Blessing Art Cards receives Design of the Day

My Christmas card, Season's Greetings Christmas Trees with Lights in Snow won Design of the Day on Greeting Card Universe today: 

At Greeting Card Universe, "Over 400,000 cards, 4,000 artists,  10,000 categories = lots of happy customers"

Round Robin: Great Pumpkin

Another fun lightning round in the Greeting Card Universecommunity--this time it's for Halloween! Be sure to visit these great posts from greeting card artists:


Plus I won the random drawing for a gift certificate to Amazon! I knew Halloween was my favorite holiday :)

It's Halloween or Howl-oween!
"I love Halloween..."
Blessing Art Cards, Sharon Fernleaf

Countdown to Halloween
"Halloween, a day of fantasy and fun..."
Che Bella Nota, Teri Nelson Kuster

The Big Pumpkin
“I”m born in Hong Kong, so Halloween for me is the most unusual holiday…"
Painted Cottage, Judith Cheng

Twisted Rainbows: It’s Halloween!
“It’s the time of year when ghosts and ghouls like to frolic in the streets…”
Reel Cards, R.P. Bulanadi

Happy Halloween
“Boo! Did I scare you?”
Tanitu, Creative Paradise

Colors of Halloween
“I have made two color palettes that scream the fall colors of the Halloween season…”
Dragonfire Graphics, Betsy Bush

Grumpy Halloween
“Help yourself to a little sweet orange treat…”
Naquiaya’s Cards, Naquaiya

Oh, Great Pumpkin, Where Are You?
“Cute, scary, on the doorstep or in food, I love pumpkins!”
What Dreams May Come, Maryann Nolan

Ooh… Candy Corn!
“20 million pounds of candy corn are sold annually...”
Hand-Me-Downz, Richard Skelley

Halloween Memories
“Happy Halloween, everyone!”
Warm Traditions, Candace J. Hardy

Free Holiday Card from Blessing Art Animals and Zazzle!

Christmas Tree Take Down, Cat by BlessingArtAnimals


Free Holiday Greeting Card from Blessing Art Animals and Zazzle! This design was an Editor's Choice on Kate Harper's Greeting Card Designer blog. Shop for Christmas gifts, funny Christmas cards, and more at Zazzle! Use the promo code RRETEYGCPISR to get one free holiday card printed with the design above. Limit one per customer. 
Spread the word!


100% of card net sale price (excluding shipping and taxes) is deducted when qualifying http://www.zazzle.com/137198299855420179 greeting card is purchased from http://www.zazzle.com/BlessingArtAnimals and the coupon code RRETEYGCPISR is applied at checkout. Offer does not apply to create your own cards. Offer does not apply to card orders of two or more. Buyer is responsible for shipping and handling and sales tax charges. Failure to comply with promotional offer conditions may result in order cancellation. Offer is valid through November 24, 2011 at 11:59pm PT. Offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

It's Halloween or Howl-oween!

I love Halloween! When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to finish dinner and dishes and put on my costume, run around the neighborhood at night and come home with goodies. In those days, (was it THAT long ago?), people were not afraid to let their children receive homemade treats like caramel apples, popcorn balls, brownies or cookies. It was a different time, but Halloween is still fun for kids. And big kids, like me :) And Halloween cards are fun to send or receive, like the ones I found below, from Greeting Card Universe:

October 22 is National Pitbull Awareness Day

Today is National Pit Bull Awareness Day! I have known Pit Bulls through friends and a family member and they have all been sweet, loving animals. I'm glad to see that there is a campaign to help change the unfair image they have. When they are raised with love and discipline, like any puppy, they grow into balanced, loving, disciplined adult dogs. It is the person raising the puppy who determines that. When they are raised to be mean, they will be mean. So will children.

Here are some cards on Greeting Card Universe that show what a sweet and beautiful animal the Pit Bull is:
(You can click on the card image to be taken to the card shop and artist offering the card)

Remember to love the dog. We can change the Pit Bull image one dog at a time.

