As much as I try to deny it, my dog is getting old. In fact, she just turned 13. She’s in pretty great shape, but is starting to show signs of arthritis in her back legs. My vet recommended I switch her to wheat and corn-free dog food. Apparently, the grain contributes to inflammation. But when I went on the hunt for grain-free dog biscuits, I found the prices were kind of crazy – upwards of $5 for a seriously small bag. I decided there had to be a better solution. Enter Google and this really inexpensive recipe for a biscuit made from banana, egg, garbanzo bean flour and oats.

Recipe and adorable puppy pic via A Cozy Kitchen.

The Corner Blog has a straightforward-looking DIY for this beautiful braided fabric basket. She made her out of old T-shirt, but you could use any scrap cotton you have laying around. The only part that looks a bit daunting is the whole stitching the braided fabric into a basket part.

But, I think I’ve got the braiding part down. Probably.

I had never heard of the game Bananagrams, but Wikipedia tells me that it is similar to Take Two (a variant of Scrabble I’ve also never heard of – seriously, I’ve been missing out!). The gist is that you have a pile of letters and you arrange them into a word grid. The first person to deplete their pile of letters wins. Usually the word tiles come in a banana-shaped pouch, and are, you know, small. But these are made from cardboard and designed for play outside. Sounds like my kind of summer fun.

These DIY marbled gift tags are fantastic. Even more fantastic, they were made with nail polish and water. You can get the full instructions at Design Mom. Oh, and she didn’t stop at marbling tags.

I don’t know where one finds a bread crate in the United States, but I would like to find out so that I can make my very own DIY dog bed. Maybe the local flea market? Via French By Design.

There aren’t a lot of details on the German blog that featured this fantastic Ikea hack, but what is clear is that they used Ikea’s EKBY TÖRE brackets ($5 each) to create this architectural shelving unit. For the shelves, it appears they used oak lumber. Having built a shelving unit before, I would recommend using a vibrating sander on the boards even if they seem smooth. For this natural look, I’d go with a Danish Oil finish. It’s a lot easier and less messy than a laquer.  And if you don’t have a table saw, don’t worry. Most hardware stores will cut lumber to order for free.

Via Apartment Therapy.

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Yesterday, I ran across this upholstered mirror frame over at Elements of Style. I love the look, but couldn’t find a source. Luckily, I did find an upholstered mirror DIY on Bake it / Create it / Love it. She is upholstering much smaller frames, but I think the technique translates to something larger, like Ikea’s Mongstad Mirror.

These throw pillows are made from high resolution photos printed on fabric using Spoonflower. This would be a great way to create unique mementos of vacations. Find the full instructions over at Poppytalk.

These simple, versatile leather hangers seem like a quick DIY. All you need is an old leather belt, some kitchen sheers, a leather punch and a screw. Via Swiss Miss.