Introducing my photography

I am pleased to share my new venture with you ~ photography!

my girl cat, Sophie

If you've admired my photos over the past year, it's due to my growing interest in photography. I have always taken my own photos for all my Etsy items for sale. And I've greatly enjoyed capturing photos to share with family & friends who live far away. But now my new veture is in selling my works. 

In the past I have offered my skills to animal shelters for their homeless pets. As I have learned, a well done photo (or five) of a homeless pet up's their chances of adoption. I would try to capture them in their most organic forms. Be it playing, sleeping, a funny quirk they have or how affectionate their were. I will continue to offer my photography for shelters at no cost, since it's a passion of mine.

I had the pleasure of photographing my niece's first homecoming this year. And I knew I wanted a nicer camera for the future. So after that I went hunting and picked my first 'nice' one in some years, a Nikon Coolpix. It is considered a 'point and shoot' with 40x zoom and a great first timer camera to work with. 

I will now have a button on my navigation here to go directly to my website just for purchasing my photography. I plan to offer more galleries soon, with animals and nature themes. I hope you go browse what I have up already and help support me, an independent photographer, on my new venture into 2017. 

Seasons Greetings

Warm greetings in this winter holiday season! The snow has arrived and some biting cold temperatures on on their way here. I bundle up my dog in a 'coat' when the temp's get low. The cats have decided to sleep the cold days away and sunbath in the picture window.

My Etsy shop is open again and I highly recommend shopping now and not later. For those who do like to shop handmade, shipping can take 5 days to reach you. So be sure to stick to a tight time schedule if you are shopping online!

I've decorated out little home with a nature theme. My family gifted us a handmade faux tree years ago, so I can't just let it sit in the basement come December. I prefer to make some decorations, such as paper garlands.

I also have these pretty globes that are made with pine cones, dried berries, twigs and twine. I love ribbon so I added some and hung them up with wooden clothes pins. 

I hope 2017 brings you the best of health, bountiful gardens and happiness with friendships. So a very Happy Hanukkah, a very Blessed Yule, A Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings!

image from thiswallpaper.com

Thankful day, Buy handmade!

A very warm & Thankful day to you and yours! My shop is on vacation mode to allow me time to get ready for the holidays. I may offer up a sale or coupons (so stay tuned!). So while I work on that, I hope you have a relaxing holiday and time at home. We have already had our first snowfall of the season.

my cat will be sleeping the cold days away

If you must make purchases this week, please consider buying from artisans & small businesses. When you support the arts you help them maintain a business and income. You also support hand made, sweatshop-free, entrepreneurs.

Happy DIY Halloween

Are you ready for some ghosts and goblins? No, how about at least some DIY Halloween decorations & projects? Yes ~ then read on my friend!
Well it's cold, a chill is in the air and by the weekend it will be Halloween. I finished our dog's costume (cape) with faux fur and  ~ it's adorable! He loves coats since he has short hair. I give you, Chewbacca!

no Wookies were shaved in the making of this costume

It fits and is held on with wide ribbon and large metal snaps. Easy to get on and off and he is nice and toasty when out in the cold. The entire costume cost less then $10 total in supplies.

Now for the DIY for you! I found some lovely pages out there with many projects. This one is devoted to just decorations for your home. It is called Simplymost and has a large selection to review! From cute banners (be it fabric of paper) similar to this one.... (the DIY is here)

photo from Crafthubs.com

To melted wax pumpkins, haunted terrarium and floating witch hat luminaries! Certainly a little something for everyone and all ranges from beginner to mid-level/practiced crafter. Most DIY projects no longer require you to spend a lot to create something. Now you can often find the supplies you need right in your craft stash or closet. 

I wish you all a fun, safe & happy haunting weekend ahead! And don't forget to 

nab that discount candy later. 

H A P P Y  H A L L O W E E N!

Dog costume, DIY handmade

Welcome October! One can only hope we get a break from the intense heat that stayed all summer long. The trees here are just starting to show signs of fall foliage. Pumpkins are showing up on doorsteps as decoration. And a few people have already begun to put out their Halloween decorations.

Well I have been working on a dog costume for our pup, Choji. He loves to wear 'coats' in chilly or wet weather. He has short fur himself so he prefers to be warm & dry. I decided that this year he would be Chewbacca from Star Wars. I started with some faux fur for the body.

Now this faux fur came like a square shape, so I rounded the top edges. The gray squares are the pieces you see on Chewbacca's utility belt. I made them with felt and rolled up some plastic bags to fill the square and shape it.

Now I have done this by hand, since it's easier. Faux fur can get stuck in a machine sewing needle, so you can use a machine (but go slow!). I added the gray squares on top of some brown ribbon I laid out. I just hand stitched them on and had my buttons to help gauge where to place the gray squares. You will want some space between each square. 

As you can see, it's not fitted on him yet. I plan to add some ribbon with snaps around his collar and under his belly. But the size is good and the finished utility belt came out how I had hoped it would! Today is very warm so he didn't wear it long, just for a quick photo. Past costumes I've made include K9 from Doctor Who and a cute thrift store cape with bat wings. 

My Etsy shop is on vacation for the time being. I am moving my craft supplies to a new room in the next month or so. I will have my shop open in November again, just in time for winter holiday shopping. So never fear, you will be able to shop for handmade goods in a few weeks!