2014 Calendars from The Creative Cat
Calendars are a natural with as many images as I have, and I could easily design a dozen different styles, each a different theme and type of image. The difficult part is narrowing the ideas down to a few that I can reasonably put together and have printed. This year, in addition to continuing three other popular designs, I have a very special new design that features popular daily sketches and includes a donation with every purchase.
I’d been waiting to introduce these until I had details settled out with my Amazon.com account—it seems I’ve actually had two accounts all along, which I’d thought (I set them up using different computers), and we had a difficult time moving things around so everything was in one account. We’re still not quite done so these calendars are not on Amazon.com at the moment, but they will be soon. I didn’t want to wait any longer to offer these, though! Right now they can be purchased here and in my Etsy shop. I will add them to Amazon and other sites once the Amazon account information is settled out.
12 Sketches of Cats 2014 Wall Calendar
“12 Sketches of Cats 2014 Calendar”
I’ve always admired oversized “art calendars”, the ones where the art is foremost and the calendar just an incidental means of presenting it. Calendars are printed on quality text or cover stock and are only printed on one side of the page with plenty of clear space around the artwork because the image is intended to be framable with nothing printed on the back.
And so 12 Sketches of Cats is digitally printed in the same archival inks and acid-free natural 100# smooth cover stock I use for the digital art prints I sell. Each page is 11″ x 17″ so there is plenty of space to have the art at or near its native size with room for the name and information about the art with the calendar at the bottom. The calendar is spiral-bound at the top with a hole drilled just beneath the spiral so you display one page at a time.
In addition to keeping art near its native size I’ve also sized most of the artwork so it will easily fit a standard frame size. Some images, such as “Shades of Gray” and “World Cat” are smaller than the originals to fit the page. I chose sketches for popularity and narrowed them down for a variety of style and medium. All are in color; none of the pencil, charcoal or ink sketches seemed to fit with the color art, so of course that might be a calendar of its own someday, but don’t worry—I have a special little gift book I’ll introduce next week.
And there are actually 13 sketches if you count the cover, but because covers see more wear I’m keeping the title at 12. The art included in the calendar is:
Cover: Mimi’s Sunbath
January: Winter Light
February: Shades of Gray
March: Catamount Brushmore
April: Two Cats After van Gogh
May: In Afternoon Sun
June: Lazy Saturday Afternoon
July: Stanley with Geraniums
August: Happy Birthday, Andy Warhol
September: Three Warm Cats on a Cool Ground
October: Two in a Basket
November: Vigilant Nap
December: World Cat
This calendar costs a little more than the typical calendar because of the size and quality, and the value of what’s in it—I generally sell my prints for $10.00 to $25.00 each depending on the size, but in this calendar you get 12 prints, or 13 if you count the cover, for one price.
Most important, each calendar purchase also generates a $10.00 donation to an organization that benefits cats.
Order a calendar now
Calendars are $45.00, and from now until the end of December 2013 I will donate $10.00 of each sale to FosterCat, Inc. Not only has FosterCat been doing it’s typical wonderful work in rescuing and finding forever homes for cats of all ages through its foster home-only all-volunteer organization, they have also been helping kittens and cats find home who have been rescued by Pittsburgh Feral Cat Movement, which allows all those who volunteer as a rescue to foster more cats and kittens.
Click here to order a calendar through my Etsy shop.
Click here to order a calendar through PayPal
NOTE: I will continue to sell this calendar until all I printed are gone, but because of the value of the art within it I will not discount it after the beginning of the year as I do others. The purchase price will always generate a $10.00 donation to a specified cat rescue or assistance organization.
Compositions in Black and Green 2014 Calendar
Compositions in Black and Green 2014
I’ve been collecting photos for this calendar since I finished last year’s calendar! These five wonderful black cats will show the world that everyone needs to have at least one black kitty in their life, and, at least in my house, the more the merrier! Again, it includes a collection of silly, cute and artful photos in equal measure, just the thing to show others what black cats can bring to your life.
Again in 2014 Jelly Bean is on the cover, and rightly so—he spends the most time in there and is the most beguiling where the faucet is concerned, and he also does some of the most interesting things…
Each month includes one main photo which was likely taken during that particular month so the lighting is right. On the right a monthly calendar includes basic holidays, moon phases and room for notes at the bottom, and thumbnail photos of the Five from other activities in green and white decorate open areas on the calendar page.
