Happy Christmas!

Arabella heard that if you are good Santa will bring you presents! and she assured me that she has been very, very good this year!

.... as long as I overlook the shredded and eaten curtains, the missing spines from books, the chunks taken out of my papers, the snips on the baby hare noses and many other tiny indiscretions ....

Infact Arabella was so excited that she decided to search for her presents instead (as she knew Santa would have too many to carry at once and must have already made a quick visit here).

...... She searched hard .....

.......... and thoroughly .......

....... but alas!

.................. nothing could be found!

Maybe Santa could carry them all at once after all !

Wesley piped up to say he had been a very good boy too!

but that he was happy to forgo all the presents as long as I gave him a back massage every day and kisses on his nose!

~

we wish you a Happy Christmas and may Santa be good to you :)

and the Winners are ....

As promised here is the Golden Fish Trinket Box with the 358 raffle names cut and curled at it's side and the Arabella's Winners Board ready to hold the winning names!

I asked Personal Trainer Mike Heatlie to do the draw for me.

Mike is personal trainer to Gwen Stefani and this year he opened his luxury fitness gym in Edinburgh.
I've trained in a lot of gyms over the years (decades!) and I highly recommend Mike's gym to anyone who is serious about getting fit and getting in shape. It's got great equipment, both free and machine weights and is clean and tidy at all times. There are also very affordable gym memberships so there is really no excuse not to sweat it!

Mike is a charismatic and friendly chap who takes his vocation seriously so I was delighted when he agreed to draw the winners from the golden fish for me!

Meanwhile little black and silver fluff ball mini Mikey at the Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare is making sure that the draw is conducted in the fairest way!

He has his eyes on big Mike!

Mike saw me swish up and mix the names about before I stuffed them into the fish - whew! that was a feat! but I managed to get them all in, so Mike decided that we were good to go and lifted the lid to draw the first winner for Carly's beautiful painting 'Yellow Rabbit on Blue I'

He pulled the winner out - and strained to read my tiny and scratchy writing - and it is ....

NELLIE SIMPSON! Congratulations Nellie!

Gorgeous Cheerio, with the white diamond on her nose, hopes that you will love your painting and it will be with you soon!

Second winner is for the covetable Snowshoe Hare Footprint Bowl by Kirsten!

Mike delves deep and pulls out another illegibly written paper strand ... and it is ...

SUZANNE ROSE!! Congratulations Suzanne!

Bo and Betty know that you will be delighted with that beautiful bowl - they can already see it filled with carrots! yummy!

Third winner is for Pey's tender print set of Esme the Brown Bunny!

Goodness, not another scratchily written name! thinks Mike! .... and the winner is ....

JILL POYSER! Congratulations Jill!

Little Toby knows that you will love Esme to bits! (He's wondering whether Mike needs glasses - then again Annette's writing is actually pretty bad!)

The fourth winner is for my own Baby Hare Hope!

Mike shuffled the strands around and pulled out the lucky name (he can just make it out) .... and it is ....

KEVIN PHILLIPS! Congratulations Kevin!

Kirk knows that all the baby rabbits, and all the adults too, have lots of Hope when they reach a rescue. They know that they will have a warm bed, fresh food and love until that special someone chooses them to go to their forever home.

and the last winner is for a beautful pair of Green and White Pearl Earrings by Caroline!

Gosh! thank goodness this is the last piece of paper I have to decipher! mutters Mike as he just manages to read the scrawls.... and it is .....

THEO SAYER! Congratulations Theo!

Kirk was happy with the way the draw took place, though everyone agreed that I have to go on a 'Learn to Write Legibly not Illegibly' Course!

The Golden Fish was pleased to hold the names of so many generous and giving people and was touched that their thoughts went out to the homeless rabbits and guinea pigs at this time.

Arabellas First to Five were proud to display the winners names on their fringed rugs.

They are sending love and best wishes to the rabbits and guinea pigs in all the rescue centres around the world at this time. They hope that each and everyone of the furries will find that special place in a person's heart and home and their family will be complete.

