Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Miss Biscuits and some Butch babies...

Just had to post a few new photos of our little foster girl. A wonderful lady is coming to meet her tomorrow. Our fingers, toes and paws are crossed that they fall madly in love with each other! I don't know how anyone couldn't adore her. I wish i could keep her permanently but my house is reserved for the oldies, the shy kids, the disabled/injured folks, the not so pretty kitties...you know, the "unadoptables". I prefer to call them quirky and unique. Those are the ones that truly pull at my heartstrings.

Miss Biscuits is purrfect in every way!




I have been busy working on some fun little Valentine creations. I hope to get them all painted by New Year's Day. I LOVE Valentine's Day!!!! It's my favorite...always has been.

I just finished two custom orders for a very special client. She wanted me to create a munchkin doll and an ornament in honor of her beloved dog, Butch. His favorite toy as a puppy was a purple and red gingerbread man, so I had to include that and it inspired his outfit too. She requested that one of the pieces feature a heart with "mom" on it, so I thought an angel version of Butch would be perfect with the little heart. Butch has had many health struggles but his mom has taken amazing care of him and he is doing beautifully! In fact, he will celebrate his 12th birthday in a few weeks!


Monday, December 28, 2009

I already miss Christmas!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas! It seems like it came and went so fast, as always. My parents came to visit us on Wednesday (it took them 11 long hours to get from Raleigh to Lexington) and stayed until Sunday. We did some relaxing, a lot of eating and got out and about for some fun excursions. On Saturday, we drove to Louisville to eat at Lyn's Paradise Cafe. Brian and I had been dying to go there ever since we saw Lyn take on Bobby Flay in a Throwdown :)! Her restaurant oozes fun and whimsy! It is full of crazy lamps (some upside down), wild colors and wacky animals. The food is equally over the top and delicious!!




I MUST share with you the Christmas gift I got for my parents!! I ordered one of Susan Faye's fabulous pet portraits for them. I had been waiting ALL year for this, so I was thrilled to finally have this special painting created for them. You can read more about it on her blog, 365 Cat Ladies.



Well, our little black kitten's potential family totally flaked out on us, so she will be with us indefinitely! Another woman offered to put her out on a farm with some other cats and kittens, but there was NO way I could do that. This sweet pea is too tame and loving to be put out in the cold YET again. We had been calling her Miss Biscuits, but that name just doesn't quite fit. We have toyed with Holly or Molly....nothing is really working for me. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. She is SO docile and calm. I can carry her around and she sits on my lap quietly and purrs all the time. I have never had a kitten this subdued. She is quite amazing! I hope I can find her the purrfect home soon.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Final TNR of the season for the SnipPet Girl!

This first day of winter marks my final feral cat trapping until spring! I spent most of Friday trapping in the cold rain, so I am very relieved to hang it up for awhile. It's just too icky out there for both people and animals! Despite the challenging weather, I was able to trap 5 kitties for the spay/neuter clinic on Saturday. All were kittens....4 were ferals from Don's garage (the kind blind man i have posted about before). I was hoping to get the trap savvy calico mama cat, but no luck :(. I tried ham, turkey, tuna, mackerel AND chicken mcnuggets as well as some other tricks, but she refused to give in. Disappointing...but I'll keep trying once the weather improves. Nevertheless, it was great to get her most recent litter of kittens all taken care of, especially since 3 of them are females!!! That was 3 more potential mama cats that won't be reproducing, thank goodness! I tried to take photos of this little crew, but they were blurry. I released them a little while ago and they were SO happy to be back in their straw filled garage with their mom.

The fifth kitten is one that was abandoned at the stockyards a few weeks ago. Poor little bug! She is totally tame and THE sweetest, most gentle girl. Literally, all she wants to do is sit in your lap or in her bed and make bisuits. She even makes biscuits while she is standing on the floor. It is the funniest thing! Non-stop kneading and padding. Consequently, i think her name should be Miss Biscuits. She is being adopted today by one of the guys who works at the stockyards.

