It is always a pleasant surprise for shelters whenever people are able to help the animals in their care. One way to help is to get crafty! And July 21st, known as National Craft for Your Local Shelters Day, is the perfect time to bring out the craft bag. The day was founded by Erika Lindquist, who was inspired by her rescue dog Sebastian, and she is also the owner of the blog, the “Sew Doggy Style."

All shelters should be more than happy to accept donations, but if you’re not sure, you can contact the shelter you were thinking of donating to and make sure that what you are planning on dropping off is accepted. 

Bandanas that say “Adopt Me,” are very popular at shelters for making pets more photogenic for adoption pictures. These can be made from old shirts or colorful fabric in all sizes. The words can either be embroidered, painted, drawn on with fabric pens or screen printed on. Blankets are another popular option. Shelter cages can be lonely, by making a blanket for a pet waiting for a home, if will give them comfort to have something to curl up with. Those blankets can often become something special to the animals, and some go to their forever homes with them. Fleece blankets are easy to make, but blankets can also be made from quilting fabric.

Beds might sound harder to make, but they aren’t. There are plenty of examples of no sew beds that can be stuffed with stuffing and then tied together just like blankets. There are also no sew cat hammocks. Old tennis balls wrapped in scrap fabric make great toys for dogs, or the fabric can be braided to make a toy for cats to bat around. Cats love scratchers, and the great thing is that they are easy to make by using a little rope, glue, scissors, and a table leg or free-standing pillar. Wrap the rope around the pillar and add a bit of glue to keep it from fraying.

Crafting is fun and can be enjoyed by the whole family or on a crafting night with friends. No matter how people participate, know that whatever you make will give much comfort to pets while they wait for their forever homes.