Dogs, art, and possibly a cup of tea

Sighthound special

2010-03-14T13:07:00.009-04:00

Sighthounds - their elegant looks, their regal holier-than-thou attitude, their amazing speed and agility - it all makes me admire them incredibly. They're so very different from other dogs. So lets feature a few sighthounds that I've painted recently.

Blue brindle Afghan Hound, with a goatee, on a shell with beautiful pastel orange and grey highlights.

tricolor Basenji, showing off his tightly curled tail.

Graceful white Saluki on a fiery red-orange shell.

Italian Greyhound. Isn't it about time I painted more of the breed I love? This shell will be one of the prizes awarded for Best of Breed at the supported Italian Greyhound entry at the Nor'East Toy Dog Cluster, Classic Toy Dog Club of Western Massachusetts on Saturday, May 29th.

This was a custom order of two ex-racing Greyhounds.

Follow us on Facebook!

2010-01-27T22:02:00.002-05:00

Visit us on FB! Become a fan! ShellVergel painted shells on Facebook.

of masked gentlemen, gaggle of jrts, a mysterious cat, and my muses

2009-11-02T22:37:00.007-05:00

Lets revive this place a little. Its been quite a few moons since I last posted and yet my stats tell me that people still occasionally visit this blog, for which I am grateful. Perhaps they wind up here by accident but I know I'd rather stumble onto a live blog than a dead one. So for the sake of those people, and perhaps for those that miss us I figured I'd throw in an update :)

As usual - i've been busy! School, work, a lot of dog shows, and a little painting here and there.

I put two new shells into my shop just today. Here we've got two boys hiding behind masks. Or maybe they're girls, that's really up to the buyer to decide.

Here we have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, a sighthound from Africa that was once used for lion hunting, as the story goes. Man you guys should see how intense Ridgebacks are on the lure coursing field, its amazing. i like this breed a lot.

And here we have a Bullmastiff. Now most of the bullmastiffs I've met have been mushy fools, but my understanding is that they will protect their family with whatever means necessary if the need ever arises.

Oh here's a fun one, I painted a custom kitty not too long ago! Okay it was long ago, but I never blogged Java:

Java is an abyssinian, a beautiful slender red cat with huge jade-colored eyes. He is unfortunately no longer with us and I hope this shell portrait will bring Java's human fond memories.

Oh you guys know what else I did? I painted 20 Jack Russells over the summer. Twenty!

That's a bunch in progress.
Here's one of the finished JRTs:

You can have a look at the whole set, if you'd like. Why on earth did i paint twenty of these guys? They are for the Gulf Coast Jack Russell Terrier Network!

But enough about stuff for others, I've also been busy taking pictures of the skinny boys. Life as muses is demanding stuff!

Catching up - Customs!

2009-05-03T17:35:00.005-04:00

Well, my friend Beth gently reminded me that I have been completely ignoring this blog for the past four months. The shells that were featured as new listings in the last entries have already reached their four month limit on Etsy and have had to been renewed. Seriously, shame on me.

In fact I've been incredibly slow on painting in these months. Schoolwork has kept me occupied and miserable :P

I've had a couple of commissioned portraits to keep me busy though! So I'm gonna show them off :)

This is River and Coyote, two bi-black shelties. They are very, very handsome gentlemen. And they're tough little dogs too - River herds cattle! The photo doesn't really do the shell justice, because here the picture looks a bit warped due to the curvature of the shell, and the flash made the shading look very harsh. But it really came out quite nice.

This is Francesca, a graceful little Italian Greyhound girl. Iggy ears often go in wonky directions throughout the day (my boys can attest to this). But the dogs never seem to notice and continue with their godly attitude. Much like here - Francesca's ear went all funny but she kept a serious look on her face! Silly iggies...

Karen and Yoshi are two brindle greyhounds who are no longer with us. Yoshi was a sweet sensitive boy, and Karen was a bit of a prankster. Unfortunately the shell took a fall and broke. I was able to repair it pretty well, though. Thank you, Gale, for being so patient and understanding!

Now this sweet girl is Cheska, a retriever mix rescue. She has the most beautiful eyes and a lovely sable coat.

Look familiar? Its Cheska again. Her mum decided to get two portraits, showing two different sides of this pretty girl, one serious and one smiley :)

I've also got a pretty exciting custom portrait coming up that I'm just starting to work on. What's exciting about it? Well, it isn't a dog ;) I'll show you guys when its complete. And next I'll feature some shells that I have painted for my shop.

Some day it will be warm again, I have faith!

2009-01-18T20:34:00.009-05:00

So, how are we spending our winter?

oh y'know... desperately waiting for decent weather to return. Desperately. Look at this desperate face...

Soaking any bits of light that come through the window.

To the point where it gets a little pathetic. Irresistably cute. But pathetic.

Plotting to steal the cat food for sport. Props for devouring it all and not getting caught. Hmm...

These feet, they need to run... But they dont want to touch anything too cold.

sigh.

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By the way, if anyone is curious, Anton is feeling much better! His nail is even starting to grow back. All is on its way back to normal.

Patience and paint

2009-01-12T12:23:00.009-05:00

So I hope 2009 has taken a good start for everyone. Its been a little difficult here.

One of the reasons is that Anton has a booboo. Yes, a booboo. He broke one of his nails all the way down to the quick. And he hasn't told anyone so by the time i saw it by randomly trying to cut his nails and seeing a big gaping hole where a nail should have been, it had enough time to get infected. So he's had a hefty dose of antibiotics and a bandaged foot.

He's being very dramatic about it. Like he'll be totally fine but the moment he sees someone looking at him he'll start limping. He's been on antibiotics for a couple of days now and I've been bandaging on and off. We'll be checking progress officially with the vet today.

I also have some new creations. The first I bring to you is a custom portrait of Mickey the mini schnauzer...

He is one of my favorite clients at the grooming shop. I've been grooming him for almost four years now, and he's been one of my favorites since the beginning. He is now a sweet, older gentleman. It was an honour to paint him :)

That's Mickey in real life.
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Last but not least I've got two new shells in my shop that I haven't yet mentioned here. My most recent addition is this Weimaraner:

I just love how silly he looks - sort of like a teenage pup going through an awkward growth stage. Where their ears are huge and their legs are long and they don't know what to do with themselves to coordinate. I'm sure this funny pup will grow into a very handsome adult some day.

The second shell I've got listed is an Australian Cattle Dog. They've got the coolest mottled coats, these dogs. Very smart, trainable and full of energy.

Both shells above are available in my shop, ShellVergel!

Gaggle of new

2008-12-28T23:54:00.009-05:00

Heh I've been aching to sit down and paint for the past month. I haven't been allowing myself due to finals at college. Its really a shame but while everyone was out there promoting to death in December, I was forced to mostly ignore my shop all month. And my last (and most difficult) final was on the 22nd, right before Christmas. Yah.

Now I've got a month off so I'm stepping up to painting again. I've missed it! I bring a bit of a variety...

First up is a puppy German Shorthaired Pointer. I just love the green eyes they have when they're puppies. He is painted on one of the largest shells that I've got. Overall, i think the shell came out quite lovely.

The next is a Tricolor Rough Collie with a sorta smiley expression. I just love how contrasted tricolor collies and shelties look, those tan eyebrows are utterly handsome!

Another tricolor beauty, this is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. These guys typically have a large white blaze on their face, and the large white spot on the forehead it called the "kissing spot". I really love this breed - their tan eyebrows make them look stern but they are some of the happiest dogs I have ever met. Their tails just don't stop wiggling. He is painted on a delicate soft shell clam.

The last one is a shell i painted as a gift. I don't often do this but it was for a secret santa gift exchange at my favorite online forum. Harley is my giftee's heart dog who passed away from cancer last year, and i knew she would appreciate it.

The Harley shell is also my first official ornament. I got the idea from a sale that didn't quite happen. Someone had asked me to make a shell into an ornament and i had to practice by drilling holes in a blank shell. The sale fell through, but i had a shell with holes drilled into it and i had the idea to make what you see above :)

The shells are available for sale at my shop, ShellVergel! With the exception of that last custom girl that was a gift for someone.

Happy holidays, folks

2008-12-26T13:29:00.002-05:00

I'm a little late and my blog has been a little dusty lately, but I just wanted to say that I hope everyone is having a good bunch of holidays this season :)

I'm Hearted!

2008-11-25T23:36:00.002-05:00

It's official! My shop Shell Vergel has reached 200 hearts! I'm glad you like it guys :)

Happy birthday boys!

2008-11-23T13:02:00.008-05:00

Once again, I must apologize for my month-long absence. It has been a rather difficult month for me, with a lot of things going on. Also its been unforgivingly cold outside! I never liked November anyway.

But there is one excellent thing happening in November - Marco and Perry celebrate their second birthday on November 25th! Can you believe it? The skinny boys are two :)

And you know what that means - we need a flood of baby pictures!

They've changed so much. I wish i had a chance to meet them when they were all small and squishy. I met the boys for the first time when they were just a hair younger than six months old and they were almost full grown already. BTW if you want to know who's who in the baby pictures - Perry is the only red puppy and Marco is the only black and white baby with no blaze on his face. He just has a white nose tip, while his other two black and white siblings had a full white stripe.

Just for kicks, here's what the boys looked like when i brought them home! Here they are at the breeder's house at 6 months old...

And here are my stunning gentlemen now...

Happy birthday skinny boys!

Cove, the Wii, and spots!

2008-10-28T23:04:00.006-04:00

A quick mention of a custom portrait I made for Emily of Dreameyce. Meet Cove the catahoula leopard dog, and Kiwi the teeny pretty pit bull!

The shell has undergone some minor alterations to make Kiwi look a bit more like herself. This is a shot of the shell before it was finalized. But you get the idea. The shell looks even better in person, if i say so myself!
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Also, another new shell up in my shop! This is a Dalmatian on a soft shell clam.

I love how he came out. Soft shell clams are a great canvas - their texture is almost paper-like and they're so smooth, they take to paint really well. Alas they're brittle. I coat the back of the soft shell with varnish so that they have a little more strength to them. This guy is on a fairly large soft clam (their size range is different from my typical Atlantic clams, and this guy is one of the bigger ones I've painted).

The dalmatian is available in ShellVergel!

Three English Gentlemen

2008-10-23T01:05:00.006-04:00

I finally got a little painting achieved! I've got a bit of a theme to them! I bring you three gentlemen from England - the English Springer Spaniel, the English Setter and the English Pointer!

Dogs from the British Isles dominate the sporting group, with the pointer, all of the setters, several spaniels and most of the retrievers. They come with boundless energy, loving temperaments and the loveliest, softest eyes :)

English Springer Spaniel.

English Setter.

English Pointer.

As always, you can find these shells and others on ShellVergel.
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Another reminder - if you are interested in getting a custom shell portrait for the holidays, please try to get your order in by Saturday, November 1st.

I miiiight be taking custom orders later in November depending on my school schedule. I will not be painting in December at all, due to preparation for finals, sorry.

So get any custom orders in ASAP please! It can take me up to two weeks to paint a custom portrait, so time counts!

I can hardly believe how pretty they are

2008-10-17T22:08:00.004-04:00

Well I've had a rather difficult two weeks. I had a physics test, followed by two anthropology papers and a microbiology test. I haven't done any new painting. In fact I haven't really accomplished much of anything except some studying.

Except some photography! On Sunday, it was a lovely lovey day and we took the boys to Riis park. Its off season and the park was nearly empty, so we let them have the whole field to themselves to stretch those skinny legs. I convinced my stepdad to bring his falcy SLR camera - its a Nikon D70 - and he let me play with it. I got a couple of pictures that are absolutely phenomenal. Makes me want to borrow that camera a bit more permanently...

Flickr Groomer group

2008-10-11T22:06:00.004-04:00

I have started a new Flickr Group - Groomers! I found a few groups dealing with dog grooming, but either they were not active or they were primarily led by poodle people. And I love poodles with all my heart, but I wanted to form a group focusing on all/any breeds.

It isn't only for professional groomers - bathers, people who groom their pets at home and people who like to take pictures of their pets after they were just groomed are all welcome!

So please come visit, share photos, ask questions, etc :)

Treasured by Pod

2008-10-09T15:39:00.004-04:00

We've been treasured! Hehe its been a while since I've been included in a treasury. In fact I don't remember the last time. But I feel loved - we got two spots in the treasury, no less!

You can visit the treasury right here! Its called "Puppies, Pebbles and Pumps".

A big thank you to PodBeads for including my shells. I highly recommend you check out her shop, her lampwork beads are absolutely marvelous!
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I also wanted to make a note of a new button i added to the side of the blog:

Every time you go to the Animal Rescue Site and click the big purple button, .6 of a bowl of food is donated to feed shelter pets. Clicks add up - visit and click every day. Even more is donated when you buy something from their site. 100% profits from their advertising goes to charity. Its easy and takes only a moment.

Goodbye Piggies

2008-10-05T21:23:00.009-04:00

According to my statistics, the most common search words that bring people to my blog involve some kind of variation of "cup" and "dog". I guess my title is a little misleading - we don't talk tea very often. And the only cups involved are my own. And I never realized how much people liked cups with dogs on them.

Well today we had a cup-related tradegy! My favorite pink piggie mug is unfortunately no longer with us. As I was carrying my mug to the kitchen hoping to refill it with some Lady Grey, Perry was rambunctiously hopping around the bed. And he ran right up to me and smacked the mug out of my hands. Alas the handle came right off and the mug cracked. Oh and whatever bit of tea I had in there spilled too.

Perry took it very hard. In fact after I was done cleaning up the spill, I had to convince him that I still love him.

Meanwhile Marco was like "I am sooooooo not involved in any of this! Not my fault this time, can't blame me!"

So until I find something equally as adorable as the piggie mug, I guess I'll settle on the blue doggie mug. I must say I'm not crazy about it. Those pink piggies made tea taste better.

