Christmas Withdrawal

Zoolou always in the middle of everything!

Ready to break our Christmas Crackers~an English tradition!

All the GIRLS! (me on the left)

Is Christmas really over ALREADY? Every year it seems to come & go in the blink of an eye. I am one of those people who can't wait for the Christmas season to come, revel in all the activities & festive atmosphere, then always feel sad when it's all over. I hate turning on the radio the day after Christmas & hearing the "regular" music on again. I hate seeing Valentine's Day items in the stores replacing the Christmas things. How does it manage to fly by so fast??? I still haven't baked the cookies from my new cookbook or finished the Christmas novel I started back in November!

Oh well, I don't mean to gripe. I just never feel like I have enough time to do everything I want before the big day gets here. But I should be used to that ~ it happens every year. We had a WONDERFUL Christmas at our house this year! My entire family (on my side) came to our house & stayed for 4 days! I lost a whole day of preparation since they came a day early to beat the bad weather but it was a good thing they did because the roads did get bad! We even had a WHITE Christmas (yay!) but barely. Somehow, an hour north of us they got several inches & down in Oklahoma they got over a foot! We are right in the middle of all that but only got an inch or so. I think Wichita has some sort of repellent to snow, we always get cheated out of it.

Anyway, I'm thankful we had a white Christmas & my family got to be together. I hope all of you had a happy Christmas too! Here's to health, happiness & wonderful new artistic creations in 2010! xoxox

I FOUND IT!!!

I am SO excited!!! I FINALLY found the book that was my very favorite when I was a little girl! I've been searching the internet for it for years but for the life of me couldn't remember the name of it so had no luck. I was online late last night & just by chance came upon an ebay listing of a group of vintage books about kittens & this was one of them! I thought the kitten on the cover looked familiar so I googled the name & when I scrolled down thru the site listings there was my FAVORITE line in the book I had always remembered! ~

"Katie the Kitten, a small tiger cat, is asleep in the hall, in a ball, in a hat."

It just makes me smile to say that! I can't wait to get the book & read the whole thing! It's no longer in print so I'm lucky to have found a few copies online. Do any of you know the book? It's just the cutest thing & brings back such good memories. I think I could recite the entire book when I was little! Such a simple little thing to give so much joy. I guess my love of cats started shortly after I was born - ha. We even had a "small tiger cat" named, well ..... Tiger!

Hope everyone is ready for Christmas & finding time to relax & enjoy the simple things! xoxox

Frida's Christmas

Happy Thursday to ya! Here is my new Christmas Frida painting. I think Frida's got the right idea ~ don't stress, sit & relax with a warm cat in your lap, a cup of tea (I'll take Irish coffee) & gaze at something pretty like her blooming Christmas cactus! Hopefully Frida eventually gets up & does a bit of Jazzercise! Looks like she's enjoyed a little too much fruitcake & sugar cookies!

"Frida's Christmas" is up for auction right now on ebay. Just click right HERE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Yikes! 9 Days and Counting...

I've had so much fun looking at all the festive decor my blogger friends have posted I decided to join in & post some pics of my own Christmassy home! I love Christmas & love to decorate! I turn on some Christmas music or dvd, grab a cuppa coffee or glass of wine, haul the boxes up from the basement & go to town! I enjoy it as long as I can cuz all too soon it's New Year's & time to take it all down again (sniff).

On a painting note ~ I finished a Christmas Frida today (probably my last painting of the year) & will post a pic of her tonight or tomorrow! She's looking very festive! Feliz Navidad!

CAT NAPPERS & Cookie Dough!

Rolled, ribboned & ready to give!

Markie prefers the "multi-stack" version!

Happy Friday my sweet blogger friends!

Wow, this Etsy shop business is a lot of work! I've spent all morning & part of this afternoon (up until right now) photo shooting & listing my new Cat Napper Pads I finished last night. It's fun work so I don't mind but it sure is time consuming ~ & I was planning to do some Christmas shopping today. Oh well, it'll get done later. I love these fun bright colors of fleece I found! I think the birdy print one would be cute for Easter! I use the fleece scraps I have leftover to make little kitty toys to include with the pads. The Humane Society cats love them! If you want to check them out just click HERE to open my shop!

