Morumoto

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T12:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! May you be surrounded by soft, fuzzy snuggles!

Guinea Pig Hearts

2012-02-13T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! *blows away dust* It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I haven't been very active on my blog in a long time, and I'm about to change that. Last year was such a clusterfluff, so a lot of things fell by the wayside, like blogging and updating my DeviantArt page. My guinea pig Miso died, my mouse Miss Wilhelmina Mousiekins died, and my closest friend passed away. Aside from all that stress I got sick a lot. (I'm blaming iron deficiency for most of that).

I do still have some squeakies! I have my little peeg Pocky, she's a shy little girl who's really come out of her shell and will be 6 years old this May. There's a naughty peeg named Archie, who likes to eat hair and be as difficult as he can because he knows he's cute enough to get away with it. I also have a mouse named Miss Sylvia Squeakington. In about a month or so I'll be adopting a DOG! I'm so incredibly excited! I haven't had a dog of my own in years!

I've been busily plushing away, making piggies and rats and mice. I'm hoping to find time to make new types of plushies, and use some of the cool furs I've amassed. I also want to start doing pet portraits. Of course I'll still be taking plushie commissions. Here are pics of some piggy plushies with colorful hearts on their little bums, so enjoy those while I work on my photos of the custom plushies I've made recently.

Custom Plushie Update! Peegs, and More Peegs!

2011-06-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

Here are my latest batch of custom guinea pig plushies. Asbo is by far the most difficult one I've done so far.

Miss Wilhelmina Mousiekins

2011-06-22T21:33:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago it was my birthday, and I got a new friend...

Her name is Miss Wilhelmina Mousiekins, and she's the prettiest spotted mouse I've ever seen. She was a bit shy at first, but I bribed her with oats and cornbread crumbs, and now she's so very friendly. Miss Mousiekins will take food from my hands, even eating straight out of my palm. She comes towards us when we approach her cage, and she loves to climb all over the place.

We've replaced the wire cage with a glass tank, so she can't reach out of the door of the cage like she used to, but Wilhelmina still hops onto my hand when I put it in her cage.

Is that not the most adorable face?

Good Luck Guinea Pig Food

2011-04-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

I found a ladybug while washing some cilantro and parsley. This is the second time there's been an interloper in my piggies' greens. Again, I'm glad I found it before it got rinsed down the drain and had to face the garbage disposal.

Ladybugs are considered good luck by many different cultures around the world. In China in particular it's considered good luck to find a ladybug in the house. I hope the good fortune this little buggy had in being discovered and saved from a nasty fate will give me a nice little bit of good fortune as well.

Sunny Springtime Plushies

2011-04-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

Spring is upon us... or should be, anyways. Most of us seem to be having rather cold and/or snowy weather than what's typical for this time of the year. The spring flowers are valiantly pushing through, reminding us that we'll be enjoying springtime before we know it.

Here are some bright, sunny guinea pig plushies to help usher in warmer days.

Now available in both my Etsy Shop and my Artfire Shop.

Custom Plushie Update 2011 - Part 2

2011-04-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here's another installment of custom plushie montages. Lots of peegs, some rats, and even a mouse.

I've been so busy lately with work, which is a good thing. Sadly, I lost my guinea pig Miso recently. All I have left now is his little sister Pocky and his cage neighbor Archie. We've begun spoiling them rotten with big cages, and accessories. I hope they will be with us for many years to come.

Custom Plushie Update 2011!

2011-02-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

I've created a lot of custom plushies during the holidays, and in the past couple of months. There are too many to blog at one time (my browser crashed for the third time when I was trying to upload another set) so I'll have to break it up.

I made some cute custom ratties too, but those will have to wait til next time.

I've been anemic for the past few weeks. It's made it tough to keep up with the multitude of messages I was receiving for a while, but after increasing my iron intake (mmmm.... steak) I'm feeling much better. It'll take a little more time to get back to my normal self (or as close to normal as I can get XD ), but I'll be sure to make some permanent adjustments to my diet to prevent any future issues.

There are a lot of new projects in the works, which I'll post updates on as I go along.

:3

2011-01-18T22:03:00.000-08:00

Hello again, it's been quite a while. I got far more orders than I anticipated in the past couple of months, and I've spent weeks doing nothing but making plushies all day long. I thought I was going to be prepared, but apparently not. I guess much like the small critters I create in plush form, I have to start stockpiling in the summer for the winter months. Now that I've (mostly) caught up from the holiday rush, I'm back. :3 I got some new Christmas fabrics, and had different types of guinea pig ornaments to offer.

Some old, some new. I have some new fabrics that I haven't had a chance to use yet not pictured (greens, blues, and even black).

I've also been collecting lots more furs, so I'll be making plushies in all sorts of colors and fur types. I got a lot more short furs in various shades of brown, so I'll be revamping my mouse plushies a bit too.

I've neglected my blog for too long. When Mochi passed away, it really hit me hard. I became a bit withdrawn. I'm going to be blogging much more this year. I've got a lot more work planned, new types of plushies, some veggies and fruits, plushie accessories... I'd also like to start offering pet portraits, and maybe prints of my drawings. Greeting cards too, perhaps?

Happy Halloween and a Guinea Pig Pumpkin!

2010-10-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

I decided to carve a drawing of my recently dearly departed Mochi onto a pumpkin. Happy Halloween!

2010-10-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back with some festive new plushies for the autumn season. :3

There's a little guinea pig and a mouse with lovely golden brown fur. They're having fun frolicking among the autumn leaves and gourds.

It'll be hard to ignore this bright orange mouse.

Treat-or-treaters of all ages will have to keep an eye out for this critter! He can raid a bag or bowl of candy and be gone before anyone ever knew he was there. Rumor has it he got his coloring from eating one too many of a certain favorite Halloween candy, others say that it's a costume. If you catch him you may be able to find out.

I've been a bit absent onine lately. Another one of my guinea pigs died, my precious Mochi. Once I've gathered myself a bit more emotionally I'll blog a tribute for her. It seemed like things kept piling on, one after another. Since Halloween is just around the corner, the fabric stores are offering a lot of furs, and I was able to pick up some lovely new colors for plushies. Anyone want a long-haired red piggy? I'll have lots of new plushies to show soon, as well as holiday ornaments made with new fabrics as well.

Custom Plushie Update! Peegs and a Rat

2010-08-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

I was happy to make a custom rattie plushie so soon after posting my ratties online. Buffy is a dumbo berkshire rat, mostly black with a white tummy. I'm always making custom guinea pig plushies, so this was a nice break.

There was a client who wanted two plushies of his dearly departed piggy Bo. I cut the pieces and sewed them together at the same time, rather than make one then the other, in an effort to make them as identical as I could. I really enjoy what I do, especially when what I do makes other people happy.

Rattie Plushies

2010-08-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Here they are, my plushie rats! :3

There's more to come. I'm available for custom rat plushies, just send a message.

Goodbye, Sweet Kokiri

2010-06-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

I did all I could, it still wasn't enough. He was fine earlier that day, then after dinner my boyfriend saw Kokiri dragging himself, he didn't have the strength to lift his body. I picked him up and held him close for about an hour. His breath was shallow, he couldn't hold himself upright. He gave little pained squeaks, and his body convulsed. He sounded like he was almost gasping. Finally he let go, as I held him close to me and stroked his fur. I felt a wave of relief when he passed, I was glad he didn't have to suffer anymore but I'm so terribly heartbroken that he's gone.

