Tag Archives: Guinea Pig

Photoshopped

People can create amazing pictures on Photoshop by combining different animal pictures together. The article I found on Petapixel describes these creations as Chimeras. A Chimera originally referred to the mythological Greek animal combination of a lion, goat and snake (usually portrayed as a lion with goat head on its back and a snake tail). Now the term Chimera can be used to refer to any imaginary creature created using two or more animal pictures.

Here is an example of the original Chimera:

Bronze Chimera of Arezzo, in Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Florence.

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Here are some examples of modern Photoshopped Chimeras:

Guinea Pig + Horse

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Whale + Penguin

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Duck + Horse

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Guinea Pig + Lion

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All of these photos are examples are from Petapixel. Click the link to see more photos and read a short tutorial about the process if you want to create your own Chimeras.

I really want to start looking for appropriately colored and posed animal photos to try and create my own examples!

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Star Trek

Have you seen the new Star Trek movie yet? I have!

I know such movies have little to do with this blog, but when I saw the following picture I could not resist posting it:

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(Blastr)

A guinea pig dressed in a Star Trek uniform (complete with little skirt)! If only I had sowing skills, or guinea pigs that tolerated clothes for pictures.

 

I did enjoy Star Trek Into Darkness. I have never seen the old movies, and hear it borrows some plot points, but it is worth watching if you are a fan.

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Guinea Pig Settlement

A student at Grand Valley State University, in Allendale Michigan, sued the university over being able to keep a Guinea Pig in her room – and won.

The animal in question was not a pet, but was considered a companion animal the student uses to combat chronic depression as prescribed by her psychologist. While the University has a no pets policy, companion animals must be allowed by law for those with disabilities.

The stress of the situation aggravated the student’s depression, but the guinea pig was allowed to stay in her room while the case was under investigation.

The student won the case and is not only allowed to keep the guinea pig at school, but was awarded a $40,000 settlement.

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The original story: “Student Sues GVSU, Needs Guinea Pig for Support”

The outcome of the case: “Student Sues GVSU Over Guinea Pig, Awarded $40K”

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I think that this situation is unique, I am not sure how common it is to utilize pets for depression. I can see how animal ownership can help with the condition but this is the first guinea pig I have heard of used in this manner.

Do I think that it should have come to a court case? Of course not, it is a waste of time and university money. If she had a legitimate reason to have the guinea pig and a suitable room, or roommate not allergic to the animal, was available then this really has little affect on anyone else. Guinea pigs are very contained, are not that loud, and would not have to be seen outside of her room. The only problem I could see would be other students not understanding and simply starting to bring pets on campus because they thought it was allowed. But I suppose it really means that now the university will handle these issues more delicately in the future.

 

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Snow Guinea Pigs

We had a snow day where I live, a storm dumped a lot of packing snow on top of the snow we already had on the ground. I could not let all that snow go to waste! I decided to make snow guinea pigs instead of snow men.

In retrospect, I could have done a better job with better supplies. I do not own snow pants or water proof gloves so I was not prepared to be outside for a long time and the snow kept sticking to my gloves so it was hard to sculpt. I also did not have anything to move a lot of snow or forms (boxes, bucket, etc.) to pack snow into to make a base to begin sculpting from. But I had a lot of fun and investing in such items would be worth it to prepare for future winters.

Here are the results of my snow day adventure:

The hardest part was getting far enough into my yard, the ruler in the picture fits all the way into my footprint. It was almost up to my knees in certain places but I feel like this picture gets the idea across.

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I started by sculpting a guinea pig out of snow to look like my English pig Fizz.

Here is Fizz:

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Here she is in snow:

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From the front:

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It was incredibly difficult to take a good picture of her where she was located and with the sun and shade, so I increased the contrast of the picture to make her features a bit easier to see. Ruler is included for scale.

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Better gloves (with synthetic water proof fabric) would have prevented all the snow stuck to my hands that made creating her face almost impossible. I would have loved to make her ears and nose differently, but I am satisfied with my first attempt.

