“Star of Wonder” Holiday Card

We have a very special card for you to consider for your holiday greetings. We don’t really celebrate any one tradition for the winter holidays, but we enjoy sharing traditions of all our friends. I had created the six-pointed star as part of an invitation I designed for a non-denominational holiday musical celebration a few years ago. It could have been that, while I worked on that design on my computer, one or more young black cats found it intensely interesting against the black background of the design and an idea was born, a universal message for the season, with cats. It wasn’t the one above at first, but another one, below, adapted from remembering the Four when they were kittens looking out the big window at the birds and the snow, then it was night and there was a star…

I really like this design, and it was just what I’d envisioned. But there was another, more serious design developing in there. Soon I was looking for the purr-fect silhouette. You’ve seen me use daily sketches for new designs for merchandise, but I’ve also used daily photos. I remembered  a feline silhouette 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—it was very fun and worth every minute to isolate all those furs and whiskers to that his silhouette would look authentic.

And there it was, a little more serious than the first design, just a cat, a star, and the blue of a winter night, and it can take on any meaning you’d like. It’s one of the favorites in my collection of greeting cards.

And even though Mr. Sunshine was the model for the card, Giuseppe was generous enough to model the card for this article.

This card is 5″ x 7″ and printed on 12 pt. matte card stock and includes a matching envelope, packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box. I originally had a message inside, but had enough requests for custom messages that when I reprinted I had them printed blank inside. Cards can be customized with your message with a minimum order of two dozen. Orders of a half dozen or more are packed in a packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box.

Can We Get That Thing?

And I do have the other design featuring a wordless illustration of the Curious Quartet looking at the same star.

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.

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.

Usually Mimi models products for me because she is so experienced with this. But when I decided I’d photograph this card I actually envisioned Giuseppe, pretty much like the photo at the top. Still, when I set it up, it was Mimi who came by, but just couldn’t settle down. I could still envision Giuseppe sitting tall next to the card, and he was watching from my desk. I called him and it only took a short while for him to circle around and knock the card over a few times, look out the window, Bella came over to see what was up and then left, and finally he sat exactly as I had pictured. These cats really can read my mind, but I think they just try to foil it so I don’t realize they do. Giuseppe still can’t resist poking his nose against the corner of anything, especially a nice cardboard greeting card.

. . . . . . .

Other holiday cards

I have a large selection of other holiday cards featuring cats, of course, pets, birds and nature.

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Marketplace

Giuseppe just has to check out the inside.

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.

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

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Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

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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.

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© 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: 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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