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 :).

Celebrating Cyber Monday! 30% off SnipPets!

Stay home and shop handmade...that's definitely more my speed than Black Friday :)! For those of you who braved the shopping madness this weekend, I hope you survived and found some great deals!! For those who are doing a little cyber shopping today, head over to my Etsy shop and enter coupon code SNIPSALE30 when you checkout. 30% OFF any item!

Americat for the Pfatt update!

The Pfatt Marketplace June update will take place at midnight tonight. Americana is the theme, so I pondered how to put a SnipPet spin on that and came up with Americat! He is one gleeful and patriotic kitty...very proud of his stars and stripes! The Kitty in Bloom ornament that I posted about a few days ago will also be available. Smiling summer SnipPets are definitely here!

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!

The Evolution of a SnipPet: Sweet Tooth, Step 1 - Concept and Sketch

I thought it would be fun to take you through the steps of my design process. I will take photos of each phase and post them here along with a description of any supplies and techniques used. It will be sort of a SnipPet tutorial. I always say that I am a terrible teacher because I don't explain things well, so this will be beneficial to me as well.

In the past few months, I have started to sketch out my more complicated pieces. It is extremely helpful to map out the concept first and get the position and proportions correct so that I can build an armature based on the sketch. I used to let my designs evolve more organically, but I have seen a marked improvement in my work since I have begun to plan my ideas out a bit more strategically.

This particular piece has been brewing in my brain for awhile. I wanted to do another blue cheshire cat on his way to the Mad Hatter's tea party with sweet treats galore surrounding him. Have you seen the movie Chocolat? It's my all time favorite!!! Well, if you have, think of the scene where Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina's character) finally succumbs to Vianne's delectable chocolates and ends up in the display window rolling around in the chocolates devouring as many as he can shovel in. That was another part of my inspiration for this piece. Then, i decided that the cat needed to be carried along to his destination, but wasn't sure how that would work. After I saw the Alice movie, I fell in love with the Red Queen's frog butlers and thought they would be perfect attendants for the cat! So, here is the sketch that I will work with to build the armature. The two frogs will be at each end but I did a forward facing sketch to allow me to get the sizing and shape right once i start sculpting.



Stay tuned for Step 2. I am hoping to get going on the armature early next week.
In the meantime, here is a teeny sneak peek at the Mad Hatter piece that I am finishing up for the Spookytime Jingles update. This little friend will be sitting on his head.

Etsy shop update with Spring SnipPets!

Hey everyone!! The sun is FINALLY shining here, and that makes me sooooooo happy!!!! I am also jumping for joy because I FINALLY finished up 9 new pieces as of last night. I sanded and sanded and sanded and primed and primed and primed all weekend, and then I got to enjoy bringing my spring critters to life these past few days. Oh, how I love the bright, vivid yellows, greens, pinks, lavenders and blues of this season. It's like a much needed breath of fresh air just blew through my studio!

I just put these animal eggs and ornaments in my Etsy shop. The rest will be unveiled in the next few days, so stay tuned!

Wheeeeee! A flying pig!


A silly "chickpea" ornament....


...a bunny rabbit egg....


and a spring egg trio!

Valentine Munchkins are here! xoxoxox

I was extremely anxious to get started on Valentine SnipPets, so i started sculpting a few right before Christmas and got them painted last week. I LOVE Valentine's Day!!! I always have....long before boyfriends and romantic love entered my life. Even as a child, I just adored everything about Valentine's Day. Creating handmade Valentines from snips of paper, paint, doilies and glitter was a treasured activity (an early indication of my mixed media obsession :)!). And remember those mailboxes made from shoeboxes that you would put together for school Valentine exchanges??? So much fun! And since I have a major sweet tooth, the candy/chocolate part of the holiday makes it even more appealing. Every year, my dad would come home from work with 2 big red heart boxes of chocolates under his arm...a red one for my mom and a pink one for me! My mom would make us a special Valentine dinner and always had some special gift beautifully wrapped for me on my placemat. She knew how important the day was to me. I think it is a wonderful time to celebrate all kinds of love....family, friendships, and of course, the love of our beloved furry companions :).

