Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Autumn Open House Online

Mimi greets you!

I guess I’m just going to have to face the fact that my open house is too much work to keep up online during the sale so our followers can take advantage of what’s available. That means you get your own sale afterward, even if you’re nowhere around. I took soooo many photos and finally culled the ones that show what it looked like—really nice this time because a friend helped me set up all the outside fixtures, which saved me hours—and what was available.

Not one but two tents in the back yard!

A few things I realized this time around. As I make more handmade goods, preparation takes more time, and there are some things I can only do just before it begins. Even with help setting up my tents and tables (and digging the extras out of the shed!) building the displays is fun but time-consuming. And it’s very physical carrying fixtures around and boxes of artwork and standing at my heat press and so on, and at some point I just need to sit down with the heating pad against my back. And if setup took several hours over two days, what makes me think teardown won’t take just as much time? Not to mention making stuff up to the last minute. Those are some guidelines for being reasonable in my expectations regarding the amount of time I have for posting while I’m open housing.

That’s a lot of eyes I’ll have to be sewing on!

The good part is I can focus on the live event while it’s happening, then I can focus on online customers while the online open house is happening.

Here is your shopping discount:

From now until October 15, this Friday, use the discount OPENHOUSEAUTUMN2021 for 15% off your order total.

What’s available in the sale?

Basically everything on my website! The only thing you miss out on at the live sale is the one-of-a-kind things that aren’t on my website.

So, let’s go!

FRONT PORCH

Mimi greets a friend who has ordered and corresponded, but we’ve never seen in person. We could have talked all day!

Mimi greeting our visitor.

Life imitates art!

Mimi’s paws are even in the right position, she just needs to curl her tail over her back. “Scratch Your Claws Here” doormats or cat mats are $25.00 each on my website because they are heavy and the shipping is a little more than the usual item, but the 15% discount will save you a bit on that!

Cat Mats!

I just made these too! From Thursday last week…

Getting ready to stencil.

Out on the deck on this sweet and warm autumn afternoon, stenciling up another set of Scratch Your Claws Here Doormats, or, as my cats so aptly demonstrated for me, Cat Mats, for my open house this weekend!

As I work, the boss is sleeping on the job, having a nap on her rocker. I am getting paint all over my hands, and making stuff. We are both pretty darned pleased with our situations right now.

I stencil durable black porch and floor enamel onto a coir fiber mat that I purchase at IKEA. The silhouette is Bella, from a sketch of her which I titled “Bella Doing Fun Things With Her Tail.” All my cat artwork is based on real cats, cats I’ve rescued and fostered and lived with and loved.

Drying doormats.

Garden flags are $15.00 each, and I now offer 26 designs. And I only stopped there because my order for fabric transfers didn’t come in on time.

 

Garden Flags!
Garden flags in the front yard.

All greeting cards and note cards, $10.00 off per set or custom dozen with code $10DOZENGREETINGCARDS.

Here are the all-purpose greeting and note cards including Feline Fine Art, Feline Photos, Victoriana Cats, Compositions in Black and Green, and more.

Feline-themed Card Sets and Note Cards

All-purpose greeting cards.

 

BACK PORCH

‘Tis the season!

It’s the Holiday Shop with Meow-lo-ween cards, winter holiday and Christmas cards, seasonal votives, seasonal garden flags and ornaments. Gift bags are one of the items I make as one-of-a-kind just before an event because available bags and colors change, photos and art change, and I can’t keep them all listed on my website, but you can find several of the holiday bags here.

The Holiday Shop

 

BACK YARD

Art prints and photos, and small framed originals and prints

Art and photos tent.

You’ll find art prints with the individual paintings in my Fine Art and Portraiture Galleries, Photos in my Photography Galleries.

This is only a portion of one tent, but it was all I had a chance to photograph. This includes all my art prints and unframed photos, canvas prints, and large and small originals that are on sale or on clearance. Original art that’s on sale or clearance is another thing I found it difficult to share here because much of it isn’t even on my website, and many of the photos aren’t on there either. Some things sell best in person, and the odd-sized print of a painting that I framed in a repurposed frame works best for events like this. And when it comes to the rest, I have so many images that using the print bin—the wicker planter—and the large print rack don’t make it easy for people to look through them. I’m so happy Carol helped me dig that large print display on the right out of the back of my shed! It’s been back there for a decade, and it’s awkward to pack into my car so I haven’t used it. It’s the best thing for displaying a lot of prints at once.

And speaking of Carol, she drove pretty far on Thursday to help me set up the tents and tables on Thursday—thanks! here she is meeting Mimi and the rest of the housepanthers. They were on her as soon as she came in, and they followed her around.

INSIDE THE HOUSE

My display of Custom Pet Memorial votives and the new Pet Memorial Garden Flags, which aren’t even up on my website yet, but they will be soon.

Pet Memorial Votives and Garden Flags

“It never occurred to you that baskets of freshly folded dishtowels would be a most purrfect cat bed?”

When you tell Mr. Sunshine that some people don’t want his particular furs on their brand new dishtowels, even if his image is printed on some of them.

Mr. Sunshine.

All those small gift items…

Gift items display.

Tote bags and accessory bags. Looks like I’ll have to make some more!

Tote bags and accessory bags.

Isn’t this a cute combination? A customer put that together to give to a friend.

Bella! tote bag and Inscrutable Patterns accessory bag.

While friends were shopping…

While friends were shopping.

And the kitchen is the best place to gather with friends, and that’s where there’s enough space!

How my cats greet strangers! It’s been a busy weekend at our open house, but all the kitties are ready for 11:00 today when our third and final day begins.

Kitties know our friend Mary, but she also brought her friend Barb yesterday (and their favorite special dinner food–yum and thanks!) and of course the house panther gang had to give Barb the treatment. This was following Mimi’s greeting out on the front porch. We spent a good amount of time in the kitchen with lots of pets, then they escorted us around the house to browse the goods. A good time was had by all.

If you have any questions or problems with ordering, please email me at bernadette(at)bernadette-k.com. Lots of little things can go wrong with coupon codes, not the least would be if something is sold but I haven’t had a chance to remove it from my website. Thank you!

 

Marketplace

Mimi is always ready for company!

Take a look at other new merchandise and featured artwork.

Marketplace is a feature on The Creative Cat to share the latest coming out of my studio with my readers. Once a week on Thursday I feature something new in my “shop”.

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.

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


Copyright

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals 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.


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© 2022 | 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: 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.

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