Candice says that it doesn't matter what length your hair is, or how fluffy your jowls are or how small you happen to be - the size of every rescue's heart is always huge but small enough to fit snugly inside yours.

~

A grand total of £291 / US$477 was raised - with the help and generosity of so many kind folks.

This was my first ever blog raffle and I am truly grateful and eternally thankful to you all for supporting this raffle and the rabbits and guinea pigs at RNGP have an easier time this winter.

Hopefully in the New Year when adoptions start again (rescue pets are not adopted out for Christmas) there will be many homes for these little chaps.
~

a very special thank you to Pey, Carly, Kirsten and Caroline for donating such gorgeous art! It couldn't have happened without you :)

Nearly Time .....

the raffle has now closed ....

....... the names are being put into the Golden Fish trinket box ..

....... who's it going to be .... ???

~

check back tomorrow for the winners

~

(you are all winners for entering! thank you!!)

the Golden Fish countsdown .......

....... there is just over one day left to get your raffle ticket for the super draw that will take place on Wednesday 16th at lunchtime, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

the 5 winners will be plucked from the belly of my golden fish trinket box (it's a large Chinese goldfish and rather fat).

I did what I usually do in times of need to get the message out - I made a 'treasury' on etsy! and it is ofcourse titled - Rabbits and the Golden Fish!
(on view until Wednesday at 12.23pm)

I like to use art to get messages across and a great way to do this is to make a collection of images in a treasure box compilation. One image by itself is powerful, but 12 (& 4 reserve) together are exceptional!

Arabella is counting down aswell to the raffle deadline on Tuesday 15th at midnight 00:00hrs Greenwich Mean Time GMT (now called Coordinated Universal Time UTC),

which will be

7pm 15th Eastern Standard Time EST (USA),

4pm 15th Pacific Standard Time PST (USA),

2pm 15th Hawaii Standard Time HST,

7am on the 16th Christmas Island Time CXT (Australia),

10:30am on the 16th Central Daylight Time CDT (Australia)

and

3am on the 16th MSK Moscow Standard Time

whew!

all those numbers were far too many for Wesley to keep track off - he's been snoozing since +2hrs GMT!

~

the paypal button will be up for a little while after midnight incase there are switherers and ditherers -

and just to remind you that it only takes 1 ticket to be a winner but that every single rabbit and cavie at the Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare rescue in Rugby, England will ALL be winners - thanks to the amazing generosity of so many giving and caring people!

thank you so much! Arabella and Wesley send zzzzz zeds, em, I mean xxxx kisses!

Robin and the Golden Egg

I bought this amazing North American Robin material a while ago. I've already made an Arabella bag with some of the robins and now I've got two brooches in my shop.

This one is called Robin and the Golden Egg.

Today robin was foraging for a meal and came across a beautiful golden egg! Gosh! how lucky, now she is going to take it home with her. How often do you come across a ready-made golden nest egg?

and this Robin with the White Crown already has a well feathered nest what with all those jewels and sparkly bits.

Robin likes to sit on your breastplate (is that rather an 'outdated' term? like 4 centuries old?) and view the scenery, especially more so if you are having tea and cake where crumbs are readily available.

American robins are exceedingly handsome birds and part of the Thrush family Turtdidae. They are not related to the European robin - the cute little fluff ball that decorates the front of Christmas cards every December.

They have many cousins worldwide with my favourite being the handsome Fieldfare and then the Redwing. In Norway the Fieldfares are very energetic pulling worms from the gardens constantly. Some will occasionally migrate to Britain in winter for the milder weather though I have yet to see them here in Scotland. There are lots of them in Stavanger. In Scotland we have the very pretty Mistle and Song Thrushes.

I also put a couple of tiny baby hare Christmas decorations in my shop. Sunflower at the back has some sparkly bits by the ear and the one at the front has a long white fluffy squirrel tail.

Both ready to take pride of place amongst the ornaments.

