A Pillow for Parker

Starting off with fun projects using my fabric bundle, I made Parker a pillow bed this weekend. Parker has a habit of sitting on top of his kennel and looking out the window. He not only sits there, he lays there, sleeps there, and practically lives on top of his kennel! I guess it makes him feel safe...whatever makes him happy I guess.

I picked out two pieces of fabric I thought looked good together and went with these two.

I knew I wanted some personal touches for him, since it's for the top of his kennel. Right now there's a towel on top so it doesn't hurt his paws and body when he's chilling out on top. I went with a cute "P" made from scrap fabric from my mousepad makeover here. I simply used the same steps and heat and bonded it to the blue fabric.

Then I put the two fabric pieces right side together and sewed 3 sides. I left one side open to stuff it with some cotton and finished the edge with some hand embroidery with ombre embroidery floss.

All done! And here's Parker enjoying his new pillow bed.

Where does his head end and his butt begin?! heehe. I made it small because I knew I wanted to keep the towel still on the top to keep the pillow from slipping when he fluffs it, and well he likes to sleep in a tiny ball and it fits him perfectly. Much more comfortable now :)

BTW Some background knowledge on our dog...Yes his kennel is small; it's the smallest size kennel you can buy at Petsmart for dogs up to 15 pounds (Parker is 4lbs). When we first adopted him several months ago, I only put a tiny thin mat in there for him so he's have maximum space to hang out but he would freak out when we kenneled him up when we left the house. I'm a stay at home mom so usually he's out all day, we only kennel him when we all leave to go to the grocery store for his own safety. (We have been through both a wild fire and earthquake while living here in Wichita Falls) Well he would freak out so bad and cry and use his teeth to gnaw at the bars of his kennel and his gums would bleed. We had a pet bed for him on the floor we bought at petsmart but he never sat in it. I took it and shoved it into his kennel and then placed him inside, there was enough room for him to turn around and move still and he hasn't freaked out since. He fluffs the pet bed like crazy and sinks into the stuffing and sleeps there at night. I guess the small kennel was TOO BIG, and by adding a big pet bed inside it, it made him feel more safe. Anyway, he loves sleeping in there at night now, we usually get up around 8, but he stays in the bedroom and sleeps till noon. When he gets up I bring his kennel out to the living room and he lays out on top and sun bathes in the window. No more freak outs and we're pretty much in a routine now with him. Adopting an older dog is like having kids..you gotta do whatever makes them happy or you'll never get any sleep lol :) We love both our kiddos though! :)

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