Puppy Love

Kelly is the owner of Gone Doggie http://www.etsy.com/shop/GoneDoggie and is an avid dog lover and owner. Gunner is one of the dogs she has rescued and plays a very important role as he is a certified therapy dog. Kelly and Gunner volunteer at one of Kelly's local schools as a reading buddy. Children who have difficulty reading will bring a book and sit and read to Gunner. Kelly and Gunner work with grades K-2. Gunner is bigger than most of the kids that come to see him each week but, they are not afraid of him. Enjoy reading about Kelly and her wonderful shop.



by Gone Doggie

My name is Kelly. I am an avid dog lover and owner. As a little girl I would help my mom at her craft shows and I would always find little things to make to sell at the shows. As I got older I kept dabbling with different things. It was when I got my dogs that I took my love for creating and dogs and married the two and created GONE DOGGIE. I got my first dog and just fell in love. I adopted a second dog and it was after her adoption that I became involved in animal rescue. I began volunteering at the local animal shelter then began doing foster work. I then adopted one of my foster pups which made the third dog for my husband and I. I recently adopted my fourth dog.

I began creating my dog collars after trying to find fun but durable collars for my dogs. I needed something that would stand up to the rough housing of three large dogs. I played around with different materials and did lots of research on different hardware manufacturers. I finally came up with a collar a like and one that could be fun and durable but, still be made a reasonable cost. I donated many collars to my local advocate group then friends began asking me to make collars for their dogs. Next thing I knew I was signing up for craft shows and setting up my online shop www.gonedoggie.etsy.com.

In between my sewing I have my own pet sitting business. I do volunteer work with two of my dogs that have become certified therapy dogs. I also do work for our local animal advocate group, so needless to say I keep myself pretty busy.

I have a room in my home dedicated as my craft room. However I still spill out onto the dining room table and have even begun taking over another bedroom in our home. I keep telling my husband I just need an addition built onto the house for all my craft stuff. I have two different kinds of sewing machines and recently added an embroidery machine to my collection. I am always trying to come up with new things that are pet friendly and owner friendly. My next project is dogs beds.

The one piece of advice that I can give is to LOVE WHAT YOU DO and DO WHAT YOU LOVE! I know it's not easy but if you can figure out that balance you will be a much happier and satisfied person. I have been blessed to be able to do what I love fulltime but, it also took me a long time to know what it was that I really wanted to do.

You can read more about me and my dogs and see a list of craft festivals that I will be doing at http://www.gonedoggie.com/. Check out my online shop http://www.gonedoggie.etsy.com/ to see collars and other handcrafted items available for sale.

Montage Studio's Creative Space

Montage studio has a fabulous space to create in . She has a beautiful and serene view to inspire her and great organizational tips. Check out her studio.

Montage Studio

I am a photographer and painter and do both in my home studio.

Visit http://www.montagestudio.etsy.com/

The space has a beautiful view, with mature trees and whatever wildlife my dogs haven’t scared away. My desk is where I alter my photographs and scan ephemera and painting to make digital collages. Although I shoot both film and digitally, most of my latest work is mainly digital.There is a large wooden table that I use for painting. It is wonderful to have such a big workspace, where I can leave several projects out at once. When I lived in Paris I always had several projects going at once and found that this really took the pressure off of one piece having to be utterly brilliant.

On the table I have a sweet little cubby to hold my paint; the larger bottles are housed in a lovely Salvation Army find behind glass doors.By nature I am a packrat and love being surrounded by “stuff”…BUT it can also get to me when there is no order to things and I spend half the day looking for a particular paintbrush!

I have been slowly tackling my piles, and am trying to keep “like with like” as they say: papers in plastic storage drawers; paintbrushes in earthen pots; books, journals and magazines on the new shelves that my brother-in-law put up recently (three 8 foot shelves: pure joy). I do TRY to keep my desk area tidy and free of clutter, but I am still working on that one!Having lived in apartments for most of my adult life, I feel so lucky to have a house with such an amazing studio space. I often work late at night and love the peaceful setting and the fact that the refrigerator is just a few feet away!!!

Check out Montage Studio's blog http://montagestudio.blogspot.com/