The Perfect Christmas Gift For Every Dog Lover!

If you want to be named the "best gift giver" this holiday season, you have to give something unique right? Something so incredibly perfect that you cannot believe anyone actually thought of that perfectly describes your friend/sister/husband/wife etc. Well, if they love dogs, then we have that perfect gift! We have come up with the perfect gifts for the dog lover in your life!

Namast'ay Home With My Dog Sweatshirt- the softest you will ever own. Promise!

Dogs, Coffee and Netflix, there is no better combination of things.

My Recent Cruelty Free Makeup Finds

Within the last few months I have decided to purchase only cruelty free products (cleaning, makeup, lotions etc). Thanks to Operation Beagle Freedom and their cruelty cutter app it has been pretty easy.

I decided to do this because I found out they weren't just conducting test on mice (which I still love!) but on bunnies and beagles! That was too much. So after some research I realized that animal testing is actually just an outdated method of testing because only about 5% of the tests results actually transfer over to prove conducive to human results. So it is largely ineffective.

I could go on but let's talk makeup instead!

There are so many options for cruelty free products out there, but I want to find the best ones. So I am trying them all out. Every time I am out of something I go and usually buy of that thing at the store to try them both. Here are my reviews of some recent products I have purchased.

Makeup

Pur Cosmetics 4 in 1 Pressed Mineral Powder Foundation

This is my favorite cruelty free foundation right now! I didn't even know this existed, but Ulta was promoting it one day and it was buy 1 get one free so of course I said yes! I am so glad I did. I apply this over my liquid foundation for some serious coverage and it blends so perfectly to my skin and has such a nice overlay, I feel flawless. I love it.

What To Know About The Albuquerque Balloon Festival

Last year I was able to cross something off my bucket list and attend the Albuquerque Balloon Festival with my best friend. It was beyond magical and I do not use that word because it always makes me think of Disneyland. Anywho, this was and totally worth absolutely everything.

What made it extra special was that my best friend was just about to get engaged and begin the life change of getting married and moving away, so this was a perfect final trip for us to go on together and make some great memories.

I love information on placed and events before I go. So I called the balloon festival about 27 times, looked at google maps to try and understand the layout of the festival before we got there, and literally did everything short of driving there and scouting everything out beforehand. And yet I still learned so much and was unprepared for a few things, so here I am to tell you how to handle it.

Where To Stay?

Even now, I am sure most of the hotels are booked. And yes, even the motels, bed and breakfasts etc. I know, this was me last year too. Turns out our hotel was perfect!!! Small, little super 8 looking thing that I knew for sure our car would get stolen at, but it's all for the sake of the balloons!

We ended up being just 2 miles from the festival grounds which ended up being KEY!!!! As now explained...

Fetch Fido A Flight- A Life Saving Dog Rescue Flight

I had the privilege of witnessing a life saving flight for 49 dogs who needed to be rescued from death row. Oklahoma has a tremendous problem with pet overpopulation and because of that, we have too many incredible dogs and companion animals being euthanized every day.

Thankfully, we have people like Vikki Smith who have taken on the crisis and decided to do something about it. She organized Fetch Fido A Flight which works with Wings of Rescue to fly at risk dogs out of Oklahoma to more adoptable places in the United States. Many of these places are in the Northwest and they literally have waiting lists of people wanting to adopt dogs. I can't imagine!

When I started Treat Dreams, I wanted to be able to help in some way. It took me a few years in business to get things figured out and I realized  if I was able to create more profit in my items I sold, I could give a percentage to different rescues throughout the country and get to be a part of some amazing work that people are doing.

So, that is how I got to be a part of Fetch Fido A Flight and see the flight actually take place. We gave 10% of our sales from Treat Dreams to Fetch Fido A Flight for the months of April and May.

Here are some pictures that I took from that day. The flight has to be loaded and take off early so we can avoid this horrid Oklahoma heat. So we started at 5:30! Eek!!

My Favorite Cruelty Free Products Right Now

So I have recently been educated on the inner workings of animal testing and just how unnecessary and outdated the process is. Then became aware the very common practice of testing on beagles! Beagles!!!!

Change is hard....
Now, if you are like me, there are cases you want to get behind, but it can make life inconvenient or it isn't convenient to find another alternative!
Beagle Freedom Project has made is SUPER easy to find out if your most beloved beauty, cleaning and other supplies are cruelty free/tested on animals or not. Just download the app and use it's barcode scanner to scan your makeup/toothpaste/cleaner's barcode and find out if it is cruelty free or not.

