Halloween SnipPet Munchkins!!

I FINALLY have some new SnipPet art dolls to share! I have had lots of creations in the works on my table...it's just taken me awhile to get any completed with all the cat craziness going on.

These Halloween munchkins are little trick or treatin' critters....spooky cute ghouls dressed in their favorite costumes! I really wanted to create some small dolls that reflect my love of vintage toys and retro style. I did some research and made a list of common themes in the styles of old fashioned dolls and toys. Very simple, sweet faces and shapes were a definite detail that needed to be utilized.

I haven't decided where i am going to list them. I had intended to include them in the next Spookytime Jingles update, but i may put them in my Etsy shop and make some more for the update. If any of them strike your fancy, let me know!

So, without further adieu, here are Emmie Elephant, Clara Kitty, Paulie Pup, Rosalie Rabbit and Pippin Pig.

Stockyard kittens update....and a road trip to Atlanta!

One thing is for sure...pet rescue is full of happy endings and tragic endings. Such is life, I guess. I am sad to report that 2 of the 4 kittens we rescued at the stockyards on Tuesday night had to be euthanized yesterday. It broke my heart, and I still keep thinking about them, but I am trying to focus on the remaining two. I am just grateful that none of them had to suffer alone where they were any longer. When I fed the stockyard colony last night, a new adult cat appeared and it all made sense. She is clearly the mom of the 4 kittens. Someone obviously dumped the whole family out there. I just can't believe that any human let them get them get in the horrible state they were in and THEN abandoned them in a dangerous place like that. AND, of course, if that mom doesn't get spayed, it will just happen all over again. I am going to do my best to trap her and take care of it.

One of the 2 surviving kittens will be blind in one eye, but she doesn't mind at all! She is absolutely precious. A tiny 14 oz. ball of sweetness and love. Her happy spirit is amazing considering what she has been through. The other kitten fared the best. He has a runny nose and eyes but no permanent damage has occurred. They are both on antibiotics and eye ointment. They were literally starving to death too. I just can't wait to see them blossom and enjoy a safe, happy life from here on out!! I want to share "before" photos of them so that eventually i can show you "after" photos.




Now for some GOOD news!!!! I am driving Ozzie, Olivia and Odette to Atlanta tomorrow. The Good Mews Animal Foundation is taking them into their fabulous no kill, cage free shelter. As some of you know, i used to volunteer with this group when I lived in Atlanta, and they are still kind enough to help with my rescue kittens and cats when they can. The even better news is that they already have a new dad waiting for them! A wonderful man who adopted 3 cats from Good Mews 17 years ago has lost all of them over the past few years...the last one passed on Friday. He is ready for 15-20 more years with 3 new furkids, and he fell in love with the photos and descriptions of my 3 cuties. I am THRILLED to know that they will stay together and be loved forever!!!!! I definitely needed this purrfect ending :).



I will share some new art next week!! I have 5 new Halloween munchkins completed and 3 Christmas SnipPets almost done. I just wish there were more hours in the day!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Cat Craziness! Trap, Neuter, Return....Raccoons...Kitten rescue

First and foremost, THANK YOU so much for your kind and loving words about my Rosie!! Your comforting thoughts are extremely appreciated.

Over the weekend, we went on a trapping adventure behind a nearby cafe. There are 10 cats and kittens being fed and cared for by the owner of the cafe. He was extremely nice and concerned and desperately wanted help getting them spayed and neutered. We were able to trap 7 of them (and a possum) on Friday night and get them to the monthly clinic on Saturday. Thankfully, 2 of the 7 were the constantly reproducing females!! Yaaaahoo!! I also brought home a tiny kitten to keep him safe while his mom was being spayed. Then, on Sunday night, we headed back out and trapped 2 more (and another possum :)). 9 out of 10 was definitely a BIG success! The remaining cat is a male and was just too smart for us. 2 of the kitties that we trapped are about 4 months old and were both born without one of their back feet. Thankfully, the cafe owner is going adopt them!!!!! He is also adopting the little kitten that we brought home. Yippee!! Here is a photo of the cutie sweet pea....


When i delivered this little boy yesterday, the man at the cafe told me about a couple that needs help TNRing 27 cats at their home. Yikes!!! That is going to take some serious planning and manpower. When is the city going to understand that we need a full service, full time, TRULY low cost spay/neuter clinic??? Well, we just have to take it one step at a time, one colony at a time, one cat at a time.