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My boss gave me permission to set up a shell display at the grooming shop. Rather than donating one of my current shells to the display, I figured I'd make one especially for it. So I painted the Saturday dog staff - Jovani the poodle and Perry and Marco. During the week different employees bring different dogs, but these guys are there on the weekend. Plus I figure it would be pretty cool for people to see the shell and then to turn around and to see Jovani and the IGs right in front of them. Its also a self-advertisement for the custom portraits :P

Its not really "finalized" right now. I want to add more detail to their faces. I'm not super thrilled with how it came out, but it was really a quick portrait.

Here's a vague reference photo of the three of them together. This was a few months ago, so Jovani looks more mature (and he was a little overgrown in this photo, and usually sports neater hair).

Deadline reminder and a very fast dog.

2008-10-01T20:04:00.005-04:00

***I'd like to give another reminder that the deadline for custom portrait orders is November 1st, one month from now. This is if you want the portrait ready by Christmas/Holidays.

If you're thinking about having a custom portrait done, please have the order in as soon as possible! I'll be taking finals in December and the whole month will be pretty much off-limits to painting. So I will be getting custom orders out and done by then.
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I'd also like to give my whippet shell a formal introduction...

I can never go for long before delving into sighthounds again. I adore them to pieces, I do. This is a red masked Whippet. But he can pass for an Italian Greyhound too I suppose. I really love dogs that have a thick clear blaze on their faces. Its my sorta "ideal" facial marking. I love how this dude came out :P

As always, available in my shop, and you can click on it in the promotion box on the right.

Gold trim muzzles

2008-09-29T23:56:00.006-04:00

I'm so thrilled at the great response to my Those vet bills... post. I oversimplified some very complicated stuff an awful lot to try and get my point across without being too too wordy. But several people commented that they learned something and I'm very glad to hear it :) Being able to afford vet care is really something you need to think about while everything is okay. Don't wait for a pet emergency that costs a thousand or more before you think of how you'll be dealing with the cost - chances are you'll be so shocked you'll barely know your name and that is no time to think about fiscal responsibility ;)
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Ahem. Anyway. I promised I'd quit stalling and get to work and i did just that. I bring to you two black and tan beauties. Except one is liver and tan :P

Here's a Rottweiler with a gigentic smile. They're really such goofy dogs, aren't they?

And a liver and tan Doberman Pinscher. Wonderfully sensitive and very intuitive dogs.

Both shells are available in my shop, you can click right on them in the "Shameless Self-Promotion" box on the right to see them :)

Since I was so wordy with the vet bills post I think I'll make up for it by shutting up now :P

Those vet bills...

2008-09-27T20:26:00.013-04:00

Lets talk about something serious for a bit. Vet bills are insanely expensive. Because there is no insurance*(there is but it's different - more on this later) for your animals like people have, there is nothing keeping the veterinary prices in check. Effectively vets have a monopoly and can charge $40 for a nail trim and if you don't have any other options, you're stuck paying it. Nail trims are easy, what about more extensive procedures like vaccinations, sutures, dentals, bloodwork, surgery, emergency care, hospitalization, etc etc etc? The prices get pretty damn awful.

Now I'm not blaming veterinarians here, running a clinic is not cheap. The economy is not having an easy time obviously, prices are rising and vet clinics have to keep up just like any other business.

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to have a plan in mind in case your pet should need unexpected care. Same goes even for routine maintenance - if your pet is healthy enough to only need a visit once a year you might forget how expensive the bill is until you see it in your hands again.

I can give an example from my own experience. One fine morning in February Perry came down with Hemorrhagic gastro-enteritis ("HGE" - blood in the intestines). We rushed him to Animal Medical Center in Manhattan and he wound up staying in the ICU for 24 hours recieving fluids and medication. We have no idea what caused it and it went away as quickly as it came. By the next day when he was home, you'd have never known that the little dog was so sick earlier.

I was hit with a bill for two thousand dollars. I never expected it. What helped me get through was Care Credit. I was approved on the spot and was able to pay the bill with it. The way it works is basically like a credit card. You charge your entire bill to your CareCredit account. And then CareCredit gives you three to six months to pay them off the full price. It is interest free as long as you pay the monthly bills on time. And believe me, it is easier to put two thousand dollars aside over the span of six months than coming up with the money up front. In fact I highly recommend this option.

Last night we took Perry to AMC again (in fact this is my inspiration to write about this topic). He didn't eat all day and in the evening he was hunched over in pain and started to scream. He did it several times within about twenty minutes, so we grabbed him and drove to the hospital. The doctor did not find a thing wrong with him. He was perfectly relaxed and showed no signs of pain. I asked to do an x-ray. The x-ray showed nothing out of the ordinary, no signs of anything. I had the vet go over him once again. Nothing. He was wagging his tail and happy to head out of the hospital. Made a total liar out of me. When we got home, he ran over and ate his brother's dinner and was happy like nothing happened. Apparently he just needed to go for a stroll. I'm glad that it was nothing (he was screaming like his insides were about to implode or something, I swear). But I'm now $300 poorer. With Care Credit, I will be able to make six payments of $50 rather than giving the hospital $300 out of pocket. Still stings but its easier.

Now lets talk insurance. I mentioned before that animals don't get insurance - that's not true. In fact pet health insurance is quite popular in Europe and getting more widespread in the United States. However the way is works is very different from "people insurance". In very basic terms, with health insurance for people you pay a certain amount when you go to a clinic - lets say $25 - and the insurance company covers the rest of the bill. I'm idealizing a bit, but that's the basics. With pet health insurance, you go to the clinic and have your procedures done. You pay the whole bill. Then you send a copy of the bill to the insurance company and they'll decide whether they give you money back or not. Sometimes they cover nearly the whole bill. Sometimes they only give a small fraction and it feels more like a discount than any real help. The coverage you get depends on your package, whether your pet has pre-existing conditions, etc etc.

Sometimes pet health insurance is worth it. Sometimes its not. I've thought about it a lot and personally chose not to go with it for my animals. For the amount of money I'd be spending per month (we have four pets), there is no guarantee how much of the bill they would actually cover, especially in emergency situations. I personally feel that its more efficient to take that amount of money every month and put it away in a seperate bank account where i can reach it whenever necessary.

However, i do urge you to reseach pet insurance to see if perhaps it will fit your situation. The Pet Insurance Review website has everything you want to know about pet health insurance, including people's personal insurance stories. There is a full list of US and Canadian pet insurance companies, as well as the right questions to ask and where to get insurance quotes. The site is not affiliated with any company so they should not have any bias. Read on!

In case you didn'catch them, here are the websites i mentioned, again:
-Care Credit
-The Pet Insurance Review

Happy G-day, skinny!

2008-09-24T20:50:00.004-04:00

Dogs, Art and a cup of tea has been invited to join the DogTime Blog Network. I'm flattered and excited at the same time. i now have a DogTime badge to display!

In other news, I still haven't gotten around to any painting yet. Man, shame on me. But I'm gonna try tonight. I've got a few really spiff shells penciled out and i can't wait to bring them to life.

It also seems like I'll be reformatting my computer very soon because it is just not working properly anymore. I'm trying to find a way to back up 7 gigs of pictures and stuff. I'm thinking I better back it all up fast before there's that final crash where everything dies. Always have a backup plan folks! I've got a year and a half of pictures of my dogs and several years of my cats and fish... and a few other "memory worthy" occasions. I'd be crushed if they were to disappear. So lets make sure it doesn't happen!

and lastly, September 15th was Marco's gotcha day! Everyone congratulate him, the crazy boy has been with me for a year! He is incredibly different from his shy, gentle littermate Perry. Marc wiggles his whole body when he's happy, jumps in your lap whether you want it or not, thinks its funny to piss off the cats, and makes sure to lick every piece of kibble in his bowl before actually eating any. I've never met another dog with so much personality. Happy (belated) gotcha day, skinny boy!

Louis, Personalization, and the Holiday Season

2008-09-09T21:15:00.007-04:00

I've been a little slow on shell-painting, i admit. College has started and there's barely enough time for anything. As usual.

But i did get one custom portrait in. Meet Louis...

Louis is a beautiful happy lab mix. I hear that he always wears a smile on his face.
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Hey have you ever seen something in a shop and thought to yourself "it would be totally perfect if only it had..." Lets say we're talking about the shells in my shop. And you see this shell... and you think to yourself 'that looks totally like my dog, if only his body was all white, or his face didn't have a blaze or whatever else...'

If it was a minor request like a bit of a color change, i would be willing to change the shell and edit it. Now I can't do large alterations like change position, or open a closed mouth, since there is no way i can erase paint off a shell surface. But don't be afraid to ask. I will also gladly write your dog's name on the shell. Well not that gladly - my handwriting isn't as neat as i'd like it to be. But I try my best to get it to look neat. Because lets face it, its one thing to have a portrait that looks like your dog but its totally another to officially dedicate it to them.

Perhaps this isn't for every sort of art, and some artists might not be willing to change a piece by request. But I don't mind at all and will work with you as long as the request is do-able.
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On a last note... it may only be September, but the holiday season will be here sooner than you imagine.

The reason I'm bringing it up is that if you have been thinking of giving someone a custom shell portrait as a gift but have been putting it off for later - get it done now. I'm a college student in my senior year of pre-med and I'll have some serious finals in December. So there will absolutely be no last minute portraits. In fact my last final will be on December 22nd, so you can see I'll really be pressed for time.

As much as I hate to say it, the deadline for custom portraits will be no later than November. As long as you want the portrait to come in time for Christmas or whatever holidays. When I'm in school it can take me two to three weeks to complete a commissioned work due to assignments and tests. And I'll really have to pause any artwork when my finals are coming up. Its unfortunate, I'm not happy about it, but its important that i set this deadline.

So to reiterate - if you would like a custom portrait done in time for the holiday season, the deadline to set up the project and send me photos is by November 1st. After that I may squeeze in projects if i have time, but there is no guarantee that i will have a chance to.

Of course shells that are already in my shop will be available for purchase right up to the last moment.

Dig out the warm clothes - soon you'll need them

2008-09-03T20:39:00.005-04:00

I'm quite sad to see summer leaving in such a hurry. August didn't even end before the weather started getting cooler around here. While its been a change from searing hot to comfortable, and i am actually able to take the dogs for a nice long walk without worrying that they'll burn their feet on the incredibly hot sidewalk, its still disappointing to see summer go. I don't know, for as long as i can remember summer has been my favorite season and has never lasted long enough. Part of it is because i really hate cold weather. I have an incredibly low tolerance for being cold - something my dogs and i agree on. And before I know it, it will be rainy and damp. And maybe even sleet and snow following. Some people are excited by snow but I'll take 90 degree heat instead anyday. Half the time i even forget to turn on the a/c...

And for those of us who have dogs that are not blessed with thick insulating fur, its a good time to start thinking about how you will keep your dogs warm this fall season.

So lets see what interesting dog apparel i can find on Etsy.

Acme Couture features doggie coats that are very stylish. They are also practical - some are made just for the spring or fall and others are for colder days. Coats are custom made to fit your dog's measurements, so the fit is just right.

This fleece design is more familiar to IG/whippet people. It hugs the curves of the sighthound and is incredibly soft and warm. This particular design is brought to you by Warm Whippets, and as the cold weather is rolling in there will be new selection available. This shop particularly caters to Whippets and Italian Greyhounds because unfortunately they have such deep chests and dimensions very different from your typical dogs - and must have clothes custom made in order to fit properly.

warmwags has a slogan that goes "from mini to mighty... keeping dogs warm!" This particular coat is made custom for any large dog. They are fleece on the outside and fully lined with sherpa on the inside so they'll keep the large but shorthaired dog toasty. Warmwags also has a selection of very warm coats for the teeniest toys.

Furkid Fever features a full selection of clothes so that dogs can match, or even outdo their humans. When I say full selection, I mean everything from pajamas to shirts, skirts and full fancy dresses. These clothes are more for fashion and cuteness than for warmth, and they are absolutely adorable. Especially if your toy pup doesn't realize that they're not human. Most clothes are custom made.

D-Lishus--dog dudz features a selection of hand crocheted sweaters for your pup. They can be custom made to your dog's size and have fun yarn accents. Heh even whole sweaters made of fun yarn so that perhaps your dog can feel like they have a mane.

And of course don't forget that Halloween is coming up. SewSweetFinery features some adorable hat/masks so your dog can join in the party fun.

you never know, huh

2008-08-25T16:22:00.007-04:00

I've seen many different client reactions at the grooming salon. When they recieve their dogs back after the groom i mean. I've seen people claim that "this is the best my dog ever looked" after the dog has been getting the same exact shavedown for years. I've seen dogs come in to the shop with cuts and skin problems and the owners claiming that its the groomers' fault. Sometimes owners come in warning the groomers about how aggressive thier dog is and they turn out to be angels on the grooming table. other owners claim that their dog would never bite anyone and then the dog has to be muzzled the entire time in the shop or else we risk appendages. I've seen customers bring in cookies for the whole shop on several occasions. I've gotten tips ranging from six cents (not kidding, just enough for a bazooka gum with a cent left over, lol) to thirty dollars (that's a "holy crap, i feel bad taking it" occasion).

Most clients are very routine. Take back the dog, give them a look-over, pay, tip if they're feeling generous, and go on with their day.

Well this Saturday, all was going routine, I had just groomed my favorite schnauzer, Mickey. He really is a gem - super handsome and a gentleman. He lets me do his nails and everything, lol (schnauzers are notorious for being bad for nails). His owner comes to our shop all the way from Long Island. I'm the only one at our shop who has ever groomed Mickey. It really brightens my day when i work on my favorite clients.

Well Mickey's mum gave me a present!

She makes bracelets and gave me one that she made. She said that even though she made it, it was from Mickey ;) Anyway, i felt totally special. No client has ever given *me* anything tangible. Besides, its so pretty. Its a bit on the girly side for me, but it doesn't matter, it feels special so i'll make it work.

Besdies, if anyone asks me about it, I can tell them that one of my favorite clients made it for me :P

I usually feel underappreciated as a groomer from sour clients who think that i'm out to shave down their dogs regardless of what they want (cough! i mean those that bring in matted wrecks and want just a trim). And those that think grooming is all about playing with puppies and charging a fortune. And by those who think that grooming can't take more than ten minutes so why do we keep the dogs at the shop for hours?

