The name's Barkley. B-A-R-K... Oh wait, I was so distracted maneuvering my paws on this keyboard that I forgot I'm typing this out 😂
So you can get the picture of how cute and fuzzy I am, I included an obligatory thirst post from my social media @barkleyandwagz where my fluffy bear paws and googley eyes are in full view. I didn't forget to jut out my pearly white underbite either. Being the representative of a pet business, I know how important it is to show off and visit my groomer on the reg, too.
I've been in the field of designing for dog moms and cat ladies since my first birthday pawty 5 years ago. I needed a comfy 100% cotton dog shirt, a first birthday bandana, all the fixin's for the perfect dog themed birthday party, so guess what I did; I made them. That's right, I put my paws together and put all you hand crafted pet boutiques to shame by making paw crafted goods. How clever is that?
I realized I was onto something, wagged my butt ponytail (what is that thing for anyways?), and created an online pet boutique for fur babes and their pawrents: Barkley & Wagz. Fast forward five years later and we've become known for not only our personalized dog tees, announcement signs, and bandanas, but for creating tattoo inspired apparel featuring your dog, cat, or other pets' ears. We're all the things when it comes to dog-centric design and provide top notch customer service since our employees are dog lovers themselves, graphic designers and artists who know the importance of creating pet portraits and handmade goods with love.
So in honor of the first birthday celebration that started it all, I'm going to teach you the fine art of throwing the pawfect pet inspired bash, one that your friends will be so in awe of that they'll pin it on their "Puppy Themed Party" Pinterest boards.
First things first, you must have all your guests wear t-shirts featuring an outline of your dog ears. They don't all have to be the same color, just an eclectic color scheme of mauve, peach, light grey, army green that, put together, makes for an impactful group photo in celebration of you, the best furry friend anyone could ask for.
Next thing's next, whip together a dog bone birthday cake. Love From the Oven has a recipe that they shared for National Spoil Your Dog Day, so it's beyond perfect for this occasion, featuring flavors that are favorites amongst drooly dog pallates: peanut butter, pumpkin, and applesauce.
But wait, I forgot about how you convince your celebrity friends and paw pals to go to your red carpet affair in the first place... Wear a handmade birthday sign advertising your black tie get-together and post it on Facebook, Instagram... everywhere. Don't forget to make your catchy caption as humbly enticing as possible, conjuring up images of parties of the likes of the Hilary Duff and Keanu Reeves (the most likable and down to earth of celebs). You can however make it hashtag heavy: #doghairdontcare #birthdayboy #dogparty #dogsofinstagram. But whatever you do, don't reveal the age you're going to become. Nobody needs to know you're three going on twenty-one in dog years.
Another essential: posting your birthday wish-list. You can totally steal mine if you'd like.
1. A blanket with my picture on it.
2. The Spongebob Squarepants Bark Box
3. A personalized dog ears dog tag and a matching necklace for my fur mom.
4. A plaid knitted dog hat from Chewy.
5. A book lover graphic pillow for dog lovers with me & my mom on it.
6. Literally everything on this Pin Board.
7. A dog friend adopted from Best Friends Animal Society.
Back to the party itself. For the decor, I'm thinking colorful adornments to match your guest's eclectically colored hand drawn dog ears tees. Some of the best inspiration is on this pin board, the essential take-away from this Oprah-esque vision board being that you must wear a cute puppy party hat, a super cool funny dog raglan to spark conversation that advertises how you're NOT a bear but totally look like one, and that you must make your pet pawrent blow up loads of pet themed balloons, no questions asked. There is also the option of advertising your age with a personalized team jersey name & number t-shirt if you don't in fact look like a bear and aren't afraid to be one going on seven.
And now that you have all the ingredients for the pawfect birthday pawty, remember this: it's your party and you can bark at the wind if you want to.
I woof you.
🐾,
Barkley