Durable Leather Squeaky Dog Toy

Don't forget to link up to my Marvelous Mess Party.....I will be picking one project to feature on my sidebar for a week!!
We have an issue in this house. Chloe and Buddy aren't very tolerant.

Of shabbily made squeaky dog toys, that is.

I am determined to make them something that will last longer than 2 minutes. :-)
Wanna see what they can do to a regular squeaky in 2 minutes????

I had to get that squeaky out of Buddy's mouth before he swallowed it. :-)
So, here is my solution to the shabby squeaky:

It a leather lion with a squeaky I saved from a previous shabby toy. Not bad, eh? Leather is so incredibly durable....and doggies love to chew it. :-)

To make one of these you'll need:
leather
stuffing (saved from old toy)
squeaky (saved from old toy)

~Take an oval shape of leather.
~Fold it in half and trim one inch in on the outer egde all the way around (except for the straight edge).
~Trim out pieces for the ears, eyes, nose, mouth and sew them onto one side of the folded oval (the straight edge is his "chin" area).
~Sew the folded oval together around the Mane line....leaving enough room to stuff it (just like a pillow. No need to do any inside out tricks....you can hardly see the thread on the leather and it would make it *incredibly* hard on your sewing machine.
~Stuff the lion with the used fiber and the squeaky....make sure not to overstuff it or there won't be enough room for the squeaky to squeak. :-)
~Sew the remaining parts back up and give the toy to the dog.

Does the doggy like it?

Buddy does. :-)
See?
I shared this post at the following funky link parties:

Show and Tell

A Marvelous Mess #23

You guys totally *wowed* me this week!! What fun crafts!!

I just love hosting this party, you totally inspire me.

Here were my favorites:
Inspiration Board from Raising 4 Princesses. So lovely and totally funky!!


Orange Alium Table from Art is Beauty. Gorgeous color and hand painted design....the perfect table for the coming August!!

Petal Mirror from Lilybug Deisgns. She made those petal out of clay!! What a piece of work!!

And, the post I'm going to feature on my sidebar for a week:

A FANTASTIC tutorial to make Gumpaste Flowers from Domestic Charm. Isn't that cake gorgeous!?!?

Thanks so all of you for linking up!! If I featured you in this post, be sure to grab a button!!


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Now, on to the party!!

Zenni Optical: Save Money on Glasses!!!

I just returned from picking up the hubby's new prescription sunglasses at our local eye care center today. The glasses are great.....the price is *not*. Luckily, we have a prescription plan that pays for one pair for each member of the family. But, if those glasses get busted.....we just can't afford to pay the full price!! Glasses are ridiculously overpriced in my opinion.

Or, so I thought, until I check out Zenni Optical. This site has a deal going on every kind of glasses you can buy....affordable prescription eyeglasses, single vision, bifocals, progressives....you name it, they've got it!! Besides the price, one of the things I am a big fan of is the styles of frames they offer. There is SUCH a huge variety. Way more than you'll see in any Opticians office. Check these out:

Totally funky. They've got Holiday collections, Children's collections, every size and shape you can imagine!! There is also a fun Zenni Optical blog where they are currently offering a chance to Share Your Zenni Story and tell the world why you bought your Zenni glasses. It was interesting to read the blog and listen to others tell their stories....from a soldier in Afghanistan to a Retired School teacher living on very limited means. Zenni has definitely made an impact with it's customers!!