Greeting Card Universe Round Robin: Cancer

Yesterday's post was part of a "Lightning Round" challenge with greeting card artists and their blogs or Squidoo lenses within the Greeting Card Universe community. The subject this month: Cancer, in  honor of October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are several wonderful stories  I hope you'll check out. Here is a list of the participants and their individual blogs along with a wonderful selection of  cards related to cancer from GCU:

Breast Cancer Awareness and Pink Ribbon Cards & Gifts
“Believe in the power of the pink ribbon…”
TANITU, Creative Paradise

Breast Cancer Awareness Month
“I cannot remember a time when when there wasn’t a dear friend or family member battling cancer…”
Cards from the Heart, Lisa Charlton

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
“My mother had breast cancer as well as lung cancer…”
Eliz Designs, Elizabeth Eells

Ways to be Supportive, Helpful and Encouraging for Cancer Patients
“This post is in honor of our friends, colleagues and family members who are currently battling this dreadful disease…”
Heart to Art, Sri Devi

Breast Cancer Awareness
“There are several things you should look for when doing a self exam…”
Sheryl Kasper Card Store, Sheryl Kasper

Barbara’s Story
“Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Barbara has battled breast cancer since 1997, what better time to tell Barbara’s story?”
Rycky Creations, Robin Chaffin

Breast Cancer Awareness Month
“Most advanced breast cancer cases are found in women over age 50…”
Janet Lee Designs, Janet Palaggi

Cancer Bummer
“I was diagnosed with cancer about 12 years ago.”
I Love Cuttables, Cindy Johns

October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month
“Cancer is cruel, cancer makes no exceptions…”
At Sparky’s, Antoinette Van Kleef

Canine & Feline Cancer
“I’ve seen much too much cancer in the lives of my beloved pets over the years…”
Salon of Art, Doreen Erhardt

A Sobering Subject
“I think, today, how cancer has impacted my life…”
Warm Traditions, Candace J. Hardy

Pets and Wildlife Cancer, October Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, drawing much needed attention to cancer and its lesser known forms such as pancreatic cancer, a form of the illness that is on the rise and took the life of Steve Jobs this past week, or breast and cervical cancer which are on the rise in poor countries. And one area of cancer research we do not often hear about, cancer in pets and wildlife, which is also on the rise.

Cat Cancer
Cats have an increase of sarcomas in the location of their vaccine injections, according to the Vacccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force. "The VAFSTF is a combined effort of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association, American Association of Feline Practitioners, and Veterinary Cancer Society, the task force consists of representatives from each of the groups, veterinary researchers and clinicians, and representatives from the USDA/APHIS and the Animal Health Institute." "In 1991 Veterinarians began noticing a higher number of sarcomas    a connection has been made between vaccines and feline sarcoma, a malignant tumor arising from connective tissues." Veterinarians insist it is more beneficial than harmful to have the vaccine than not, but to discuss it with your vet.

Dog Cancer
"There appears to be a cruel and bitter parallel between the rise in numbers of Canine Cancers and the same trend in Human cancers. Cancer in dogs was pretty rare not so long ago. Now, Lymphoma & Osteosarcoma are becoming increasingly commonplace, followed closely by others such as Melanoma, Fibrosarcoma, Thyroid and Anal gland carcinoma." says Michele Ovens in her Squidoo lens, The Rise of Canine Cancer.

Cancer in Wildlife

An article in Scientific American by Crystal Gammon, suggests there may be a link between a rise in wildlife cancer and environmental contaminants. She cites several studies including Beluga whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary, California Sea Lions, catfish in the Great Lakes, and North Sea flounder.

Denise McAloose, a pathologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, and who recently reviewed the topic in the journal Nature Reviews Cancer, notes “We know that toxic compounds in the environment can cause cancer in humans, so it's not a far stretch to realize that pollutants can cause cancer in animals”.