I made a second snow guinea pig for my Abyssinian guinea Cola.

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Here she is in snow:

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She has paper plate ears, Oreo eyes, and small animal flavored chew sticks for nose/mouth. You can see my red snow encrusted gloves on the ground next to her, abandoned while I took pictures.

From the side, with ruler for scale.

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Here is a close up of her face and front paws.

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It was much easier to take pictures of Snow Cola as she was more in the sun and my attempt at making her look furry gave her more definition from her snowy surroundings.

Have you guys ever made any snow animals or sculptures? It was really fun and I would love to try making bigger and better pieces next time we have a lot of packing snow.

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Valentine’s Day Gifts

Need a few last minute cute valentine’s Day gift ideas? I have compiled a few ideas to start you thinking on what you might want to get in the next couple days.

For Candy Lovers –

I know there are many cute, standard, and popular choices for candy at your local store so here are some ideas to add to include with your heart shaped box of chocolates.

1. Giant Gummy Bear

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Here is a giant gummy bear on a stick only $12.95 from giantgummybears.com. The one in the photo is the Valentine’s flavor version, but they have many flavor options for you to choose from. They also offer a larger bear around $30 depending on your flavor choices and a giant gummy bear bowl with a hole in his tummy to act as a candy bowl for $149.95.

2. Chocolate Dogs by Palmer

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This year Palmer has a few different valentine offerings including a couple different dogs like the one pictured with different love sayings in the heart above the door. I am not sure if they are all the same type of chocolate (this one is double crisp), but I saw them at our Meijer so they should be available at your local grocery store as well. You can buy this guy online for $3.95.

3. Various Chocolate Animals

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Made from the highest quality chocolate you can choose from a teddy bear, turtle or frog for $15.o0 each from Le Chocolatier.

For Plush Lovers

1. Guinea pigs:

Pinkie the Guinea Pig from Ty

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Pinkie is now available in the Ty classic plush line which is approximately 6 in long (also available as a beanie baby). She is perfect for the holiday with her pink coloration. Available in most stores which sell Ty products, also on Amazon for $8.01.

If you are looking for a naturally colored guinea pig, Ty produces Patches in the classic plush and beanie baby lines. Both should be available at many Ty retailers and on Amazon.

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2. Giraffe – Junglelove by Ty

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Junglelove is part of the current valentine’s line in the Ty Beanie Boo collection in both small and medium (Boo Buddy) sizes. Available at Ty retailers and on Amazon for $5.99 and $7.99 for the different sizes.

3. Dogs –

Cookie by Ty

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Cookie is now available in a Valentine’s version with pink fur holding a heart, in small Beanie Boo and medium Boos Buddy sizes. Cookie is the name of the regular colored version of the dog as well.

Luv Pup the Pillow Pet

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Comes in the 18 inch size perfect for cuddling with! $19.99 at the official Pillow Pet website mypillowpets.com.

4. Teddy Bears

Vermont Teddy Bear makes the bears below, so while the prices might seem a bit much you are getting a quality product. The company has a wide variety of bears (some not so child appropriate in the valentines section linked in the previous sentence) varying from those dressed up to others just cute and fuzzy. The bears are made in Vermont, are fully jointed, and come with a lifetime warranty (meaning you can send your bear back to the factory to the “bear hospital” for repairs free of charge even if your dog decides to try and eat it).

Love Bandit

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The Love Bandit is 15 inches tall and $69.99.

The Frog Prince who is 15 inches tall and retails for $79.99.

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You can also include a set of theme matching human PJs with the bears for an additional charge  (various styles available), here is the above with matching Pajamas which is currently priced at $109.99.

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The company also offers Bear Grams which are your choice of bear, a package of gourmet candy, and a note printed with your message in a nice box.

For the Flower Lover –

There are so many beautiful flower arrangements out there, and roses are a simple and classic gift, but here are a couple flower arrangements which include a little cute something extra.

