Giving a Customer the Bird

Warning, this is a very picture-heavy post. Keep scrolling and reading to see all of these gorgeous birds! OMG I love it when one of my customers asks me to use photos of their pet to make them a set of cards. I know people joke about how boring it is when someone pulls out 500 pictures of their kids, but make it 500 pictures of their pets and I'll ask if they have 500 more to show me. Maybe it's all the animal rescue work that's made me soft and gushy this way. Maybe it's spending way too much time at Cute Overload that's oversensitized me and makes me emit "Awwww" noises whenever a photo of an animal is near. I'm addicted to cute pets like some are addicted to crystal meth. Oh, is it 4 a.m.? Just a few more pages of LOL Cats, pleeeeease?

So, I start with the customer's .jpgs and mess around a bit with the color, cropping, and whatever else I can do to enhance the appearance of the subject. It was neat getting to play around with birds for the first time. Their colors are so important, but occasionally, I like to draw the eye to the patterns on their bodies, the expressiveness of their faces and stance, as in the case of this guy below. I love how he's climbing a hiking boot! Such a delicate animal against a rough-and-tumble shoe. There's a trust there.This guy's name is Not Sure, and could there be a more appropriate photo to reflect his name? I think not! He totally looks like he's had just about enough of your shenanigans. You can see the dots fading away just like his patience. I know. I know. He's a bird, he already has wings, but who can't use an extra pair? I love the look in his eye. He's such a proud looking bird, he knows he looks good. His chest looks so soft and smooth. Seeing too many sickly animals in rescue, I love seeing healthy birds! I had to use this pic again, but this time, I had it reduced to 2.5x3.5 inches, then snipped him out paper doll style. His expression looks so different here. It's neat how you can bring out different aspects of an expression. Surrounded by a garden of flowers, I think he looks thoughtful, a little pensive.

Check out how freaking adorable these birds are. I have a few avian friends (Hello Monte, if you somehow broke out of your mondo huge cage and are reading this while pulling the keys off of your mom's computer.) like Monte, for example, who is a blue and gold macaw, and female. Apparently, sexing birds isn't like sexing rats where you can tell if they're boys or girls from all the way across the room. Very often birds names don't reflect their gender, but they don't seem to mind.

I love this little love bird! His expression is beyond adorable and check out those colors. I think photos of animals looking quizzically into the camera are precious anyway, but this guy is so focused, he appears to be looking so deeply into the lens, he may be watching the SLR movement. It's a pose that shows off that magnificent beak so well, too. I just want to reach out and touch it!

The client asked specifically for one card to have all her birds on it together. Not easy with so many birds and plumes all over the place! So, I decided to go with a "family portrait" style. I imagine it's even harder to get a group photo in real life, so I hope she likes this one. This guy is totally my favorite. I love all of these birds, but I swear this guy managed to twist his beak into a smile! Here he is, clearly enjoying his bath, so I surrounded him with button "bubbles". I want to grab this guy and give him a huge hug, but I don't think birds like that much, so it's probably a good thing that it's just a photo. That's all! I hope you enjoyed these birds as much as I did. I like making all sorts of cards, but the ones using clients' pet photos are my favorite. I feel like I get to know the animals in the pictures between working with the jpgs and collaging the images afterward. I hope these get the approval of their subjects.

Swapping with my Teammates

First things first...for those of you waiting for a winner to be announce, the name I drew for the Martha Stewart bird stamps is...Billie Jo! If you're reading this, Billie Jo, I have sent you a message via your link, but haven't heard from you yet...please contact me so I can send you your prize! Yay!

One of the great things about having an etsy shop is getting to commune with other shop owners via teams. I'm proud to be a member of three: Vegan Etsy, Etsy for Animals, and EtsyVeg. We get together to support each other's shops, promote our crafts, and do good for animals. One of the added bonuses is getting to know other craftsy people who care about animal protection, and another is finding other creative people who are interested in swapping their goods for yours.

I just completed my first Etsy store-to-store swap ever and it was super cool. My first swap parter was the very talented Laurel of Straw House Books.

Check out the detail on this handbound book. The paper inside is gorgeous. It's so soft. It's so lovely I'm having a hard time deciding what I should use it for. I'm leaning toward using it as an art journal.