This little Princess is called Meadow and she is a foster rabbit being looked after by a very caring lady who has the blog Life with Reno Rabbits. Meadow will be getting spayed soon and her spay costs have been covered by her foster mama.

however she has 3 kittens who also need to be spayed and the Humane Society of Skagit Valley in Washington state will not cover their costs.

These little fluffs do need to be spayed and if you are able to spread the word about Meadow and her babies plight please do so, and if you are able to help towards the spay costs then please read the link above for more info. Thank you.

Unfortunately I have seen what happens when a doe is not spayed. Many, many years ago in Australia I had my first house rabbit Burns. Vets over there at that time weren't very rabbit saavy (Aussies think they are 'pests') and advice was just not forthcoming (pre internet). Burns contracted uterine cysts, which are unfortunately very common for un-spayed does, as is uterine cancer. After a successful operation to remove them, with a caring vet we managed to find, she then passed away a few days later in my arms due to kidney failure. It really is imperative that all female rabbits be spayed from 6 months of age to ensure, amongst other things, good health and quality of life.

On that very sad memory I am glad to be able to help many rabbits now in rescue centres. Just a reminder that my raffle only has 4 days left and these 5 great prizes will soon be going to 5 very generous winners! Will it be you??

Tickets can be purchased on the top right here by paypal.

thank you xxx

Arabella's Winter Warmth

Last month I was asked to take part in the Winter Warmth Textile Exhibition at The Park Gallery in Falkirk.
Five of my Arabella Art-Accessory Bags would be on display and for sale amongst works of over 50 UK textile artists!

My own Arabella White-Tail Deer Bag, my mum and I went along to look at the art.
(Arabella needed a cup of tea to warm up, it was rather chilly!)

Four of my bags were on display behind glass in The Park Gallery just by the entrance.

They were all so excited to see me and little chirrups were made when we came in. Over 300 people attended on the opening day - goodness that was a lot! and the Arabellas had had plenty of people watching to do (it was very interesting they told me).

I had taken five with me and the Mule Deer Arabella was resting in the back room until space was made for her in one of the glass cabinets too.

That didn't take long because Arabella with the Cardinal and Forest was soon off to a new home!

Thanks to Karina, from the Gallery for selling her.

The Park Gallery opened quite a few years ago with a UK lottery funded grant and it is now in serious danger of being closed by the local council. They don't see the point of making art accessible to the masses and that is a pity because I was very impressed with the gallery and the use of space in this impressive exhibition.

Please take the time to sign this online petition so that the Gallery may remain open for future generations to enjoy where ever they come from.

The Park Gallery is located separate from the other exhibiton space being used in nearby Callendar House. It is wonderfully converted and purpose built from steadings and has just the right ambience to enjoy art of all disciplines.

Here are the five bags -

Arabella with Deer in Forest Glade

with details of a doe and red berries on the pocket.

All bags come with removeable straps so that they can be unique textile vessels on your shelf when not accompanying you to exhibitions.

Arabella with Raccoons, Bear Cub, Rabbit and Red Berries

both sides have different images, as do all the bags.

on this blue snowflake pocket is a cardinal and fir.

All bags have a metal snap hook on the haunches.

This is Arabella in White Blossoms and Waves. A very elegant sculpture!

there is a little bee on the pocket with blossom ruffles.

This is Arabella with an American Robin applique on cream damask.
Actually this bag is not in the exhibition but available in my etsy shop. It was made at the same time as these other bags.

the removeable handles have woollen brown and black tweed snap hook details and hand grips.

and this pocket has a delightful Robin with Selvedge!

What better way to count (spend) your time than with selvedge spots?

Arabella with North American Mule Deer. This side has the detailed pattern showing a mule deer in the distant firs and two white tails bounding across the clearing.

the other side shows the Mule Deer applique. There are removeable brown grip straps.

the pocket has another Mule Deer with friend behind. The applique antlers are very impressive from both sides. You can see the grey wool lining on them here.

and this is the Arabella bag that sold!

