FaveCrafts

1000s of free craft projects, home decor ideas and DIY tips

Link Love: Crafts for Cat Lovers

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Easy To Crochet Cat Toy from Dabbles and BabblesOnce upon a time, cat lovers were characterized as “crazy cat ladies”.  Well, those days are over, because it’s never been a better time to be a cat lover. Cats have broken into the mainstream – even Taylor Swift has an adorable kitty named Meredith. Here at FaveCrafts, we celebrate our kitties (and other pets) by creating unique and adorable pet crafts. Those of us who don’t have a furry companion can create animal-inspired projects to wear or display. Personally, I’m partial to dainty flats with adorable cat faces drawn on – does it get any cuter?

Get inspired and celebrate your favorite feline with a few simple DIY designs. If you have a cat, you create a variety of practical crafts that can be used every single day. Save up old socks and create a Sock Bed for Kitty. You’ll hear plenty of purring (and maybe some snoring) when your pet spots your design. Even if you don’t have a cat, you can create fun cat-inspired crafts. A Blue Crochet Kitty makes a great gift for a little one – create one before a birthday or baby shower. You can also add a fun touch to your wardrobe by creating whimsical Kitty Clip-On Barrettes. They’re almost as adorable as a newborn kitten… almost.

You won’t believe how easy it is to craft for your pet. Alternately, you can make cat-inspired crafts and show off your loved for felines. While you’re at it, why not do both? One thing’s for sure – you can’t go wrong when you make cat crafts.

  1. Easy To Crochet Cat Toy from Dabbles and Babbles
  2. Onni the Beckoning Cat from Nimoe
  3. Mini Kitty Pinata from Making It Big
  4. Felted Cat Toy from 7 Yaks
  5. Charlotte Olympia-Inspired Kitty Flats from Clones ‘n Clowns
  6. Cat Ear Headband from Why Don’t You Make Me
  7. Kitty Cat Costume from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
  8. Cat Face Stenciled Shirt from minted Strawberry
  9. Cat Sleep Mask from Stars for Streetlights

Check out our friends over at Stitch&Unwind! They have some crazy fun knitting and crochet patterns inspired by cats.Crazy Cat Lady Patterns: Free Crochet & Knitting Patterns

Do you like to make things for your cats or for yourself?

Celebrate Your Furry Friend On National Love Your Pet Day

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Today is a very important holiday … it’s National Love Your Pet Day! The next time your spot your favorite furry friend, give him or her a little extra squeeze (not too hard, though). Here at FaveCrafts, we love dogs, cats, guinea pigs and even sugar gliders! We love sharing stories about our pets and even passing around photos of our favorite “fur babies.” We know our readers love their own pets, hence why we have an entire pet crafts category of the site.

    

Today, make your pet something that they can wear or use for playtime. Your favorite companion deserves a little TLC, and these projects certainly show how much you care.

Crafts For a Cat:

  1. Snazzy Cat Collar
  2. Kitty Treat Jar
  3. Sock Bed for Kitty


Crafts For a Dog:

  1. Doggy Style Dress
  2. Easy Upcycled Dog Toy
  3. Dog Sweater Crochet Pattern


Crafts For Every Pet:

  1. Pet Food Mat
  2. 3-D Pet Collage
  3. Pet Treat Pail

Do you have a pet? Leave a comment and tell us all about him/her!

Christmas Is Coming: Celebrate with 20 New Crochet & Knitting Patterns

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Believe it or not, the holiday season is right around the corner. It may see a little early to be thinking about Christmas crafts, but if you’re planning to knit or crochet this season, you need to start planning now. Certain patterns like tree skirts and afghans require some added time and effort and you don’t want to wait until the last minute! Luckily, the latest free eBook from FaveCrafts.com is available right now to download and save for years to come.

 

Have a Red Heart Holiday: 20 Knit & Crochet Gifts and Decorating Ideas features a variety of projects for yarn crafters at all skill levels. The book is broken down into two distinct sections: crochet patterns and knitting patterns. Within each section, you’ll find cute gift ideas and fun decor projects. Grab your yarn and dig up those hooks and needles – you’re sure to find some creative inspiration in the pages of this free eBook!

Included In This eBook:

Noel Knit Sweater Ornaments – Who doesn’t love a warm and cozy Christmas sweater during the holiday season? Translate your love for holiday wearables into an ornament you can hang year after year. This intermediate knitting pattern can be replicated over and over again using different yarn colors and weights. Work the ornaments up as you would a normal sweater – start with the body and add sleeves second.

 

Holiday Spirits Bottle Bag – Don’t show up to a Christmas party empty handed. One great host or hostess gift is a bottle of wine and a handmade bottle bag that can be reused in the future. The festive design and pom poms make this a great holiday gift idea. Crochet the bag first and then create the tie and pom poms. Make a few and give them to neighbors, colleagues and more.

 

Holiday Cat Collar – Get ready to say “Awww!” This crochet project is super simple but so adorable. Dress your favorite feline for the holiday season with this handcrafted collar. Create the collar first, add a poinsettia and finish by crafting the holly leaves. Everyone in your family should show off their holiday spirit – even pets!

