Birthday Week: DIY Dachshund Gift Wrap

ammo the dachshund birthday weekIt’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.

Birthday Week: It’s My Birthday!

Oh Glorious Day! It’s finally my THIRD Birthday! I’ve been waiting and waiting for this day to come.

ammo the dachshunt party hat

Mom got me this nifty Birthday hat that my pal Baxter’s Mom made for me. Very festive don’t you think?

ammo the dachshund birthday hat

As you can imagine I was uber excited to start my day – mostly just to open my presents though. But then something horrible happened….

ammo the dachshund birthday hat

What do you mean I can’t open my presents until tonight? Do I really have to wait for Dad to get home from work?

ammo the dachshund birthday hat

He’s never going to know if I just sneak one bite of my Birthday Cookies

ammo the dachshund birthday hat

It’s our little secret. *wink*

 

Birthday Week: Q&A

ammo the dachshund birthday weekOver on my facebook page last week I asked some of my friends to post their burning questions for me! You know, the stuff you just HAVE to know! So here’s a few that I picked to answer, along with a few I threw in just for fun!

Q Do you wear Pajamas to bed?
A
If you snuck over to my house at night, you would find me sleeping soundly in my Birthday suit! That’s right, I’m a in-the-nude sleeper!

Q Do you sleep under the blanket or on top of the blanket?
A
Always, always under! How else am I going to keep my tushie warm? hehe

Q Have you ever met a skunk?
A
This summer officially marked my very first run-in with a skunk. And yes, I got sprayed in the head by that little stinker!

Q Is there something that really scares you?
A
My arch nemesis is without a doubt the vacuum cleaner! Thank goodness my mom isn’t a very good housekeeper – because he doesn’t appear very often! I’m also not such a big fan of gun shot noises (which can be heard out on the farm on occasion).

ammo the dachshund birthday weekQ How do you feel about going to the vet? Do you sense it beforehand and hide?
A
I’m so accustomed to going everywhere with my mom, that a car trip hardly gives me a pre-warning to our impending trip to the vet. That being said, I used to love the vet – I really really did. Someone giving you cookies, petting you all over, saying how cute you are. Except that all changed when said “vet” stole my manhood when I was one. Do you blame me? Even though that was quite traumatizing for me I still give the vet the benefit of the doubt. I’m not all happy happy when I get there, but I’m very well behaved and sit quietly on the table while I’m given shots and checked out. It helps to know that my cookies will be coming shortly afterwards!

Q Are you going to write a book someday?
A
I actually get this question quite often. And my mom said that someday she will hopefully help me write my very own book! Nothing is in the works yet, but I continue to nip at my mom’s heels to get the ball rolling.

ammo the dachshund birthday weekQ If your mom and dad were both sitting down, who’s lap would you choose?
A
No offense dad, but my mom knows how to snuggle me JUST right.

Q Have you ever done anything remarkable like alerting your family to danger?
A
Oh dang, that’s what super heroes are supposed to do aren’t they? I better get on that stat!

Q What is your favorite trick?
A
That’s a tough one. I think it’s actually a 2 way tie between giving high fives and playing dead.

So there you have it, a little Q&A to wet your whistle. If you have anymore burning questions for me you can leave them in the comment section below and I’ll do my best to answer them! More Birthday fun will be coming your way soon!!

A Special Note

I had to interrupt Birthday week for a minute to make a special announcement…..

HAPPY 3 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY MOM & DAD!

And on a side note, had I been invited to your wedding (nevermind the fact that I wasn’t born until the day after) you could have had a whole slew of adorable photos of me crashing the party just like this one…

ammo the dachshund the wedding crasher

Stop giving me the evil eye Minnow!

You can check out a video of Minnow attending the wedding over on the Trick Ponies’ Blog today. And yes, I am pretty jealous that I wasn’t in attendance.

Birthday Week: Memories

It’s inevitable. As soon as my Birthday rolls around my mom starts talking about how cute I was as a puppy – eventually leading her to break out the dreaded photo album. You know the one – where all of your embarrassing baby photos are on display to the World. So in the efforts of beating my mom to the punch, I thought I’d just share my baby photos myself – in the hopes of avoiding the embarrassing ones!

ammo the dachshund baby photos

Here’s a picture of me at about 9 weeks old, I was a stud muffin even back then!

ammo the dachshund baby photos

In the beginning I had a “thing” for Monkeys, well until ultimately they taunted me which led the their gruesome demise. I’ll spare you the details.

ammo the dachshund baby photos

I began perfecting my “cute face” pretty early on, so when I got older it was much easier to get my way with everything.

