Homemade – Basil's Travels

February 1, 2016

Make it Monday! 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!

Step 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!

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!!

I 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

September 14, 2015

Make it Monday! – 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

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!

Step 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!

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!!

I 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

July 20, 2015

Make it Monday! DIY Doggy Ice Block!

Its been a super hot summer so far. Even in Seattle we have been seeing temps of 90 to 100 at least once a week. For this Make it Monday! I thought I would make something that would help cool down the pups on these hot days. I call it, thanks to my sister-in-law, fruit chicken soup!

What you need

A Tupperware container or bucket (I used a 7 quart Tupperware with a lid)
Tap water
Chicken broth
Dog friendly fruits & vegetables (I used blueberries, strawberries, and carrots.)
Freezer

First I filled the Tupperware half with tap water and half with chicken broth. Then I added chopped strawberries, and carrots as well as a cup and a half of fresh blueberries.

The next step was to freeze over night. It may take longer or shorter depending on the size of container you choose.

This morning when we wake up the sun was shining and the mercury was already rising. I pulled the fruit chicken soup from the freezer and with a little help from the hot water tap I was able to pop out the ice block. I took it outside and Basil, and our housemates dogs, Luna, and Hank went to town.

This was a serious success! I am very happy with the result and the dogs really enjoyed it.
I highly recommend doing this for your dog this summer. Feel free to add dog food, dog treats, and toys or whatever your dog prefers.

Let me know how it goes!

How was you weekend? Until next time! Xoxo

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