Pop Art Pet Unleashed

Archive for December, 2007

We do love finding other artists out there creating custom pet pieces (mostly to add to our Kylie collection). Our most recent discovery, Cornflakegirl!

She makes adorable, miniature plush animals and dolls all by hand, and accepts custom orders too. So of course we sent her some photos of Kylie and look what we got..

It’s a rather good likeness, don’t you think?!

We love it!

We found Cornflake girl at one of our favorite places to shop online, Etsy. A showcase of all things handmade, etsy.com is fabulous! If you prefer original to mass-produced, check it out…

You can click the links below to see previous entries about other custom artwork we’ve had created featuring Kylie.

Other Plush Kylie’s
Kylie Sculpture
Glass Beads
Portrait in Oil
Kylie in Stained Glass
Other Kylie Art

Of all the Christmas presents we created for our clients this season, the biggest by far was a Pop Art people portrait. [Did you know we did people too? Check out our other site, popartgo.com.]

Jason sent an adorable photo of his wife & daughter, and wanted the portrait to be a really, REALLY, big surprise for the whole family!

Here’s the portrait, before we stretched it (check out the dollar bill for scale)..

And after we stretched it, just ready to ship..

Wow! The finished dimensions were 36″x42″, which was gi-nourmous, and from what we heard it was a really BIG holiday hit!

We hope all our Christmas portraits made for wonderful gifts this year and wish to thank all our clients who included us in their celebration; we hope we had just a small part of making them happy and bright!

Happy Holidays!

It’s just days before Christmas, and you’re so busy with last-minute shopping, visiting friends and attending parties that you’re hardly at home. To ease guilt about not spending more time with your dog, stuff low-fat peanut butter or other treats inside toys such as a Kong, Orbee-Tuff Ball or Busy Buddy to keep her occupied.

Other tips:

• Some pets thrive on extra attention from holidayvisitors, but not all pets are social butterflies. Respect their right to be bashful.
• When you receive gifts, remove any ribbon and tinsel before displaying them. They’re enticing to your cat, in particular, and you don’t want him in surgery on Christmas Day.
• Many people add substances such as sugar, fertilizers or commercial preservatives to the water at the base of a Christmas tree that can harm pets if they lap it up. Arrange a skirt around the tree stand to prevent drinking.
• Don’t leave chocolate out for Santa. It’s dangerous for your pets (and Santa doesn’t need the extra calories).
• Include all family members in the big day. Pets, too, appreciate gifts!

Source: USA Weekend

Earlier this week on NBC’s “Today” show, the ASPCA unveiled the nation’s first-ever “Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit.”

What it is
- Ford E-450 (full-size van) customized by La Boit Inc.
- 26 feet in length, climate-controlled, full electronics suite with generator
What it can do
The Mobile Animal CSI Unit will allow Dr. Merck to process any suspected crime scene more quickly and more efficiently. Because she’ll be working on-site, rather than transporting animals and other evidence, this will reduce the stress placed on the animals. It will also provide for a proven chain of custody, ensuring the integrity of evidence.

Special features
The vehicle is fully outfitted to allow Dr. Merck to examine and care for animals found at suspected crime scenes, and includes a surgical suite. The on-board equipment includes:

* General supplies such as a Digital SLR camera, crime scene tape, a stretcher for animal transport, and face masks;
* Medical examination and surgical equipment to evaluate and treat animals for emergency life-threatening conditions, as well as necropsy equipment, including digital microscope, digital x-ray machine, sexual assault kit and anesthesia/oxygen machine;
* Blood evidence supplies such as Phenolphthalein, Blue Star imaging equipment and blood spatter photo scales;
* Evidence collection supplies such as packaging and identification kits, entomology collection supplies and a Tiger UV light source to detect trace evidence; and
* Grave detection and exhumation equipment including soil sampler, sifter, GPS unit, compass and digital distance measuring devices.

Also, the ASPCA will break ground on the nation’s first Anti-Cruelty Institute in New York in 2008. This institute will be dedicated to educating veterinarians and law enforcement officials about how to recognize and respond to animal cruelty. Scheduled to open in 2010, the facility will include a forensic laboratory, veterinary hospital and treatment center for animals who are victims of cruelty.