ammo the dachshund baby photos

I admit, I wasn’t all “rainbows & sunshine” all the time. Especially when in December my parents brought a tree inside and then expected me to do my business outside. Seriously?

ammo the dachshund baby photos

Luckily I always had a partner in crime. My pal Trooper taught me everything I know – and SOMETIMES I even shared my bones with him. Oh, true friendship.

ammo the dachshund baby photos

Trooper and I spent most of my youth snuggling and wrestling at the shop. Luckily, not much has changed in 3 years.

ammo the dachshund baby photos

Speaking of friends, we can’t forget my pony friends. From the very beginning we shared a special bond.

ammo the dachshund baby photos

My adventurous side appeared pretty quickly too and I had big plans for my future from the start.

ammo the dachshund baby photos

And obviously most of those adventures involved getting as dirty as possible. Dirt is definitely a sign of a good adventure.

ammo the dachshund baby photos

My mom of course always had other plans for me.

ammo's birthdayWell, there you have it – my little trip down memory lane (complete with naked puppy-in-the-bathtub-picture). Sometimes I miss those carefree puppy days, but then I remember that there is still so much I want to try and do ahead. I can’t wait for many more years of adventures!

Birthday Week: Wish List

What’s a Birthday week without a wish list? Here’s a few things I’ve been swooning over lately!

 

ammo the dachshund's birthday wishlist

1. Bowtie from Silly Buddy. I’ve had my eye on one of these for a long time now. But they’re all so dashing I can’t decide which one I LOVE best!

2. Sky Blue Raincoat from Noodle and Friends. You can never have too many raincoats!

3. Travel Bowl from Dudley & Bea. My current travel bowl has seen better days, too many adventures I guess! I think I deserve something spiffy and new.

4. Toy Basket from Anthropologie. This isn’t really a toy basket per say, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t stuff the thing to the brim with my favorite go-to toys. [via]

5. Dog Duvet Cover from MollyMutt. Admittedly my current MollyMutt dog bed at the shop has seen better days – I blame the stresses of a 9 – 5. I’m also loving this duvet.

 

 

Birthday Week: Ammo turns 3!

ammo the dachshund's birthday weekWelcome to Birthday Week! On October 5th I turn 3 years old, and since I think Birthdays are super amazing (especially mine), we’re going to celebrate ALL-WEEK-LONG!

I’m really just hoping that means I get presents and treats all week long too, but regardless I think it will be a really fun bash! I’ve even got some fun prizes for my “guests” (that’s you btw) and some super cool DIY stuff to share! So make sure you check in everyday (and sometimes twice a day), because this is gonna totally be a blast in a glass bowl.

So stick around for the fun, and make sure you check back later today when we really get the bash going!

Secret Life

I have a secret to tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone! Especially not my pony friends!

ammo the dachshund

Ok, well sometimes, only sometimes, when I’m wandering around in my backyard…..

ammo the dachshund in backyard

…..I like to pretend that I’m a pony.

ammo the dachshund eating grass

You know, nibbling on grass, making little whinnying sounds, prancing – the normal stuff.

ammo the dachshund eating grass

It’s fun for a little while, but then I usually remember that grass tastes like yuck, I hate prancing, and I’d much rather be a dog that gets to eat hot dogs and bark at the neighbors. Oh and Dogs rule, ponies drool!

Did you hear that?

ammo the dachshund listening

Oh Hey! Now that you’re here, did you hear that?

ammo the dachshund listening

There it was again, did you hear it that time?

ammo the dachshund listening

I think it might be coming from my apple tree.

ammo the dachshund sniffing

I mean it smells harmless enough though.

ammo the dachshund listening

Wait, I heard it again, you swear you don’t hear that?

ammo the dachshund listening

Oh no…..I knew it…

ammo the dachshund listening

…those darn birds are laughing at me again! Now someone please give me a boost, I’ve got some chatty birds to get at!

Singing in the Rain

Lately you’d think I live in Seattle – on account of all the rain we’ve been getting in Pennsylvania. Seems like every week there are new flood watches issued, and everyday looks a little gloomier.

ammo the dachshund rainy day

It’s days like these that you look out the window barn door and think, why bother.

But then I remember, just because it looks dreary outside doesn’t mean my day can’t be filled with adventure. After all, it’s always best to look on the bright side of things.

ammo the dachshund rainy day

A little mountain climbing in the manure pile…..

ammo the dachshund rainy day

….and some sniffing for ground hogs in the far pasture make for some wonderful rainy day fun.

ammo the dachshund rainy day

The hills are alive with the sound of my barking, as I dance in the rain!

ammo the dachshund rainy day