heart – YourDesignerDog

Warm, Fuzzy Feelings with Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Dog

yourdesignerdog — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 01:00:21 +0000

The Chicken Soup for the Soul book series is known for providing heartwarming stories and My Very Good, Very Bad Dog is a wonderful example of that tradition. If you are looking for a book that’s guaranteed to make any dog lover smile and is easy to read in between your hectic schedule, then Chicken Soup for the Soul’s My Very Good, Very Bad Dog by Amy Newmark is the perfect choice.

No matter the breed or personality of your dog, you will find stories in this book that speak directly to your experiences as a dog owner. You’ll find reassurance that other dogs can be as mischievious as your naughty pet. Your heart will warm with the tales of the human-animal bond. And as you read, you’ll be cuddling closer with your own pets, cherishing the smiles they bring to your life.

I also really enjoyed all of the interesting facts before each story. Did you know there’s a dog collar museum in England? Or that when a dog chews on your shoe, he or she is trying to learn about where you go when you’re not home? And that the Shar-Pei and the Chow are the only two dog breeds that don’t have pink tongues? (Their tongues are a blue/black color in case you were wondering.)

Another heartwarming aspect of this book is that part of the proceeds are donated to charity! All of the author’s royalties from Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Dog are donated to the American Humane Association. The animals thank you, Amy Newmark!

With the crazy, unpredictable weather lately, this book is the perfect choice to read to the family by candlelight when the power goes out. You’ll have everyone laughing and smiling, forgetting about the stress of the world for a few precious moments.

Chicken Soup for the Soul’s My Very Good, Very Bad Dog is available at Chewy.com, along with many other wonderful books in the series.

This post is part of the #ChewyInfluencer blog hop.

I received a free book from our friends at Chewy.com in exchange for my honest opinion about the product.

Caturday Art Hearts and Cubes

yourdesignerdog — Sat, 18 Feb 2017 07:00:16 +0000

Today I tried out a cubist filter on some photos for Sadie’s Caturday Art post. I thought it was interesting that the heart never changes, but Sadie herself is turned into all kind of different boxes and cubes. Also I think her little tongue in the second photo is especially cute and kind of looks like origami.

This post is part of the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by Athena Cat Goddess.

Super Easy DIY Halloween Costume For Your Dog!

yourdesignerdog — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 06:30:14 +0000

I love looking at all of the creative DIY Halloween costume ideas you can find everywhere at this time of year! But to be honest, I’m a bit clumsy with crafting, and most DIY costumes are beyond my beginner skill set. But when I came across a photo of a Beanie Baby dog costume on Pinterest, I immediately knew this was perfect for me – easy enough for my skill level and adorable enough for my dog. Plus, as someone who collected Beanie Babies at the height of the craze, I rather liked the idea of having a Beanie Baby of my own dog. Below you can find the steps I used to create the Beanie Baby costume seen in these photos of Sadie.

Beanie Baby Dog Costume

Step 1:

Search online for a good image of that unforgettable heart logo tag. Try to find an image that has the tag open so that your own tag can be opened and read.

Step 2:

Print out the heart, making sure the tag will print large enough based on the size of your dog. I printed mine at 150%, making the heart take up the top third of a piece of standard printer paper.

Step 3:

Glue / tape the paper with the heart printout to a piece of cardboard. This will help to make the tag is sturdy enough to survive being attached to your dog.

Step 4:

Cut out the tag and fold in half.

Step 5:

Write your dog’s name and birthday inside. You may also include cute little facts about your dog, or a small story or poem.

Step 6:

Punch a hole in the tag at the upper left corner. The correct spot may be marked with a small circle, depending on the heart image you chose online.

Step 7:

Attach the tag to a piece of string or a rubber band. I used a hair elastic for Sadie’s tag.

Step 8:

Loop string around your dog’s collar and you’re done! (I also tried hanging the tag by Sadie’s ear, as a lot of the Beanie Babies I owned had tags in that position. By using the hair elastic, I made sure this placement wouldn’t pull Sadie’s hair or hurt her. It looked pretty cute in the photos, but as you can probably guess, the tag did not stay in place very long and I ultimately realized the collar placement is better in the long run.)

This post is part of the BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

Sadie and the Giant Black and White Butterfly

yourdesignerdog — Sun, 17 Apr 2016 09:30:27 +0000

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s….a giant butterfly? Sadie was so proud that she captured this massive critter! I didn’t have the heart to tell her that this giant winged beast is actually a balloon on a string.

