Love that Tubbs

I was flipping through my photos of our Mr. Tubbs and realized that without a doubt, he provides us with the funniest photo opps. I think he is the main reason that people frequently drive by our house and point and laugh! Mr. Tubbs aka Grubbs aka Rub-a-Dub showed up here over a year ago. He was quite plump then and has retained his full figure.....lots of kitty to love! He is such a character....a real live Puss in Boots.

Me, "I love you so so much, Mr. Tubbs!" Mr Tubbs, "Put me down, you crazy lady!"



Airing out on a summer day....



With his girlfriend, Natasha and best buddy, Rudy...



A familiar scene in the evening....bathing after dinner on the front steps.



Not very modest....



And my favorite, "The Rubber Chicken"....

Mixed Media Owl on canvas...

I have sculpted many owls, but this is my first owl painting. I was in the mood to mix lots of mediums, so this one was created with paint, pen, colored pencil, a bit of pastel, and paper cut outs. I like the juxtaposition of different textures, soft and hard, details and blocks of color. The sides of the canvas are an orangey red which really makes it pop. It is 18" x 24". I think it would be a whimsical addition to any bedroom or living room (it will hang in mine if it doesn't sell :)!) OR a fun accent in a child's room or nursery....owls seem to be all the rage right now. This is now available in my Etsy shop.

Stay tuned for some cat chat this week! I have a very special new foster boy. He is quite a heartbreaker.

Custom paintings

I have been taking a break from the clay for a little while to work on more paintings. I am almost finished with a custom sugar skull rabbit for a wonderful customer who LOVES rabbits! I really enjoy painting the details of the sugar skulls...fun to get lost in the patterns and vibrant colors. I completed the second painting last week and delivered it to a customer in Raleigh. She is redecorating her little boy's room with a cars/trucks/planes theme and wanted his favorite animal, a turtle, driving a car down a winding road with a bible quote she had chosen. I added in a little flag with his name and put his birthdate on the license plate. She said that Tyler giggles whenever he looks at the painting which is now hanging over his bed. I think that is the perfect stamp of approval :)!

18" x 24" Sugar Skull Rabbit



24" x 30" Tyler's Turtle

A Special Milestone....

Last week we traveled to Raleigh, NC for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. What a HUGE milestone! They are such amazing parents, and we had a GREAT time celebrating their big day. Mom and Dad met at school in Chapel Hill over 50 years ago, so we spent the day there eating lunch, walking around and visiting the new Carolina Basketball Museum. Brian and I also met there almost 18 years ago, so we are a Tarheel family through and through! That night we had a special dinner at the Hayes Barton Cafe in Raleigh. It was a fantastic meal that ended with a mouthwatering wedding cake adorned with some SnipPet cake toppers. It was fun to finally make a pair for family members :).

At Mama Dip's for lunch...


Brian, full of Carolina pride :)...


Dinner at Hayes Barton...


Rooster Bride and Boston Terrier groom....

Silver screen kittens....

I have been temporarily fostering 3 absolutely beautiful kittens. Their original foster mom rescued them out of her trailer park where they were in danger of being killed by neighborhood dogs. They came to me for temperament testing. I was supposed to test their feralness and give my assessment on their adoptability. She had them for a month and their brothers came around quickly, but the girls were more scared and shy. When they first arrived here, Ava Gardner and Jean Harlow, would not even stand up at first because they were so frightened. They had zero confidence and stayed curled up in tight balls. Grace Kelly, the boldest of the group, came around quickly. She was playing and purring and waving her tail around within minutes. And now, after 2 weeks, the other two have completely blossomed. Gracie went back to the original foster mom, and it really helped the other two feel more secure since she was pretty dominant. Last week, I noticed that little Ava appeared to have a limp and after a visit to the vet and an x-ray, I found out that she had broken her leg at some point weeks ago and it had healed so that the leg is slightly shorter than the other. Poor girl! No wonder she wasn't feeling comfortable in her original foster home with the other rowdy kittens jumping all over her. Ugh. Thank goodness she is ok now! Ava and Jean(ie) are going to yet another foster home today. They will be with an absolutely wonderful family who will work to them adopted at the Caring Hearts' Petsmart weekend adoptions. I am going to miss them terribly, but my job is done and the next step must be taken. Paws are crossed that they will be in a loving, forever home before long!!

Grace Kelly



Ava Gardner



Jean Harlow

Summer studio makeover....

I desperately needed to reorganize my art room and give it a summer fluffing! I can't concentrate after it gets to a certain messy point. I am much happier now that everything is cleaned out and cleaned up. Punkamunk was an excellent little helper during the process. She is enjoying the redo too!

Getting back on track....

Shoowee! Haven't visited blogland in way too long! July was a bit busy for us with a family reunion in New York and a week at the beach in North Carolina. And I have had some cat "stuff" going on too. It seems like I haven't been able to get myself back to the art table for any significant amount of time for quite awhile. But I did just finish a fun mixed media children's painting, a very gleeful purple kitty! I am taking a teeny break from sculpting to work on more paintings. I also thought I'd share a few new home decorating projects. Check 'em out below!

I had been wanting to spruce up our staircase, so I finally decided to wallpaper the fronts of the steps. I really love how it turned out.



My friend, Jennifer Higgins, makes wonderful wooden swings. I have wanted one for awhile, but we don't have any large trees in our yard. Well, why not have one in the house? I wanted a polka dotted one with a circus-y feel and an inspirational word lettered on it. "Curiouser" from Alice in Wonderland seemed like the perfect word for our house :). I LOVE it!! If you'd like to see more of Jennifer's work, check out her Etsy shop: Metamorphosis



...and I've been dying to hang a branch from the ceiling, so we did that too! I still need to add butterflies, birds and a nest. I may decorate it seasonally. It' getting curiouser and curiouser....and thank goodness my husband is tolerant and supportive of my decorating craziness!!