The spine is actually a whole separate piece bound to the covers via some nifty stitchery. I've done some bookbinding using Club Scrap kits so I know how much work goes into stitch binding like this. I've never gone so far as to make a fabric covered book, but I imagine that takes some time and extremely good control of your adhesive to prevent wrinkling.

Is this fabric not adorable? Wee little rat-sized paw prints! Yeah, I know, they're more like dog or kitty prints, rat prints would look a whole lot more like human hand and foot prints than dog and cat ones. Nonetheless, tiny pawprints = oh so darn adorable!

I love this book! Thanks so much Laurel!

So, what did she get in exchange? First, a copy of my Yummy for Dogs Cookbook (grab one now to help out the Berkely shelter post-fire.)

And also a set of my custom photo cards. I love making these. I work with the photos electronically, then hand collage the cards after the prints arrive. One of the things that makes these so fun is sitting with the images and getting to know each person's pet via the .jpgs they send me. I try to get a feel for their personality, then show off who that animal is via the finished cards. Laurels dog is just too loveable! Check her out:

Aww! I love a happy, silly dog! Below is a more thoughtful portrait.

You can see the rest here, if you like. What a fantastic model she is!

(Are you an etsy seller who'd like to swap with me? Contact me via http://scrappyrat.etsy.com!)

Help Etsy for Animals Help the Berkeley Shelter's Fire Recovery

Last week, the Berkeley East Bay Animal Shelter caught fire, killing twelve cats and destroying their facility. The cause of the fire is unkown, and the surviving animals are searching for foster homes.

Being on the East Coast, (and already having a house full of adopted pets and foster animals) fostering isn't really an option, but I had to do something other than sitting here feeling helpless.

Luckily, I belong to Team Etsy For Animals, an organization of Etsy shop owners who work together to promote and donate to animal causes. Many of us got together and decided that we would donate some of the proceeds from the sales of our stores to the Berkeley shelter's recovery. Some stores, like mine, have special items earmarked for the cause, with 100% of the money from the sale of these particular selections going to the shelter. Other stores are contributing by offering a percentage of their month's overall take. Either way, what this means for you, dear reader, is that you can help the Berkeley shelter recover while raking in some excellent handcrafted goodies.

Among the items in my shop that benefit the shelter are cardsets and copies of my Yummy for Dogs cookbook for dogs. The more of these benefit items sold, the more I will make and put out for sale, so keep checking back throughout the month of June.

I'm happy to say I'm not alone in this cause, and I hope you'll visit the shops of my teammates who are also devoted to helping the Berkeley shelter recover. Click here for a full listing of participating stores and links to them.

Thanks for clicking. Have fun shopping for the animals!

Ollie Ollie Oxen Free (or significantly reduced anyway)

Scott hates closeout stores, to begin with. There is no doubt about that. You must remember this or nothing that follows will seem wonderous...

(Photo: Scott toting my treasures to the car. Aww!)

Yes! I finally made it to Ollie's, a Big Lotsyish store filled with near-expireds and overruns. I adore these places, because I love a good treasure hunt, and you have to sort through a lot of horrible crap to find the nearly-free diamonds in the rough.

Scott hates these places because he sees these finds as something akin to blood diamonds--the gems found tempered by the knowledge that someone worked long hours making the useless junk we dug through to find them. I can definitely see his point, but hey, Martha Stewart Stamp Sets $1.49! It's Martha, people!

Purty bird stamps are not to be scoffed at, and as I mentioned on the Fiskateer message board, I'm sharing some of my treasures with my loyal fans. I picked up an extra set of these wee little avians and will be giving them away to someone who takes the time to leave me a comment on this post. Don't worry, I'm not going to force anyone to push my blog all over hillanddale, foisting links on your friends, message boards or blog followers. I just want to know what species of bird is your favorite (I'd love to know why, too, but that's not mandatory). Mine is the cormorant, thanks to a freaking fabulous poem by Richard Brautigan:

The Castle of the Cormorants

Hamlet with

a cormorant

under his arm

married Ophelia.

She was still

wet from drowning.

She looked like

a white flower

that had been

left in the

rain too long.

I love you,

said Ophelia,

and I love

that dark

bird you

hold in

your arms.

(Ha ha, I got you to read poetry!)