These pictures don't do her justice at all! She is like a little black bear...fuzzy and round. Meowy Christmas from Miss Biscuits :)!



Friday, December 18, 2009

Christmas SnipPet Sale - 25% off!

Just wanted to let you know that my Christmas SnipPets are now on sale! Click here and hop on over to my shop! Meowy Christmas and Happy Howlidays!!

I am headed out right now to do my final cat trapping for the season!! I am hoping to get 5 cats/kittens spayed/neutered at tomorrow's clinic. After that, I am done until spring!! Hopefully, I will be posting about a successful adventure this weekend.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

An eclectic array of new snippets~~jugglers and munchkins

I finally completed a few new circus characters. A blue cat, a yellow rabbit and a purple frog juggling felt balls and sculpted onto wooden candlesticks. I used the pastel/painting techniques that I learned at art camp recently. I LOVE the softness and shadows you can achieve with pastels over paint! I have a feeling that I am going to have lots of fun in 2010 experimenting even more with them. The rabbit and the cat will be listed in my etsy shop shortly.






One of my customers requested a Bigfoot munchkin (seems like an oxymoron, right?) in honor of her brother who sadly passed away. He loved Bigfoot, so she wanted this little guy to remind her of him. So sweet. I really liked figuring out how to make Bigfoot into a cute, small creature....sort of feels like this is what he would have looked like as a toddler :).


And here is a custom collegiate munchkin.... an Oklahoma Sooners horse all decked out in his crimson duds!

Monday, December 14, 2009

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

....everywhere you go!!! Fa la la la la la la la la!! Ok, my Christmas carols are all running together :).

Here is a little tour of our house all decked out with cheer and spiffed up critters, of course!












Friday, December 11, 2009

More love in the air....a perky penguin couple!

Yippee!!! I am SOOOO happy that it is Friday!!! I am ready for a weekend of Christmas decorating, wrapping gifts, and just enjoying the holidays. I am determined NOT to feel stressed out or rushed (easier said than done, right?!), and savor happy Christmas moments. Last night, Brian and I turned on the tree lights and snuggled up in our "old people's robes" while the cats were sprawled out in front of the fire and around the room. That is a purrfect evening for me :). I will take some fun photos of our holiday decor once I get it all finished!

I am off to do some shipping, but first wanted to share the custom cake topper that I completed today. The bride-to-be wanted penguins in very specific shades of purple and green....so whimsical and unique...love that! It feels wonderful to make a one-of-a-kind keepsake for such a special and important event.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

A few new cuties....

I have been working on a few special orders and thought I'd share the completed ones.

These sweet pea elephants are soooo in love :)!




...and this Oregon State beaver baby is ready to cheer his team on! Rah! Rah! Rah!


Hope you all are staying warm and dry!!!! It's been wet, cold and windy here and the temps are supposed to really tank tonight. Brrrrr!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

SpookyTimeJingles Collector's Tree


The post below is on the STJ website. My SnipPet Snow Kitty (as seen in the ad photo!!) will be on the tree along with tons of other wonderful ornaments.

"I am sooo EXCITED to announce our newest Surprise for you!

If you love the world class art represented on SpookyTimeJingles.com, You will just adore what we have for you starting in just 1 day!

Our VERY FIRST Complete Collector's Tree!

This Tree is our Christmas Edition and is filled with original - one of kind - handmade Christmas Ornaments strictly from SpookyTimeJingles artisan's ONLY!

What should you expect? How about a SIX FOOT TREE with BOAT LOADS of Ornaments, A Tree Topper and a Tree Skirt- ALL original works of art! CRAZY, right?

Be sure to check it out, Tell your friends and Watch the auction to see what happens to the first ever STJ tree! Search for "STJ" on Ebay or our user id- 'SpookyTimeJingles'."

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A few more photos before we head to Atlanta....