It does seem reasonable to assume that if environmental factors contribute to cancer in humans, they will likewise affect the animals we share the planet with.  So a month of attention brought to bear on Breast Cancer can also help shed light on cancer's many faces and hopefully move us that much closer to finding a way to rid ourselves of its destructiveness once and for all. In the meantime, we can love and support those of us living with cancer today. There are wonderful cards available by many artists on Greeting Card Universe for sharing with cancer survivors, their families and friends. Here is a sample:





By Corrie Kuipers

By Sandra Rose Designs




by Diana Liu

Greeting Card Universe Design of the Day Oct. 1

Happy to start October off with a Design of the Day award at GCU!  Here is the new cat birthday card, "Happy Purrday", and the dog version for puppy lovers:

  

A sampling of wonderful pet birthday cards
by other GCU artists: (Kontinental Kitties, 
Christine Quimby, and Corrie Kuipers, respectively)

    

October 16th is National Feral Cat Day! 

I'm watching this wonderful documentary on The Cat House On The Kings,called   "The Lady with 700 Cats". This woman, Lynnea Lattanzio, founded the org. which is a non-profit and currently takes care of 700+ cats who otherwise would have been euthenized. She's my new hero :) they are situated on 12 acres along the King's River in Parlier, CA. 


for more info go here: http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/

Dog Groomer Square Sticker from Zazzle.com

Dog Groomer Square Sticker from Zazzle.com

The hardest working artist I know! Corrie Kuipers

I have always loved Corrie Kuipers' artwork since I came across it on Cafepress years ago. She has a greeting card shop on Greeting Card Universe where all of the humor and whimsy she puts into her work has thousands of expressions. She is one of the bestselling artists on GCU and one of the hardest working.

I've also known her to be one of the most generous artists out there because she's often helping other artists be more successful. I don't know how she finds time to do everything she does. Really! Maybe it's something in the water in the Netherlands :)

If you want to sell your greeting cards on Greeting Card Universe, check out Corrie's GCU community blog,  and the Card Designing Tips and Sales Tips lenses on Squidoo. They will give you all the tools you'll need to be successful on GCU. Just add your 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration and you will be as prepared as you can be for successful greeting card sales.

New Squidoo lens on Cats and Greeting Cards

www.squidoo.com

The Best Cat Artists on Greeting Card Universe

Heather Broster is a greeting card artist living in Turin, Italy (i'm jealous :) and she has a blog, Fluffy the Cat written by her furry companion. She started a new Squidoo lens devoted to cat-focused artists on Greeting Card Universe, including me (thanks! :)

Speaking of cats . . .
I have a new cats and motorcycle safety design! Why? Because these cats just wanted to wear helmets.  


cats and motorcycle helmets! Stickers

Took my daughter To Portland International Airport

I miss her already! My daughter came to visit for a couple of weeks and it was soooo nice to see her.  She lives in Scottsdale, AZ and I am trying to convince her that Portland would be wonderful :) 


Picking her UP from the airport was a hoot, lol. I spent a little time driving around the IKEA parking lot, trying to find my way back out to the airport  exit I missed. It's pretty big and there are lots of planes . . .don't know how I missed it . . . GPS doodads were created for people like me.

Anyway, it's a nice drive from Salem to Portland and it's a beautiful day, AND she's my favorite person on the planet, so . . .I feel glad to have all that. She's off now and I'm thinking of "I Miss You" designs for cards. This is a new one:

Thinking of You, Bird

The Cats are adjusting to Oregon

Well, the cats and I have been here in Oregon for a few weeks now and I think we are adjusting to all the green. They flop over on their backs in the front yard and roll back and forth on the grass, especially after it's just been mown--all the nice stubby grass feels good!

Albuquerque, our home for 15 years, is beautiful, but it is not green. In fact, flying over Albuquerque you notice how not green it is. What it is is many lovely shades of brown. And we didn't have a lawn, lawns are too thirsty for a dry environment, but we did have 2 acres for the cats to roam and a driveway with plenty of places to hide so they could jump out and startle you when you walked up from getting the mail. A favorite cat past time :)

New Mexico evening

I have a lot of images of New Mexico on my camera that I want to paint in the near future. I especially love the hills and the Sandias when they turn pink in the evening, all the sun and long shadows. For now though,
we are busy getting used to moisture in the air and rolling in the grass, hiding behind the blackberry bushes and working on new card designs for Greeting Card Universe.

