by minted

One of these years I am going to skip Christmas cards and send New Year's cards.  Or better yet, Valentine's. 

I love all the Christmas cards I receive but the past few years, I have had absolutely no time to put together a quality Christmas card. November and December are my busy months...but January is a little bit slow.  I should just admit defeat on the Christmas card front and start sending cards in January or February.

One of these years, I might plan ahead and order New Year's cards from Minted.  They have such pretty designs.

Any of the cards and prints at Minted can be personalized with photos, text, color, or shape.

The Valentine's designs on Minted make me want to send Valentine's.  SO CUTE.

On top of holiday cards, they also carry Save the Date Cards, Custom Art Prints, and Business Cards. They have so many pretty and inspiring designs. 

LOVE.

diy doggie flower crowns - a wedding shower diy

Today I am excited to be co-hosting a surprise virtual bridal shower for my friend Julie.   

Julie got engaged a few months ago and to celebrate her upcoming wedding, I am joining a few other friends in this virtual bridal shower fun.   Pop over to Leo's blog to see what everyone else is "bringing" to the shower.

My contribution to the bridal shower is a fun and simple wedding inspired diy.....for your dog, naturally.

If you know Julie, then you might know how much she loves her dog Penny.  I love a fellow dog person.  We have spent hours discussing our pups while working craft fairs.  

I am not sure if Penny is going to be part of the wedding ceremony, but if she is, she needs a flower crown.  Have you seen anything cuter than a dog in a flower crown?!  I just about died when I placed one on Finn's head.  

This diy is super simple and can be used as a crown or collar.  The collar is definitely better for a long period of wear since most dogs hate having something on their head.   

All you need to make a simple flower crown is fake flowers, floral wire, floral tape, and ribbon.  You will also need sharp scissors or wire cutters. 

I bought the inexpensive bunches of flowers from the craft store.  There are really nice and pricey fake flowers out there but for a dog crown, I went the cheap route.  My dogs get everything dirty.... ;).

In order to make the crown/collar, figure out how long you want the crown to be and cut a length of floral wire that is four times this length.

Fold the wire in half and twist each end so that you have a loop.

Trim the flowers and wind the wire around the stems.  Secure the stems with a little piece of floral tape.  

Once you have all your flowers placed and taped to the wire, tie a piece of ribbon to each loop.  The ribbon doesn't have to be that long - just long enough to tie the crown around your dog's head or neck.

Final step - put the crown on your dog's head, snap a million pictures, and hope that they will not hate you forever.

Gordita was not impressed....but she looked so pretty!

Wouldn't this be a fun shower craft?  If you aren't into dogs, make one for your cat or your human child.  So easy and cute.

Enjoy your virtual bridal shower, Julie!  I am so happy for you. xoxo

Check out the other surprise virtual shower posts on Yellow Heart Art // Much Love, Illy // Rouge & Whimsy // Anna Delores Photography.

in the moment

I recently read a book called The Art of Racing in the Rain.  The book is told from the perspective of the main character's dog.  The main character is a race car driver (which is something I have absolutely no interest in) but the book is more about the man-dog relationship than about race car driving. 

If you're a dog person, you should read this book.  Even if you're not a dog person, it's worth a read.   It's the sweetest thing. I loved reading a book narrated by someone who could not verbally communicate with the other characters.  All he could do was listen. It made for a really interesting perspective.

Throughout the book the dog storyteller (Enzo) talks about life from his perspective. One thing he discusses is how dogs live in the moment and humans tend to live in the past or the future.  He says that's the problem with humans.

Good memories, bad memories, sad times, no matter what, we tend to spend a huge part of our lives living in the past.  The rest of the time we are thinking about when something will happen.  We wait for a vacation or when we have that dream job, house, family, and so on. 

Rarely do we just live in the moment.

Some people are better at doing this than others.  I, for one, am horrible when it comes to living in the moment.  I am always thinking about what will happen next month, next year, or in 30 years. Sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball and could see my life in 30 years.  I want to know how it's all going to work out.  I want to know if I am making mistakes or not doing enough of something.  It stresses me out to not know.  I hate surprises.  When I was a kid, I would read the end of books before the beginning so I didn't have to live in suspense.  

Dogs live in the moment all the time.  It's their nature.  They remember things but they don't hold on to any crap and they're not worried about what will happen tomorrow.

While that would be a nice way to live, it does not really work for humans all the time. We have to plan for the future - both large and small details.  I like to plan and I love having a plan.  It makes me content.  However, I do want to be better at just living in the moment and not worrying so much about how it's all going to be at the end of my life. Things might not go as planned and even though it might be hard at times, it will still be ok.  

I know humans are the most intelligent beings, yet sometimes a sweet little dog can teach us a thing or two about living for each day and taking the good and the bad one day at a time.

irish horse fair

The other morning we went to a horse fair.  It was part of Puck Fair, which is a festival that takes place in my husband's hometown every August 10th, 11th, and 12th.  The horse fair was mostly horses {duh} but there were also chickens, goats, and donkeys for sale.  One man even had a few puppies.  He said they were jack russells but I have never seen a black and white jack russell....so who knows?

I was hoping to see pigs and sheep but apparently the tags to transport them are pricey so the farmers don't bother bringing them to these sorts of fairs.

