made.by.me*

04 April 2013

DIY - Elbow patched jumper

The Elbow patches - For someone it is the latest fashion statement, for someone it is just the way how to fix the hole on her/his favorite jumper. For whatever reason you have just found this post - here is how you do it!

What you need:

- jumper

- piece of fabric ( leather, leatherette, denim, manchester, firm cotton, ..)

- pair of scissors

- paper

- pins

- sewing machine / overlocker (not necessary )

Steps:

1. On a piece of paper draw the shape of the patch - it can be simple "O" shape, or cute hearts, squares - whatever you fancy..

2. Pin the paper shape to piece of fabric and cut it with scissors ( x2)

3. Seam the edges with sewing machine or overlocker. It will stop fabric from fraying, but it's not necessary if you use leather, leatherette or suede.

4. Use a ripper or a pin to tie the thread ends

5.Try the sweater on, place the patches at elbow level and pin them on sweater. Just make sure they are both at the same level.

6. Now you can sew the patches to the sweater by sewing machine or by hand. I sew it by hand as the sleeve or neck hole wasn't wide enough to put it through the sewing machine arm.

7. Ta daaaaaaaaaa... Elbow patched jumper is live!

24 March 2013

DIY - How to shave your dog

It is the time of the year when dogs are changing their "coats" for warmer weather. If you have a dog you know how hard it is to keep your house hairless in Spring. It is just impossible! Therefore I decided to visit a local dog groomer, who informed me that earliest available date she has for Floo is 20th of April. Now what do you do?

a) Wait till the end of April and hover every second day to keep your house tidy
b) Travel to different town to find another groomer
c) Shave your dog by yourself

Well, I decided to go for c) option and shave Floo at home. I thought it would be hard job but it wasn't at the end. It was actually easy and I enjoyed it! Here is the result

Steps:

Choose your shaver. I have bought a classic human shaver with several attachments (various blades from 0.5 mm to 2.5 cm) I made sure that shaver is not loud as Floo is afraid of the noise. If your dog is too, turn it on before starting to shave and let your dog get used to it. Hold it near his/her head.You can also buy proper dog shavers at a pet shop or an animal grooming store.
Hold your dog still. I asked my boyfriend to hold Floo for me. If you want to do it on your own, you will need to put your dog on a table and hold your dog's collar so he/she keep their head up and won't jump off.
Attach the 0.9 mm blade and start with the face. Hold your shaver flat against the skin and shave toward the eyes, moving the same way as the hair. To get the corners, shave away from the eye. If your dog is moving around, wait untill he/she settles down.
Go to the underarms. When the dog is standing, lift up their arm in a comfortable position. Shave under the arm and repeat with the other arm.
Move to the groin. Lift your dog's legs. This will keep the dog clean when they have to go to the "bathroom".
Now go to their bottom. Raise theire tail and shave around their bottom. This is also to keep them clean when they "do their business". Be careful in this area! :)
Shave the rest of the body. I changed the blade from 0.9 mm to 1.8 mm. Start behind the head and go down the neck going on to the back and then down both sides.
When you are done you can give your dog a bath and groom him/her with a brush or comb.

And there we are - nice & groomed! :)

12 November 2012

Gift ideas for Christmas

Picking Christmas presents should be fun and easy! I want to show you some gift ideas for everyone available online at www.etsy.com. Hopefully this will make your shopping easier this year! :)