I guess the infection was too widespread, too much for him to handle. I wished he'd let me know about it earlier, we would have stood a better chance.

In a weird way I feel like he's still here with me. I love him so much. Kokiri was my funny little guy. I remember the first time I saw him. I went to the pet store, only to get some more piggy supplies and not another piggy, mind you. There he was, behind the glass, eating pellets with his little feet propped up on the bowl. There was such personality in his face as he stared back at me, munching away, one ear folded down while the other stuck up into the air. I had to leave him at the store that day, I already had enough piggies to deal with.

The next time I went back to the store, that cute little munching piggy was still there. Something about him made me take him home that day. I felt like since he was still there he was meant to come home with me, as if he'd already claimed me as his owner. I named him Kokiri. The Nintendo Wii was coming out that year, and I was rather excited for Twilight Princess... He was a boy so Zelda wasn't an option, and he didn't look like a Link. The name Kokiri seemed to suit him well. He was a skinny little guy! They had taken him out of the large cage he was previously in at the store and put him in a smaller one. Surely, those other pet store piggies must have bullied him and not let him eat! I bought some alfalfa hay and proceeded to fatten him up to a proper guinea pig shape.

...Or so I thought. Kokiri was a skinny, oddly-proportioned guinea pig. He didn't have the typical oval/egg shape that guinea pigs have. Even after he grew to full size, he was kind of long and thin, with one ear that stuck up.

He also had this odd way of looking right at you, while at the same time his eyes were looking behind him. That was the usual look on his little piggy face.

Kokiri also had this way of getting comfortable in very odd positions, in which he curled up or almost folded himself in half.

This right here earned him the nickname "maple bar peeg". He was a great cuddler.

Kokiri's most notable tribute was his adorable pink nose.

He was such a friendly little guy. He never showed any fear, and would walk right up to you so you could pet him. Kokiri wasn't much of a squeaker, but he was notorious for chewing his choroplast.

I had to make a custom plushie of my Kokiri. I took some pics of him with his favorite treats, carrots and oranges. I just had to give him that silly look on his face when he looks like he's not looking at you.

I'll miss you so much Kokiri, you and your pink nose and white feet and your wonderful personality. Rest in peace, my beloved little friend.

Custom Plushie Update! Someone's birthday is coming up...

2010-06-04T21:45:00.001-07:00

Here are my latest custom plushies, in no particular order.

Who's birthday is coming up, you may (or may not) have asked? Mine! It's tomorrow! After taking some piggies to the vet for stitch removal, I see a day full of video games and gluten free cake. :3

Mochi's Drinking Problem

2010-05-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

I posted a while back about my little girl Pocky, who suddenly stopped eating hay. It progressed and she stopped eating altogether, but after a month or so of syringe feeding, meds, and vet visits we finally got her back to normal with prednisone. Shortly after Pocky's recovery, her mother Mochi stopped eating hay...

We brought Mochi to the vet, and started her on the prednisone. It worked for her as well as it did on her daughter, and she was eating again sooner than later. She actually seemed to get a little neurotic on the pred, so I tapered the dosages down and got both of my pigs off of it. Mochi was very hungry and thirsty on the pred, which I understand is a side effect. She continued to be very, very thirsty even after getting off the meds. I had to get her a larger water bottle and a large litter tray. Mochi would literally drink an entire large bottle of water, 20 oz, and soak the entire litter tray of Carefresh with pee, every day. Fearing the big D word, we took her to the vet for testing.

The tests showed that, thankfully, she wasn't diabetic and she didn't have kidney failure. The doctor examined her and could see that she had enlarged ovaries, which may be a factor in her thirsty behavior. I brought Mochi back in for an all-day water deprivation test, in which they controlled the amount of water she had and tested her urine. Blood was found in her urine, indicating an infection, so we put her on antibiotics. After a couple of weeks on the meds, she was still drinking an entire water bottle a day.

Again I brought her back to the vet to get spayed. The enlarged ovaries were suspected to be the cause of the drinking issue, as they could be releasing a large amount of hormones into her body. The procedure went well, and she did actually have a uterine cyst that would have caused her problems in the future. I'm glad that Mochi got spayed because it would help her have a longer, healthier life, but she was still drinking a lot afterwards. The doctor told me that it may take a while for the hormones to get out of her system.

It's been about a month now since Mochi's been spayed. I'm not refilling her water bottle everyday anymore, and she only uses up half of the carefresh every day. Seems like it's going to be a very gradual decrease in her water intake, but I'm glad she's showing some improvement. I wonder if there have been other piggies with drinking problems out there?

Another Sick Little Guinea

2010-05-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

My latest guinea pig medical issue is affecting my little Kokiri. He was brought to the vet recently because his eyes were constantly watering and getting crusty, and his breathing looked a bit labored. He also had some spots on his piggy tush and tummy where the fur was looking a bit sparse. The doctor examined him and listened to his lungs. Thankfully Kokiri didn't have a URI, he was exhibiting the symptoms of allergies. The balding spots were the result of over-grooming, probably due to itchiness. He also saw that Kokiri was a bit lumpy, and was concerned that he may have tumors. We bought a new bale of blue grass hay, and I completely scrubbed Kokiri's cage and accessories clean and gave him a bath before giving him the new relatively dust-free hay. Despite these efforts my little peeg was still showing signs of allergies.

We took him for a biopsy a few days ago. Luckily, the mass in Kokiri's neck wasn't a tumor, but a large abscess. The vet removed the abscess and stitched him up, and sent a sample of the pus to a lab to find out what kind of bacteria it is. The poor peeg still has smaller abscesses. He apparently has guinea pig strangles. We're going to try to get rid of the infection with antibiotics, and he was put on a regimen of acidophilus, reglan, and baytril for 3 weeks and metacam for a week or so.

My poor peeg! His neck is shaved and the stitches look terrible. He's eating well, and even seems a bit perky. Before the surgery he looked like he wasn't feeling well at all, sitting around all puffy. Now his eyes are a tad brighter and he appears to be feeling better. I removed his brick and litter tray so he wouldn't have to jump or accidently scrape his neck on anything. I put a big pile of hay down for him to nom on. I've been sitting with him and he even does his tiny little mousie squeaks while I pet him. Kokiri seems like he's doing ok, and I think he'll make a full recovery. I'm still concerned for my little squeaker though.

Here's a picture of Kokiri well before he became ill. Doesn't he look so cute and comfy? If I was smaller I'd climb into his cage and use him as a pillow. I'd post a recent photo.... but maybe I'll wait til he feels and looks a little better.

Custom Plushie Update! Too Many to List! Part 2

2010-05-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here's the second part of the large amount of custom plushies I made during and immeditely following the holidays. There are a few ornaments and even a few custom mouse plushies.

I've been busy. I've moved into a lovely new home with a big workroom. My boyfriend's mom recently came to stay for a few days. She's such a sweetie, it was a lot of fun. I also had to take yet another guinea pig in for surgery. Poor Kokiri. But I suppose I'll leave the details of that for another day.

Custom Plushie Update! Too Many to List! Part1

2010-04-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

I have been immensely busy since last year's holiday season, and as a result lapsed on updating many things, such as this blog. I made many custom plushies, and just got around to putting together some photos and posting them online for all to see.

I'm getting ready to move to a nice house at the end of the week. Really, we should have moved in about a month ago, but there was a series of rather annoying delays. I've got all of my shipping boxes packed up, and my furs (I didn't seal the boxes yet, in case I need a few things).