And Emeraude makes an appearance in this calendar since, not only is she a black cat in a green and white bathroom and she has spent most of her time in this house in that room and enjoyed it just as much as the Five, but her eyes are the greenest too! And even Lakota, though he was not black, appears as well.
The calendar is a 5.5″ x 8.5″ spiral-bound calendar printed on 100# matte-finish text paper so it’s easy to write on but the art still looks bright and crisp, and I have it available in both a journal and wall calendar style; I had been planning to choose only one style but last year’s orders were divided just about equally between the two styles so I decided to print both again.
The convenient size is either coil-bound across the top so that it hangs like a wall calendar, or down the left so that it opens like a journal. I have both variations available for sale, so be sure to choose Wall Calendar or Journal Style when you purchase.
Compositions in Black and Green, journal and wall style, two spreads from the 2013 calendars.
Throughout 2013 I created handmade and printed items such as wood-mounted art, keepsake boxes and the set of greeting cards of the same name using images from the 2013 calendar. As a complement to the 2014 calendar I will be doing the same, and any image can be ordered as a print. You’ll see them throughout 2013. Sign up for my e-newsletter at the bottom of this page to be sure you don’t miss any special offers.
Order Compositions in Black and Green 2014 Calendar
You can purchase this calendar in my Etsy shop if there are also things you’d like to purchase there.
In the Kitchen with Cookie 2014 Calendar
“In the Kitchen With Cookie 2014”
Just as I had a request to create a calendar featuring Cookie and her antics in the kitchen, I’ve had requests for another for this year.
Because I used just about every photo of Cookie in the kitchen I had, I can’t really create a new calendar, but I am working on another related project—a book and calendar set that combines so much of what Cookie and all my garden cats shared with me: the backyard wildlife habitat, the organic garden, cooking, and photographing and painting all of it.
That’s an ambitious project to say the least! I didn’t think I’d get it done in time for 2014 so I asked of those who requested what they thought of simply issuing the same calendar with new dates. Most said that was fine, so that’s what I’ve decided to do for 2014, and I hope the second time around everyone can try more recipes and experiment a little!
A little bit of background
If you’ve followed my daily photos on The Creative Cat you may be familiar with my photos of Cookie interacting with properly-warmed pasta bowls, enamel pots and glass salad bowls in the series called “In the Kitchen With Cookie”. I was lucky enough to catch her in the act through the years photographing a dozen amusing images of Cookie exploring alternate uses for these items. A number of readers requested a calendar which sounds like a wonderful idea to me, especially as a tribute to a part of Cookie’s unforgettable curiosity that still makes me laugh.
About the calendar
The calendar is a 5.5″ x 8.5″ spiral-bound calendar printed on 100# matte-finish text paper so it’s easy to write on but the art still looks bright and crisp, and I am offering it as both a wall and journal style calendar.
Each month includes one main photo of Cookie caught in the act which was either taken during that particular month or is themed for that month food-wise, plus a bit of the text from the original post on The Creative Cat with a background pattern of blue gingham that so matches my kitchen—and Kelly even makes an appearance with Cookie in two of the photos! I’ve also included a simple recipe of my own that corresponds.
In the Kitchen With Cookie, journal and wall style open to spreads from 2013.
On the right a monthly calendar includes basic holidays, moon phases and room for notes at the bottom, and other photos of Cookie from the same and related explorations decorate open areas on the calendar page.
The recipes celebrate winter days in my kitchen and the seasons of my garden, long enjoyed with Cookie’s supervision, including my special “Cheesecake”, “Healthy Multi-fruit Crisp”, “Easy Lemon Vinaigrette” and my best advice for cooking fresh sweet corn…after you’ve extricated it from Cookie’s paws.
The convenient size is coil-bound either across the top so that it hangs like a wall calendar, or down the left so that it opens like a journal. I have both variations available for sale, so be sure to choose Wall Calendar or Journal Style when you purchase.
Throughout 2013 I created a number of products such as wood-mounted artwork and plaques using images in this calendar, and will continue in 2014, and any image can be ordered as a print. I’ll offer these through 2013. Sign up for my e-newsletter at the bottom of this page to be sure you don’t miss any special offers.
Below is a handy slideshow from 2013 so you can flip through the pages like a book, and below that you’ll find ordering information.
Order In the Kitchen with Cookie 2014
You can purchase this calendar in my Etsy shop if there are also things you’d like to purchase there.
