Hey, Earth Day snuck up on me—it’s this Sunday!  Be sure to check out the multitude of DIY projects on the DIY archive pages and last year’s post on Earth Day.

Lots of ideas on keeping your cats physically and mentally engaged by enriching their environments in Episode 110: Cat Environments.

Click below to play.

You can listen to it here and or on iTunes.  We also have an RSS feed you can subscribe to if you use an RSS reader.

Check out these topics mentioned in the podcast:

• DIY Valentine’s Day Toys for Dogs
• DIY Valentine’s Day Toys for Cats
• Bonito Flakes
• Maru

Row 1:

1. knitted winged heart tattoo
2. crocheted tug toy
3. knitted anatomically correct heart

1. crocheted anatomical heart
2. no-sew tug toy with loop–use pink, red, or heart patterned fleece.
3. sewn a candy heart—one that said “Bite Me” would be fun!

1. 4″ knitted heart
2. 5″ crocheted heart
3. knitted fuzzy heart

1. knitted cupcake
2. knitted candy heart
3. sewn heart-shaped dog bed—enlarge a heart template to the right size for a bed for your dog, sew according to the instructions, & stuff with appropriate filling such as a foam layer with batting layered on top.

Very dapper mice to sew for the discerning feline.  And a great way to upcycle out-of-date menswear hanging in the back of a closet or at your favorite thrift store.   You can hand stitch these or use a machine.  I wouldn’t use beads for eyes—just embroidery floss.  You’ll need:

• Assorted menswear fabrics (such as wool suiting, cotton shirting, corduroy, and cotton velvet)
• Iron
• Fusible webbing
• Sewing machine and sewing supplies
• Loop turner
• Fill
• Catnip
• Embroidery floss
• Embroidery needle

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Festive stuffed green olive to knit for the martini loving cat. (via i-like-lemons)  These are super cute.  These can be left as-is or you can lightly felt them.  You will need:

• 2yds (1.8m) sport weight or baby weight wool. Mary Jane used Jamieson and Smith 2ply jumper weight #83 dk olive, FC11 bright olive, and #9436 Dale of Norway Baby Ull pale olive (Baby Ull, a superwash yarn, won’t felt much, but it will get fluffier)
• 1.5 yds (1.4m) Jamieson and Smith 2 ply jumper weight #125 pimento
• 1 set dp needles size 2 (3.0mm)
• catnip
• 1 crewel embroidery needle

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Soulful owls to crochet for the serious cat.  You can make him just the size you want.  If your cat might eat off the eyes, use yarn instead of safety eyes.  You’ll need:

• < 25g of scraps of wool, in at least two colors
• 17mm color safety eyes (x 2)
• catnip
• A 3.5mm crochet hook, a little stuffing and a needle and thread

I freakin’ love these crocheted frisbees!  A while back at the dog park, I saw a guy throwing one of these for his dog.  I couldn’t tell how it was made, but I could tell it was soft, so it couldn’t hurt the dog when she caught it, and is was floppy, because after she caught it, she had a blast shaking it as she brought it back to her person—very fierce!  A crocheted frisbee is also great for the less athletically inclined—if your throw goes wild, it won’t hurt any dogs or people who get in the way.

Now, people from the Pacific NW tend to be pretty reserved and I never know how someone will react when I speak to them.  I grew up in Texas where it’s rude not to acknowledge people in public and even after 25 yrs. this reticence of PNW native can be startling. This guy, however, was happy to let me check out the frisbee and to tell me about it.  He got his at a toy store because he immediately knew it’d be great for his dog and that he could always take it with him since he could fold it up.  I also like that you can throw it in the wash.

You can have a lot of fun with the colors you use, so be creative!

Crochet Frisbee I (this pattern was developed for Handmade Especially for You a charity that organizes knitters & crocheters to make handmade scarves for abused women.  One of their members realized a soft frisbee would be great for kids also affected by abuse since it could be used indoors, for instance in a shelter.)