But at times like this its totally worth it. It really means a lot to me :)

Orlando

2008-08-22T23:12:00.002-04:00

I should explain why I've been gone so damn long. I was on vacation. Well... i was away for one week and haven't posted in three weeks which totally makes sense. According to my counter, people have actually still been visiting all the time I've been unheard from. So thank you guys for that.

I spent the week in Orlando, FL with my boyfriend. After a lot of hard work at school and related tasks we both needed a break and sorta booked the vacation on a whim. We visited Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Islands of Adventure, Seaworld and Universal Studios and had a mostly awesome time :)

I sunburned my knees, got splashed by friggin Shamu and bought an awesome straw hat. Alas I'll probably never wear the hat again because i wouldn't be caught dead wearing it in NY. But in Florida i fit in :P

Cool green

2008-08-03T16:55:00.007-04:00

I've got progress on my remodeled room! Again, its mostly why i haven't been posting lately. I've been without a room for over three weeks during the remodel. Hard to find a muse when I'm stuck in the kitchen with my parents walking back and forth. But now the remodel is pretty much complete, only left to obtain the rest of the furniture and to "move back in" :)

That's what I've got so far - polished wood floors, lovely green paint, a new bed, a chair, and a computer desk that isn't in the shot. BTW see if you can find Anton in the picture ;) The blanket is going to change, too, this is my old faithful grey-green comforter. The wall colour is not exactly what i was going for (I was thinking something of a richer shade of green) but I like it a lot and in the afternoon this room practically lights up from all the sun I get. The only drawback is that in incandescent light the paint looks more of a cucumber shade rather than citrusy. But anyway I'm thrilled.

Now i need to move the fishtank back in, get a book case, and I'm thinking of getting a flat TV sort of thing. I was gonna move my old clunky tv back rather than upgrade, since i rarely watch it. But honestly i looooooove how much free space i have right now, so i am thinking of spending a bit more and getting an LCD tv after all, and mounting it on the wall. Decisions!
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I turned 21 on July 22nd. You know you're getting old when you start getting sophisticated gifts! ;)

My boyfreind got me this lovely wishbone necklace from EmilyEJewelry, in white gold. He was a good boy and picked something out of my favorites like I told him to, lol. I LOVE it though :) Its really simple and fancy at the same time. I haven't taken it off since he gave it to me, except to take that picture.
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This wasn't a birthday gift, but it coincidentally arrived almost in time for my birthday :P Its a custom pin of Perry and Marco! My friend Emily from Dreameyce Studio made it herself. I absolutely love it! She captured a great quirky look. Its just not like anything else that I've seen, very different. Made with skill and great detail :) Thank you Emily - its marvelous!
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One last thing...

Is this not the most magnificent face?

For those that will meet their humans again someday

2008-07-24T16:50:00.006-04:00

I started painting shells several years ago. I didn't do anything particular with them yet, just some patterns and designs. I had a bunch of tubes of acrylic paint and a few shells lying around. This was one of the "designs" i made. I even wrote the date in the back - I painted it in 2005. The best part is that in those three years the paint has stayed in perfect condition, so i can vouch for their longevity.

In fact I painted them, tossed them on the very top shelf of my desk and forgot about those shells. And I recently rediscovered them cause i was browsing up there for whatever reason. They were just lying around and i thought let me DO something with them. Naturally i thought of putting a dog in front of the background. And this reminded me of some paintings i have seen of dogs in a heaven scene (complete with wings and halo and clouds). The picture on the right isn't from the painting I'm thinking of, but its a similar idea (by Artwolf on Etsy). And I'm not particularly religious or anything but for some reason I am intrigued by the idea.

So I decided to try a hand at the idea.
I decided to paint a senior beagle, squinting inthe sun. I decided to leave out the wings and halo (of course I can always add them by request :). That way it can still apply to any senior beagle that loves wide open spaces, not necessarily as a memorial or angel-dog.

But I am still thinking of it as a "Rainbow Bridge" piece. A happy dog who's led a long life. Maybe he was happy for every moment of it. Maybe he's dealt with hardships and tough living conditions and people who didn't appreciate him enough. Either way now he's happy and all he is missing is his favorite human.

A different kind of paint

2008-07-17T16:05:00.006-04:00

My apologies once again for the MIA thing. We've been remodelling my room and I have been stressed out beyond belief. Its mostly because my stepdad is doing the remodel entirely on his own, basically on nights and weekends and meanwhile i'm forced to live between the kitchen and my parents room. Now I don't do well in such dormatory situations (I had to quit Stony Btrook and transfer to a local college because i couldn't handle dorm life). I haven't had any time to paint or think or anything in the past week and a half, it seems.

My room's been a few colours over the decades, apparently. White and green and red and blue and bright yellow. I'm thinking of doing a lime/olive green number on it.

So far we've got the floors done, and Anton gave them a test run.
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I did get a few shells painted before the remodel started and i never had a chance to put them up. I'm having a calm quiet day today so I figured that this was a great chance to do so.

Westie, or more formally a west highland white terrier.

And on the other hand i decided to try something new...And came up with a kitty on a soft shell clam. I'm a little weird on it. The angle came out funny and the proportions look funny to me. But its a first. I've painted a kitty before but i never really released it to the public, so to speak. And cats are so... different to paint. They're so curvy and fluid, while I'm used to drawing streamlined and angled animals (ie dogs). But its a start.

And I've got one more shell painted but its extra awesome so i'll be devoting a whole entry to it later.

getting to know Jack

2008-06-29T21:27:00.008-04:00

Seems a lot of you enjoyed the feature on Felted pets. I love them too. If only I could afford one. Or four :P

So I'm back in the painting mood and got a bit done last night while watching Beauty and the Beast. Actually more like listening to Beauty and the Beast - I let random favorite movies play on my laptop in front of me while painting. I focus on the painting but look up on occasion. And sing/say along any lines that i happen to have memorized. Its more lively that way. (psst... what do you guys do to keep the surroundings less quiet while crafting?)

I've always felt so weird painting Jack Russells standing still. It seems to really defy the essence of a breed that never stops moving. So I painted one flying. Okay well not flying, but mid-gallop as they prefer to be.

Actually, thinking back to the first JRT I painted... he wasn't really standing still either.

This guy was rolling around and being a silly puppy. This was one of my earlier shells that sold several months ago. Its fun to note changes in my style. I must have painted him in January (when i officially started the painted shell 'business'). I was experimenting with poses and the colours that i outlined the dogs with. I am still learning shading with acrylic paint, but it was something i really didn't have a handle over then. I also used any random shells, whereas right now I try to use ones that have the most even surfaces. Yep, you live, you learn. To be fair, i used to price my shells a lot more generously in my more rudimentary days.

Here's a more recent Jack Russell I painted, another shell that sold. This is the only JRT I have painted that's actually standing still. And honestly i've never liked this shell, it feels very awkward and unnatural. But someone else liked it obviously, so at least it has some merit.

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And here is another shell I painted last night - only it is not going into my shop. It will be a gift for someone that i promised to give a shell to probably two months ago. Hopefully she won't think that i have forgotten about her!

I tried something different and painted the background a bit of blue. Actually a lot of blue. I normally prefer to rely on the background of the shell itself, but this one was stark bleach white and looked like something was missing. I'm not sure about how i feel about the blueness. Its an experiment.

Felted pets.

2008-06-26T19:47:00.011-04:00

Hey its been a while since i did a feature of stuff I found on Etsy. I don't have any new art to show you, so lets talk about the art of others :)

Lets talk about needle felting. More specifically, needle felted sculptures. I've heard of felted hats and bags and stuff, that's easy. But until I came to Etsy, I have never heard of needle felted sculptures. It turns out that a handful of etsians specialize in needle felted sculptures of pets - many will even make custom sculptures of your pets.

Let me start by saying that this is an art that I really know absolutely nothing about (hell, i don't even know how to knit besides "knit" and "purl"). But from what i gather, this is a process of carefully matting yarn into specific shape and texture with the use of a needle. Needle Felted sculptures are not cheap and this is because they require a lot of time and skill to make. I admire needle felters a lot - I have seen a lot of magnificent pet sculptures on Etsy :)
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This lovely Pomeranian in full coat comes from Gfelted made by Gerry. The fur texture is amazingly realistic-looking (and I'm a groomer, I can tell ;). Gerry has a huge range of dog breeds in her shop, with all sorts of fur textures, from silky to double coated to wiry to corded. The little Chinese Crested on the right shows a combination of smoothness and silkyness. Wonderful skill! and of course... I just had to include this last one - and Italian Greyhound! I'm in love! Definitely click on these pictures and see a larger version to see the detail!

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Amelia of Amelia Makes Art makes felted sculptures in a very different style. Those big expressive eyes are felted along with the rest of the sculpture. I particularly love how she handles patterned coats, such as this brindle puppy below... Most of Amelia's work is custom and these are examples of dogs based on other people's pets! Pet sculptures are not the only thing in her shop - she's also got felted soap, paintings and prints of her artwork, as well as commissioned pet portraits.

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Kay of KaysK9s makes keychains with the felted portrait of your pet. The details in the face are amazing. She also has a vegan options, for those that are allergic or do not wish to use animal fibers but still want one of these amazing sculptures.

Kay also makes full body wool sculptures, brooches, pins, and adorable cards and magnets featuring lovely photographs of her sculptures.

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Like I said, I am totally in awe of their talent. There are many other needle felters on Etsy - and not all of them focus on pets - search for it. They are an amazing gift for a fellow pet lover, or for yourself. And a wonderful tribute to pets that are no longer with us.

full schedule

2008-06-24T22:05:00.007-04:00

I was on a roll, posting new shells often over the last two or three weeks... That sort of thing never lasts, does it? Alas, I've gotten caught up.

In the last week or so I've been subject to...

An art history exam. Got a nice 97.

Shakespeare in the Park - we saw Hamlet (my favorite Shakespeare play ever!!) and it was absolutely magnificent. The graphic on the left is sorta tacky though. Not that i took that photo or it was actually there, i found it online.

Attended a dog show in Staten Island... Perry was chosen as Best of Opposite Sex and took 2 points. Marco took Reserve and was behaved superbly.

We took a brief trip to the beach to let the dogs celebrate their good job in the ring...

And now I'm working on nursing an iggy with a very upset stomach (probably due to his chewing up a linoleum tile).

...on top of all that, you can add in work, class, volunteering, paying attention to the boyfriend, cleaning the house, and feeling totally under the weather due to the unfortunate consequences than come with being endowed with "girly parts".

As you can see I've had my hands full. I've barely even had time or interest to check Etsy too thoroughly. And all of yesterday, I was on the Our Dogs Online forums, trying to figure out what would soothe Perry's stomach... He seems to be doing sorta alright now, fingers crossed that he continues this way.

But anyway, just for show and tell, here's a fun picture that i drew a few years ago :P

the latest

2008-06-19T22:54:00.003-04:00

Kingston's mom sent me a picture of him posing next to his shell. What a cute smile he has! I just love seeing photos of the shells' new niches.
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I took this picture of Perry a few days ago and I'm just absolutely amazed...

pb6
Originally uploaded by ShellVergel

I am so in love with this dog - he is one of the most beautiful dogs I've ever seen! I'm thrilled with how clear and pretty this shot came out, too (click to see it bigger). It would be perfect if his back leg was a liiiiitle further. But i didn't want to touch him or I'd lose his gorgeous pose.

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horseshoe crab congregations
Originally uploaded by ShellVergel

Just a fun note - its Horseshoe crab spawning season. The other day we were at the beach and met just the hugest populations all coming out on the shore to spawn and hang out. It was a high tide and a full moon later that night, and i think that's their spawn trigger.

PS - if you ever see an overturned horseshoe crab on its back, make sure to turn it over! Otherwise if the tide leaves, they will be stranded and will die either from seagull attack, or from drying out. They can't hurt you, so don't be afraid to help them out.

Marketing and volunteering

2008-06-16T20:35:00.006-04:00

So a couple of new things. First, I spontaneously decided to get rid of my .com site and redirect it to my Etsy shop.

So now http://shellvergel.com = http://shellvergel.etsy.com

I did it cause mostly shellvergel.com was useless. I made it before i had an Etsy shop. And I was just too lazy to update it with the new shells and pictures and whatever. I've got Flickr for a gallery. I've got this blog to let everyone know what I'm doing and what's going on with my works. And I've got an Etsy shop... where i can actually sell stuff. The .com was useless.

But i have six more months of hosting, an extra email address and the .com is printed on hundreds of business cards. Shame to let it go to waste. So with the help of a little html, I just made it so that it automatically redirects. Now I won't have to tell people "go to this address, not that one" when handing them business cards. Not everyone knows what Etsy is obviously, so this will save me time on explanations on why I want them to go straight to my shop, not to the .com.

If you have a domain you want to redirect to your own shop, have a look right here.
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Moving on! We've got some new shells done!

This wrinkly dude is in my shop now:

He's a happy English bulldog. I've been painting a lot of smiling dogs lately. I like it - doggie smiles are much easier to capture in paint than people smiles, for one thing. This guy's painted on a hard clam, which is super sturdy and can probably survive a fall or child or two (not that that's a guarantee, but just saying).

And we have a custom shell - featuring an inscription!

Kingston is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi - another happy smiley guy. And, man, I love how he came out. I had no idea I could paint like this. I'm seriously thrilled :) I know, I'm so humble... The inscription was a request from his owner. Its the first time I tried something like that. I never offered to caption pictures... because doG did not bless me with penmanship at all. But the owner asked and I couldn't say no (are we seeing a pattern here?). I tried super hard to stay neat, though, and the letters came out okay. So yah. super proud cause sometimes I just need to be.
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I found me a volunteering gig. Today was my first day helping out at Animal Haven at their SoHo location. Technically I need some hours volunteering for my Vet school application. But I also do want to help out, I'm not a totally bad person after all. The SoHo location is a very small facility, they've got about five dogs and maybe 15 cats. The dogs have little "corrals" and the cats have two rooms where they all hang out. They also have a boutique storefront whose proceeds go to help sustain the facility. I spent some time walking Mollee all around SoHo (and getting to know the town cause i don't know that area of Manhattan at all):

and some other pups. Walking big dogs is definitely a change from my 13 lb guys :P got some good exercise out of it too...