It’s great to see this kind of progress – Better life, and justice, through science for animals!

Source: ASPCA

We took as many orders after our deadline for Christmas orders had technically passed as we could, because we didn’t want to have to turn anybody down. Now we are proofing, printing, coating, stretching and packaging portraits every single day, and we’re up to our elbows in pet portraits! Still we have managed to stay ahead of the curve, so we may be able to take a few more orders, but at this point a Rush Fee ($40) will be required (and possibly Express shipping too) – Santa’s elves as it turns out are union so you have to pay them overtime!

If you’re interested in possibly ordering a portrait for Christmas, just send us a message thru our contact form. We’ll have you send the photo(s) you would like us to work with and find out what size & style you had in mind. Then we’ll try to evaluate your photos quickly and let you know if we can accommodate your request.

Or, if you don’t have pictures for us to work with remember you can order a Gift Certificate through December 23rd and we’ll send it via email for you to print, and currently you can save 30%!

Pop Art Pet Gift Certificates make an awesome gift and they allow the recipient to have creative freedom in selecting their favorite photo to be used for their portrait!

Also, be sure and visit our online Gift Shops. We offer our original artwork, on fun & functional products, featuring so many popular breeds you’re sure to find their favorite!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Trying to shop with a conscious this Christmas? The ASPCA can help.. in their online store they offer some great gifts for pet lovers, like a Dog Treat Making Kit. The kit created especially for kids, includes everything they need to bake their own all-natural dog treats at home. This is a fun activity for the whole family—and your dog will give you licks of gratitude when he samples the results!

And we love this “Paint the Wild Puppies” kit! Three, hand-carved, solid wood, sculptures can be made into play figures, magnets or hanging ornaments that will provide hours of fun. Best of all you paint them yourself! The high-quality acrylic paints dry quickly, making it easy to paint over mistakes. Blank gift cards are also included which the recipient artist can personalize for a loved one or friend.

Of course a portion of all their online sales goes to help support the programs and rescued animals of the ASPCA.

For the animal lover who already has everything they could possibly need, Pasado’s Safe Haven, an amazing animal rescue group in Washington state is offering Gift Adoptions on their website. And is there a better holiday gift than one that means a second chance for animals who have suffered abuse and neglect?

You could choose from a senior dog, like Tulip, who weighed only 28 pounds when rescued (her ideal weight is 5olbs), a cat or kitten, or even a farm animal like Barack O’Lama.

Your gift recipient receives:
–A beautiful Full-Color photograph of their
“adopted” animal printed on glossy card stock
–Your personalized message!
–Biography of their rescue
–Certificate of Adoption
–Invitation to visit Pasado’s Safe Haven

If the person you’re shopping for is truly an animal lover they will truly appreciate that the money you spent went to help support pets in need, and isn’t that what the holidays are about?

It was our Christmas wish this year that we wouldn’t have to turn away any Holiday orders, so even though our deadline has now passed and we are extremely busy trying to keep up with the orders we’ve already received, we encourage you to contact us if you are interested in placing an order for a Christmas gift.

You can send us the photo(s) you would like us to work with and let us know what size & style you had in mind, we’ll try to evaluate it quickly and let you know if we can take your order. Of course you may need to include Express shipping charges in order for your completed portrait to be delivered on time.

Or we may be able to design proofs for you in time for Christmas. Then the recipient can go online and see the artwork and even choose which proof we print for their portrait, which they will receive shortly after the holidays.

So just send us a message , it may not be too late!

Don’t have pictures for us to work with? You can order a Gift Certificate through December 23rd and we’ll send it via email for you to print, and currently you can save 30%!

Also, if you’re looking for something slightly less complicated for the pet lover on your shopping list, such as t-shirts, mouse pads, tote bags, or something of that nature, be sure and visit our online Gift Shops. We offer our original artwork, on fun & functional products, featuring so many popular breeds you’re sure to find their favorite!