Tag Archives: make your own

Homemade Dog Shampoo!

Posted on by Abi

Around the back end of last year I hit upon the idea of making my own soaps and handwash. I have naturally sensitive skin and this allowed me to use ingredients that I knew would benefit my skin and leave out those that didn’t, it was perfect!

It took me longer than it should of to realise that I could employ a similar rational when it came to my beloved pooch. He (like all dogs) tends to whiff a bit on occasion and I’m fairly intolerant of ‘dog smell’ in my own home. This led to semi frequent bathing with a store bought shampoo. It was heavy and took ages to wash out, then we had to endure wet dog smell for several hours until he was finally dry. It also seemed to strip the moisture from his skin despite being labelled ‘gentle’ and ‘sensitive’.

So with several choices available to me:

1. Bath him way less and come to terms with his dogginess.

2. Keep bathing him but his skin would become dry plus the hours of wet dog smell.

3. Make my own dog shampoo :)

I went with number three!

After reading much on the subject of a dog’s skin PH and scouring my cupboards for ingredients, this is the recipe I followed. It is an amalgamation of several I read, tailored to my little waggy chap.

Recipe

6-7 Sticks fresh Rosemary

Boiling Water

3 Tbsp Unscented Soap Grated

About 15 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Cocoa Butter or Almond Oil

Method

First place the fresh rosemary into a saucepan, cover with boiling water and simmer for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool before straining out the leaves. I actually left mine to cool overnight, you might see an oiling film on the water if you do this.

Add the grated soap to your Rosemary water, then the Apple Cider Vinegar. Finally add about a Tbsp of Cocoa Butter of a few drops of Almond oil. Heat gently until the soap has melted.

Pour into a clean bottle.

To Use

Shower your pup in warm water and then start squeezing your homemade shampoo onto his skin. Mine didn’t lather a huge deal. Rinse thoroughly.

The Results!

Amazing he didn’t even smell when wet!!! His fur felt a little dryer at first but only for an hour or two. He actually dried off really quickly which was a huge bonus.

The Apple Cider Vinegar is a natural deodorizer (is there anything Apple Cider Vinegar can’t do!). Apparently you can combine it with water in a spray bottle and use it as an in between bath deodorizer for your dog as well, although I’ve yet to try that one.

 

1 Comment (Leave a comment)

Notebook, Photo Album, Sketchpad Cover Tutorial

Posted on by Abi

I orginally wrote this tutorial for the Boden Community, which has now changed into the Boden Blog. If you scour through their archives you can probably still find it, but I thought it would be great to share with all the readers over here, especially with the potential to make Christmas presents!

We’re going to make a covering for a book in this tutorial, I personally made a notebook cover. But this method works equally well to cover photo albums, Sketch-pads or any other kind of book.

What You’ll Need:

An old pair of jeans
Paper
Lining Fabric (I used an old pair of curtains)
Notebook or similar to cover
Measuring Tape
Thread
Sewing Needles
Pins
Ribbon, tape and/or buttons for embellishment

Step 1

To start you will need to create a paper pattern. With the book closed measure top to bottom and then add on 4cms (this is height of your rectangle). Next lay the book down flat and open. Measure from the inside of the book cover, taking your measuring tape over the back of the cover, across the spine and to the other edge and back inside. Take a couple of cms off the total length (this is the width of your rectangle). Now using these measurements, draw a rectangle onto paper and cut out.

Step 2

Get ready to cut into your jeans! Lay down and pin your paper pattern to the denim fabric and cut out. Then cut an identical rectangle from a piece of fabric to be used as lining.

Step 3

Now it’s time to add the decoration. You can be really creative here, so don’t hold yourself back. In my example I used some ribbon, tape and ric rac, buttons look fab too. Lay the embellishments onto the right side of your cut out piece of denim. I used three long pieces running the entire width of the cover and one shorter piece running top to bottom on the front. Pin down your ribbons etc. and sew into place securely.

Step 4

Lay down the lining fabric with the right side facing up. Place the denim fabric down right sides facing and pin together. Machine stitch around the edge, remembering to leave a gap approximately 10cms wide which you’ll use to turn the cover the right way out.

Step 5

Before turning, cut the corners of the cover diagonally. This will ensure crisp corners once turned (remember not to cut into or too near your stitches).

Step 6

Turn the cover the right way out through the un-sewn gap. Carefully tease out the corners, a knitting needle is useful for this purpose. Fold in the edges around the un-sewn gap in the cover, iron the entire cover, then sew up the gap.

Step 7

You should now have a very pretty rectangle of fabric. Fold this in half and iron it to find the centre. Then lay the spine of your notebook onto the centre crease. There should be fabric extending past the notebook on both sides. Fold the fabric over the notebook’s cover to the inside and pin (this will create your inside flap). Make sure that your book closes comfortably and the cover is snug enough. Once happy, machine stitch your flaps close to the edge on either side.

Step 8

Your cover is now finished! Fold the cover of your notebook back (as in pic.) to slip the cover on. If you can bear to give it away, then this would make a fabulous present. But I’m convinced you’ll love it so much that you’ll never want to part from it.

Comments Off

Make Your Own Sweet Candy Christmas Tree Decoration!

Posted on by Abi

Modern interiors often demand simplicity and a lack of clutter, but at Christmas these mantras get forgotten and many of us decorate every surface in sight. One of my favourite decorations has to be my Sweet Candy Christmas Tree. Incredibly easy to make, it’s the perfect craft for children and makes a wonderful table centre or side table piece. Plus it has the added benefit of being edible once the festivities are over!

What You’ll Need

Cardboard to make the tree and star

Tape

Double sided tape or pads

Sweets

Gold Paint

Step 1

First you need to make the base of the Christmas Tree. This is done by drawing around something circular, I used a medium dinner plate. I wanted two layers to my tree so drew out two circles, but one larger circle would work if you only require one layer. Cut out the circle(s).

Step 2

Cut a slit in one side of the circle, this should reach from the edge into the centre. Grip both sides of the slit and form the circle into a cone shape. Secure the shape with tape.

Step 3

Cut out some double sided tape and attach to one edge of a sweet. Peel off the other side of the tape and stick to the bottom of your cone. Continue sticking sweets in a line at the base of the cone. When you reach the first sweet begin another line just above the first. Make sure you cover up any tape and leave as few gaps as possible.

Step 4

If you are creating two or more layers remember that the bottom layer will not need as many sweets as the top. Unwrap one sweet and use the wrapper to cover the point at the top of the tree.

Step 5

Next draw and cut out two simple stars from cardboard. Cut a slit from the top of one of the stars into the centre. Then cut a slit from the bottom of the other star into the centre. Slide the two stars together to make a 3D shape and paint gold. Once dry stick to the top of your tree. If you have more than one layer to your tree place them on top of each other now.

Ta Da! You have made a beautiful and edible Christmas Tree!

TIP. If you can’t find green sweets don’t worry, these trees look great in multi colours. Or you can decorate primarily in green with the occasional coloured sweet as a bauble!

2 Comments (Leave a comment)