I was working on rat plushies a few weeks ago, then I got the swine flu. Well, at least I think it was the swine flu, it was pretty nasty and left me with a cough that lingered far too long. I've got a bunch of half-finished rats sitting on my desk for some time now...

Mochi's gone through a bit of an ordeal herself. She was spayed yesterday, but hopefully it'll take care of her issues. I'll make a more detailed post about her later, with some photos of her shaved tummy (poor peeg).

Oh, Those Considerate Piggies

2010-03-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

Last week I was hit with a nasty flu. I'm sure you know, it's the flu that's been making everyone you know sick, if it hasn't gotten to you already. One morning I woke up around 5 am, coughing and coughing and just couldn't get comfortable because I had to keep getting up to grab a tissue. I sat up for a bit and played my DS (trying to get everyone to level 40 so I can finally put Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story down before the new Pokemon games come out). About two hours later, when I started to feel dizzy I decided to lay back down, and thankfully got back to sleep pretty quickly.

I woke up late. As I slowly stumbled out of the bedroom, I was expecting to be greeted with the customary clamour of guinea pigs waiting to be fed. It was considerably later than I usually get up, which would usually mean a louder rodent ruckus. But on this morning, not a peep. I quickly took a gander at my messages, then took a shower. The hot steam was such a relief on my sinuses and sore throat. I left the bathroom, and upon entering the living room there was yet silence. Archie was under his stool, sitting up attentively, but silently. My girls, Mochi and Pocky, stood there in their cages, watching my every move ever so quietly. It wasn't til I actually walked into the kitchen and pulled out the tupperwares of parsley and lettuce did the first squeaks of the morning resound through the air.

My guinea pigs always seem to know when I don't feel well. This is most notably evident when I wake up late due to stomach aches in the middle of the night, or due to the flu in this most recent scenario. My little squeakers can tell when I'm ill, and they politely stay uncharacteristically quiet until I'm ready to feed them. This may sound a little silly to some of you, but those of use who have cavies know how relentlessly adament they can be about getting their meals.

Of course, now that I'm feeling better, the moment I set foot outside the bedroom door in the morning they all start wheeking their little heads off.

I :heart: Guinea Pigs & Mice Plushies

2010-02-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought I'd make some seasonally appropriate plushies. These are baby guinea pigs and mice, but they feature sweet fuzzy hearts in red and pink fur on their little bums.

As always, they are available in my Etsy shop and Artfire shop .

I've been busy still, which is a good thing. I like having a lot of work, especially when I enjoy what I do. I'm hoping to get all my orders and custom plushie requests done soon so I can get my plushie rats online, I know there are a lot of people waiting for those.

My boyfriend and I have also been house hunting recently, and hopefully we can be in a nice new home soon with a great workspace for me and plenty of room for piggies. Mochi's been feeling much better lately, and I'm trying to get Pocky completely weaned off the cortizone. I can't wait to see these guys scurrying across a nice hardwood floor.

It's Been Far Too Long

2010-01-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

...since my last blog post. The holiday season was overwhelmingly busy. I had so many plushie orders, the volume of which I have to admit I was a tad unprepared for. I have learned a lot though, next year I'll be getting ready for the holidays well in advance!

The piggy herd is doing well. Pocky is back to her old self, eating lots of hay and pellets, and due to all the attention she got from syringe feeding and daily medicine she's even become a lot friendlier. Big brother Miso is also doing great, there's no sign of the abscess returning. Mochi, their mom, unfortunately suddenly stopped eating hay... Her pattern of behavoir was just like Pocky's when she'd gotten ill, so we immediately took her to the vet and got her on the same medicine we used to treat Pocky. Luckily we caught it before the issue progressed further, so she had a quicker recovery.

I've just about caught up on my plushie orders, so I'm ready to take on more custom orders. I've finished a few rat plushies, and even came up with a cute Valentine's plushie idea, so I'll be posting those as soon as I've got some photos taken. In the meantime, here are some custom piggies I made last year for some kind folks over on the GuineaLynx forums.

My First Craft Fair

2009-11-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I did my first craft fair. Well, that is , as a vendor. I set up a table with some grids and fleece and made it look like a guinea pig C&C cage (or as much as I could). I also had a cage for my mouse plushies, and brought a couple of my new ratty plushies too.

There wasn't a large attendance. I blame the weather! It rained all day, and quite heavily. I did make some sales and some new friends, and the experience was invaluable. I'll be looking forward to doing more of these events.

2009-11-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

Autumn is my favorite season. The richness of colors that flare in almost every tree, the crispy chill in the air, the grey drizzly days, the crunchy leaves that carpet the ground, I love it all. Warm drinks abound, and cuddles with your favorite furry friend under a soft blanket become mandatory.

I've gathered some of my most colorful plushies to play for a while amongst some seasonal autumn items.

Punkin is a guinea pig with bright orange fur, and an in-your-face personality to go with it! He refuses to tone it down, and instead relishes the fact that he stands out so much. He's a critter who loves being the center of attention, and will do whatever he can to get noticed. Punkin actually hates autumn, since there's so much blazing orange and red he feels like nature is trying to one-up him. As winter draws near, he feels that he's the best piggy up to the task of brightening up a dreary grey day.

I was out the day, walking through a carpet of leaves and breathing in the crisp autumn air. As I admired the vibrant colors swirling and rustling all around me, I was startled by a sudden squeak and burst of leaves. A plushie piggy had been hiding in the fallen foliage, his fur a rich auburn red that camouflaged him perfectly. I picked him up and brought him inside, as no piggy should be outdoors on a chilly day like that. We drank hot cocoa and watched the windbourne leaves from the warm indoors.

Ruby is a mouse with fiery red fur, but don't let that fool you, she's not hot-tempered! Despite her blazing demeanor, she's actually very mild-mannered and easy to get along with. She enjoys having deep conversations over hot tea, especially if there are cinnamon flavored treats to be had as well.

All of my autumn plushie friends are available in both my Etsy shop and my Artfire shop til the end of fall and beyond.

On the Road to Recovery

2009-10-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well, despite improvement in her demeanor and increased appetite, Pocky still wasn't eating any hay or pellets. I didn't want to wait til we finished the antibiotics so I called the vet. It was a really busy day, so they said they'd call me back to discuss our options. Hours went by without hearing from them, so I called back. The doctor still wasn't available so all I could do was reserve the last available appointment for the next day. They must have been really busy, because I never got to talk to the vet. As soon as I woke up the next morning I called again. The person I spoke to said that if I wanted to bring Pocky in for a dental exam, I'd have to bring her in the next day in the morning since it's a procedure that couldn't be handled in a regular appointment slot. I agreed, made arrangements, and cancelled the appointment for that afternoon. Since we spent so much time on Pocky recently, we decided to give all the piggies a weighing that morning before feeding them. Everyone's weight was fine, but when I picked up Miso, Pocky's brother, I found a lump under his chin. Crap. I called the vet back no more than five minutes after hanging up and asked if they still had that afternoon appointment available. I brought Miso in, and the doctor says it was most likely an abscess, and we scheduled an appointment for surgery to have it removed.

Pocky's dental exam showed that her teeth were in good condition, they were filed down a bit but there was nothing that would cause her to stop eating. She seemed bothered after her procedure and showed no interest in even nibbling anything. I had stopped giving her antibiotics thinking that the exam would bring to light a dental issue. After another visit to the vet we switched her to Baytril, a different type of antibiotic in the hopes that it would target different bacteria, but again, Pocky still didn't eat on her own.

