecloth for his table, so I made matching ones for both tables. I bought this fabric (a big rectangular tablecloth) a couple of weeks ago at an indoor garage sale for $2. The elastic I used came from a gallon sized ziplock bag packed with notions that I bought at a sale last year for $1. Not only was there enough material to make both tablecloths, but there's more left over, so each fitted tablecloth cost me less than $1 in materials. I made both tablecloths in about 20 minutes, so they didn't "cost" me much in time either. I love repurposing! I LOVE this fabric too... the pretty cheerful colors... the kitchy roosters. It's just me :). I don't know why my camera wasn't able to pick up the colors of this fabric, but it is so much more vibrant in person, and not washed out at all!



Just so this post contains something made from recycled wool, and so you don't think I abandoned the braided basket, here it is... still in progress.

I will eventually finish it.

So, what have you been working on?

Off Topic Thursday - thinking outside the box

I have learned that being frugal & green sometimes means thinking outside the box at resale locations. I often substitute things for things that I need. I go to oodles of garage sales & thrift stores for my sweatering, so to keep my house from getting cluttered, I have to have a specific purpose for each thing I buy. That is my rule for myself, so if I really want to buy something, I have to get my creative thinking cap on!

This cute laundry basket was a great 25 cent find at a garage sale, and came along right when I needed more truck storage.


When we adopted our dog Spots, we needed a dog dish and a dog bed. A 25 cent garage sale Corningware dish became her dish...

... and a 30 cent thrift store king size pillow sham (with a couple of cheap garage sale throw pillows inside) became a bed for her. I might even sew an old baby bumper along the edge to make it cozier. I think she'd really like that.

When my son had a play kitchen, I found this vintage teak wood fruit in a bowl at a garage sale. He loved to play with them, and they looked so much nicer than the plastic stuff! Also just taping an empty box (mac & cheese, cereal, crackers) closed is instant "play food". If they get bored, just take new boxes out of the recycling and put the old ones back in!


Did you know that if you unscrew a Swiffer, and remove the middle piece, it will be the perfect size for a toddler? They are under a dollar at every other garage sale. Jack LOVED to swiffer as a toddler (and still does!) and was very proud to have his own. I just used a cleaning rag instead of the disposable refills.

recycled wool dog bed

I know, i'm breaking my blog schedule again, lol. A new dog needs a new bed, so I set to work yesterday. I apologize in advance for the terrible pictures. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, so I came home with a fleece baby blanket and a long thick fleece scarf from the thrift store yesterday.

I cut 2 circles out of wool blanket pieces I had, and Spots needed some spots on her bed, so my son picked out the scraps to become the spots. The bed IS perfectly round, the pictures were just bad.


I folded over the width of the scarf and that became the sides of the bed. I sewed the 2 circle pieces to the scarf, but I left a 10" opening between the 2 wool layers, so I could slip the folded fleece baby blanket in for padding. I thought I would have to use buttons or something to keep the gap closed, but you can't see it when it's on the floor, so I left it alone. She's standing on one edge of it, tipping up the end with the gap. That's why you can see it so well in the pic.

I know it looks really small, but when I lay out a big blanket, she scoots it around into a nest & curls up into a tiny ball. She sleeps in that position, so I thought she'd like a tiny nest like this, and I was right. I had a really hard time taking a picture of the finished bed without her in it! She loves it :) I plan to make another, so she has one in the bedroom, and one in the family room.