Good morning one and all, and thank you so much for dropping by to read my blog.  Today I am sharing how a tiny idea for a greeting card developed into the finished product.

So, to start at the beginning ...  the idea. To be honest I can't quite remember why the idea popped into my head, possibly I'd seen a photo, or someone had said something to me, or I'd seen something on TV, I really don't know, but pop into my head the idea did.

And what was the idea? Well it was for a humorous birthday card, where they'd be a photo of a dog dressed in a tutu, with the words 'Happy Birthday ...', then inside the card the words would read '... tutu you!'  I know, I know, it's partly my rather weird sense of humour, but the play on the word tutu just really made me giggle.

I e-mailed the idea out to my husband (at work) and four kids (at work/uni) for a bit of feed back.  I needed to know - was it funny, or was it just me who found it funny?  Fortunately the idea got the thumbs up! Like any form of humour I am always aware that it won't of course appeal to all, so my apologies if it's not quite your cup of tea.

Before I continue let me just add, for anyone who is totally new to my blog and my work, that I am absolutely passionate about animals, especially dogs. We have four wonderful rescue dogs of our own who we all absolutely adore, who are possibly a teeny tiny tad spoilt and who, as it happens, make super greeting card models.  And yes, I am also aware of the controversy about putting dogs in clothes, I too took absolutely ages to warm to the idea, but then I'd see all the greyhounds and lurchers in their coats in the winter and think, wow they really do look so snug and loved.  

For me personally, with our dogs, I tend not to go over the top with the clothes thing. We have a winter coat for Jack (the little white fella on the left), as he really does seem to feel the cold and apart from the odd bit of dressing up for greeting cards, that's about it.  And of our four dogs, it is indeed our Jack, who not only doesn't seem to mind wearing clothes but on the few occasions when I do dress him up a bit, he genuinely seems to love it. He loves being the star of photo sessions, the centre of a great deal of attention and last, but by no means least, the receiver of a plentiful supply of 'good boy' treats. So as far as Jack's concerned it's a win win situation. Jack therefore was my go to dog for tutu wearing!

The next thing to sort out was the tutu, so on the internet I went and the research began. I spent a wonderful morning searching for the best options and ideas and it was this video I found on YouTube that made me decide to make my own tutu. The thing that attracted me to it most was that there was no sewing involved! HOW TO: Make Tutus More Full and Fluffy by Just Add a Bow 

Once I'd decided to make my own tutu, I had to find where to purchase the necessary materials - the 6"width tulle and elasticated crochet headband. The reason I couldn't get the supplies from the shop as mentioned in the YouTube video above is that I am based in the UK. Another little internet search brought me to this eBay store Raindrops Boutique where I was able to puchase both the tulle and the band. I placed my order and waited excitedly. I was in tutu making mode! lol

The e-mail communications and delivery from Raindrops Boutique were excellent and within two days I had the products in my hand!

Now I am not a dressmaker, so I do not have any of the dressmaking cutting tools to cut the tulle into the necessary lengths nor do I have a mannequin, so I had to improvise.

For the cutting of the tulle I used my paper cutter. I decided that I wanted the sticky outy bit of the tutu to measure 9" and as the tutu making process involves folding the material in half, this meant cutting 18" strips of tulle - LOTS of them. I therefore stuck some white paper to the floor parallel to the cutting edge of the cutter. The paper was positioned such that when I pulled the material to the edge of the paper furthest away from the cutter, the tulle length would be exactly 18". This solution was not perfect as when I tried to cut the tulle by myself I found that the tulle snagged a bit when I was cutting. However, when I got my daughter to help me so that I could gently hold the tulle taut, whilst she did the cutting it worked a treat. 

Instead of the mannequin I used a pedal bin.

And so the tutu making progressed.

Until it was complete.

In retrospect I felt that I chose the wrong colour tulle. I chose this colour as I thought it was best suited to Jack's colouring. Also for the purpose I was using the tutu, I really hadn't needed to make it so 'full and fluffy'. And lastly, the band I used was a little narrow I think for such a fluffy tutu. I think I either needed to use this band and use less tulle, or use a wider band for this amount of tulle.  I have done a bit more research on the internet for wider bands and found this also available in black and brown.

The photography session went remarkably smoothly. I set up my lights, kept the photo shoot very short and had LOTS of treats to hand. Jack was, as usual, every bit the superb model. Once I'd got some images to work with I sat at the computer for many happy hours working on designs. It's something that I just love doing, plus it gave me the chance to mess about with the colour of the tutu and add a bit of sparkle.

The end results are as follows.

This is the birthday card - which is now available for purchase from my store with Greeting Card Universe at Natalie Kinnear Cards 

I shall also be doing a series of these birthday cards whereby they are addressed to specific family members and other people such as  friend, neighbor, pet sitter etc.  Also should you like this card with your choice of name added, go to the link to this card, (you can click on the photo of the card above) and then at the link click on 'Request a Design Change' which is next to the Product ID in the text underneath the image of the card. Such design edits can usually be carried out quickly, frequently within six hours or less.

And these are the Christmas card designs. They are not available for sale yet, but should you wish to purchase any of them, please do contact me and I can quickly have them made available for purchase. Please note, the copyright will NOT appear on the finished product.

And there you have it! Thank you so much for stopping by, should you have any questions about the above please do not hesitate to contact me  If you would like to stay up to date with all my latest news and designs, please do visit and like my Photography Facebook Page I'd love to see you there!