Let's See Your Pictures Lucky Fiona Fans

Calling all Friends of Fiona who were camera happy this Christmas! Please send us your photographs to share here on the blog. Your pooch or kitty does not have to be wearing a Lucky Fiona collar (although one would naturally have to ask "why not?") We simply just want to see how are four pawed pals enjoyed the big day. Any gift wrap shredders? Tired pups? Kittens stuck in curling ribbon? Please send them our way to: info@luckyfiona.com.

Keep in Touch Friends of Fiona

Dear Friends of Fiona ~

The Head Bitch is off on holiday, but have no fear...I'm here! My name is Brigid (Bee for short) and I will be answering emails, convos from Etsy and general vendor requests and questions. All communications will be recorded in the order received and forwarded to Shannon & Alex's attention upon their return.

I appreciate the patience a few of you have shown as I sometimes have to research a bit to answer your queries. Thanks for hanging in there as I find your tracking number from the giant mailing log or figure out exactly how many colors are represented in "The Veronica"!

Merry Christmas to all -

*Bee*

Lucky Fiona calendar delivery news...

Wanted to let a few of you know who are still waiting for your 2010 Lucky Fiona Calendars, there is a delay in mailing. Do not fret - we have not forgotten about you! To allow more of the cost of the calendars go to the shelter Fiona was adopted from we opted for the cheapest shipping option. Little did we know in the fine print this meant the calendars would be shipped 5-6 calendars at a time via Slowest Mailing Boat to China method. We have received email the last batch is on it's way, but we missed it prior to closing for the holiday. Last handful of orders will go out Dec. 28th and we appreciate your patience. Email with any questions - our assistant Bee is monitoring all Lucky Fiona emails and convos during studio closure.

We Love a Rave...

Hello,
I just wanted to pass along a photo of Molly and her Luckyfiona collar. We were introduced to your site a few months ago, and totally fell in love with your collars. The fabrics are trendy and stylish, and of course Molly looks adorable in them. Keep up the great work!
Merry Christmas,
Kelly Manicke

Thanks Kelly! Molly looks oh-so-festive in her ChocoTree Collar!

Reader Mail!

Received this email from Charice (Dogmom of Tula - pictured) from Southbridge, Massachusettes ~

Saw the blog post, Looks like fun for all! We want to make some cookies for all of Tula's dog friends in the neighborhood.... what do you use for a dog cookie recipe and frosting embellishments?
P.S. We love our chocobloom collar and leash set. Will have to send a picture showing it off.

Well Charice it takes a bit more thought to bake and decorate dog cookies as so many things we use in human cookies are not safe for dogs but with a bit of preparation and a Whole Foods you too can make cookies that look delicious and will be safe for Tula to eat.

Basic Cookie Recipe:

2 cups of whole wheat flour (sub oat or barley flour if desired)

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1 cup of Natural Peanut Butter (be sure no added sugar and no added salt)

1 cup of skim milk

Preheat oven to 375. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another and then slowly add dry to wet. Knead dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/8-1/4 thickness. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. You want a crunchy but not burnt cookie.

The key to storing a dog treat long term is getting all traces of moisture out - to do this leave cookies in low temp oven for a few hours or in a dehydrator till super-duper crunchy.

If you want to be a bit of a cheater like the Lucky Fiona Street Team you can also purchase Cloud Star Buddy Biscuits that come in the shape of Gingerbread men and are nicely embellished with your own frosting and toppings. For those grain-free diet doggies out there the Cloud Star Provence cookies come in the shape of Stars and again are easily jazzed up with frosting and decorations.

*To "frost" we used:

Unsweetened Carob (a safe "chocolate-like" treat for dogs - available in bags of chips at health food stores or Whole Foods) Pipe onto cookies or spread like frosting.

Unsweetened Yogurt Drops (again available at natural stores and melted in microwave)

Sugar Free Vanilla Frosting (a bit gritty to spread but dog safe!)

White Chocolate Wafers - contain some sugar but are safe to ingest unlike regular chocolate and come in different colors to pipe onto cookies.

To decorate we used:

Honey - helps things stick onto cookies and naturally sweet and safe for dogs

Sugar Free Sprinkles - available again at Whole Foods

Sugar Free Aerosol Cookie Coloring - little spray cans you can spray on cookies or frosting to color easily

Ground Peanuts - dogs love 'em and if you have a Slap Chop easy to ground down

Tapioca Balls - instead of sugary nonpareils they make nice accents on frosting

I'm sure there are other ideas out there if anybody else would like to post some! Good luck with your cookies Tula - you will be sure to make tails wag among your furry friends this holiday season.

