Death by Association
Page 24
Bessie’s Dog-Bone Treats
Bessie always had one of these dog-bone treats waiting for Bear every morning when Laurel took him for a walk. Now that Bessie’s retired from her job as a security guard at Hawkeye Haven, she still makes Bear a care package of treats every once in a while.
Notes: You’ll need a cookie cutter in the shape of a dog-bone for these treats. Bessie uses a 3 1/4-inch cookie cutter, but you can use another size, if you prefer. Since these treats contain a lot of fiber, monitor the number of treats your dog consumes!
Ingredients
Two 6 oz. jars sweet potatoes (baby food)
1 T olive oil
½ t cinnamon
¼ C milled flax seed
2 C oat flour
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the sweet potatoes and olive oil in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the mixture and stir in. Add flax seed and stir. Add oat flour, ½ cup at a time, and mix well. Chill the dough for at least one hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. Cut out dog-bone shapes with your cookie cutter and place them on the on the parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes or until the treats are done. Cool on parchment paper or a wire rack. Store the treats in the freezer. This recipe makes about thirty-two 3 ¼-inch dog-bone treats.
Tracey’s Yum-Yum Yam Chips
Bear can’t get enough of these tasty chips that Tracey, Laurel’s cousin as well as BFF, bakes for him, and they’re so simple to make. Laurel likes these treats, too, because they taste just as good to people as they do to dogs. Although Tracey never puts salt or pepper on Bear’s yum-yum yam chips, humans might want to add either or both to their own personal taste.
Ingredients
1 raw yam
1 T olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use 1 teaspoon of the olive oil to apply a thin coat of oil on a metal baking sheet. Thoroughly wash the yam and cut it into 1/8-inch slices. Place the yam slices on the baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil on the tops of the yam slices. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the slices and bake them for an additional 10 minutes. These chips can burn easily so watch them carefully, Tracey warns, and adjust the baking time if necessary. Chips should be browned and crisp. Remove them from the oven, let them cool, and enjoy. Yum! Yum!
Note: Yum-yum yam chips are best eaten soon after they’re removed from the oven while they are crisp. Storing the chips may make them a bit soggy, although your dog probably won’t mind.
Reversible, Two-Tone, Fringed Dog Scarf
Bear knows he’s a handsome boy when he wears the reversible, two-tone, fringed scarf that Laurel made for him. Bear’s scarf features a Western print on one side and solid brick red on the other side. The decorative fringe on his scarf is brick red, too.
Note: This project requires sewing two straight stitches on a sewing machine. Beginning sewers can easily make this cute scarf for their favorite furry friend.
Materials Needed
Two 5/8 yd. pieces of suede cloth, each a different color
Thread to match one of the colors in the suede cloth
Large sheet of tissue paper or gift wrapping paper
Instructions
1. Use a yard stick or other straightedge and a pencil to make a pattern on the sheet of paper. First, draw a square, using the measurements below as a guide:
Small size 16 inches square
Medium size 21 inches square
Large size 27 inches square
2. Fold the square of paper diagonally and hold it in place around your dog’s neck to check the size. Adjust the size, if necessary. Cut the square diagonally to make the scarf pattern. Add ½ inch to the diagonal edge for a seam allowance.
3. Place the two pieces of suede cloth right rides together and lay flat. Place the pattern on top of the suede cloth. Use pins, tape, or weight with soup cans to hold the pattern in place while you cut through both layers of fabric to cut out the pieces.
4. Remove the pattern and pin the diagonal edges of the suede cloth, right sides together. Stitch a ½-inch seam. Understitch, turn, and press. Pin unstitched edges to keep them from shifting.
5. For the fringe, cut several 1/8-inch by 5-inch strips of suede cloth. Use all one color for the fringe or alternate both colors. To attach the fringe, start with the bottom point (opposite the stitched seam) and carefully make a ¼-inch slit through both layers of suede cloth ¼ inch from the edge. Laurel uses a seam ripper (very carefully!) to make the slits.
6. Fold a fringe strip in half, wrong sides together. Poke the folded edge through the slits in the fabrics to form a loop. Thread both ends of the fringe strip through the loop and pull them to form a knot to tie it to the edge. Don’t pull the knot so tight that the edge curls.
7. Repeat every ½ inch along the scarf edges, stopping to leave the ends that will be tied together around your dog’s neck without fringe. (On Bear’s large scarf, the fringe stops 7 inches from the ends of the ties.) The ends may be stitched together with a straight stitch ¼ inch from the edge, or they can be left open, whichever you prefer.
Tie the scarf around your dog’s neck for doggie dress-up. Don’t forget to have your dog pose for a quick pic so you can show the world what a cute furry friend you have.
No-Sew Foam Bed for Pampered Pooches
Laurel made three of these easy, no-sew dog beds for Bear, and the lucky dog has one in the den, one in Laurel’s office, and one in the bedroom. Bear loves to flop down on one of his beds and take a snooze in cozy comfort.
Materials Needed
Fleece fabric
Velcro sticky backs for fabrics
4” deep high-density foam
Sizes and Yardage
Dog Size Foam Size Yardage
Small 20” X 25” 1 7/8 yd.
Medium 28” x 36” 2 yd.
Large 32” x 44” 2 5/8 yd.
Extra-Large 38” x 55” 3 ½ yd.
Instructions
Determine the correct size for your dog. There is no sewing needed unless you are making size extra-large, which requires two pieces of fabric to be sewn together (just one seam) so that it will be large enough. Prewash the fleece fabric according to the manufacturer’s directions so that it won’t shrink during future laundering. Wrap the fleece fabric around the foam in the same manner as you would wrap a gift, lapping the lengthwise ends of the fabric. Secure with Velcro in the center. Now fold in both ends, just as you would a gift-wrapped box. Secure with two pieces of Velcro, one on each side of the fold. Flip over, and you’re done.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An instructor at five colleges over the years, Paula Darnell most often taught the dreaded first-year English composition classes, but she's also been happy to teach some fun classes, such as fashion design, sewing, and jewelry making. Paula has a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and a Master's degree in English from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Like Laurel, the main character in Death by Association, Paula enjoys all kinds of arts and crafts. Some of her memorable projects include making a hat and a cape to wear to Royal Ascot, sewing wedding gowns for both her daughters, exhibiting her textile and mixed-media artwork in juried art shows, and having one of her jewelry projects accepted for inclusion in Leather Jewelry, published by Lark Books. She sells some of her jewelry and hair accessories in her Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/PaulaDJewelry.
Paula's interest in DIY craft projects and fashion led to her writing hundreds of articles for print and online national publications.
Living in a guard-gated community governed by a homeowners' association gave Paula the idea for the setting of Death by Association. She finds that residing in an HOA community can be both a blessing and a curse. A Happy-New-Year greeting from her community association called on residents to “start the new year by reviewing your Rules and Regulations booklet,
” something unlikely to top anyone's list of New Year's resolutions.
Paula lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her husband Gary and their 110-pound dog Rocky, whose favorite pastime is lurking in the kitchen, hoping for a handout.
Read all about how Laurel unravels a new mystery in Death by Design
Free: Hawkeye Haven Recipe Booklet
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Books by Paula Darnell
DIY Diva Mystery Series
Death by Association
Death by Design
Death by Proxy
A Fine Art Mystery Series
Artistic License to Kill
Vanished into Plein Air
Hemlock for the Holidays
Historical Mystery
The Six-Week Solution
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For other Cozy Cat Press mysteries, visit our website at: www.cozycatpress.com