No-Sew Bow Ties

Our dogs are an important part of our family, so it only seemed natural to include them in our holiday photos.  I wanted something cute for the dogs, so I decided to make a few matching bow ties.

For my no-sew version I decided to use my glue gun.

I started by cutting my fabric into a large square.

To prevent the unfinished edges from showing, I ironed a crease on both sides.

Next, fold the bottom half of the fabric to meet the center.

Then fold the top down to meet the center and slightly overlap the bottom half.

To keep things neat, I went over my fabric again with my iron.

Flip the fabric over and pinch the center.

Dab a little hot glue to the center of the bottom pleat and attach it to middle of the bow.

Repeat the same step for the top pleat.

Flip your bow tie over and dab a little glue in the center of the pleat to secure the shape.

Cut a long piece of fabric and fold the raw edges toward the center of the fabric and iron flat.

*Your piece will not need to be this long if you are only making one bow.  It should be long enough to wrap around your bow and secure with glue.

You could easily attach an alligator clip or pin to the back of your bow tie to wear it in your hair or around your neck if you like.

I simply attached the bows to the dogs' collars using my glue gun.  If you would like something less permanent then you can attach them with a piece of elastic glued to the back of the bow tie and slip it through the collar. 

My dogs don't wear their collars around the house, only when we're walking them and for pictures!

They look so cute in their bow ties!

I'm a little bit in love with that face!

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Flower Dog Collars

I decided to make a few fabric flowers, inspired by Emily's Little World.

I thought the fabric flowers would be a cute way to embellish my dogs' collars.

To save money, I created each flower using fabric scraps.

Although I made these for my dogs, you could follow Emily's tutorial and embellish anything that you like; such as accessories for your hair or clothing.

I attached each flower to their collars using my glue gun.

Such a simple way to transform a plain collar into a cute one.

  Because every dog deserves a cute dog collar...right?! 

*ETA-  After washing the collars(in cold water), I would recommend using some fray check to keep the edges crisp.

Meet Sasha

Last week I was browsing through Pet Finder, just looking, not expecting to find a puppy, fall in love with her and bring her home. We have 2 dogs, so the thought of adding another didn't excite my husband.  Once we went to the shelter to meet her, he was all for it though!  My kids love having a new puppy in the house and surprisingly my other dogs get along really well with her too.  I was worried about how Princess my oldest dog would react to Sasha.  Princess is not the friendliest dog.  She loves us, but does not do well around strangers.  After a few days together they have become fast friends.  Bella our middle dog is the sweetest!  Most people are intimidated because of her size, but she is gentle and very calm.  I love watching her and Sasha play.       

When we adopted Sasha, we were told that she wasn't fully house trained, but that she was learning well.  I prepared myself to clean up accidents here and there, but to my surprise she hasn't had any(knock on wood!).  I let her out at the same time as Princess and Bella.  Having them all on the same potty schedule helps out a lot.

The first night we bought Sasha home was ruff rough!  Trying to adjust to having a new puppy in the house is like raising a rambunctious toddler!  She was into everything!  My kids quickly learned that they cannot leave their stuff lying around.  Regardless of the amount of toys she has my slippers are not safe!

Who could resist that face?!  We were told she is mixed with Rottweiler, Doberman and Boxer.  In other words, she's gonna be big!

Princess- our Jack Russel mix as a puppy

Many years ago, I used to volunteer at an animal shelter.  One day while I was working in the kennel(shoveling poo), I noticed Princess.

She turned 7 this month.  If the front door is open for too long Princess will seize the opportunity and run out.  She hates being bathed and having her nails clipped, but she is very alert.  She cries whenever my husband leaves the house and starts wagging her tail as he's pulling in the drive way.  My husband taught her how to dance.  They have a special bond.

My Bella-Bella will be 4 in September.  We adopted her from Paws of Atlanta, 3 months after we moved into our house.  She loves to catch treats in her mouth.  She is the sweetest dog I ever owned.

She hates cats though and goes crazy if she sees a cat while she's outside.

She once broke off her leash and chased a cat up a tree.  Poor cat.  I felt really bad.  

Sasha has bought our family a lot joy.  Most of my friends and family think I'm crazy to have 3 dogs, but they're not in my shoes.  As much as my dogs drive me absolutely bonkers at times, I adore each of them and I wouldn't have it any other way!

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