Thursday, March 28, 2024
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“Star of Wonder” Garden Flag

cat garden flag
“Star of Wonder” garden flag, waving gently.

You’ve seen me use daily sketches for new designs for merchandise, but I’ve also used daily photos. The back story to this one is that I used Mr. Sunshine’s silhouette to create the feline silhouette in this design from a photo of Mr. Sunshine looking up at a moth in the pendant lamp that I used for my annual Independence Day post Oooh! Aaah!

I wanted to be certain to capture every single hair and whisker of that silhouette! Yes, it was very fun to isolate all those furs and whiskers to that his silhouette would look authentic. This flag has the same image on the back, mirrored so that no silhouettes show through. You can enjoy it from any angle.

These are digitally printed on a product called digital satin, a woven product intended for outdoor as well as indoor use. It’s heavier than the nylon most other flags are made of, but if I’m judging by the the survival of the ones I have outdoors now this is tough and durable material, no fading, scratches in the finish, fraying or wrinkling of the flag in any way. I’m sure, like any other product, if the flag is in direct sun for more than four hours per day it will eventually fade, but the testing worked better than I’d thought. You can read about the development of these flags as well as backyard testing and a photo shoot with Mimi and me in Backyard Product Development and Testing With My Assistant, Mimi.

The flags are printed flat and, after an inspection by either Mr. Sunshine, my engineer cat as shown below, or Mewsette as seen here, I fold over an stitch the pocket on each. They are then inspected by one or more felines prior to packaging.

I ship the garden flags flat at this point—the fabric holds a curl really well and some flags I had stored never wanted to completely flatten out. Flags are 11” wide x 15” tall and fit the most common garden flag bracket available, seen here and sold in most hardware and home renovation stores with a garden area. You can order on through me, but with their weight and size it adds to the shipping cost.

This “Star of Wonder” garden flag is available in my Etsy shop, and for all orders between now and Thanksgiving I’ll include a holiday card in the same design for you to use for your holiday greetings.


Star of Wonder as a Holiday Card

holiday card cat looking at star
Star of Wonder

This card features a simple, wordless illustration of a cat looking at a star.

Inside card.

Inside it reads: “May the wonder of the season bring you peace and joy through the year.”

I love to design with silhouettes. As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better models are my family of five black cats than creating with feline silhouettes?

Using a photo of Mr. Sunshine looking up at a moth, I created his silhouette including all those lovely long whiskers and fur tips. I created the star motif years ago for another holiday design project for a customer, and I’m glad to use it for my designs this year.

This 5″ x 7″ card is printed on 12 pt. gloss card stock and include a matching envelope, packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box. Cards can be customized with your message with a minimum order of four dozen.

Find this card in my Etsy shop.


Can We Get That Thing?

holiday card featuring kittens looking at star
Can We GetThat thing?

This card features a wordless illustration of the Curious Quartet looking at a star.

Inside card.

Inside the card reads: “…they look-ed up, and sa-aw a star …
…and they WANTED it!

I love to design with silhouettes. As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better models are my family of five black cats than creating with feline silhouettes?

For this illustration I used reference photos I’d taken of the Curious Quartet when they were just little kitties watching birds. I created the star motif years ago for another holiday design project for a customer, and I’m glad to use it for my designs this year.

This 5″ x 7” card is printed on 12 pt. gloss card stock and include a matching envelope, packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box. Cards can be customized with your message with a minimum order of four dozen (please convo on Etsy).

Find this card in my Etsy shop.

All my other garden flag designs are also available in my Etsy shop along with a large selection of holiday cards featuring cats, of course, pets, birds and nature.


black cat with sewing machine
Mimi inspects my set up before I begin stitching the pockets in the new garden flags.

Marketplace

Mewsette may look like she’s sleeping, but she is ready to get up and give instructions or even a helping paw at any moment.

Take a look at other new merchandise and featured artwork.

Once a week on Thursday I feature something new in my “shop”, whether that’s here on The Creative Cat, in my Etsy shop, on my main website or even at one of the bricks and mortar shops that carry my work.

Read about creating custom items

Find out more about creating custom items for your own home using the images you see here. Visit the “Ordering Custom Art” page to see samples and read bout how to order.

Find out about events and festivals where you can find me and my work.

Sign up for my e-newsletter (below), check the widget on the sidebar on my home page, or sign up to receive posts on Portraits of Animals Marketplace. I plan on plenty of events this coming summer in the Pittsburgh area.

Donations

I designate four portrait certificates each year for donation to benefit animals, and also donate merchandise, prints of artwork and even originals to rescue and shelter benefits. If you are interested in a donation for your event, please email me with the details of your event and your organization.

It’s all done under the close and careful supervision of my studio cats!



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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 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.


© 2014 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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: Bok 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.

4 thoughts on ““Star of Wonder” Garden Flag

  • How are you guys seeing this article this year? Did it come to you in a reader? It’s the wrong article!

    Reply
  • bluemoonalone

    They are all beautiful Bernadette!

    Reply
  • Oh, I love that garden flag! Would you ever consider making it in regular flag size?

    Reply
    • In a heartbeat! I’m limited by the size of the material, Lynda, but I’d love to. I can get small quantities done this way and they don’t cost $25.00 each because they are digitally printed, but it’s a sizable investment to get larger flags done.

      Reply

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