Original Sock Dogs

And the Facebook 1000+ contest winners are...

Grand Prize:

Tracy Nanstad

2nd Prize:

Ashley King

3rd Prize:

Juno the Pitbull Goddess

Thanks for leaving your comments, everyone! Here's to another 1000 Facebook friends!

 

Great Big Original Sock Dogs Contest

Contest Time!

Original Sock Dogs has teamed up with Fix Your Images photography for a fun little dog-centric contest! Details below...deadline is end of day Friday, April 13.

Here are links to the two Facebook pages to "like":

Original Sock Dogs

Fix Your Images Photography

Dark Alley Giveaway!

To say that I am a fan of Veronika Lozovaya's plush art would be a huuuuge understatement. I have two of her Dark Alley creations and they are the most amazing "creepy cats" ever. So much attention to detail and so much character--Jim Henson (my hero) would be impressed! She is generously holding a giveaway on her blog for Easter and the winner will receive--what else--a creepy bunny! But he's really cute, too. Have a look:

CLICK HERE to go to the giveaway page on her blog!

 

More customs...I'm working as much as I can, so hopefully I can make some more pups for the shop soon!

Meet Casey--his mom sent me so many fun photos of him that I had to have a little fun with his sock dog "pose" for the camera. He obviously loves being in the spotlight!

And this is "Tag" also known as "Tagaroo". What a sweetie! She has her own Facebook page, too!

And here's Fred with his mini-sculpture and sock dog customs, who was rescued after being tied up to a Frito-Lay truck, of all things. Poor guy was starving and cold, but now he has a wonderful, loving home. No wonder he's such a smiley dog!

 

Customs, customs and more customs! Suddenly, I am booked into April and working feverishly to get each order completed. I spend a good deal of time on each one to make sure I get the markings right, the stitches tight, and the overall personalities of each dog captured as best I can. I owe a good deal of my orders to Angel City Pits, who have featured Original Sock Dogs on their Facebook wall and sent many Pittie peeps my way. I have to admit, I really enjoy making those pit bull sock dogs. Not only are they perfect for the medium, but I love making something silly and sweet that's pit bull related. Everyone should know how wonderful these dogs can be!

Here's a recent Pittie custom sock dog:

Kaya was described like this by her mom:

When we came home from work, she loved to twirl around in excitement, earning her the nickname ballerina. She also grunted really loud like a little piggy when she smelled something really tasty. Kaya loved to play in the mud and instigated a surprise mud fight among her brothers (Kenai and Juneau) in our backyard.

I dare anyone not to fall in love with a dog like that! I hope that in some small way, Original Sock Dogs is helping to improve the image of this breed. I love 'em all.

The custom Pittie orders keep on rolling in, and I love it! They really are fun sock dogs to make with their big ol' heads and paws and their great markings. Pauly is one that I just finished up. He was wandering the rough and tough streets in LA for a while before he was rescued and is now living the good life.

When I first started making the customs, the owner of a retail shop I'd partnered up with advised me (quite strongly) against it. She said that I didn't want to bother with custom orders and the endless rounds of changes that would accompany them. Fortunately, I ignored her advice and I have to say, it has been one of the best parts of this journey. Meeting so many people who are so devoted to their dogs (and cats), sharing in their happy stories and giving them something to help them through a loss...it has enriched my life and my work in ways I never expected and for which I am truly grateful.

New look for the etsy shop!

Check it out...same great stuff, but going with the Original Sock Dogs name, since that's my focus! Now if I can just figure out how to change the blog name without starting over...

 

New customs

(In case you saw the last post about me leaving Typepad, nevermind. I'm stickin' around. Keeping the account on Tumblr and this one too.)

After a crazy December, I have finished up all my custom sock dog orders!

Here are a few of the ones I've been working on:

PEARL

SAM

SHADOW (Psst...he belongs to a certain Monty Python member)

BRIDGET (Psst...so does she)

SEAMUS

LUCY the Wonderbull (Yes, she really does wear a tutu, and here's a link to her Facebook page...please "like" her!)

Happy holidays to all of you...and of course, to your sweet pets, too!

 

Some new customs

Been working on lots of custom orders for the holidays! Here are a few of them:

Rupert

Dink

Nahla