My new cuff.

I got this cool leather cuff at a craft show in the Beach.

It's all hand tooled & painted with, what else, a chocolate lab!

The artist makes all kinds of cuffs with pets, animals, insects & abstract designs.

They are made of scraps recycled from a leather manufacturer so they are

saved from the land fill, which I really like. You can see more of her

stuff on her website: www.carolynleeleatherart.weebly.com

She's a very nice lady, too!

I love wearable art! : )

Mocha's nephew, Phoenix

Meet Phoenix! He is 3 months old & is my dog, Mocha's nephew!

A friend of mine liked Mocha & was thinking of getting

a chocolate lab too. Of course my dog is wonderful, so 

I recommended the breeder we used, Cooperslane Kennels.

His eyes are still green, they will probably turn brown

as they usually do.

He was very good at "sit".

It was a very hot day, so out comes the tongue.

He likes soccer just like his Uncle Mocha!

He does like to chew!

Pooped!

He is so sweet! They are going to have many happy 

times with this little guy!  : )

New Pillow.

I have a down pillow form from Pottery Barn, which had a Holiday cover on it.

I wanted to change the cover so I could use it year round, not just at

Christmas time. So I bought some fabric from Spoonflower.

This fabric is a toile in browns with dogs on it of course.

I bought two different fabrics, reverses of each other.

I think I like the brown background better but it is a nice change to

flip it over & get a different look!  : )

Shell & Rock Collection.

What do you do with a large rock & shell collection?

I have two sons & over the years they have amassed quite 

a collection of stones, rocks & shells between them.

My parents also contributed to these collections bringing back

interesting things from their holiday trips.

I was going through some boxes in the basement & came across one full of these things.

 I didn't want to just throw these away, lots of them are quite pretty & all are interesting.

So, I came up with a plan to display these items & to keep the dusting to a

minimum. Thanks to Home Sense I bought this Lantern meant to hold candles,

& filled it up with layers of rocks & shells.

And voila! A unique way to display a large collection,

& keep maintenance to a minimum.

There is coral, shells, sea glass, a sand dollar, sea urchins, 

stones, & even a real sea horse & a star fish.

I got this hand carved wooden dog, originally from

Pottery Barn, on Ebay.  : )

Pals.

I just got another dog made by awesome fabric artist Valerie Weberpal.

You can find her unique designs on Earthangels & FB.

Her designs are very colourful & whimsical folk art which I just love!

They have real personality & are made from vintage & new materials.

She custom made the cloth dog on the left for me a couple of years ago.

I just recently got the new guy with the papier mache head.

They have become fast friends!

On the swing.

In the back garden.

Valerie also made me a beautiful flower pin to wear!

I'm letting Judy wear it for now but I will be sporting

it on my lapel!

Thanks so much, Valerie!  : )