# christmas gifts for my clients



## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

So every year, I go thru He!! trying to figure out what to get my clients for christmas. Well, this year, I will be doing some craft work for some of them and thought I'd share 

I'd heard about this thing called needle felting and thought, hummmmmm, I can so see dogs done this way and I could put some of the dog's fur in with each one I do. 

So, what I am going to do is do a representation of each person's dog and include a small amount of the fur clipped off (clean of course) so it can be a keepsake!

Here's my very first try! It's my own S'poo as I figured that would be best to practice on


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## pudlemom (Apr 16, 2010)

That is way too cool,I love it!!


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## BFF (Jun 10, 2009)

If I got a present such as this, I would be very deeply touched! I have saved a lock of hair from each poodle I have had, so to have a representation of my dog would be the best ever.

Great idea!!! What really makes this is how well it is done. You have a very crafty eye.


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## Penjilum-Poodles (Apr 17, 2010)

Oh wow! I've seen a persons work on the boston forum and your work is beautiful! You do have a talent for it. I think this will be a great, thoughtful and beautiful gift!

It looks just like her too!


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## Oodlejpoodle's mom (Sep 11, 2009)

OMG Cameo you are so talented, what a great job you did on this. How long does it take to do each one? That is such a generous and thoughtful gift that I am sure will be much appreciated by all the recipients.


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## rubymom (Apr 24, 2010)

:beauty: What talent! I've never seen this process before but the end results are gorgeous!


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

That is incredible!! I too would be very touched by something like this!


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_That is the most thoughtful gift!! I would love to receive something like that as a gift. You did such a beautiful job on it and it does look just like your dog. I saw a set of three people at a fair last weekend done in that method. It was a ribbon winner. I was fascinated by the work.
_


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

thanks so much y'all 

I was thrilled to get all my supplies and get started, but to tell you the truth, I was skeptical if I could really make a bat of wool look like a dog, lol. 

There is some really amazing work out there and I'm just in AWE of what some people have done with wool and a barbed needle. 

This one took me about 3 hours working on and off yesterday, but I'm sure with more experience, it wouldn't take that long. Of course, there are no colors or patterns to match to the dog, but If I can do a few each weekend til christmas, I'll be happy. I'm thinking I'll need about 30 of them... ACK.. I better get my arse in gear!


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## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

I immediately googled this and I am totally captivated. I decided I am gonna learn this new craft. They are precious. I saw a black continental poodle years ago. It was $100 so I put it down. But I now know what that is called. There are blogs on how to do it.


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## whitepoodles (Jul 5, 2010)

Came:

You are a genious !!! this is way too cute... and it is so real looking.

If I were your client I would love this type of gift, anything poodle that is.

Great idea !!


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

yes, there is A LOT of info out there on needle felting. There is not a lot involved in supplies and tools, but the wools can become a bit pricey if you are buying a variety of colors. I got the absolute best customer service from Felt Alive & Dream felt and they are so helpful and friendly and FAST!

It's not that hard to do either


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i LOVE it!!!!!!


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

Faerie, I thought of you when I saw a video of them doing felted soap! It's VERY cool and easy to do 

BTW, I'm loving the soaps and such you brought me! Hubby is diggin' the muscle rub and my finger doesn't hurt anymore because of it! Got a friend that I gave your website to for some of it too!


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## CelticKitti (Jul 1, 2010)

Cameo... you have some very lucky clients! That is amazing!


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

Cameo, this is brilliant! I am so impressed with your first try! The form is excellent! May I suggest, after Christmas, you start an online business for yourself? (In all of your spare time...right?! LOL) I love it, and your clients will, too.


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

YAY!!! I LOVE needle felting!!!! Such a neat idea of gifts too Cameo!!! And I LOVE your wee girl, you did great! How big is she? And did you use any wire armature at all? I tried using armature once, but omg it was such a PITA to work with I never tried it again! LOL You'll find being a groomer you will have a much better 'eye' at the shape to make than many others, at least I've found that anyway! As I'm building I can recognise the muscles and tendons and how it all fits together into a dog cos I'm clipping them sooooooo much I KNOW the shape dogs should be! LOL!

It is very addictive (she says with half-finished felting beside me that I haven't found the time to do more of in months... oops!) and I still find the process absolutly amazing, even though I've been doing it since I was in primary school!!! LOL

a Boston I did:









an airedale:









and a retro poodle (lol!):









and the three together:








they are all about 6 inches tall, and I made them as gifts to doggy people who owned and showed the respective breeds. 

