Doggy Valentine’s Day Box

Valentine’s Day will be the first holiday I get to celebrate with my new co-workers. This year, we will be decorating boxes and passing out valentines to everyone.  Considering my competitive nature, I did not take this box-decorating lightly.  I am still the new girl in the office, so I had to bring my A-game.  Naturally, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration.  There was one box in particular that caught my attention right away.  It was a dog that appeared to be made out of a mop.  I immediately began drawing up my plans to recreate this adorable pooch.  Here is the adorable creature that forced me to get creative:

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via Pinterest

I made a trip to Michael’s craft store to gather some supplies.  I wasn’t sure how the dog’s head was made exactly, so I had to get creative.  Here are the supplies that I used to create the entire dog:

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Hot glue gun, yarn, packaging tape, masking tape, toilet paper roll, egg-shaped styrofoam, blue ribbon, googly eyes, red felt, and black pom-poms.

 

DSCN0670I started by taking a strip of masking tape that was equal to the length of each side of the box I was going to use.  I folded the yarn along the tape like the picture above.  I did this for each side of the box and did maybe 4-5 layers total. Then I would cut the center of each loop to give it that “shaggy” appearance as pictured below.

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Then it was time to start cutting a hole on top of the box and form the frame of the head.  I cut out the hole with a knife after tracing out the desired size.  Then, this is where I had to get creative with the head.  I hot-glued a toilet paper roll to the box to form a neck.  I cut out an oval shape for the styrofoam head to set on with more stablility.  I also had to use some q-tips to pierce the base of the styrofoam head and into the body of the box.  I hot-glued this in place as well for better reinforcement.

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I continued to tape the layers onto the box with packaging tape so it would be less visible on the top of the body.  I used scraps of yarn from trimming the other bits around the body to hot-glue onto the head of the dog. For the ears, I used q-tips and two cardboard cut-outs for the shape, and just hot-glued the strands of yarn to it.  I tied smaller ribbons around each ear for looks.  I also used a thicker ribbon for the collar around the neck.  Then I just added the finishing touches of eyes, ears, and tongue to the head, and the dog was complete!

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I don’t think Cooper was a fan of the fake dog on the table, haha

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And there you have it!  My Pinterest-inspired Doggy Valentine’s Day Box!  Who knows, maybe next year, I will have another box to create.  I hope you enjoyed my post today.  It was so much fun getting creative for this project.  Have a great rest of your weekend, and Happy early Valentine’s Day!

Love always,

Jillian Wade

 

Dollar Shave Club: First Review

I have been a terrible blogger over the last week since I started my new job, and I have a lot to catch you up on!  It is the middle of the month, so that means all of my subscription boxes are starting to show up at my door step (YAYYY!).  Now it is time to share my reviews and opinions on all the products I have received thus far. So I told you about Dollar Shave Club and it’s awesomeness in a previous post.  Now that my husband has had a full month of using this service, I can share his thoughts and opinions about his new razors!  In case you missed the last post, Dollar Shave Club is a monthly subscription that is incredibly affordable, and convenient.  Not to mention, the quality is unsurpassable.  Every month, DSC delivers you a fresh supply of blades to change out every week.  The cost ranges from $3-$9 depending on the number of blades you choose.  According to my husband, Hunter, these are the best razors he has ever used. IMG_3907 Hunter chose the 4X razor, and he says it is the closest shave he has ever had.  The handle is sleek and aesthetically appealing.  He doesn’t have irritation on his neckline anymore, and he really likes that he doesn’t have to keep re-shaving the same area twice.  Plus, The Easy Shave Butter is one of his favorite products to shave with now, since it makes his face feel even smoother after his shave.  I am just glad I don’t feel his itchy stubble anymore, so it is “wifey-approved”.  Don’t tell him I told you this, but I secretly used his razor once, and I LOVED it!  I think I am going to get some of these razors for myself next time.  DSC also carries other products that Hunter is eager to try.  One in particular is the “One Wipe Charlies”.  I don’t think this item needs any further explanation (haha), but he is definitely a fan of wet wipes! If you want to try Dollar Shave Club for yourself, use my referral link here:

http://shaved.by/bJBYt

It would make a great gift for your man for Valentine’s Day, and it won’t hurt your wallet either!  I will keep sharing Hunter’s reviews on Dollar Shave Club, so stay tuned next month!  Thanks for reading and I hope you try this awesome service for yourself!

Love Always,

Jillian Wade