If you have loved and read Hamlet as many times as I have, and you have seen cormorants with their awkward, teenage bodies and their near suicidal drop into frigid, black waters, you can probably also understand what I love about this poem. Anyway, I was going somewhere with this. Oh yeah, free stuff. Name a bird you like. I will draw a name in a week and one of you with win these stamps* and a lifetime supply of Turtle Wax**.

There is one thing Scott does enjoy about these stores and that is playing a game I like to call. "I can see why this was so popular." in which we find the least appealing item in the store. The winner this time?

3-C Cranberry Sauce: The Industrial Strength Cranberry Sauce

I made up the slogan, but not the name. And look at that photo. Food always looks great when you photograph it with an instamatic! Mmm.

So that's it for now. Give me your birds, and if luck is with you when I pick a number next week, I'll let you know.

*Really!

**Not really.

Socks and Pajamas

Nope we didn't adopt a pair of new cats with these names. Keep reading.

I had a feeling things weren't going to proceed very smoothly last Saturday, when I woke up at 8, blinked at the clock and realized I should have been at the airport ten minutes ago.

Scott has a learning disability that cripples the part of his brain that's in charge of boarding and takeoff times. I know this. I've known this for more than 15 years now, and yet I listened to him the night before when he said, "oh, we'll have plenty of time if we leave the house by 8:30" (to leave the Earth's surface at 9:20). In a lineless, security-wandless fairyland, sure. At RDU, it's right on time to shoot Ms. OCD into crisis mode.

But wait...there's more. As we dive into the car and sail toward the airport, my phone makes the dreaded dee-dee-dee sound I know so well. Battery is dead. I hear this sound at least once a day because of the age of my phone and my reluctance to stand around the AT&T store. Sure, I can amuse myself, poking at different phones and flipping through the various photos people have taken of themselves in line, but it's something I seem to forget about doing until something like this happens, when I don't have time to charge my phone, let alone trade it in.

And more? Oh yes. The minute I watch Scott drive away into the sunrise, I realize I have no photo i.d. None. It's in my jacket pocket. The jacket I didn't wear on this balmy May morning. And my now dead phone won't allow me to call to see if Scott can get it here before the plane takes off. Sigh.

The woman at the counter is so nice, it's almost scary. Do I have a Sam's card? Nope. Anything with my photo? A credit card? Nope. I put a photo of my dog on it instead (how was I supposed to know it was supposed to be used for i.d? I thought the picture was akin to having kittens on your checks.) I wasn't sure if I should be made nervous by the fact that they let me through with a social security card and an expired health insurance card, but I decided to just be glad I wasn't grounded and slipped through the line.

Now, I thrive on routine and organization. I know it doesn't look like it from a distance, but it's something I not only thrive upon, but require to survive. All of this rapid-fire chaos was making my brain rattle around in its casing. I thought I was being halfway normal, but even the wheelchair driver zooming me around was like, "Breathe, it'll be okay." Until she looked at the time. Then, she started running, making the world a rollercoaster of flickering butts from my point of view.

Well, I did make it, and though the trip was sprinkled with broken airconditioners, sweaty seat-mates and non-existant flights. Really. I was informed by my mom upon my arrival that the flight I had just exited did not exist. (If I had a spookier effect than itallics that I could use right now, I would.) It wasn't listed on the boards. The airline, when asked, knew nothing about it. My luggage even arrived on the carousel marked for some flight from Philadelphia. (Yes, I will sell my story to you, Twilight Zone 2000 producers. Email me.)

Finally settled into the hotel, and after a lovely mojito, mom decides it's pajama time while I parouse the hotel's instruction manual. I am probably the only person who reads these cover-to-cover upon arrival, but I like to know the layout of the place, what kind of things I can have sent to my room, where the pool and fitness center are in case I want to take a quick jog on the treadmill or do some bench presses, and what time my sleep will be interrupted by the cleaning crew in the a.m. since I'll forget to put the sign on the doorknob like I always do. There isn't a housekeeping employee out there who hasn't seen my look of confusion when I wake up in the midst of their keeping house. They usually don't notice I'm there till I sit up and say hell0, and I'm so used to this routine by now, I'm asleep before they can go "Oh my god I didn't see you there" and leave the room. Incidentally, this has contributed to my belief that I am invisible while asleep. Must plan more experiments. Anyway...

