12 Days of Cheer! DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Ammo

One of my favorite things about the holidays is decorating the house with lots of Christmas Cheer! So this year my mom decided to help me make some festive ornaments to hang on my tree. These DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments will add a little WOOF to any home!

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Supplies:

Fabric (White & Some Colorful Xmas Fabric)
Baker’s Twine
Needle and Thread (a sewing machine helps too)
Cotton Stuffing
Iron-on Fabric Transfer Paper
Iron
Scissors
Printer & Photos of your Pet

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Step 1: After choosing photos of your pet to use (it helps if they have a white background) print them out on your iron-on transfer paper. Follow the directions on the package for printing, and remember to mirror your image.

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Step 2: Cut your images out of the print-out.

Step 3: Iron on your images to your white fabric, making sure you follow the directions on your iron-on transfer paper package.

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Step 4: Cut each image out of your fabric, making sure to leave at least a 1 inch space around each image. By using something as a template you can also cut them out in the shape of a circle, which will be easier to sew down the line.

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Step 5: Next you will want to cut shapes out of your colorful Christmas fabric that are the same size as the images. These will serve as the backing for your ornament.

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Step 6: Using the baker’s twine you’ll want to cut a small piece and tie it into a bow. Then with your needle and thread stitch your bow onto the image transfer of your pet.

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Step 7: Then you will want to sew your ornament together. Place your colored fabric ONTOP of your image and then using your sewing machine (or by hand) stitch nearly all the way around your ornament, leaving about a 1/2 an inch of the fabric un-sewn.

Step 8: Flip your sewn ornament inside out so that now the image is on the outside. Then stuff with cotton.

Step 9: Cut a piece of bakers twine to be used to hang your ornament and knot it into a loop. Then using a needle and thread stitch the top of your ornament (and the loop) closed.

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

Step 10: Marvel in your diy-ness and enjoy your new ornaments!

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

I’m thoroughly enjoying my new ornaments, and I think they’re super cute !

12 Days of Cheer! Ammo the Dachshund's DIY Holiday Dog Ornaments

I bet you can guess which one’s my favorite!

*The photos used for my ornaments were from the lovely Brenda Carpenter & The Mutt Room!

Birthday Week: DIY Pet Birthday Bandana

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Ammo

Birthdays call for celebration, and what better way to celebrate than a spiffy new bandana to let everyone know it’s your Birthday!

And because I want everyone to celebrate with me, here’s a tutorial I created to help you make your own pet a celebratory bandana.

DIY Pet Birthday Bandana

Materials:

Fabric
Ruler
Cutting Utensil
Screenprinting Ink (or acrylic paint mixed with Textile Medium)
Sponge Brush
Paint Tray
Rubber Stamp (we hand carved ours, or you can find out how to purchase one here)

*some links contain affiliate links

Step 1: Using a ruler and cutting utensil, cut a bandana sized piece of fabric out of your material. We used a bandana I already had as a template, but you can also measure your pet’s neck and add about 4″ to be able to tie it. You might also opt to sew the edges of your bandana to prevent fraying before moving on to step 2.

Step 2: You will need your HOORAY! stamp for this part (my mom carved mine, find out how to carve a stamp here or find out how to purchase one here). Use your sponge brush to apply screen printing ink or acrylic paint mixed with Textile Medium to the stamp.

Step 3: Stamp your fabric in several places, re-applying paint after each one. Then allow to dry.

Adding another color can add to the overall effect.

And when you are all finished you will have a spiffy new bandana that’s perfect for celebrating my Birthday with me.

Happy Birthday to me! Only 3 more days until I’m officially 4 and get to open all my presents!

My HOORAY! stamp was inspired by a post on Squirrelly Minds.

Birthday Week: DIY Dachshund Gift Wrap

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Ammo

ammo the dachshund birthday week It’s no surprise that I belong to a family of artists. My Dad is a graphic designer, my Mom is a custom framer & artist, and my pony friends (as well as myself) are painters – so when we wrap gifts – we go all artsy fartsy! Because the presentation is everything! (well at least until you rip that thing to shreds).

Even though today is my Birthday, my mom says I’m not allowed to open any presents until tonight when Dad can watch too….what a bummer! I bet you are waiting in anticipation just like I am! So hopefully this DIY DACHSHUND GIFT WRAP TUTORIAL (aka how to make your pup’s Birthday extra special) will help hold you over until it’s time to rip open my gifts.

So here’s a little inside look at how my Mom made my Birthday presents extra special this year!

diy dachshund gift wrap

Materials Needed:

– Kraft Paper
– Carve-able Rubber Stamp Material
– Stamp Carving tools & Exacto Knife
– Rubber Stamp Pad
– Black Thin-line Sharpie
– Printer paper & Pencil
– Bone Folder (credit card will work too)

diy dachshund gift wrap

1. Using your printer paper and a pencil draw or trace the shape you would like to make into a rubber stamp. In this case my mom drew a balloon & a picture of me!

diy dachshund gift wrap

2. Transfer your pencil drawing onto the rubber stamp carving material by burnishing the back of it using your bone folder. Using a credit card would also work too. Then with an exacto knife cut your drawings out of the block.

diy dachshund gift wrap

3. Carve out your rubber stamp using your tools. You can test the stamp periodically by inking & stamping it onto a piece of scrap paper.

diy dachshund gift wrap

4. Stamp your design all over the kraft paper. Then using a thin-line sharpie connect the balloon shape to your dachshund.

ammo the dachshund free gift tags

Make sure you dress up your package extra spiffy with Baker’s Twine & Washi Tape – because gifts can never be too pretty. Add a gift tag by downloading our FREE PRINTABLE GIFT TAG. (download)

ammo the dachshund free gift tags

Check back soon to see how you can win your very own roll of Dachshund Gift Wrap, because Birthdays are more fun when you share!

To learn more about how to carve your own rubber stamps visit this Blog.

DIY Dog id Tag

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Ammo

Some of you might remember my stylish mustache id tag that I got for Christmas this year. Now don’t get me wrong, it was super cool, but there was one tiny problem…..the curly mustache loops kept getting caught on my blankies.

So I decided to re-gift my id tag to mom – who is now carrying it around on her key chain. I’m pretty thoughtful like that. Now even though mom believed my “re-gift” was very nice, she said I still needed to have some sort of identification (even if I am micro-chipped).

So since we’re ~~cheap~~ resourceful, mom ~~and I~~ decided to try and D.I.Y a dog tag for me! Honestly, I tried to help, but you try holding a needle and thread in a pair of paws! Since I couldn’t do a whole lot of “helping”, instead I’ll share with you how to DIY an ID Tag for your favorite pooch (or kitty, or pony, or lizard).

D.I.Y PET ID TAG

Supplies: Fabric or Ribbon, Needle, Thread, Floss, Scissors

Step 1: Cut a piece of fabric or ribbon to a size slightly larger than you want your tag to be. It’s helpful to use a light colored fabric so you can draw your design on it with a disappearing fabric pen, or you could use a dark fabric with ribbed lines on it as a guide.

Step 2: Choose a needle and thread. Using a Floss is better because it’s thicker and will show up better.

Step 3: If using a light fabric use a disappearing fabric pen to write your pet’s name and phone number onto the fabric. If you choose you can also mark off the area you want to stitch in with white artist’s tape.

Step 4: Begin sewing your letters/numbers by follow the guides you have drawn on the fabric.