The ponies were so inexpensive at just 200 euro each.  And so friendly...sniffing our hands for treats.  I loved this gray one.  

This guy was a little skeptical of me and my camera. 

I nearly took this little guy home but I am pretty sure my father-in-law does not want to take over my souvenir once we head back to the states....

These two were a couple of characters.  They were friendly and gently took treats from all the kids....and me ;).

And no Irish festival is complete without a greasy bag of hot chips covered in ketchup.  YUM.

Animals are a lot of work but I would love a farm.  By "farm" I mean a lot of land with a lot of animals and some hired help to take care of all the dirty work.  I am pretty much just interested in petting the animals.

diy doggie bowtie

Dogs look cuter in accessories and a holiday is the perfect time to dress them up.  I love little more than an animal in clothing so I created a few super easy St. Patrick's Day bowties for my dogs.  We are heading to Cincinnati for the weekend and I need to remember to pack these bowties for their stay at doggie daycare.  They need to wear their green on Sunday!

What you will need - green felt, gold sequined trim, craft or fabric glue, elastic, scissors, and clothespins.

~Cut the felt into a rectangle.  I cut a 6"x5" rectangle for Finn's bowtie and a smaller 5"x4" rectangle for Gordita's bowtie.

~Fold the rectangle in half and cinch the felt together in the middle.  

~Add a dab of glue and secure with a clothespin while the glue dries.

~Let the glue dry for about 10 minutes, then wrap the gold sequin trim around the center, gluing as you go.  Secure again with a clothespin and let dry for about 10 minutes.

~Once the sequins are secure around the felt bow, glue a piece of elastic on the back.  Once again, allow the glue to dry and then tie the lose ends of the elastic {after measuring the elastic around your dog's neck} in a knot.

That's it!  SO simple and cute.  

I think Gordita and Finn love their bowties :).

diy - valentine's day dog scarves

I love little more than a dog in an outfit or accessorized and I am always putting scarves {and costumes} on my pups. Gordita hates anything beyond a scarf but Finn is game for whole outfits.  It's awesome.  He always looks so proud in his Halloween costumes.  I love having a dog that appreciates clothing :).

Last week I made my dogs cute little scarves for Valentine's Day.  This project is super easy and inexpensive.

What you will need ~

-lightweight fabric {Finn got dark red and Gordita gray}, about 12"x 18" 

-felt {I used two shades of pink and white}

-scissors/pinking shears

-fabric glue {if you want to sew instead of glue, the hearts will definitely hold better}

Step One ~

Fold the lightweight fabric in half and use the pinking shears to cut out a triangle, leaving two long-ish pieces at the top to serve as the ties.

Finn is pretty big so I made his 12" {from the flat edge to the tip of the triangle}.  Gordita is medium sized, so her scarf measured 10" from the flat part to the tip of the triangle.

Step Two ~

Cut a few hearts out of the felt and glue them onto the front of the scarves.  If you want the hearts to really adhere to the cotton, I would add a few stitches.  Fabric glue holds fairly well but a few stitches will ensure that the hearts stay in place.

Could they be any cuter??  

Sweet Gordita

My sweet little dog Gordita turns nine next month.  NINE.


Where did the last nine years go??


Gordita has been with me my entire adult life.  And by "adult" I mean post-college/post-parents-supporting-me life.  A lot of growing up has happened with this little dog by my side.

She moved with me from apartment to apartment.  She ate crappy dog food when that is all I could afford.  She cuddled with me when I cried and ran in circles chasing her tail when I laughed.


When my now husband first met her, he thought she was annoying and stupid, but she eventually won him over.  {For the record, she isn't the smartest dog around - but whatever she lacks in brains she makes up for in personality and sweetness.}

When I adopted her my parents told me it was a mistake because "you cannot afford a dog!"  And they were right; I had no money.  So I charged her vet bills.  And her food.   And she was more than worth it.


When I look back at all the impulse purchases I have made over the years, Gordita is hands down, without a doubt, the best one I have ever made.  


She was a total impulse purchase.  I went with two of my friends to the shelter to "look at the puppies."  If you don't want a puppy, avoid the pound...puppies are hard to pass up :).

The day I saw her balled up and trembling in the corner of that huge cage, I impulsively spent $75 and took the little peanut home.  I named her Gordita - because she was literally a little fat girl.  And she still is my little fat girl.

I figure I will be one of those people who will always have a dog - and I will love them all.  But none will be as special as my first dog.  For a long time it was just me and my pup - we kind of grew up together.


I find as she gets older I squish her more.  I play with her more.  I kiss her more.  I take pictures almost daily as I never want to forget one crazy bit of fur or roll of fat.

I know dogs live to be about 12 but I am hoping that this crazy little mutt makes it to 20.  I am just not ready for it to be her final years.


I am not ready to wake up without her little brown eyes staring at me, anxiously awaiting breakfast and a walk.  I am not ready.  


People who don't have dogs tell me they're replaceable.  I am sorry, but I don't agree.


I could never "replace" Gordita and I would never want to replace her.  She is a true one of a kind.  My Heinz 57 dog.  The one with 57 "ingredients."


No matter how many dogs I will have in my life, Gordita will always be my first love.   The canine love of my life.