Introduction: Customizable Doggy Care Kit
This instructable will show you how to make a doggy care kit for your own special pet, or a gift for other fluffy friends.
I’m sure my love of dogs can be shared with many others, however when I combine my love for crafts and arts I become more unique and can share my creativity through instructables like these! You can definitely add your own creativity to this instructable as you'd like, especially because this is personalized to your own dog.
On the scale of difficulty, this is a generally easy project if you are committed to it. There is also definitely room for creativity and artistic minds to shine as you can design the kit in your own ways.
Supplies
The materials you will need are for the basic main products, however I used paint and other art materials to personalize the box/kit and to decorate. The materials include:
Any sort of box, I used a leftover box from my house. https://www.target.com/p/sterilite-deep-clip-box-clear-with-jade-latches/-/A-13794803
Fabric for the toy and collar, you can pick any fabric but this is what I used. https://www.joann.com/fashion-faux-fur-fabric--br... https://www.joann.com/fashion-faux-fur-fabric--br...
Stuffing for toy https://www.joann.com/10oz-soft-n-crafty-fun-stuf...
Cord for the dog cord toy https://www.joann.com/3%2F4in-twist-rope-by-the-y...
Inside of a tennis ball, I dismantled an old dog ball but you can use a new one https://www.target.com/p/chuckit-2pk-tennis-ball-...
New tennis ball material, I used felt https://www.joann.com/craft-felt-72in-wide-10-yar...
Belting for the leash and collar (I would get 5 yards) https://www.joann.com/100pct-cotton-belting-1in-w...
Hardware for the leash https://www.joann.com/everything-mary-silver-larg...
Clip for collar https://www.joann.com/dritz-quick-release-clip/86...
Hardware for collar https://www.joann.com/dritz-d-rings-nickel/163173...
Gorilla glue: https://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-7500101-0722100067...
OPTIONAL MATERIALS:
Sewing materials such as a needle and thread (assorted options found at joanns or any fabric store) https://www.joann.com/
Squeaker for stuffed dog toy https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Squeakers-Down...
Dye for the cord to make it multicolored (or see natural dye directions under “SECOND ITEM”) https://www.amazon.com/SEI-Tumble-Fabric-2-Ounce-...
Art materials for decorations for the box can be found at https://www.michaels.com/home-show (stuff like paint, fabric, pom poms, bows, etc.)
Step 1: DOG BALLS
PREP THE BALLS: The first thing I am going to do is prep the old dog balls so I can put new fabric overtop. Since I chose to use old dog balls and just refurbish them, I found a hole in both balls and just started cutting and ripping away.
There is not really any method to this step because you are just trying to get the fabric off. After you have done this, snip off any extra fur that was stuck on the adhesive.
ADDING FABRIC: adding the fabric is probably the most challenging part of this project. It requires a lot of patience because it might not necessarily work perfectly the first time. I have attached below the picture/template I used to cut out the design on my fabric.
I had to scale this and print it out a few different times to get the right size for my tennis ball. Essentially, you need to cut out this design and have two pieces of fabric with the exact same design on both.
Then starting with one felt piece at a time, you will follow the adhesive lines of your old dog ball or tennis ball to super glue the fabric on. After you glue one piece, glue the second piece.
For an additional and optional step, I added duct tape to where the two pieces of fabric meet to make it look a little neater and more presentable.
Step 2: DOG CORD TOY
PREP AND DYE THE CORD: the cord I bought had to be white, because it was the only color I could find with such a thick diameter. So I ended up dying the cord, but doing it NATURALLY. Now, I linked dye that can be given to dogs if you put a certain sealant over it and other stuff, but I would not give this to a sensitive or diabetic dog like mine. Instead, I used turmeric to dye the cord to give a nice yellow pigment.
Natural dye mediums: blueberries – light purple; blackberries – dark plum; red beets – light pink/red; pomegranate juice – purple; saffron – golden yellow; turmeric – bright yellow; Hibiscus, Strawberries – rose pink to salmon; Coffee – light brown Chop up/sprinkle in your medium to a pot of water (double the amount of water to dye medium)
Boil for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the heat and leave to cool a little before adding the fabric. If you have bits of plant material, scoop them out. After it has cooled, place the cord in the pot of what is now, the dye color. Soak overnight.
If you are not using the natural dye, follow the steps on your fabric dye box to dye the cord.
I cut the cord in half because I am doing a twisted design affect, but you can dye the whole cord if you want to.
