Crafts with a canine twist

Former resident combines two passions in new book
Tara Renee Settembre
Special Correspondent

Instead of having plain old porcelain and brass lamp finials in your home, former Greenwich resident, Jennifer Quasha, a published writer and crafter has a better idea.
In her newest book "The Dog Lover's Book Of Crafts: 50 Home Decorations that Celebrate Man's Best Friend," (St. Martin's Press, 2002, $17.95) she suggests making Fido Finials by gluing miniature dog figures on top of those plain looking little knobs that hold the shade to the frame of the lamp.
Quasha explains that they are "so easy and inexpensive to make, yet still look professional when you're done. It can also make a great gift, and it doesn't take up much space."
And that is just one of the 50 inventive craft ideas listed in her book, which combines two of Jennifer's loves - dogs and crafts. The idea might be new, but Quasha herself is definitely not new to the publishing world, she has already written 43 children's books including six on crafts, six on cats and three about dogs. Her canine craft book originally started off as an article that Quasha wrote for Pets: Part of the Family magazine. She soon realized it was a novel idea.
"I figured if I could do three columns on the subject then I could even write a book about it," adds Quasha. She says the book took about a year and a half from start to finish to complete, but explains it was well worth the wait.
"I always wanted to write my own book," Quasha says. "Especially about something I liked, and this book really combines my two loves, my dog and making things." Her love for dogs started when she was a child.
"I'm an only child and when I was 6 my parents got me my first dog, Fluffy, which turned into my sibling," she says. "Dogs have always been very important in my life, they are perfect little creatures. And I like to make things, so this book was a perfect fit."
Her creativity and love for crafts she says she owes to her mother, "Growing up my mom and I made a lot of stuff, we knitted, sewed, glued, etc., it began my love of crafting." In her book she successfully combines those two loves, filling the pages with helpful how-to pictures, creative handcrafted projects and fun gift-giving ideas for both dog- and craft-lovers alike.
She recommends crafts that range in both expertise and in expense. Rating the difficulty of each of her crafts on a helpful Dog Difficulty Scale; 1 dog represents an "easy trick" while the highest rating of 3 dogs indicates that it might take some training.
"It's not how difficult, but how long they take, she explains, adding that most children can do her crafts while under the supervision of adults but that her book is "mainly geared towards adults who are either dog-loving crafters, or craft-loving dog people." Some of her crafts incorporate household objects like dog treats, buttons, magazine cut outs and photographs of your dog.
"All crafts are projects I made myself," Quasha says. "Adapting crafts you've seen, but ones I dogified, and also crafts that are unique. I really tried to combine both familiar and unique crafts." Each of her projects incorporates a different dog breed and begins with a personal anecdote from Quasha about her doggy experiences or information about the decoration itself. Plus there are interesting dog factoids and "Breedoids" throughout the book.
One of her craft ideas is the "Paw Print Ornament," which lets you have a walk of fame paw print mold from your dog for decoration. It only has a difficulty rating of one, which means it is the easiest. All you need is, self-drying, spongy "model magic clay" for kids, your dog, an embroidery needle and gold thread. Although Fido Finials may be her favorite, Quasha claims that every craft she makes can be found in her dog-loving home in New York City along with her current dog, Scout, a Bichon. Quasha knew she wanted to be a writer at the early age of 16, when she sold her first article to a local paper. In 1986 she graduated from Greenwich Country Day School, and later attended Boston University.
Then she says, "I worked in publishing for five years - in sales and marketing, in order to write. Which helped me understand the way the business worked, and it came in very handy when I wanted to sell my book."
She has gained a lot of experience after writing numerous children's books for the school and library market. She also was a contributing editor at Pets: Part of the Family magazine and has published dozens of articles in newspapers and magazines, including Dog Fancy, Your Dog, The Chicago Tribune and Health Magazine.
Her mother, Leigh French, still lives in town and remains an active member of the Greenwich community. Quasha's grandfather, Daniel Catlin, who passed away a few months ago, was a doctor for many years at Greenwich Hospital.
Recently Quasha gave birth to daughter, Jenevieve, who is now three months old. Even though she is busy taking care of her new child she says "I would love to do a cat-lovers book of crafts."
In the meantime, she she is writing a few book proposals and focusing on magazine articles.
For more information on "The Dog Lovers Book of Crafts," check out Quasha's Web site at www.dogloverscrafts.com.