Taste test and a golden smile

2008-06-10T22:29:00.003-04:00

1June 9 200
Originally uploaded by Emily / DreamEyce

Here is Traum and Galaxy with their shell portrait! Traum loved it right away ;) Then he was a little disappointed when he was told it wasn't food...

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I managed to get yet another shell up and ready!

And I must say... I'm very happy with this one. Golden Retrievers have such charming smiles, don't they? I'm the first to say that "a golden is not my sort of dog" - when when you see them smile, you can see why people just can't resist them!
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And just for fun, here's some Marco and Perry bliss because its been a while since we last saw them!

We've been having a heatwave, so the beach has been a lifesaver, both for a breeze and coller temperatures and unlimited zoomies :)

doggie enthusiasm

2008-06-08T22:32:00.003-04:00

I finally had a sale to encourage me into painting again :) There is definitely something special about the plain regular sales on etsy. I mean the non-custom kind. The ones that come by surprise. Even when I'm not doing any major promoting.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying custom work, now that I'm beginning to get into it. They let me really connect with the buyer and get to know the dogs I'm painting. And they always get such an enthusiastic response, and it feels great to know that i created something that the person will cherish for a long long time.

But just to log on to Etsy and see that i suddenly have less items listed (and i didn't just forget to hit 'finish' after editing a listing)... Its like a treat.
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Anyway,I did get around to doing some painting and this is my newest gem - a german shepherd:

I've got split opinions on this one. Shepherds are *hard* to paint! They're pretty dogs, but they're so... complicated. Its mostly the sable markings that threw me off.
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In other news - I got a treasury again! Its called "Pit Bullies" - guess what its about ;)

click click click click click!
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I saved the best bit for last!

Lulu's shell in bathroom
Originally uploaded by kooky2

Remember my portrait of Lulubelle? Tricia sent me a photo of the shell in its new lodgings - her marine themed bathroom. I love what she's done with it, the shell fits in perfectly!

snort snort... sizzle

2008-06-02T16:28:00.008-04:00

Friggin finally! I've got something new in my shop! Custom orders aside, its been forever since i listed a new shell in my shop.

And today I'm devoting it to the push-faced breeds. Behold - a pug and a frenchie :)

Man, those wrinkles are a challenge! Easy to outline, not easy to shade. I think her ears look a little funny, but overall I like how this chick came out :) She's got that "innocent" look on her face that all pugs master because they want whatever you're eating.

And this is the french bulldog. He's got such a serious look on his face. I think he needs a name. I'll call him "Robert".

What's cool about this shell is that its got some cool weathering. The upper left corner of it has a whole lot of teeny little holes. Who knows what this clam went through in life. Realistically those pores probably appeared as the shell aged, long after the clam was no longer attached to it. But anyway its pretty cool.

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subject change - i've realized something odd about Etsians. They apparently love crochet bacon. Yes that's right. Crochet bacon. Its the most necessary thing I have ever heard of, lol.

but really, for fun, do a search in the handmade category of "crochet bacon". A whole number of pieces will show up.

Here is an "economy" priced bacon piece by yummypancake. Yes, you CAN shop for your crochet bacon by price, lol.

spidercamp makes a simple yet elite crochet bacon slice, aptly titled "Pocket Bacon, Seriously the Dumbest Thing I Have Ever Made But You Guys Seem to Like It".

Now if you REALLY love bacon, you might want to wear it! reddhynes makes that possible with this "kosher and vegan friendly" bacon wristband!

If wristbands are not your thing, you might want to try a scarf! reddhynes makes this option available to you!

But if you're gonna wear bacon, you might as well go all out and include eggs and toast. This set comes with a bacon scarf, an egg hat and a toast bag. worthysoycandles brings you this whole set that is totally customizable. Have breakfast your way. ...on you. And I mean that in a very somber literal sense.

I saved the best for last. Its the crochet plushie creepy breakfast monster by yummypancake! He's got a toast body, an egg head, sausage arms and of course bacon legs! Alas, no syrup is included with this guy.

I find this all very strange, somehow. The need to wear bacon. Or to have a piece of crocet bacon just sitting there. I prefer... edible bacon. But uhhhh not judging anyone here. I found those pieces very amusing :P

Those custom orders i was so worried about

2008-05-29T22:08:00.008-04:00

So I got my second two custom orders finished. Hey this is getting pretty exciting! Its sorta fun showing people how you interpreted the pictures of their pets onto the shell. Even more fun when they love what you've done with it :D

This is Lulubelle, a beautiful beagle/basset girl :) She has a very expressive face and i tried to capture her in a curious head tilt.

Now her owner happens to live in Canada. I just realized that at the last moment as i was I was packing the shell up. I've never sent to Canada before. I hope its not incredibly expensive. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

This trio is Teegan, Maggie, and K9 - three happy rescues! This is gonna be a gift from a friend to the owner of these three guys. I hope she likes it :)

I've acutlly noticed that a lot about my shells, more people but them as gifts than for themselves. I can't blame them, its a pretty interesting gift if i say so myself :P

Now if i could just paint some regular shells just for my shop... I've been meaning to for like two monts now. Speaking of which, that was the last time i had a regular sale in my shop. Meaning not custom, not reserved listing - just someone finding something in my shop and actually buying it. Sigh. I'm gonna paint a pug shell - anything pug related seems to be well loved. right?

Happy Gotcha Day, Perry!

2008-05-27T22:26:00.009-04:00

I can't believe it skinny man, you've been with us for a year!

Spring semester last year I began to obsess with Italian Greyhounds. I got in contact with the only IG breeder who actually spoke to me - she happened to have some 6 month old puppies at the time when i was looking to add an adolescent dog into my household. It was Perry (aka JJ) and two littermates Hope and Trouble (now Marco). Perry was the quiet calm one. The one who would rather sit on your lap then run with the others. Somehow the less active puppy didn't seem as enticing as the crazy active ones at the time. But this is the one that the breeder felt should go home with me and i trusted her decision. I was just happy to get a great dog from a great breeder. Hey, who knew that i'd bring the other littermate home in a couple of months anyway?

Perry was the perfect puppy at home, aside from some light chewing. And shyness outdoors. He was scared to death of the cats for the first week or so, because never having seen a dog inthe apartment before, they were only interested in giving him dirty looks. Anton followed Perry around for the first month. In his first few days with us, Perry once wandered into the bathroom. and Anton followed him and sat down in the doorway. Suddenly I hear Perry crying. He was trapped in the bathroom because he was afraid to pass by the 'scary' staring kitty. hehe, sissy boy...

Seems like its been such a long year - we've been through a lot! Work at the grooming shop, show classes, beach days, reintroduction to Marco, a fear-pooping stage, "i hate food" stages, hospitalization, an addison's disease scare, obedience class, our first shows, our first points, tons of dog friends... I have learned that I suck as a dog trainer, too

I adore this little red dog. I think he is just about the cutest thing that ever lived, especially when he randomly playbows to huge confused dogs. I think the breeder was right - he is totally heartdog :)

'awesomeness' treasury

2008-05-25T17:14:00.004-04:00

I made my first treasury! omg omg omg! I've always wanted to catch one and never had the chance. And someone in the help forum posted that the treasury would be clearing soon. So I checked in just in case and the list was at 335. And then the title thing showed up. So of course I typed in "awesomeness" cause i wasn't sure what i'd do with a treasury if i caught one. I was all excited so i hurried without thinking cause i didn't want to miss the chance :P

Of course it had to be dog stuff.

It turned out mostly into dog paintings and prints. I think i found a nice collection!

CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK!!

...sorry, got a little excited :P

long day at work

2008-05-23T21:51:00.007-04:00

Ehhhhh its one of those days. One where nothing goes particularly right. I volunteered to work and extra day this week (today) because a coworker was recently hospitalized and is in no shape to groom. I did it as a favor for my boss, not a favor for him. But none the less.

Anyway, horrible horrible dogs all day at work today. No one cooperated. It wasn't just for me, the other groomers were having crazy dogs too. I mean i survived, albeit a little scratched up by a poodle and bitten by a maltese. The best dog of my day was a Westie - what are the chances? The Westies... they're incredibly cute but if i never had to groom one again, I'd be just fine :P Sure there are a couple of good ones out there. But when a Westie is bad, he's BAD.

and the best part if that I get to go back tomorrow! :P

I'm gonna get back to my "Groomer Answers" series in a few days. I got some good questions lined up, I think it'll be interesting.

but for now, I'm trying to get those custom orders out of the way. Hopefully after that I'll have a chance to just paint whatever I want. I'm very excited to do them actually. Its challenging but fun.

This is my first - Cardigan Welsh Corgis, Traum and Galaxy for Emily. I might have to adjust it, but this is what I got so far :P I'm all excited to show it off!

Dogs and the "musical fruit"

2008-05-19T18:31:00.004-04:00

NOTE to self! No matter how much the dogs love chickpeas... No matter how much they beg me for them. No matter how much of a healthy alternative chickpeas are to various other treats... Do NOT overfeed dogs with chickpeas.

chickpeas are, in fact, in the legume/bean family. You know that stupid kid rhyme "beans, beans, the musical fruit. the more you eat, the more you toot." Well the dogs are tooting away. And normally I wouldn't care but they're insisting on sitting right by me as I'm trying to study for that last final... I'm just about dying here... Its too cold to open a window!

/immature

7 Facts you may or may not know about me

2008-05-18T21:16:00.005-04:00

Hello you have been tagged blog buddy!

You know the drill, 7 obscure facts, tag 7 people.

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

I've been put up to this by Organidog. I think i should do this quickly now, or I'll forget. and that would suck. Lets see what I can think of that's interesting! Or at least weird...

1. I cannot tolerate chewing noises and people who chew with their mouth open. I'll give dirty looks to strangers loudly eating around me - I don't even try to, it just happens. I also instruct the boyfriend to close his mouth when he forgets.

2. When i was little I thought that clouds were made of snow. So snow is little pieces of cloud falling.

3. Major fear of needles and having blood drawn intravenously. Last time I had blood taken from my vein i was 12 and i nearly fainted cause I couldn't look away and I was so fixated that i started to black out. I'm fine with animal blood though (and hence am in pre-vet, right?)

4. I. LOVE. chickpeas. I could eat them instead of junk food. Matter of fact, I do. Hummus is another favorite.

5. I get very upset when I hear music through other people's headphones on the train. They're meant to supply music to your HEAD, not to your viscinity.

6. I go through several cups of tea a day. My favorite tea in the world is Twinnings Lady Grey, followed by Oolong.

7. I'm a groomer (and a major dog person overall) and I just wrote the first two parts of the Groomer Answers, answering questions that people asked me about anything relating to the grooming process. You should read it, its right below :)

Now then! Who do i tag? Hmmmm....
*A Muted Palette
*Needle Tatting and Other Nonsense
*Tatsuko: paper, polymer, & ponderings
*Taste the floor of my little underground
*Weirdbuglady
*The Mum and the Rose
*Elegant Snobbery

The Groomer Answers! Part 2

2008-05-17T22:02:00.012-04:00

After a long day of work my brain is too fried to study Biology right now. So I'll take this chance to answer more questions that you guys have about grooming! The response to this article has been great thus far, a bunch of you found it interesting and educational. Lets keep it going :)

SusanLandia wants to know - I wonder if all the hair that comes off of my dog when I brush her (wads and wads and wads) can be recycled.

Yes it certainly can! You can spin it into yarn and knit stuff with it. Yarn from dog hair (PS Cat hair works too) is called "chiengora", and is considered extremely warm. It can be a great tribute to your dog, and can last for years so it can commemorate dogs that are no longer with you. There are even shops on Etsy that offer to spin the yarn for you. Another pet hair spinner. SpinningStraw and Spaz Spun are the shop names, for reference if the listings ever become unavailable.

Here's another idea for recycling dog hair - making it available for birds to use in their nests. NatureNut makes special baskets that you can stuff with dog or cat hair (she also has ones premade with yarn and other stuff). You hang them on a tree, and birds should find them and take the hair to patch up their nests. If i ever move to a less urban area, this is definitely something I'll try (we don't have much exciting bird life in my neck of the woods - its a concrete jungle).

sudiosu asks - I can't get rid of the purple stuff that comes from my bichon's eyes. I have tried to use the solutions found at pet stores, but he hates it. I don't get it in his eyes, but does it sting the skin?

What you're talking about is called tear stain. Its a combination of tears and eye boogers that stain the hair by the eyes brick-red due to moisture and bacterial growth. On some dogs its so severe that nearly the whole face turns that colour.

Essentially before you can effectively attack it, you have to understand why your dog has overactive tear glands. Often this is something genetic (as in the shape of the tear duct itself, which may be naturally small and prone to blockage). It can be very stubborn to treat - i've seen many dogs in the show ring with stained faces, and you know that they're trying everything they can to clear that up on show dogs, yet with no avail. One possible cause is blocked tear ducts. This can supposedly be alleviated by rubbing the area by the corner of the eyes. The gentle pressure can help empty the ducts. If you try rubbing the nose bridge between the eyes and it helps, then keep doing it daily and slowly it should help. Another possibility is ingrown hairs and irritation - this is for Shih Tzu owners in particular, because their hair grows in all directions on the face, including right into the eyes. Irritation to the eyes will cause tears to flow in an attempt to flush out the irritant. So if the hair in the dog's eyes is getting bushy, its time for another trip to the groomers (even if your dog is not due for a full haircut, most groomers will be happy to just do the face for a few bucks).

