Friday, March 29, 2024
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Marketplace: New Feline Keepsake Boxes

New Feline Keepsake Boxes, inspected and approved by Mimi!
New Feline Keepsake Boxes, inspected and approved by Mimi!

It’s been another few creative weeks in the studio with my Creative Cats! A stack of blank keepsake boxes were calling my name and asking to be decorated. They are all different sizes and shapes and I divided the group between feline themes and flower themes. Here is the whole lot of them.

New keepsake boxes.
New keepsake boxes.

I choose a variety of papier-mâché boxes from the craft store, envisioning the art I’ll print and decoupage to it and the colors I’ll paint it, and spend a few days creating and embellishing, under feline supervision, of course. I use soy-based acrylic paints and print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the box. Box insides are unfinished. Use for storage for small items, photos or special keepsakes, or use as gift boxes.

The boxes are handmade in their country of origin and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections, but each one is an original and I often make a particular design only once. I’ve featured the feline boxes below.

You can purchase the box right here, or click the headline to go to the listing on Portraits of Animals if you’d like to shop around for the floral keepsakes or other things.

22 Cats 9″ Round Keepsake Box

22 Cats Keepsake
22 Cats Keepsake

This box is covered with my detailed “22 Cats” collage and detailed in warm rich brown. Box measures 9″ diameter x 4.5″ high. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’40b68952-ff8b-11e6-9bdf-002590787d08′ ]Handmade Feline, 22 Cats 9″ Round Keepsake Box[/ss_product]

This pattern is a collage of all 16 portraits—22 cats in all—included in my Great Rescues Day Book. I’ve painted portraits of pets since 1992 and I’d always wanted to publish them somehow, and since most are rescues I always wanted to share their stories as well, and this came together in Great Rescues.

After Dinner Nap 10″ Rectangular Keepsake Box

After Dinner Nap keepsake
After Dinner Nap keepsake

This box has my painting “After Dinner Nap” on the top and a green and copper crackle finish on the sides. Box measures 10″ x 8″ x 4.5″ high. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’b9770772-ff8b-11e6-9d70-002590787d08′ ]Handmade Feline, After Dinner Nap 10″ Rectangular Keepsake Box[/ss_product]

“The face that launched a thousand portraits,” my Stanley, the feline mascot of my business, appearing on my business card and brochure cover. As I set up the pages for this site I sat back and thought about possibly using another piece of artwork as my signature for the site.

This portrait changed my world, as an artist and in my career. The day I finished this portrait in 1997, I knew I had reached a higher level of skill as an artist and a deeper level of visualization combined with that skill that goes way beyond reproducing what I see, very far into what I feel. Stanley was a difficult soul having been abused before he was dumped outdoors, but his real personality was sweet, fun, silly and relaxed, and for all his issues I loved him completely. In this scene, the after dinner nap he enjoyed just about every day, I found that part of him, and that part of me, and got it onto the paper. It’s been magic since then, not just with my portraits and other animal artwork, but with all my artwork. I may have arrived at that point as an artist eventually, but it was my deep feeling for Stanley that delivered me to the door, which I had only to open.

Many cats have inspired me since this portrait in 1997, which is why feline art is featured here. Painting my cats, in turn, led to painting the landscape around me, the local areas which I’ve loved since I was a small child, and still lifes and then painting wildlife.

Stanley was with me for 21 years, and considering that he was an adult when he arrived on my porch of his own accord, that meant he was nearing the quarter-century mark when he died in 2007, inspiring until the end as I was photographing and sketching him until his final month. Please read more stories about Stanley, and see other art and photos featuring him on The Creative Cat where I’ve been writing about my cats for years.

Peaches and Peonies 11″ Round Keepsake Box

Peaches and Peonies round keepsake.
Peaches and Peonies round keepsake.

This box has my painting “Peaches and Peonies” and sides painted with a deep eggplant color, embellished with a pink lace circlet and bow. Box measures 11″ round x 5″ high. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’0f1ce4c0-ff8d-11e6-b3dc-002590787d08′ ]Handmade Feline, Peaches and Peonies 10″ Round Keepsake Box[/ss_product]

There it is, that moment that turns on all the lights for me…one of my cats in the sun, the conditions that have inspired most of my portraits. Cats are creatures of habit, and Peaches chose this spot to have her after-dinner bath every day for a few weeks when the sun was right; I knew it was a keeper whether a photo or a painting, so I photographed it several times over a period of several days, knowing I’d use at least one photo or all the photos as reference to create one painted image.