I have been feeding 3 colonies nearby while their regular caretaker is out of town. One of the locations is in the bushes by a warehouse. There is a mama raccoon and 3 babies who frequent the feeding spot. The other night they came out early and got SO close to me. They are so cute and funny, but i am a bit wary of them!

One of the other colonies is at the stockyards. The 6 cats who come regularly are all bobtails. The orange one is named Mama Snuggs....she had many little snuggs before we came along and "snipped" her last fall!! We have snipped all of the others except one of the torti girls. She has been impossible to trap, but we are going to try again soon.





Last night, while we were feeding at the stockyards, we unexpectedly had to rescue 4 kittens....that is a story for tomorrow. They are in really bad shape, so we are headed to the vet this afternoon. Keep your paws crossed that they will be ok!

OK, i have GOT to get to the art table for a few hours and try to get some work done! See you guys later!

Missing my kitty soul mate.....

The kitty love of my life, Rosie, died on Friday. It was completely unexpected. Apparently, cancer had been growing all throughout her digestive system yet showed absolutely no signs. I still can't believe she is gone, and my heart aches for her every moment. We took her off the streets 3 years ago, and I had hoped to spend many more years with her. No amount of time is enough when it comes to those we love, but I cherish every single memory i have of her. She was one-of-a-kind!

Rosie was the funniest, quirkiest kitty i have ever known. She sat in a buddha position to wash her tummy, and it always made me laugh so hard! She wasn't fat at all, but she had this loose, flappy skin on her tummy that "oozed" around (hence her nickhame, Oozie) and it swung back and forth when she ran. She liked to wash our curtains and my handbags among other things...she would hold them with her paw and lick away. Rosie liked to drape herself over me....literally. It would seem like she was headed over my legs or chest and then she would stop with the front set of paws on one side and the back set on the other and flop down. She would "talk" to me in a different way than other cats. I would say her name and she would rear her body back and respond. Oh, we had so many daily rituals....i just loved having her by my side at all times. The best part was sleeping with her against my chest with my hand tucked into her tummy. We fit together purrfectly. I still can't imagine how anyone abandoned such a treasure, but I am glad they did so that i could get to have her as my best friend. I LOVE YOU SOOOOOO MUCH, my Rosie Oozie girl!

I adore these silly photos. They give me some much needed laughter at this very sad time.

....and the KittySnip winner is....

....Dana of Creek Cats!!! Dana is a fellow TNR and cat rescue lady, so it's purrfect that she is the winner of a KittySnip! She does all sorts of snipping in her area. Dana, head over to my Etsy shop and pick out your favorite crazy kitty.



Sorry to have such a short blog post!! It was a crazy weekend, and I have lots of cat news to report, so stay tuned......

June SnipPet Giveaway!!

It hit me that it is way past time for a June giveaway!!!! How did it get to be the 18th so fast???!!!

So, in honor of my cat "snipping", I would like to give a KittySnip away to one of my special blog friends. We are gearing up to trap and spay/neuter 10 cats and kittens living behind a nearby cafe on Friday night. Fingers crossed that we get them all!! That would be awesome.

If you'd like the chance to win a KittySnip, just post a comment here before Sunday (the 21st) at midnight. The winner will get to choose which silly KittySnip they want from my Etsy shop. I'd love to read about what each of you are doing this weekend or if you have a fun summer vacation or "stay"cation planned anytime soon. Happy Summer everybody!

SnipPet WIPs and a few new kitty pics

Just a little peek at what is on the table for this week. These three will be sort of St. Francis inspired...animals holding birds out in the garden. One of them is a special order piece...a pekingese pup princess.


These cutie patooties are going to be trick or treaters and clowns. It is going to take several days for them to dry, and i am itching to get them all dolled up!


My foster kittens are doing SO great! They romp around my art room all day finding plenty of mischief to get into. They are going to be spayed and neutered next Tuesday and then, it's adoption time! OH, i dread that part, as always. I get so attached, but know I must find loving homes for them.





Last but not least...Missy our "feral" kitty snoozing on the back patio in her bed. Now, THAT is serious summer relaxation!