The last and probably most common cause of tear stained eyes is bacteria. Sometimes bacteria will set up lodging in the tear ducts (remember, its a moist warm environment). Especially if your dogs eyes smell - it could be yeast. This is usually best treated internally. I have had success controlling yeast in my dog Perry's eyes and ears with acidophilus. He has always had a very mild case of yeast, just a slight odor, no discharge. I add a teeny bit of acidophilus powder to his food. This is the same bacteria that is found in yogurt that is all the rage now, except in much higher and more effective concentration. Acidophilus helps digestion and absorption of food, and it eats up extra sugar in the body that would otherwise feed the yeast. Women take note, acidophilus is also the #1 recommended supplement in the case of ladies' yeasties too ;)

One more thing, one more thing! A commercial solution for tear stain is Tylan powder - a mild antibiotic. It is available for sale as Angel Eyes. It is stronger than acidophilus and will probably have better and more visible results. Personally I have no intentions of feeding my dogs an antibiotic on a daily basis, I prefer to manage it more naturally. By the way, read the ingredients in your dog's food, they may be contributing to stain. Any red food or treats contain the dye Red #40, and it will make the red tear stain a brighter red! Also, if corn is in one of the top 3 ingredients, there may be a bit too much sugar in your dog's diet (see yeast-related comment above). BTW! Any wipes that you can buy on the market are probably a total waste of money. They are "supposed" to remove the redness of the hair that is already stained by bleaching it. But they're usually very weak, not effective, and don't treat the root of the problem.

...wow that got wordy. Sorry, people. Its just a very common question, and there are so many things to consider!

wingnut asks - You know that black discoloration that small dogs like yorkies and westies can get on their stomachs? My chihuahua is starting to get that. I went to a groomer's convention about 18 months ago, and someone said to use Sargent's ear cleaner or anything alcohol based on it, but he's got sensitive skin. Is there another alternative to that?

Well you've stumped me. I have no clue. I think I can visualize what you're talking about - skin turning darker on the belly of some older small dogs. But I've never worked on removing it. What I'm thinking of is pigmentation that comes out with age, you can't wash away pigment. But what you're talking about sounds like a discharge or residue, maybe a greasy residue that has picked up dirt over time and has become black. If it really bothers you, i'd say spot-test the alcohol method. Dip a cotton ball and apply it to only a small patch of skin. See if it cleans it off. And depending on whether your dog gets irritated, you can judge whether to go on and try to get it all off. And every dog has very sensitive skin on the belly, its a common spot for irritation. If you try this method and your dog's skin does get red or rashy, some baby or medicated powder will soothe it.

stawhousebooks mentioned - Another message to convey in your blog (and based on other posts I've seen from you I expect you're of the same opinion) is that grooming is not simply aesthetic. There are health and quality-of-life issues behind grooming.

Yes, absolutely! Getting your dog groomed is not all about having him look pretty and smell nice. Its also taking care of his skin and mentality. Letting a dog get a bit dirty once in a while is no big deal. Dogs love to roll around in all sorts of filth, after all, it seems to make them happy to smell like horse poop and dead fish, lol. But letting the dog's coat get all sorts of mats is a different matter. Mats tighten and start to pull on the dog's skin providing constant irritating pressure. They can also trap moisture and become a breeding ground for fungus and bacteria - I'm not kidding. Mats can hide ticks and fleas - if you can't see down to the your dog's skin when you part the hair, you don't know what might be crawling underneath. Mats can also lead to hotspots - when a dog chews itself raw trying to get rid of an irritating mat, and the raw skin gets infected and full of (very smelly) pus. Mats will also absorb anything - like urine or rainwater or mud - and keep the absorbed stuff next to the skin. And trying to wash a matted dog will only make matters worse, the mats tighten as they dry (think of washing a wool sweater only to have it become felted and shrink to half its size), and they may take a long time to dry irritating skin even more. And if what I listed still doesn't sound convincing, imagine yourself in a dog's position, trying to itch raw skin that you can't get to because there's a huge mat in the way. There is NO excuses to let your dog get into such condition. See the dog in the picture? Neglect.

Of course its not only about mats and coat condition. It is very important to clear the area in front of your dog's eyes (remember my long ramble about tear stain?). This is mainly for dogs that have long hair on their faces, again. Ears need cleaning. Its amazing how many people don't realize when their dogs have ear infections, some people just assume that its natural for a dog's face to smell "because he licks his butt". Often dog groomers catch medical conditions, such as some warts, tumors, hot spots, or infections that the owners never realized were even there. It is also important to shave or at least clean butts, sanitary areas, and paw pads to make sure your pet is comfortable.

Another important aspect to keep track of is nails! If nails get too long they will seriously inhibit your dog's ability to walk. Or rather they will still walk, but it'll be more difficult because their feet will splay and they'll have to move funny to make up for it. In the long run this can lead to arthritic development and just a lot of pain. Also older dogs that are already in pain will really have a challenge moving anywhere with talons growing from their feet. Another reason to clip often? Nails that are allowed to grow for months will eventually curl over... and grow into a circle. Right into the pad. Man, that has to HURT! Sometimes when we remove a "macaroni nail" from the pad, the pad will start bleeding because the nail had grown so far into the tissue that it became embedded. At least once a month, let your pet have a manicure. If your dog is good for nails, you can do it yourself with a nail clipper and a nail file. If you can't handle your dog when it comes to nail clipping, groomers and vets' offices will gladly do it for a few bucks.

You see, people, its not all about the aesthetics! There is some serious health involved in grooming. And having your dog groomed is very important for their morale, too. First of all, bringing them to a grooming shop often will help socialize them and get them used to being touched, being around other dogs, people, noise... Second, its amazing to see the attitude changes when a "matted wreck" is shaved down to reveal a dog under the hair. Dogs often feel sooooooo much better not to have mats pulling at their skin, to and finally feel a breeze, to be clean from dirt and grime. Sometimes you really see a spark come to their eye as you're peeling mats and brushing out tangles. I'm serious!

okay last question for today!

strawhousebooks asked - How long have you been a groomer?

I've been grooming for three years now. A little more if you include grooming school. I graduated from the New York School of Dog Grooming when I was 17 and a couple of months later I landed a Saturday job. This was the the Dog and Cat House in queens, where I still work. The neighborhood is a little shabby and a very large part of our clientele are "neglect cases" - dogs that are only groomed two to four times a year. Its unfortunate. But I have learned a lot from this, especially ways in which such neglect can affect dogs (see rant above). I also have wrestled my share of bad dogs and am able to handle nearly any dog and get them done. I don't intend to groom forever... hmm maybe I do. I would love to have my own shop some day, but I would only work there part time, and have my main focus in other venues. This work is fun and rewarding but I have a hard time working more than twice a week (partly due to a hectic environment). I would also love to move on to Manhattan and groom city dogs, where there is a wider range of breeds and dogs that are well-kept, so I can focus on scissoring technique and really making dogs look great, rather than manageable. Not that I'm a bad groomer now, but I know where i can improve :P
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wow that got long! Now tune in for part 3 where we will discuss vaccinations and stuff. Watch for it in a couple of days. btw if you've got questions, do not hesitate to ask, I'll add them to my list :)

The Groomer Answers! Part 1

2008-05-14T21:55:00.012-04:00

I got a pretty nice response - both in comments here and in the Etsy forums. Lets see what I can come up with!

taleri wanted to know - How do they get all that extra fur out of my dogs double coat?

Groomers have a couple of methods! Primary is a number of different brushes - rakes, slickers, combs, shedding blades - whatever is right for the coat. A recent development is the Furminator - what groomers refer to as the "#40 blade with a handle". Its a super-fine tooth comb that grabs undercoat - and can pull out tons and tons. They are available for purchase for dog owners, they're not cheap but they are worth it. There are also "furminator" treatments that some grooming shops offer, including a furminator brushout with furminator brand shampoo and conditioner. Another trick we have - velocity dryers. Power dryers have so much force to them that they blow water right off the coat, and they will blow clouds of dead coat out. The bathing area in a shop can be downright scary if a golden retriever has just come through ;)

taleri also asked - Also, why dont all groomers wash the dogs belly? I've had her come back greasy and dirty before on her tummy when her top half was shiny clean.

There can be several reasons! First of all, your Etsy avatar is a Corgi (I assume that's the dog in question) - they have really short legs and it is physically hard for the bather to clean the belly area. The bather has to bend down really low to get to it (it gets really painful after a few minutes, major back pain). I'm sure they do their best. My suggestion is to mention it next time you bring your pup in and hopefully they'll pay extra attention.

There can be other reasons though. Elderly dogs often have trouble standing up in the tub, which makes it difficult to clean and dry the stomach and rear thoroughly. We try to keep the dog as comfortable and pain-free as possible and sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Its MUCH more difficult for the dog and the groomer if the pet is older and overweight (holding up an older/injured/fat dog in a tub gets difficult quickly). Also - some dogs realy flip out when some body parts are touched. Some dogs flip out for their face touched (a lot!). Some flip out for belly and "sanitary" areas. If a dog is not regularly brushed at home, chances are they will really stress out when it is done at the grooming shop. You can think of it like dealing with someone else's child who is totally unreasonable about something - in that case you do your best and get it over with.

Don't get me wrong, most grooming shops strive for perfection. But since you can't reason with a dog, sometimes you have to live with the best that you can do without doing harm.

babylyons wanted to know - How often do you get bit? what do you do if you get bit?

Honestly, not very often! In my three years grooming, a couple of dogs have bitten me and drew blood but usually it was a result of their teeth scraping me. I have been lucky never to have been severely bitten. Its really a horror when a groomer gets bit "seriously" because due to murphy's law they usually get bit on the hand that they use to work. And then they're out of work for days, weeks, or months, depending on how severe it is. Most groomers don't get benefits and only work on commission, so no work = no money. Getting a bad dog bite is really a horror.

But what I do when i get minor bites is clench my teeth, curse, and keep working. The anger wears off and so does the swelling. Sometimes its my own fault for trusting a questionable dog a little too much. Sometimes i wasn't doing anything wrong and the dog decided to be an asshat and bites when I'm not expecting it. Also i can often go for months without being bitten, and then i'll get three bites in one day to mar that good record.

Diana wanted to know - How do you handle it if a male dog gets all hump crazy?

Standing up. Usually the only way to avoid getting humped is to stand up while grooming a crazy male. That way your free arm is harder for them to reach and latch on to. Also standing over them gives some illusion of your dominance. These are dogs i usually want to groom as quickly as possible because they just get worse as more humpy as the groom goes on. Buggers don't get tired. And to answer your next question - yes, I've had some dogs get so turned on that they hump the air and "finish".

(btw that's Marco bugging my boss's dog when he was an 8 week old puppy)

Diana also asked - Are there any dogs that you just can't make smell good?

Absolutely! Some dogs have skin issues that reguar shampoo just doesn't take care of. Some dogs have impacted anal glands and their butt smells horrible, no shampoo or perfume will cover the smell. We don't take care of (ie. empty) anal glands at our shop, because it is only legal for it to be performed at the vet's office, as far as I know. Another thing, dogs with infected gums and teeth often have "corpse breath" whenever they breathe through their mouth. Perfume and shampoo doesn't help that either, only a dental cleaning and extractions and antibiotics can. Finally, some older dogs tend to have a very strong odor that just won't wash out.

Diana - Aren't Bostons just the best dogs in the world? :) :) :)

They're definitely up there :)

missfire wants to know - Do you do cats? How on earth do you hold them still? Do groomers actually bathe cats? Like, with water?

I have never groomed a cat and I don't intend to. I'm scared, I admit it. I don't trust cats other than my own. But many brave groomers do do it! Most cats, especially when they're pissed off because they're been taken out of the house and have to be 'humiliated' with a shavedown, sit still and don't move through the whole groom. Some cats require backup because they're crazy timebombs. Mostly the females are crazy, I noticed. Some cats need tranquilizers to be groomed normally. Usually the groomer will let you know which of these categories your cat fits into. Very few cats are okay with the grooming process. Either they tolerate it with an angry face or they make it worth their while and practice their biting aim ;)

On bathing and water - depends. We do both, some cats are washed. Some are shaved quickly and sent off some (usually the aggressive ones). Some get a dry bath with a waterless shampoo like Stazko. The shampoo will lather, then you wipe if up with a towel and the cat is only a little damp and the rest dries quickly. What the groomer does depends on what the owner wants, and the cat's behavior.

dragoninknots asks - Do you have any grooming disaster stories to share?

lol I'm pretty good actually. Usually minor mistakes are made and can be covered up. I can dig up some pretty fun stories though... Although the biggest disaster that I've had was probably the first time I cut a dog. I was a brand new groomer, maybe two months grooming. Maybe three. And I got this matted wreck yorkie - he was matted from head to toe. The dog was tiny and a nonstop mover that fought everything I tried to do. He had paper-thin skin and it got caught in the clipper as I was taking off a mat on his chest - gave him a cut that was half an inch long. The thing about dog skin - skin is very tight on the dog and when there's a cut it gets wider and wider every time the dog moves. Awww man I was panicked - the dog needed stitches. Luckily we were working downstairs to a vet's office and the guy was in so he stitched the dog up in two seconds and didn't charge me for it. Then came the really scary part - calling the owner. Haha I couldn't do it! Another groomer offered to do it for me, and explained that the dog was severely matted and got nicked, the vet saw him and felt it would be best to give him two sutures, and he's doing just fine. Man, not only that but I was scared for my job too, afterall i had just started grooming so I was paranoid, what if the boss thinks its horrible and fires me or something. Well my boss was a vet tech for 30 years and had seen it all so she took it like it was nothing out of the ordinary. Happens. Happy ending, the dog survived his two little sutures.

To answer follow-ups, yes I've cut plenty of dogs since (two have had 2-3 sutures). Sometimes it just happens, skin gets caught. Especially when the dog is super matted and unsocialized and fighting you. And we work with very sharp objects. Unfortunately I work in a lower class neighborhood where it is common for dogs to be groomed once or twice a year, so by the time they see us they're in horrible condition and they arent used to being touched by groomers and don't cooperate. Two of my dogs had sutures including that yorkie. It happens to all of us. Some joke that you're not a real groomer until you've cut a dog. Usually the groomer freaks out a lot more than the dog! I always make sure to tell the owner if i nick the skin, and make sure that they know that the dog will be just fine!

meluna asks - Why is it that sometimes my dog's tail is clipped back and sometimes it's left long?? Is it laziness on the groomers part? Or some artist reason? Maybe some days they think my dog looks dashing with a long haired tail and short haired body??

