Saturday, August 22, 2009

Pet Store Memories

A while back I was at a pet store, just buying some piggy supplies. I can't resist going and looking at the pets, especially the guinea pigs. There was this one cute little girl, so little and shy, she was hiding in the pigloo. I could tell she wanted some hay. She stuck her nose out cautiously, and stretched her body as that nose inched forward so carefully and timidly. She was so tiny, she climbed into a dish of food and sat in there, munching away. The roundness of her nose and that timid nature reminded me so much of my little baby P-Chan when I first brought her home. Her coat was a deep brown with white hairs mixed throughout. This plushie looks just like that little piggy.


The next time I went to the pet store I looked for that cute, shy little girl and found that she wasn't there anymore. I was hoping to see her one more time, but I was glad that she'd found a home.

On another note, looks like I've got my rat plushie pattern worked out. I'll have some pics up of rattie plushies soon. :3

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Custom Plushie Update! Bou, Leo and Ozzy

This is Bou. I hear he's a bitey piggy, so his owner is glad to have a version of him that doesn't have any teeth. She (his owner that is, not the guinea pig) made me a cute baby chocobo plushie in lavender and purple, which you can see in her DeviantArt Gallery.

This is the second custom plushie I've done of a guinea pig named Leo. He's a cute little calico piggy, and since making him I've been thinking of making some calico piggies to put in my shops.

I made this plushie for someone on the GuineaLynx Forums. This is Ozzy, a super fluffy piggy.



I'm always available for plushie commissions. :3

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

My Creamy Guinea Pig Plushie

I'm always looking for more furs. I search the local stores constantly so I can get them as soon as they arrive. When I found this lovely creamy yellow, I knew I had to make a piggy plush out of it.




This super-softie plushie is in both my Artfire shop and my Etsy shop. And I can always make a big piggy plushie out of this or any other of the furs you see my baby piggy plushies in.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Together at Last! Miso and Archie are Guinea Pals

As you may know, I have five guinea pigs in five separate C&C cages. Why? Because none of them seem to get along well. Naturally we keep the boys and girls separate, for obvious reasons. Miso got along well with his father Ponzu and his brother Shoyu, but since they passed away Kokiri has become overly aggressive (Miso literally jumped for joy when we put up a divider in their cage, poor guy). Mama Mochi and daughter Pocky used to live together, but being a bit bigger Mochi would bully Pocky around and so we separated them as well. Now, with her own space and uninhibited access to food, Pocky has grown bigger and more confident, and she tends to pick on her mom whenever I put them together! The latest addition to our guinea pig family is Archie, a friendly and ultra-hyper little guy, and his good nature seemed agreeable enough that he just might be able to have a cagemate.


We tried putting all the boys together for floor time. Again, Kokiri was just too aggressive, but Archie and Miso seemed to get along well so we tried giving just the two of them floor time. Aside from a bit of rumble-strutting, there weren't any serious conflicts. After a few nights of floor time sessions, the boys really appeared to enjoy playing with each other, and we decided to go ahead with our plans for a combined piggy cage.


First we started with a buddy bath. It was Archie's first bath, and he didn't like being wet at all. Miso, having received several in his life, resigned himself to his watery fate

We're at the start of another heat wave. The warm weather is good for piggy baths, at least when you have damp piggies who keep bopping towels off of them.


Miso and Archie even cuddled together so cutely, and eventually fell asleep side by side as they waiting ever so patiently for their new home to be put together.


We (and by that I mean my boyfriend) took Miso's and Archie's 2x3 C&C cages and combined them into a spacious 2x5. We got them a new Bigloo and put in their chubes, two litter trays, and a cute plaid dog bed. The grids along the top are there so that we can put a fleece canopy over part of the cage to shield them from sun and wind.




They're taking a bit of time to adjust to their new pimpin' pad. You go in the bed, not under it, Miso!

Archie doesn't seem to realize that Miso isn't keen on sharing whatever pigloo he's in, but I'm sure as colder weather sets in they'll be all cuddly. I saw them eating hay from the same hay rack just a few minutes ago. I'm really glad that they're getting along well, and that we can give them a bigger cage as a consequence. Next we'll be trying to get the girls together!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

My Purple Plaid Piggy Bag

I just started a new little project this past week, something I'd be planning to do for a while and just never got around to. I took some purple plaid fabric I had, and the pattern I created for adult-sized guinea pig plushies, and made...

A purple plaid piggy-shaped bag! It's a bit on the small side and looks like a purse for a little girl. The face is a bit pointy too, but I like it.


I'll probably try making more of these, since I have more of this fabric, as well as some classic red plaid and some mostly black plaid (I love plaids). I'll enlarge the pattern and make them a little bigger, and maybe round out that face a bit.


I used a plain purple cotton fabric for an inner lining, some neat fake leather straps with gromits, and the same safety eyes that I use on my plushies. So yeah, that was my latest just-for-fun project. I intended to use this to hold my keys and cell while I was out on my bike. It may look a tad silly hanging off my bike, but maybe not so much with a matching water bottle cover made of the same fabric. :3