 

There are 17 other patterns in our latest free eBook, Have a Red Heart Holiday: 20 Knit & Crochet Gifts and Decorating Ideas and we can’t wait for  you to check them out now! To download this eBook, simply head over to FaveCrafts.com. You can also find it in the Christmas crafts category on the site. Discover crochet gifts, knit ornaments and so much more – consider it an early Christmas present from your friends at FaveCrafts.com.

 

When do you start crafting for Christmas?

 

 

Our Office Dog is Famous!

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Okay, so maybe he isn’t the office dog, but he does belong to one of our most creative staff members, Simone.  And now his adorable little face is popping up all over the Internet:

Maybe I should start at the beginning.  A month or so ago Simone, who is our Social Media Guru, whipped up an amazing Harry Potter costume for her pup, complete with Gryffindor cape, striped tie and even Harry’s iconic black-rimmed glasses.  She then graciously typed up the instructions and shared them with us all.

Fast forward to last week when Simone was lucky enough to be a guest at the Martha Stewart Show.  She quickly became best buds with Martha and they’ve kept in touch via Twitter.  But despite their budding friendship, Simone was still stunned yesterday when she found out that Martha had mentioned her Harry Potter Dog Costume on the air and posted a snapshot of it on her website (click through to slide 4 to see Simone’s pup in all his Harry Potter glory).  Or I could just show it to you here:

Yes, that’s our Harry “Pawter” on the left and Martha’s face right next to him on the right.  We’d call that famous!

As if that wasn’t enough, Simone’s pup has since been featured by our friends over at Craftzine.  Before you know it, he’ll be gracing the cover of Vogue!

We love that people love our doggie Harry Potter costume so much.  If it was up to us, there would be a whole army of Harry Potter pets parading around on October 31st!

For anyone who wants to make a Harry Potter dog costume of their own, just head on over to Simone’s tutorial and she’ll walk you through it step by step.

We’re curious:  What’s the funniest pet Halloween costume you’ve seen?

How To: Harry Potter Dog Costume

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Halloween is right around the corner and that means you need costume ideas. Every member of your house should get in on the fun which is why I am so excited to share my Harry Potter dog costume tutorial. Don’t leave your four-legged friend out of the fun! This simple to make costume would be great on any size dog and by using fabrics and clothes found at a thrift store, it is also very inexpensive. Lucky for me, one of my dogs is willing to put up with my crafty antics if there is a dog biscuit in my hand.

Harry-Potter-Dog-Costume

To start I took a trip to my local thrift store and bought a child size white blouse, a burgundy colored cloth napkin, a black sheet, a child size grey long sleeve henley shirt, and a piece of dark purple fabric. My receipt totaled less than $5. For the Gryffindor Crest, I used felt that I already had in my stash of craft supplies.

The cape came together very easily with my basic sewing skills. This same pattern or process can be used to create any sort of cape for any size dog. Want to make a dog Superman costume? Just make your cape red. Need to whip up a Batman cape? Just make the same cape in black. It really is that easy.

The pattern for the Harry Potter crest as well as how I created each piece of this dog costume is available in the new free eBook, 14 Halloween Costume Ideas to Make at Home! There are great photos of the steps as well as a guide for making this costume for any size dog. And let’s not forget the Harry Potter signature specs, I explain how to make those too. And if you are going as Harry or one of your children, you can make yourself a Gryffindor crest for your cape or sweater, the pattern included in this tutorial can be resized any way you need it.

And if you are not a Harry Potter fan, you can always check out the tutorials for making a Dog Chia Pet Costume or crochet your pooch a Pirate Puppy Hat. And if you are going to be sporting a bit of Hogwarts this Halloween, don’t forget to craft yourself a Harry Potter Inspired Treat Bag.

Download the new 14 Halloween Costume Ideas to Make at Home! eBook today for this and many more costume ideas you can make yourself. You won’t want to miss the great kid costume ideas or the special section of girly girl costumes.

 

 

The hardest part about making this Harry Potter Dog Costume is getting your dog to sit still for the photo, bacon usually works pretty well. Plus, if you want to practice your sewing skills, making something for your pet is very good practice.

Are you dressing up this year? Will you make your costume or buy? Do you dress up everybody in your house including your pets? We would love to hear from YOU!

This Week on Cool2Craft TV – Pets

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Join host Tiffany Windsor and her special guests for this week’s episode of Cool2Craft TV featuring pet themed projects. EcoHeidi Borchers shows how to create a dog embellishment on a mosaic frame, Candace Jedrowicz recycles a jar lid into a personalized pet plaque, Sandra Angelo stops by to talk about her super cool drawing method and Tiffany shows you how easy it is to decorate with rhinestone accents and introduces you to the JetMaster Display System. Monday July 25, 2011 at noon Eastern/9 am Pacific. Watch craft demos and join in the #livecraftchat at showtime at Cool2Craft.com.

Cool2Craft TV - Pets

It’s easy to watch Cool2Craft TV right from your computer. This episode airs Monday July 25, 2011 9am Pacific/10am Mountain, 11 am Central, noon Eastern. Go to http://cool2craft.com and find the Livestream player and chat box. See you Monday!

