The Call of the Wild...

Illustration Friday

(theme: "lush")

The lush greenery of the new bouquet in the dining room caused Hubert's brain to spontaneously imagine that he was wild jungle beast. The urge to stalk unsuspecting prey surged through the sinewy muscles of his panther-like body, causing him to leap into action without further thought.  That's when the unfortunate accident happened and Hubert once again became a house cat, feigning surprise at the bouquet now suddenly askew on the floor as he carefully tiptoed around the large puddle forming on the carpet.

New Shadow Box Art!

As I've mentioned before, I had a beautiful love affair with shoebox dioramas in grade school.  I was equally in love with the fancy sugar eggs at Easter that had peepholes and charming miniature tableaux inside. So it should be no surprise that I take childlike delight in making my shadow box magnets and desktop dioramas...

Here is my work table with several in progress.  I print my artwork onto high quality heavy paper stock and begin to snip snip snip, then glue glue glue: 

Here are the newest designs that I recently came up with using elements from some of my illustrations (all recently added to my Etsy shop):

A ginger-orange tuxedo tabby mom and kitten magnet..

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104999366/orange-tuxedo-tabby-cat-and-kitten

A longhair ginger-orange tabby cat mom and kitten magnet...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104999111/orange-tabby-cat-and-ginger-kitten

A Maine Coon tabby cat mom and kitten magnet...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104998610/maine-coon-tabby-cat-and-kitten-shadow

And a Desktop Diorama featuring cats Gardner and Flora from my Garden Shed illustration..

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106697972/shadow-box-3-d-cat-art-garden-shed

To see my tutorial on making a Desktop Dioriama, click here:

Make a Desktop Diorama

 To see my full line of 3-D shadowbox/ diorama/ shrine/ tableaux, visit this link to my Etsy shop section:

Susan Faye Shadow Box Art  

 

Thanks for visiting!

New Items In My Etsy Shop!

This week I am celebrating the ginger-ey goodness of orange stripey tiger cats!  

I've added new personalizable pendants and matching earrings to my Susan Faye's Pet Projects Etsy Shop featuring both orange/red/ginger tabbies and orange and white tuxedos. 

Orange Tuxedo Shorthair

Orange Tabby Tuxedo Longhair

Each of these color combos comes in both shorthair and longhair versions, with four background colors to choose from. If my math is correct, that's 16 different variations to choose from! 

[Yes, I've been very busy... ]

Orange Tabby or Maine Coon Longhair

I handcraft each sparkling pendant using a mini print of my whimsical artwork which is preserved under crystal-clear glass, then sealed on the back. The glass tile is 3/4-inch wide and 1-1/4 inches tall and features a silvertone bail. 

Orange Tabby Shorthair

 Pendants may be personalized on the back with a pet's name or other short "heart" phrase of your choice...

And here are the matching earring choices:

[Yes, I've been very VERY busy.]

Click here to visit my Etsy shop and see 

all of my jewelry designs currently available: 

Susan Faye's Pet Projects Etsy Shop

Thanks for visiting! 

Those Delicious Redheads of the Cat World

artwork copyright 2012 Susan Faye

Does your heart belong to a stripey-orange-hued cat? The official designation for this color is "red", but even if you describe your delicious cat as orange, ginger, marmalade, cinnamon, apricot, pumpkin or peach, there is no doubt that these lovable redheads of the cat world have a special place in the hearts of their Cat Ladies and Lads...

