Do you have any kitties?  I have three of them, and I bet they would all absolutely love one of these!  Jessi from Practically Functional used an empty box, a wire coat hanger, and a t-shirt to create this adorable recycled cat bed.  You could even add a pillow on the inside for extra comfort – though one of my cats loves sleeping on cardboard so much that he would probably prefer it without a pillow, so I guess that depends on what your own cat prefers!  [how to make a recycled t-shirt cat tent]

Project estimate:

• Box, on hand
• Wire coat hanger, on hand
• T-shirt, on hand
• Pillow, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

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If you’re a dog owner, chances are you like to spoil your dog. So next time you have some old t-shirt to recycle into a crafty project, make your pooch this DIY doggie toy! Kelly from Upstairs Circus broke out her macrame skills and turned a handful of t-shirt yarn into a tug-of-war style toy that her two French Bulldogs absolutely love. And if your pup destroys it, it was made from recycled materials anyway – far better than shredding an expensive store-bought toy! [how to make a recycled t-shirt dog toy]

Project estimate:

• Old t-shirts, on hand or $1 and up

Total: Free and up

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Is your cat as into Shark Week as you are? Make Kitty their very own dorsal fin by following Instructables manager, Jessyratfink’s tutorial. Make sure your save the costume to pull out again for Halloween!

[how to make a shark week cat costume]

Project estimate:

• Grey Felt, on hand or $0.25 and up
• Thin elastic, on hand
• Fabric glue, on hand
• Cardboard, on hand
• Sewing machine or needle & thread, on hand
• Paper, on hand
• Pen, on hand
• Fabric pins, on hand

Total: Free and up!

More shark crafts:
Follow Mrs. Greene’s board Shark Week! on Pinterest.

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We have the messiest dog  in the world; he drags his food all over the house to eat it and always has a puddle of water around his dish.  I found place mats to put under his dish, but they just didn’t have that pet look.  Wanting to give him something that was especially for him, I transformed a dollar store place mat into a cute pet food place mat within a matter of minutes.

Project estimate:

• Place mat, $1
• Wrapping paper, $1
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Clear spray paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total: $2.00 and up

Start out by cutting a piece of wrapping paper to roughly fit the place mat.  Leave some extra around the edges just to give you room to work.

With the top of place mat facing up, cover the entire surface with Mod Podge.

Next position place mat over wrapping paper and smooth down.  Flip over with top face upwards and smooth out all air bubbles.  I sometimes use an old club card or credit card to help smooth out bumps and wrinkles.

Once dry, use an Xacto knife to trim off the excess paper around the edges. Applye a coat of Mod Podge across the entire top surface.  You may choose to do more than one coat.

Since most Mod Podge formulas are not completely waterproof, you may also want to seal the surface with a coat of clear spray paint.  This will stop the Mod Podge from getting tacky when your pet makes a mess with their water dish!  You now have a fun pet friendly mat which is easy to wipe clean and super cute in your home.

The post Tutorial: Pet Food Place Mat appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Attention, all Pet Parents! How are you dressing your animal companions for Halloween? Or are you against animal costumes? Awhile back, I polled the Dollar Store Crafts Facebook page about dressing cats up for Halloween, and many people indicated that only fools with a deathwish would try to put a hat on a cat. That didn’t stop me from brainstorming some fun ideas for cat costumes this year, and some for dogs as well. Check out my article at Homemade Simple: [make your own pet costumes]

This photo here is the Office Dog costume – costume idea by Erika and Sebastian at Sew Doggy Style: Dog Cuffs and Collar.

How are you dressing your pet this year?

The post Cat and Dog Halloween Costume Ideas appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Dog toys are one of those things that you purchase expecting that they will eventually be destroyed.  Even if you spend money on supposedly indestructible toys for your pooch, it’s only a matter of time before they are reduced to a slobbery, shredded mess.  (My neighbor’s dog, nicknamed “The Toy Destroyer,” can disassemble any dog toy, no matter how durable, in a few good days of play.)  Sounds familiar?  Instead of dropping money on a new toy, why not try making one out of scraps that you already have laying around?  Ilse from Sew It Love It used scrap fabric to both create and stuff this tug-of-war style dog toy, and all it cost was a few minutes of her time!  [how to make a dog toy from fabric scraps]

Project estimate:

• Fabric scraps, on hand
• Sewing machine or needle and thread, on hand

Total:  Free!

