Hey To Some Wealthy Person Out There..:

Hey some wealthy person out there.....Take pity on me and buy me this please... LOL

It's only $5,800

 Ok, Ok, I'm not picky.  I'll be happy with the PomChi for $3,800

Anyone?   Anyone?  (sigh)

Cuddle Clones. NEVER AGAIN (updated):

(Update Below)
I'm too upset to even type right now. 

Ok,  Update.  The above is a picture of what they sent and on the right a photoshopped image I made of what they should have done to it.  I'm all ready to stick this thing back in the mail and then I keep thinking... "This photoshopped image.. It's so clear.  Maybe if I call these people and send them the photoshopped image showing the changes that need to be made, then they'll fix it.  How can they screw it up even worse????  Then I remembered my luck in life with everything I put faith in and everything I get my hopes over. I'm so used to getting the short straw with everything I do, I have absolutely no ability to be hopeful.  None.
 I knew they'd only attempt to fix it once and after that, I wouldn't be able to get a refund after I get it back a second time. So I have to send it back and gamble the whole $200 on them not getting it right a second time. I absolutely have no faith in anything.  Nope.  They'd screw it up. I know I can do just about anything when it comes to art, so I figured I could fix it.  I haven't dyed fabric before, or worked in soft sculpturing much.  
I decided that the people at the factory weren't going to screw up my Clone of Cricket any further. Plus I didn't think they'd take the time to do the soft sculpting to her bottom jaw and whole muzzle that had to be done.  Just retouch the paint.  So I first ordered fabric dye from Ebay, not knowing much about dying fabrics myself.  I don't do much of that. I looked up the best brands of dyes.  I ordered two colors, (Black and Russet) but impatient and fearing I'd not bought the right thing, I went to Michael's craft store and found some there. I bought black, brown, and orange. (to make the rust color shadowing under Cricket's eyes.) I bought the longest needles they had which still weren't long enough.  I then went to Walmart and found an even longer pack of needles. So two packs of needles and two sets of paints.  (sigh)  And the whole time I keep thinking,  "I shouldn't have to even DO THIS!!!!"  I paid these people over $200 bucks to do what I'm having to do my damn self! So I get home and I sit there for 2 1/2 hours taking stitches from the inside of the ear down to the mouth then back up to the inside of the ears pulling the muzzle inward. I pulled that big fat bag of a bottom muzzle under her mouth that looked like a pelican in and rounded her muzzle tighter to have that little mouse face Cricket has.  I also took a stitch up under the eye and pulled that down to the corner of the jaw to level it out where they attached her left eye higher than the right one..  You're basically doing plastic surgery on a plush animal.  Nip and tuck here and there til it's correct. I used the photoshopped image I made to go by, and I think I got it pretty spot on.  It's actually very easy to do.  I used the dye and thinned it down with water so I didn't go too dark and took my time.  I did the rust under the eyes, and then I shaded the black on the mouth and muzzle, between the mouth and nose. I darkened her eye brow whiskers, and gave it Cricket's signature church-mouse smile. I just took my time but it was so easy, which left me even more pissed because I paid this company over $200 and they could've easily done this. There is no excuse in the way they left that plush.   It was simple to get this dog to look EXACTLY like Cricket in the face and they couldn't even do this.  No.  I had to. That's the part that sucks.  They do the body, they get her color wrong (which I've said I could live with) Cricket's an ashy light silvery grey with cream undertones.  This plush is like a peachy orange and white.  Her back should be darker black (which I may still have to try and shade darker myself) .  But they sent a completely unfinished face sculpt. Very little painting to it at all. I basically had to do around 30% of the work to get this clone to look like my dog, but I paid THEM $200+.  (shaking my head)   So the morale to this story is.....C'mon say it with me. 

If you want something done right....you have to do it yourself.
Here is a picture below of the before and the after. (I also brushed out her fur a little more too) Now you tell me which one looks like my dog. 

 Now....she looks like my Cricket... and it only cost me $200 for the opportunity to paint it. (eye-roll)

The Boys (And One Girl) All Grown Up:

My Chin puppies we had all grown up now.  Well the boys anyway.  I haven't seen the two girls yet.

Here's "Mickey", name still the same but spelled "Mikki" then. 

And this is Mickey now. 

Here's "Moonie" still named "Moonie" then.

And here's "Moonie" now.

Here's "Checkers"  now named "Loquito" then.

And here's "Checkers" aka "Loquito" now.

And here's "Uno" who is now named "Oreo" then.

And "Uno" aka "Oreo" now. (after a trip to the groomers for a trim)

And UPDATE! "Bandy" then..

And "Bandy" (still named "Bandy")  now!

 

Knockout Roses:

My weakness come garden season every year!  Knockout Roses.  I went to Lowes yesterday and found a brand new Knockout Rose!! I've never seen this color before! 

CORAL!

It's literally pink and pink/orange blooms.  It's like a Peace rose in the sense that it has pink and another color faded and marbled into it. But where a Peace rose is pink and yellow, this is a deep pink and sherbet orange colored blooms.  I've always loved orange colored roses mostly because there aren't many out there and to find one in the Knockout species!  OMG!  (geeking out right now)  For anyone that doesn't know about Knockout roses, they are the most easy to keep, hugest, fullest, bushiest, disease resistant, hardy, rose bush out there.  You know how you just have to have some sort of green thumb to be able to have nice roses?  It takes some kind of touch by God, and you have to work them to death!  And no matter what there's always some old woman living down the road somewhere that always has beautiful roses year round and you don't know why!.  And every time you buy a rose bush you have it for a year and it's dead, or turns wild because the graft on it died out leaving basically the briar bush it was grown into. The leaves all fall off of it or turn yellow with black spots. Every time right?  Not with the Knockout brand rose.  It's some unique breed of rose that is a brand itself.  They all come in these lime green pots with Knockout on the side.  It has to say Knockout or it's not a Knockout rose.  They bloom from spring til frost where other roses just bloom off and on during the year and late summer practically have quit for the year.. Knockout roses literally bloom til November or December depending on where you live.  I'm in Va. The stay thick and full, but require pruning all the time just because they grow so fast and stay so full.  And where most roses have a bloom here and a bloom there, the Knockout is basically a shrub rose and it's so covered in blooms they almost touch each other. I'll have to take some pictures of my Knockout roses this spring when they all start blooming. They're starting to get buds already. But anyway, The knockout up til recently only came in red, pink, double red, double pink, yellow (which is the only one I don't like because they are slower growers and just don't perform as well in the garden as the other colors.  Although the yellow one is the only one that smells.) Knockout roses don't have a fragrance.  So for those allergic to the smell of roses they're perfect.  They also come in a light soft pink but that's a more rare color and I've only found it in one catalog online and between you and me, I don't think it's a legit Knockout.  I think someone's misrepresenting there rose, but I wont name names.  Anyway,  There is now a CORAL Knockout Rose and it's available at Lowes. And I GOT ONE!!!!!!!!  lol

 So here are a few pictures of it.  The wind was blowing really bad today so some of the shots are a little blurry but you can see the orange in the blooms. I can't wait to get a couple more. 

 PS.  also got some lilacs at Sams