On a yummy note ~ my son got to bring cookies to his History class last week so we made homemade M&M cookies! OOOHHH that dough looks SOOO good right now! I have to admit I probably ate 7 cookies worth of dough while we were making them! I can't help it. To me the dough is better than the baked cookies. I know all about the dangers of raw egg but I've been eating dough for years & haven't croaked yet so I'm not worried. My best friend Cindy & I used to make a quarter batch of dough & just eat it all for our after school snack - ha! And we are alive & well to tell about it!

Wishing you all a creative, Christmassy, yummy weekend! xoxox

New Christmas Goodies for the Shop!

I was a busy little elf all weekend sewing up these new Christmas creations for my Etsy shop ~ 2 pillows, a stuffed ornament & a gift bag! I love how they turned out. They are all made from a vintage tablecloth I found online & was lucky to grab. The print was so cute I just had to have it! I'm really into vintage fabrics right now. There's just something about the "old fashioned" look of it that gives me a warm, nostalgic feeling! The pillow with the red border has already sold but the rest are in my Shop to check out!

We also got our Christmas tree today! We always get a REAL one & I hope that never changes. Our family always had a real tree every year when I was growing up & to me, an artificial one just isn't the same. I know real ones can be a pain & there are beautiful artificial ones out there but I can't give up my big Fraser Fir & it's wonderful pine scent! I'll post some pics when it's all decorated & lit up!

We're expecting a bit of weather tonight ~ some freezing drizzle & maybe snow. Yay! Bring on the snow! Hope you all had a nice weekend. Stay warm & toasty!

All Snug in Their Bed!

Happy Thursday everyone! I'm excited to get another Christmas painting done & have another one in the works. Here is my latest! "All Snug in Their Bed" can be found on Ebay right HERE!

The kitties were nestled all snug in their bed while visions of catnip mice danced in their heads.

Meowy Christmas to all and to all a good night!

First Sunday of Advent

Ok, I'm a day late with this post but I wanted to show off my new Advent candle holder I got after Mass yesterday. Our church actually had NEW ones this year ~ much better than the lame wobbly, bendy one I got several years ago that I quit using for fear it would break & set the house on fire. This black metal votive holder is pretty cool I think. I like the simpleness of it & the votives are much easier than tapers.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week but I'm ready to STAY HOME for a while & get busy creating. I traveled to 3 different cities last week! Weston, MO with girlfriends for the Holiday Homes Tour, Oklahoma City with my mom to my sister's house for the Jim Brickman concert, & Abilene, KS for Thanksgiving at my in-laws. Whew!!! All fun trips but the week flew by too fast & I'm VERY behind on my Christmas paintings! I have 2 canvases sketched out & ready to go so after my shift at the Humane Society tomorrow I'll get busy on them. I wish my shopping was done so I could just paint, sew, bake & wrap all month!

Hope you all had a nice holiday. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's Christmas creations!

Happy Thanksgiving! (And Yoko's Home!)

I didn't want the day to go by without sending Happy Thanksgiving wishes to all my beautiful blogger friends! I'm so blessed to have the life that I do ~ filled with wonderful family, friends, cats, art & all my blogger buddies! Hope you all had a gobbly-good day!!!

Above are some pics of Markie & Zoolou "helping" me take down the fall decorations & put up Christmas ones. And YES, Zoolou climbed all the way up that ladder all by herself! That crazy cat.

And GOOD NEWS!!! My sister's indoor cat, Yoko, who got spooked by the garage door opener, ran off & has been missing for 5 days CAME HOME TODAY!!! We are all so thankful. What a great Thanksgiving gift!

New Pillow Ornaments!

Aren't these so cute? I was lucky to find some adorable vintage fabric with Christmas kitties on it & made this set of pillow ornaments out of it. I think they turned out really nice & I LOVE the vintage look. I do have to say sewing on ric-rac trim is no easy feat! I ended up ripping out the stitches from my first 2 attempts. I got the hang of it though & as they say, 3rd time's the charm. They aren't perfect but isn't that what's special about hand-made things?

You can find these sweet little ornaments in my Etsy shop!

Tomorrow I'm off to Weston, MO (again-ha) for the Holiday Homes Tour with my girlfriends! Can't wait! Hope you all get to do something fun & Christmassy this weekend too! xoxo

Christmas Jammies

Success! My hubby figured out a different way to upload images from the camera on the computer so I was finally able to list my new painting ~ Christmas Jammies! I think everyone remembers these cute little striped longjohn jammies you had when you were little ~ or dressed your babies in when they were little! I remember my nephew wearing them on Christmas many years ago. I wish I could find that picture! If I can track it down (among my cabinet full of old photo albums) I'll post it. Click HERE to check out this cute painting on EBAY!

