Art

DIY Mother’s Day gift for the crazy dog mom!

Art is what you can get away with. -Andy Warhol
Hello internet friends! Mother’s day is right around the corner and if you are still in need of a fabulous gift for the mama/grandmother/nana/stay at home dog mom in your life check out this DIY pet paw canvas art.

 Today on Make it Monday!(Wednesday…whatever)  we got a little creative, Basil and I did some custom paw print art work. It was super easy and we had a lot of fun. I seriously love the 2 pieces we made and can’t wait to hang them in our new home!

What you need

  • Blank Canvas (Any size. I used square)
  • Non-toxic water based acrylic paint (I used Crayola washable kids paint)
  • A plastic shower curtain liner or painting drop cloth
  • Wet wipes

 I found all these things at Target at a great price. I was surprised to find the canvas but I guess Target is getting pretty artsy. That worked in my favor! I decided to use the shower curtain liner as the floor covering and I couldn’t be happier. I purchased the cheapest one they had, $2.49, and it worked like a charm. The magnets those things have weighted down the sheet so when I throw it out on the lawn it stayed put, even with a bit of a breeze.   Next all I did was set out the canvas onto the shower liner, poured out a small amount of my desired color onto the liner next to the canvas, and let Basil walk through it. Then I had Basil walk directly onto the blank canvas. He wasn’t super into that part but he put up with it! You can also apply paint to 1 paw and press that paw onto the canvas. We did both.

After its all said and done the clean up was a breeze. I used the wet wipes to clean the paint off Basils paws and to clean the paint off the shower liner. I thought about just throwing the liner away but we really didn’t make that much of a mess. If you have a larger dog with bigger paws I would recommend a large wet wash cloth and maybe just saying good bye to the liner.

Once back in the house (We did this all in the front yard. I’m sure my neighbors and the UPS guy were all very curious as to what was happen!) Basil got a short little puppy bath with our favorite Burt’s Bees Apple & Oatmeal dog shampoo and is now happily napping.

Here is what our final creations look like. Once they’re dry I’ll add Basil’s name to the corner. He did do the majority of the work after all!

 What do you think of our art? Do you love it? I think it’s so post modern.

Let me know if you try this project and how it came out. I would love to see it!

A big thanks goes to Treats a la Bark for the original idea. I saw their take on this fun little art piece on Pinterest and had to give it a try.

Also, 57 days to the Blogpaws 2016 pet blogging conference!!! Who is excited!?

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

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Make it Monday! DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog Bed!

DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog Bed

The weekend may be over but don’t let Monday get you down. Lets get creative! Today on Make it Monday! Basil, and I, with the help of my brother in-law Jake, turned a super cute vintage suitcase into a new unique dog bed.

What you need!

  • Hard case suitcase. (I found this yellow Samsonite case at an antique store for $9!)
  • 4 short table legs. (The ones we used were actually banister toppers found at a hardware store. The leg came with hardware already included.)
  • 2 2×4 pieces of wood cut to size.
  • Hot glue gun or sewing machine. (My Sewing machine is currently out of order so I went the glue route and it worked just fine.)
  • 1 yard of fabric
  • 1 or 2 standard size pillows or square thick foam. (I used 1 pillow and a small old quilt for padding.)
  • Drill
  • Optional: Trim
DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog Bed
I told him I wouldn’t photograph his face… I lied! Oops!

Okay so if you are anything like me you probably don’t have a clue how to build things using power tools. The extant of my knowledge is limited to hanging a picture straight on the wall and using an allen wrench to put together my “affordable Swedish crap.” This is where my brother in-law Jake came into the picture. He is a construction work and has every tool under the sun. For the first part of this project, the hard part, putting on the legs, I pretty much just handed him the pieces and said “help me!” In the following pictures if you see hairy forearms, they are not mine!

 

Part 1: The Hard Part! Attaching the legs!

DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedStep 1: Mark where you want to position the legs and drill holes.
Step 2: Attach the wood beams to the inside of the suitcase. These are going to act as the anchor for the legs. Make sure to position them over where you drilled the holes.
Step 3: Screw in the legs, with the already attached hardware, through the drilled holes and into the wood beams.

 

Part 2: The Fun Part!

DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedDIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedStep 1: Find a cute fabric to match your case.
Step 2: Use fabric is cover your pillow/foam padding. Make a pillow case using your sewing machine or hot glue gun. FYI, they make fabric glue for your hot glue gun! It’s washable! (I’m not going to show you how to make a pillow case. Thats not fun. If you really don’t know, there is this magical thing called Google that will help you out.
Step 3: Attach your trim, if you so choose. I liked how it looked with the trim so I went for it. I used a chevon red burlap ribbon that I found at the craft store. I used my hot glue gun to glue it around the inside of the whole case.
Step 4: Insert padding and pillows!

Done!!

DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedDIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedI put the adorable new bed in Basil’s new “dog cave” and he and our cats love it! The best part is now I have a dog bed that doesn’t look like a gross ugly dog bed!

Thanks to HGTV for the idea. If you want to see how they did it, its a little different, check it out here.

Let me know if you make this project. I would love to see your pictures!

Until next time friends! Xoxo

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

Just an average Wednesday! 

Happy wordless Wednesday internet friends. Here we see just an average Wednesday where Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and Master Yoda hang out, probably for afternoon tea and to talk about book club. Obviously.