Miso went through his surgery just fine. The abscess wasn't related to a tooth, which is a good thing, and was most likely due to an external puncture wound like a bite (I'm looking at you, Archie!) The doctor wasn't able to take out the abscess cleanly, however, it burst during the procedure. They had to suture the incision open as they couldn't close it up as a sterile wound, and I was given the responsibilty of flushing it out with an antiseptic and packing it with Neosporin twice a day. When I first saw him, I cried. It looked horrible! It's really not as bad as it looks, the vet told me it's mostly scar tissue with no nerve endings so it doesn't hurt. Miso acts like it's not even there, he eats and drinks and goes about his daily life as if nothing were different. When I brought him back for a follow up exam his wound was doing fine with no signs of infection, and on the next visit his sutures were removed. Now I only need to cover the incision area with Neosporin twice a day, and I'll continue to give him acidophilus and antibiotics until he's fully healed.

I've had Pocky on baytril for almost 2 weeks. She's been very affectionate and vocal, and gets excited when it's feeding time but still didn't eat more than a nibble or so. I could see that whatever was affecting her still wasn't being treated, so I brought her in again to the vet when Miso had his stitches taken out. Her front teeth were getting misaligned, the lower tooth was very skinny and long, and the top was very thick. She squealed like I never heard her squeal before when they trimmed her teeth. The doctor felt her facial muscles, especially around her jaw, and could see that they'd become rather emaciated in comparison to the rest of her body. I also didn't realize that Pocky wasn't opening her mouth very wide until I had to give Miso meds and saw how enunciated his chewing motions were in comparison to his sister's. Taking all this into consideration, and seeing how she didn't have any bad teeth and probably not an infection, the vet said that she probably has some pain in the main muscles of her jaws, and that would be the cause of her lack of desire/inability to eat. He prescribed her a form of cortizone for the pain, so now I'm giving her that and acidophilus til her poops regain their normal consistency, but no more reglan or antibiotics.

This photo was taken just this morning, as Pocky eats her first piece of hay in over a month.

When I syringe feed Pocky now, it seems like her chewing is a bit more animated. She'e really been trying to get at her hay, pulling at it but not eating it. This morning she ate a whole meal's worth of parsley and lettuce, and even ate a long piece of hay and a couple of pellets. I'm so relieved and happy! Seems like we finally found out what the issue is. As tiring as it is to force feed her and give her meds several times a day, it's not nearly as frustrating as knowing that your pet is suffering and you can't figure out what to do to help her.

The Waning of Golden Days

2009-09-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

Yellow is the color of summer, the sun, golden days that stretch on lazily for hours and hours. Roses thrive in this vibrant time, refusing to shed their silken petals til the sun shies away and leaves the days colder and darker. I recieved these beautiful yellow roses, my favorite of all flowers, and they begged me to appear in a photo shoot. To be honest, I like colder weather, and am eagerly anticipating the onset of autumn.

I know someone in particular who is sad to see the summer end.

There's a certain little mouse who isn't timid like the others. He doesn't like to hide in the shadows, rather, he prefers to bask in the warm rays of the sun. His name is Sunny, and he has an ever cheerful disposition. This mouse loves bright, colorful things, especially if they're yellow. You may find him in your garden amongst your most brilliant flowers, and on rainy days he'd like to come inside for some tea and you may get him to stay for a chat if you have some fresh cut flowers on display.

Sunny is available in both my Etsy and Artfire shops.

One Sick Little Guinea Pig Can Make a Big Impact

2009-09-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here I sit in my living room, my feet up, laptop appropriately on my lap, and a little bundle of fluff at my side. I'm tired, my back aches a bit, and it's another 90° day so I'm warmer than I'd like to be. To say that all these issues were caused by a certain little big-eyed, squeaky fluff would be a bit of an exageration, after all guinea pigs don't control the weather, but it's not too far off from the truth.

It all began two weeks ago. My littlest guinea pig, the adorable agouti Pocky with her great big eyes, didn't eat much of her parsley. It was the last bit of an older bunch, and some of the other piggies didn't eat it all right away (Archie decided to decorate his cage with parsley leaf confetti). After all the others had eaten their breakfast remainders, she still didn't finish it, and didn't eat all of the lettuce that was offered for dinner. Pocky did snatch up the baby carrot presented to her and ate it all. I've had a piggy get into a mood where they don't eat as much as they normally do for a day, and seem to sit around in a ponderous mood, but they always go back to normal after a day or so, so I didn't think too much of it.

The next day Pocky still didn't eat much of her fresh greens, and apparently hadn't been eating much of her pellets or hay. I offered her carrot and bell pepper and lettuce throughout the day, which she'd only consume small amounts of. She had no interest in her hay or pellets at all. There is a good small animal vet nearby, but they're closed on Sundays so all I could do was keep a close eye on my piggy and wait. I was deeply vexed. She sat all puffed up in her pigloo all day, and didn't emerge for hay or drag her small pellet dish into the pigloo as she normally did. She was bright-eyed and alert and wasn't lethargic, so that was a good sign. I cuddled with her in bed watching tv til around 2 am. I was honestly afraid she wouldn't survive til morning.

At around 6 am I woke up, probably due to my obnoxious neighbors. I had to go check on my little girl. I quietly went up to her cage, sat on the floor cushion in front of it, and took a deep breath as I looked at her pigloo. I lifted it up, and to my relief I saw the pale morning light glimmer off her big bright eyes as her nose perked up at me. I scooped her up and held her close to my chest for a few minutes before going back to bed. (I go to bed late, so I get up late). When I got up again, I put Pocky on my lap and offered her some parsley. Her nose perked up at it, but she ate only the tiniest nibble. We offered a baby carrot, but she only ate about half of it, leaving little bits behind. I could see the situation was becoming dire. A call to the vet was made, they were closing within the hour but they would see her. I made the hastiest exit in my life and we took her there right away. The vet was in surgery, so he wasn't able to see her right away, so we had to leave here there. They checked her vitals, Pocky's temperature was good and she was still very alert and perky so that was positive. We just had to go home and wait til the vet was free to see her. After a few hours we got a call, they'd been syringe feeding Pocky to get her some food and fluids. They looked in her mouth and didn't see anything wrong with her teeth. There was a bit of gas in her tummy, so they gave her some treatment for her gut. The vet said that they'd call me again and I should be ble to take her home later in the afternoon. It may be just a gut upset, but if she didn't regain her appetite I'd have to take her back for bloodwork or a more thorough examination of her teeth.

We brought Pocky home with some Critical Care dry mix, some acidophilus tablets for her gut, and an appetite stimulant called reglan. For the next few days I fed her the Critical Care mush through a syringe and gave her the medications along with plenty of cuddles, but still she didn't want to eat on her own, so back to the vet we went. They did some bloodwork, and we waited a day for the results. Pocky didn't have any kidney or liver problems, but she did have a low white blood cell count which is indicative of an infection. Some antibiotics were added to the regimen of oral treatments.

"I said I'm not hungry!" says the grumpy Pocky-chan during one of her syringe feedings.

I have to mention that the Wednesday before all this occured, my boyfriend had surgery on his wrist. It was a minor procedure, but it left him with his right arm in a cast. That meant that the man who previously was happy to do dishes since I cooked dinner, and who helped me clean the guinea pig cages daily, was largely incapacitated. A little extra work on my part, but I shrugged it off, no big deal. Now I had two invalids to care for, cutting up steak for one and syringe feeding the other. I fed Pocky every four hours or so, which wasn't the easiest thing since she really wasn't too fond of it. It quickly became tiring.

