dogs – Page 20 – Karla's Cottage

A puppy dilema and some holiday Shine

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), holiday decor, puppies!, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / October 23, 2012

Before the babies started to leave us, Aunt Sandy and I took them all outside on a pretty day to get some last pictures of them all together.

She bought them each a colorful, embellished tee shirt from the Dollar Store to pose in.

The trouble was, they wiggled out of the shirts as fast as we wiggled them in.

And corralling them in one spot wasn't easy either. The swing was a good place to hold them captive for a bit.

But we still couldn't get all 9 to look at us at the same time. Even with Aunt Sandy holding their mom above my head as I kneeled in front of them.

At first, they were just too excited. But of course, that means, that soon, they all tuckered themselves out with the excitement.

So, we took advantage of their exhaustion and got some close ups.

Not everyone was worn out, these guys are little bundles of curiousity.

And snuggles.

This is our forever baby. The New Agnes Rosebud, as Sugarwings insists on calling her. I keep reminding her that the name is Dorothy Rosebud, but she likes T.N.A.R.

I have a major decision to make on pup #2

First of all, I don't know if I am up to the task of taking on two.

Second, if I do, how can I chose? These little boys are as sweet as can be.

One baby might be all I can properly tend. Of course, after weeks of bottle feeding and care-taking 9, 2 or 3 should seem like a piece of cake!

Twinkle still is tending to them too, so she'd be a help. But Aunt Sandy is back to work as an RN and has some long days, so I can't count on her for puppy wrangling with me as much as she did when they were tiny. She was a huge help. I don't think one person could have raised all nine and gotten any sleep at all.

While Sandy lives with us, we have her two Yorkies too. We can not convince them to use the doggy door, so I'll be taking them out for potty breaks while Sandy is gone on her long 12-14 hour nursing shifts. Maybe I should take advantage of that and haul pups out at the same time. (yes, we'd be a FIVE dorkie household if I kept two!)

But its not the housebreaking that worries me. Even though that is a concern.

Its the attention. I want to be able to nurture the babies and spend lots of time with them. I'm not sure that I want to divide up my time between two pups at once. Will I be able to raise two at a time to be wonderful companions?

On the other hand, these might be the last puppies we ever have! And I have to admit, without bragging, that I raise good pups! I've only kept two dogs from previous litters and they were the best dogs ever. Attention from the minute they are born, lots of cuddling and exposure to various experiences makes for a confident and good natured adult dog.

So, I hate to miss out on keeping another one like that!

Well, I still have some time to think.

Not everyone is gone yet. And not all are spoken for. Maybe once the herd is thinned down a bit, and I'm left with a couple of babies, I'll find it impossible to part with the last little boy.

I've bonded with this little snippet, and am just afraid that I won't be able to give enough of myself to one of her brothers too. And these guys are all sooooo special, that I want them to have the very best home.

And this might not be the best home for him, if I give my time to his sister first.

But, if my husband bonds with one, then it could be his dog, that could work…

Thanks for listening to me muse out loud about my dilema. Its a small problem to have, and I shouldn't even call it a problem, how many people would be complaining about whether or not they should adopt one or two of the worlds cutest puppies? I'm pretty lucky if this is all I have to ponder and worry about!

I know how lucky I am, and I am so thankful that good things have come my way.

I've already gushed about how excited I am to be one of Kim's Fairytale instructors at the Enchanted Affaire in April, and you'll probably for sure hear more gushing about how much I am looking forward to that as the months go by.

Now, I've got something equally wonderful to tide me over a bit- Carol Spinski

and I had lunch last week and she was brainstorming some ideas about a get together at her home for the holidays.

I'm so glad the details worked out for her and its a go, and I get to be a part of it along with Amy Barrickman and Debbie Dousenberry.

These three are in the latest issue of Matthew Mead's Holiday magazine together in a Christmas spread shot at Carol's farmhouse. If you'd like to see her magnificent home in person, and get tips from these three pros, as well as make a sparkly tree ornament with me, here is the info:

Contact Carol Spinski for reservations.

This will be a one day, interactive workshop for entrepreneurs, business
and creative types filled with ideas and inspiration provided by our
featured guests, all with amazing backgrounds and talents.

Hurry! Only 15 openings available. $125 for the day

Schedule:

9 – 9:30 am   Morning coffee, muffins and introductions.
9:30 – 11:00   Carol Spinski: Tips and resources to help your creative business sparkle.
11 – 12:00   Karla Nathan: Make and take ornament. Topic: Blogging and how to do online classes/tutorials.
12 – 1:00   Lunch
1 – 2:30   Amy Barickman- Expanding your creative business.
2:30 – 4:00   Deb Dusenberry- Making your brand shine; display, graphics, store front, web presence.
4:00-
5:00   Carol Spinski- Photography tips for marketing and web. Stylized
photo shoot using the make and take ornament from Karla and other props.