With the North American Red Cardinal and Forest on a snowy night. The straps are black and have red and white detailing.

this side also has a cardinal and an owl. The cardinal is up late and the owl is out early tonight!

On both sides by the chest are two recycled brown bear metal buttons.

and on the haunches is another one of the bear buttons.

They all have the frayed denim edging from when I gathered them off my brother's weathered jacket. The jacket has been round the world a few times so the bears are well travelled. Arabella has been hearing their endless tales.

On the pocket is more snow falling and the words 'A Wildlife Christmas'

After we had a look around The Park Gallery we made our way to the historic Callendar House for the other part of the exhibition.

It was just down the road and past some very old trees and is set in a 'park' that is landscaped year round. Dogs come to play and squirrels forage for food.

Inside a very tall room were more textile works of art.

Arabella immediately noticed the tiny baby carrots necklace and was about to open her mouth when I pulled her back!

'Arabella!' I exclaimed - those are chillis!! tut tut! and you're not meant to touch anything in the exhibiton that's why the other Arabellas are all behind glass because everyone instinctively reaches to touch your beautiful white faces.

Arabella went slightly red and sheepish. The Le Chilli Necklace is by Ode Marie.

My mum was very interested in these textile air jellyfish. The photo doesn't do them justice and they really were very impressive. They appeared so fragile as well. They are by Ruth Lee and it's called 'From the Deep' incorporatin hand frame and machine knitting.

Arabella had spotted a rich wall covering.

It was hard to pick the shades she liked the best as there were so many. I liked the rich blues at the top right. Arabella finally decided that she rather liked the carroty, um, er, orangey coloured bits.

It is called Canal by Louise Oppenheimer from Argyll.

Then we came across these fabulous textile blocks! Could stare at (and touch) them all day long.

They are by Anita Hutchison. Ofcourse we never laid a finger or paw on them.

We were nearing the last of the exhibits when Arabella caught sight of these amazing bird brooches by Ode Marie (the chilli necklace lady!). They were awfully dashing and we all loved their cute little crests.

Arabella said her chest was just the right size to have one pinned on and I agreed but we really needed a cup of tea and cake so we popped into the super tea room by the Park Gallery.

We all had Early Grey tea. After our sandwiches I had a slice of the most delicious, freshly baked moist orange cake. Baked there daily! and my mum had warm clootie dumpling also made there. Clootie dumpling is a moist fruit pudding from Scotland. A wee bit goes a long way!

Arabella can't wait to go back at the end of December when the exhibition finishes for another cup of tea and cake! I said to her that would only happen if all the bags aren't already sold!

She crossed her paws! (I'm not sure for which!)

~

Don't forget to enter the raffle on my blog to win one of 5 great rabbit prizes with all money going to the Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare in Rugby, England, Wesley's old rescue.

Let your friends know too - they may be glad of the chance to win a piece of original art made with love and help the animals at the same time. Only two weeks left.

Thank you!

Interview - Meet Karen - Buckeye House Rabbit Society Volunteer

I have been helping the Buckeye House Rabbit Society with their fundraising by letting people know about their great Holiday Raffle that is on and the super prizes you can win. Cheques postmarked by 1st December for US tickets and tickets by paypal on their website will still be available for another week.

One of the great things about supporting a rescue is getting the know the dedicated people behind the scenes, without which the rescue would be unable to do it's life saving work.

I had the privilege of asking Karen Salvagno who runs their Gift Shop and does emergency fostering a few questions.
Thank you very much Karen!

Richland, now well after his ordeal.

You look after the Buckeye House Rabbit Society online Gift Shop and also foster rabbits for them. How did you first get started?

About 11 years ago, I got my first Holland Lop from a co-worker who was getting out of the breeding business and was giving them away. I really didn't know anything about rabbits and looked on the internet to find out some information.
This is when I discovered Buckeye House Rabbit Society. I joined shortly after finding them.
Then about a year later, I volunteered to take care of the online gift shop when another volunteer had to give it up.