The painting illustrates a moment in my kitchen that I treasure because it includes Peaches, plus my painted white wood table with the vintage Battenburg lace table cover, three painted white chairs I’d picked up over the years and a hand-made white-painted cabinet that carried a story all on its own, plus a bouquet of peony flowers a friend had stopped and dropped off because she thought I’d like them. The reflections, the wrinkles in the cloth, everything is the memory of a part of my life, but so I’ve found, also familiar to others.

You can read more about little Peaches here.

Brushy Kitties 9″ Rectangular Keepsake Box

Brushy Kitties keepsake box
Brushy Kitties keepsake box

NOTE: This box has been purchased, but I’ll be working on other similar designs in my next project. If you’re interested, send me an email with the subject “Brushy Kitties Keepsakes” and I’ll send you a message when they are up.

This box has a collage of my brush pen sketches of my cats on the top and sides covered with black and white striped paper which I set up and printed out. Box measures 9″ x 7″ x 3″ high. Price includes shipping.

This pattern is a collage of all the kitties I’ve drawn in this same style with the above-mentioned brush pen, singles, multiples, smooth lines, sketchy lines, just a bunch of busy kitties in black on white.

And don’t forget these keepsakes too!

Inscrutable Cats Tall Round Keepsake Box

keepsake box with cat pattern
“Inscrutable Patterns” keepsake box.

This box is covered with my colorful “Inscrutable Patterns’ pattern and detailed in rich royal purple. Box measures 6″ diameter x 6” high. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’3e6281b8-af74-11e6-989a-002590787d08′ ]Handmade Feline, “Inscrutable Patterns Keepsake”[/ss_product]

“Inscrutable Patterns” began as an ink sketch of one of my cats, which I then took into my graphics program to colorize the art and lay out the pattern. They all look at me like this, but this is more patterned after Jelly Bean, who sat by the window atop a box so that his face and front body was entirely in a deep shadow. Resting, his eyes are slits, and sometimes he simply closes them and takes a nap, but sitting up. I looked at him and thought, “Inscrutable”, as his expression seemed to be, and actually was since I really had no idea what he might be thinking. Read more about the art and other daily sketches at: https://thecreativecat.net/daily-sketch-inscrutable-patterns.

Keepsake Box, Winter Cats Cube

Winter Cats cube keepsake.
Winter Cats cube keepsake.

This papier-mâché box has five of my “Winter Cats” pastel paintings on the lid and four sides of the box, trimmed with soft light green. Box measures 6″ x 6″ x 6″. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’c0c04f40-af75-11e6-b19c-002590787d08′ ]Handmade Feline, “Winter Cats Keepsake”[/ss_product]

Use for storage for small items, photos or special keepsakes, or use as gift boxes.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint the trim on each box, in this case the red that I liberally used in each of the paintings. I then print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the lid and sides. Box insides are unfinished.

I love snow light, inside or out, and with the bare trees and in winter I’m reminded of other snowy days and the cats who enjoyed them with me. This set joins four paintings of my cats done in winter light in a looser, Impressionist style, in a series I call “Winter Cats”. Each was rescued from a life outdoors in the cold, ice and snow, and I am glad I could provide a loving home from where they could simply enjoy a snowy day from the inside.

Keepsake Box, Impressionist Cats Cube

Impressionist Cats keepsake cube.
Impressionist Cats keepsake cube.

This papier-mâché box has five of my cat paintings and sketches in pastel and an Impressionist style on the lid and four sides of the box, trimmed with bright blue. Box measures 7″ x 7″ x 7″. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’a1aadc92-af75-11e6-bb57-002590787d08′ ]Handmade Feline, “Impressionist Cats Keepsake”[/ss_product]

Use for storage for small items, photos or special keepsakes, or use as gift boxes.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint the trim on each box, in this case the red that I liberally used in each of the paintings. I then print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the lid and sides. Box insides are unfinished.

I’ve always been inspired by the Impressionist painters from sketches to paintings. This includes five of many works in the style.

See other keepsake boxes.

Keepsake boxes

Also see gift boxes.

Gift boxes


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Marketplace

Mimi and Hamlet supervise the making of the keepsakes.

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!

 


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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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© 2017 | 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!

PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS WEBSITE
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | STUMBLEUPON | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL

HOME

Friendship Friday.


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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