So, here are some of my munchkin Valentines. These are listed in my Etsy shop and the rest will be available during this month's Pfatt and STJ updates! Also, SnipPet bookmarks are back in my shop! They are $4.00 each with FREE shipping and 100% of the profits will go straight to spaying/neutering kitties in Lexington! These bookmarks are a perfect little Valentine gift and a great way to spread the furry love :).

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!

The SnipPets in Art Doll Quarterly!

I haven't actually seen the hard copy of the current Art Doll Quarterly issue, but here is a peek at my spread! The SnipPets and I are so proud and honored to be featured in such an amazingly beautiful magazine!

HUGE Halloween Blowout SnipPet Sale!!! 40% OFF!

First, a BIG huge THANK YOU to all of the wonderful customers who made October the best month for The SnipPets yet!!!!!! I am incredibly grateful for your support!!! You allow me to keep on creating and live an artists' dream :)...oh yeah, and help a whole lot of kitties in need (that's the best part!).

And now I am ready to clear the cobwebs out of my shop, so to speak. All of my Halloween SnipPet Spooks are 40% off as of today! Check out the SALE section in my Etsy shop. It's time to make room for whimsical new creations. I am headed to the John Campbell Folk School next week and will be learning some new dollmaking skills from one of the best dollmakers around, Kathryn Walmsley. I am SOOOO excited to have a week of uninterrupted creative time with no distractions!! Yahoo! It's going to be F-U-N!

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!!!

Some exciting news for the SnipPets!

I recently found out that my little Rosalie Rabbit Munchkin will be featured in the upcoming holiday issue of Romantic Homes magazine!! Yippee! I can hardly believe it! The editor contacted Sandy Wood, the wonderful Pfatt Marketplace founder and fearless leader :), and requested that the Pfatt artists submit their Christmas themed artwork. I am so honored and thrilled that my little rabbit was chosen...especially among such talented and fabulous artists!! Rosalie will be in the Shop Around section entitled "Creatures Large and Small: Handmade ornaments to add to your heirlooms." I will creating a limited edition of this piece.

