Thursday, January 31, 2008

And the Be My Valentine Winner is........



Lena has chosen Honey to be her Valentine.
___________________________________
Here was Honey's entry:

Lena, Honey is a super sweet girl who loves everyone, humans and animals. She helps her older brother who is almost blind and almost deaf back to the door by nudging him along. She plays gently with her other brother who has scars and injuries from a previous dog attack. She even helped integrate a new kitty in the family. When Elvis was scared she comforted him and kept him safe.

She loves to play and loves to snuggle even more. Every morning she stretches out between her mom and dad to not only get rubbed on, but to give them each a kiss before we get up. Once she even insisted on keeping three babies (her toys) in our bed for over a month. Each night she cleaned them and slept with them.

Lena, she would love to be your Valentine and would love for you to be hers. She has a big nose and a big heart, her motto would be, always room for a little love.
___________________________________

All of the entries were lovely and Lena and I would like to thank all of the pups who participated in our Be My Valentine Contest.

Congratulations, Honey, your story, your sweet disposition and helping hand have won over the heart of Lena.

Honey will win her very own Valentine heart made to look just like her.

A Wonderful Gift



I wanted to show off this wonderful gift that was given to me by a dear friend. She made me this amulet bag for Christmas. It was lovingly hand-stitched and beaded. The care and thought she put into this gift is amazing, the detail is unbelievable and the best part is there are Japanese symbols on either side, one representing the word 'friends' and 'forever'. There is nothing like receiving a handmade gift, one that is made with your heart and soul. I will cherish this lovely little bag always and forever! Thanks Peg, friends forever.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

EFA Interview - LolaLynn



Here is our interview with fellow EFA (Etsy for Animal) member Lynn. Above is a photo of a pair of earrings Lynn made. You can check out more of Lynn's creations at LolaLynn.etsy.com.

1) Tell us your name and a little about you? My name is Lynn Hanousek and I live in NYC. After living in Manhatttan for 25 years, my husband, Bill, and I now live in Queens. Its a little quieter, we have room for a small vegetable garden but can still get into mid-town in 30 minutes or less. We share our home with 4 felines. Or should I say,they share THEIR home with us.

2) Where can we find your Etsy shop? Are there any other places we can see your creations?
You can find my shop at LolaLynn.etsy.com. I have 3 other potential shop sites but haven't developed them yet. One is for vintage, another strictly for animal themed products and the third - I haven't decided.

3) What do you create and if multiple things, what is your favorite)?
LolaLynn's was supposed to be for jewelry. When I became a grandmother some of my Filipino friends at my church started calling me Lola(G'ma in Filipino)Lynn. While I helped care for Matthew, I would make wire wrap rings. My daughters told me to sell them on Etsy and so LolaLynn's ring and things began. The rings sell great in person, but there's a lot of competition in the jewelry department on Etsy and so I gradually added different media. I love working in stain glass and painting was my 1st passion. Basically, I love whatever medium I happen to be working on at the moment. Therefore,my shop tends to be eclectic.

4) Who or what inspires you?
Nature has always inspired me. And continues to do so today. I also have favorite artists who I love because of the colors they use: van Gogh, Chagall, Max. I love color and I think that comes through in my shop.

5) How many pets do you have and what are their names (any interesting stories about how they came to be your pet)?
Bill and I currently reside with Yogi (17), Samson (14), Dotty (12) and Sophia (7). Sophia is my Etsy avatar and somewhat of a celebrity in the EFA threads along with her virtual friends,Franklin, Moses and Tala.

Yogi and her brother, Max were left on the steps of the animal hospital because as Manx cats they had undesirable tails. She's a stumpy (a bit of a tail ending in a hook); Max was a rumpy (no tail, just a puff of hair). They were absolutely adorable and we fell in love at once. They kept us in stitches as they had the ability to jump 5 feet high from a sitting position because of their longer back legs. Sadly Max went to kitty heaven last year. He was "my boy" and I still miss him. Yogi is blind now but gets around quite well. She spends most of the day on Bill's lap as he works at the computer.

We inherited Dotty and Sam. Dotty and her brother, Spotty, were adopted by my brother in Florida and when he passed away he told his friend that he wanted his babies to live with us. Dotty has beautiful white fur and blue eyes. She is a real sweetheart and helps me check the EFA threads every morning. Her twin brother, Spotty, now lives in San Francisco with our daughter, Deborah, and her family.

Samson lived with an elderly friend and even went to assisted living with her. She made me promise that I would take care of Sam if anything ever happened to her. She was 89. He was a nervous wreck every time I visited with them (my presence = trip to the vet). But now that he lives with us, he hangs with me day and night. Part of his successful assimilation is due to Sophia. Each of the other cats might have issues with one another but everyone gets along with Sophia. She's a peace maker, that is until she wants to play and then she rips loose. She's been like this since kittenhood and is just plain fun. She was such an active kitten that I nicknamed her "the whirly-dirly girl" after the whirly digs that spin in the wind.