It was probably a few years after I joined BHRS when I got involved with temporary fostering. I don't foster on a regular basis. When there is an emergency to get a rabbit into BHRS for fostering and there is no room at any permanent fosterer's homes, I will take the rabbit in.
I have them in my care anywhere from a few days to a few months. When an opening comes up in permanent foster care, then the rabbit goes there.

While in my care, the rabbits are taken to the vet and I take care of any treatments that need to be done along with their daily care.

Daphne is still afraid but making inroads.

I don't actually do any of the adoptions. The permanent fosterers take care of that.
If someone happens to be interested in a rabbit that is temporarily in my care, they call the permanent fosterer that is associated with the rabbit and make arrangements through them to see the rabbit.

Most of the time I take the rabbit over to the permanent fosterer's home for anyone to see the rabbit.



Please tell me about your foster rabbit Richland. I believe he has had a rough time?


Richland was found in the middle of the road in a rural part of Ohio by a very nice couple.
They brought him home and found that his ear looked like it had a bad abrasion.
The couple did take Richland to their vet and their vet told them just to put some antibiotic ointment on his ear.

They never had rabbits before and realized that they were in over their heads so they contacted BHRS.


There were no spots available in permanent foster care but it was felt that Richland needed to come into BHRS quickly. So I volunteered to temporarily foster him. The couple brought him over to my home and I set up an area for him.

While I was looking at him, I realized that there was more to his wounds than just a surface abrasion on his ear. I could tell that he had an abscess on the base of his ear and into the back of his head. He also wouldn't keep his right eye open. I made an appointment for the vet the next day.


When I took Richland into the vet, the vet found that poor little Richland had escaped a dog or coyote attack.

The wound on his ear was the right size for a dog or coyote bite.

This had also happened a while ago and had become severely infected.

Not only was his whole ear infected from the tip to the base and into the back of his head but the infection had traveled to the front of his face and he had a huge abscess in the front of his face running from his forehead to his nose.

Richland also had a corneal ulcer in one of his eyes.


Richland had to have surgery to remove the abscesses. I had to flush the wounds on a daily basis and give him twice daily antibiotic shots.

Once a week he went to the vet and the vet had to put him under to continue to remove abscess material that kept appearing.


After a month of weekly vet visits and twice daily antibiotic shots and flushing the wounds at home, his abcesses finally cleared up.

While we were taking care of his abscesses, we were also putting 2 types of eye drops into his eye to help heal the ulcer.
After a month of this, his ulcer had stopped healing.
The vet discovered that a membrane had formed over the ulcer so he went in for another surgery to remove the membrane.

His eyelid was stitched shut so the eyelid wouldn't irritate the eye every time it opened and closed. I had to put drops on his eye for a few days.

His eyelid stitches will be removed shortly and we are hoping that the ulcer will be healed. One more vet visit and we hope this will all be over for Richland.

Most of Richland's fur has grown back. He will probably have some permanent fur loss on his ear.
But he is doing so much better.

He was a very angry rabbit because I was poking him twice a day with a needle and forcing liquid into the abscess areas along with putting 2 kinds of drops in his eye twice a day.


Now that we are done, he is a much happier rabbit and is even enjoying being pet.

Richland after his surgery. In the background you can see his soft toy.

Richland has been through a lot and would love a home with lots of love and attention.
Someone who will be a little patient with him if he isn't super friendly right away since most of his experience so far has been being stuck with needles, stuff put in his eye and liquid squirted in places he doesn't like.


He does enjoy being pet when you pet him and he realizes that is all you are going to do to him.
He does like cats and gets along well with cats.
He enjoys watching the activity in the home so it would be great if he could be in an area where he can see the daily activities.



You also have a foster doe, Daphne, who is very afraid of people. Could you tell me about her please?


Daphne is about 2 or 3 years old. Buckeye House Rabbit Society took her in from a local shelter that was going to euthanize her because she was aggressive when anyone stuck their hand into her cage.


She is very afraid of people and didn't like a hand coming at her.

