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Christmas Dogs

Each year our dogs, Ria and Tizzy, pose for a Christmas photo shoot. Sometimes I feel I have to top what I did the year before. They are such good girls to pose for Momma.

Yeah me! Here is is 2021 and I managing to continue this trend. This Christmas dog photo op gets harder each year coming up with a theme. Several years ago when we visited St. Charles, Missouri, for Christmas, we really wanted to try their roasting chestnuts, but when we got there, they had a sign up. Something had happened and they were not open as posted. Ever since we have wanted to try roasted chestnuts. When we saw them in the grocery store this year, we did not hesitate to buy them. This became our photo op! I decided rather than bringing the girls up to the level of our outdoor fire pit, that we would take some of the fire and put it on our walkway with the girls next to it. The grate is from our kitchen stove. So the girls would be more comfortable to cooperate, I brought out their dog beds and covered it with a white cloth. Now the chestnuts and the girls were more so on the same level and the girls were happy.

Just to show that we did really roast chestnuts and the girls were sitting next to it, here is the before photo used in the Christmas greeting above. I never know what will happen when I start to work digitally and somehow a new creation unfolds as I play. Merry Christmas all!

With 2020 having been "one of those years" of unexpected difficulties for the entire world with the Covid-19 pandemic and so much more, it seemed appropriate to use the theme of the abominable snowman for our annual Christmas Dog Photo. The girls love the toys with crinkles and they had not had a new toy in over a year, so when I found this toy, we could not resist. Then when we were in the checkout lane I realized how it could be the abominable snowman and the theme for this year clicked into place with my more ease than in previous years. Let's see over the next few months how long the abominable snowman holds up against these two Toy Fox Terriers before he is lovingly destuffed. From our family to yours, we wish you God's peace this Christmas season & His love. Even amongst the troubles of 2020, we can always know God's peace. May the abominable troubles of 2020 be unstuffed as quickly as this abominable toy is sure to experience as well.

Adorable OutTake Number One!

Yes, we took the photos on the couch with a bedspread. Easy peasy. OutTake Number Two.

2019

Merry Christmas all! I hope this year's Christmas dog photo op brings smiles and joy to your face. This year we have been so busy exploring Christmas fun that my creative outlet did not appear. Although I had ideas, I will save them for next year. Instead, we opted to go to the mall to take a photo with Santa! A one-hour excursion is much easier than all the setting preparation of previous years. When we arrived Santa was out for a break and we waited over a half hour for him to return. Of course, one of our precious little dogs has anxiety problems which tests our patience and thirty minutes is a lot of embarrassing testing. We were third in line and by the time it was our turn, there were dogs and owners lined up down the corridor. I felt so pressured to hurry up and I felt as if everyone was watching me that anxiety kept me from taking the time to really pose the girls well or get them to focus. Santa was great though! He kept such a great smile and he immediately took on a responsibility to have a hold on the dogs in case they took off running. However, our anxiety dog showed signs of more anxiety at being held down by a big Santa hand, making it difficult to get a happy ears-up photo. I just wanted out of the middle-of-the-mall spotlight as quick as Santa's elves might create toys for the big Christmas day. I decided whatever we had would just have to do. Then the prints were glossy and overly saturated to the point of being annoyingly I'll-shoot-your-eye-out red, but keeping my positivity up I was determined to desaturate them in Photoshop and decorate it all up with digital elements to make it a whole new and improved image. My Dad always said, "Where there's a will, there's a way!"

2018

The annual Christmas dog photo op is here! Hubby wanted them to be shepherds, but when we walked past these crowns in the store, the wise men idea sprang to life. During the photo session, they were better behaved than ever before, sitting for long periods of time. The first attempt they sat, but then the girls continually would lay down. Rather than fussing to get them to sit, I went with their randomness. It was not until I was making the layout that I realized how appropriate the laying down fit. I pondered the Bible story for my own heart in that the wise men were worshiping. I pondered the meaning of worship, that being all that we do to express reverence. In their unknowing way, their laying down gestured a reverence to our King, Jesus, born on Christmas day. So now for the rest of the Christmas season, I am going to be pondering how I can give the King of King my reverence.

2017

Charlie Brown's tree only needed a little love, so we are sending you a little Christmas love this year. This year the girls posed for A Charlie Brown Christmas scene. In this movie scene the characters have finished the pageant and Charlie Brown puts on his brown cap and red coat to take his tree outside. I sewed snoopy ears for Miss Tizzy long enough so that they would hang down over the house. We built the snoopy house from a cardboard box, painted it red with black stripes. Inside the box is our homemade tub table that we use in the bathroom. Tizzy worked hard to learn how to lay down. We even practiced on the table so she would be comfortable laying down on it high up. The blue blanket is hanging from the window curtain rods and the white blanket is on the window seat. Our tree is merely an artificial green twig that is stuck in a vase with some dirt to hold it down. The tree needed to be slightly taller than Ria when she was sitting, as well as the house, so it was all planned accordingly. The ornament is non-breakable for a good cause. We had bought battery operated lights to put on the house, but when we set up the scene, we forgot to put them on. The rest is digital magic!

2017 Outtake

Ria was supposed to sit, but she wanted to lay. Tizzy was supposed to lay, but she wanted to sit! By the time I got one of them to pose, the other one had moved to her comfortable position.

2016

This photo op cost less than $10. My friend volunteered her leg and wore fishnet hose. The quilt from our bed is hung by the shelf that is normally on the wall over our couch. I bought the fringe online and we stretched it between two chairs. I bought some people headbands and put them around the girlfriend's necks. My friend was quiet the acrobat with her other foot resting high on the shelf on the wall. The rest is digitally created.

2015

There were many great shots with this photo shoot that I had to make two images.

This is my sled from my childhood. We put a white blanket on the couch and a red blanket on the back of the couch.

Over the couch is a hanging plant which we removed to hang a dowel rod. On the dowel rod hung the stars and snowflakes. I strung bells on elastic and put them around their necks. I threw fake snowballs about.

2015

2014

This was the easy-way-out year when I merely bought them scarfs and set them in a chair on a blanket. However, I ended up making three images with the photo op.

2014

2014

2013

I made the peanut butter dog treats to look like Christmas cookies. There is wrapping paper on the closet door and the girlfriends sat at the table and on the chairs of a children's table set that used to be my Dad's.

2013

2012

Someone told me we had to do the classic dog in a Santa hat photo. Ria was about 2 months old and Tizzy was not born yet.

2012

Copyright Cheryl Rutledge-Brennecke
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