Watch live streaming video from cool2craft at livestream.com

Does Your Pet Wear Clothing?

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I can’t believe the outfits they make for dogs and cats these days! I just put together a great article on dressing your pet, called 31 Patterns for Pet Clothing. I’ve always had bigger dogs (Labrador Retrievers), so I’ve never paid much attention to dog sweaters or accessories. I just recently got a small dog–a Beagle/Boston Terrier mix–so I decided to buy him a sweater. Here he is sans sweater:

If I knew how to knit or crochet, you better believe I’d be stitching up a storm to give this little guy an adorable wardrobe! I’d love to make him the Crochet Dog Shrug, although I realize it might emasculate him:

I also really love this Knit Rainbow Sweater. The colors are so bright and cheerful!

I do know how to sew, however, so I may just have to try my hand at this adorable Puppy Necktie. You think dogs don’t need neckties? Well, think again! Look at how professional this pooch looks with his business casual attire!

You can see the rest of the adorable pet clothing patterns (and a few bonus pet crafts) in my article, 31 Patterns for Pet Clothing.

And if that isn’t enough to satiate you, here are some more pet clothing patterns I found around the web:

  1. This sock monkey hat from Posh Pooch Designs has got to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! You can crochet one for your own dog if you buy her pattern, but she’s also got lots of free patterns to check out too.
  2. Also from Posh Pooch Designs is this free crochet pattern is for doggie leg warmers! Why? Why not! Here’s another Doggy Leg Warmer Pattern.
  3. It’s a little late for Easter, but if you love humiliating your animals all year round, you’ll love these bunny ears from Sew Doggy Style! Doesn’t this dog look hilarious?!
  4. Here’s another from the Department of Hilarious: You can make your dog its own Lady Gaga inspired meat dress, also from Sew Doggy Style. I’d say he’s a dead ringer!

Don’t forget to check out the 31 Patterns for Pet Clothing article for even more ideas on how to DIY your pet’s wardrobe. And tell me: Would you ever dress up your pet?

FaveCrafts.com 365 Who Let the Dogs Out?

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Many of our daily v-logs have been and will be recorded in my own DogHouse Studios in central east coast Florida (except when there is a road trip like the Craft and Hobby trade show coming up at the end of the month) and I didn’t pick the name DogHouse out of thin air. I’ve got 2 dachshunds and 2 basset hounds who consider my studio, yep, their dog house!

I thought I’d introduce you to the baby of the family, Edison. He’s got lots of nicknames, but for professional work he prefers I use his formal name. And trust me, he’s got more fans on Facebook than I do! He has only 1 rule as you’ll see in the video, but I mention a few more if you are crafting for pets.

Do you have a pet? Come on, tell us… you know you want to brag!

19 Days ’til Christmas: Favorite Ornament You Ever Made and a Giveaway

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From now through Christmas day, we’re featuring a project here on the FaveCraftsBlog, along with a question for you to comment on. From those comments, we’ll pick a daily winner and you’ll receive a Gift from Santa’s Sleigh! How’s that for a great way to celebrate all month long?!

For today’s topic, Favorite Ornament You’ve Ever Made, we’re sharing Paw Print Ornaments and we hope you will share your story in the comments. Both Christine and I got new puppies this year, so we were both thrilled when this ornament was submitted to FaveCrafts. I don’t know if Christine’s going to make one, but I hope to make one for each of our new puppies to commemorate their first Christmas with our family!

Paw Print Ornaments

By: Erika Lindquist of Sew Doggy Style

Let your precious pooch in on easy Christmas crafts by making these paw print ornaments from Erika Lindquist to decorate your tree with. These make great gifts from Fido to his owner!

Meanwhile, tell us about your favorite homemade Christmas ornament ever! Leave a comment below – one lucky commenter will receive a Gift from Santa’s Sleigh. Hurry. You only have until Midnight central time to enter. Tomorrow will be another day, another featured project, and another giveaway!

P.S. Since our comments require approval before they are live on the site, your comment will be included as an entry even if you don’t see it on the page. Also, we only include one comment per person, but you can make more than one comment if you want!

[Note: The giveaway is now closed, but feel free to leave your comments if you like! See all of our Christmas Countdown posts here!]

New Pattern Monday: Animal Inspired Crafts

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If you’re an animal lover, then you’ll love these adorable, animal-inspired crafts, new on FaveCrafts last week.

Darling Deer Woodsy Purse: This wooden purse was a fantastical thrift store find. Even if you don’t have a wooden purse, you can use this whimsical design as inspiration for a lunchbox or even a small chest. Make the Darling Deer Woodsy Purse from Plaid today.

Butterfly Inspiration Charm Bracelet: Butterflies are so graceful and majestic, and they look especially pretty in a charm bracelet with some glitter and Mod Podge. Add the inspirational words of your choice to personalize.

Paw Print Ornaments: Let your precious pooch in on easy Christmas crafts by making these paw print ornaments from Erika Lindquist to decorate your tree with. These make great gifts from Fido to his owner!

 

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