Kitty Boy and the Pups

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), kitties, puppies!, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / October 12, 2012

There are more photos of our Romantic Gothic Ghost weekend, as well as the Zombie parade, but first I wanted to show you some of the cuteness that is always under foot around here.

We took the pups out to run and enjoy the great weather (where was this sunshine while company was here??? We had to cancel our trip to the Renfest, everyone was too cold).

The babies were so excited that most pictures I took were just a blur of joy.

They followed Twinkle like baby ducklings. Or I guess, like baby puppies. But when the tough, old barn cat came by, they veered off after him.

Which he didn't care for.

Luckily, no one was hurt. A hiss was enough to give the pups pause.

Well, most of them. This guy was too curious to let it go. They have seen nothing but snuggles and love all of their little lives and have no idea that not everyone thinks they are adorable.

ps- I'd pretend that our grass looks so awful just because of the draught this year, but honestly, we don't have much of a yard. So, please, avert your eyes from the pufts of grass sticking out of the dirt and enjoy the pups. You would never know from looking at our yard that my husband works for a golf course company, huh?

Sleepy babies

Dew Drop, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), puppies!

By Karla Nathan / October 6, 2012

Little Dewdrop fell asleep in the car on the way to visit. So, when they arrived, her parents made a bed for her in the shady bushes while we did some yard work. Her little friend joined her for a nap.

Napping is still his number one favorite pastime. My newest hobby is lining sleepy pups up together on their backs. It's not as easy as it looks, these guys are wiggly and if one decides to play, the game is up and all of them are up and running.

I’m crowded! Roll over!

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), puppies!, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / October 1, 2012

These guys are growing FAST.

Their meals have been supplemented from the beginning and now they are eating dog food, but they still waddle to mama whenever they can. She does her best to accommodate them. At this point, I think its more of a comfort than dinner, they chew on whatever part of her they can, whether it produces milk or not. Her poor belly is all marked up.

But she adores the babies and doesn't want to be kept from them.

No matter how much space they have, they still all sleep in a big pile together. Even when the pile gets so high that one rolls off, like this guy!

It reminds me of that Little Bear song that I sing to the grand fairies:

Five bears in the bed and the little one said
"I'm crowded, roll over"
So they all rolled over, and one fell out

Four bears in the bed, and the little one said
"I'm crowded, roll over"
So they all rolled over and one fell out

Three bears in the bed, and the little one said
"I'm crowded, roll over"
So they all rolled over and one fell out

Two bears in the bed, and the little one said
"I'm crowded, roll over"
So they all rolled over and one fell out

One bear in the bed, and the little one said
"I'm lonely"

They are learning to come when called now. I call "Puppies!" and they start to stumble to me. As each one makes its way, I pick it up, give it some love, then call the next, working my way all the way through the nine.

Funny, the same one is always last to come. The littlest girl sits and waits her turn patiently.

They are all getting personalities. This guy is the vocal one. Since he was born, he was always the one to speak up and let us know what he had to say.

I'm still not sure who will live with me forever. . It will probably be once they are running around free in the studio before I know who I need to keep. That will be the one who is always at my feet when I look down.

I'm waiting for someone to pick me, I guess.

I have deleted the sign up page for Romantic Gothic Ghosts so I don't
oversell accidently. We are keeping it limited to a small group. But if
you are interested, please email me for info.
karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

Dewdrop’s first craft day

Books, Dew Drop, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, holiday decor, puppies!, Romantic Gothic Ghosts

By Karla Nathan / September 27, 2012

Dewdrop came over with her mom to do a practice class for Romantic Gothic Ghosts. The babies came outside to play since it was such a beautiful afternoon. I left the studio door open and made a pen for them right outside.

The little guys played so hard, they tuckered themselves out and just fell asleep where they stood. It looked like the aftermath of a fraternity party.

One even fell asleep with his head in the food bowl.

Dewdrop was perfect at her first big girl craft day. She decided she needed an apron to wear while she worked. Her favorite part was the pockets, she filled them with so much she could barely sit down.

Her Gypsy mama created one of Beth's books for the upcoming class. Beth is providing lots of great materials, and I got out some of the images from the online class too.