 This is just 1 of Basil’s Halloween costumes. Check our Instagram for even more coming up everyday until Halloween where Basil will wear the costume, voted by you, the piñata! It’s pretty adorable!
What is your dog or cat going to be for Halloween? Do they like to get dressed up? Let us know! I would love to see your pictures.

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

BP_Wordless_wed_Hop_Logo_2014

 

Make it Monday! – DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog Bed

DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedThe weekend may be over but don’t let Monday get you down. Lets get creative! Today on Make it Monday! Basil, and I, with the help of my brother in-law Jake, turned a super cute vintage suitcase into a new unique dog bed.

What you need!

  • Hard case suitcase. (I found this yellow Samsonite case at an antique store for $9!)
  • 4 short table legs. (The ones we used were actually banister toppers found at a hardware store. The leg came with hardware already included.)
  • 2 2×4 pieces of wood cut to size.
  • Hot glue gun or sewing machine. (My Sewing machine is currently out of order so I went the glue route and it worked just fine.)
  • 1 yard of fabric
  • 1 or 2 standard size pillows or square thick foam. (I used 1 pillow and a small old quilt for padding.)
  • Drill
  • Optional: Trim
DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog Bed
I told him I wouldn’t photograph his face… I lied! Oops!

Okay so if you are anything like me you probably don’t have a clue how to build things using power tools. The extant of my knowledge is limited to hanging a picture straight on the wall and using an allen wrench to put together my “affordable Swedish crap.” This is where my brother in-law Jake came into the picture. He is a construction work and has every tool under the sun. For the first part of this project, the hard part, putting on the legs, I pretty much just handed him the pieces and said “help me!” In the following pictures if you see hairy forearms, they are not mine!

 

Part 1: The Hard Part! Attaching the legs!

DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedStep 1: Mark where you want to position the legs and drill holes.
Step 2: Attach the wood beams to the inside of the suitcase. These are going to act as the anchor for the legs. Make sure to position them over where you drilled the holes.
Step 3: Screw in the legs, with the already attached hardware, through the drilled holes and into the wood beams.

 

Part 2: The Fun Part!

DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedDIY Vintage Suitcase Dog Bed Step 1: Find a cute fabric to match your case.
Step 2: Use fabric is cover your pillow/foam padding. Make a pillow case using your sewing machine or hot glue gun. FYI, they make fabric glue for your hot glue gun! It’s washable! (I’m not going to show you how to make a pillow case. Thats not fun. If you really don’t know, there is this magical thing called Google that will help you out.
Step 3: Attach your trim, if you so choose. I liked how it looked with the trim so I went for it. I used a chevon red burlap ribbon that I found at the craft store. I used my hot glue gun to glue it around the inside of the whole case.
Step 4: Insert padding and pillows!

Done!!

DIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedDIY Vintage Suitcase Dog BedI put the adorable new bed in Basil’s new “dog cave” and he and our cats love it! The best part is now I have a dog bed that doesn’t look like a gross ugly dog bed!

Thanks to HGTV for the idea. If you want to see how they did it, its a little different, check it out here.

Let me know if you make this project. I would love to see your pictures!

Until next time friends! Xoxo

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

The Black & Whites Return!

Happy wordless (wordy, whatever!) Wednesday guys! Hope everyone had an amazing unofficial last weekend of summer. We were pretty lazy! Basil, Willow, Sebastian, Nate, and myself spent the weekend relaxing and getting settled into our new house. Now that the work week is in full swing its been hard not to be our lazy weekend selves.

This morning I was able to catch something on video that has eluded me. No, its not the Loch ness monster or big foot, even though you would think it was with how hard its been to capture it. It’s a video of Basil and Sebastian playing under our coffee table!

Usually they start playing and I reach for the camera but the second I point it in their direction all movement stops. You would think these two were professional mimes or something!

That didn’t happen today! Enjoy this video because I don’t know when I’ll be able to get another one!

Black and white brothers! Cat & Dog!
Coming at the end of the week is our FreshPet Vital Raw review and a few photos of Basil’s new “dog cave” in the new house. Make sure to check back for those!

Do you have cats & dogs? Do they love to play with each other?

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

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This is the Droid you’re looking for!

With the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie opening this Christmas and the release of the toys happening today (!!!!) everyone is talking about Star Wars. The most popular toy so far is the BB-8 droid. It’s an app controlled robot that will patrol your home and maybe confuse your pets. It’s pretty cool!

Check out this awesome video, thanks to Vanity Fair, of a group of puppies being introduced to the BB-8. If this doesn’t convince my husband to splurge (Only $149.99!) and just order one, I don’t know what will!

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

Ps. Hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day weekend! Xoxo

Two Years Already?!

Happy Saturday friends! Today marks the 2 year anniversary of Basil’s Travels! We couldn’t be happier from all the love and support you have given us these last couple years. We have gone on so many adventures and can’t wait for all the ones to come.

Thanks again! Here is to many more! Cheers!

Happy anniversary Basil!

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

Happy National Dog Day!

 Today is National dog day but for us everyday is dog day!

Love on your pups extra hard today and if you are in the market for a new four legged friend, today would be a great day to head down to your local shelter and adopt! You can find shelter information in your area at aspca.org

Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil

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