Dogs need party hats too!

Well, it's been a dog's age since I posted, and when I think of all that has passed in the last few months, its mind boggling.

 After several scares and hospital visits this spring, my near 90ish parents are getting back to life as they know it. (Have you noticed how gutsy are elders must be just to get through life these days? I wear out living their lives one day every now and then, and they are, doing it 24/7. Just when it would be nice to rest, life becomes infinitely more difficult.)

Interleaved with some chaos, my family just finished up our birthday season. It starts with Mother's Day, and ends with Father's day. In between we squeeze six birthdays - every member of my husband's and my family! We all become a little party boggled.

In honor of our birthdays, our 'holiday mantle' was decorated with birthday dogs. (Until recently, we always had a family dog, who was shared by all.) Adding pups to my mother's childhood collection of metal and china dogs, has given me a great selection of canines to decorate for various occasions. You can see the final effect in my current blog header.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING PARTY HAT DIRECTIONS COULD BECOME ADDICTIVE!

I discovered a very easy and fun way to make small party hats. Using my 'Big Shot' and Nestibilitie's circle dies (the ones with scallops would be cute too), I die cut my paper and then made a straight cut from the perimeter to the center with scissors. HINT: Because of the small size, lighter weight papers are a whole lot easier to fold around and keep glued together. Fold the circle around it's center point until you like the look, and cut off the extra,leaving enough overlap to glue well. DO NOT GLUE JUST YET!

Now for the real fun - the hat's topknot!  Take a healthy length  (at least 10") of yarn, twine, or ribbon that will be in the hat topper. (Now's the time to use all those little bits and pieces of fiber that were too nifty to throw away.)  Wrap all the topknots' fibers around two or three fingers, pull the yarn you first cut through the fiber doughnut you just wound, and tie snugly when you reach the middle of that length.

Fluff out your pom-pom, and place the knot in the middle of your cut circle. Roll the circle around, making sure the pom-pom can not slip through the hat's peak. Glue or tape  into place. (I used score tape to make sure the hats did not 'unwind') That long yarn is now the hat's ties. You can also pin the hat on, or make small holes in the brim and attach ties. Your dogs are now ready for play without fear of losing their party hats.

I hope you try this and have as much fun as I did! I'd love to see pics of your party pups. Thanks so much for visiting. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this post.