I'm currently working on some cute little pillow ornaments. I found the cutest vintage Christmas fabric (with cats on it of course) & thought it would be adorable for Christmas decor! Stay tuned.

Happy Wednesday! Is it already only a week til Thanksgiving??? xoxo

Stupid Computer!!!

Well, I have 2 new paintings & a cute new kitty pillow to show off but for some reason my camera isn't cooperating with the computer & the pictures will NOT upload! AUGH!!! So aggravating! My husband (who's a bit technologically challenged) double checked all the cables, ports, cameras, etc., etc. & found nothing wrong but it's still not working. We have 2 cameras & neither one will upload so we don't know what the deal is. Guess it's time to call our friend Jeff ~ our never fail computer fixer! Hope he can come soon. I can't sell anything on ebay or etsy without a picture! This is supposed to be an ART blog after all.

Oh well, for now you can laugh at my little comic above. Wishing you a happy Monday & no computer problems! xoxo ~ Jill

P.S. We had our first SNOW today!

A Brilliant Show!

My youngest daughter & I went to see the "Celtic Woman" show last Tuesday night & it was amazing! A lot of you will say "Who the heck are they?" but I'm sure a lot of you know who they are too. Four beautiful Irish singers & a fiddle player with the fastest fingers I've ever seen! Combine that with a pianist, orchestra & 2 percussionists, each with their own enormous set of instruments, & you have magic! We saw them a few years ago in Oklahoma City & it was the BEST show I'd ever seen! This one was just as good. We were so excited when we found out they were coming here. There was a packed house & many standing ovations. If you like Irish music you MUST go see Celtic Woman if you get the chance!

Today is a creating day for me! The hubby took the kids & friends up to the K-State football game for the day & I have the house to myself to paint & sew the day away! I have a few new things for the shop I'd like to show you but I'm having some uploading issues with the camera so unfortunately that will have to wait. HAPPY SATURDAY!!! xoxo

A New Rug, A Baby & THE SHOP'S OPEN!

Trying out the new rug

I'd rather have him on the rug than the bed!

Shelby & her "pretend" baby, Cara

Happy Monday everybody! Lots of news to share but not lots of time ~ there's never enough time to do everything you want during the holidays is there? Anyway, my first news is I finally got my Etsy Shop up & running! It's exciting, even though I don't have much in there yet ~ a few original paintings & some of my fleece kitty pads I've dubbed "CAT NAPPERS". I had several people comment on them when I was making them for the Humane Society kitties & tell me I should sell them so I thought why not? I'm STILL making them for the H.S. cats first, & then just making a few extra for Etsy. I plan to have everything in my shop "cat related". I named it THAT'S MY CAT~where there's a CAT in every creation! CATchy, huh? heehee. If you're interested, check out my new shop HERE!

I'd been eyeing this rug at Target for a long time thinking how good it would look in my newly redecorated bedroom so yesterday I decided to spend some birthday money & go get it. I LOVE it & Koda & Zoolou seem to approve too! Markie was so funny ~ at first he was afraid to walk on it like he thought he wasn't supposed to - ha! He would carefully walk around the outside. Later after seeing the other furballs on it he decided it wasn't going to bite him! Silly cat. It's not quite as plush as I'd like but it's soft enough & goes perfect in the room!

Lastly, my daughter Shelby (a junior in h.s.) is in a Parenting class & brought home the fake baby last week for 3 days. I couldn't believe how realistic the baby looked & sounded! It was a little scary. The baby went everywhere with her for those 3 days & kept her up quite a bit at night. I kept telling her "remember how much WORK this is ~ this is what you DON'T want right now - ha.

Gotta get busy on some commissions. Have a wonderful week!!! Purrrrrs

Kitty Angel Wood Box

Hi beautiful blogger friends! I finally finished the little wooden box I've had primed & sitting neglected since last year! I thought of doing a Christmas theme but decided instead on a pink & black design that can go for any time of year. I think it turned out really cute! Great for a little girl's room! This sweet little box is available on EBAY right HERE!

