I See The Light At the End of the Tunnel!

Thank you to all of my wonderful customers for making this my busiest holiday season ever! I'm still tying up lots of loose ends and will be playing catch-up for another week or so, then looking forward to some play time and lots of cat naps under Buttonwillow's tutelage.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON CUSTOM PORTRAITS: I am still working my way through orders for custom portraits that were received in December, but I think I actually see the faint glow of daylight at the end of the tunnel! Orders are taking a week or two longer than the normal 3-4 weeks. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns about an order.

Due to a backlog and other time constraints, I will not be able to take on any new orders for custom portraits at this time. If you are a return customer and we've already talked about future portraits, drop me a line and we'll work out a time frame.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your support of my creative endeavors. It means a lot to me!

Merry Christmas!

Just had to share this beautiful photo from Cat Lady Sharon of her lovely Coco enjoying the holiday! Blessings to you and yours.

photo by Cat Lady Sharon

More Cat Telepathy

It seems that Buttonwillow is not the only cat who has to resort to telepathy when needing to get an important message across to those who do not understand the meaning of meow. Based on the responses so far in the Holiday Giveaway, most telepathic messages have to do with gastronomy or unwelcome guests:

Junior and Orion said,"Well, we tell our Meowm all the time to 'FEED US NOW!' She doesn't listen too well."

In Cat Lady Cyndi's world the message is: "When are you getting rid of that dog?!?!?"

Cat Lady Amy of Amy's Stocking Stuffers tells a story of a message coming through LOUD and CLEAR: "I'm pretty sure that when I trapped another stray a few months ago and had her overnight in the laundry room... I was bombarded by telepathic messages from at least 3 of my current 7 saying 'Don't you DARE bring another cat in here!' In fact, so strongly did I feel that they wanted the new intruder (eventually named Freddie by her new person) far, far away, that I flew Freddie from TX to NY, using Feline Fella Paul's frequent flyer miles to do so. (For the record, I do not recommend flying with a cat unless absolutely necessary. We did not enjoy ourselves on the flight. My fellow passengers did not seem to appreciate the yowling either. And that was AFTER giving Freddie a sedative!)"

Buttonwillow is informing me that she has a telepathic message for YOU.

She is saying "Resistance is futile. You are now a captive of my endless charms and will go to this blog post: CAT TELEPATHY (And a Holiday Giveaway) and you will tell me in the comments section what YOUR cat is telling you telepathically. Your reward will be a chance to win one of FIVE prizes in a giveaway that ends tomorrow night. Thank you and good luck. Oh, and while I have you under my spell, send tuna treats. Pronto."

Thanks for visiting!

Cat Telepathy (and a Holiday Giveaway)

It's been a tad hectic here at World Headquarters. We've been working day and night in the workshop finishing paintings and filling orders, and at Buttonwillow's suggestion, I used toaster waffles and chocolate as bait to lure a couple elves into helping us. In just the last three days we've shipped 50 packages. In the past weeks we've sent parcels as far away as Norway, Brazil, Australia, Nova Scotia, Great Britain, and even Turkey!

In fact, it's been so busy around here that occasionally a small bicolor cat can get lost in the shuffle.

That's where telepathy comes in.

Here is a photo of Buttonwillow sending me a telepathic message.
Can you guess what she is saying?

Allow me to translate.
She is saying, "Whatsa girl gotta do around here to get some attention?"
Distracted, I ignore her.


Now she is saying, "Sheesh. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Here. Allow me to open the cupboard for you. {{Damn, I hope Santa brings me some opposable thumbs for Christmas}}."

Just where did she learn language like that? Santa might bring her coal instead.

"Okay, are you getting the idea now?"

"No? Now I'm POINTING to the one I want."

Still no response from the slow-moving simian-like creature.
Buttonwillow (still speaking telepathically) says, "Oh you poor addled thing. If it's going to help move things along here, I'll even get it out of the cupboard for you..."

"...and I'll remind you where the food dish is, in case you've forgotten. Just follow me."

Is your favorite feline staring at you right now? No doubt telepathy is at work. What message is your cat sending to you? Share it in the comments section below, and your name will be thrown in the hat for a chance to win one of FIVE giveaway prizes! Entries may also be left on my Facebook post--only one entry per person will count, however. Giveaway ends Sunday, December 19 at midnight, when five names will be drawn at random to win one of these 5 prizes:

A lavender tabletop pomander, a deluxe bookmark, a "birdbrain" glass pendant, glass dangle earrings, or a catnip ravioli toy.
















Please make sure that I have a way to contact you in case you are the lucky winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address included in your comment.

Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, please contact me by e-mail --you'll find a link under my Profile.