Great Rescues Day Book
Great Rescues Day Book
I released this earlier this year, but had an issue with the ISBN and barcode…it was my own fault! After resolving it I had the back covers reprinted and rebound all the copies with the correct ISBN and barcode.
New format, same great kitties! If you’re familiar with Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book, this book carries on the idea in a way that’s much more permanent. This book is not dated for one year, but has all the dates in a month for you to fill in the birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and social and personal events in your life.
I’ve used a day book for over 20 years and have all the arrivals and, sadly, departures of each of my cats along with my friends’ weddings, my nieces’ births and the births of their children, the day I first registered a business name, all that sort of stuff, conveniently included in one place. Below is a sample two-page spread for the month of January.
On the left is the featured portrait with the kitty’s story, below that the monthly fun quote of something feline. On the right is the month name with enough lines for all possible dates in that month. The holidays that are celebrated on a certain date are marked on that date, but ones that float, especially those Monday holidays, are explained at the bottom just to remind you that they also happen in that month. If animal-themed holidays are celebrated on a certain date, like Spay Day USA, they will also be included, but just the same if they are ones that float like Pet Memorial Sunday they will be explained at the bottom. The book is 8″ x 10″ and spiral-bound on the left edge, still small enough to be easily carried around.
Great Rescues Day Book, January featured portrait and day book page.
I had originally wanted to do this as a day book, but was uncertain enough at the reception I decided instead to go with a calendar. I was certain about one thing: I wanted to share those stories and the lovely kitties I’d painted, and a calendar works fine for me. But compiling each one is such an effort because as I’d found with the original Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book, I have to rephotograph nearly every painting, a tricky and time-consuming endeavor, one that would be difficult to pull off each year. This day book still shares the stories and art, but as I publish the variations including other cats and dogs and even animals and people I know the work I’m doing will be in use for much longer.
Waiting for Mom, pastel © B.E. Kazmarski
Although Great Rescues Day Book is a 12-month book I am still featuring from the original calendar all 15 portraits of rescued cats I’ve been commissioned to paint in the 20 years I’ve been an animal portrait artist, plus the portrait of my own which I consider my first. These portraits won both a Certificate of Excellence and a Muse Medallion in the 2011 Cat Writers’ Association Annual Communication Contest, as well as the 22 Cats Notepaper mentioned below.
While the portraits are lovely and I’m proud of my body of work, the stories of these cats, and the people who rescued them, is what compels me to share them with you. Each of the stories tells of cats from shelters and cats abandoned and saved, cats found inside car engines and cats reluctantly surrendered by people who could no longer care for them, but each one has a happy ending as a cherished companion in a loving home.
And while each cat has an individual story, each rescuer has a story as well of reaching out to an animal in need to bring it in from the streets. In many cases they helped heal physical and emotional wounds and gave that cat a lifetime of love, in return receiving love and devotion; often those humans received some healing in return they weren’t aware they needed.
Great Rescues is spiral-bound and measures 8″ x 10″ to easily fit on your desk or in a purse, briefcase or backpack. While the original Great Rescues had a die-cut cover with the title stamped in gold foil, this has a solid 12 pt. printed cover for durability.
Following the calendar section is a section of stories of the rescuers and their feline families today and notes on the design and rendering of each of the portraits, followed by a mini cat-care book illustrated with my drawings. I’ve also redesigned my “22 Cats” decorative notepaper with a collage of all the portraits, to fit the new size, as seen below.
Award-winning 22 Cats Notebook Paper
As a complement to the day book, I am also designing from the images in this book a number of complementary products such as placemats, pet bowl mats and memo pads. Sign up for my e-newsletter at the bottom of this page to be sure you don’t miss any special offers.
For now, scroll down a little farther to find the Add to Cart button. If the book is a gift to someone, or you have a particular cat or cats in mind, I would be glad to add an inscription in the front of your book.
Here are images of the other portraits in the book—perhaps you’ll recognize a kitty you know!
All the portraits except Fawn.
Purchase through my Etsy shop
Click here to purchase from my Etsy shop.
Please also see “Calendars” for other dated calendar products.
The girls are ready for work.
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.
Generations of cats have had to supervise me in my studio to make certain what I produce is acceptable—Cookie watched over me beginning in 1992 and Kelly beginning in 1997! Here they are, telling me to settle down and get to work.
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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 or Fine Art America profile 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.normalcy.
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© 2013 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
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