Bad news....
Now beware, most of your products are not going to be cruelty free. So get ready for change. BUT, the good news is that SOOOO many products are available, they are great and they are cruelty free!

My favs right now...

My Favorite Cruelty Free Body Lotion:

Pro: This is one I scanned and was so excited when it said it was cruelty free! The scent is perfectly light and feminine. It is also rich and thick, not watery. Korres Body Butter, Jasmine.

Con: This lotion is expensive, so I only ask for it for my birthday and Christmas.

Great similar cruelty free brands that can be found at Target and Drug Stores: Yes To, SheaMoisture, Pacifica, Burts Bees

My Favorite Cruelty Free Cleaner:

Pro: LOVE METHOD! We were big Clorox people around my house. With four dogs, we practically bought stock in the brand. But once we saw Clorox is NOT cruelty free, we made the switch and I love Method products. They smell SO GOOD! Which also is helpful when one has four dogs. It is important to note, I chose this one because it is also ANTIBACTERIAL which is important to me.

Con: Expensive for cleaner. Same as Clorox Everywhere but when you use it as much as we do, it adds up. 

My Favorite Cruelty Free Sunless Tanner:

I hate summer. Because it exposed my whiteness. In the winter, I can do a pretty good job covering it up and making you think it doesn't exist. I can pull my hair forward to cover most of my neck and apply a nice amount of make up and feel pretty great. But summer exposes it....and it's terrible. If you want to know about the circulatory system, you an see it working through my arms and legs. Anyway, I found this on Instagram of all places and I ordered it and I really like it.

Pro: I hate standing in front of a fan drying and of course hate streaks. I find this dries easily and you can actually see it when you put it on, therefore you can see if you will have streaks or not and.......it's cruelty free! Loving Tan.

Now this is NOT on the app, but the bottle says it is not tested on animals, so it's still a WIN!

Con: It is pretty dramatic for white people. If you just put it one place and not all over, it definitely looks like you just put tanner on your legs and nowhere else. I would really like to have an even lighter option for us really really pale people. #palepeopleproblems

 Favorite Cruelty Free Lip Balms:

Sugar is expensive, I'll admit it. Another birthday/Christmas gift. I also love a local company called Bumble and Pine. I bought some of their lip balm at a fair last year and I just love it.

Sugar Pro: But it lasts me for 6 months until I need it again and it is heavenly. There is a reason it is expensive. fresh is a great brand committed to the elimination of animal testing.

Sugar Con: Expensive, that's all I got, otherwise it's amazing.

Bumble and Pine Pro: Natural as natural can be. Literally made by the people who sell it. Some lip balm deteriorates or gets clumpy after awhile, this does not. So fresh!

Bumble and Pine Con: I didn't buy enough last time, looking forward to the next craft fair to get more.

I am trying out more and more cruelty free products all the time! I will be posting as often as I can telling the pros and cons of everything I try!

Let me know what you are trying and loving!!!

Dog Shirts For People Who Love Dogs :)

We have so many varieties of shirts in the shop right now! There are so many ways to wear them!

Memorial Day Sale All Weekend! Enjoy 15% Off!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

If you are like me you have a TON planned to do! Part of that is taking part in all the AWESOME SALES everyone is having! I didn't want to be left out, so enjoy 15% ALL WEEKEND!

USE CODE: MEMORIAL

We have some new stuff in and some stuff on SALE! 

Ready.....set....SHOP!

www.treatdreamsthedogbakery.com

Wedding Chalkboard Photo Backdrop

My best friend got married last weekend and she had asked me to help her create a chalkboard photo backdrop for her guests to take pictures in front of and enjoy! Of course I said YES!

I can now pride myself on being a pretty phenomenal "chalker". I have completed the wall in my shop as you can see here.....

...and now I will tackle a chalk photo-booth. *I should also mention, another incentive for me doing this board is that I get to keep it after the wedding!*

Her dad put the board together which I think would be the hardest part! He painted it with chalkboard paint and that is all I know about how it came to be :)

Once I had it, Kara (the bride) had to decide what she wanted it to say. She had found a post on Pinterest that used a chalkboard photo booth and decided she liked it enough to try to replicate it as best we could. Thanks Averie Lane!

