A bunch of new media features of my cozies!

The many new designs I now offer in my Etsy shop have brought forth a new wave of publicity for my tortoise cozies. With Christmas approaching, I find myself having to crochet 4-5 cozies every day to keep up with the influx of orders! (What a nice problem to have - I'm not complaining much!)

Reindeer cozy

Christmas tree cozy

Santa hat cozy

I know there are several other special features that have shown up lately, but here are a few.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/samimain/cute-cozies-your-tortoise-can-rock-this-winter

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2013/11/cute-alert-tortoise-dressed-in-a-burger-shaped-cozy-katie-bradley.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2510555/For-tortoise-The-shellsuit-guaranteed-smile-pets-face-Christmas.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/10464960/Woolly-shell-suits-Katie-Bradley-knits-unusual-outfits-for-her-pet-tortoises.html

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/weird-news/pictures-tortoises-take-catwalk-range-2815516

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2013/nov/22/woolly-suits-for-tortoises-in-pictures

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/11/21/tortoise-shell-suits-etsy-katie-bradley-pictures_n_4316870.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Custom 'Taco' tortoise cozy

I love creative challenges! One of my clients asked me if I could make a 'taco' tortoise cozy for her tortoise who is named Taco. It took a bit of experimenting, but here is what I came up with: 

...maybe we should taco 'bout this... 

Crocheting this cozy was much more involved than the others I've made, but I could imagine it may become quite popular.

Roz modeling the 'taco' tortoise cozy.

What kind of food should I crochet for YOUR tortoise? ;)

...a new tortoise cozy design: The Ladybug!

Happy Friday! I thought you might enjoy seeing the fun little Ladybug tortoise cozy I just finished for a customer... 

The Ladybug cozy

Skull Yard Finder

One of my customers asked me if I could make a skull yard finder for her tortoise. Why yes, I can! :)

Mila, being one tough tortoise

Also, is it odd that I am almost more excited about the cozies making it onto "I Can Has Cheezburger" than all the other media coverage?!

...more tortoise cozy articles... offical ones, now!

As of yesterday, Caters News (UK) is marketing my pictures of the tortoise cozies to different news outlets. They have the exclusive rights, so anyone wanting to use the images now has to go through them...

Here are a few links that have surfaced so far:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2318387/Now-thats-shell-suit-Tortoise-owner-knits-dozens-adorable-outfits-pets.html
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4912646/mum-makes-woollen-outfits-for-tortoises.html
http://m.now.msn.com/turtle-cozies-by-katie-bradley-are-popular
http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/02/shell-suit-fashion-pet-owner-knits-colourful-cosies-for-tortoise-friends-3711299/
http://www.today.com/pets/oh-my-check-out-these-tortoises-wearing-sweaters-6C9745762
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/10032858/Pictures-of-the-day.html?frame=2552451

I love that several of the sites have included the video our friend Lloyd made.
A few of the articles got my age wrong, and most of the world still thinks that 'our' Vancouver is in Canada...  oh well!

Oh... and remember about a month ago, when the tortoise cozies first went viral... well guess what? That week Yahoo ranked them as "The week's best of the internet" ...#1!

It will be fun to see what else comes of this!

Mossy Tortoise Etsy shop is now open!

I am so excited to announce that I opened my tortoise-themed Etsy shop last night! One of the little paintings and a few of the tortoise flowers have already sold... I'm working hard to keep my shop stocked, and will add more items as I create them.

First, the link: Mossy Tortoise - if you purchase before Monday, you can save 15% with the coupon code "GRANDOPENING" in the last step of the check-out process.

10% of the income from this Etsy shop will be donated to International Reptile Rescue.

Here is a little sneak peak of some of the items I have listed. The "tortoise flowers" are my own little invention, and are meant to be put on a tortoise when you let them roam in your garden (with supervision, please), to make them more easily visible.

Tortoise Cozy

Tortoise Flower

Tortoise Flower

Tortoise Cozy

Tortoise Cozy

Little Greek Tortoise painting

Indian Star Tortoise Painting (SOLD!)

Greek or Hermann's Tortoise painting

Sulcata or Redfoot Tortoise painting

The crazy crocheting Tortoise Lady

...that might be me. Ever since seeing that silly picture online of the tortoise cozy, I have used the time when I'm waiting for kid-related activities crocheting tortoise cozies.

Disclaimer - just to make sure that people don't start yelling at me: these cozies are a 'for fun' tortoise fashion item that I am creating to sell in my Etsy shop. My tortoises spend their days happily exploring their tort table in the buff... no clothing necessary!

Here are the ones I've made so far:

Timmy and Jill, modelling the blue cozies

Jill, posing so elegantly

Timmy, my XL female (7.5 inches) modelling the large one I finished.

Jill on the left, Timmy (still modelling) on the right, for size comparison

Mila modelling a cozy for my Etsy shop.
I wish I could have gotten more of this awesome afternoon light...

Top view of this one - I made the holes a little larger on this one
so the tort's shell color shines through more.

Mila giving me a grumpy look - she thought wearing a cozy was very undignified.

I am almost done crocheting a 'sun flower' shell ornament that I think you will love, too...

Yep...

...that's right. I went there. I saw a picture of a 'tortoise cozy' online, and once I was done laughing, I thought, "Hey! I can totally make that!" - and so I did. 

Jill modeling the pink tortoise cozy I made today

Now, just in case you are wondering if I totally lost my mind, please rest assured: I have not. I do not plan on having my own tortoises wear these, but rather plan to sell these in my soon to be opened tortoise-themed Etsy shop. You see, I just KNOW that there are some folks out there who are crazy awesome enough to want one for their tort.

Did you know that YOUR tortoise NEEDS one of these?!

In case you are wondering where in the world I find the time to make stuff like this: when you are a Mom you have these random gaps of time where you are waiting for your kid to finish lunch, or are waiting in the car for school to get out, or are in a meeting... and I like to keep my hands busy during those times.

Disclaimer: This kind of tortoise cozy should not be used near basking lamps, as it could pose a fire hazard. This is a 'for fun' tortoise clothing item that can be worn as a 'for fun' sweater while your tortoise is having a little bit of exploring-time in your home. It is NOT intended to replace the purpose of a heat lamp.