How to Make a Christmas Collar For Your Dog

With Christmas around the corner, why not make a cute Christmas collar for your dog? Since this collar is made with an elastic band, you can also make it for a cat, ferret or rabbit. This tutorial will show you how to make a holiday pet collar with ribbons.

Tools and Supplies

The supplies needed for this project are pretty minimal. You will need any kind of fabric ribbon, some elastic (like the kind used on sweat pants), bells, a pair of pinking shears and a flexible measuring tape. You don't really need the pinking shears, but they do scallop the edges of the ribbon to prevent them from fraying after they have been cut.

STEP 1 - Measuring Your Dog

Measure your dogs neck in a spot where you would like the collar to sit.

STEP 2 - Cutting The Elastic and Adding The Bells

Cut about three or four inches more elastic than you need. Now string the bells onto the collar, you can use as many as you want. Take your dogs neck measurement, subtract one inch, measure out the elastic and knot it closed. Trim the excess elastic.

STEP 3 - Cutting The Ribbon

Ten inches should be okay for a medium sized dog.. A smaller dogs collar will probably be fine with five inches. Cut the ribbon you have and place it into piles if you have different colours of ribbon.

STEP 4 - Knotting The Ribbon Onto The Collar

Secure the ribbon onto the collar with a very simple knot. Keep adding ribbons to the collar, using the colours randomly. Occasionally check the spacing of the ribbons and move them around if some spots on the collar are too sparsely decorated.

Karen Friesecke is the author of Bloggie Stylish a new blog dedicated to recipes and free projects for dogs. Please visit Christmas Dog Collar to see this tutorial, complete with pictures.

Missing Links - Off-The-Cuff Christmas Gifts For Him

Christmas is a magical time of year, where families get together and do their best to infuse themselves with as much of the Christmas spirit as they can. After all, it is the season of goodwill! Christmas is also a time for gift giving, and - unfortunately - a potentially stressful time as we try and work out exactly what type of Christmas gifts our nearest and dearest will enjoy.

So, when buying for him this Christmas - and it could be either a friend, or a loved-one - why not help him bring out his more stylish side with a pair of beautiful cufflinks? Designed for use with the delightfully decadent double-cuff shirt, cufflinks are the ultimate in Christmas gifts for men. Cufflinks can also be worn with some convertible cuffs, so the possibilities for wearing such an amazing gift have never been greater!

But what is the behind these wonderful items of male apparel? It has been claimed that the history of the humble cufflink actually goes back as far as the Middle Ages, when gentlemen would fasten their cuffs with something known as a cuff string. However, the London Gazette reportedly made the first reference to what we now universally regard as a cufflink in 1684; but it was not until the 1860s that these little gems made it into the mainstream and became affordable to the wider public.

Cufflinks are a great way to compliment his own unique sense of style. In addition to designs crafted from any number of different types of metal - whether precious or otherwise - cufflinks can also be crafted from silk knots, and it is even possible to obtain versions designed to resemble doubled-up buttons; although a cufflink or silk knot is a far more sophisticated option.

But when it comes to buying Christmas gifts, what's the best style to go for? Construction materials aside, cufflinks chosen as Christmas gifts should fit the personality of the wearer. Science fiction enthusiasts might like to wear cufflinks featuring the Daleks, those not-so-loveable characters from the long-running series Doctor Who. Dads might like to receive cufflinks advertising that they have become proud new fathers - although the bleary-eyed sleep-deprived look should be quite a giveaway - and existing dads with daughters might like to wear on their sleeve the fact that their daughters love them.

And for men who like their sport, there are cufflinks designed to declare a love of football, rugby, and even pastimes such as cricket and snooker. But that isn't all, as cufflinks can also be a great way to wish someone luck, show how fantastic it is to reach a certain age, or even for people to let the world know that they've managed to hold their own and make it through university; the number of messages that these Christmas gifts can potentially convey are almost unlimited!

The only difficulty with cufflinks is knowing how to wear the cuff as, in addition to the much-worn 'kissing' model, it is also possible to wear the cuff barrel-style. However, following the latter option forces the cuff ends to overlap one another and the incredibly stylish cufflinks might not be quite so visible to those located nearby.

However, cufflinks are actually pretty easy to put on; if the pair in question features a ball at the end of the bar, it is only necessary to push the ball through the hole, in a manner not dissimilar to fastening a cuff equipped with buttons. However, if the cufflink is designed to feature a bar end, this should be closed before pushing through the cuff; securing the link then becomes as simple as closing the bar into a horizontal position.

Most importantly however, when buying cufflinks as Christmas gifts, all that needs to be ensured is that the gift fits the personality and tastes of the recipient. After all, he is going to be wearing one of the most important and visible items of apparel in a man's wardrobe of formal attire.