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Your eyes aren’t the only ones that strain in the bright summer sun – your pooch’s eyes need protection too!  Next time you step out for a walk on a sunny day, do it in style with these cool doggie sunglasses!  They go on the head in a goggles-like fashion; perhaps we should call them Doggles?  Erika and Sebastian from Sew DoggyStyle are here today to share how to make your own pair!

• Sunglasses (either baby, kids, or adult depending on size of dog), $1
• Stretchy headbands, $1
• String, on hand or $1

The post Tutorial: Dog Sunglasses appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

While you are updating your wardrobe this season, don’t forget to update your pet’s wardrobe as well!  We are joined today by our friends Erika and Sebastian from Sew Doggy Style, who are here to show us how to turn a lanyard keychain into a stylish new look for your favorite four-legged friend.  Thanks, Erika and Sebastan!

This tutorial is for a 3/8″ width collar, which is perfect for a small dog or cat.  Measure your pet’s neck and add 4 + inches to lanyard.  This dog’s neck is 11″ so I cut lanyard at 15.”  I left my lanyard at its full length until very last step so I could measure it one last time before snipping!

Project estimate:

• Lanyard key chain, $1
• Plastic buckle, about $0.50
• Ring and slider (recycled from old bra strap), on hand (or about $0.50 new)

Total: about $1.50

Cut lanyard so that it’s one long continuous strip and lightly “seal” edges with a match to prevent fraying.

Slide on ring, and then slide on one side of buckle (on one side of lanyard).  Fold back the end far enough so that it covers both ring and buckle.

Stitch two straight lines on both sides of ring to keep hardware in place.

On opposite side of lanyard, slide on remaining hardware (the slider, and then second piece of buckle).

Fold lanyard back and pull it through slider a second time, then fold back again.  Stitch the bottom two layers in place.  Be sure to keep the top layer of the collar away from your stitches.

And voila!  You have a new collar!  If you enjoyed this tutorial, please visit Sew Doggy Style for more projects!

The post Tutorial: Pet Collar from Lanyard Keychain appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

There are a few bloggers out there that are crafting along with Project Runway All Stars, including Erika (and her furry buddy Sebastian) from Sew DoggyStyle.  They’re taking a four-legged twist on each challenge, starting with the first episode’s dollar store challenge.  She went to Dollar Tree on a $30 budget and bought all kinds of crazy stuff, then came home and formulated an outfit for Sebastian with her finds.  Doesn’t he look dapper in a Michael Jackson-esque way?  [how to make a blingy dog outfit inspired by Project Runway All Stars]

Project estimate:

• Metallic cleaning towels, $2
• Headband, $1
• Aluminum foil, on hand or $1
• Coffee filters, on hand or $1
• Zip ties, on hand or $1
• Safety pins, on hand or $1

Total:  $3 and up

The post Dog Outfit Inspired by Project Runway All Stars Dollar Store Challenge appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

This project comes to us from our pet fashion correspondent Erika from Sew DoggyStyle, whose pooches are the best-dressed canines in all of blogland.  They’re here today to share a dollar store project perfect for colder weather: turning a dollar store scarf into a cozy pair of leg warmers!  Not only will they keep your dog’s legs toasty on chilly days, but they will also look stylish on walks around the neighborhood!

Project estimate:

• Scarf, $1
• Sewing machine, on hand

Total:  $1

How to Make Doggy Legwarmers

by Erika, Sew DoggyStyle

This scarf I actually got at The Dollar Tree.  One Dolla!!!  They have a variety of color combos and I think stripes make adorable leg warmers.  You can virtually make these leg warmers to fit any sized dog.  I made them for my big dog, since leg warmers are kinda for girls…  Haha!

I cut the scarf at every six stripes since that seemed like a good height.  Cut a total of 4 pieces.  For smaller dogs, cut every four stripes…or less.

Serge or zigzag the top and bottom of each piece to keep the threads from unraveling.  Then fold each piece in half lengthwise with right sides together and stitch down the sides.  For smaller dogs, take in the sides as much as needed.  Measure their legs to determine how much needs to be taken in.

Turn each piece right side out and tada!!!

linked: TCB

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