SnipPets Annual Spay/Neuter Report and an inspirational tale

The Starfish Story by Loren Eiseley

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"

~~~~~~~~~~

This inspirational story perfectly illustrates how most animal rescuers feel. You know you can't save them all, but every life counts....and you know you must try to help the ones you can.

I read this when I feel like I am not doing enough and can't seem to make a dent in the pet overpopulation problem. I also refer to my TNR/rescue spreadsheet to see concrete evidence of my spay/neuter efforts. I try to reflect on the births prevented and the suffering alleviated. You MUST look at the positive so that you can push forward and keep on going.

We moved to Lexington last July and started our TNRing and rescuing here in late August, so I figured that it was time for an annual SnipPet kitty report!!

Total cats and kittens spayed/neutered: 60

To celebrate my snipping successes AND raise money for the long list of kitties I have yet to snip, 100% of the sales in my Etsy shop from today thru September will go toward spaying & neutering & vaccinating cats and kittens in my area!! The costs add up quickly, so your purchases will make a HUGE difference in the lives of our furry friends. THANK YOU!!!

Skippy, Sammy, Suki and Scout thank you too :)! Purr, purr, purr....

SUPER Summer SNIPPET SALE!!!

I am having a midsummer sale as promised! Select SnipPet dolls are 25% off and my SnipPet paintings are 50% off! Click here to go straight to my etsy shop sale section. Some of your favorites just might be listed :)!



I have a new rescued foster kitty that i will be blogging about this weekend! She is quite the character....a very chatty lilac point siamese girl! I've never ever fostered a siamese, so this is new to me.

Have a GREAT weekend!!! Many purrs to all of you!

New Munchkins in my Etsy Shop!

Ta Daaaaa! I just finished up 4 new munchkin cuties. They are available in my etsy shop. I am offering free shipping to my blog followers and facebook friends! Just let me know if you want one, and i can reserve it for you and change the shipping to zero :).

ENJOY the little lineup!

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.

ONE DAY only SNIPPET SALE in my Etsy Shop!!

Good morning to my beautiful blogger buddies!! I am celebrating my 9th wedding anniversary on this 20th day of May, so I thought i would have a 29% off sale in my etsy shop to celebrate!! Why not spread the love:)??? If you have been wanting to adopt a SnipPet animal, head on over to my shop and make him/her yours today. Instructions on how to receive your discount are at the top of the page in my shop announcement. Click here. Sale ends tonight at midnight.

Brian and I got married on a cliff overlooking the ocean on May 20, 2000. It was the best day EVER! We were surrounded by 23 of our closest friends and family members. It drizzled lightly as we exchanged our vows, but right after the ceremony, the sun came out and a HUGE rainbow and 2 kittens (seriously!) appeared as we all headed out of the tent to enjoy the ocean waves. Quite a magical day.... I am so lucky to have the most wonderful husband on the planet. Who else would support, encourage and love my art and cat craziness wholeheartedly? Thank goodness he does! I don't have any photos of our special day on the computer (I need a scanner!), so here is a recent beach photo instead.

Creative displays and SnipPet SALE reminder~~

As I wait for a layer of paint to dry on my current creations, I thought i would remind you about my Super SnipPet Sale. Many of my circus critters are 40% off in honor of Mother's Day!! This sale will end on May 10, so head on over to the SnipPet shop soon!



Now for some fun display ideas! Last fall, I bought 3 antique wheel molds at a local flea market. I thought they would be the perfect, unique, sculptural accent for our family room. Of course, since i am not a minimalist (and have to embellish everything!!!), I decided to paint the wall within the molds in a sky pattern and use them as frames for my circus themed artwork and special finds (the carousel horse is an ebay treasure). And then, it hit me! This was meant to be...a 3 ring circus on my wall!!! I love when things magically fall into place like that.



Here is another whimsical spot in my house.... these carved wooden deer are my best bargain finds EVER!!!! I saw them online and in Atlanta at one of my favorite shops selling for several hundred dollars each and fell in love with them. Then, months later, i went to the Ballard's Design outlet warehouse, and they were desperate to move merchandise out that day. I almost fell over when i saw that they had the deer sculptures marked down to $20 each!! I kept asking the manager, "Are you suuuure???? Really??" I never get THAT lucky. The manager wanted me to take the 5 that they had, so he ended up giving me an extra 20% off of the sale price. Unbelievable. So, here they are living in a little painted forest on my stairwell.

Super SnipPet Sale!

Head on over to the SnipPet shop on Etsy for a HUGE sale on some of my one-of-a-kind, circus inspired animal dolls! Woohoo for sales in this dreadful economy, right?! We all need a break, so I am giving you one :). Maybe you will find a special gift for mom or a treasure for yourself. Here's a little hint at one of the pieces you will see....



Happy Sunday to all of my SnipPet friends! And many thanks from the bottom of my heart to those who left me SUCH kind comments on my sad little post yesterday. I can't tell you how much your words meant. xoxo

Leave it to me to do things a bit backward....

When I create my paperclay animals, i never do preliminary sketches....i really don't plan much at all. They just sort of evolve as I go. Well, years ago, i decided to do drawings of my completed animal dolls and ended up compiling a children's storybook with them. Soooo, I decided to revisit that concept yesterday. I did a little colored pencil and ink illustration of my Tweedledum sculpture. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it, so I pulled out some small canvases and began playing with the idea of a collage painting. After some more drawing and cutting and pasting and painting and varnishing, this is what appeared! The process may be a bit backward, but there aren't any rules in how art is created, right? I was having a terrible day up to this point, so i had to add some verbage to the painting to remind me to just SMILE!!! This painting is available for purchase in my etsy shop for a very affordable price.



Here is something else that makes me smile no matter what! My sweet pea, Rosie...aka the Oozie Buddha. Love her!!!! Look at that body! Hilarious.



I had a very successful cat trapping adventure on Sunday night that i have been dying to share with you, but i forgot to take photos so i am waiting to post until i get some good pics. Stay tuned.