The Twelve Days of Craftsmas: Pampering the Pets

If you’re like me, Christmas is an equal opportunity giftfest — which means that everyone in the house, animals included (like my sweetie-Gulliver, below), gets gifted.

Got a furry friend in your home? Have a pal whose four-legged sidekick deserves a special treat? No sweat, my pet. Here’s a quick roundup of DIY gifts that can make any animal lover’s Christmas the cat’s meow.

FOR THE FLUFFIES

• Kitty Condo. Swank it up for your favorite feline with this multilevel highrise. Via ReadyMade.
• Corrugated Scratching Post. Face it: Little Kitty gotta scratch, yo. Via ReadyMade.
• Knitted Catnip Dim Sum. Watch your cat get crazy with slippy, slidey, grippy, ‘nippy toys made with love. Via knitty.com.
• Landfill-Bounds. No link for these DIYs, dovies, ‘cuz they are too easy. Think about gifting Catface with a trove of trashy treasures. Gulliver and Domino’s favorites:
  

  Old wine corks — they bounce! they slide! they stink like fermented things!
  Balls of tinfoil stuffed with catnip — wild, man, wild.
  Dried leaves — they float and fly and taste like the outside.
  Rubberbands — fire á la fifth grade and watch ‘em soar!
  Empty Satsuma mandarin boxes — the perfect size for snuggling.

FOR THE FIDOS

• Mini-Dog Carrier. Looks like a tiny circus tiger cage, right down to the red trim and wooden “bars.” Plush it out with faux shearling, and your Poochiepoo can ride in style. Via ReadyMade.
• Peanut Butter Doggy Biscuits. I’m told that dogs like PB, and I know that they like biscuits. How can you go wrong? Via Sugarlaws.
• Quilted Canine Jacket. A project that is not for the faint of heart, but yowser! Bowser will look like the Queen of the Nile (or the King of Spain) in this awesome, almost asymmetrical warmer. Via ReadyMade.
• Tennis Ball Toys. Traditional tennis ball tossing totally played out? Check out this handful of projects that will keep Canine happy, and keep you from that playtime breakdown. Via Planet Green.

And, for those whose pets boast fins or feathers, a few fish and fowl DIYs:

• Make your own fish food — sans weird ingredients (like ash).
• The coolest fish tank: a repurposed gumball machine.
• Travel toothbrush case to treat hideaway.
• Two swings: one rainbow beads, one knots and sisal.

About these ads