Check out this cool fan page I found!

Check out this cool fan page I found!

Thanks to Emily for featuring one of my cat designs on her blog, Creative Artist's Blog! She features designs by other artists and today is all about cats :) 

Kathy's Needlework Canvases

If you love needlepoint , you should check out a fun store on Ebay: Kathy's Needlework Canvases:

"Kathy's Needleworks caters to the discriminating, adventurous needlepoint artisan. We are proud that some of the best contemporary artists around collaborate with us-- enabling us to offer beautiful works in folk and modern art on quality Zweigart needlepoint canvas."

Kathleen Mason runs the store (very nice woman!) and she has a wide variety of designs for needlepoint aficianados looking for something new. She has folk art, or cats and dogs,
several artists who sell on Ebay like Annie Lane, Jan Weiss, Lori Everett, Ryta, and Sandra Silberzweig. I have a page too :) She offers needlepoint designs that you won't find
anywhere else. And for me, having my art as a needlepoint design is new and fun!

There have to be some needlepoint-loving cat moms out there, so this one is for you :)

Salem Friends of Felines

I saw this wonderful window while I was driving the other day. In it was a kitty jungle gym and a beautiful cat laying contentedly on top, looking out at the passing traffic. I was on my way somewhere or would have stopped in, but on my list of must-dos! It's Salem Friends of Felines, a cat rescue and adoption organization with attached thrift store. They are a no-kill organization for cats in Salem, Oregon. Here is their website and info:

Our Mission Statement:
To help as many homeless cats and kittens as we can by placing them in loving permanent homes; to reduce feline over-population through education and our spay/neuter assistance program; and to bring more public awareness to the plight of homeless and unwanted cats.

They offer spay and neuter help through a voucher program. Call this number to get in touch with a volunteer:

503 362-5611

You can adopt cats and kittens from this location or at the Petsmart on Lancaster Dr. NE.

Pet Rescue and Adoption organizations work very hard and depend on volunteers to run. So, let's hear it for animal lovers and volunteers!

Greeting Card for Thanks Volunteers

My Friend, Amma the Nearly-Feral Cat

I have a cat friend named Amma who was found as a small kitten under our shed along with a very feral, spitting mother cat. They both eventually became tamer, but the "feral" will always be there. I'm glad. Feral in a cat means the cat belongs to itself, not us. I named her Amma for Amma, the hugging Saint. (I was reading her biography at the time and Amma, the cat, is very loving when she chooses to be around us.)

Amma is still skittish around us, but when she wants attention, she will come right up and rub rub rub, then head butt, all the while talking a blue streak. And this can go on for a good half hour. I try to make sure I give her that focus when she asks for it because when she has had enough, she's gone. She prefers to be outside when it isn't freezing.

Amma has blue eyes and short hair, looks like a Siamese, but is big and heavy like a Ragdoll. She's a beautiful girl. And she is the inspiration for several of my cat drawings, like the one below, that is a refrigerator magnet.

Amma is one example of what Alley Cat Allies and Coronadocats.org in Phoenix describe as cats who happily live outdoors, with a little help in the way of spaying or neutering, and vaccinating. When Amma wants human contact, she comes and asks for it, clearly, and when she wants a treat or a little cat food, she lets you know. Trying to pick her up to hug is like chasing mercury across the floor.

Here is a link to a great article on feral cat communities.

Kittens and Kitties and Cats Oh My!

Yesterday's post was part of a "Lightning Round" challenge with graphic artists and their blogs within the Greeting Card Universe community. And what fun! I have a master list of the participants and their individual blogs along with a wonderful selection of kitty cards from GCU.

Here's the list, enjoy!

