Custom Plushie Update 2011!

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

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 I became a bit withdrawn.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!

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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.