Chances are you've had the dog groomed by different people (maybe different groomers at the same shop). Did you mention how you wanted the tail groomed? If not they probably used their judgment. And different people have different judgment! Most groomers will leave the tail long because most owners are very attached to the plumes on the dog's tail, so they assume that the owner likes it long. So more often its trimmed but not cut short. However, when a longhaired dog is shaved down sometimes a long tail looks funny and out of place, so the groomer will shave it down to match the body. Next time, just tell your groomer how you like the tail done so that there are no surprises in the end :)
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oh man, this got long! I think I'm gonna call this "part 1" and finish the other questions in a second helping. If you've got more questions, ask away, I promise I'll get to them all eventually.

Who's been watching Groomer Has It?

2008-05-12T00:01:00.004-04:00

So have you ever wondered what goes on in a grooming shop? Ever think about why your dog is in the shop for hours? Why a grooming appointment costs so much when your own haircut costs less than half of the amount?

Ever ask yourself how tough a job of "playing with puppies all day" can really be? Wander how often your dog really needs to be groomed? Is it really that bad when a dog is matted? Does Fluffs really need medicated shampoo? Want to know how to better care for your dog's hair between groomings?

Hey, I've got an idea! I'm a groomer - ask me :)

Leave a comment asking any silly questions you can think of about grooming, and once i get a bunch, I'll answer them all in one big post. This'll be fun! Seriously - ask me anything.

Commissions, commissions

2008-05-08T21:37:00.007-04:00

Man, I got my THIRD custom order the other day. and I keep saying that I don't do custom paintings... but I guess this is where its gonna wind up. People keep asking and ever since I said yes to Emily (DreamEyce Studio), I haven't been able to tell no to anyone else. I guess this is it, people. I'm officially getting started in custom work.

Although honestly part of why I'm interested in doing custom portraits is because business has been utterly dead lately. Yeah the economy's down the drain, I know. Gas is 4 bucks and then some, I know. I'm trying to cut down too... okay actually I'm very thrifty by nature so I'm living as usual, just in a saddened apprehensive state in regards to our economy and political stature. And as much as I'd rather paint whatever I want than what others want me to... these are [nearly] guaranteed sales (except Emily, who is trading a custom pin of my Marco and Perry for a shell with her Traum and Galaxy). I suppose this is really a time when i should listen to what customers want, both for sales, for a better image for my shop... and probably most importantly of all the reason to paint dogs that are outside of my comfort zones (yes brindle, yes wire hair, yes fluffy dogs, etc etc etc).

That Brussels pictured above... I never liked how he came out. He wasn't a commissioned work, I just painted a Brussels from a picture that I took at Westminster a few years ago. You know what's funny? He was my first sale. I sold that shell to the owner of a Brussels who went to my handling class. I hated how i painted that dog's head and post-like legs. But when i brought my shells to class, everyone was all impressed and "wow" and that one was grabbed right away.

I second-guess my painting skills a lot. I tend to see mistakes whereas often other people see all the good parts, and thus i do wind up as my own worst critic. For example, I look at the Pomeranian shell (based on a dog i groomed a year and a half ago and never saw again but thought was cute enough to take a picture of)... and all i see is that the colour change around the face is wonky. And that "my" dog has a lot more mane on her chest, and a different ear shape and different expression. Some others will look and say "you captured it so well!" That's the main reason I am leery of doing custom work. Perhaps to the untrained eye it looks similar. But what if my client is an artist him/herself and has an eye for these things? What if they're unsatisfied with it? I guess that's why I show them the picture before i send it, so they can approve or ask for changes. i guess that's why I don't charge super high prices for my commissioned work.

Hell, I haven't even devised what I'm going to charge for commission, and multi-dog projects and whatever. What if they want me to paint their cat?! I mean i can do cats too, but still. Some people get excited by challenges. I get scared that i won't be able to meet expectations. I'm a perfectionist, alas.

All sorts of treasure

2008-05-07T18:27:00.009-04:00

I just discovered something really cool and thought I'd share! TimothyAdamDesigns had a brilliant idea (one of many, lol)! He put together a blog of EtsyMinis from all sorts of users. Its called BuriedTreasury. The idea is that there are just sooooooo many awesome things on Etsy that get buried and not seen - here's their chance to get some exposure. Check it out and sign up! Its free and convenient - and there are paid avertising opportunities as well.

BuriedTreasury <<< definitely give it a click :)

speaking of treasuries! I've been featured in two recently. I'm jealous of people who proficiently snag treasuries. I've never been able to catch one yet.

Thank you for including me, thirtydash9!

and one more..

thank you, CecereDesigns :)

another treasure? Reptile fans might think of it as one. Meet Gordon! Gordon is a red ear slider who currently resides with another slider , Matthew, who looks just like him but smaller. They both now live with my boyfriend. These guys were actually abandoned at out grooming shop - someone came in and asked if we wanted turtles. We said "sure" cause we knew that he'd just dump them if we didn't take them. They were fostered by Danielle for a while (who is great for all the foster work she does with homeless animals). Now they're gonna be spoiled with a gigantic tank and a state of the art filtration system and all the food goodies they could ever desire :)

Longest Entry evar - getting back into the groove

2008-05-05T21:11:00.009-04:00

okay okay. I've finally got some decent updates!

First of all, I'd like to mention that we did not win anything at the show in Trenton on sunday. Marco thought it would be fun to walk on two legs instead of four - he had the judge laughing. Perry, bless him, lol, was excellent. He stacked well, gaited well - I was very proud of his performance and cooperation. He beat one dog in Open class but got defeated in the Winners ring. I had a lot of fun though, the weather was great, so no hard feelings. Our next show will be at the end of May.

In other news, I got interviewed! Check out NanjoDogz to read it! There were some fun dog-themed questions and Nanjodogz chose great pictures of my dogs and shells to go along with the interview. Thanks, Nanjodogz!

Now here's some long-awaited new merchendise! ;) As always to the right there's an Etsy-Mini where you can see the items in my shop if you want.

My first attempt at something Brindle - this is a Boxer with uncropped ears. As much as I am personally pro cropping and docking (at least in the show ring), I know that among pet people its a dying fad. And that's just fine, the floppy ears definitely bring extra cuteness.

A Jack-slash-Parson Russell Terrier in full body.

This one I'm excited about - Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier (or "wheaten"... or "wheaton" for those who don't know the correct spelling) on a soft shell clam! My three experimental soft clams all survived shipping perfectly - so I'm ready to introduce them for sale in my shop.

That's all I got painted thus far. I always have a major urge to not put any shells up until I got like 6 finished. I'm not sure why - efficiency i guess. That way I don't have to take my camera out as often, I can get all the pics done at once, I can get all the shells up at once and then spend time checking back every ten minutes to see if i got any new views. Such newbie mentality, I know. I know its best to stagger stuff rather than put it all up at once, i know. lol so I stopped myself at 3 shells and decided to get them up before i go on to make any others.

I tried to force myself out of my boundary with that brindle boxer. Mostly because I've never done brindle before. But I'm gonna need to because I'll be making a portrait of two brindle corgis soon, and i need practice.

Its funny, as much as i claim that I don't do custom portraits, I'm "signed up" to do two right now. The other day someone convo'd me and asked nicely and i couldn't resist so i said I'll give it a try. She asked for three dogs on one shell - two of which are sorta shaggy fuzzy dogs. I gave her a very fair price because this is gonna be out of my comfort zone, probably even more than the brindle dogs. But I'll give it a try and hopefully it will go successfully enough that I overstep the hurdle and finally offer custom portraits to the public.
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anyway - we got presents! Sorta. Actually I took part in a trade with PunkyWoofster (also known as Jenn). But it feels like I got a present anyway. Jenn makes collars for bad ass (punky :P ) dogs! The designs she uses make me think of classic rock. Of course my boys are too fruity for skulls and rock and roll, so I chose the greenest fabric she had and Jenn made me a collar with a fabulous Celtic design.

Perry showing off his 1.5" wide martingale collar. Italian Greyhounds have long slender necks and heads, so they do best with a martingale-style collar. It tightens if the dog puts pressure on it, but it does so without choking the dog. But because it tightens the dog can't slip out and run away. Of course if the dog relaxes and doesn't pull, the collar relaxes too. Personally, I'd recommend it for any dog with a slender head, not only sighthounds. Martingale collars can also work well for dogs with long coats because they don't put pressure on the dog's neck, and don't break the coat.

Marco got a green martingale collar too! Funny story, Jenn made me a collar and was going to scrap it and start over because the label was a bit off. She insisted on being a perfectionist and making a new collar. Pfft, if you ask me, the first collar looked just fine (who's gonna see the label when its on the dog?). But since this collar was gonna be scrapped anyway, I volunteered to give it a home... on my other dog ;)

We finally got a chance to test these collars out today. They're great, very comfortable. Marco (who has no manners) tends to pull and didn't choke himself once wearing his. The extra width spreads out pressure and makes it easier for slender sensitive necks! It also shows off the design better :P

I think Jenn deserves something extra for the added effort (even though she insisted on making the extra collar herself ;) So I'm gonna try to send her something extra one of these days. After all, she said the nicest things about the shell that I sent her as a trade... (this one - blue IG with bead necklace).
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meh. this is turning into the longest entry ever. So I'm gonna shut up here. Believe it or not I actually have MORE to talk about. That's what happens when I slack off from posting here. evil organic chemistry...

Off to Trenton

2008-05-03T19:28:00.004-04:00

We're off to our third show tomorrow, wish us luck!

There are gonna be 16 Italian Greyhounds to compete with!

In other news I have started to get back to painting a bit. I've got two shells done... and i want to do touch ups on them. Will have new ones posted soon, expect some terriers!

Wearable dogs

2008-04-30T22:52:00.006-04:00

Sorry guys, I've been MIA. I spent all of my spring break studying for an organic chemistry exam that i really really needed to pass. I spent so much time agonizing over it. Well I bombed that test. It was time I should have better spent hugging the dogs and painting shells. Matter of fact I've got a bunch of shells pencilled out that i juuuuust need to paint, and they've been sitting in limbo for two weeks now.

I'll get back to painting tomorrow. At least I'll try. For now I'm exhausted.

So lets talk about a subject I looooove - ways to represent your dog breed/love/ownership. By wearing dogs on yourself :P These are all from my hearted shops on Etsy!

I am absolutely in love with this pendant! Really i think that making origami out of silver is incrediby cool. And its a dog. Infinitely cool :P It is made by AllegroArts - I should have started with that part i guess :P Its available in his Etsy shop, and also comes in cat, bunny, and elephant varieties!

Now here is a pendant by Boneofart. This is a schnauzer pictured, but there are many many breeds! These are very simple in appearance and yet they capture the essence of the breeds. Less is more, its great. And really an extensive variety - at a glance i saw puli, tibetan terrier, schipperke, and lots of others. People with uncommon breeds are always on the hunt for paraphernalia displaying their breed. Chances are they've got your breed :P

Does your dog have "attitude"? Heheh, i love this clever little pendant. Its actually a collage. InaBit makes very creative designs, especially featuring labrador retrievers. Most of them portray little idiosyncrasies of every day dog life - things you don't even think about such the blessing of having an inground pool in the back yard and a fire hydrant to pee on in the front :)

If you prefer your worn imagery to come with text, you can get some awesome buttons (or in this case keychain) by Thedogcoatlady. There's a whole assortment of subjects, from promoting spay/neuter/adoption to dogs and politics to animal rights to puppy mills. And a bunch of others. They're amazingly afforadble, these pins, and many of them feature very important messages and realities that many may not be aware of (how many people never heard of puppy mills until Oprah, huh?). Do check these out :)

Back to the pendants - Kayannworks makes marvelous ones! These are incredibly detailed and colourful. And they're made on domino tiles - real ones. If you turn the pendant around, they have the dots and everything. But uhh the dog side is way nicer. There are many breeds available - some of them are pirates ;)

Now here's an entirely different type of pin - its a sculpture and a pin in one! Dreameyce makes these pins out of polymer clay, then they are painted and given a finish. This one is a cardigan welsh corgi, blue merle. They available in many breeds - and colour variations of those breeds! Emily is also very open to custom works. and from what i hear, as cute as they look in the picture, they are even awesomer in person! I'm anticipating a pin of my Perry and Marco - can't wait to see it! (hehe, yes Emily will get a pin of her cardi kids Galazy and Traum too - I've got them pencilled out, they just need paint).

Another teeny sculptured pendant, this one featuring a pittie, by Nanjodogz. Very cute and very detailed - they look very skillfully made! There are also many beads sculpted into dog heads and faces - so you can make your own special jewlery or decorations featuring your breed. They are just too damn cute, lol...

Lets finish this list with FrumsGlassMenagerie - dichroic glass pendants featuring dog silhouettes. As a fellow italian greyhound owner, Sue specializes in IGs and greyhounds - but there are many breeds available. Some are on dichroic glass - simple yet complicated due to the colours of the glass - and some of them are just glass pendants that she paints herself. They are really charming!

thus concludes my tour of awesome wearable dog stuff that i found in my "favorite shops" section. a pretty fun variety methinks. If only I was made of money - I'd own a couple more of these!

btw many of these artists are willing to make custom designs - so if you've got a particular favorite pet/breed/symbol that you want to portray to the world on your clavicles, i encourage you to ask them!

shellvergel featured!

2008-04-25T10:49:00.002-04:00

I feel special!

PayPal alternative

2008-04-23T23:18:00.003-04:00

I have made a really cool discovery. Its called Revolutionary Money Exchange. Maybe you saw the abbreviation RME on the forums and were too shy to ask what it is. Well that's what :P

Its an alternative to PayPal - to send and recieve money. The awesome part - there are NO fees when you transfer money. Also the site is very pretty and seems user friendly. It is funded by a bank and backed by the FDIC, so its secure.

The best part? When you sign up (hint hint green button above) you recieve $25! Legitimate, yours to spend wherever. I believe the deal ends May 15. Also when you refer others, you get $10 per referral. Pretty awesome :)

I guess the only thing they're missing is the shipping labels that paypal makes.

