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?

Plush Lion repurposed dog toy

Whale plush dog toy repurposed

Dog squeaker toy plush Penguin repurposed

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!

Taking a little break

I have been working pretty much full time at the clinic lately and have decided that I am going to take a little break from working on my shop on Etsy. My mother is going in for surgery on the 25th of this month, plus it is that time of year again that I am out in my flower beds and prepping my veggie garden for planting. I will still be spending some time sewing and making lots of new things and when I am ready I will start listing them.

I am out of dried catnip from last year's harvest and it will be another couple weeks before my new plants are big enough to start harvesting. So until then, for those of you who are interested in the ones that are already listed, I will give you all a discount if you choose to purchase one of them. Just write me a note in "notes to seller" BLOG DISCOUNT and I will give you a 20% refund.

Handmade upcycled hot pot pad holders

Here is something a bit different for me. I needed some hot pot pad holders for my dining room table and so I made a bunch. After I was done I decided to take a couple and offer them in my shop.

What do you think?

Sewing up a storm!

A few weeks ago I had my mother mail me her sewing machine. She was not using it anymore and for sentimental reasons I decided I wanted her's instead of buying a new one.

I have been making upcycled / repurposed catnip toys for over a year now, and have recently been adding new ones to my inventory.

I have quite a number of them available in my shop now, and will continue making new ones as long as my stash of catnip lasts.

The catnip is organically grown in my own flower beds. I do not use any herbicides, pesticides, or chemicals of any sort in my gardens. All of my plants are fertilized using my own compost that I make and is refreshed every year.

Here is just a sampling of what I have been making:

Organic Catnip Toy Pink felt Valentine Heart pillow

Organic Catnip Toy Denim pocket pillow

Organic Catnip Toy little blue monster pillow

Likkle Baby Blue Sock Monkey Organic Catnip Toy