This post is part of Nola and Sugar‘s Black and White Sunday blog hop.

Custom Portraits, Charity Donations, and More at Andy’s Paw Prints

yourdesignerdog — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 13:15:46 +0000

Sadie received a gorgeous new portrait recently and it is fantastic. The style is whimsical, the colors are so vibrant, and the likeness is striking. I could gush on and on about how in love I am with this portrait. But instead I’d rather tell you about the wonderful company that created Sadie’s portrait – Andy’s Paw Prints.

Andy’s Paw Prints creates custom pet portraits based off of photos of your pet. These portraits are all created digitally, meaning they are hand drawn on a computer rather than a canvas. There are six portrait styles you can choose from for a pet portrait: true to life digital painting, rustic, rescue, pop art, charcoal digital drawing, and colored pencil digital drawing. For Sadie’s portrait I chose the pop art style. The pop art style allows the artist to be more creative with a portrait, especially in regards to color. I thought this bright, fanciful type of art was perfect to capture Sadie’s personality and would fit well with the decor of our home. But if pop art is not for you, Andy’s Paw Prints offers both more traditional and more unique portrait styles. The rustic style, which makes the portrait appear to be painted onto wooden planks, would be great for those who love country chic decor. You can also request a rustic portrait with an American flag background, perfect for veterans and those who love their country as much as their dog. Personally I was also very drawn to the rescue style portraits, which are both realistic and unique. On the rescue portraits the background around your pet is filled with all the words the make your pet special, such as their breed, personality traits, devoted, loyal, etc. The only reason I did not choose the rescue style is that the background colors are a bit too neutral to fit my personal aesthetic. Sadie was definitely a better fit for pop art, where her beloved pink colors could shine through.

If artistic talent isn’t enough to make you want a portrait from Andy’s Paw Prints, you won’t be able to resist when you hear about the charitable portion of their business. With each and every purchase you make, Andy’s Paw Prints donates 25% to help animals in need. And it’s not just a donation to some nameless charity that you don’t know anything about. You can actually choose which shelter/rescue/charity receives the donation from each purchase you make. Andy’s Paw Prints takes the time to actually partner with shelters and rescue organizations to make sure your donations are really getting to those animals who need it the most. If you have a particular shelter or organization you love to support and it’s not on the list, you can even fill out a form to start the process of getting your organization added to the donation list.

You may notice in my photos that Sadie’s portrait is not on the typical canvas or paper of a typical piece of art. That is because Andy’s Paw Prints offers you some unique options in the format of your portrait. For your initial portrait purchase, you can order a canvas print, a print on foam board, or even have the portrait printed on ceramic tile. Once your portrait order is complete, you are then given the opportunity to order additional copies of your portrait on items that can be useful as well as decorative. I chose to have Sadie’s portrait printed on a glass cutting board. I think the shine and texture of the glass makes the pop art portrait almost come to life and I smile each and every time I walk into my kitchen and see it. The cutting board itself is super high quality, larger than your average cutting board (looking at my photos you will see that the cutting board makes Sadie’s portrait life size), and has the little rubber feet to keep it safely in on your countertop. Some of you may think it’s odd that I want to chop vegetables on my dog’s face, but for me it makes kitchen chores less tedious when I have something gorgeous to look at. In addition to cutting boards, you can also purchase additional copies of your portrait on mugs, mouse pads, and coasters.

Getting your own pet portrait from Andy’s Paw Prints is easy. You just need to pick your preferred style, fill out the form, choose the charity your purchase donation goes to, and attach a few good quality photographs of your pet. After you pay a small deposit fee, an artist will immediately begin work on your pet’s portrait. Once it’s finished, you will receive an email link to see the finished masterpiece. You get to choose whether to order canvas portraits, tile portraits, printed portraits, etc. Prices range from $45 to $195 depending on the style and medium and you will be able to deduct the price of your deposit from your final purchase amount. At this point your portrait will also appear in the before and after gallery on the Andy’s Paw Prints website, where you can share your portrait with all your family and friends through email and social media. Head over to Andy’s Paw Prints where you can see all of their beautiful portraits and order one of your own.

This post is part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog.

This post is also part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love Is Being Owned By a Husky, and M.K. Clinton.

I received a free product to try out in exchange for my own opinions in an honest review.