From what I'm gathering, they're giving away this money to draw in a large client base. They are anticipating releasing their own credit card in the future and i guess they're looking to make a fan base to which to release it to. chances are i won't personally be getting that credit card, but i am taking advantage of the current offer.

Here is a ginormous list of shops that are currently accepting RME - http://etsyrme.blogspot.com. I'm adding myself to that list and accepting it in my shop, now, too. Consider adding RME to your shop too. If you do, click the green button, lol :P

pssst! Make sure you go in through a referral button because if you sign up through their site yourself, you won't get anything.

anyway i thought that was important enough to mention. Next time we'll return to our scheduled programming with dogs and shells. I just got something in the mail that I'm dying to show off :)

Best cat ever turns 11!

2008-04-20T11:24:00.002-04:00

April 20th is the 110th day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. It is Adolf Hitler's birthday (I just found out a few days ago). Apparently John Oliver's debut as a comedy central standup dude. The anniversary of some other jazz. And TimTim's birthday. I forgot to do a birthday tribute to him last year, and I feel obliged to ramble about him right now.

April 20th Tim turns eleven. Weeeeeell... we don't know his real birthday. My mother brought him home on August 20, 1997. I was a lonely ten year old demanding a pet. Something four-legged and furry that would play with me. It was significant to me that he had a birthday so we decided to make one up. We were told he was three months old. But he was an awfully big kitten so we assumed he was four months. We counted four months back and made it official, his birthday was to be april 20th.

As a baby he suffered from major scaredy-cat syndrome and was the most unsocial animal i had ever met. He was alright with me and my mum but that was about it. He knew his hiding spots well and he loved to take advantage of them. Of course being a child and not understanding morale of the shy animal, i'd dig him up from those hiding spots and show him to friends that came over. Or worse - i've actually put him on a leash and walked him a few times. He's probably still holding a grudge. I've bathed him many times. I filled the tub with water and forced him to swim once (i was there and watching of course - but still it was ridiculous). I've dressed him up. I even brought another cat and two dogs into our household. He's gone through a lot of torture with me.

Ehh, not like Tim hasn't had his vengeful moments. He's pooped on my pants before. He's pooped all over my bed. hairballs, hairballs, hairballs - also on my bed. Within the first few days that i got him he gave me a very deep scratch - I still have the scar. I actually hope it never fades. He always has to sit on any important paper i may be reading. He walks across my keyboard. He "accidentally" puts his head on the delete key and makes my browser very quickly go through all the pages I've been to, backwards all the way to the homepage. He sheds clouds of hair - i get the feeling that years after he's no longer with us I'll still be picking his hair out of my food and finding tumbleweeds of it skirting across the room.

I adore this cat immensely, can you tell? And every day he continues to amuse me. He's a thinker, a dignified cat who gets embarrased easily. The best, though, is when he actually will let his guard down and be silly for a few moments. When he will chase a laser or jump after a cat toy, or get high on catnip. Y'know, as long as the other animals aren't looking. Cause they can't know that he's just like them. lol i get the feeling that i have a lot in common with Tim. We're both morally mature way beyond our years. We're not outgoing. We take pleasure in smacking others, whether they deserve it or not. We don't believe in "only human" (...or "only cat") excuses. After all, we've got a reputation to upkeep. even if its only in our heads.

Happy eleventh birthday Tim. Grumpy old man, you're a huge part of my life and I can't imagine it without you. And when I say "old man" I'm only kidding.

Softies survived!

2008-04-17T22:08:00.011-04:00

Heh I wound up taking a week off from blogging. Whoops. Each day I've told myself "I'll do it tomorrow" and a week went by. Although honestly I haven't had much to put in here. My clam painting endeavors have been halted due to school and life and I've been only glossing over Etsy for the last few days. So uhhh lets try and get back to this :P

First I'd like to mention that there are only two weeks left to vote in the Dogmafia Team's Creative Challenge for Irregular Dogs! Aww Nina's behind. oh well. Click here to VOTE for your favorite Irregular Dog-> The DOGMAFiA.
(check 'older posts' to meet the contestants!)

Speaking of Nina, you may have seen her in this treasury, by the Etsy for Animals team :)

I've got more good news. I sent out three free painted Soft Shell clams to as part of a shipping experiment to see if they are strong enough to survive shipping. All three have arrived in perfect condition. Looks like i'm gonna be able to introduce soft shell clams to the mix! Yay, a new medium!

Speaking of which, this is where my Scottie shell is living now...

Can you spot the shell? He now lives with Dayna (Scottie Acres Boutique) and her pack of Scottish Terriers... among a collection of Scottie stuff! What an impressive collection!

And there it is up a bit closer :)

Really that's all that's been going on here, so I'm gonna add one last thing...

If you ever run into Oolong tea - try it! :) Its really great stuff. A little on the "acquired taste" side. Its unlike any other tea, with a very earthy and organic taste to it. I prefer it unsweetened (as i always drink my tea). I appreciate the way Twinnings decorated the tea bag with the trees and the fog. i know this stuff is probably grown on a large plantation but the picture at least gives me the momentary suspention in disbelief so i can imagine that it came from a gorgeous, far away, untouched rocky, foggy land that I would love to visit some day.

Saluki Love - and the conclusion of Orange for Animals

2008-04-10T21:48:00.005-04:00

I'll continue my Orange for Animals saga in just a moment. I was able to pop in to Union Square as promised. Unfortunately I was able to spend all of 15 minutes there before i had to go back to class... but i got pictures! lol...

But first! Salukis.

A few weeks ago, Nancy (SmokeyLady54) asked me to paint a Saluki on a shell. Being a sighthound lover at heart, I obliged to the task. I wound up redoing this dog twice (major touch ups) but in the end it came out pretty well, if I say so myself :)

And Nancy's done something really cool with the shell - she hung it up on her wall! Its a bit hard to tell but its hanging over her desk (you can guage it by the papers in the corner, desk indeed). People keep telling me that i should start putting the shells on ribbon and making ornaments with them. Maybe that's a good idea :P

Nancy also shared pictures of her pets with me! This was her Saluki - what a stunning dog, huh? Funny coincidence, I didn't even know that her dog was sable, I just happened to paint a dog in that colour :P

The Saluki is no longer with Nancy unfortunately. But now she shares her home with Smokey and Bandit :)

******************

Now back to ASPCA Day..
I ventured out to Union Square as promised. I went there at around 11 am, only to find out that the ASPCA stuff wasn't gonna start until 4 pm. Well i had some time before class, so I ventured out to Petco and placed my business cards in some books. The Union Square Petco is all bling-ified and has all sorts of fancy jazz like a mini dog library with some armchairs. And it was full of those generic breed books. So I put my cards in a whole bunch of those books, primarily books with breeds that I've painted. Hey, no one stopped me. And that fancy animal-loving city audience is just who my shells are perfect for :P

I also surveyed a couple of artists selling work on Union Square. Very little animal art today, alas.
But i did find the work of John and Marge Bobbish - www.bobbishart.com - a husband and wife team who do some very cool watercolor art, much of it focused on dogs and cats. The piece above is John's work.

Unfortunately my lab lasted longer than usual and i wasn't able to leave that class until 4:20 or so. I got to union square ar 4:45... at that point i was getting tired and not too thrilled to go there for the second time. Oh and at 5 I had to get back on the train to get to a 5:35 class. But I did show up and look around and get a few picture :P

People showed up :P There was lots of retina-burning orange all around.

They were handing out orange bandanas and bracelets.

We've got two interesting things going on here - first airbrushed totes. Now I personally never liked how airbrushing looks on stuff. Perhaps some people can make great stuff with it, but the usual stuff i see always looks awkward. but I guess its sorta cool to have your own animal on a tote bag :P Also - you can text message the aspca to donate to them..

If my dogs saw this, they'd report the owner to the ASPCA for animal cruelty. And yet he wore the boots without a problem. I wonder how long it took the owner to teach the dog to be okay with it... i tried boots on Perry once, took a video of him kicking and never bothered again...

Up last - the ASPCA apparently gave Union Square this honorary doggie water fountain at the bottom of the people water fountain. A wonderful gesture on their part, especially since Union Sq is hugely popular with dog people, and there's a dog run. Matter of fact this is right in front of the dog run.

I am concerned with practicality of this fountain though... first of all there's water and bowls inside the dog run. Most dogs get watered there. Second I'm wondering about drool and bacterial buildup. I didn't look too close but it seems that the bowl is always filled with water - that's an algae/bacteria/mosquito hazard. Also you don't know whose drool is in that bowl. My dogs have very tight lips and don't drool at all but after they drink from their bowl even once its all drooly. Imagine a basset hound or a bulldog drinking. Meeeeh.... gross.

...but its still a nice gesture. Even though i wouldn't hypothetically want my dogs drinking from there.

Orange for Animals - continued

2008-04-09T21:05:00.011-04:00

Well, the Dog Mafia Team is attacking this ASPCA Day promotion full throttle! Many members made orange items especially for this day, and members are donating $1 from each sale to the ASPCA. We're telling everyone we know about ASPCA Day!

We even managed to snag a treasury! Thanks to PamperedPoochBoutiqu for making it and including my Mutt shell!

Just for fun, I thought I'd do a couple of mini-features so you can see those orange items up close :)

First up is "Recycle Love" - a handpainted and decorated wooden sign to share inspiration to give unwanted pets a second chance! It is made by
art4milkbones, herself an owner of a rescue three-legged Golden Retriever named Mulligan :)

Next up is this eye-catching orange collar by 8PawsCollars! Great for the sunny seasons, it is sure to add that sparkle to your dog's eye and to bring out the shine in his coat :)

Leafpeople has created this Golden Retriever doll and just for ASPCA day, it is sporting a fashionable orange bandana! The back of the doll is orange as well. This doll is safe for your baby to play with, with no detachable parts. Teach your kids to love dogs and treat them properly from an early age!

that's all I'm gonna feature for now. All the items that the Dogmafia members have prepared for ASPCA Day are really great... but i don't have the space to put them all here and unfortunately I've got a bit of a headache so I'm ending my features here. Do check out the treasury and click around the other stuff though.

and wear orange tomorrow! I'm going down to Union Square tomorrow to check out the festivities. I'll bring pictures!

Orange for Animals - getting closer!

2008-04-08T23:09:00.008-04:00

Its almost ASPCA day... hmm, I gotta go through my closet and check out what i have in orange. I suggest everyone else do the same. Gotta be prepared after all. Also most people that do have a piece of bright oprange clothing usually stash is very far away in their closet so as to not burn their retinas every time they try to look for something to wear. My advice is to wear UV-protection sun glasses then.

Okay I'm rambling.

Point is, to support the ASPCA and to promote their very own day, I will be donating $1 to the ASPCA from every sale I make from riiiiiight now until April 10th ends.

The Etsy DOGMAFiA team is having a team-wide promotion where everyone is promoting their orange stuff. Many other team members will be donating $1 to the ASPCA from sales on April 10th too.

(if you like something you see, the seller's Etsy username is in grey, search for them - click the picture to see it full size)
Thanks to Sue for that awesome collection of our orange stuff. Hopefully we'll be able to snag a treasury and stick those orange things in there.

And almost forgot - a link to the official ASPCA Day page for those who want more info! ASPCA Day will be Thursday, April 10, 2008.

Adoption successful + feature

2008-04-06T12:15:00.008-04:00

First of all, I reached the milestone i mentioned. I passed 100 hearts and now have 102 at the moment. How cool. It makes me feel good when people think my stuff is awesome :P

Second, my Scottie Shell got featured!

It was mentioned in Scottish Terrier and Dog News - a blog so spiffy I added a link to it on "other awesome blogs". Thank you, DogLady (ab.com)

Not only did the Scottie shell get featured, but it got adopted! It'll be going to its new home soon, with Dayna! I'm hoping to see a picture of the Scottie shell in his news digs soon too (hint hint ;).

Since we're talking about features and stuff, I thought I'd add another cool one that i stumbled upon...

Dog Art Today - a blog dedicated to beautiful dog art. It's updated daily and features a whole gamut of dog-inspired creations. Great stuff!

As a bonus, here's picture of Anton and Marco sunning themselves.

something old, something new - and something free!

2008-04-04T22:29:00.007-04:00

My shop has 99 Hearts on etsy at the moment. How exciting that is, 99. That means any moment I can reach a milestone. Fun, fun :P

Now then! I've got something new in my own shop...

its an experiment!

I'm thinking of introducing Soft Shell clams. They are on the small side, and very delicate. Painting on them is like painting on paper. They're usually very even on the surface and often pure white as snow. Just a fantastic paint medium.

Ah but their delicacy... therein lies the rub! I'm afraid the shells might not survive shipping. I pack my shells *very* thoroughly - they're bubble wrapped and stuffed with newspaper so that they're super snug. But I'm a little nervous about these.

Sooooooo I'm holding a little experiment. What does that mean for you? A FREE Shell!

Seriously. Its a little giveaway I'm holding.

That's the shell I'm giving away. This gentleman is a Scottish Terrier, also known as a Scottie. They're tough little dogs, but terribly handsome! You don't have to own a scottie to enjoy their classic look on this handpainted shell :P

This is a shipping experiment. I'm shipping a few of these soft shells to different destinations in order to get a report back on how they fare (the kitty and chihuahua above have already been spoken for and are going to their new homes - the Scottie is a blog special!). Absolutely anybody is eligible to get the shell, as long as you agree to the following guidelines:

understand that since we're testing whether the shell can survive shipping - that it might arrive broken

I'm going to pack it very tightly and snuggly - I have faith that it'll be fine. If it comes in one piece, you get a free shell!

If the shell does unfortunately break, I'll give you free shipping on ANY shell in my shop (don't worry, the regular ones are very sturdy!). Its only fair.

You pay a 20 cent listing fee, and 3.25 shipping (and delivery confirmation). That's it. Normally the shells would be $10-15 plus shipping.

If you're interested, convo me on Etsy! First come, first serve. If you have any questions, ask away, I'm open to communication. Have fun!

The creative process. With extra cat content!