(And don't forget to enter my other giveaway going on over at The Conscious Cat where the winner gets his/her choice of ANY wearable art glass pendant from my Etsy shop!)

Thanks for participating!!

Quick Announcement

Just a quick note to let everyone know that my Etsy shop will close on Dec. 17 and I will be taking a small break to catch my breath . Due to my current backlog of custom orders, I will not be able to take on any new custom portrait orders until after the first of the year. On other items from my shop, I can no longer guarantee Christmas delivery on items shipped first class.

Thank you to all of my wonderful customers, both old and new, for making this my busiest holiday season ever! Pass the eggnog!

Cat Lady Spotlight...And a Giveaway!!

Would you like to consciously create a joyful life that fully reflects who you really are? Are you looking for information to keep your furry family members healthy, happy and content?

Meet Cat Lady Ingrid: Writer, Author, Reiki Master Practitioner, and all-round feline fanatic who has a special place in her heart for tortoiseshell kitties.

Her blog, The Conscious Cat is a an inspirational resource for conscious living, health and happiness for pets and their people. The blog was originally inspired by Amber - a beautiful tortie - who Ingrid describes as "a very wise old soul in a feline body". It was with great sadness that Ingrid and fans said goodbye to Amber this past spring, but it wasn't long before another beautiful tortie named Allegra found her way into our hearts. The Consious Cat also contains lessons from Buckley (you guessed it, another terrific tortie!), who is the subject of Ingrid's recently published book Buckley’s Story – Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Ingrid, who is hosting a Susan Faye Giveaway over at The Conscious Cat. The winner will receive their choice of any one of my glass tile pendants. For more information and to enter the giveaway, visit this post: An Interview With Susan Faye . The giveaway ends December 22.

Thanks for visiting!

What's Cookin' At World Headquarters ...(And In Cat Lady Kitchens Across the Country)

It's just killing me that I can't show you the portraits that I've been working on, because they are Christmas Secrets. But who can resist a little peek under the tree, or even rattling the boxes a little? So here are just a few little peeks, but no rattling please:

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Here's what was cooking in the kitchen of cake decorator Wendy recently...Wendy wanted to create a special birthday cake for her sister Susan. It turns out that Susan's husband calls her "Groovy Cat". Wendy kindly contacted me and asked if she could reproduce my "groovy cat" artwork on a cake just for fun. I never met a Susan OR an icing-topped baked good I didn't like, so of course I said "YES!" Here is the result: a groovy flower power cake "hat" that is mod to the max!

Wendy reports: "She loved it! It was so cute, she kept opening the fridge to look at it. My husband came into the kitchen while I was working on the band around the bottom, and told me I was nuts! I have never done a cake with so much detail, just in that area." You can see more pictures at Cake Central.

By the way, in case you were wondering as I was, the cake was "Chunky Monkey": alternating layers ( 2 each) of vanilla and banana cake with chocolate butter cream and peanut butter filling. {{excuse me while I wipe the drool off my chin}} Says Wendy: "Not a scrap was left, Sue kept trying to cut around the cat, and it was the last piece standing".

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Here's what's NOT cooking in the kitchen of Cat Lady Serafima: it's a CATATO!
Yes, the little felinesque creature on the left is actually a potato that strangely resembled the cute little pottery cat on the left. A little paint and some lima bean eyes and voila! Pottery cat has a new best friend!

Serafima's native city is St. Petersburg, Russia, and she currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and kitties. She is passionate about compassion and animal rights and rescue. You can enjoy her artwork, poetry, and music at her website.

Thanks for visiting!

A Big Thank You and a Discount

I'm coming up for air to say "Hello" and to say a BIG thank you for keeping me so BUSY!!

Thank you to all of my customers old and new for your orders over the past week. The Turkey Day Etsy Coupon Code worked great (well, there were a couple hiccups, but they were easily resolved...) so here is a new one for my blog friends: Enter the coupon code THANKYOU10 at checkout and receive 10 percent off of your entire purchase from my Etsy online shop from now until Sunday, December 5th.

If the coupon code gremlins should make mischief or you forget to enter the code and wind up paying full price, never fear-- just drop me a line and I will refund the 10 percent via Paypal.

In the meantime, I'm diving back in with about 20 items to ship today, and about 20 more custom portraits to finish in the next 10 days. They are all in various stages of the process, with five that I will finish up today. For those of you waiting to see the finished pieces, I appreciate your patience--I want to give each and every one the attention it deserves but at the same time I hear the tick-tock-tick-tock of time slipping away so fast!! So I'm signing off, but before heading back to the workshop I don't want to forget...

As millions of candles are lit tonight around the world in celebration of miraculous possibilities, I'm wishing my Jewish friends a very Happy Hanukkah!!