 ,

And there is no better ambassador for ginger cats everywhere than Cecil, a handsome cat who showed up at the door of Cat Lady Rose eight years ago. There is no telling where Cecil will turn up next! A bit of a clown, he loves to mug it up for the camera, and Rose's photos of him never fail to crack me up.  Here are a few examples:

"I thought you said the cutest mugs go on top..."- photo copyright Rose Gates

Sometimes Cecil Gets A Big Head - photo copyright Rose Gates

Purrfect Fit- photo copyright Rose Gates

Cool Cat- photo copyright Rose Gates

Unsinkable Cecil- photo copyright Rose Gates

"CATsserole" copyright Rose Gates

To find out more about Cecil's favorite cat rescue organization, please visit Angelcat Haven

Are YOU lucky enough to share your domicile with a ginger cat? Then it's time to show off!  You are invited to share photos of your little darlings on my Facebook page this week:

 https://www.facebook.com/SusanFayeArt  

(to see all of the photos posted so far, click on "posts by others" in the drop-down box at the top of the posts)

Thanks for visiting!

A Work In Progress, Citrus Style--Sneak Peek!

I've had citrus on the brain lately.

It all started with an episode of The Barefoot Contessa. Ina made a big pitcher of fresh lime daiquiris (recipe here) for an outdoor picnic with her dear friends and I couldn't resist. I'm not a big drinker and I've never made a daiquiri in my life. But limes were on sale five for a dollar, I knew how to make simple syrup, and there was a dusty bottle of rum in the cupboard. One sip and I was in love. We've been enjoying our new favorite cocktail about once a week all summer long.

I also love lemonade and it's always my beverage of choice during summertime. We recently found an electric juicer/reamer at a thrift store and I've even been making fresh orange juice in the mornings. No danger of scurvy in this household.

And this summer-long infusion of vitamin C seems to have heavily influenced my most recent illustration. Here is a sneak peek of a snippet of my latest work in progress. It's only logical that there would be an orange tabby in it:

Cheers!

My Secret Garden Giveaway

Question:
What Are The Five Must-Haves
For Your Own Secret Garden?

Paprika the Garden Cat Says: "A secret garden is a quiet place to be still and thoughtful with your hopes and dreams; it's a beautiful place to spend time with your special siblings-- daughters and sons of Mother Earth, just like you and me and Sunny Sam.."

In the last post we found out that Annika's must-haves for her secret garden are: tulips, a wise owl, ginger garden cats, a tiny green beetle, and the perfume of the flowers on the wind.

In my own secret garden my must-haves are peppers, tomatoes, basil, busy bees, and a garden fairy...



What are your five must-haves? Tell us in the comments section of this post and you will be entered to win one of three prizes. Three names will be drawn at random and will receive their choice of a brand new Secret Garden print or pendant (includes chain) from my Etsy shop ($16-18 value, plus includes shipping to anywhere worldwide).

My inkjet prints are printed on high quality matte photo paper with Epson Durabrite Ultra inks. The print will be signed by me. Matting and frame are not included. The print may be placed directly into an 8 x 10" frame, or matted in an 11 x 14 matting that has an 8 x 10 opening. Now available in my Etsy shop!


A mini print of my whimsical artwork has been preserved under crystal-clear glass, then hand-crafted into a sparkling pendant. The glass tile features a silvertone bail. Now available in my Etsy shop!

Giveaway ends on Sunday, August 28, at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.

Entries will also be accepted in an identical post over at The Hive.

Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are the winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address . You may send info directly to my email if you don't want to make your contact info public. If you visit www.susanfaye.net , you will find an email link. Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, you may send your entry directly to my email.

Thanks for participating!

Story Time in Annika's Secret Garden

Words and images copyright 2011 Susan Faye. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in ANY form, including electronically, without express written permission of the artist. Thank you for respecting this policy with regards to ALL artists--it's good karma!!

Welcome
to the secret garden.

I am Paprika, the Garden Cat, and this is my boy, Sunny Sam.


Come with me through the garden gate, but shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone how you found it. It's a secret, you know...


A secret garden is a quiet place to be still and thoughtful with your hopes and dreams; it's a beautiful place to spend time with your special siblings-- daughters and sons of Mother Earth, just like you and me and Sunny Sam...