2008-04-01T15:31:00.006-04:00

So I thought I'd introduce everyone to a brief guide to my creative process. Do you know how the dogs appear on the shells? Guess! That's right, i paint them!

i start out with the archetypal messy artists' desk. Its actually just my computer desk, but with the help of a messy newspaper and some supplies all over the place, it becomes an instand studio. Just add cat.

These wind up on the shell, in concerted amounts and trivial locations.

i cannot, for the life of me, remember what kind of tea I was having. By the appearace of it, I'd say really dilute Lady Grey. Yeah if I'm feeling too lazy to brew a new cup of tea, I'll add water to half of an existing cup and enjoy some water-flavored goodness.

There's that cat. Tim thinks I'm *fascinating*! Ehh not really, he gets annoyed that i constantly poke and pord him in his favorite sleeping spot. So he tosses hair at me so i have to pick it out of my paints and brushes..

So uhhh i get that shell ready. This one is gonna be a pit bull terrier.

self-explanatory?

The newspaper isn't there to protect from messy spills. Its there for me to test paints.

Eventually I get started! First I fill in the bulk of it and then i go into details. Y'know, the logical way to do this.

and thus, the product. Meh, I'd have taken more "in the process" photos but i got awfully frustrated trying to blend the red and black, and no photos happened.

But honestly, the preparation and side details is the bulk of the "creative process" over here. Not pictured is me procrastinating and checking my email ten times while painting.

...its only fair if i throw in a few dog pictures, right?

There's Marco trotting off on some dirt path. We went to a lure coursing event Sunday. And after we got bored we decided to walk around the area. Turned out that the park had some awesome hiking trails!

After the hike, they piled up to nap. Anton, who was not with us during the hike, had a very long day "in spirit" and had to sleep it off as well. The hard life of a housecat..

Tim not included in the cuddling because he thinks its for pansies.

Go Orange for Animals!

2008-03-31T13:05:00.004-04:00

Next Thursday will be ASPCA Day. Show your support by wearing Orange on April 10th, 2008. And not just any shade of orange, traffic cone orange. Force awareness on others by shocking them by the shade of orange that you're sporting. Seriously.

Its a great chance to help out at your local shelter, donate stuff or money to animals in need, and to bring home a new addition to your family. I mean... any day is a great day to do those things. But it feels more celebratory if there's a national event going on.

Check out the
ASPCA Day Discussion group to see what others are doing to show support. Have a look at what is happening in areas around the country, maybe even near you, right here. In New York City, there will be entire buildings going orange to show their support!

to my fellow animal-favoring NYers in particular, Union Square will be the place to be on April 10th! I have class that day but will try to pop in during the day if I have a free hour or so. In union Square you can:

Meet adorable, adoptable animals, enjoy live music, snack on ASPCA treats, meet the ASPCA’s animal cops from Animal Planet's Animal Precinct and enjoy a variety of activities designed especially for people and their pets! Ask ASPCA experts about pet care and behavior, and go home with photos, drawings, pet-personalized merchandise—even your pooch’s "Hollywood" paw prints!

For more info, see: The Big Apple Goes Orange!

About time!

2008-03-27T21:39:00.006-04:00

Yep, I finally got something new in my shop! Yeah I was lacking in activity for three weeks. Exams and stuff. Oh and a dog show. Oh the woeful life of a college student.

But I made up for the absence - I got four - FOUR - new shells up! That's the first time I did that. I tried!

Here's what i got...

Border Collies! I like how different they are... sorta like one younger rambunctious dog that doesn't realize how crazy he is. And an older "brother" that's rolling his eyes at the teenager.

Siberian Husky! I love that blue eye. They really are beautiful dogs. The expression on his face is interesting. I think he looks worried about something. Someone else suggested guilty. Dunno... what i know is that I wasn't trying to get that expression when I was painting. But I always love it when the dogs turn out to have some emotion. He's got his own personality, i didn't assign him any, he just came out that way :D

Pit Bull! or.... AmerStaff! or... Staffordshire Bull Terrier! I dunno, he somehow looks like all three to me. What I do know is that he's a gentle boy that has never intended to hurt anyone. He just plays rough cause he can't tell his own strength, that's all.

Shih Tzu! In full coat, as they appear in the show ring - bobble topknot and all. I don't think he looks too happy about that bow. What a great colour... I wish I could get that color for MY hair...

To be honest I actually painted five shells.... I made a Saluki that's reserved right now. Buuuuuut... I don't like how he came out so I'm gonna try to fix him or perhaps try to make another Saluki... so no pictures of him yet.

All shells are available for sale in my shop. Links to the left :)

And look, I've already been featured in a treasury! Thank you Leafpeople!

Visit the treasury now! Its up until 7:55 am on Sunday, March 30. Look while its there!

In OTHER news - this weekend we were at a dog show and we got lucky! My Perry won "Winners Dog", he was chosen the best out of five males. We won a 3 point major. And this was only our second time showing!

Congratulations Perry!

teeny sighthound artifact exchange!

2008-03-19T16:36:00.007-04:00

A few months ago I stumbled upon Frum's Glass Menagerie. That was back when I didn't know what Etsy was, actually, so it was all new to me. Anyway. I fell in love with the beautiful dichroic glass pendants. What more can a crazy dog person want than really cool dog stuff, huh?

Of course Sue has more than just dichroic glass pendants, there are many different ones in her shop. But the dichroic glass ones catch my eye in particular, I love the colours!

Anyway I just HAD to have one! I got an Iggy of course - I wear it to dog shows to represent ;)

Its got a beautiful orangey-pink color. The couch behind it is an unfortunate colour though, so forgive me, it was the only place i could get a bit of natural light on this dreary day.

Obligatory shot of Perry looking adorable with the pendant! Okay fine, he was making a pretty face cause i had sausage in my hand baiting him.

Iggy feet clearly add merit to it :)

Visit Sue's Etsy shop, there's all sorts of pretty stuff there! Also, visit Sue's art blog!

Sue is a fellow DOGMAFiA member btw :)

For a personal touch, here is Sue's italian greyhound (one of four), Pepie, with one of my shells!

How cool is that, its my first "customer appreciation" photo! Pepie is a beautiful boy. And he matches the iggy on the shell :P

ooh i hope i get more photos of shells in their new homes. I'd feature each one on the blog :)

I know November passed...

2008-03-18T16:56:00.008-04:00

November is National Pet Adoption Month. That's... the only nice thing about November, the rest of it is grey and cold. February should be adoption month, come to think of it. Y'know, when the not-so-thoughtfully-given "christmas puppies" wear out their welcome and pop up in rescue. November is such a pessimistic time of year to hold a nice event like adoption promotion.

Yeah... adopt-a-thons should definitely be in the spring. So the weather is happyful and everyone can drag their feet outside with their newly adopted pet and bond and stuff.

speaking of spring - which this year starts on March 20th - I know of two magnificent animals that need homes right now!

Meet Turner!

He is the most charming Pit Bull puppy I have ever seen and I have only had the pleasure of meeting him for about 20 minutes. Danielle - behind him - is fostering him right now. She found him all bony and starving. He has since recieved lots of food, love, attention, and medical care and he's ready for a forever home. He's also de-coconutted and innauculated.

(for the unimaginitive, I was referring to his testicles as coconuts, and he no longer has those ;)

He's called Turner because her other dog is Hooch ;) He cuddles cats. Plays with dogs all day long. He's actually very submissive, he's an in-tune boy. He doesn't seem like he's gonna get any bigger. Danielle is five feet tall, if you want a visual reference. And he's probably about seven months old, so he is almost as big as he's gonna get.

For those that are into something exotic - judging from his triangular, slanty eyes and thick skin on the muzzle, I'm about a hundred percent sure that he's part Bull Terrier. Either way, he is too friggin cute.

Honestly, I love this boy. And I'm not a "pitbull person", they are usually are just not my cup of tea. There are many pits I admire but I wouldn't own one. Except him. Really. If I didn't have two iggies, two cats and two parents sharing an apartment with me, I'd snatch him up.

adoption number two? Meet Maya!

Poor Maya was abandoned at our grooming shop. Look how sad it made her. Made me sad too. People brought her in for a bath, gave us fake addresses and phone numbers and then never came back. The nerve of some people! We don't know her age, history, or anything. The vet said she's healthy though!

But she desperately needs a place to go. she's living in a small cage for weeks now. I know, i know - story of any shelter animal's life. But its just so sad.

Maya just wants to be loved. ...but on her own terms. She is a female, and we all know what attitude issues come with that (I'm a girl, I can say it). She doesn't like dogs. She doesn't like cats. She doesn't like you touching her back or by her butt. *sigh* women.

We're looking to find a... quiet plain home for her where she would not be bothered too much. Maybe with some senior citizens (she seems like she's 6-9 years old herself, so no spring chicken). Or just someone who wouldn't bug her too much. Let her trust them on her own terms. That means NO kids/cats/dogs/in-laws. But perfect homes are so easy to find, as we all know...

Honestly, I think she would calm down with her attitude if she was in a home. The grooming shop is no place for a cat that's not used to it. Too much noise, too much stress, too many dogs. she's very sweet when there are no dogs near her...

btw in case you're wondering, she DOES have eyes. They're green and beautiful. So beautiful that you should see them in person. Y'know, in your home. Consider it.

On a completely seperate note...

Marco tells the boy, "screw your lab report. You're taking up the sun spot."

Challenge participation

2008-03-16T22:17:00.012-04:00

The Etsy DOGMAFiA team is having a creative challenge this month. Our theme is "Irregular Dogs" - "You know the not so perfect dogs - a Rescue Dog - maybe they are missing a leg, an eye, have a broken tail, no ears, lumps & bumps, a crooked nose, etc."

The idea has been to sorta raise awareness for awkward or handicapped animals who still make amazing pets and live great fulfilling lives despite their disabilities. Most participants are putting their entries up for adoption in their shops, and at many have decided to donate the "adoption fee" to a rescue or charity of their choice.

My entry is Nina, the three-legged Italian Greyhound...

I decided to create a backstory to explain her life with her disability. Here's what I... she wrote:

"My name is Nina, and I'm a former puppy mill mama. I had an accident when i was a baby and lost one of my legs. When the millers saw that i couldn't be sold in a pet store, they decided to keep me as breeding stock. My years in the puppy mill were gloomy. But then a great thing happened - the puppy mill was discovered and closed down. Nice people came and rescued us. Now i live in a foster home and its wunnerful, i get to sleep in a comfy bed and play with other dogs (don't think for a minute that they outrun me with all their legs, i catch up). But I heard that life gets even better in a "forever" home..."

Now my main reason here is because I feel that it is extremely important to spread information about puppy mills. People need to know what goes on behind those "papers" and "breeders" that the pet stored hide behind. It seems that nothing can be done legally about those mills, but informed people can vote with their dollar and can easily choose not to support puppy mills and go elsewhere to find a pet to add to their household. And although Nina's story is made up, if it inspired one person to google "puppy mill" and learn a bit, I'm satisfied. For more information about puppy mills, check out Prisoners of Greed.

phew. sorry for that. What can i say, puppy mills are something i feel very strongly about.

So uhhh just for fun and because this is getting too wordy, here are the other entries to date.

That's Kami, a black lab who's missing part of her tail by Bentleys Bones. She's up for adoption.

That's Molly, a Basset Hound that's lost her long ears by HowlinHounds. She's based on a real life dog who had a very unfortunate experience at a puppy mill, before being rescued. Molly is available for adoption.

That's Molly and Daisy and Gus and Jake - a gaggle of two-headed golden retrievers by art4milkbones. Gus and Jake are available for adoption.

Gemma the Toothless
The last one thus far is Gemma the Toothless by FrumsGlassMenagerie. She is based on Frum's own rescued IG Gemma who doesn't have any teeth so her tongue hangs out. Seems that the glass Gemma has already been adopted!

lets get started?

2008-03-14T22:34:00.006-04:00

So uhhh I guess I should introduce myself and stuff. I'm Tatyana. up until high school I was called Tanya, but ever since I got a job and started college I've had to tell my name to so many people that saying "I'm Tatyana but you can call me Tanya because in Russian its the same name and its what everyone calls me" got tiring. So Tatyana it is.

that's me up there. With my wunnerful dog Perry.

There's actually two of them. Perry and Marco are Italian Greyhounds. They're brothers although everyone asks me if they're brother and sister. I've never understood the need of some people to get one of each gender. Is it for variation? To see what one of each is like? I always wonder who people assume is the girl. I bet its Perry. He's the sissy boy.

We're working on turning them into showdogs.

I also share residence with two kitties. That's Tim up there. He's my soulmate cat who lives for the joy of aggravating the boyfriend's allergies.

Anton... he's a little bit special. Like the Stephen Lynch song.

I just so happen to be a groomer for a living. See, proof:

Okay its more of a weekend job. In the sense that I only groom once a week. Although honestly, its enough drama to last me.

see here's where the "crazy dog person" descriptions starts to make sense, huh...

Anyway, the main reason I decided to start a blog thingy was Etsy. In late January I opened up a shop to try my hand at selling something I'd come up with...

I paint dog portraits on seashells. Clam shells, to be exact. Its something different. And a lot of fun to make. Each dog has its own "personality" that i try to find. Its also a great way to get to know different breeds. It's a lot of fun. I'm still learning the quirks of acrylic paint. I want to introduce custom dog portraits soon. For now, I've got a lot of nice shells up for sale at the shop, and I do take requests for particular breeds.

I also have a .com address. http://shellvergel.com/ - Although I really don't keep it as updated as i should. Mea culpa. It was a good $1o spent on hosting, but it winds up neglected. Some day I'll update it.

one more thing. Tea.

My absolute favorite is Lady Grey by Twinnings - exquisite stuff! Although not decaf. I am pretty immune to the caffeine amounts in tea.

morning!

2008-03-13T22:50:00.000-04:00

So for a while now I've wanted to start a blog that isn't quite like my livejournal.

Personal issues aside, I'm looking for a place to stash some Etsy related stuff. My thoughts on the dog world. Maybe some grooming pictures. Probably a lot of my art and opinions.

and also tea. wonderful, wonderful tea.

so uhhhh lets see where this goes.