March Madness Madness

We along with many other families we know are huge Gator fans and with March Madness in the air, I am in the process of making some custom Florida Gator harnesses for all the Chihuahuas in our extended family and our own! That's quite the pile of blue and orange aye?

When I made the first batch of Gator harnesses for my son's football games, I got several requests of onesies and twosies for Gators and even a request for a Seminoles harness, but this is, by far, the largest pile to date. Because the fabric is licensed, I cannot sell any in my ChiChi Gear section. But if you have a request for a college or NFL team, shoot me a message and I can sew it if you buy the fabric and send it to me! In the mean time....off to sewing the outer edges and Velcro on 24 Gator harnesses I go!

Another Crafty Project

My dog harnesses have been flying off the shelves, so much so that I made a huge stockpile to be able to keep up. Since I have received so many orders containing multiple sizes, I thought I best make me some clothing tags to make sizing easier. Well, to know which one is which size that is.

I made these color-coded size tags using inkjet iron-on sheets and a roll of twill. They turned out pretty cool - Rather impressed actually. Guess my Figgy Gear has been kicked up a notch aye?

Whooooops!

So we get to the football game and in the parking lot, look what I found! Dagnabit! We couldn't go out on the field with the dogs but it actually worked out in our favor. The concession stand had benches we could sit at that was the perfect vantage point to watch the game and not many people even noticed these two tiny cuties (Dewey and Ace) in my jacket. Those that did took were tickled to see such tiny dogs and the the boys - they just beamed from all of the attention they got. Oh, and the harnesses were a huge hit - Even to the "Seminole" fans. I did get a couple requests for custom Noles vests  ;)

Gator Fans

My youngest son has taken on flag football this year and their team elected to name themselves the Gators. This inspired me to add another project to my sewing pile. I have been sewing a huge number of harness vests for the last couple weeks. I have a new design that allows for a bit more flexibility when it comes to the size measurements and honestly, I think they fit a lot better than my first design. I promised myself I would have the racks filled with the new harness vests by the first of the year (I was off by 3 days - not too bad) and am proud to announce I have many new adorable prints available.

Anywho - the Gators - I used the new design and this fabric I found at Joanns to make Dewey and Ace a harness for game days. Toooo cute aye? They turned out really nice and made our two little guys the perfect little mascots.

Camper Chillaxin

When it comes to camping with the dogs, it is all about exploring the campground and napping in the camper. When I take out the collars, they know we are about to head out on an adventure. That is when their excitement kicks into gear.

This trip has an additional purpose. I am testing the durability of the new harness vests that I made as well as the new dog tags. I was a bit concerned over the intricate cuts in the cocktail glass shape but after a full 24 hours of use, there has not been a single issue. We slapped the harnesses on all of the dogs as we put them in the car to drive out here and won't remove them until we get home. So far so good!

Today has been HOT and we just came in as the afternoon showers arrived to cool everything off. While we wait out the rain, I came inside to read a book and the boys - ALL OF THE BOYS - have found a need to lay at least one portion of their body onto mine. Too cute!

11 Weeks Old and Movin On Up

The girls are 11 weeks old today and putting on weight quite nicely! Lady is still the smallest with her sisters closing in on 3lbs. As they spend more and more time with the rest of our dogs, the comforts of doggy beds have become their first choice when given an option. Since the rest of our dogs have upgraded digs (their new crate covers and mattress/pad sets) I thought I would create a couple sets for when we have puppies.

The puppy versions are fluffy enough to raised their sleeping portion above the bottom bars that their little feet often get held up on. The mattress covers also include a zipper. Since puppy mattress would get soiled daily, I cool the fiber-fill and placed it in a garbage bag before inserting it into the cover. Creating spare covers was a must - so they have clean place to nap while the spoiled one is being washed.

They immediately jumped in and made themselves at home. My latest crafty comforts is officially puppy approved!

