waterproof pet sofa cover

Owning a cat can be rewarding, they bring you happiness when you're sad, calmness when anxious, and peace when angry.  That is unless you have multiple cats, then they can bring you violent fighting and furniture marking.  Our new sofa fell victim to the marking.  Stanley Steemer thankfully came to our rescue.

Now we have a clean sofa, but no guarantee that it will remain unmarked.  Nick and I came up with a  strategy - plugging in a cat pheromone diffuser, setting up a motion sensor with alarm/air spray, and using a sofa cover.  Most pet sofa covers do not provide a waterproofing element.  I decided to make a cover found at Target impermeable.  I ran down to bedding for a twin mattress cover, and then up to home improvement for some Velcro fasteners. 

Cost: $42
Time: 20 minutes
Needed:

• pet sofa cover ($30)
• twin waterproof mattress cover ($9)
• Velcro fasteners - package of four 3in strips ($3)
• scissors

1.  Get a lay of the land. Take your sofa cover out of the package and spread it out on the floor with the underside exposed.  Take your mattress cover out and cut it down three of the sides, leaving one long side still attached resulting in a large rectangle.  Some mattress covers have zippered sides, so you may have to cut the zipper out to make your material lay nicely.  Now lay the large waterproof rectangle on top of the sofa cover.

2.  Trim it up. You'll notice that the mattress cover is longer than your sofa cover.  Line up the sofa cover and mattress cover on one side to give you an idea how much extra will need to be removed.  You can take a marker and mark where you should cut the extra mattress cover off.  Depending on the shape of your sofa cover, you may need to trim the height and width.  Go ahead and cut it to match the size of the sofa cover.

3.  Get it together.  Now take your Velcro fasteners and cut the strips in half so that you have eight 1.5in strips.  Stitch one strip in a corner of our sofa cover. Align another strip on the mattress cover so they fasten when the covers are laying flat and stitch into place.  Go ahead and do this to the other three corners.

4.  Tuck it.  Be sure to push hard on all four corners' fasteners and then place the joint covers on your sofa. Fold and tuck them into pillows and arm rests.  

A major benefit is that your waterproof pet sofa cover can be washed and reused if a small accident or even a catastrophe happens.  Just unfasten the covers and machine wash the sofa cover.  You'll want to wash/sanitize the mattress cover in your sink.  Line dry both of the covers before fastening them and placing it back on the sofa.

banana chocolate chip cookies

A great chocolate chip cookie recipe can use a nice twist now and again. Banana plus chocolate equals amazing cookies. Honestly this is what I came up with when I realized that I only had banana cream pudding instead of vanilla, which when swapped makes incredible cookies as well.

Time: 30 minutes
Needed:

• 2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1 ts baking soda
• 1 c softened butter
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 3/4 c packed brown sugar
• 1 3.4oz package of instant banana cream pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 1 12oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.  Get that oven going. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour and baking soda.

2.  Mix it up. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

3.  Drop it like it's hot. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  I like to push mine flat since these cookies don't tend to flatten themselves as they bake.

4.  Bake it. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown. You should yield 24-36 cookies depending on how generous you were with your spoonfuls.

Let me know how you like this recipe and if you customized it further. Link to photos if you got them!

quick dress to skirt refashion

Here we go for my first show and tell!  So I had this one sun dress: worn once and it was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever owned. The halter top just really didn't support the weight of the fabric  therefore rubbing my skin raw from the drawstring around my neck.

after

pseudo before

I was just going to donate it, but looking at it a few weeks ago I decided it would make a nice skirt instead.  I apologize for not having step by step photos since I didn't think this would turn into a pseudo tutorial. This is a pretty quick refasion and the directions should get you started on your own old dress.

Cost: Free
Time: 20-30 minutes
Needed:

• old dress
• safety pin
• sewing machine
• cutting board
• rotary cutter

1.  Mark your cut.  Hold the dress up to yourself or put it on. Find the height you like your skirts to sit on your waist with your finger. Now move your finger 2 inches up and mark with a pen/sharpie.

2.  Make the cut.  Take the dress and lay it flat on your cutting board.  Try to line up your markings with the cutting board's grid to get a straight cut across for your waist.  Use the rotary cutter to cut across the grid giving yourself a skirt and top piece. 

3.  Make your drawstring.  I was lucky that my dress had a perfect drawstring already from the halter top, so I just removed it to reuse.  For dresses without a reusable drawstring, you can remove some of the fabric from the top piece cutting a half inch above your waist cut to get a large circle.  Find a seam and cut there to get one long piece of one inch fabric. Fold it over and sew down the whole length. You could just knot the ends or feed some beads on the end before knotting to give the drawstring a little something-something.

4.  Sew the waistline.  Now that drawstring needs somewhere to go.  Turn your skirt piece inside out.  Fold down from the waist cut about an inch all the way around. Pin the fold in place.  You may wish to iron at this point depending on your fabric.  Sew the fold in place so the waistline is completed.

5.  Feed in the drawstring.  Now snip a half inch cut in the front of the skirt within the completed waistline fold.  Secure a safety pin on one end of your drawstring. Start to feed the safety pin through the cut and continue to push it through the fold until you can push it back through the cut on the other side.

I hope this is helpful for some readers to get going on a dress transformation. Please let me know how it goes! 

awkward first post

Just trying to claim my spot in this blog world while my name is still available, but who am I kidding since no one spells their name like me with no 'e'.

I have been contemplating blogging for a couple years, but have always let the inner critic deny me the chance. Now that I realize that everyone and their mother has a blog it seems silly not to have one as well (even if it's just me and my cats that ever see these posts).  

A little bit about me... I'm originally from Indiana, but moved to the front range of Colorado a couple of years ago.  Nick, my boyfriend, and our cats made the trek to try somewhere besides the mid section of the states. It's been a great move for us professionally, culturally and emotionally.

Since moving here I've become a sucker for any decent DIY project found on pinterest or crafty blogs. Anyone who is going to show me how to do something for myself in a less expensive and clever way - I'm all ears. There is something to be said about making something yourself the way you see fit instead of just consuming what is offered.

Over the next few weeks I plan to get some recipes, projects, and inspiration posted that might be of significance to like-minded individuals. I hope to see you back here again :)