I notice that the included map does not highlight fire exits, and I am nerdy enough to demand knowledge of such things. I look at the door and think about getting up to check, but I decide to just ask mom if she noticed. Being used to my sky-high level of preparedness she says something about it being just a couple doors down. I decide if anything untoward happens I can just follow her and promptly forget about it. Not thirty minutes later, the fire alarm goes off. We both grab sweaters, I grab my shoes (high-tops as always, so there's no slipping them on quickly) and exit the room. Both of us have been in hotel fires (no, we don't start them, we just travel a lot), so a) we know the routine and b) we have a strong aversion to catching on fire.

In the hallway, lights are flashing and the fireproof doors are closing to encapsulate the hall into managable segments, should the fire be on our floor. We don't see smoke, and I have the worst sense of direction ever so I immediately dart in the opposite direction of the fire exit mom had seen. I'm darting down the hall, touching doorknobs carefully before opening (I think I learned that handy tip from Mr. T between Saturday morning cartoons. You can touch his jewelry the same way to acertain if he is on fire.) and for some reason, we can't find any stairs, just lots of people poking their heads out of their rooms asking what the alarm is about. Finally, waaaaaayyyy at the end of the hall, we find a thin little door and behind it, a very creepy stairwell. We take the stairs as fast as we can and finally there's a door leading outside, just four little steps away. Four of the freakin' cockroachiest stairs I've ever seen leading to the cockroachiest landing ever. Seriously, the floor is carpeted with dead roaches. Dead is better than live (Ow! My karma!) but I'm standing in my socks and for a few seconds I have to seriously consider whether my life is really worth having to walk across the cockroach valley of death in my socks. If my mom had not been standing behind me, I may not have done it, but I plow through, squealing all the way, out the door and...

into the middle of Royal Street. Seriously. There's no handle on the outside of the door and here are Socks and Pajamas standing in the middle of Friday night bar traffic, no less confused and out of place than if we'd been randomly teleported there. For several minutes we stand slackjawed and frozen. Then I see several black suited CIA looking guys with Hotel Omni Royal logos on their nametags shouting into walkie talkies that some drunk just broke the fire alarm box for the hotel. Which for some reason is located in the bar next door, apparently within brawling range.

The second we realize our lives aren't, and never were, in danger, we start feeling darn silly as people in eveningwear shove us aside, mom in her full-length romance-novel nightgown, me standing in my roachy-ass socks holding my shoes on the tips of my fingers like I'm trying to display them to the crowd. Mom, in particular, has a lot more dignity to lose than I do, and her expression rapidly changes from amusement to horror. I'm not a shy person, I can deal with a little public humiliation. She practically invented modesty, so for her sake, I try to escort her back to our room as quickly as possible knowing that the poor girl will likely be sleeping fully clothed from now on.
Did I say try? After hopscotching over the many wet spots and mysterious stains on the flagstones of Royal Street (I handled my socks with plastic bags over my hands when we got back that night.) and halfway up the steps leading into the hotel lobby, I notice that the Jazz band playing at the top of the stairs didn't seem to have bothered to evacuate when we did. Then I notice that they're coming toward us followed by a parade. I kid you not. Apparently, there was a huge wedding going on in the hotel and the alarm gave them an excuse to pack up and lead the bridal parade into the streets. There are trumpets and clarinets and hundreds (seriously) of people waving napkins and umbrellas and they all have us trapped in the middle of the stairs so we can't move in any direction at all while mom desperately tries to hide behind me. I hold up my shoes proudly and smile at the passing crowd because what else can you do?

Poor mom. She was blanched white (she's much darker skinned than I am, for those who know me and know that I would have to blanch clear) and embarassed beyond belief, worried that we'd ruined the girl's wedding. I assured her that we were hardly the weirdest thing they'd seen in New Orleans and even if they did notice, I'm sure they just leaned over to the person next to them and whispered, "Ol' Socks and Pajamas over there must be from his side of the family" and never gave it a second thought.

So, we didn't burn to ashes and had a bit of an adventure. Not a bad way to start a vacation. I don't know if mom will ever fully recover, but that's what red wine and hurricanes are for, and we were in the right place for it.