(All attendees get the online class included for free. I'll be printing off some of the images for them to use too. And if you are coming, mabye these pictures will give you some ideas on what you might like to bring to add to your own book)

I made a book while Beth made my Raven tea cup project.

It was fun to try the faux tintype technique.

No two books from the class will turn out the same, Beth is providing lots of goodies and tidbits, and some kits will differ.

My book and Dewdrop's Gypsy mama's book looked very different from Beth's.

I can't wait to see all the variations that the rest of the students come up with!

Of course, there were lots of breaks to play with puppies.

I'll leave you with some more of the pages our Gypsy created, she really had some nice ones. She made it her own by adding some gypsy colored ribbons here and there.

Bye Bye Fairies, Hello Ghosts!

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, free images, holiday decor, Romantic Gothic Ghosts, swaps, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 23, 2012

Isn't this fairy from Linda sweet as can be?

It's sad that the Faery Book Swap is over! I made a couple more pages, as thank yous to some sweet people. And I have extra covers that I hope to list on Etsy or in the Boutique. If I ever get a spare minute to do it!

In the fairy frenzy, I'd made up about 16 pages for the swap, and didn't need them all of course, so I'll have a few of those to list too. But I didn't want to use any of those as thank yous. I thought "thanks" deserved something made special just for it.

I still have my family's books, they weren't mailed because we are going to open them all together when everyone gets here to visit for Romantic Gothic Ghosts.

I'm so glad that Guncle Randy, Sissy, Bobbie Sue and Terry can come out to play with us for the classes! We hope to go to see the annual Lawrence Zombie walk if everyone arrives in time, it will be on Thurs. the 4th and family is flying/driving in from Utah, Florida and Indiana.

Then, Friday is shopping at the West Bottoms district, with all the once a month junk and antique stores, as well as Bottoms Up.

Saturday the 6th will be our ghost filled craft day, with Gypsy spells and ravens. Sunday we plan on hitting the Renfest, all decked out in our fairy attire. A perfect little reunion!! Plus I get to have my blog friends meet my family, that will be nice. I'm glad that we are having a workshop while the relatives are in town.

Along with the thank you pages, I mailed out hand made envelopes stuffed with tidbits. To make these, I looked at a regular envelope to get an idea for the pattern, cut it out from an old book page, folded it up and glued the edges. Simple, and kinda cute. I might need to do more of these!

I've gone straight from sweet fairies to gothic ghosts.

These images (provided in the online Romantic Gothic Ghost class) are printed on transparencies and hung around the room.

And the room is a WRECK! I've started cleaning and decorating, but need to get all the chaos and clutter out too.

I started decorating at the ceiling first, then the cabinet tops around the room. I'm sure most people would have cleaned the whole room, put away the mess and then started fixing up. But I got too excited about making the ghosts and had to do the fun parts first!

See how they are hung from tattered tulle on the ceiling? (I'll have more photos later)

**********

Speaking of photos, I've noticed that no matter how good my camera is, and how well I edit pictures, they NEVER look as good on my blog as they do on my computer files.

I wish I could fix this…. I also noticed that if you click on one to open it in a bigger window, its sharper.

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

Another instance of backward preparedness- instead of cleaning and making kits, I wanted to make some ghostly images to set around the room. This collage is an old trinket box with a glass lid that Beth gave me. I took out the image that came it in, turned it on its side and made it a shadow box.

A transparency spider image is across the glass, and a ghostly girl is layered over a gothic arch (from the albums full of pictures and images and backgrounds and patterns that were scanned and added to the online class) and glued to the back of the box. I then added some tatted trim and some very old, beat up flowers.

Its very small, and I seriously doubt that it adds a lot to the over all decor of the room. But it was something I really wanted to do.

We had lots of projects made up for the online class that I pulled out to use around the room too. This tag is pinned to my new curtains, hung just for the occasion. The tag is one of the "ready to go" bonus images from the class. All you do is print it and cut it out.

The curtains are from the Sparks Flea, and were $1. When I bought them, they were a hideous, fleshy peach. But I liked the over all pattern and the flocking was cool, so I gambled that dollar and bought them any way, hoping a bowl of dye would take.

It did and now I just love them.! Thing is, though, I bought them thinking I'd cut them apart to use in projects, and to test the dye, I cut a hunk off the bottom of one to dip. I loved it so much, that I dyed the rest of the panels and hung them up, even with a hunk missing at the bottom of one.

In the window, is a banner also made from the Romantic Gothic Ghost online classes. There are tons of projects, decorating ideas, and printable images in the class. I'd forgotten how much there was in it, and had a lot of fun looking through it with fresh eyes.