6) How do you give back to our animal friends? What charities do you hold near and dear to your heart?
We have been rescuing, adopting and finding homes for stray cats for many years. I was very excited when I heard about T-N-R (trap, neuter, return) and took one of the first courses offered by Neighborhood Cats. There were a lot of feral cats wandering through our back yard when we moved to Queens, so it seemed like a smart thing to do. Subsequently, we discovered that the cats belonged to a managed colony in our community so, I never had to put these skills to use. But the knowledge gained has been invaluable in introducing others to the benefits of T-N-R.

Bill and I have always donated to a number of animal organizations. Once on Etsy I saw that other Etsians donated portions of their proceeds to animal charities and decided to donate $1 for every pair of earrings I sell to Neighborhood Cats. I feel that this is a way of giving back for the training I received. Education is as important as implementation.

The next thing I found on Etsy was EFA (Etsy for Animals). The concept of donating to different animal charities appealed to me and I joined, although not being computer savvy slowed down my participation at first. Now I'm a regular thread bumper and a participant with product donations to the EFA shop and to organizations that need a helping hand. It suits me well and when I see the donations made by EFA members to the charity of the month, I feel proud to be a part of such an amazing street team.

Here is a photo of one of Lynn's paintings that she did of the Na Pali coast in Kauai, Hawaii, just one of her many talents!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Doberman Pinscher Tile

I love these new tiles, I think they came out very nice and I rarely do Doberman Pinscher items, but I did this one for my pup, even though she doesn't have cropped ears, hers are floppy I thought I'd do a Dobie piece in honor of my Lena. Here it is, I hope you like it. The artwork is taken from an original artwork that I did in pen/ink/colored pencil and pastels. I created a clay tile placing the artwork on the tile and then embellished it with various reclaimed jewelry pieces.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Be My Valentine Contest



Welcome to 'Nanjodogz Be My Valentine Contest' where we will see who is going to be the perfect match to be Lena's Valentine. It's pretty easy to enter, there's no cost to enter and there's a prize if you're voted the winner. Here's what you need to do.
  1. Post a comment with your name, your dog's name and your e-mail address to this post telling us why your dog should be Lena's Valentine and be creative!
  2. Add your dog's photo to our Special Valentine's Guestbook with your name and your dog's name so we can match you up to your comment.
  3. In order to receive your prize you must enter your name, dog's name and e-mail address as a comment to this post. We will not publish any comments so no need to worry about your e-mail address being visible to the public.
That's all you have to do to enter. There will be one prize given away at the end of the contest, which will be a hand-sculpted heart pendant taken from a photo of your dog. Deadline is January 25th. We will notify the winner by e-mail by February 1st. We will ask for a photo of your pup and create your very special Valentine Heart.

This is an example of what the Valentine heart will look like - only with your pup in the middle, of course.


We will only be notifying the winner so if you'd like to see who the winner is, check back by our blog in February to see who the lucky Valentine is.

DON'T FORGET TO ADD A COMMENT WITH YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS TO THIS POST SO WE CAN CONTACT YOU FOR YOUR PRIZE! I will not be publishing the comments so no one will see your email address.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

NanjoDogz featured on talentdatabase.com

NanjoDogz has been featured on talentdatabase.com!


Tuesday, January 8, 2008

A is for Afghan Hound Note Cards



New note cards in store - http://nanjodogz.etsy.com
This is a set of four note cards depicting an Afghan Hound sniffing some odd looking flowers.

The card was created from an original artwork done in pen/ink/colored pencil and magic marker, scanned and printed onto note card paper stock. Blank inside. Includes four white envelopes.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Etsy and Goals for the New Year


I joined Etsy because it is a community of all things handmade, where people can appreciate items that are handmade, the work that goes into making things with your own two little hands and the creativity that goes behind these works of art.

My goals for the new year are to try different techniques and expand my line of products in my shop to include more artwork. I also plan to delve into a variety of polymer clay techniques, get into more stamping, inks and all the other wonderful things you can do with polymer clay.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Valentines Day Treat Jars



These little jars are so cute and brand new in our shop http://nanjodogz.etsy.com

Frenchie the French Bulldog is sitting on top of his treat jar hugging a bone. I do believe he's trying to give a little hint about opening up that jar and filling it with some of his most favorite treats.

This is a 13 ounce jar embellished with large polymer clay bone and hearts and stamped with bones and the word "woof". The lid has a hand-sculpted black French Bulldog sitting on the top. There is red ribbon with clay heart wrapped around the neck of the jar.

Approximate size of the jar is: 6-1/2" tall top of French Bulldog to bottom and 3" around. The jar is empty, but will hold 13 ounces of your pup's favorite Scooby snacks.

Afghan Hound Cameo

Afghan Hound Cameo
Afghan Hound etched into clay and set in brass setting

Greyhound in Profile Etched Pendant

Greyhound in Profile Etched Pendant
Greyhound in Profile Etched Pendant

Greyhound

Greyhound
Etched in Pink

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