Lucky Fiona Street Team Does It Again!

Thanks to all for the fun today at the Lucky Fiona Street Team event held at gang member Marcy's home. We so appreciate you opening your home to us at this crazy time of the year for such a messy event! We had a ball decorating dog cookies for holiday gifts for our own Lucky Fiona pups and for friends and family. The creative skills of the group was once again amazing and I know many happy pooches will enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Happy Howl-i-days Street Team and looking forward to more fun and dog oriented gatherings in 2010!

Warmly -
The Head Bitch

Shhhhh...for Blog Readers only....

Day 12...LAST DAY of...

~The 12 Days of Doggie Deals ~

Today and Today only -

Friday December 11th 2009

Collar of the Month Subscription $99

TREMENDOUS DEAL! Regularly $150 in our shop but a $251.56 value!

Order a Collar of the Month subscription at this ridiculous low price and enjoy monthly collar deliveries for one year. Subscription can begin at any time and will run 12 continuous months. Listing Price already adjusted in shop - simply purchase in your cart. If giving as a gift we send a special "Welcome" pack explaining to the recipient how the subscription works.

Order must be placed today and payment received today to take advantage of this low promo pricing. Convo or email with any questions.

Shhhh...For Blog Readers Only...

Day 11 of...

The 12 Days of Doggie Deals

~Today and Today Only~

Thursday December 10th 2009

Two Awsome Collar Sets at Super Discounted Pricing

5 Custom Collar Holiday Set for $42.99 (3 Available ~ $84.95 value))

4 Custom Collar Seasonal Set for $34.99 (6 Available ~ $67.96 value)

See Etsy Shop for styles and availability - not available for resale.

Remember to shop now for Christmas delivery. Lucky Fiona will be closed December 15th -December 28th to celebrate the season.

Seeing Spots

One of the nicest things about rescuing a dog from a great breed specific organization is the fact they will entertain crazy questions regarding the breed with utmost kindness and won't laugh at you. Such is the case with Ohio English Setter Rescue's Head Bitch Susan England. Not only did she answer my query about Lily our recent adoptee but actually said it was never a bother to contact her. (she said this on a day she posted earlier on Facebook she was relaxing and taking a mental health day...talk about a good egg)

It was a tad embarrassing having to ask her a question about English Setters, but it was driving my husband and I a bit loony. I am also one of those annoying dog people that "knows everything about setters" so when I could not get an answer from my vet or the all knowing internet I had to take a slice of humble pie and admit I didn't know why something was happening with my very own dog. You see, Lily is developing spots. Now I know what you are thinking (hey Dogmom, aren't you on pain meds for that upcoming knee surgery?) and yes, actually I am. (jealous?). But I am not seeing pink elephants dancing around the room, I am just seeing spots appear on Lily that were not there before. The drug induced theory also goes out the window because Alex sees them too. Keeping in mind this is a man who cannot notice the sink if full of dirty dishes or that the cat has thrown up on the carpet, but he notices faint spots getting darker on our English Setter. Our only English Setter experience mind you has been with Fiona and her spots have always stayed the same. Our Irish setters are sans spots so no background there.

Thankfully the kind and experienced Susan explained to me on her Mental-Health-Day-Off that I was not going cuckoo or seeing things. She has seen many English Setters go through rescue that will develop spots and ticking after they are placed in a home. She believes it's due to the dogs getting their stress level lowered and better nutrition coming into their lives.

So now we are are having Spot-Watch 2009" at Lucky Fiona headquarters. Lily seems delighted when we preen her coat praising her newest spots. To keep things fair around here we will compliment Fiona's spots and pretend we see some on our Irish's Dugan and Caelan's coats too, God love them they wag their tails over the folly. So I guess you can teach an old Dogmom some new stuff every once and awhile. No time to Sigh, I have spots to watch.

Shhhhh...for Blog Readers only....

Day 10 of ...

The 12 Days of Doggie Deals

Today and today only

Wednesday December 9th 2009

*Super Sale Collars for $7.77 each*

http://www.luckyfiona.etsy.com/ - click on One Day 7.77 sale

Extremely limited - some fabrics we can only squeeze one or two custom collars out of. Terrific way to stock up on these below cost deals!

Remember to get orders in before Saturday for holiday delivery. Lucky Fiona will be closed from Dec.15th - Dec.28th to enjoy the holiday season.