Written by John Smith co-founder of [http://www.gettingpersonal.co.uk]

GettingPersonal are one of the UK's leading on-line retailers of Gifts, personalised gifts and Xmas Gifts [http://www.gettingpersonal.co.uk]. Their website is packed with over 1,500 gifts for any special occasion.

Blown Egg Christmas Baubles

This is a cracking Christmas decoration idea. I just know your going to get eggsited by this one. Okay, Less of the foul yokes! But seriously eggs make wonderful Christmas tree baubles.

All you need is...
Some eggs, gift-wrap, ribbon, paint, some wire, glitter and other odds and ends for decoration.
First take your egg in one hand and a darning needle in the other. Hold the egg firmly in your hand and push the needle into the centre of the wide bit, at the bottom of the egg. Once the needle is through, wiggle the needle about a bit to make the whole a bit bigger. Now turn the egg around and make another hole in the top of the egg, again wiggle the needle.

Then with a dish underneath to catch the insides of the egg, blow very hard into one end of the egg, and blow the egg out. DO NOT SUCK! This is very bad.

There are concerns that you can contract salmonella from raw eggs. If you are worried about this you could use a medicine syringe to force air through the eggshell.

Remember not to let the egg go to waste. Make scrabbled egg for your dog or use them to bake some cakes.

Once the eggshell is empty give it a good wash out with disinfectant and leave it to dry overnight. Stand it in an eggcup so any excess water can run out freely.

Give your eggshell a coat of paint. Metallic is nice and festive. Leave the paint to dry.

You need to make an egg threader with a piece of wire, which is about twice the length of the egg. Turn the end over and down to form an 'eye' like you would find on a needle. Wrap some selotape around the turn down bit of wire and the main stem of wire.

Get a length of gift-wrap ribbon, which is roughly 4 or 5 times as long as the egg. Fold it in half and tie a knot in the ribbon about 2cm down, forming the loop for hanging the egg on the Christmas tree.

Insert the threader tool into the tool at the top of the egg and out through the bottom of the egg leaving the eye resting on the top of the egg. Tread the two ends of the ribbon through the eye of the egg threader tool. Gently pull the threader tool and the ribbon through the egg, so that the loop knot you made rests on the top of the egg, and the gift-wrap ribbon dangles out from the bottom of the egg.
Tie a knot in these ribbons so that the knot sits at the base of the egg. Tie another length of ribbon to these ribbons at the knot. Pull all the ribbons over a pencil to make the ribbons curl.

Stick a small image from a Christmas card or gift wrapping paper on the side of the egg or create a motif with sequins or other bits and bobs.

Finally, using PVA glue, stick some glitter on to the egg to make it sparkle.

Treat the egg bauble like a glass bauble, pack it away carefully and use it every year. If you don't want to use eggs, try Ping-Pong balls instead.

S. Roberts is one of Santa�s Helpers and writes for www.santaspostbag.co.uk a Christmas educational & activity website. For more home-made Christmas trimming ideas visit www.santaspostbag.co.uk/homemade-christmas-trimmings.html SantasPostbag is in association with www.bigboystoyz.com

Wreath Christmas Tree

Do you live in an apartment or small house? Chances are, you don't have a lot of floor space on which to put a Christmas tree. On the other hand, there is often unused wall space. This is a fun and novel project to solve your tree dilemma.

Items needed:

9 artificial holiday wreaths

Green florist's wire

1 box of Christmas bulbs

Hooks

12 inches of ribbon

Lights or any other decoration that you fancy

Directions:

Cut lengths of the wire and wire three of the wreaths together in a line. Then wire two together. Now center the two on the three and wire them together, pyramid style. Then wire the remaining wreath centered on the two. You now have your tree.

Loop the ribbon through the single wreath and tie it in a strong knot. Make a bow if you wish. This will be what you will use to hang your "tree."

If you wish to wrap lights or tinsel around your tree, do this now, before you hang it.

Hang your tree. Place the bulbs on the hooks and hang one inside each wreath and the remainder along the bottom.

Now, sit back and enjoy your new tree!

Some options:

Be creative when choosing your wreaths! You are not limited to plain green. What about some that already have pinecones and flocking on them? For a rustic look, choose grapevine wreaths and rusty metal decorations. For a country look, pick straw wreaths.

You aren't limited to ribbon. Raffia, rope, a bandana and baling wire are just a few different looks you could use. Just make sure it will be strong enough to hold your tree.

In place of traditional bulbs, try clove studded oranges, collection of small Santas or even sports figures!

Your imagination is your only limit!

Nikola Marshall lives with her two dogs in Oklahoma. She is active in her local police volunteer program among other oppotunities. Nikola is an author on a site for Creative Writing ( http://www.Writing.Com/ )