Did you know that MarleyLilly was named after 2 dogs???? So you know we are animal lovers over here! So, check out this cute, creative, and fun way to suprise your loved one from Stephanie at Beautiful Mess.

Well. Here we are.

It's time for Saw it. Pinned it. Did it!

I should go ahead and preface this by saying today's post is 1000% birthday related in honor of Beau's birthday.

Mmmkay...now that that's out of the way...

We've been debating this whole "puppy" thing for quite some time now. Do we get a small dog I can carry around with me? Do we get a big dog that we can take to the river/ranch with us? What about Beau's allergies? We're in a new house...what if it chews on the walls? Do we get a dog at all? Etc, etc...

While Beau pretty much pitched a fit when we left the breeder because I didn't put down a deposit right then and there, little did he know I would be I "ordering" him a puppy for his birthday. The only problem? The puppy wouldn't be here in time for me to give to him on his actual birthday (minor detail) so I needed to find a way STAT to "give" him this unborn puppy. (Weird. I know.)

Breed: Rhodesian Ridgeback (aka: African hunting dog, you know, because we're in Africa and all?)

Due date: Feb 28th-ish

So my creative juices began to flow. And then they stopped. And then they started flowing again (or maybe that was the wine?). And then they stopped. So finally I gave in and hit up good ol' Pinterest. Duh.

(New life motto: "When all else fails, go to Pinterest.")

Via

Hallelujah. Dog bowl turned gift basket. Flippin' genius!

Here's what you'll need:

• Dog bowl (I got this one from Hob Lob for a STEAL! $30!)
• Cellophane
• Crinkle paper
• Dog goodies (toys, treats, collars, leashes, etc.)

Basically, rather than using a typical gift basket, you'll use the dog bowl as your "basket" so first you need to fill the bowl with crinkle paper to support all the toys so they don't fall to the inside.

Next, go out and purchase the most redneck dog toys you can find. (Hey, I thought a deer, rabbit and raccoon were appropriate?)

Arrange all the toys in the bowl so that they look nice.

Cut out a square of cellophane, place your bowl in the middle and bring the corners up to the top. Bunch the cellophane together about 1/3 the way down and tie off with a rubber band. (Sorry-it was too hard to take a picture of myself demonstrating this.)

Tie it off with some wired burlap ribbon, or any ribbon, for that matter...but lets be honest here, burlap just makes everything better...

Voila!

Finally-blindfold your birthday boy, take a gazillion pics because you find it absolutely hysterical he let you blindfold him for 10+ minutes and unveil your gift.

I promise he won't be mad at you for your "pinterest" inspired gift...

Who would be?

Now that's puppy love.....