Easy DIY Pet Presents

I absolutely adore Christmas!!! Honestly.... I'm like an overgrown child on Christmas morning. At 5 in the morn, I've been ready to Rock n'Roll for hours (probably didn't even sleep a solid wink, super stoked, not even joking :) eager to see what little treasures await me under the sparkly Christmas tree. Even more so than the anticipation of what I may have been given, I'm super eager and excited to see the looks on the faces of those that I have gifts to give. Half the time, I tend to be so pumped to give these heartfelt gifts that I'm unable to make it to Christmas Day before giving the ones I hold dearest the gifts that I've gotten for them. Their' excitement makes me extremely excited! However, this tendency can get rather costly at times because than I feel I need to get them at least something else to open on that actual day lol (vicious cycle). Though I'm a thrifty gal, I'm also a giving gal, and this season is ALL ABOUT GIVING gifts from the heart (at least in my book). Not just material items wrapped in shiny paper, but charitable contributions, recognition of the disadvantaged populations in society that are overlooked much of the year, warm embraces, giving or donating to those less fortunate, showing our furry friends extra love, or even just simple kind gestures like smiling at someone who might look a bit blue and lending a hand to a stranger in need.

(photo courtesy of photobucket.com)

One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE HOLIDAY FLICKS is "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," by thee AHHHMAZING, Dr. Seuss. Among the many great lessons to be gathered from this seemingly simple children's story, is one of my absolute favorite Christmas quotes. After the Grinch has raided Whoville, stealing all the presents, trees, and other such material reflections of what Christmas represents, he still hears the Who's singing their little, cheerful Christmas tune from his cave while happily holding hands and dancing around the town tree. How could they still be happy, he had "stolen Christmas?!!" Finally, "Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, what if it doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?!" That quote has always resonated deeply with me. Though it is a seemingly simple statement, it is beautifully profound to me! Reminding us all that Christmas can't ever truly be "stolen," nor bought because Christmas isn't some super flashy, overly costly materialistic present to be had. It isn't a thing of fiscal value at all. It is an intangible spirit; an essence of peace, prosperity, heartfelt giving and goodwill on Earth that lives ONLY in our souls, no matter what size our bank accounts or budgets may be or how big our Christmas tree.

(via photobucket.com)

(pic courtesy of photobucket.com)

AnyWHO ;)    I've decided this year to take a different approach to the Holidays and give in a more environmentally-friendly way, trying my hand at some up-cycled gifts (or recycled materials given a new purpose). The way I see it, this ahhhmazing planet and it's majestic lands & creatures are a priceless gift in itself to be admired,valued and cherished, not only at Christmas, but all year long!  So instead of buying some cheap gift from a big box store that probably underpays and mistreats its' employees and most likely practices environmentally unfriendly affairs, I'm going to make some presents from my heart out of materials I have handy, from nature, or that would otherwise be considered trash! Plus, I recently heard that a certain CEO of one of these major box stores (not going name names ;) made $11,000 per hour, but didn't want to pay it's employees' $8.00, absurd huh!? I can't support that one bit and neither do my pets. These aren't super complicated fancy gadgets,  BUT MY PETS LOVE EM' ALL THE SAME!!! &&& I can almost assure 100% satisfaction on these handmade critter gift ideas, (no sweatshops or underpaid folks either) that will cost only moments of your time and mere pennies (if anything) to recreate (eat that big box stores, you'd spend more time in a checkout line than making these lol)! After extensive research (or experimentally teasing my furry family with their soon to be Christmas gifts) ;) Both my dogs and my 3 cats approve AND CANT WAIT TO GET THEM BACK (hehe)

this drives the cats bonkers (hehehe)

For my Feline Family Members, I made these rustic feather teasers out of a nice, fairly straight, sturdy stick from my yard (about 2ft long), some durable string (2ft worth), various beads (and a seashell with a hole) given to me Christmases ago, old broken costume jewelry, fake feathers (that cost like $2. for hundreds of them), and a dab of hot glittery glue:

(buttons, beads, seashells, old broken costume jewelry can all make for cute options to craft with)

The materials for one of the cat toys I made that I intend to gift to a fellow animal lover... if I can keep it away from my cats grubby paws, they've stolen it 3 times off my counter now lol

I simply tied a knot on the end of my hemp/string, then strung a few beads onto it. Once I had the pattern I liked, I triple knotted the other end of the string onto the stick as tightly as possible and further secured it with a dab of glue. I dabbed a bit of hot glue on the pointy tip of the feather and tucked into one of the smaller holed beads to secure it. 

by adding different types of materials like the seashell and silver star pendant, it creates a subtle noise factor (kinda like wind chimes when they clank into one another) when batted by the cat this drives them even more batty :) 

(the toy with the red feather uses a large red button w/ four holes, I chose to put 2 feathers in the holes and secure it w/hot sparkly glue, and I added an up-cycled bell from a funky old cat collar that was junk)

Psych and Jazzy approve (my pug Priscilla does not, however, like all the cat hype lol)

& For my Canine Crew, I made tug o' war toys out of an old towel and torn sheet.  My bulldog is particularly fond of tug o' war toys and he usually beats me lol (any old fabric would do such as knotted socks tied together or whatever, but consider the strength of your individual furry pal! My bulldog has fairly fierce jaws so a pretty t-shirt, lace or super flimsy material wouldn't hang long AT ALL! Though lovely until he slobbers it up, it wouldn't be practical lol),

Look at the mug/jaws on this dude :)

old towel + sheet braided and knotted = whala Eco-friendly tug o' war toy

 I simply cut the materials on the very end about 2 inches thick and pulled with moderate force to make strips of fabric. Then, I made a massive tight knot and braided the materials (3 strands at a time) to the desired thickness and length and secured the braid again with another massive, basic knot.
 

Hercules is happy with the tester toy made of an old funky fleece shirt

Don't mind the hubby's toes, he's not a sandals fella lol ;)

Well, I hope you avoid the big box stores this season as much as possible and try out one of these easy, environmentally friendly, DIY presents for your pet family member! If nothing else, I hope you are inspired to consider alternative routes to gift giving. I promise my Cat's and Bulldog's happy reactions to these homemade gifts were equal to, if not better than the overpriced gifts I have bought form stores in the past! Happy Holidays, I hope you find these DIY gift ideas helpful or inspiring :)