Experimenting with Illustrating

I have been playing around with my illustration skills (or lack thereof). I have wanted to write and illustrate a children's book for years, and I feel like it is the right time to do it. I am a bit burnt out on the sculpting, so I am putting that on hold for the time being to pursue my book dream.

Ideas are swirling in my head, so I am doing a lot of brainstorming on the text while I experiment with different media....

Here is what has transpired on the art table....

Spookytime Jingles update tonight!

This month STJ is celebrating a trio of holidays...Halloween, Christmas and July 4th! So, I created a little trio of critters for the update. These ornaments will be up for grabs tonight at midnight.

Spookytime Jingles Sneak Peek!

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, new spooky and sweet holiday treasures will magically appear on the STJ website! I am anxious to see what everyone has to offer this month. Two of my hot air balloon sculptures will be up for grabs....

A frog witch hitches a moonlit ride with a jolly jack o' lantern!



and a little cat 'n' mouse for the holidays....

WIPs for the week....

I am trying to get these up, up and away!!! The logistics of creating these has been a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I think I have it all figured out finally...just hoping I can pull it off. One will be ready for the Pfatt update and the other two for the STJ update. Better get back to sculpting and painting....

In the works...

I am trying to get a few wedding cake toppers completed and also get going on some fun new pieces. Here is what is on the table today....



Tune in for more cat chat and cupcake updates soon :)!

Sneak Peek for Spookytime Jingles update

It's ALL about the frogs for this month's STJ update tonight at midnight! These little guys are all around 5" tall. Their hands are the tiniest ones I have ever sculpted before. I hope you like these happy itty bitty cuties!

Meet Otto the Wizard....



and the Frog Princes, Jean-Claude and Jean-Paul. Doesn't everyone need a French Frog??!! Oui Oui!

Friday the 13th Spookytime Jingles Update!

Hope everyone has a very lucky Friday the 13th! It's the perfect day for the STJ update. Head on over there for the spooky cute and hip holiday array of art. I just perused everyone's offerings and as always, there are some fantastic treasures!

Here are my STJ Snippets....

Bat Cat in the Moon Ornament/Wall Hanging



Santa Frog Grinch Ornament



Santa Frog Grinch Ornament

SnipPets in the Celebrate365 Summer Issue!

I am thrilled to bits that several of my SnipPets are featured in the summer issue of Celebrate365!! This is such a beautiful, fun publication filled with special and festive ornaments and dolls. I am especially loving the Alice in Wonderland section...fabulous! It is so neat to see many artists' interpretations of Alice's quirky characters.

(front cover) Blue Cat Hot Air Balloon ornament....

Mad Hatter Doll, Mad Hatter Limited Edition Ornament and Red Queen Ornament...

Mad Catter Ornament....

(back cover) Smiling Frog Ornament

Spookytime Jingles updates at Noon tomorrow!

A little change for the STJ update....instead of the usual monthly midnight time, Spookytime Jingles will be updating at Noon tomorrow. Dani Nelson, our fearless and tireless leader, has a son who has been in the hospital undergoing tests for an illness. Please keep them in your thoughts!! Despite this challenge, she is still managing to update our work as scheduled on the 13th...just a teensy bit later in the day. So, that means you all can sleep in and enjoy the spooky new creations at lunchtime :).

Here is a peek at my Halloween offerings....

Juggling Jack O' Lantern



Mr. Eckelworth the Owl



...and we are also celebrating Americana this month, so I created another Americat ornament.



How cute and fun is this badge for the Americana Hootenanny?? Love it!

WIPs SnipPet Spooks for STJ

A peek at two Halloween WIPs for this month's STJ update.

I realized that I really needed to attempt a pumpkin head doll for a change. I had a vision of him juggling and thought, why not let him juggle a cat's head and a frog's head??! A sort of spooky idea, but the entire piece will still have a silly and happy vibe!


I haven't made any owls in WAY too long, so this little guy was a hoot to sculpt. (sorry, couldn't resist :)!) He will be holding a pumpkin lantern on his pole.

Small Town Living SnipPet Feature and Giveaway!

Oh my, I have been out of town for a few days, and now I am trying to get caught up on everything! It's amazing how behind you can get in just 4 days! Life moves too fast sometimes. I need a "pause" button right now :)!

If you have a few minutes to spare, please head over to the Small Town Living website to read an article about The SnipPets and enter my frog ornament giveaway! This is a wonderful online magazine, and I am honored to be featured! I am thoroughly enjoying reading the comments left by readers....such fun ideas for future SnipPets!

Summery SnipPets available tonight!

Hop on over the the Pfatt Marketplace for a new array of artistic treasures from all of the wonderful Pfatt artists! I will have a frog candlestick doll and a butterfly silhouette necklace up for grabs. Here is a sneak peek!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mamas out there!!!!

The Red Queen and a Smiling Frog!

Shoowee...just finished up 10 ornaments!! Several of them are for the next Spookytime Jingles update, so I will have to wait and share them later. I just put these two in my Etsy shop.

Thank all of you for your kind words about Garfield!!!! He sends you lots of purrs!

Off with their heads!!!!


Jumping for joy!!

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!

A menagerie of new SnipPets!

On Friday, I finished up some new artwork...a small zoo of critters! They are all available for purchase in my Etsy shop right now. Hope you like them and hope everyone had a lovely weekend!!!

New SnipPet Spooks and a few fun kitty photos~~

These Halloween Spooks are my offerings for the September Spookytime Jingles update coming up on the 13th. I got them done a bit early because my best buddy from Atlanta is coming to visit on Thursday and we have BIG fun plans for the rest of the week and weekend!! Can't wait!

This first piece was created with an antique wooden clock frame that I found at a nearby flea market. It was just screaming for some polka dots and pizazz! And it purrfectly houses my little paperclay boo kitty! It was loads of fun to work on a mixed media vignette for a change.




And here's a frog wizard just waiting to make some magic happen!! As a little extra, he will be packaged in a paper mache haunted house box.



As always, a few kitty photos for ya! Happy Tuesday!

Sending SnipPets on their way and a kitty spay!

Fife the Frog and Alice's Rabbit just got wrapped up and will be on the way to their new owners today! To make things even sweeter, the sale of these SnipPet critters went straight toward this week's feral cat spay surgery and rabies shot! Woohooooooo for that!! Many thanks to my wonderful customers for helping me help cats in need :).




Minnie, the feral cat, has quite a TAIL to tell! I trapped her quite easily at the warehouse where she resides on Monday night. And her transport to the vet on Tuesday morning went smoothly too. Well, when i arrived to pick her up that afternoon, the vet had some news that definitely shocked me. When they opened Minnie up to spay her, she had 4 full term kittens that came out crying!! They brought a little box out and showed me the 4 wiggling, squirming little mini Minnies :). They are all tiny tuxedos...look like little penquins. TOO cute! Unfortunately, when they tried to put the kittens with Minnie, she rejected them....wanted nothing to do with motherhood. Thankfully, the vet and her vet tech are willing to syringe and bottle feed them for the next 3 to 4 weeks. That is a HUGE job, so I am extremely grateful!!!! I will keep you posted on their progress...fingers crossed that they all survive and thrive. Poor Minnie was so confused and I felt awful for her. It was great to release her back into familiar territory last night. I know she was relieved to be back in her own environment.



Here is the current foster kitten gang enjoying our Lotus cat tree!! They are really making progress. It's hard to believe that they were spitting and lunging at me 2 weeks ago. Last night, they were following me around the kitten room like baby ducks.