bubbledog blog

pet trauma 8-24

Poppy and Ginger were due for their vaccinations, so we headed up to the veterinarian's office yesterday.  I haven't found a new vet since moving, so it is about a 25 minute drive to our old vet... I don't mind the longer drive, but it isn't great for emergencies.

Now, for those of you that may not know... dogs can develop allergies to their vaccinations after years of getting them successfully.  So, at the ripe age of six, Ginger has joined the allergic reaction club.  After geting home (about an hour after our appointment), I went to go find Ginger (who likes to hide in her crate) and noticed that her head was swollen close to two times its normal size!  It was terrible... her eyes were almost swollen shut and her lips were red and enormous - she was barely recognizable as my own dog!  I scrambled to find a phone number for a local vet (too afraid to risk a long drive) and was able to rush out and get her some anti-inflamatory shots to counteract the swelling (you have to be careful that there is no swelling in their throat which could affect their breathing).  The vet informed me that the shots could make her a bit loopy, so I wrapped up my drunken little girl in a towel and took her home.  I took the photo above about three hours after the ordeal and the swelling had gone down quite a bit.  I was too panicked earlier in the day to even think about getting a picture.  She remained in the towel for about three hours because every time I took her out and put her on the ground, she was shaky, frightened, and disoriented... look at those crazy drunken eyes in the picture!

Strangely enough, a similar thing happened to Poppy three years ago when she was six.  The photo on the left is of Poppy after we returned from getting a shot of Benadryl after her reaction to a vaccination.  Poppy had hives all over her little chihuahua body and her face was puffy and swollen.  Ginger didn't get the hives, but her head was ridiculously more swollen.  Since that incident, Poppy gets an anti-inflamatory shot before she gets her vaccinations and it seems to do the trick... I guess Ginger will be joining her from now on.   

I'm feeling so mixed about these vaccinations...  I don't want them to ever get a fatal disease, but I also feel terrible putting them through this.  Rabies, Parvo, and all those other doggy diseases are much worse though!  Just a warning to dog owners - I would always make sure you are able to be home with your pets after their vaccinations - don't do it on the way to work or something.  I'm so afraid to even think what would have happened if I wasn't home! 

   

ebay find of the year

I was so excited to see these Fleer Smellies show up on ebay last week.  I have never seen them before and I am happy to add them to my ever growing collection of vintage scratch and sniff stickers.  These Smellies were made in 1969 - a bit before the 80's sticker craze that my collection centers around, but I am willing to make an exception. 

Each pack includes a strip of four different rectangular stickers.  These stickers can then be stuck on one of the four cards included in the pack.  When looking at the four stickers I received in my pack, it's a little hard to figure out which card goes with which sticker....

I have made the official declaration that this is one of my favorite finds of the year! The only downfall is that I have never seen them before and I will probably rarely find them again in the future... making it difficult to "COLLECT ALL 80 Smellies STICKERS" as the back of the package is instructing me to do!

only in the seventies

Every so often, I like to look through old craft books... sometimes for ideas and sometimes for a chuckle.  Now, I don't mean to say there are no ideas to be found in "The L'eggs Idea Book", but this book just cracks me up.  I am not even sure where I found it, but it sits prominently on my shelf with all of my other old crafts books.  The craft books from the seventies are always my favorite and this book does not disappoint! Published in 1976, it is broken up into eight chapters and includes over thirty projects.  I'll share my top three...

From Chapter 1, L'eggs Around the House, may I present the Workshop Rack.  Though the thought of making this seems upsurd to me, when I think about it more, I could see my grandparents having used something like this in their basement.  It could add a little bit of glamour to that workbench area - move over you tired old coffee cans....

Moving right along, we have the Napkin Holder, Nut Dish, and Canister Server from Chapter 3, Party L'eggs.  There's nothing I could think of wanting more than to go to a party and have food served to me in the hostess' pantyhose containers!  And after the party, why use plastic wrap when putting away the leftovers?  Just save your plastic underwear packaging and wrap it all up! 

My last selection would be this Mirror Frame.  This would have been something that appealed to me when I was six years old.  I would have wanted to make it and then give to my mother as a gift... then I'd always wonder why she kept it all to herself in her bedroom and didn't hang it above the mantel in the living room.

crafts for the week august 6th through 10th

Due to the interference of my pesky real job, I almost had a craftless week.  Luckily, I was able to have an all day craftathon on Friday and make up for lost time!  Up top is a set of hamster magnets that I drew and then digitally colored in photoshop.  I didn't do any of that this week, but the actual magnets arrived at my doorstep on Thursday.  I had them made by Etsy member kittycrossbones and I was thrilled with the outcome!