After leaving the cord to sit overnight, rinse it out the next morning with hot water. MAKE SURE TO WEAR GLOVES. Most of these natural dyes can stain other things and yourself, so be extra cautious. After rinsing, I set it out to dry for 30 mins. If you want you don't have to wait and you could just dry it with a towel, I just had extra time to do so.
Step 3: STUFFED DOG TOY
DRAWING DESIGN: sketch out the desired shape or design you want for the stuffed toy on to your fabric. Make sure to sketch this on the back of the fabric (aka what are side will be on the inside of the toy) with it folded over in half so you will ultimately have to of the same shape when you cut. Then cut it out, about a ½ an inch wider than you drew it, ending up with two pieces of shaped fabric.
SEWING OR GLUING: Next, you can either hand sew or machine sew, you will need to pin your two pieces of fabric together with the insides faces outwards (the same direction when you were cutting and drawing). Sew (or glue) around your whole design, and only leaving about a wrists length of opening at the end.
Now you will flip your design right side in to stuff the toy. Reach in through the hole you left open on your design and grab the end of your fabric to flip it through.
Then, grab your stuffing and fill your toy to the desired amount. Lastly, you are going to sew (or glue) the ending of your toy together to complete the item.
Step 4: THE LEASH AND COLLAR
MAKING THE LEASH: for this you are going to need about 3 yards of the belting, however you can measure to see your preference for length. Once you measure your preferred length or just cut three yards, you have to measure your handle length.
Double up the belting to make a circle for the handle. Sew (hand sew or machine sew) or glue a ½ inch length to connect the end of the handle to the leash. Do the same step to the bottom where you connect the hardware for the leash. You can measure the preferred tightness for this. Sew (or super glue) about 3 cm in length to keep it sturdy.
MAKING THE COLLAR: for this you are first going to have to measure the dogs joule area to be able to know how much belting you are going to need. I didn't make this collar adjustable, however you can add the extra adjuster if you would like.
To start I measured and cut the belting to fit my dogs neck. I then cut a piece of my fabric that was double the width of my belting, and just about an inch longer.
I then took my iron to fold over the fraying edges of the fabric to make sure it looked very clean. I folded the fabric over once to about half way of the belting, then folded over the second part of the fabric.
After ironing all of this down, I went back and super glued the fabric to the belting in the same areas I ironed.
Next, I start adding the appliances. This part is pretty self explanatory. You will loop the fabric belting through the collar hardware for the side where the clip is. Glue this down.
After doing the first part of the hardware, now do the side where the clip can click in. Loop fabric through the hardware again and leave a space in between gluing next to the hardware and the ending to put the d-ring into the collar. Push the d-ring onto the collar and glue the ending back down.
Clip together the two ends of the hardware and you are done!
Step 5: DOG TREATS
You can make any kind of dog treats out there, however I am going to be making homemade peanut butter ones. If your dog is diabetic or allergic to some of these ingredients, I would research a better alternative treat recipe for them.
INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 2 large eggs, 3 cups whole wheat flour
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In a bowl, beat pumpkin puree, peanut butter and eggs on medium-high until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups flour at low speed. Add an additional 1/4 cup flour at a time just until the dough is no longer sticky.
Knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out your desired shapes and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
Let them cool completely before you put them in a container. I used a mason jar and ribbon with the dogs name on top to make the presentation a little nicer.
Step 6: PUTTING TOGETHER THE BOX
DECORATE: You can start with any type of box like I said in the materials list, however I am starting with a recycled brown box. Since it is recycled, I am going to paint it to give it a more finished look.
I did 2 layers of paint just to make sure it was fully covered and evenly painted
This part of the project is really your time to customize in any way. A sample template/idea is having the phrase "this pawsome gift is for (enter pets name)" or "Bon A-pet-treat!" etc. You can find other words to incorporate into the main part of the decorative box here: https://www.lifelearn.com/2016/02/24/the-jumbo-reference-list-of-pet-puns/.
PUTTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER/THE FINAL PRODUCT
Once the box was dry and fully decorated I started to put everything in. The plush dog toy was little bit big for my box to fit perfectly so I rolled it a little to fit it in.
Then I fold in the box sides and wrap some extra fabric from the collar around the box so it had the cute dog print design to show off. I tied it with a double knot at the top to be extra secure.
When the box is folded in and closed you have finally completed the project!!
