Animals' Carnival Baby Nursery Photos

Just thought I'd share the creative project that consumed me for the first few months of this year...mini Murtha's nursery! It was a true labor of love! I enjoyed every second of designing our baby's nursery and watching it come to life. This week, I entered an online baby nursery contest, so if you feel like commenting and rating it, please head over to this link: http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/carnival-at-the-babys-animal-sanctuary-nursery.html The nursery has a circus-y feel but since we aren't big on real circuses and the way they treat animals, we call our nursery theme "Carnival at the Animal Sanctuary" :).

My biggest project EVER is almost complete :)!

I cannot believe that I haven't posted a THING since October!! Well, let's just say life has been very busy, and I have been "working" on my biggest project yet :). Yep, a mini Murtha is on the way! We are due on June 24. Just thought I'd share the news (with anyone that has been patient enough to still be following my blog :)!!!). Here are a few photos of the blossoming baby bump over the past 36 weeks. Nursery photos soon!

Fall Photos with Skinny McGhee

No words needed....cuteness abounds :).

Always in your heart....

A dear friend of mine lost one of her beloved kitties last week very unexpectedly. I wanted to create a happy memorial to him illustrating that our precious pets always remain in our hearts. The joy and love they bring never dies.....

Sleeping Minnie...

Yesterday was rainy and dreary here all day, so it was especially nice to crawl in the bed and snuggle with the furballs. Minnie was purr-ticularly happy and content....

15% OFF in my Etsy shop!

To celebrate fall and the relaunching of my Etsy shop, I am snipping 15% off of everything!! Just use coupon code FALLSNIP15 when you checkout. Hip Hip Hooray!

I. LOVE. CATS.

On Friday, I had to pick up a sick old tomcat, now named Mr. Ed, at one of the trailer parks where I TNR. The wonderful feral colony caretaker, Regina, found him huddled on her doorstep Wednesday night and brought him in. We were both very anxious and worried about him, but the good news is that he should be ok after some meds and TLC. And hopefully, we can get him neutered in two weeks once he is stronger. So, while I was there chatting outside with Regina, I looked up and saw what has to be the funniest thing EVER!!! Her voluptuous indoor cat, Maggie, had squished herself down between the back of the sofa and the window. I was crying laughing and hooting and hollering like a lunatic over this scene. Regina said that she does it all the time and sometimes falls asleep like that. Absolutely hilarious. It looks like she is levitating. And she just keep blinking at me as if to say, "what is wrong with you lady and why are you laughing at ME?" I can never say it enough. I. LOVE. CATS.

A Purrfect Trio

Here are 3 of my current foster babies helping me cook dinner. The adult tuxedo boy is Freddie Patterson. I bailed him out of animal control twice after a man trapped him while trying to trap raccoons in an area where I had TNRed in the spring. Needless to say, I am so glad he is safe now. Freddie is THE most awesome cat. The big black kitten is Pepe (le Pew). We trapped him at a trailer park where we were TNRing in June. He was sick and tiny and needed some TLC. Pepe is a lovebug and weighs 8 lbs now...whopper kitten!! And the little black and white girl is Minnie Mouse. She was dumped with some other kittens at a Wendy's :(. These cuties are full of purrsonality and joy and ready for adoption!

SnipPets Celebrating!

My newest little SnipPet critters are ready to celebrate birthdays, baby showers or simply the joy of every day! I created these with the hope that they would be very special, unique cake toppers that could be displayed and treasured in a child's room or nursery for many years. Happy celebrating!!!

New Wedding Cake Topper Designs

I have finished a few new wedding cake toppers that can be completely customized with different animals and color schemes. I am totally in love with the bunting banners that I so often see on Etsy these days, so I just HAD to incorporate miniature versions in my cake topper designs. The birch bases are new too. I adore the natural, woodland touch they add. These are all available in my Etsy shop right now. Ok, back to the table to work on new animal clown birthday cake toppers... Happy Wednesday!

Long time, no see!

I cannot believe that the last time I posted was in late March!!! These past months have flown by. I am sad that I haven't shared all of the cat adventures I have been on during that time. You see, in April, I decided to take a break from my artwork and dedicate myself to volunteering full time. A few of my cat loving friends and I TNRed close to 200 cats and kittens...in trailer parks, homes and businesses all over Lexington. It was an incredible journey with many highs and lows....full of many happy beginnings and a few tragic endings...a truly emotional rollercoaster. But no matter what, LOTS of positive work was done and TONS of kitten births have been prevented. The lives of so many cats have been vastly improved! And that makes all the heartache and exhaustion well worth it. So, as fall approaches, I have decided to take a break from the cat rescue and TNR and get back to the art table! It feels really good to make this transition and return to my other passion...CREATING! And there will still be lots of cat photos (be that good or bad :)!). We currently have 2 foster kittens and 2 foster cats residing here with our crew. And here is our most recent addition, Wilson, overseeing my artwork. We adopted him in April after we TNRed a few cats at a scrapyard. He was so sweet and disheveled that I couldn't bear to let him go especially after we found out that he has FIV and Leukemia. But you would never know it....he is one happy, hearty cat now! You'll see his "before" photo too. Purrs to all!

Smiling Cat Illustrations now in my shop!

Hip Hip Hooray! I just added 10 new original Smiling Cat illustrations to my Etsy shop! Hope you enjoy them....happy cats for everyone :).

World Spay Day

It's WORLD SPAY DAY today!!! Spay your cat, your dog, the strays you are feeding...any cat or dog you can get your hands on :). Or donate to a spay/neuter program at your local shelter. Just spay it forward if your pets are already snipped.

What is the best way to make a cat smile???

A few more smiling cats....

Just wanted to share a few more illustrations.... I think I am getting into a groove with this. More cat chat coming soon! We are hoping to TNR another feral cat colony this week. In the meantime, I'll be illlustrating as much as I can. This goal is to complete one a day. Better get crackin'!

Pine Street TNR

For the past few months, my husband had been noticing a lot of cats and kittens living in the front yard of a house he passes by on his way to work every day. He had been urging me to go by there and approach the homeowners about TNR, but I seemed to keep getting tied up with other cat situations. Well, I finally found the time and mustered up the nerve to go talk to them two weeks ago. Thankfully, they were very kind and very receptive to having all of the cats spayed and neutered. The family that lives there started feeding stray cats many years ago and had done their best to spay/neuter the first few, but new ones kept arriving and they couldn't afford to "snip" every single one. Soooo, as it always goes, many litters of kittens have been born and things have gotten a bit overwhelming for them.

Last Friday, I trapped 15 of them and ran them all through our monthly feral cat spay/neuter clinic on Saturday. There are about 20 cats total, so I got most of them taken care of and will try to get the rest at a later date. Some of the kittens were quite sick, so 4 of them are still here with me so I can give them the meds and TLC that they need.

Here are a few photos that I took the first day that I met with them.






The kittens snuggling in a warm bed here at my house....