I have Daphne in a 4x6 area using a metal puppy pen. She does much better when she feels that she can "escape" from you.

I make sure she has an escape route when I enter her area and she is much happier about that.

She does let me pet her once in a while but it is just a couple pets and she is done. Sometimes when I'm cleaning her area and she feels threatened, she will lunge at me but has never tried to bite.



Daphne needs someone with a lot of bunny experience who understands not to corner her and how to deal with the lunging.

I think if someone had a lot of time and patience, she could come around.
She will probably never be a super friendly bunny.


She does get along with my cats. Daphne loves to watch what is going on so she would do well in an area that gives her some privacy yet also gives her the ability to see the activities around her.


Daphne also loves to rip up paper and will shred any newspaper that I give her.
Daphne is very healthy and loves her pellets, hay and veggies. She is also VERY good with the litter box.

Richland in his 4 x 4 area with his blue house 'private sleeping area' and where his soft toy stays.

Can you tell me a bit about the puppy pens you use please?


The rabbits aren't on a metal floor. The metal puppy pens are only sides, they aren't actually cages. They are panels that fold and can be make into shapes. So the top and bottom is open.
Usually we put them in square/rectangular shapes for our rabbit's living area.


So the rabbit is actually on the floor as it is preferable to have the rabbits living on the floor.
What many people do is buy 2 metal puppy pens or make the pen area in a corner of a room, then take a 4x8 sheet of plywood and glue on linoleum then put a metal edge around the edges of the 4x8 to protect the ends of the linoleum.

Then the rabbit has a solid floor that is easy to clean.


Most people in the US keep the rabbits in an area as I have described while they aren't home and then have the rabbit roaming the house when they are home. Some have dedicated rooms for their rabbits.


The rabbit behind Daphne in the pictures above is my Sara. Both girls were actually in their litter pans/kitty litters and Daphne does make a mess with the litter so there is a metal cooling rack (usually used for baking) in her litter pan but that is the only place that she is on metal.
Her litter is directly below and she can't stick a foot through the metal since the litter comes all the way up. This way the litter doesn't fly all over the place.

the BHRS mug in the online Gift Shop

What are people's main reasons for wanting to get a rescue rabbit?


There are several reasons why people like to get a rabbit from a rescue.

They are already spayed or neutered.
They have had a vet checkup.
They have already been brought back to health if there were any health issues.
They are already assessed as to how friendly or not friendly they are.

The rescue group can help a potential adoptee pick out the right rabbit for them.

There is usually a good selection of types, colors and personalities of rabbits to choose from.

The adoptee gets a lot of information on how to care for the rabbits along with ongoing support if they have any questions.

and the other side of the mug - a very familiar sight - as any house rabbit owner knows!

How long have you been looking after the online Gift Shop?

I have been looking after the online Gift Shop for about 10 years now.

What are your most popular items?

The most popular items are the license frames, mugs - as pictured above, The House Rabbit Handbook and the Rabbit Health book.

Richland fully recovered with his stitched closed eyelid and healed ear.

Are there any points that you would like to emphasize?

Any donations that come into Buckeye House Rabbit Society go for the rabbits and their care.

We have several sanctuary rabbits that need extra vet and home care along with rescues like Richland who also need extra vet and home care.

~

Thank you very much Karen for taking the time to answer my questions.

It is great to know that you and the dedicated volunteers at the Buckeye House Rabbit Society care so much for rabbits, especially rabbits that have been abandoned and endured frightening and terrible situations.

~

My Arabella and Wesley have been thru the same sad experiences and Arabella also lunges at me - 4 years later. I have had 3 very small bites from Wesley when I first got him home as I moved my hands too quickly around him and had scared him. It takes a special person to be entrusted with the safety and happiness of a rescue rabbit who has been thru so much. Patience is a necessity and love blossoms endlessly from rabbits who gain your trust and love.

If you had not yet purchased tickets for the super raffle there is still time - a few days - and your kindness will be repaid by very thankful hearts in the visible, good work you are helping to continue.

Thank you