I'm currently doing another poodle, as another gift. This one will be in the scandinavian trim, and I'm using 100% fur from Jaks girl Saffy, and yes it's for him that I'm making it. It is an experiment to see how the poodle fluff felts up (cos I didn't have enough fur saved from Paris yet and Jak had a ton from Saffy that he had no use of but couldn't throw away! LOL!) I can post pics of her as she's growing, though she's the work that is sitting beside me having not been touched in the past few months!!! I really should get on to finishing her.... LOL


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

as far as I've gotten with the felting of Saffy's fur:


























LOTS more work to be done,I'm just roughing in the basic shape, will work on the body and back legs/tail next and get it all together, then spend more time on getting it really solid and smooth and putting ears and stuff on. I am loving it so far though!


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## Penjilum-Poodles (Apr 17, 2010)

flyingduster said:


> as far as I've gotten with the felting of Saffy's fur:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


WOW you do GREAT work! :O
I would be interested in knowing if you do this for other people? I would love to know details, pricing, how much hair you need lol... I would def. love to have one done of my Rayah with her own fur sometime in the future. Please pm me if you do custom orders with info please!


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

Penjilum-Poodles said:


> WOW you do GREAT work! :O


hehe, thank you! It is neat! I got to see 'my' boston again a few months ago, in his new home. It was soooooooo neat to see him again after so long (a year!) it's like sometimes ya see them SO much while making them, that you don't "see" them anymore... I could see a zillion things I wanted to change on him while I was doing him, but then seeing him 'fresh' again after a year was like 'wow! That IS awesome after all!' lol!!!



Penjilum-Poodles said:


> I would be interested in knowing if you do this for other people? I would love to know details, pricing, how much hair you need lol... I would def. love to have one done of my Rayah with her own fur sometime in the future. Please pm me if you do custom orders with info please!


I have thought about doing custom ones from, or including, the dogs own fur (I can easily do a 'core' of cheap fleece, just doing a covering of the dogs fur. Ie both the boston and airedale are actually made from white[ish] fleece from my own sheep with colour put over top!) but I haven't got myself sorted to do custom ones (lol, see this Saffy one still needs finished! LOL). They wouldn't be cheap at all though as there is a lot of work in them! lol. I'm thinking at least $100+ each. Probably more like $150 for custom ones! (I'm comparing my prices to works of art of a more traditional style. ie paintings and prints or jewellery etc)


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## Penjilum-Poodles (Apr 17, 2010)

flyingduster said:


> I have thought about doing custom ones from, or including, the dogs own fur (I can easily do a 'core' of cheap fleece, just doing a covering of the dogs fur. Ie both the boston and airedale are actually made from white[ish] fleece from my own sheep with colour put over top!) but I haven't got myself sorted to do custom ones (lol, see this Saffy one still needs finished! LOL). They wouldn't be cheap at all though as there is a lot of work in them! lol. I'm thinking at least $100+ each. Probably more like $150 for custom ones! (I'm comparing my prices to works of art of a more traditional style. ie paintings and prints or jewellery etc)


That's quite understandable! The woman on the boston forum prices range about the same, she too says that they are time consuming to make! Which i believe so!
I would def. love to have one made of Rayah some day, if you'd be up to making it when the time comes i can ship you her clippings lol! I wonder if that would even be possible, can we ship fur clippings international? 

I think it would be real wonderful to have a work of art made by my own girl's fur clippings. 

What kind of sheep do you have? Next spring we are planning on getting some baby doll sheep. I just love their teddy bear faces.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Those are too cool! I would LOVE one of my dog; what a great groomer your clients have!


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

very nice FD!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*Cameo:* That is insanely clever!! I'd drive from NJ to NC to have Chagall be your client anyway, but with that "bonus" holiday gift to sweeten the pie, I'm gassing up the car right now!! All my groomer gives me is a "Happy Holidays" greeting on my way out of the salon. (And I bring them homemade cookies, too! Could it be a comment on my baking that they don't even give me a candy cane?!?)

P.S. Should you wish to "take advance orders" (name your price!) I really would LOVE one of Chagall!!


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## cavon (Aug 10, 2010)

Cameo, you are soooooo talented! I'm jealous! LOL! I get the ideas in my head, but somehow they just can't make it down to my hands! LOL! 

I think your clients would be thrilled to pieces to receive such a personal gift!


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

Chagall's mom said:


> *Cameo:* That is insanely clever!! I'd drive from NJ to NC to have Chagall be your client anyway, but with that "bonus" holiday gift to sweeten the pie, I'm gassing up the car right now!! All my groomer gives me is a "Happy Holidays" greeting on my way out of the salon. (And I bring them homemade cookies, too! Could it be a comment on my baking that they don't even give me a candy cane?!?)
> 
> P.S. Should you wish to "take advance orders" (name your price!) I really would LOVE one of Chagall!!


she's worth the drive! when my sister ever decides to clip her spoo (9 months and only fft ever done), i've insisted we take her to cameo.
and when i'm through butchering temperance on my own and need her made back into a poodle, i'm taking her back to cameo! heh.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

faerie said:


> she's worth the drive! when my sister ever decides to clip her spoo (9 months and only fft ever done), i've insisted we take her to cameo.
> and when i'm through butchering temperance on my own and need her made back into a poodle, i'm taking her back to cameo! heh.