Though all of this, Pocky remained chipper and in good spirits. Her eyes were bright, her nose twitched with interest at foods she then decided she didn't want to eat. The two vet trips showed her temperature was good and daily weighings made sure that her weight stayed stable. I cuddled her multiple times a day. After a few days of the antibiotics, little Pocky's appetite began to improve. She ate small amounts of parlsey in the morning, she emerged from her pigloo to lounge in her litter tray throughout the day. She began to squeak and cluck happily when I cuddled her. Overall, she seemed in a much better mood. As she still had no desire to eat hay or pellets and her front teeth came together at an angle, we brought Pocky to the vet for another visit. Her teeth were filed down a bit, and another examination with an otoscope showed that her molars were in good shape. The vet was inclined to believe that her issue wasn't with her teeth, her total lack of appetite pointed to nausea rather than a toothache, and since she'd shown progress after starting the antibiotics it supported the idea of a low-grade infection being the cause of her problems. She gave me an estimate on a dental exam, but said that it was a good idea to let her have the rest of the antibiotics before subjecting Pocky to another treatment.

So here I am, still syringe feeding and giving medicines to my cute little girl piggy. My boyfriend has had the stitches removed from his wrist, the cast came off and he's able to help me out. I started a new job, which will be a great help in paying off these vet bills. A lot of tears, time and effort have been put forth for my little Pocky-chan, and I can only hope that this treatment will work and that she'll be better soon.

Pet Store Memories

2009-08-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

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

Custom Plushie Update! Bou, Leo and Ozzy

2009-08-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

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

My Creamy Guinea Pig Plushie

2009-08-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

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.

Together at Last! Miso and Archie are Guinea Pals

2009-08-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

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!

My Purple Plaid Piggy Bag

2009-08-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

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

No Roasted Guinea Pigs Here

2009-07-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

It's going to be 92° today. And I'm happy about that.

The past few days in the Pacific Northwest have been rather uncomfortable. The temps have risen well past 100°. Being in a third floor apartment with the only windows facing the morning sun and later the scorching afternoon sun, it was like being in a oven. Luckily we have a floor unit air conditioner. Unluckily, it only managed to cool down the living room and reached neither the bedroom nor my studio. The result was my boyfriend and I spending all of our time in the living room during the heat wave. I ventured into my studio momentarily to retrieve something to work on while sitting on the couch, positioned to recieve the direct airflow of the air conditioner.

Mochi stretches out for maximum comfort on a hot, lazy day.

What of the guinea pigs in this hot weather, you ask? OK, well you may not have asked, but it is an issue on days like this. Despite their homeland being in South America, cavies are not well suited for very hot weather. The three boys, Miso, Kokiri and Archie, were already in the living room, but the girls' cages were in my studio. With naught but a ceiling fan, the room had already reached uncomfortable levels on days when the temperature spiked up to 80°. My boyfriend, always the kind and considerate one, set about the task of taking the C&C cages apart and bringing Mochi and Pocky into the living room to rejoin their kin. Some shuffling of furniture was required, and my studio had to be completely rearranged. I spent a couple of days working on the redecorating a few minutes at a time, doing as much organizing as I could manage before the heat became too much and I had to retreat to the cooler clime of the air conditioned room.

"It's much too hot to be in my pigloo today," says the normally reclusive Pocky.

The end result was gaining more floor space, a new table to work on, and a leather recliner in my studio (which no longer fit in the living room with the addition of the C&C cages). All of my guinea pigs were now in a (somewhat) temperature controlled area and could be easily monitored. The thermostats in the bedroom and studio actually read 100° at some points in the preceding days, enough to give any small animal (or human, for that matter) heat exhaustion. Even when the nights cooled to around 70° we opted to sleep out in the living room with the ac running overnight. One of the advantages of a floor unit air conditioner is that you can roll it into another room and set it up rather easily, but we didn't want to risk letting the living room heat up overnight, as warm air so easily becomes trapped in an upstairs apartment. Out came the air mattress, a sleeping bag and some comforters.

It's a brick pig! Kokiri's favorite hangout on a warm day is a cool brick. He doesn't normally have to mess with his eyebrows to cool off, though.

To reiterate, the erstwhile days of this past week were, to say the least, hot. The kind of hot days where you just don't feel like doing much of anything. The kind of days where you can't help falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon, yet have trouble getting comfortable in bed at night. The kind of days where a grilled cheese sandwich is more than enough for dinner. The kind of days where you don't want to so much as lean forward from your seat because of the sound and feeling of your skin peeling off the leather couch. Ever since I was a kid I was the kind of person who was always cold, and was so very relieved when I moved from New England to Southern California. Somehow in the past few years, perhaps due to a change of diet and other circumstances, I can't stand excessive warmth. I'm looking forward to next week's milder weather, hoping that it'll bring with it some rain and the creative enthusiam for my ongoing projects that I'd previously been robbed off.

Custom Plushie Update! Cuy, Daisi, and Shnookums

2009-07-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

Here are my latest custom guinea pig plushies. I actually made these a couple of weeks ago, but then I got sick for a week and I got behind on certain things.

Cuy is a handsome silver agouti. He's propped up on a tomato to show off his white tummy.

Daisi is a little black and orange cutie with one white foot.

Shnookums is another sweet black and orange piggy. I love that distinctive white stripe down her nose!

I've got more projects to work on, so I'll be updating again soon. :3

Squeaky Clean

2009-07-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

I've taken advantage of the warm weather and gave my guinea girls baths.

Here's Pocky, waiting ever so impatiently to get out of the sink.

My poor wet puffball! She's sitting on my lap right now, wrapped in a bigger dryer towel.

Mochi is looking unamused after the bath she got yesterday.

The boys could use baths too, but we're trying to get them to all play nice together, at which point we'd give them all a bath collectively. I can just see Archie flying out of the tub....

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Abby Guinea Plushies!

2009-07-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

I like going to fabric stores just to look for more materials to use for my plushies. I'm always on the lookout for classics as well as some new and fun fur colors. A while ago I found some nice guinea pig appropriate black fur, so I bought the whole bolt. When the fur is packaged at the factory, they fold the fur in half and wrap it around a flat board, making it easy to store and display. After I brought my roll of fabric fuzziness home and unfurled it, I noticed that someone must not have been paying attention when it was rolled up at the factory.... the outside of the fur was smooth and flat, but the fur on the inside was messed up, sticking up in all directions.

So here I am, with several feet of black fur, half of which is smooth and flat and the other half is unusable.

Or is it?

I attempted to brush the fur out with a dog grooming slicker brush, but to no avail. Then I realized I'd seen fur like this before... on guinea pigs. Abyssinian guinea pigs! They're a breed of cavy known for having rosettes all over their bodies, making their fur stick out in all directions. I really hate being wasteful, so this was a great realization. I made a bunch of little abby plushies. Previously, I'd only made abbies as custom piggies, since I'd have to manually twist and pinch the fur into rosettes. Since the fur is already "abbied", I can make these with no additional effort so I sell them at the same price as my other regular plushies. I've listed each plushie individually in both my Artfire shop and my Etsy shop since each one has its own unique fur pattern.

So when life gave me lemons, or in this case messed up fur, I made abby guinea pig plushies!

Sick for a Week, Back with Cookies!

