Yellow Coat and Paracord Collars
Our January has been cold and rainy--but I'm not complaining, since I know most of the United States is covered in snow and facing difficult weather. In preparation for our rainy winter, I bought Cabana this yellow raincoat at Target a few months ago. My family members scoffed at me when I showed it to them, saying dogs don't NEED raincoats. But she's like a bright ray of sunshine when she wears it, and for that reason alone, it's worth every cent. In this photo, Cabana looks a bit unhappy because she's squinting at me through the raindrops, but she seems to enjoy wearing the raincoat. At least she never protests when I put it on her. Today, she wore her yellow coat over her yellow coat while we walked for two hours in the pouring rain! It was actually kind of fun.
I've been making some paracord collars. Paracord comes in a vast assortment of colors. I purchased mine from this eBay seller. 
Cabana has worn this two-tone collar a few times. That's why, if you look closely, you can see dirt on it. Oops.
But after making the two-tone collar, I realized I prefer the purity and simplicity of a solid color. 
This teal collar is for Amie, and the red one below is for Kona. Both are brindle colored dogs, and I think these bright solid colors will look great on their dark fur. 
If you'd like to try making a collar like these, the instructions can be found on this blog. The instructions are for a bracelet, though, so I doubled the length of the paracord and used a 3/4" buckle and small d-ring. The knotting itself is very quick and easy (20-40 minutes for a collar), but it does take a little practice and sewing knowledge to attach the buckle at the end. 
Also, because these collars are not adjustable, you have to make sure to get an exact fit for your dog. And depending on the tension you use when doing the knotting, the collar can have a lot of "give". The first time I used the collar on Cabana and attached her leash to it, it stretched about 2"! So I had to remove the buckle and "undo" some of it, then sew the buckle back on. But now it fits great.