Another Crafty Project

We are gearing up for our 2010 camping trips and need to get the dog's gear organized as well. The one thing on the top of that list was a new set of I.D tags. Our last batch was ordered from LoveYourPets.com. I loved the tags and the price was awesome! Problem was, the plastic was easily chewed by our more active Chihuahuas. About half of the tags are still legible. The sound of clinking brass or stainless tags was far more of an issues than the chewing. Any time they hear the clinking they bark - I am stuck with plastic.

Then I found the slide on tags. BRILLIANT! PetTags4Less.com even charged less than for my original batch! Since I am creating custom collars to match their new harness vests, the slide-on concept can be used and made "permanent" once I stitch on the clasps.  These will be PERFECT!!!

But this got me thinking - I still need a tag of some sort for their vests! Identification while camping is a must and since they will be sporting BOTH restraints, double I.D.ing is a fantabulous idea. So the crafty side of me emerged and the following is the result...

I created these adorable tags with shrink film, a black Sharpie marker, a box of colored pencils, split rings, jump rings, glittery nail polish and crystal glaze. VOILA!

I love how my prototypes turned out. (Btw, the blurred text is intentional - it's private contact information ;)  Working out the shrink to size ratio and what mediums work the best took the longest (it takes a MINIMUM of 24 hours for the glaze to dry completely) but  I feel it was well worth the effort. Now I just need to test the durability of the tags! I have a few test subjects on hand  - tee hee - and will share the results once they are in.

New Bed Project

I have been planning on making new dog beds for a while but finding the right design has been my major holdup. One that is big enough for more than one dog, easy to clean, no piping for our chewers to devour and stylish. I know - just a huge list right? Well, with so much creating sewing going on lately, I got re-inspired using McCall's Sewing Pattern M545, I was able to fill all of my needs and then some! It has a cover and separate pillows, making washing a breeze!

I finished my first one today and the dogs quickly approved. It only took a few moments of sniffing and scratching for them to finally call it a new napping home.

Where's The Party?

I have been doing a lot of sewing these past couple weeks and during my search for the perfect cocktail print fabric, I fell upon this very retro looking pattern that was a bit lighter weight than I desired for the harness vests. My creative mind went bonkers and I had "party dress" ideas running wild. Here is the result - SO STINKIN CUTE!!!

The patterned called for frilly lace and tulle - I mixed it up and made it my own for this look and I totally love the results! The kids want me to find Florida Gator fabric for the girls to have dresses on game days. Kinda goes against my party dress idea - but hey! No reason the girls can't dress for the game!

FINALLY!!!

With all of the harness vest and belly band making I do, I have always been on a search for the perfect "cocktail" fabric to use. I am not one for the cheesy patterns and such, so the fabrics I have found just were not up to my standards. I guess fabric with cocktails glasses and drinks are not in high demand because the pickin's have been far and few between.

Well, last week I found the fabric and I couldn't be more excited!!! I have a new vest design that I have been dieing to try out - which coincided with my discovery! Waverly has a collection of "candy" themed color schemes - this one being Good and Plenty - and the weight is thicker than my current lightweight vest design. I LOVE HOW THEY TURNED OUT!!!!

They have a couple other color schemes I need to get my hands on so I can make more masculine vests - All which will be my signature design!!! Can't have a cocktail Chihuahua with out a cocktail harness vest right??? Once I get them all finished I will add them to the site for purchase :)

More Stuffed Chis!

The requests keep rolling in for these little guys and still haven't finished my own pack's! Since we have so many dogs in so many different sizes, I wanted their stuffed versions to be equivalent.

The version of Dewey is like 5 inches tall!!!! Then the Cosmo version is 18" in height. They do all look adorable sitting on the top shelf of our entertainment unit. Needless to say, I had to special order eyes and noses in more appropriate sizes. So all of the dog's bodies are ready - just cant attach their faces just yet.

Creative Juices Flowing!

I pulled out the sewing machine this weekend to make more harnesses - Custom orders as well as some new sizes and colors. While gathering fabric I fell upon these ADORABLE patterns called Parlor Pets with the most precious Chihuahua. I just had to give it a whirl.

