First OH Craft Fair

Hello world! Did my first craft fair in Ohio last weekend. It was sooooo slow. Unnervingly slow, really. But, we did ok and got lots of compliments! Here's some pics of my setup:

I hung the dog collars on wire shelving from our pantry. And that white box there in the bottom photo was actually a plastic crate that I covered in white packing paper to make it look a little nicer. I'm going to sew a cover for it soon.

They wouldn't let me have Mocha with me because it was an indoor craft show and they were selling food (to the 20 people that came...) so I brought my laptop and had a slideshow playing of Mocha and Ninja modeling the sweaters.

So, now what? We're doing another show, of course! December 7th at the Falcon Academy of Creative Arts (FACA) in Mogodore, OH. Sure hope it goes well!

Also... I opened a shop on Zibbet. It's a website that's really committed to selling handmade, like Etsy used to be. So, here's the link (I'll try to find a widget too): www.zibbet.com/inspiredbymocha

Just a couple things on there, but a super nice community. I'm interested to see how the site does.

Excellent October

What a wonderful October we've had. Both pups did great at a CPE trial a few weekends ago, and I'm so proud of them.

Here's a picture of their ribbons from that first Saturday. They each had a perfect day. Mocha did all five events and Ninja did two :)

And here's a couple videos. Ninja's in level 1, and Mocha finished level 1 and is now in 2/3. (There are 5 levels in CPE Agility.)

This is Mocha's level 2 standard run. It was his first time seeing the teeter and weaves in competition. He did perfect and I'm so proud :)

And here's Ninja! He's very different from Mocha. Mocha is cautious and watches me very carefully. Ninja is... a ninja! He's fast, really fast, but he's still young and doesn't always watch. I hope one day he'll be a little more cautious, I worry about him hurting himself.

Well, so there they are, hope you enjoy seeing my furkids.

Happy Fall

Hello all!

It's been forever, I know. I've been thinking about the blog recently and wanting to share with more people what we're doing with our pups.

Ninja has taken some advanced obedience classes. We're hoping to certify him as a therapy dog and take him into nursing homes and hospitals. Honestly, we're pretty sure he'd pass the test, however he's a little vocal so we're holding off in order to let him grow up just a little bit more. I mean, he's just turning 2 years old this month. He has plenty of time, right? And by vocal, I mean that he sings a little bit. He very rarely barks, just kind of... whines I guess. But we like to think of it as singing :)

Mocha has been doing fantastic. A little over a year ago, we entered him in agility classes and he's really grown into a wonderful dog. He loves agility. I mean, he lives for it. It's his favorite thing and I really enjoy it too.

We have a trial this weekend, probably the last for the year, and I know he'll do great. Ninja's running too, but he doesn't really enjoy it as much as Mocha.

I also reopened the Etsy shop. Not much new yet, but I'm getting a fancy pair or scissors this week so that I can finish a rag quilt I started ... oh... over a year ago! So I'm excited about that. I really liked the quilting process, just not the cutting at the end. Hopefully, getting the scissors will help with that.

And just one more pic, in case you weren't sure that Mocha loves agility:

Almost August!

How did this happen?  Ok, since my last post, we've moved from Missouri to Ohio and we live in an awesome subdevelopment outside of Cleveland.  Here's us and the puppies enjoying the back deck :)

Then we went to Chicago and got married!!!!  It was an awesome day :)

Then we went to Jamaica for our honeymoon!  Just FYI, it's very hot there in June and apparently a little nicer in the winter.  We had no idea lol

And now Ninja, at 9 months old, is the same size as Mocha, who's 17 months old.  Guess he's gonna be a big doggie :)

So what's next?  I need to find a job!  But in the meantime I keep adding to my Etsy shop.  Check back often for new designs!  There're already some Christmas sweaters up there and a Halloween sweater is on it's way.

Haircuts!

Since my puppies are like my children, every little event is a milestone.  This past weekend, we took Ninja for his first real haircut.

Here's his before picture.  He's laying on the couch claiming the big dog toys for his own:

When we picked up the pups (3 hours later) the groomer that had worked on Ninja said "omg he's totally a ninja that's the perfect name for him!"  She seemed smitten ;)

Mocha got a wash and a blowout, so he was super fluffy and extra happy to see us

I think Ninja felt a little violated.  He spent the ride home sitting in the back looking dejected lol

I love this look on him.  He really looks like a puppy now!

Quick update!

So remiss in updating my blog!  Guess I'll never be a famous blogger :-/

The craft fair went pretty well.  It was nice to get my name out there, but March at 80 degrees isn't really the time to sell doggie sweaters...

There was one really cool vendor who hand paints wooden eggs.  His work was beautiful!  Unfortunately, I couldn't afford it, but I wanted to share it!  Here's one of my favorites:

Isn't that georgous?
The Egg Man is his website

I also got a custom made coat for Mocha.  It's just as beautiful as I had hoped, lined with fleece.  Wicked cute, I can't even stand it.  Here's a few pics I took:

It has a little hood, even though you can't really see it, and a D-ring on the back so it can be used as a harness :)  Got it from this shop on Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/KozyCanines

And finally (don't I sound like I'm writing an essay? lol) Mocha and Ninja have been getting along sooooo well.  Mocha's been enjoying agility classes while Ninja goes through puppy kindergarten.  They love to play together, chase the balls, etc.  Then they conk out.  I think Mocha's pretty happy with the whole "I have a little brother" thing :)

Learning about our Ninja Shoe

We've had our little Ninja Shoe for about 10 days now and he is turning out to be the sweetest little creature.  He and Mocha play non-stop.  Mocha even brings Shoe toys to wrestle over!  I'll put some videos on YouTube as soon as I can figure out what the email is for the account.... /sigh

The two puppies run around and wrestle like crazy till they can't go anymore.  Then, our home looks something like this:

Anyway, Mocha is 1 year old and about 12 lbs.  Shoe is 4 months old and 9 lbs!  He's going to be gigantic.  Right now they're both sitting by the window watching people come in and out the building.

Shoe has so many endearing qualities.  For one, his little tail wags constantly.  Another is the little white streak he has on his chin.  But I think my favorite is the cuddling.  He just loves to be petted.

Yesterday he was snoring on my lap:

In other news, I've been getting ready for my first craft fair next weekend.  It's in St. Louis at the Lindbergh High School.  I hope w/all my heart that it goes well.  

Here are some of the collars I'm working on:

I think since it's been so warm I'll have more luck w/collars than sweaters, but you never know!

I've also updated the Facebook page for Inspired by Mocha.  People can buy straight through FB!  I didn't know you could do that lol.  For someone in their mid-20's, I'm pretty slow with technology and social media.  Here's our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inspired-By-Mocha/310813565609053

And one final update:  We are officially moving from Kirksville, MO to Cuyahoga Falls, OH on May 30 & 31!  Soooo excited!  And then getting married June 9th!  Double Excited! :)