Treat Dreams is THREE!

Use Code: HAPPYBDAY for 15% off all day April 19th, 2016!

www.treatdreamsthedogbakery.com

I cannot believe it's been three years since we first opened our Etsy shop selling homemade dog treats. We have come such a long way! Now we offer dog cakes, and dog shirts (for humans, of course!)

We have recently taken a break making treats to regain control of our normal lives and spend some time outside of the kitchen. It has been so fun to see the shirts take off gain donations for different rescues throughout the country. I absolutely love it!

Mini Easter Egg Dog Cakes Have Arrived!

I have been working on these for weeks! I am so particular about which egg design I wanted to use!

I finally decided on some zig zags and sprinkles (which I'm obsessed with). I am of the mind that sprinkles make anything better......cupcakes...donuts...cookies...whatever...

The cake ingredients are all natural and super fresh. I even grind my own wheat flour! Then I dunk them in all natural yogurt frosting (but I use artificial color) then drizzle some adorably pink icing over them and top it off with SPRINKLES!

 These are the perfect size at about 4". They can either be one serving or several. I split mine into fourths for my four fur-babies for a bite sized snack. But for a special occasion they each got their own :)

And they are delicious! The cake itself is superb. I eat it myself because it is so delicious! Molly agrees! I can't keep these around the house because she smells them and barks incessantly!

You can't go wrong with all natural peanut butter, honey and cinnamon.

 And of course, I personally think packaging says it all so I made sure these are no exception with this precious polka-dotted purple ribbon to tie it all up.

They are $15! Hurry! Place your orders by March 19th to make sure you receive it in time for Easter!!

www.treatdreamsthedogbakery.com 

Kendra Scott Gives Back - Country Roads Animal Rescue Society, Oklahoma City

So last night we were privileged to work with Country Roads Animal Rescue Society (CRARS) at their event with Kendra Scott, where 20% of Kendra Scott sales went to CRARS as part of the Kendra Gives Back event that Kendra Scott does (which by the way, I think is fabulous of them!)

CRARS brought puppies that were available for adoption and Kendra Scott provided the fabulous jewelry as well as "sips and snacks" and I brought some personalized Kendra Scott dog treats!

What on earth could be better than holding a puppy and shopping for jewelry? 

........the answer is.....nothing....

10% of our profits from this month will be going to Country Roads Animal Rescue Society so we were excited to sell some shirts at the event and raise even more for CRARS!

Visit us at www.treatdreamsthedogbakery.com to purchase a shirt!

This sweet baby stole my heart and found her forever home!!

This is her new brother :)

Photoshoot for Dog Lovers

 We had to take advantage of the warm weather and take some picture with our shirts. I don't love taking pictures of myself. I would rather just take pictures of my dogs, but since they don't love wearing clothing, I had to take this on myself. But of course I included them in my pictures!

Our rescue organization this month is Country Road Animal Rescue Society here in Oklahoma. I am so excited to work with someone so close to me! 

10% of the sales of our shirts and cakes will go to them for the month of February!

Visit www.treatdreamsthedogbakery.com to see more shirts!

Dog Shirts for a DOGgone Good Cause

We just received the first order of shirts for 2016! Wahoo!

I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for us!

Help us start the year off WONDERFULLY for Barks of Love in California!

They are a 100% no kill, foster-based, all breed dog rescue!

Right now they have a lot of puppies and could use some extra funds to make things easier on them. I am happy to help but can't without you!!

Shop Here!!

All three of these shirts are super soft and the perfect "worn" look.

"I Love Dogs, Coffee, Netflix and Long Walks to the Fridge"

 "Dog Hair Don't Care"

"I Just Want All the Dogs"

If you have a rescue you would like to recommend to receive 10% of our sales for a month, please contact me at info@treatdreamsthedogbakery.com

The Perfect Shirts for Dog Lovers

I have decided to create some shirts to reflect my personality, style and love of dogs.

 I hope that others will enjoy them and we are using them to donate 10% of their profits to dog rescues across the country which makes me psyched!!

They can all be found on my website, www.treatdreamsthedogbakery.com, or on my Etsy page, Treat Dreams.

I JUST ordered more stock, so if you don't see your size, just wait a few days or contact me!

PLUS, I have some new designs coming as well! Can't wait!