2009-07-20T23:43:00.000-07:00

I just got over a cold or flu of some sort, which left me couch-ridden for the greater part of last week. To make matters worse, there's been some really hot weather up here in Oregon lately (with more to come... *groan*). Nothing like 90° weather when you've got a fever. I couldn't look at my laptop for more than a few minutes before my eyes got blurry, so I wasn't on the net. I pretty much stayed on the couch, watching shows like Meerkat Manor and sewing. Luckily I had air conditioning and lots of real fruit popsicles and a considerate boyfriend to expediate my recovery.

I'm back and feeling much better now. I'd made a bunch of plushies before I got sick, but wasn't able to take any photos of them til now. I really hate doing absolutely nothing, even when I'm not feeling well, so I made a LOT of felt snacks for my plushies; carrots and cheese and watermelon and apple slices and orange slices and strawberries. They're easy to make and don't require a huge amount of concentration, so it worked well to keep me busy.

Oh, I made some cookies too.

These mice needed some snacks of their own that matched their cuteness, pink and purple frosted heart-shaped cookies. :3

Pink and Purple Mousies

2009-07-01T00:21:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of new additions to my mouse plushie family.

Blush is a ticklish mouse. A very ticklish mouse. So very much so that she developed a permanent blush, and turned completely pink. Blush giggles a lot, and likes sweets so she'll invite herself over for tea and cake... though you may not she her because she's shy and tends to hide.

Remember that day when you were having a snack and you could have sworn you heard your cookies giggling?

"If you keep eating all those berries, your fur is going to turn purple!" a concerned mother said to a young mouse.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Mom," replied her daughter with disregard. Even a kid like her knew that it was impossible for a mouse's fur to turn purple just from eating a lot of berries.

...right?

Those pink and purple mice remind me of the vibrant colors of this Love Flower Journal. Created by Etsy artist Alternative Journals, it's up for a book raffle on her blog. Leave a comment on her blog and you could be the lucky winner.

My pink and purple mousies are available in both my Artfire shop and my Etsy shop.

Weekend Features #2

2009-06-27T22:33:00.000-07:00

Another weekend has come and gone, and along with it another set of features. I do mean to do these more often, as I find some many fun and whimsical items on Etsy and Artfire, but my last few attempts were thwarted by Etsy's downtime for maintenance. I really shouldn't leave this for the last few waning moments of the weekend, but eh, I'm a night person, what can I do?

This weekend's theme is MICE! <:3 )~

Etsy artist Hint has a couple of cute mouse pendants made in silver. If I wasn't allergic to everything but steel and gold I'd so pick one of these up. You can find these as well as other pendant designs in her shop .

This pair of felted baby booties are too cute! I love the little tails. Created by Etsy artist PrettyLittle.

A little grey field mouse adorns this wheel thrown vase by Laurawallstaylor on Etsy. And that white mouse mug is a perfect companion for your morning coffee (or tea, in my case). At last, a sighting of the elusive Mousealope! LittleRobot has this and many other prints in her shop.

What a stylish little mouse, perfect to send a letter in style! WhiskerGraphics on Etsy has this and other cute statinary sets (don't you just love that name?)

Artist nimbusnovem on Etsy has a collection of hand engraved tablets and art boxes. The attention to detail and life-like rendering is quite exceptional.

This last piece is a wonderfully designed ceramic tile by GretchenKramp. I especially like the natural clay color's contrast with the blue.

Hope you enjoyed these whimsical works of art! I'll be back soon with a couple of colorful mice of my own.

New Plushies... Sorta

2009-06-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

I guess as an artist one should be always seeking to improve their craft, and when something is presumed finished they should be open to new perspectives that can change their work and allow it as well as the artist to grow. As I was working on my skinny pig plushie I began to see guinea pigs in a different way, as can be expected when one views a furry animal without all the fluff that covers its anatomical features. As a result, I've made a few slight changes to my baby guinea pig plushie pattern. It's not all that much of a difference really, it's only on the head and shape of the face, the rest of the body is unchanged.

Here you can see a pair of baby guinea pig plushies, both made with the same materials. One of them is the older pattern, one is made with my new modifications. Can you tell which is which?

Now it's a little easier to tell. The plushie with the new modifications is the one in front. The differences are slight, but effective.

When you put the two different styles nose to nose you can really see the difference. The newer plushie is on the left, the older style on the right. I adjusted the pattern so that the face is more defined with a more prominent snout. The ears are angled a bit more naturally, the eyes are closer to the top of the head, just like a real cavy. The differences are minimal, if I didn't point them out most people would never have noticed. I figured I'd let everyone know that all my baby piggies from here on will be made with the new pattern, but since the differences are almost indistinguishable I'm not going to update every single plushie listing on DeviantArt or my shops with new photos, but I can always provide photos of the plushie after it's made before i ship it out.

Custom Plushie Update! Jack & Alfred, Lilli & Nelli

2009-06-24T23:47:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest custom guinea pig plushies I've done.

These guys, Jack and Alfred, were made with strings attached to them so they could be used as plushie ornaments. I stitched their named into their smooth flannel bellies in embroidery floss that matched their strings.

Lilli and Nelli were made for someone on DeviantArt. They are her dearly departed guinea pigs, Lilli is a himalayan baby piggy plush, Nelli an adult-sized plushie.

I recently picked up some new fur, and still ironing out some details on my skinny pig plushie (making proper wrinkles on a plushie is tough!) so I'll have some more fun projects to post pretty soon.

New Artwork for my Shop

2009-06-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

Every listing for an item on Etsy or Artfire has to have at least one image. That's easily handled for most cases, when you have an item that's already been created. But in the case of a custom plushie which hasn't been made yet, I needed to come up with something. I haven't done much two dimensional artwork for quite some time, so I made this drawing. The piggy is the same from my banner up there, but instead of cuddling with a guinea pig plushie he's making one. The pics pinned to the wall are sketches of actual photos of my dearly departed Tiramisu, and there she is, in plushie form.

And in case you're wondering, guinea pigs always use safety scissors. :3

Cherry Bomb the Guinea Pig

2009-06-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

Uh oh, here he comes again! All the other guinea pigs scurried out of the way. It's not unlikely for a piggy to get caught up in all sorts of hijinx and misadventures when Cherry Bomb shows up. This fiery red cavy really puts the "pop" in "popcorning", there's never a dull moment when he's around.

I made this crimson cavy with some lovely fur I picked up recently. He's available in both my Artfire and Etsy shops. I've got several other projects in the works, more on those as they get finished.

Weekend Features #1

2009-05-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

There are so many cute, lovely, fun, whimsical, intriguing items I come across on my regular travels, I'd like to share them and give the artists a bit of love. In my first installment of Weekend Features (named as such until I can think of a better name) I'd like to showcase some crafts that share the same theme...

Guinea pigs!

Just look at this sweet little guinea pig figurine! The artist has several other cute clay polymer creations as well. Available at Joojoo's Etsy Shop .

These glass pendants are made with prints of original paintings of some sleepy guineas. The artist also has some cute prints and cards. Available at SuzannesGallery.

This guinea pig is the "King of the Castle", and who wouldn't want to see this friendly little face whenever you open up your book. Available at SavageArtworks.

Check out this cool art print! From a distance it's a cute cavy, but up close... it's a lot of cute cavies! In a limited run of prints, it'll look great on the wall of your caviary. Available from ArtBarkers.

At last, a greeting card that expresses what you need to say in just the manner that your guinea pig would say it. You can get this one from AfricanGrey.

