Sibling gifts: DIY dog accessories

This little cutie here is called Lenny. He's the special guest for little brother's doggie birthday party. He also little brother's favorite stuffed animal. The little guy is from Ikea and has the perfect size to be carried under the arm or used as a pillow.

Big brother got his dog when he was quite little. His grandma also got him almost the complete line of accessories that Ikea sells for these dog. Felt or fabric rain coats, brushes, a basket, sweaters, collars - you name it, he has it. Recently little brother also got a dog of his own, but he didn't have anything for it yet.

So big brother and I went to Ikea and got one of those fabric baskets. Remember the fleece blanket we turned into quick Halloween capes? Well, while at Ikea we also got a red one.

Last week when I was off work and little brother spent the day at his grandma's we set to work, making accessories out of that blanket and some felt scraps.

First up was a cape. We used the Ikea dog accessories as templates and drew an outline onto the fleece, taking advantage of the blanket's pretty border. Big brother cut it out and we attached some self adhesive velcro for closure. We used cookie cutters to trace shapes onto felt scraps and big brother cut those out, too. I then glued them on with fabric glue. I guess I could have sewn them on, but my sewing machine and I are just getting to know each other and I didn't want to rush it.

Here's our dog modeling the cape. Oh hey, anyone out there who can explain to me why my camera gets all colors wrong every time I try to photograph something bright red? I tried to adjust the white balance but that doesn't seem to solve the problem. Maybe it's just my camera (it's a Pentax).

We also made a yellow collar with a blue heart.

And a blue scarf with a yellow star. I ended up doing some of the cutting out because big brother got "so tired". But at least all the ideas and color choices were his.

I think little brother is going to be thrilled. And big brother was quite proud of his work. And the dog has the perfect outfit for the party!

Woof! (big thanks to Greta at this point :))
Swenja