The Pet Boutique Blog

Today The SnipPets and I are featured on a wonderful blog dedicated to pets and unique animal inspired products and art called The Pet Boutique. Many, many thanks to Angela Curtis who is the creative and talented soul behind this blog!! Check out her designer dog sweaters at the A and B Originals website!

Sneak Peek: SnipPets for the Spookytime Jingles June Update

My offerings for the STJ update are all ready to go! The Spookytime Jingles site will be updated on the 13th, so make sure you head over there on Saturday to see a wonderful array of Halloween and Christmas treats!

Meet Edgar and Edwina, my sweet and spooky SnipPet busts. They both measure about 5" tall. Oh, how i love polka dots!!!



These two little pieces are Edgar and Edwina in necklace form. I attached a long black satin ribbon to a hook on the back of both. The sculpted part measures about 2" long.

American Craft Council Shows

I just took the plunge and applied to the dolls and puppets section of the ACC Atlanta show. I have my fingers and toes crossed that i am accepted!! If you aren't familiar with the American Craft Council, please go to their site and check it out. The ACC puts on shows in Baltimore, Atlanta, San Francisco, Charlotte, St. Paul and Sarasota. When we lived in Atlanta, I used to visit the show there every year and was totally mesmerized by the incredibly talented crafters. Such inspiration! I applied 5 times (from 2000 to 2005) and then FINALLY got accepted in 2005. It was a huge goal of mine, so I was thrilled to say the least! That show was the last one I did before i headed back to a "real" job while my husband went back to school. So, since I am back in the art game now, I figured why not apply again?? No risk, no reward.

Here are 2 photos of the work of one of my all time favorite doll artists, Lesley Keeble. She exhibits regularly at the ACC Atlanta show and is also a NIADA member. Isn't she amazing????!!!! Her work is so incredibly well crafted and original....defintely something to aspire to!

Three Peas in a Pod and STJ WIPs

I feel like i have been a blogging slacker lately!!! I was on a roll for awhile and then a few things slowed me down. I have had really awful lower back pain for a few weeks now and it was truly killing me last week. I have realized that it is being caused by the way i have been sitting at my art desk, so I am making changes to that as well as my workouts...more core and strength training and less cycling. In addition, my foster kittens had a terrible virus and then they all had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics! Eeks, it was all a bit scary for awhile, but thankfully, they are feeling fabulous now and back to their kitten antics. I snapped a super sweet shot of Miss Odette aka Troll Girl this morning. How cute and fuzzy is she?

Here are my WIPs for the upcoming Spookytime Jingles update! I decided to do some smaller pieces this month...frog and cat wizard busts and frog and cat ornaments/necklaces. I started painting them this morning...i am thinking lots of orange, black and white dots and stripes...my favorite!

...and a silly little ditty that I completed last week....my version of three peas in a pod! For some reason, i was itching to do this piece and frog heads seemed like the perfect snippet twist to the "peas" part. This ornament is up for grabs in my etsy shop.

Introducing the KittySnips!

First, I want to thank all of you who commented on my last post!! I am definitely taking your SnipPet picks to heart as I prepare to ship off my dolls to ADQ. I truly appreciate your input!!!! You are the BEST.

On to my newest creations....

Late last week, i started sculpted some crazy little cat busts. I was itching to try some pieces that were a bit simpler and smaller than my usual designs. I also wanted them to be humorous and silly. I don't know if it is the summer weather that is making me giddy....or if it is my foster kittens' antics....or what. Everything just seems more fun than usual right now :)! These cat sculptures were also an exercise in playing with facial expressions. I definitely broke in my teeny tiny crafting brushes while attempting to get all the details just purrfect. I have named this line of artwork the KittySnips....and they will all have their own special names. This kitty crew sort of has a Dr. Seuss meets South Park meets my crazy foster kittens vibe. They range from 3" to 4.5" tall. I will be putting them in my etsy shop shortly. Each sculpture will be in the $20 range AND...the best part....I will donate a percentage of the sales of these directly to spaying and neutering cats and kittens in Lexington!!! The KittySnips and I hope you will support this very important project. One last thing...if you would like to order a custom KittySnip, please let me know. They will have the same round faced, googly eyed look as these, but you can choose the cat's facial expression and colors. Email me at: snippetgirl@gmail.com





Ozzie, Odette and Olivia were helping me try out my new photo box. What a hoot!! They were climbing the backdrop...not exactly productive assistants but definitely entertaining!