The pattern called for a solid color but I decided to kick it up a notch and customize them - recreating one of each of or dogs. The first three that I made are of Dude, Blue and JB. See the resemblance??? SO STINKIN CUTE!!!

Well, the requests are already coming in and I have my remaining dogs to create too. With so much interest in customized chichis, I thought I would put them out as an option in our ChiChi Gear section. I will have them available by the end of next weekend I would hope. In the mean time, send me a pic and an email. You too can get your own custom stuffed Chi Chi for $20.00!!!!

They Solved The Problem

I designed a pattern and created belly bands for all three of our intact boys today. Double layered fabric makes them reversible and an inner layer of batting helps with absorption. I place a panty liner on the inside and voila! No pee-pee and no bang-bang! The 2" wide Velcro is the key! It holds the band on tight and creates a perfect fit.

TINY Dewey Dog Collar

The sewing machine has been calling my name this week and today's challenge was a custom collar for Dewey. Again, his size has been an issue in finding him the perfect fit.

I created this collar using a cat breakaway clip - A PERFECT way to put a collar on a Chihuahua - NO chance in hurting his trachea and a safe way for him to have identification. There is no slack because it was created to fit him exactly - LOVE it!!!!

Café Press

To many's surprise, breeding Chihuahuas is not my only passion. When in the work force, I was in the computer industry as a network engineer, graphic designer and with more obvious proof, a web designer. I also designed scrapbook products! Back when I had a lot more time on my hands, I actually created handmade scrapbooks for each of our puppies. I use many of my skills still today and love getting to dabble in many things. One is graphic design.

I have a whole slew of t-shirts that I designed using Café Press. I love that site! For just a few dollars, I can have personalized items delivered right to my front door. Many times, people that come to take home our puppies comment on my t-shirts, asking where I got them - and where they can pick one up for themselves. That inspired me to share my design ideas in a way that allows everyone to walk around with their ChiChi proudly displayed on their own t-shirts.

Using a silhouette of each of our puppies, I can create a personalized image just like those on my iChihuahua t-shirts. I created templates for eight of the more commonly used items at Café Press. I also create a more colorful template that includes the puppy's new forever name! Just another extra I am so proud to offer to our new puppy families!

If you are interested in a Café Press image pack for your dog/puppy or have questions, be sure to contact me! Each image pack runs $10.00 and can be used as many times as you need - just upload them to your own Café Press account and create!

Been A Busy Bee

As I have stated before, my search for the perfect harness as well as t-shirt for Dewey has been unsuccessful. I knew if this was the case that I would have to whip out the sewing machine and MAKE the solution. This week I did just that.

With all of my experience with toy breeds comes many lessons learned. When it comes to pet products - Dogs are dogs are dogs in this world. Thing is - when you have a tiny breed dogs are NOT dogs! And Chihuahuas are something even beyond that!

With their potential for a collapsed trachea, standard collars are not ideal. A harness is what I suggest for all families that adopt one of our puppies and I used to send them to Walmart for their harness vests - which were perfect for walking them as well as for warmth. They didn't have the bulkiness of many other on the market - perfectly lightweight and adorable! Unfortunately, they don't carry them any more.

Next, sizes are an issue. You can find a wall full of gear for medium and large size dogs and - if you are lucky - one tiny rack for toy dogs. Now you need to add in the fact that X-Small and XX-Small sizes are not universal. Fitting your Chihuahua is not an easy task.

So, I drug out the drawing board and got to work. I created a template for a harness that is specifically designed for Chihuahuas. There is a range of sizes that start at a 4" neck and move up to a 12" neck. The girth is where the commercial versions fall short so I made sure that mine have a larger range to make them more custom to the dog. They are a dream come true. Now all nine of our dogs have a custom harness that fit them perfectly.

I have made a few extras so that I can include them in my puppy kits for the upcoming litters. You can never start too early with leash training and these harnesses will make the perfect starting tool as well as a fashionable way to keep warm!!!