Marketplace: Hearts and Paws Saturday, Farmers Market Sunday!

June 15, 2026 Bernadette

A new kitty mat! And my first two larger events this year. I drafted this post last Wednesday to “announce” my upcoming events and never got back to it because some things to more time than I anticipated. I rarely have two events on one weekend, and at the beginning of the year I’m still setting up how my car gets packed, new setups including new and modified products, a lot of details, so what was I thinking? But I’m glad to bring them to you now. Below, my display at Hearts & Paws on Saturday.

New Products

Pride of Cats mat

I’m really excited about my new Pride of Cats mat! I’ve had this idea for nearly as long as Scratch Your Claws Here (2020) but the way I had to cut the stencil made one this complicated need some extra planning. Also, I use porch and floor enamel because it’s intended to be walked on and is totally weatherproof for a decade or more, but I couldn’t find all the colors I wanted for this in those enamels.

But this year I was determined to have this mat for Pride Month. I had found a stencil product that was easier to cut, especially in curves, and tested some durable outdoor enamel craft paints and it all came together—guess when? Last week! But it was worth the last-minute effort. Working out the cutting took a little extra time, but the stenciling took a lot of extra time. I wasn’t happy with one coat of paint so used two, twice as much paint as I had estimated, and it still wasn’t bright enough and took longer to dry in between. I made another with the cats in a quick white primer as a background, then stenciled the colors on top, and it works much better and dries faster. Got to work out all these things with each product and honestly that’s part of the fun.

I used a charcoal gray mat because I wanted the colors to have more contrast with the background, and this mat is less expensive to purchase, and also thinner and lighter weight than Scratch Your Claws Here so it’s less expensive, so it’s easier to ship. If and when I find the porch and floor enamel colors I’ll probably also make this design on the tan coir mat. But for now I’m thrilled to see this design.

Where to find this doormat

You can find this mat on Portraits of Animals.

Be Quiet!! Kitty’s Sleeping! Mat

This was another idea I’ve had since practically the beginning, but the same issue with the stencil material slowed me down on this one. But cutting the text worked out well with the new stencil material and worked well when I stenciled—I was about 50% sure it wasn’t going to be legible but it totally is. I may make the text and the kitty a little bigger but others I asked about the sizes said they were fine. Let me know what you think.

This design is from an ink sketch of Jelly Bean sleeping on the bed, which I captured in part because it was his most familiar napping posture—he’s basically a black bean with ears, but I always knew which one he was because of the way he held his head. And when I designed Scratch Your Claws Here I also wanted to do a “quiet—kitty sleeping” theme and designed this one. Unlike Scratch Your Claws Here the image, or any other sleeping cat silhouette, really didn’t carry the idea without the text, so I waited until I could work it out. And I did—also last week.

Where to find this doormat

You can find this mat on Portraits of Animals.

Scratch Your Claws Here, with text

And this was the way this mat was always supposed to look, though with Bella’s demonstration of scratching this design worked all along.

Where to find this doormat

You can find this mat on Portraits of Animals.

A little more about my new products

I’ll have a list of new products coming over the next several weeks, as I finish them. I’ll add the new items to my website and they will always be available for purchase, but this will also make up my Quarterly Sampler Box Program, being able to choose from a certain number of new products as well as popular existing products at a discount for your $50.00 box. As I was working out my new products this spring I decided this was the most reasonable way to organize this box program

For the past few months I was also testing new materials and new products for durability, and busy repairing and in some cases replacing equipment, adding items to my display like small cases, props and art panels, I have to replace my tent because the quick substitute I bought last year when my good one collapsed doesn’t have the structure to handle even slightly gusty winds. I felt as if I was inching along for all these months but now that all the preparation is done I can fly! Not really, but I can go down to my studio and make a quantity of things and be really happy about it. Some of them will be one-of-a-kind, others will be uniform, like most of what I sell already.

Recent Events

About Hearts and Paws

This was my Saturday event.

I’ve attended this event for years and I always look forward to it and a vendor event and as a social event. I get to see many of the other cat rescuers I don’t see at other times and meet new friends who love animals, and have my work and gift items out in front of them.

I had the votive lamps and keepsake boxes, dish towels and tote bags, garden flags and cat signs and greeting and note cards as well as my Custom Pet Memorial Votives, Garden Flags and Suncatchers, and Custom Commissioned Portraits.

This event is now fully indoors. Though I much prefer to be outdoors, with the unpredictable weather lately I’m happy enough not to take the chance I’ll lose everything in my display in a storm. And I also get to see a lot of other rescuers and organizations that I communicate with on a regular basis but I rarely get to see in person!

Carnegie Farmers Market

This was my Sunday event, which increased from 12 Sundays July through September to 18 Sunday from June to October, and also increased from 12 to 3 to 11 to 3 so it’s four hours. I’d been suggesting that for a couple of years, especially the duration because all that setup for three hours is okay, but having more time after all that work and catching those earlier people made a difference even yesterday. I was going to be looking for a few extra events this year to make a little extra but this will likely suffice. The bigger shows are difficult, with more products to make and pack and display, more time to prepare and onsite, and more time on my feet, which I’ve been trying to minimize.

I didn’t take any photos of this Sunday because I had only about 2/3 of my display. Next week when I have my new tent and art panels I’ll have my full display and will share photos of that.

Maybe I’ll see you at one of my other local events. Check my schedule for where I’ll be this spring and summer.

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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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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Sienna is a little annoyed that she is not on a towel.

I have so much to do to prepare for this event! Sienna keeps me in line…until she sneaks back upstairs for an all-day nap on the bed.

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.