Everyone coming to the class at the studio gets the online class free too. We still have a couple spots open for our one day party in the studio if you'd like to join us.

You could hold a puppy on your lap while you work…..

A Passel of Pups

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, puppies!, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 21, 2012

I'm growing very fond of this little pup. Sugarwings calls her The New Agnes Rosebud. I told her that Agnes was very special and one of a kind, this pup deserves her own special name. If I keep her, she might have Rosebud as a middle name to honor Aggie Rose, though.

Agnes was my grandmother's name and our dog was named after her. My husband asked if we could name one after his grandmother, Dorothy. Dorothy!! One of Sugarwing's all time favorite people! Dorothy Rosebud should work just fine. I could call her Dot.

The babies are learning how to play. Its pretty funny when we call "puppies!", they bounce around and try to come to us and climb out of their pen. They look like burnt popcorn jumping around in a pan.

Its hard to get a group shot, there is so much motion, it becomes a blur.

But the chaos doesn't last long, a couple minutes of play wears them out and they are soon sound asleep.

We are still bottle feeding the herd. I've tried dishes and they get more on themselves than in. So, I cut a larger hole in the nipple and fill the bottle with a cereal, formula mix. They love it, and one feeding is usually about 4-5 bottles.

Aunt Sandy is feeling better now, she has had a sore back and couldn't work for a few months. Now, she is back at work with long days on the surgical floor as an RN, so I'm on my own for feedings for a while. Its more efficient (and cuddlier) to use the bottle, but soon, I'll have to train them to use a bowl. Or a trough.

My husband says we should keep two of them, since we are NEVER breeding pups again after the stress of what Twinkle went through.

One baby goes to the father's family, one to Dewdrop, one to my husband's assistant, and at least one to us.

That still leaves a passel of pups to sell, larger than most Yorkie litters! I'm not sure if I want two or not, I'm greedy about puppy time and would like to have just one to raise as my own so I can have her all to myself. If she has a litter mate, she might bond with him more than with me. Yes, I am greedy.

Although, Twinkle is a great dog, I really should keep as many mini Twinks as I can, or some day I'll be sorry. She has a great heart and is about as loyal and loving as a dog can be.

Notice the plants behind her? They are in the whiskey barrels I bought last spring, to turn the stumps into planters. The vines have really taken off and I've been happy with the result. Much cheaper than having stumps removed!

And the $1 solar lights from Walmart have been so pretty all summer. I bought the very plain ones, but now the fancier ones are on sale for $1 each, so I got a dozen of those for next year. My niece has some and says that hers have worked well for 3 years now, which is good to know. I'd not tried them before.

Speaking of cheap, I was at the garden center snapping up more clearance flowers, and they were snipping off the left over caladiums to pack the bulbs away for winter. There was a wheelbarrow full of leaves and Sugarwings asked if she could make a bouquet of them. She loves to pretend she is a bride and always needs bouquets.

The nice lady gave her an arm full, and one to me too. I put them in water when we got home, and they look every bit as fresh a week later. I wonder how long they will last this way? I'm loving them.

Puppy Snuggles

Dew Drop, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Mayara, puppies!

By Karla Nathan / September 19, 2012

These puppies are growing so fast! Dewdrop is their biggest fan, and her mommy says that she wants to see photos on Facebook of them all the time. She calls them Puppeesh.

Dewdrop is a gentle child and can sit quietly and just snuggle a baby pup.

Of course, being on her loving Pop Pop's lap makes snuggle time even more special.

The babies decided to learn how to play on Saturday and are starting to wrassle with each other. Mostly, it involves chewing on a brother's nose for a minute, putting paws around each other, then napping.

For now, they reside in the living room, inside the wading pool. I keep a box with their (ever changing throughout the day) blanket or towel in the pool, line the pool with newspapers and pee pads, and they have learned how to waddle out to the pads to tinkle. A LOT. Those pads get changed all day long too, buy stock in pee pads NOW.

Usually, the pups live in the pool this way for 5 weeks or so, but with this many, there just won't be space. They will need room to run and play.

I'm thinking about moving my car outside and turning the whole garage into a nursery for when we aren't with the dogs. When we are hanging out with them, they can be in the house, or taking over the studio like a pack of hooligans.

At night, I can bring them back in the house to their pool.

I'm treasuring this time of them being tiny, bottle feedings, and babyhood.

It goes by so fast. Just look at Dewdrop, she's a big girl now.

