Dear Ellen: My Bloody Buttons

Dear Ellen, It's been a long, rough week; I don't even know where to start.  Now it's already Monday night and I feel like it should be Friday.  If only I were so lucky... Wednesday was my weekly trip to the SF/SPCA for some kitty mugs.  That was fun - there actually weren't as many cats as usual for me to photograph - only about 12 this week vs. 18-20 the other weeks.  This week will be busy though, I can feel it.  Good news though!  My favorite furball, Jersey Girl, was adopted this week!  ...Farewell my little black and white buddy, hope you have a great life. I have a little treat for you.... meet William.  He's looking for his forever home and he told me that you fancy black and white animals.. is that true?  ...If you do, then we have something in common! So yeah, last week was excruciatingly long but at least I got to live it up a little on Thursday night when I had a photoshoot with a fabulous Bloodhound named Lightnin'.  Lightnin' is a lucky dog of the founder of Rocket Dog Rescue here in San Francisco.  This photoshoot was particularly exciting for me because I have only ever seen one other Bloodhound in my life (it was actually Lightnin', about 3 years ago when I photographed a Rocket Dog Halloween Party, LOL).  Lightnin' is definitely one of the coolest dogs ever!! Here he is having fun in the car: One of the reasons I am so excited about Project DOG is because I am a new "dog person".  Before 2009, I was CAT-ONLY, "dog-sometimes" kind of girl.  Now that I've stepped into the world of canine, there's no turning back... and I want to meet all the different dogs out there in the world.  I'm so pumped to meet all of the different breeds, especially the ones who I've never seen before - like a Saluki, or a Skye Terrier, or a Pharoah Hound... ooooh I'm so excited!! Last week I decided that it would be a good idea to start an official Facebook Page for Project DOG.  So that is what I did... and you can like it HERE. This weekend was GORGEOUS in the Bay Area.  One of the best weekends in a long time!  What did I do?  I made buttons 90% of the weekend!  Yes, 1.5" pinback buttons.  Have you ever made them?  I'm a pretty DIY (do it yoursef) person, and I usually opt to do it myself vs. pay someone else to do it - since I can probably do it faster and better (no offense).  So I took on the task of making 1000 buttons - 700 of which are going in the goodie bags at PAWS Petchitecture event on the 15th (I am shooting this event).  ...I thank my solo button fiesta to my friend Molly Mutt (maker of mighty fine stuff-em-yourself dog bed duvets) who let me borrow her button press.  It was great fun despite my entire right hand going numb for 2 days, 3 giant blisters that keep popping and turning back into blisters, my butt and hips hurting real bad and the fact that my spine feels like a corkscrew from sitting on the floor for 12+ hours. Anyhoo, I made a little step-by-step guide to help you visualize the process: That's about it for this week... hope you had a great weekend! Bloodhounds, Sweat and Cheers! Kira Stackhouse