Saturday, November 27, 2010

Repurposing Toys for your dog or cat

One thing that makes me sad is when I see people throwing out stuffed plush toys. I know, we are all very careful of the toys we allow our children to play with, and once the child no longer plays with their stuffies, what are we to do with them?

One thing you can do is if it is in perfect condition, you can give them away to a child who has very little. But sometimes they are just thrown in the trash because they are missing an eye or other part, and most people do not have the time or ability to fix the toy.

This is where I decided to rescue some of the toys in my house. Rather than just tossing them, I took the ones in really good shape, and repurposed them. I washed them, removed any potential harmful bits such as ribbins, jingle bells, plastic eyes, and unknown stuffing etc. I then repaired any rips, embroidered on new eyes/noses and replaced the stuffing with new poly quilt batting. The ones that are to be used as dog toys I added a small squeaker.

Now are these not just adorable?







I can also leave out the squeaker if your dog does not like those, or add catnip to them so that you can give them to your cat.

To see more available dog toys, please feel free to visit my studio!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Grocery shopping bag holders

Do you keep your grocery shopping bags for using later? I know I do. I also know it can be a pain to try to find places to keep them, and get so tired of them taking up space in cupboards or closets.

Years ago I had made a bunch of fabric tubes with elastic at the top and bottom, and loops at the top for storing these bags in. I had given a bunch to family and friends and they loved them! Recently I started making them again and put them up for sale in my ArtFire studio. I now have quite a few of these grocery bag holders available in a variety of sizes and prints.

They make wonderful gifts, and you can keep on in each room of your house such as your kitchen, hallway, laundry room, nursery, garage or even in your car. If you are an artisan/crafter and participate at craft shows, they are a great way to transport and store your bags in for your customers.

Here are just a few of the ones I have available in my ArtFire studio right now.