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

It’s almost the freakin’ weekend! 

Yay it’s Friday! We decided to go on a little afternoon bike ride on this unusually hot September day; it’s 84 in Seattle… That’s madness!

We used our “new” (yard sale find!!) bike trailer, strapped Basil in like he was a 5 year old human child and we were off.

The ride wasn’t very long because of the heat but we still had an awesome time. I can’t wait until it’s actually fall here so we can use this sweet ride more often. Check out the video I shot and also my ridiculous bike selfie!

  

Thanks YouTuber Jenna Marbles for this idea. We are having a ton of fun with it!

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

Puppy meet Boston Terrier

Yesterday Basil got to meet and play with our friends new 4 month old mini Aussie puppy. Athena is a tiny, deaf, super fluffy pup who has no fear! She jumped right in to wrestle with Basil and every other larger dog that came her way.

As well as getting to play with Athena, Basil found a few other Boston friends.

All and all it was a successful trip to the dog park. Thanks Farrah for sharing your new fluffiness with us. I think Basil & Athena will be life long friends!

“He’s behind me, isn’t he?!”

Its been a pretty good Blogiversary weekend. Today is time for relaxing and doing some planning for up coming travel plans. I hope your weekend is going well! Until next time!

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

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

Basil Presents Dog Friendly Destinations – San Juan Island, WA!

Hello Travel Tuesday friends! As many of you know we spent last weekend up on San Juan island visiting my grandmother and showing around some friends. It was an amazing time and we are so glad that we were all able to go and enjoy ourselves.

Todays Basil Presents DFD check out where we like to hang out when we are on this incredible island. If you get a chance to explore San Juan island or any of the other San Juan islands, like Shaw or Orcas, let us know. I would love to hear of all your favorite places!

Infographic San Juan Island Dog FriendlyWhere should we travel next? We have a few trips in the works but would love to hear your ideas!

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

 

Happy puppies turn into happy dogs!

It’s throwback Thursday so enjoy this photo from when Basil met a 9 week old chocolate lab puppy. Circa April 2015 Sycamore Brewing company.    Hope your week is going well! Also, Basil would like to say happy birthday to his uncle  Jake.

Until next time. Xoxo

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

Weekend adventure to San Juan Island!

This last weekend Basil, Nate, Jake, Sara, Luna, and I went up the San Juan Island to visit my grandmother and enjoy island life. Weather was fantastic and the dogs had an amazing time.



 

San Juan island is located about 2 hours northwest of Seattle in the San Juan islands. Only accessible by ferry, private boat, or small plane. Enjoy shopping in Friday Harbor and the best seafood around in Roche Harbor. Beautiful beaches, whale watching, and history fill this small island with plenty to see and do. Extremely dog friendly and beyond relaxing. Check out   visitsanjuans.com for more information.

Also, the next BT presents Dog Friendly Destinations… will be featuring Friday Harbor, San Juan Island! Make sure to check back on Tuesday to see where Basil likes to hang out while being “island dog.”

Where are some of your favorite weekend escapes? Let us know!

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

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