1. The Big Hug from FTD

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The Big Hug bouquet features a 6 inch bear on a light green ceramic vase.  FTD offers a couple different choices for flowers can that be included in this vase with a base price of $39.99 for 7 stems, $49.99 for 11 stems and $59.99 for 13 stems.

2. Teleflora’s Bear Hug

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This Bear Hug arrangement includes pink roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, and asters. There is no specific dimensions given for the included teddy bear. The prices for the arrangements are $49.95 for standard, $59.95 for deluxe, and $69.95 for premium.

3. Proflowers All in One Valentine’s Day Special

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Are you far away from your gift recipient or don’t have time to shop for multiple items? Proflowers has created this All in One package for just such needs. Included is your choice of vase with 12 long stem roses, baby’s breath, and greenery, an I love you sign, chocolates, a teddy bear, and their lavender spa trio. The base price for this gift is $78.89, with extra roses costing an additional $39.99 for another dozen and an extra $49.96 for two more dozen.

If you want something a bit cheaper you can get the 5 in one package which includes your choice of vase with 12 red tulips and12 blue iris, a teddy bear, chocolates, and I love you sign for a base price of $59.96.

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Most Pleasing Animal Noises

HyperVocal recently posted an article called “Let Mother Nature’s Most Pleasing Animal Noises Be Your Xanax.”  While I am not sure I agree with their list, and some of the noises might be made in distress, there are some great noises on the list. I will present some of the videos and link to the article again at the end so you can see the entire list.

1. Bunny Snoring

For the longest time I did not know bunnies made noises except when in great distress because the only time I heard one was the piercing scream of a wild rabbit as it tried to escape from a cat. This video just makes me smile!

2. Fox

These noises are cute, but I know nothing of normal fox behavior and it looks like this is a display of submission. My final verdict is out on this one because of that but it is interesting to listen to.

3. Owl

The owl is so happy to be having his head scratched!

4. Penguin

I posted this video before, but it is just too cute to not share again!

5. Guinea Pig

I know that I am biased because I love guinea pigs but they make adorable noises especially when happy or demanding treats/attention.

There are many more amazing and wonderful animal noises out there, but these are the clips I really enjoyed from the article. To see the rest of the videos visit http://hypervocal.com/vids/2013/pleasing-animal-noises/#.

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The Making of a Christmas Card

 

 

Yesterday I posted my Christmas card picture and explained that my guinea pigs cannot be together because they fight. Today I will share more of the pictures I took and show the making of my Christmas card.

The set up:

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I had my camera on a tripod so I could prevent as little movement as possible so the frame would line up. I used a roll of fabric snow set up on the dinner table with a box behind to create the background. The dinning room does not have the best lighting, but I do not own any photography lights and it would not have made much of a difference anywhere else in the house.

The clothing and props:

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We had to get the cards made in order to be printed in time to mail, so I did not have time to make a more elaborate or interesting scene. I took two snowmen off my bookshelf and arranged the two sleds with stuffed Christmas guinea pigs next to them.  The wicker sleds I got when I was a kid, and the stuffed guinea pigs were gifts last Christmas.

The hat is a Yankee Candle jar candle topper accessory, so it has no strap. It is the smaller hat in this picture:

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The holiday cape and bandana came from Petsmart, and are Life’s Fur-tas-tic! brand. The bandana ended up being too small to fit, so it was not used.

Each guinea pig wore the one hat and dress individual and I took a few different pictures hoping to get something useful.

Cola’s individual pictures:

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Fizz’s individual pictures:

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Then after picking out the best pictures, photoshop’s magic put them together (and removed red eye):cropsantahats

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Merry Christmas!

Well, it is the second day of Christmas, so Merry Christmas!

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My guinea pigs posed for the camera this year to feature on my Christmas cards.

Cola and Fizz cannot be together because they fight, so they had individual photos taken and photoshop put them together. I can post a series of photos on what that looked like another day.

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