Black Dog, White Dog

I am finding something that surprises me greatly.  I have difficulty seeing black dogs.  My depth perception and inability to see those 'standie outies' are frustrating me beyond measure!  I would have thought it would be much more difficult to see a white dog than a black one. Not so. At least not for me.  Yesterday I did a black poodle. It was a struggle. I forgot the before pic, but not the 'after' shot.

Apparently my camera has a similar issue. Or maybe I can't even see the black dog in a photo.  

I also did a WHITE dog with much better results lol. Here is her before. Her mom didnt want much taken off since its getting colder.

And here she is after:

Still so much learning to do. 

A Leisurely Day and a Schnauzer

This morning started off slowly, so I spent the first part of the day making bows.  It's always fun to mix ribbons and make something different.  In addition, Mom brought her hot glue gun so I could attach Christmas bells to my bows.  Here are just a few.

Finally, the dogs began to arrive. 

It was schnauzer day!

So... I got to do a beautiful schnauzer. It was a bit intimidating. She had really long eyelashes that her mom wanted to keep. I was so afraid I'd cut them off when I did the eyebrows. Yay for me, I SAVED them!  I forgot to get my before pictures, but I did NOT forget the afters.  What a sweet girl she was.

The name I've chosen for my shop is "Cameo Canine Grooming Salon" .  The logo will be an oval cameo of a dogs head.  After doing this darling schnauzer today, I believe I will make the dog in the cameo a schnauzer.  What do you think?

Playing with Color

Today was a fun day.  I had a little maltese named Molly come into the shop, and her owner was in an adventurous mood. So she allowed us to play with color!   Here is Molly before her grooming.

And after her haircut...

And after her color! We did her ears and tail...

She looked like cotton candy when it was done. So much fun!

And when it was all said and done, her mommy picked her up and LOVED it!  Days like this remind me why I like what I do!  Now if I could only do it faster! This cut and color took me 2 hours and 10 minutes to complete. Yikes!

A Wagging-Tail Welcome

Welcome!  I am a 38...OK, almost 39... year old single mom.  I have worked as a nurse for the past 17 years, minus a couple somewhere in the middle. I have reached a point in my life when I'm ready to do something new, fun, and different.  Most importantly, I am striving to become self employed.

In July I began apprenticing as a dog groomer!  I never knew what hard work it would be, nor did I expect to enjoy it so much.  One day I feel like I'm really doing great. The next I feel like I can't make my hands do anything my creative mind wants me to.  I decided to start this blog in order to chronicle my experience and growth in my new chosen career.  Here are a few pics from the first few months of my journey. In the future I'll try and remember to take before and after pics.

Max- my first attempt at temporary color