Fiskateers, Etsy, and Inlaws: Blend Well and Serve

Very pleasant weekend. My Etsy sales have picked up again following the post-xmas slump and I'm kept quite busy filling orders and working on custom items. I love my customers because they never let me get bored. I've got custom projects featuring photos of a flock of birds (the love kind, the cockateil kind, and some others too), an adorable black lab mix who is fond of showing off his belly, and stamped images a raven or two. Not everyone gets to work with such a menagerie. Pretty nifty.

Birthday cards and doxies have been on my desk too. I love this rattie jumping out of a cake (though if it happened in real life, it would probably be downright horrific.) The stamp is by In 2 Stamps, which makes lots of uber cute rat stamps. I don't understand the name though. Am I missing something?

Just returned from New Orleans to discover this unfinished, unposted post. So, this is what you get today. Tomorrow, I've got a ton of nifty things you'll want to check out. Heck, I've got enough finds and pics to keep this blog busy all week. So tune in next time...same rat-time, same rat-channel. Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh RATGIRL!

Saw my shadow, went back into hibernation.

But lo! It is spring! Time to crawl out from under the couch and see what's going on in the real world.
(Not the greatest pic of me ever, but Rev looks dashing. It was really sweaty out by that point and I think my face was melting. Everyone looks great squinting, too. Hubba hubba.)

Last Saturday was my favorite day of the year. That's because it's the day they held Bark Around the Park and the K9 3k! Hence, the pictures you see here. I live for this weekend every year, though I have to wonder why two of the biggest dog events of the year are held on the same day, with overlapping times. There has to be some kind of reason behind it or they'd have changed it by now, I'm sure. I find myself imagining a vicious rivalry between the two host organizations, a dogfight, if you will. Lots of snarling and fist shaking. Maybe the two organizers were in some illicit relationship that ended badly, or perhaps there was some kind of philosophical altercation over whether or not adopters should be allowed to juggle their pets provided they are otherwise excellent caretakers. Do remember, this is only speculation (read: a total figment of my overactive imagination), but why else would they stick to such a bizarre schedule?

Well, whatever the reason, it worked out nicely for us. We showed up at the park downtown (the one with the copper acorn by that guy I used to serve coffee to every day at 3rd Place. That park must have an actual name. Anyone know what it is?) While I'm asking questions about the park, does anyone know why they have a plaque with a fountain dedication on it, with no fountain in sight. Seems kind of insulting to the person it's dedicated to, though they're probably dead so in all likelihood they have no idea. But they could at least cross out the word "fountain" and write in "shrubbery" since that's what the plaque's in front of. Wow, this is a really long parenthetical statement. I've forgotten what I was saying, so I'll just start over and forget the end parenthesi. So, we showed up at the park downtown at around 10, then hit Bark Around the Park after the walk (and much tent browsing) at noon.
Poor Bark Around the Park. It was relatively desolate. Well, not desolate, but the crowds weren't like those of previous years, but d-a-n-g the giveaways were flowing. We left with a half-ton of swag, not to mention some vegan dog biscuits. I couldn't resist supporting the people sellling homemade dog biscuits after all that time I used to do that for 3rd Place. The dogs seem impressed by them and I feel slightly less guilty for letting their supply of homemade biscuits run out. After all, I wrote a whole book on cooking dog treats, you'd think I'd be on top of that. Stores like PetSmart, Pet Supermarket, and Petco were handing out whole bags of stuff. Crazy! The next most generous were the vet clinics who kindly provide us with new bag clips every year. Our potato chips thank the entire veterinary profession for preventing the onset of early staleness.

If you're looking for a cat who is good with dogs, Bark Around the Park is the place to go. This kitty, pictured below, was so casual among the dozens of dogs milling about, it was impressive. She was just lolling about in the afternoon breeze, stretching her arms as far outside the cage as she could manage, greeting everyone who stopped by with a volumous meow. Want an instant family? A nearby cage held a dog/cat duo, lounging in the shade.

I was so proud of Scott and Usagi! They did the Senior Walk (.5K) at the K9 3K along with the Triangle Game Developers to raise money for the SPCA of Wake Co. Are they not adorable?

Notice anything unusual? Yep, I wore out and was ready to go home at the same time Scott was. No kidding! I hurt pretty bad the next day, but was fine again on Monday. Wow. Usually doing half of a day like Saturday would have had me laid up for a week. Accupuncture, I love you! (And a shout out to my new meds, too!)