LIGHTNING ROUND: KITTIES

Furry Friends
“Animals are such agreeable friends...”
Painted Cottage, Judith Cheng

Cats Are Angels Among Us
“Let’s face it, cat lovers are passionate about their cats…”
Rycky Creations, Robin Chaffin

Jack and Lillie: The Story of Two Rescues
“Jack and Lillie are cats...”
DB Visual Arts, Denise Beverly

Friends with Fur
“I wish I could say I have kitties and cats running all over the place...”
Janet Lee Designs, Janet Palaggi

An Ode to Kitties
“I love cats...”
Diana’s Cards, Diana Delosh

For All Us Cat Lovers
“A life without cats?!? A love story...”
Aura2000, Aura 2000

Everyday Art: Inspirational Kitties and Cats
“The key to finding inspiration in everyday places and things is observing…”
Sun at Night Studios, Sun at Night

Feline Friends
“Cats can be great companions...”
Sunshine’s Creative Explorations, Donna Lorello

Feline Fever
“I fell in love with cats almost twenty years ago...”
It’s a Beautiful World, Catherine Sherman

The Kitty and the Mashed Potatoes
“Sulu was a rescued feral kitten...”
Kilter Cards, A Ley

Luna, a New Family Member
“My daughter and her boyfriend just got a sweet little kitten a couple days ago...”
I Love Cuttables, Cindy Johns

Cats in Love
“Could it be that cats in love express more with their body language than we can imagine?”
Naquiaya’s Cards, Naquaiya

Meow, Meow, Meow
“Being the owner (did I say that?) of five cats…”
Cherie’s Arts ‘N Crafts, Cherie

When the Cat’s Away
“Cats, can anyone truly resist them?”
Salon of Art, Doreen Erhardt

Our Beautiful Gypsy Kitty
“One day probably 20 years ago a gorgeous seven toed calico cat just showed up literally on our doorstep…”
Dragonfire Graphics, Betsy Bush

Here, Kitty! Kitty! Kitty
“DogBreedz isn’t only about Man’s Best Friend…”
DogBreedz, Peggy Mundell

My Rescue Cat Speckles: A Love Story
“On one blazing hot summer night in 2006 in Plano, Texas, a cat wandered outside next to the large patio of my apartment…”
This & That, Rick McBride

CorrieWeb is the Cat’s Meow
“I love kitties!”
CorrieWeb, Corrie Kuipers

I Was Always a Dog Person
“Kitties were an acquired taste for me...”
Cottage Creek Greetings, John H. Johnson

My Cat Loves Birthday Candles
“I live with a cat who is fascinated by fire…”
Blessing Art Cards, Sharon Fernleaf

New ‘Kit’ On the Block
“Introducing Abby, our newest critter kid!”
Cards from the Heart, Lisa Charlton

My Cat Loves Birthday Candles

I live with a cat who is fascinated by fire. Maybe because he started life being cold. We were given two male kittens who were 2 days old and abandoned by their young mother. One was half the size of his brother and a little cool to the touch. I put him inside my shirt, over my heart and held him in place there for two days, rubbing his tiny back. At the end of the second day he was a lot warmer and active. I named him Tagni, an ancient Etruscan name he likes. He’s a small guy with a huge personality and a few quirks.

When he was really young he would walk around the house barking. I reminded him he was a cat and that dogs bark, kittens meow. He stopped barking and I was sorry I had mentioned it. He is also the only one of our cats who loves broccoli and brussels sprouts. He likes to take a sniff or sample of whatever I’m cooking or spices I open and then walks away. Educating his palate.

Eight years later, Tagni still loves to lay next to my heart. He also likes to get too close to flames so I have to be careful when lighting candles. Especially this year . . .This year’s birthday cake had enough candles to pose a serious threat to the table it was sitting on, let alone a curious cat. It could have been a CATastrophe J For kitty birthday fun:

One of my cats and birthday cards Birthday Spa Treatments
I have an orange tabby, so I love Jamie Wogan Edwards' Apple Girl With Tabby
And one of Corrie Kuipers' wonderful birthday cats Sweet

Reopened my Ebay store

I reopened my store on Ebay, Blessing Art Cat and Dog Gifts recently and have put up new paintings, new designs for pet professions, and some fun animal art. I used to paint a lot of folk
art featuring dogs and cats and landscapes. I have focused more on designing for my online shops the last few years, but I miss painting with acrylics.