I have been spending lots of time with my three sweet pea bobtail girls over the past few days. Bonnie, Sylvie and Elsie are thoroughly enjoying my art studio/kitten room. Elsie likes to sleep on my shoulder while I work on the computer. OR she likes to sit on my lap and wave her arms around in my face (like she is going right now! tee hee!). They all like to lick my hands as I type and walk across the keyboard or fall on the mouse and delete whatever I am doing. I retyped one email 3 times!

They run around like a herd of buffalo chasing balls and mice...there must be 50 toys in here! By early afternoon, they are sacked out in my big chair sound asleep. I got a few great photos of them yesterday in full-on relaxation mode.

I will be packing these little ones up on Thursday morning, and we will be heading to Atlanta! A meowy girls' road trip for sure!




Saturday, November 28, 2009

Order Custom SnipPets before December 4!

Wowee! Time is whizzing by so darn fast! I cannot believe that Christmas is less than a month away. I am FINALLLY about to sit down at my art table today and start on some custom SnipPets and a few fun new creations for the ACC show in March! If any of you would like a special SnipPet made to order, please let me know by this Friday, December 4. Click here to go to my "design your own" munchkin doll or here for a collegiate mascot munchkin.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

20% OFF SALE!!!!

Well, it's almost midnight and the madness of Black Friday is about to begin! I think staying in one's pajamas and shopping on Etsy sounds much more appealing than fighting the crazy crowds at Walmart, don't you :)??!!

Everything (except custom artwork) in my SnipPet Etsy shop will be 20% off from Black Friday thru Cyber Monday!

Full of gratitude....

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL day with their family and friends and furry companions :)!!

I want to keep it simple today and just say that I am especially thankful for the multititude of blessings in my life. Amen.

Cheers and peace~~

I don't have any particularly festive photos, so I thought this one illustrated what I will probably look like and be doing later today. Here's my Teeny girl who always looks like she swallowed a pumpkin. Tee hee...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Basil, Elmo and Gilly found their forever homes!

After a week of posting my kittens on Craig's List and screening and conversing with potential adopters, I found good homes for Basil, Elmo and Gilly! It was an emotional rollercoaster as it always is. I am incredibly grateful that some kind people opened their hearts to these little ones, but I cried my eyes out before and after the adoptions. I get so attached, and I know that there is never a 100% guarantee that they will be safe and loved forever like they would if they were with me. But since I can't have a gazillion cats of my own, I have to trust my instincts and know that I did my best to ensure their health and care. Elmo and Gilly got to stay together and went to a nice family of 5. They also have 2 rescue dogs, so the kittens will have lots of activity and attention. Basil went to a sweet young couple who wanted a black kitty very badly. He is THE sweetest little boy ever, so I know they are going to love him like crazy.

More good news....my little orange bobtail girls are going to Atlanta next week! I am driving them to Good Mews, the amazing no kill shelter that I have mentioned before. I can't tell you how excited I am that GM is able to take them in!

After that, I am going to hibernate for a few months and focus on my artwork. I REALLY need to produce some special work for the ACC show in March, and my heart and soul need an emotional break from fostering for awhile. I think my tear ducts are almost empty!!! I will still be doing some feral cat spay/neuter in December to ensure that fewer kittens will be born in the spring.

I'll be posting about a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale in my Etsy shop soon, so check back in!




Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Bobtail kitten update and a little shout out to Lyndy!

My little orange bobtail kitten trio has improved immensely since the last time I posted about them! Elsie, Sylvie and Bonnie have more than doubled their weights and have become hearty, happy, bouncing girls! Elsie's bad eye is still a bit problematic, but 10 times better than it was. She and Bonnie are being spayed today and hopefully, the doctor will have some news about the prognosis of her eye.

I am in the process of looking for homes for our other 3 kittens. I HOPE that we get lucky soon!




I also wanted to thank the lovely Lyndy Ward for her Halloween giveaway! I was lucky enough to win a vintage 1967 Munsters postcard during her blog giveaway event!! What a super sweet and spooky treasure! Make sure to visit her enchanting blog, Today's Gold. THANKS, Lyndy!!