*
faerie:* Don't be too surprised if I _do_ try to get an appointment for Chagall with Cameo and stop by to visit _you_ en route!! (At least you have the skill and nerve to take on Temperance's grooming, after 16 months I've still only got the nerve to snip random hairs away from Chagall's eyes and "sanitary" between groomings!!)


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

cavon said:


> Cameo, you are soooooo talented! I'm jealous! LOL! I get the ideas in my head, but somehow they just can't make it down to my hands! LOL!
> 
> I think your clients would be thrilled to pieces to receive such a personal gift!


_off topic for a moment_...*cavon*, I love how your Finnegan's head is groomed, so much so that I'm going to show his photo to my groomer to see if she can make Chagall resemble him.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

_Dang,_ *FD*, is there anything you CAN'T DO?! I think not! Your many talents absolutely _blow me away_.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

Chagall's mom said:


> *
> faerie:* Don't be too surprised if I _do_ try to get an appointment for Chagall with Cameo and stop by to visit _you_ en route!! (At least you have the skill and nerve to take on Temperance's grooming, after 16 months I've still only got the nerve to snip random hairs away from Chagall's eyes and "sanitary" between groomings!!)


come on down!


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

Flyingduster, your work is amazing as well! I have to admit, I am very intrigued with this craft....


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## Feralpudel (Jun 28, 2010)

I was just sitting here looking at these thinking what a draw they would be (no pun intended) for one of the raffles at PCA. People donate things (e.g., crafts, knick-knacks, dog toys, dog beds); they sometimes group things into baskets; and then you buy raffle tickets and distribute them among the various things you have your eye on. There is a performance raffle where proceeds go to the PCA health foundation. There is also a rescue raffle held at the PCA Rescue benefit reception--those proceeds go to PCA rescue. 

PM me if either of you crafty ladies are interested and I will give you the email addy of the people who coordinate the raffles.


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## taxtell (Sep 17, 2009)

Ok, this is super awesome, just saying.


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

Feralpudel said:


> I was just sitting here looking at these thinking what a draw they would be (no pun intended) for one of the raffles at PCA. People donate things (e.g., crafts, knick-knacks, dog toys, dog beds); they sometimes group things into baskets; and then you buy raffle tickets and distribute them among the various things you have your eye on. There is a performance raffle where proceeds go to the PCA health foundation. There is also a rescue raffle held at the PCA Rescue benefit reception--those proceeds go to PCA rescue.
> 
> PM me if either of you crafty ladies are interested and I will give you the email addy of the people who coordinate the raffles.


How cool would that be? I am very inspired...thinking of a little project I have in mind.... I think I need to try this! Cameo, thanks for posting this; I'm getting all kinds of ideas!!!


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## wishpoo (Sep 12, 2009)

Just fantastic work Cameo and FD :first: !!!!!! 

I can only imagine how much work it goes in those and Cameo- your clients are *really* lucky to get it as a gift , by all means !!!!! As FD mentioned, those can be very expensive, as any other work of art  !!!!!

My "gardener" takes *30 $ per*/hr, LOL ; ))), just saying LOL ...


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

Alright, so I just went online and ordered a bunch of books to the library to check this out!


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## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

What a wonderful, thoughtful idea! I am sure all your clients that get one are going to be blown away! You did a superb job with yours. Kudos to you.


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

OMGosh!! THanks so much y'all  

I'm so glad that I've inspired some of you to explore this cool craft and perhaps some day I'll have time to do them to sell, but I have to get these made for my clients first, hehe. 

Also, I'd be willing to donate to PCA after the first of the year. Get in touch with me and let me know when PCA might need something.


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## Karma'sACat (Jun 1, 2010)

Cameo, that is AMAZING! I love this! I've been racking my brain on how I can raise money for CARES (my service dog program) and this might just be the perfect thing! I'm donating a portion of my collar money but want to do more (my goal is to sponsor a service dog for someone else which is $2500).


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## apoodleaday (Feb 22, 2010)

I love the little Cameo with pink ears! What an amazing gift to give your clients. I remembered seeing FD's a while back and thinking how cool they were. You are both very talented ladies with lucky clientele.


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## penny_ann (May 29, 2010)

That is just awesome! Such a thoughtful gift. Wish I was that creative.


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