Posts filed under ‘animal crafts’
In which my husband gets swindled into agreeing to a herd of babydoll sheep
Our prenuptial arrangements seemed a bit strange from the start, especially for two ‘city kids.’
– He must agree to learn to tolerate sleeping with a fan, because I refused to give up circulating air at night.
– We would always have a minimum of 2 dogs, in case our dog(s) chose a favorite. I mean, how sad would it be to have only one dog and that dog liked my husband better? Not an option.
– At some point in life, we would own a horse. And one milk cow. And possibly some chickens. And any other farm animal that might be considered later on.
My poor husband. You’re probably wondering what he got in exchange. I’m trying to remember now, myself. Funny how your own sticking points are much clearer in your memory. I think the deal had something to do with having his own target range when we had lots of land (which clearly we will need to with all of the farm animals, and clearly the range will be a safe, respectable distance from our petting zoo), and a few other minor quibbles.
The point is, there have been some changes in our prenuptial agreement. And so the campaign has begun for a herd of babydoll sheep.
It started with this article. And the fact that we hire out our grass mowing. A mild interest in sustainability coupled with the darned adorableness of the woolly creatures had me fully convinced that our future involved these eco-friendly lawnmowers. The fact that I could dress them in bandannas, train them to fetch and that they would come when I called them put me over the top.
In all honesty, my husband is a pretty easy pushover and happy to go along for the ride. The conversation went something like this:
“I think we should get some babydoll sheep.”
“Babydoll sheep?”
“Yes. They’re adorable. They’re the size of Rufus, and come to think of it, they look like Rufus too.”
“Uh …”
“We could spin their wool into yarn and I can make scarves.”
“Uh …”
“They are cute. And huggable. They can wear bandannas. They come when you call them – one of our dogs doesn’t even do that. You can walk them ON A LEASH. How flippin’ sweet is that?”
“Is this in addition to the cows?”
“No, I’d probably trade in the hypothetical cow for 2-3 hypothetical babydoll sheep.”
“I think we may have a deal. Can we turn the shed into a stable?”
We (and by this I mean I) spent the rest of the night watching babydoll sheep YouTube videos and finding awesome things like this.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I married that man.
P.S. – While we *could* turn our shed into a stable, and while our city allows sheep within city limits, our yard is too small. So these hypothetical sheep will stay that way for awhile longer.
Another owl – sensing a theme?
Oh, the powers of social media. I made a stuffed owl for my baby cousin, and her mom posted an adorable pic of the sweet baby and the owl. One of her friends saw my owl, and requested one herself! So fun, and so amazing that someone in Missouri can make something for someone in Iowa and someone in North Carolina sees the post and orders one. Small world. 🙂 I really hope she loves him – I think he turned out really cute!
An owl for Luke
I brought in an owl I sewed for my cousin’s first birthday (to be posted this weekend after she has received it) to work today, and my coworker Kim requested one for her son. I realized I didn’t have many boy friendly fabrics. So, I broke my long streak of not buying fabrics happily, and went to the cute sewing store in downtown Maryville to pick out some beautiful woolen, brushed flannels in gender-neutral and boy-friendly prints.
When I finished the owl cut outs as I traditionally do, something seemed missing. I decided to add eyelashes and it made him perfect.
The only downside to this beautifully soft fabric (perfect for a baby boy’s hugs) is that it was much stretchier than the quilting cotton I was used to working with, which meant when it came time to stuff him, the stuffing stretched his shape a bit. However, I think it can be a worthy tradeoff for a snuggly baby toy.
I wish I had a better place to take photos after dark – the colors are terrible in this photo. Look at the eyelashes, though!
And on that note, back to the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Yes. I don’t know which is better – the adorable dogs or the hysterical commentary.
Also, the Purina shelter ads are making me cry.
Another Martha Stewart project – what can I say, I love her.
This is a super sweet project, and you may already have everything you need to complete it.
– Pair of gloves
– needle and thread
– Polyfill
– Buttons
– Ribbons
This project, from start to finish, takes about 20 minutes. Project found here.
Whoo-too: How to owl softie
I would make some changes to this softie the second time around, but this is a really simple, quick, simple softie project that requires only a few items that you probably already have.
1 fat quarter
random scraps of felt
thread
sewing machine or handsewn
Take your fat quarter and fold in half. This should create fabric that’s 18 X 10.5 inches. Cut a shape similar to a gummy drop with the folded part uncut at the bottom. Pick one side of the folded piece of fabric to be the front of your owl. Cut two wings out of felt and sew onto the edge of the body. Then cut a giant triangle to serve as a beak, sew on. Then, cut two large white circles for eyes, and sew so they slightly overlap onto the beak. Sew on two smaller black circles to create the pupils for the eyes. Then, sew two little feather-shaped felt cutouts to the top of the face.
Now that your face and wings are done, fold fabric the other way so that right sides are facing in. Sew around the open edges of your shape (be careful to keep the top feathers sticking out), leaving about 1.5 inches to turn the fabric right side out, then fill with polyfill, sew the remaining hole closed, and you’re done!
The mistake I made in this that I would not make again is choosing to have the hole to flip the owl inside out at the top of his head. This made for an awkward seam. It would have been much better to the hole along the bottom edge. Next time I will do it this way.
For variations, add glasses or even little felt feet.
Another dose of (softie) inspiration
One day I was looking for inspiration for a new softie project to make for home decorating, when I stumbled upon LucyKate Crafts. I seriously love her blog – so many beautiful projects, great pictures … it’s a great blog to spend an hour perusing.
I fell in love with her fox softies, and was inspired to create my own fox. It didn’t turn out as adorable as hers (she is a professional, after all), but still pretty cute.
I have a soft spot for foxes, too, because our Cairn, Netta, reminds me of a fox.
Matadors
For a former vegetarian, I have one of the strangest collections ever. Ceramic matadors. But that’s another post.
The ridiculously gaudy statues inspired one of my latest softie creations, a stuffed matador and cow. And later, a matching cowboy and cow to go with.
My ridiculous collection of matadors also inspired an early, perfect Valentine’s day gift from my husband – a red ceramic bull. Awesome.