After selling out of the few that I had, I decided to make some more starbust totes that you can see on the right.  The maroon bags will be available soon in my Etsy shop and the black will be available somewhere else... I don't want to jinx it, so I won't say where until it is final :)

Last up is my whopping second (oh yes, two total... no laughing) wholesale order since I started selling my items a little over a year ago!  Wholesaling is tough to do because of the pricing - especially if you take too much time making things like me.  Anyhow, there is a colorful pic below of some packaged buttons that I'll be sending out shortly.

   

new house tour starts here...

This post is for you overseas friends and internet pals that are curious, but will probably not see my home while it can still be referred to as a "new" house... or ever for that matter. 

Of course, since it was built in 1963, it's not exactly new, but it is new to me.  And since my last home was built somewhere between 1910 and 1920, this house feels like I am living in a space-age modern marvel home!   Straight, flat, smooth walls... who knew! 

The main selling point on this home (besides its sixties-osity) is the living room which has this large bank of windows that look out onto the deck and the backyard.  The living room gets great light and is perfect for taking pictures of Etsy items, though also making it difficult to take a picture of the room itself.

The room is still in dire need of some artwork for the walls.  The only thing up right now is a giant square molded wood piece from PIER 1 and a tacky fifties printed painting up over the fireplace.  Suggestions?  My friend Amy recently reminded me about SHAG prints with this post in her blog... hmmm....

Anyway, what the room has going for it in windows and length, it lacks in its twelve foot width... notice the crammed in picture of the fireplace - I would have had to go outside to get any farther back.  While speaking of the fireplace, does anyone know how one goes about replacing that brass monstrosity on the front?

The sofa and funky floor light are from IKEA, the clear base lamps from TARGET, and the wood/chrome lamp and green ottoman are from CODA.  The vintage buffet, nesting end tables, and small wooden cabinet with sliding door are all courtesy of the neighboorhood Salvation Army over the last 10 years.

So kids, that's my half decorated living room.  Wasn't that exciting?

flea market finds

Yet another Sunday morning was spent melting in the sun while trudging along through the Golden Nugget Flea Market in Lambertville.  Today it was worth it because it was a fruitful venture and many things (none needed) were purchased.

First up are these Scandanavian Airlines System (SAS) flight menus shown on left.  They each measure about seven inches tall by ten inches wide and their last adventure is going to be the journey from inflight menu to framed wall art for my home.

Next up, in the order of cool-ness, is a molded white fiberglass tulip chair.  It is going to take over as my sewing chair for the time being and we'll see how that works out.  It needs a little bit of touch up work on the base and it doesn't have that sweet molded base that blends smoothly up into the seat - that being said, I'm happy with it for the price I paid.

Last, but not least, is the random assortment of tchotchkes that I end up accumulating almost every time I leave my home...  a sevenites cookie jar, a vintage animal glass (from Penn Maid sour cream), a Peppermint Patti pvc figurine (supposed to be holding something, but that part is missing), and this sixties-looking wooden girl with a flower hat.  See, I needed every one of those things, right?

Total damage for the day... $31.

crafts for the week july 30th through august 3rd

This has been a great week for me in the sewing department and I am feeling very productive.  I was able to finish quite a few projects and got back to making some larger tote bags (which I haven't made in a while).  This was an experimental week and I have three new tote designs as well as one golden oldie pictured here in this post. 

The woodland critter bag (posted bottom right) was very popular for me last fall and winter, but I stopped making it because it takes FOREVER to sew.  There are 27 little applique pieces that get stitched together before the bag even gets assembled.  In addition to the critter bag, I have the two wide strap bags below  - I screen printed the tree myself... ah.. so proud :) 

The rainbow cloud bag up top was an experiment for me.  It was a lot of fun to make and there are all different sorts of materials involved (including ironing board liner).  As usual, it's an 80's throwback from me.

stop the presses!

Whoa... for me to post to my blog two times in the same day, it has to be big.  Well, hold on to something and then go click on the link below for....

SCRATCH AND SNIFF WALLPAPER!  The screen shot from their site will take you to Flavor Paper's amazing wallpaper website. 

accidental find

While perusing the internet this morning, I happened upon these Alessi watches.  Of course, I was not looking to find them, nor was I looking to have the urge to drop $85, but alas... these things happen.  I think that the simplistic modern design is amazing and I love the way that the case and strap are made of one molded piece.  I am going to try and find them in person first before making the splurge, but you can find them here at the Artloft Online Store (where I "borrowed" the pics).   

habitrails to you

I've never had much luck trying to create a doll or stuffed animal of any sort, but maybe things are turning around.  I am very satisfied with this little family of hamsters that I created the other day.  I made them of wool felt and they are each about seven to eight inches tall.  I had two hamsters when I was younger and I loved them dearly.  These hamsters involve a little less maintenance - no food, no clean-up, no wood chips, and no Habitrail needed.

Here's the whole crew:  Gina the cheese lover (any cheese will do), Nicholas the health nut (with raw broccoli to snack on), and Dexter the confused hamster (he thinks he's a rabbit).  Please note... I may have borrowed some of these names - you know who you are ;)