Daily Cat Cartoon 6 Cat Doing Housework

Another example of cat team spirit: doing the dishes for the family! It's a dirty job and someone's gotta do it. Step one: wash. 

Daily Cat Cartoon 5 Trained by My Cats

I've been well trained by my cats. I know when they want to eat. I know what they like to eat. And if I buy more than a few cans of it, they will no longer like to eat it. It is up to me to figure out what they then like to eat.

I know when they want me to get out of bed. And while in bed, I am allowed the corner of the pillow closest to the edge of the bed. If I stray close to the middle, I wake up with a hairy weight across my forehead.

I know I am not allowed to visit the bathroom unaccompanied. I cannot use the bathroom without turning on water in the sink. I cannot use the bathroom facilities without a tail wagging in my face like a metronome while they perch on the sink.

Meals demand a close inspection of my food. In stereo. I know I must present my food and explain it is something they don't like to eat. This is never accepted at face value. It must be sniffed. With vigor. And if I've been truthful, they leave me to it. I always offer a bite if I know they will enjoy it. Somehow, this
has not instilled trust. There will be sniffing.

I know I cannot let them both walk on the porch at the same time. One goes out. I sit down and get comfortable and then the other must go out.

Then I sit down and get comfortable. Then I must let the first one back in. I sit down . . . :)

Surtex is just a couple of days away! The Montage Licensing team is already en route to NY, representing the work of 16 artists, (including mine). Surtex, the international marketplace for original art and design, is in its 26th year. Montage Licensing, owned and operated by veteran licensed artist Kimberly Montgomery, is at Booth 464, so be sure to stop by and meet Kimberly and Heather!

Kimberly has been a small business owner for 20 years and a successful licensed artist whose work has been featured on hundreds of products, so she brings years of experience as an artist working with manufacturers and their needs to the job of  promoting and supporting other artists looking to license their work. Kimberly also offers consulting and portfolio review for artists who are looking at licensing as a next step. She's also one of the nicest people you'll ever meet!


I am not going to Surtex this year, but will follow the excitement over the next few days from a few of the artists represented by Kimberly in their popular blogs: The Moon From My Attic, by Alex Colombo, Joan Beiriger's Licensing, Tamara Holland's Bean Up the Nose Art, and Marilyn MacGregor's Artsmarttalk.

Good designs inspire me: Betsy Bush at GCU

Betsy complimented me this morning by blogging about my cards at GCU-for a design challenge Corrie Kuipers created on behalf of GCU and its artists. It was such a nice gesture and I had not noticed this challenge yet, so I wanted to genuinely thank Betsy in my own blog because I have been a fan of her designs as well.

I visited Betsy's Dragonfire Graphics shop a month or so ago and found a series of designs I loved. I'm always inspired by good designs and Betsy's birthday series is one of my favorites. It's a challenge to edit your ideas when you're designing cards--when you are specifically trying to express feelings from one person to another, the purpose of cards, you just want to fill the design with all of the wonderful things that come to heart and mind, but the sentiment and thoughts do have to be clear and not cluttered. I think these designs, 3 of her birthday series and two from other collections, are so good because they are simple, clear, and lovely.

      

There are a lot of artists on GCU and I think half a million or so cards--something for everyone!

sharon

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!