...just like Annika, my girl, and the Gardenkeeper of the secret garden. With food and water and a sprinkling of love, she encourages all of us to grow and thrive...


...like Horace the Owl. He likes to sleep during the day but will always wake up long enough to greet visitors whenever they stop by.





"Whoowelcome friends," he croons before his sleepy eyelids flutter back into place.





...like the fragrant flower blossoms that sway to the music of the breeze. Listen...can you hear the wind song too? Annika loves how the tulips tickle her nose with their delicate perfume and make her eyes dance with their sweet candy colors.




...and like the little green beetle that lives in the perfectly peachy tulip, three pink blossoms to the right of the shade tree.


Hope you have enjoyed your stay in the secret garden; you are welcome back any time. Your sisters and brothers will be waiting for you.



All under the watchful eye of Mother Earth,

And her mom, Grandmother Sun.

It's one big happy family. Aren't you happy to be a part of it?


Thanks for visiting! Come back soon!





Prints of The Secret Garden are now available in my Etsy Shop.
Click here to see several versions... Secret Garden Prints

One Happy Customer Hits the 'Nip

Thank you to Cat Lady Lisa for sharing this product testimonial from ginger kitty Soma, an 8-year-old rescued alley cat from New Jersey.

Catnip is a matter of personal taste and not the indulgence of choice for every cat, however. Lisa explains: " Soma has a brother who is almost identical to him, but you don't see Ravi in the video because he doesn't seem to notice catnip."

Soma and Ravi share their home in Indiana with Stella, a five-year-old rescue bunny. Stella is a Harlequin Rabbit-- a tricolor bunny with a particular set of markings. "Since all three of them are mostly orange and white, I like to say we have a color scheme!"

Check out Lisa's fun blog:
Happiest Vegan Alive
Each day Lisa shares a really great reason to consider a vegan lifestyle. Not ready to take the plunge yet? How about taking baby steps? Consider eating less meat or giving it up for one day a week. Although I still eat an occasional egg or dairy product, I weaned myself off of meat four years ago and I'm healthier and happier for it! I'm also convinced it's healthier for the planet, too.

Thanks for visiting!


Chock-full of intoxicating fun...You'll find catnip toys just like Soma's new best friend in my online Etsy shop:
Deluxe Catnip Toys

Poetry Corner-- "Daffodils"

Thank you to Etsy seller bpsbagsntotes for creating a lovely treasury of Etsy art and craft creations today, based on the William Wordsworth poem "Daffodils":

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.


The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

To see all of the creations in the Etsy Treasury (including my narcissus earrings!), just click on the image below:

.Are You an Opsimath?

Cat Lady Mary S. told me recently that I was an opsimath, a noun meaning "a person who becomes a student or learner late in life", derived from a Greek word meaning 'late in learning'. A few of the things I've learned since turning fifty are: how to make a hyperlink, how to make pickles, what the little bucket does in Adobe Photoshop, how to thread a new-fangled computerized sewing machine, and what the word opsimath means.

As I mentioned earlier this month, I was recently bitten by the doll bug, after drooling for a couple years over the many art dolls I was seeing on Etsy.com and elsewhere, including those of Snippet Girl/Cat Lady Carrie.

So I recently joined an online group called Cloth and Clay Dolls, and thanks to tutorials and helpful hints from many wonderful doll-makers, I'm learning the basics of using paper clay combined with a fabric body to create sculptural dolls. In a bold display of opsimathy, I am proud to introduce the results of my first cloth and clay doll:

Tiger Lil

She started out like this, with a paperclay head formed over a cloth body:

...and wound up like this, a little ginger tabby girl named Tiger Lil. She's all ready for Spring in her little frock that has a tulip border at the bottom.

This opsimathy stuff can be really, really fun!
What new thing are you going to learn this month?

Learn more about Tiger Lil at my etsy shop, where she is available for purchase (she's a wild one and wants to see the world and hopes to wind up in an exotic new locale...)