I've also been busy creating & gathering things for my new ETSY SHOP I'm planning to open up very soon! More on that later. Hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday!!! xoxo

Our Weekend in Weston

Our B&B ~ The Hatchery
Our Room (with a fireplace too!)

View from our private balcony - gorgeous!

Rocky the resident cat. He was so sweet!

Hiking at Weston Bend State ParkGraceland Cemetery

Beautiful sunset from our balcony

Looking at these pictures makes me want to go back!!! We had such a nice, relaxing weekend in Weston. Now I get to look forward to going back next month! My girlfriends & I are going to the annual Holiday Homes Tour. Can't wait!!!

Alice & Chessie

I keep hearing about Tim Burton's new "Alice in Wonderland" movie coming out next spring & decided to do an Alice painting. Here she is with the Cheshire Cat. I'm really happy with how it turned out! "Alice & Chessie" is up for auction on ebay now right HERE!

We had an awesome time in Weston last weekend! The leaves were at their peak for color & I can't even describe how beautiful the Missouri bluffs were! I did NOT want to come home on Sunday! As soon as my hubby gets pictures uploaded I'll post some.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rainy day so I plan to get some more painting done. I have a little wooden box all primed & ready to paint so that's probably what I'll work on. Happy hump day!

Autumn Leaves are Falling

Koda having fun in the leaves
Who wants to rake?

St. Francis

Begonias still going strong~with leaves mixed in!

I don't think I've EVER seen our fall foliage as brilliant & colorful as it is this year! I mean it is absolutely gorgeous! I wish I could've gotten some good tree pictures around town but you'll have to settle for my backyard. Only thing is, it's been SO windy here the last few days all the pretty leaves are getting blown off the trees. I just hope it doesn't happen too fast. Craig & I are leaving tomorrow for a weekend in Weston, MO & we're hoping the trees aren't bare before we get there! The town & surrounding countryside are usually just amazing with fall color in October! Weston is a little town on the river about an hour north of Kansas City (where I grew up!). We stay in our favorite bed & breakfast & everything we want to see & do is within walking distance ~ antique & gift shops on Main Street, Pirtle Winery in an old church building, O'Malley's Pub with live music, the wine bar at the St. George Hotel & we love to just walk the residential streets to look at the quaint houses all decorated for Halloween! There's even an old cemetery I like to stroll through & read the old headstones ~ SO interesting! Can't wait! You can read all about Weston on their website HERE!

My poor art studio has been neglected lately. Next week I plan to start some new paintings though ~ maybe some Thanksgiving themes. Last week I took a few of my fleece kitty beds to the Humane Society & the kitties just loved them! They immediately curled up on them & I decided right then I needed to make more. One bed I'd laid on a chair had 3 cats all trying to fit on it - ha. So, yesterday I spent the afternoon at my sewing machine stitching away & brought 16 with me to the H.S. today. I wish I would've remembered to bring my camera to get some shots of the kitties curled up on them. SO CUTE! I will next time.

Ok, gotta finish packing. Everyone have a wonderful fall weekend!

Thank you Brian!

Just a quick post tonight. I want to say a big purry thank you to Brian, the brown & grey tabby for giving me this nice award! My first award from a cat ~ awesome! I'm told the saying is "This blog is a dream". I'm very happy & honored. Blogging has been such a great way for me to share ideas, get ideas from others, learn so many interesting things & meet such wonderful, friendly people! Thank you ALL for visiting & commenting! It really does touch my heart!

I'm supposed to forward this award on but I have such a busy week I'm afraid I don't have the time right now so all you deserving people out there feel free to stamp yourself & feel good about what you do! Oh, & please go visit Brian the Tabby at his pawsitively marvelous blog right HERE!

The hubby & I are heading out of town Friday morning for a weekend in Weston, MO ~ my favorite little town in the world! More about that tomorrow. Good-night!

Happy National Feral Cat Day!

Be their voice!

Happy Friday all!

Just a quick post to call attention to National Feral Cat Day. Homeless kitties everywhere need our help for food, shelter & LOVE! Please do what you can to help when you come across a stray or feral kitty. They have no voice so WE need to be their voice! Most important of all ~ SPAY & NEUTUER your pets!

Alley Cat Allies is the wonderful organization that founded Feral Cat Day. Please visit their website HERE for all kinds of ways you can help & learn about the Trap-Neuter-Return program to control cat colonies.

God bless you & God bless the precious alley cats everywhere!

xoxo purrs ~ Jill