Now this magnet had to be featured, not just because it's adorable but because this guinea looks a lot like my Kokiri, who has similar colors and always sticks his piggy nose up in the air. Available at Vozamer's Etsy Shop.

Thanks for checking out these lovely items, hope you're all having a great weekend!

A Thirsty Parrot and a Rex Guinea Pig

2009-05-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

I went to the Oregon Zoo for the second time this last week. It is a really nice zoo, not only do they have an interesting variety of animals but the zoo itself is very pleasant and full of greenery. It's quite different from the LA Zoo, which is small, hot and dusty. Here am I feeding a lorikeet, which I simply must do each time I go. For those of you who who are unfamiliar, they are colorful parrots from Australia and south-eastern Asia who have specialized tufted tongues that are used to collect nectar from flowers. At the zoo you can purchase a little paper cup full of nectar, and when you enter the enclosure the lorikeets will fly over and perch on your hand to drink up the nectar. The little guy who took up my offer of this sweet flowery beverage had some spots of sparse greyish feathers and he was shaking, I got the impresion he was picked on by the other birds. Poor guy. I took a lot of nice clear photos that make excellent reference material for drawings, especially of the otter, the beautiful fluffy wolf, the zebras, and the eagles. The tiger wasn't out due to construction. :(

I'm currently working on a skinny pig plushie (a skinny pig is a hairless guinea pig). I'm ironing out some details and should have it done and have some pics up pretty soon, but in the meantime check out this red and white rex baby guinea pig.

He's available in both my Artfire and Etsy shops.

Pinkie says "Hello!" to the Sew What Guild Members

2009-05-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Pinkie says, "Hello!" and welcomes you all to my blog. She's got enough watermelon and apple slices to go around, so sit a spell and enjoy your visit.

My Rat Plushie and His Mousie Buddy

2009-05-16T23:10:00.001-07:00

Having created a sewing pattern for guinea pigs in 2 sizes and mouse plushies, not too long ago I set upon making a pattern for a rat plushie. To be honest, I'm not completely satisfied with the way he came out. He's really fat, and the hind legs are a bit too forward. The obesity of the plushie can be remedied easily enough but the limbs are another story. I'm going to work on a pattern for a rat that's sitting up on its hind legs, and see if that one feels more satisfactory to me. I tend to be a perfectionist, so if I don't feel that my work is as accurate as I want it to be, I won't make that type of plushie available for sale or commissions. But, he is kinda cute in his own chubby way, so he'll live with me and Gunther, a mouse plushie that came out too fat as well. They have a nice easy life, hanging out with the other plushies I make til they get sent to their homes, munching on snacks all day.

...Or is that the reason why they got so fat in the first place? By the looks of the following photos I'm starting to wonder.

Nomming on a donut

You can see the impatience on his face as his poses for this photo.

He couldn't resist the strawberry cake any longer

Chubby Buddies

Gunther amidst a plentiful bounty

Gunther claims the chocolate cake

...and now he's eating it.

Of course I can't just take photos of my plushies. I have to capture them in their natural environments, going about their daily lives. Sometimes I'm lucky to have a bit of their quirky personalities show through. In case you're wondering, I did spend way longer than I anticipated with all those plushie snacks. I'm not done yet either, I'm going to make all sorts of cookies in a bunch of varieties.

Shop Update: Longhaired Guinea Pig Plushies

2009-05-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

I've done a couple of guinea pig plushie commissions with long hair, and they came out extremely cute, so I decided to make some longhaired plushies as regular additions to my shops.

You may not be able to see their feet, but trust me they're there! Now available in both my Artfire and Etsy shops.

Shop Update - Roan, Agouti, and Silver Guinea Pigs

2009-05-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

I've got some new guinea pig plushies available in my shops, here they are:

Black Roan Guinea Pig - Adult-Sized

Brown Agouti Guinea Pig - Adult-Sized

Brown Agouti & White Guinea Pig - Adult-Sized

Silver Guinea Pig - Adult-Sized

"There's an Intruder in My Parsley!" said the Guinea Pig

2009-05-12T21:50:00.001-07:00

This morning an intruder was detected in one of the most dangerous places someone or something could unwittingly find themselves... a guinea pig's parsley! Most times this would result in death by unrelenting munching, but the stowaway was thankfully found before the parsley made it to the feeding dishes. The culprit? A ladybug! Exactly how long she (am I the only one who refers to ladybugs as a "she"?) had been hidden in there is unknown, but the parsley was purchased just yesterday and sat in the fridge from then til this morning. It's also fortunate that she was discovered as it was being washed, before accidently being rinsed away down the sink and possibly coming in contact with the garbage disposal.

I have to admit though, it would have been incredibly cute to see Miso with a ladybug on his nose as he nibbled his breakfast. Perhaps that'll make it into my Ideas for Drawings list.

My New Mascot Will Show You What I've Got

2009-05-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

I have a new mascot, a little guinea pig hugging one of my guinea pig plushies. (He's right up there in my banner at the top of the page, in case you missed him). Right now he's got a couple of other plushies with him, an adult-sized guinea pig and a mouse. As I make more types of plushies I'll add them to the banner. I have a rat plushie done... sorta. He's really fat. I'm not completely satisfied with the pattern, so I won't have any ratties for sale quite yet. For now he's hanging out with my fat mouse plushie Gunther, stuffing themselves with all sorts of snacks.

Custom Plushie Update! Ruby & Rupert, Hamtaro, and Gipsy, Luna, & Mocha

2009-05-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

I enjoy making plushies, especially when I'm creating one that captures the look and character of someone's beloved pet. That's part of the reason why I started making plushies in the first place. Here are the latest of my custom projects:

This cute little piggy duo are a couple of abbyssinians (a breed characterized by the rosettes all over their bodies that cause their fur to stick out in different directions). The Ruby plushie is a little smaller due to how dainty she is compared to her buddy.

Hamtaro is a cute little guy who unfortunately passed away. I love his green hat. Pocky let me borrow hers for the photo.

This is my first cross species commission. Gipsy is an agouti grey guinea pig with a cute pink spot on her lip. Her two mouse buddies are Luna, white with a bit of silver on her bum, and Mocha, a rich shade of brown.

I'm available for commissions on plushies of guinea pigs and mice (and soon other critters, like hamsters and rats). For a full gallery of my custom plushies see here: http://morumoto.deviantart.com/gallery/#Custom-Plushies

Drawings

2009-05-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

Before I ever sewed my first stitch, drawing was my main passion. My subjects were always animals, I found them infinitely more interesting than people. Throughout my childhood dogs were what I drew the most, with a sprinkling of unicorns (thanks to My Little Ponies for that) and some Nintendo fanart (those illustrations of Link and Mario in the game instruction booklets were too cool to not emulate). Later on I found a fondness for dragons. Now many of my recent artworks involve, you guessed it, guinea pigs. Here are a few of my latest and best artworks, all hand-drawn, hand-inked, and hand-colored.

"Mother's Love"

Mochi the mommy pig with her babies. Done with pen and ink, I really enjoy doing these detailed, realistic renderings. The pointalism background took a bit of time, but was well worth the effort.

"Koalphin Ahoy"

This was a birthday gift for my boyfriend's mom. She's a really sweet and supportive person. Dolphins and koalas are some of her favorite animals.

"Shoyu's Refuge"

A tribute for Shoyu, one of Ponzu and Mochi's kids. Passing away at a little more than one year of age, he hadn't showed any signs of anything being wrong so we're not sure why. RIP, little buddy.