Or at least SHE thinks so! She and her Gypsy mommy have picked out a pup to keep. They are renting a new home that allows pets, and has a small fenced yard. And a passle of little kids ready to cuddle the baby!

Feeding time

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), puppies!, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 12, 2012

Gracious, it has been hectic around here. Fairy pages and books, grand fairies, puppies, and a major deadline that I need to hit for another project, have all whipped my butt.

We did scoot away to Big Cedar Lodge for a couple of days, and I think I spent the entire time sleeping by the pool! Aunt Sandy took care of the babies while I was gone, and I needed that time away to get a bit caught up on my zzzs. These guys and the other forty million things I'm in the middle of are keeping me hopping!

This is the biggest and the littlest. I've been calling the big boy "Corkie" because he is the one that caused Twinkle all the problems and was almost too big for her to deliver. Aunt Sandy calls him Big Head.

Sugarwings calls the littlest one her new Agnes Rosebud. But there could never be another Aggie Rose, this dog deserves her own special name.

The Vet said to start them on cereal when they were 3 weeks old. I jumped the gun by one day, but I think that is ok.

They had more on their tummies than in. They prefer licking it off of fingers to slurping it from a bowl.

I'll have more fairy pages to show you next time. Right now, I need to go and feed those nine hungry babies again!

Little Ghosts, a little puppy, and a little fairy princess

antiques/junking, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, puppies!, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 10, 2012

There was a fairy surprise inside the box of swap pages coming from Deb Ganas, a whole pile of fairy garments, wings and slippers.

Dewdrop has a bit of a shoe obsession, so she will glom onto the slippers right away. Look at how funny the barefoot fairy feet shoes are! My husband has recently started wearing barefoot shoes for running, he thinks they are amazing. (his are not this cute) I'll have to clock the girls and see if these make them run even faster. I already can't keep up with Sugarwings, but I doubt if anyone could!

And isn't the package with the pages wrapped so sweetly? I should make sure and get a photo of her artwork too, it's really nice.

So far, a couple of tubs of packages have been mailed out. It will take a while to get through the whole set of swappers, but I've got a great start on it.

And the dilemma of how to wrap them is solved. Each book is swathed in fabric or tulle. Some of them are getting these elfish playing card tags. I only have 52 of those, so its a random selection for the tags.

I've got a few different airy fairy fabrics and tulles to use too, that really makes packing them up more fun. It gets monotonous if every single one is the same.

Of course, no two books are the same either. I'll be sad when I am done assembling them, I love sorting and sifting through to find pages that coordinate well together.

Last week was a short one for the kids. Not only were they out of school for Labor Day, Tuesday was some sort of day off too. So, I was able to spend some time with the big group of grands, and went to a garden center close out, lunch and a movie.

Mexican food, and Para Norman- which was a bit scary but had a wonderful message about accepting the differences in others and not being judgemental. Too bad it had to be taught by a scary, 300 year old Pilgrim Zombie Judge. But I love zombies, so really enjoyed the movie.

Poor Fin, looked at me about halfway through the movie and said, "why did you have to bring us to a scary movie?" And Sugarwings crawled up on my lap to clench me. I hugged Fin, held Sugarwings, asked if they wanted to leave, but both wanted to stay. I'm glad they did, it had an uplifting ending and Norman was a town hero.

We have a family tradition at movies. As the show ends, we go down to the front of the theater and dance to the songs that play during the credits. This time, I was too exhausted from lack of sleep due to puppies, but it was a really good song that I was sorry to miss out on dancing to. Little Ghost from the White Stripes, was so fun that we sat in the parking lot and played it over and over on my Iphone, then sang it all night.

The best part of being a grandmother are those kind of moments. At this stage of life, I know how fast it all zooms by and I like to stop and let the little ones take the time to explore and listen, and absorb the world. If we want to sit on a sidewalk and listen to a song a few times, why not? What is the big hurry to get in the car? Home will be waiting when we get there, we might as well grab onto something fun when we see it.

The garden center sale was a doozy. These weren't half dead, end of season clearance items, these were lush, thriving, pretty plants. I was thrilled to load up a cart at a dollar a pot, my yard had taken a beating from the heat and the chickens. I discovered that hens have a sweet tooth for begonias and petunias, and all the planters filled with those flowers have been pecked naked.

So, I have some pots to replant for fall and this sale was just what I needed. I want things to look pretty for Romantic Gothic Ghosts in October! If I get this new batch of plants settled in the dirt now, they should be ideal for company that week.

This photo was taken on 9/5, the little ones are opening their eyes and are getting strong enough to try to walk instead of scooch on their tummies.