Thursday, March 28, 2024
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“Great Rescues Day Book”, A Collection of My Portraits and Stories

day book with cat portraits great rescues day book
Great Rescues Day Book, cover and two-page spread.

If you enjoy my rescue stories and my artwork, you can have, or give as a gift, a year’s worth of my portraits and rescue stories in Great Rescues Day Book. The book also includes basic information about caring for cats and interesting cat facts and background on each portrait and on my artwork, all in a book you can also use to keep track of annual events—birthdays, anniversaries, events with your cats and other pets, and personal memories.

I’ve used a day book for over 25 years and have all the arrivals and, sadly, departures of each of my cats along with my friends’ weddings, my nieces’ births and the births of their children, the day I first registered a business name, all that sort of stuff, conveniently included in one place.

If you’re familiar with Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book that features a commissioned portrait of a rescued cat or cats along with the story and a monthly calendar on two facing pages, this book carries on the idea in a way that’s much more permanent. It’s not dated for one year, but has all the dates in a month for you to fill in the birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and social and personal events in your life to track in perpetuity, or at least until you fill up all the spaces.

Buster's page in "Great Rescues Day Book"
Buster’s page in “Great Rescues Day Book”

On the left is the featured portrait with the kitty’s story, below that the monthly quote of something feline. On the right is the month name with enough lines for all possible dates in that month, and each month is headed with a cat- or pet-related theme. The holidays that are celebrated on a certain date are marked on that date, but ones that float, especially those Monday holidays, are explained at the bottom just to remind you that they also happen in that month. If animal-themed holidays are celebrated on a certain date, like Spay Day USA, they will also be included, but just the same if they are ones that float like Pet Memorial Sunday they will be explained at the bottom. The book is 8″ x 10″ and spiral-bound on the left edge, small enough to be easily carried around, large enough to have space to record things you’d like.

Great Rescues Day Book Two-page spread with portraits.
Two-page spread with portraits.

I had long wanted to share those stories and the lovely kitties I’d painted. Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book brought these stories and portraits to people who love animal rescue and feline art, but as a calendar it had a limited time to share its message. This day book still shares the stories and art, and can do that for years to come.

Resources pages in "Great Rescues Day Book"
Resources pages in “Great Rescues Day Book”

Although Great Rescues Day Book is a 12-month book I am still featuring all 15 portraits of rescued cats that were included in the original Great Rescues Calendar, plus the portrait of my own Fawn which I consider my first. These portraits as a collection, as well as the 22 Cats Notepaper shown below, won both Certificates of Excellence and a Muse Medallions in the 2011 Cat Writers’ Association Annual Communication Contest. Each book contains 20 sheets of this notepaper, printed on both sides, that you can use for additional notes or use as correspondence.

black and white notebook paper featuring a collage of cats
Award-winning 22 Cats Notebook Paper

While the portraits are lovely and I’m proud of my body of work, the stories of these cats, and the people who rescued them, is what compels me to share them with you. Each of the stories tells of cats from shelters and cats abandoned and saved, cats found inside car engines and cats reluctantly surrendered by people who could no longer care for them, but each one has a happy ending as a cherished companion in a loving home.

And while each cat has an individual story, each rescuer has a story as well of reaching out to an animal in need to bring it in from the streets—because rescue is really about the rescuer as well as the rescued. In many cases they helped heal physical and emotional wounds and gave that cat a lifetime of love, in return receiving love and devotion; often those humans received some healing in return they weren’t aware they needed.

The stories continue in "Great Rescues Day Book".
The stories continue in “Great Rescues Day Book”.

Great Rescues is spiral-bound and measures 8″ x 10″ to easily fit on your desk or in a purse, briefcase or backpack. While the original Great Rescues had a die-cut cover with the title stamped in gold foil, this has a solid 12 pt. printed cover for durability.

Following the calendar section is a section of stories of the rescuers and their feline families today and notes on the design and rendering of each of the portraits, followed by a mini cat-care book illustrated with my pencil drawings.

Interesting and important information in Great Rescues Day Book.
Interesting and important information in Great Rescues Day Book.

You can also read the individual stories of the Great Rescues families each month as I featured rescues and commissioned portraits.

. . . . . . .

Felines and Flowers All-occasion Greetings Package

great rescues day book and animal and nature greeting cards
The full kit: Great Rescues Day Book and 70 greeting cards.

Some people don’t send cards anymore, and many people keep journals of their days electronically, but still some of my most popular products are greeting cards and calendars.

Great Rescues Day Book and nearly all the greeting cards offered here were designed and printed after I began blogging. One of the things that most inspired me to begin blogging was the stories of the cats I’d rescued, the rescued cats I’d met, and the people who rescued them, and the art I’d created through the years from my own cats and all the others I’d met. Being able to share those stories and art encouraged me to do even more with the art and the stories resulting in dozens of greeting cards, calendars, prints and handmade and unique items.

You may also know that another portion of what inspires me to create is the time I spend in nature, whether it’s my back yard or the woods, fields, trails and waterways I enjoy visiting. I have offered a few greeting cards with my nature and landscape art and photography through the years, but it wasn’t until I met this responsive audience that I had feedback to help me focus on what readers liked and design cards in these themes as well.

So what’s in this package anyway? All the materials for you to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, events and any other noted or annual life event for yourself, family and friends in Great Rescues Day Book, and 70 greeting cards to meet the occasion in a mix of feline-themed cards and cards inspired by nature.

The combined value of Great Rescues and all the greeting cards would be just about $132.00. I offer this package of correspondence in my shop $60.00. Read more about Felines and Flowers here.


Where to find Great Rescues Day Book

day book with cat portraits great rescues day book
Great Rescues Day Book

Great Rescues Day Book, an undated monthly journal to record the dates of birthdays, anniversaries and events features sixteen of my commissioned portraits of rescued cats along with their rescue stories.

Click here or on the image of the book at left to find Great Rescues Day Book in my Etsy shop.

For “Felines and Flowers” click here to find the set in my Etsy shop.


Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


© 2015 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

2 thoughts on ““Great Rescues Day Book”, A Collection of My Portraits and Stories

  • guyz….tell mom B, we haz had R day book for like since …..a long time…& de food servizz gurl haz yet ta write in it ….coz her doez knot wanna ruin it ~~~ 🙂 ♥♥♥

    Reply
    • But please Tabbies–that’s what it’s for! It would make me so happy to know it’s used!

      Reply

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