"A Solitary Traveller"

This drawing was done a few years before any of the others shown here, but it's still one of my favorites. I worked on it on and off over the course of several months, til I'd had it completed to my liking. I love wolfies.

"Grapes are Fun"

This drawing began as a little doodle in my sketchbook. Little Pocky and her big brother Miso are enjoying a snack together while their dearly departed dad and brother look on.

"Happy Birthday!"

It began as a little birthday drawing for a friend on DeviantArt, but the idea grew and grew and I just went with it. Her guinea pig Minni dances on the cake as my little P climbs on. Mochi sneaks a pawful of frosting for herself.

"Chillin' Guinea Pig"

P loved that little couch. The day I got it, however, she kept moving around and around and constantly repositioned herself on it. I was able to do this drawing during the short moments when she came back to this pose.

"Autumn Falls"

Inspired by the loveliness of the season, this drawing was to have another to go with it featuring oak leaves. Maybe next fall...

"Dashielle"

This proud pooch is a borzoi, drawn mainly for the sake of experimenting with some new multiliner pens I'd recently purchased.

There are a bunch of other drawings and sketches that I've got tucked away, some dating back to my teen years. Perhaps I'll dig those out another day.

(All of these and more are in my DeviantArt gallery: http://www.morumoto.deviantart.com/)

It Started with a P

2009-05-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

Guinea pigs. They're funny, fuzzy, squeaky, and to those of us who've welcomed them into our lives they're some of the most charming rodents we've ever met. Five of these little characters share my home right now (at one point I had seven) and I couldn't imagine living without them. I haven't always had such an affinity for guinea pigs. They've nibbled their way into my heart a few years ago...

My first pet was a dog, a cairn terrier named Sugar, and following her was a scotty dog named Beverly. I loved them both dearly, and it was tough leaving Beverly behind when I went off to college. In the subsequent years I owned several mice and a small iguana, but I didn't feel I had the proper amount of space or time to devote to a dog.

It was when I was working at a pet store that I was introduced to guinea pigs. They were little skittish bundles of fur that dashed away every time I or anyone else reached to pet them. What terrible pets, I thought. Then this little piggy showed up one day. She'd been abandoned by her owner, and his roommate brought her into the store. She was the sweetest little thing, welcoming any attention that came her way. Luckily at the time I was about to move into an apartment that allowed pets so I quickly claimed her and was so excited to have my new little friend. I played with her every day at work til the move was finalized and then I went to work to take her home...

She died. The day before I came to bring her to her new home she passed away. Before I even had a chance to name her. I didn't understand guinea pig health at the time, so I didn't realize that she was underweight and sick. I was horribly heartbroken. One of my fellow employees told me that the other store in Westwood had a guinea pig available, so I should go there and take a look. Sigh, why not. That store wasn't far away. Upon my arrival, there indeed was a guinea pig. She sat there, a little black and yellow ball of fluff munching on hay, so little she was dwarfed by the rabbit who shared the pen. A surprised little squeak emanated from this furball when I scooped her up into my hands, then silence. She offered just an inquisitive look as those beady eyes stared boldly at me. They told me that someone had previously bought but returned her, citing an "ear fungus" as the reason. They treated her with some ear powder but even I could tell her ears were just fine (I have my own theories on why they really brought her back...).

And that is how my P-Chan came into my life. She was a fiesty one. By fiesty, I mean bitey. It took me a bit of time to realize that she didn't like her feet, chest, or tummy being touched and she was quick to let you know about it (and there we have the real reason she was returned to the pet store). We soon became fast friends, I doted on her and came to love this little cavy so very much.

Baby P

A couple of years later a neighbor came knocking on my door late one night, in her hands a cage. One of the other tenants told her that I had a guinea pig and she didn't want hers anymore. She was pretty much about to throw him away, if I didn't take him she'd either give him to someone who had a snake or take him to Petco, leaving him outside the store if it was closed. Of course, I took him. The poor guy was in a cramped cage with a wire bottom, and the tray had fur caked on top of what appeared to be a layer of bedding that had fossilized from lack of proper cleaning. I set about taking off that wire bottom (stabbing my finger open with a screwdriver in the process) and scraping the tray clean. When I offered him a bit of lettuce it was sadly apparent that he'd never had fresh veggies before. At first he seemed sad and confused, not knowing what was going on. I gave him a pigloo and litter tray, and replaced the ugly, cracked olive green bowl with a nice new one filled with fresh food (it smelled bad, too). Soon after he looked more relaxed and happy. Mr. Ponzu had come home.

A happy Mr. Ponzu with his son, Miso.

More squeakies came into my life shortly thereafter.

Sora was my birthday guinea pig, a beautiful little guy with a long red and white coat that shimmered (known as a satin). He became Ponzu's cagemate, and well, he was a bit of a scamp. Quick to run from you when he was in his cage, as soon as he came out he was so incredibly affable.

Tiramisu was a tiny black and white sweetie, a little runt who after several months never grew larger than the size you see here.

Next to join the fold was Mochi, a perky guinea who I nicknamed Crazy Legs due to her exploratory nature that simply wouldn't allow her to stay still. It wasn't long before she and Ponzu decided to have a family. Three precious piggy nuggets were born: two boys named Miso and Shoyu, and their little sister Pocky.

A quirky little cavy, Kokiri is a really friendly guy with one ear that sticks up while the other flops downward.

Lastly, Archie was a present last Christmas for my boyfriend (of course, he'd never have known the joys of guinea pigs if I hadn't introduced him to it).

Some are still with me, some have passed on, all of them have left thier mark on me. I'm sure there will be many more guinea pigs to come.

The Humble Beginnings of a Plushie Artist

2009-05-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

I believe in bringing an element of beauty to everything that I do.

Throughout my life, I've had 2 passions. Before I could even remember I've had crayons in one hand and a plush dog in the other. I maintained my enthusiasm for drawing as I grew older, often foresaking recess, playtime, and other activities so I could have a little quiet time to draw. I was fascinated by animals and studied them at great lengths to learn how to properly express their anatomical features and personalities. As for the stuffed dogs, there were quite a few. I had a great many plushies growing up, and read countless stories about animals (and often wondered what the world was like when you were an adventurous mouse) . I learned to sew at a young age, but plushies of my own creation didn't come about til much later.

My journey through life lead me along several paths. I left my New England home to study illustration at an art school in southern California. Unfortunately I did not graduate, and that is something I would still like to finish provided the opportunity rises. A variety of jobs came and went. I worked as a dog groomer and enjoyed the daily interaction with my beloved canines til my back began to ache . Video game testing was another fun venture, yet it still wasn't quite the right fit (despite the fact that I'd been an avid gamer since the NES came out... ah well). It wasn't til I ended a bad relationship and began to truly listen to my inner voice that I found a place and a calling that made me happy.

I live in Oregon now with my loving and supportive boyfriend and 5 guinea pigs, away from the obnoxiously sunny weather of Southern California. The grey chilly days are lovely, as is listening to the rain's patter on the greenery that is so abundent here. After growing up with 2 terriers I'm ready for another dog in my life (though perhaps I'll pick a breed without a strong prey drive for small animals!) My creative energies are focused on making life-like plushies of guinea pigs, mice, rats, and all the other little critters who you can never find any plushies of. With this blog I'll be sharing my work, from new types of plushies (and I am ever branching out to more animals), to my drawings and traditional artwork, and also a bit of my love and gained wisdom about my furry friends.