Crochet Frisbee II

Scalloped Frisbee (this is really a potholder pattern, but I thought it’d make a neat frisbee too!  photo is via Oiyi’s Crafts)

Make your own feather spinner cat toy similar to the Da Bird cat toy.  The tutorial shows you what to do.  You can make it as simple or elaborate as you like.  Be sure to pay special attention to the instructions in Step #5 on the placement of the larger feathers to insure the toy spins.

You’ll need:

• 2 pheasant tail feathers
• small body feathers
• snap swivel for fishing
• tinsel
• hex nut
• hot glue
• vinyl carburetor cap
• felt, two colors
• scissors
• glue gun
• needle nose pliers

The second tutorial shows you how to make the wand to go with the spinner using:

• acrylic or wood dowel 3/8″ and 18″ long
• 2 vinyl carburetor caps sized to fit on dowel
• hex nut
• medium strength fishing line, string, or cording
• scissors
• glue gun

The first group of toys uses the Basic Crown Knot.  (How To Video I, Video II)

Rope Ring

Rope ‘Y’

The second group uses the Monkey Fist Knot.  (How to Video I, Video II)

Rope Monkey Fist with 1 Tail

Rope Monkey Fist with 2 Tails

Rope Monkey Fist Starburst

Crazy-Easy:

3 No-Sew Dog Toys

2 No-Sew Cat Toys

2 Braided Dog Toys

Slingshot Ball for Dogs

Some Sewing (some can be done with just needle & thread):

Felt Sushi Cat Toys

3 Easy to Sew Cat Toys

2 Squeaky Dog Toys

Felt Mouse, Bird, Fish Toys for Cats 

Foxtail Dog Toy

Fortune Cookie Cat Toy

Pretty Birdie Cat Toy

Knitted:

3 Knitted & Felted Dog Toys

Knitted & Felted Mouse Cat Toy 

(via SilhouetteArt)

A reader asked about tutorials for making silhouette pet portraits, so here you go!  You can do this for any pet, so don’t limit yourself to cats and dogs.  A budgie portrait would be really cute!

The video shows 2 techniques—a higher tech version that uses Adobe Illustrator & a robot cutter and lower tech version that uses tracing paper.

Here’s a second tutorial on how to make another version of a silhouette plaque.  Just use your pet’s portrait instead.

More ideas on ways to use pet silhouettes from Martha Stewart.  I think the suggestion to have a custom rubber stamp made of your pet’s silhouette is a great idea.  It would also make a nice gift for a pet lover.

I love this tote bag tutorial—it’d make a cute pillow too!  I think I’d sew the silhouette rather than glue it though.

Larger scale pet silhouettes made from plywood are a unique application.  You’ll need a jigsaw, router, or something similar for this project.

This two-toned silhouette portrait is lovely.  You can use all sorts of colors and patterns to create something really nifty!

An appliquéd onsey or t-shirt is pretty cute.

There are plans for small or large beds.  It has great tips on sourcing your materials so you save money—like looking for outdoor fabric in the second or remainders section of your fabric store, or checking with local companies that make awnings for businesses or boats to see if they have scraps.  There are also invaluable tips to make sure you make a strong, durable bed.  Sweet!

The tutorial includes clear instructions on how to sew the cover for the bed.  And a spreadsheet for mass production if you plan to make beds to help your local shelter—they often want elevated beds to keep dogs off the cold, hard concrete floors in their facilities.

As an aside, Columbus Dog Connection looks like a remarkable group.  Besides generously sharing such a great tutorial, it looks like the group is very busy.  Check out the page on beds they’ve made for underfunded shelters—lots of volunteers and so many beds.  Someone behind the scenes is doing great work.  It takes an outstanding leader to organize so many volunteers and sponsors.  Every rescue group should be so lucky!

And now they have a video tutorial!  Columbus Dog Connection is awesome!!