Portraits of Animals

I prepare and print your photo or artwork of your pet onto a frosted vinyl label, then burnish it onto a cube-shaped glass vase 3.25″ in each dimension. A sympathy card and an LED tea light are included. The price includes shipping, whether to you or a friend, within the continental US.

Custom votive in ambient light.

If this votive is a gift…

I’ll be happy to ship it directly with a card at no extra charge.

• Use the drop-down below to enter your choice of standard or other sympathy card.
• Use the text box below to enter your message for the sympathy card and optional text for the back, if necessary.
• If you’ve chosen a sympathy card from my collection, use the text box below to enter the design name.
• Please enter the recipient’s address in the “Shipping Address” area of the shopping cart.

At some point, you’ll also be able to upload your image(s) here, but for now send your images to bernadette@bernadette-k.com. Feel free to send messages before you order if you have any questions. Also, please see my tips on choosing an image below.

Give a Gift Certificate for a Custom Pet Memorial Gift

Gift Certificate for a Custom Pet Memorial Gift

Many people order a custom votive or garden flag for family or friends and have the gift shipped directly to them. But I’ve learned through the years with custom pet portraits, you can’t always find the right photo for the gift, and sometimes you know the recipient would prefer to choose the photo themselves. Custom pet memorial gifts are $25.00 no matter how they are made, and that makes it easy to purchase a gift certificate.

Custom Pet Memorial Votives

Votive lit at night.

I make your Custom Pet Memorial Votive with love and sympathy on the loss of a precious companion, be it yours, or a friend’s or family member’s companion.

Custom Memorial Votive

I designed the first of these memorial votives, seen above, as a gift to a friend who had rescued Oscar and had previously commissioned a portrait of him. Rather than using his entire portrait where he is sitting up, I designed it to focus on his face and positioned him so that the votive candle would alight his face, and especially his eyes. From its effect on me, and Oscar’s family’s reaction, I knew this was an idea that I could share with other animal lovers.

So I designed the memorial votives to focus on your companion’s face, and position their image so that the votive candle shines through their face, especially their eyes. During the day your votive captures ambient light even without the candle, but in the evening, when the candle is lit, the flickering light through your pet’s face in a darkened area is warm and intimate. Watch the video below as I place a lighted votive candle into Luna’s custom memorial votive.

How I make each votive

Henry

The sample votives you see here were ordered by one friend to give to another, and both parties gave me permission to share the images. I never use any image of a custom item without permission.

While I love to be creative with upcycled materials and make many votives using non-recyclable glass jars, I prefer these memorial votives to all be consistent and focus on the animal. I chose a square glass votive that I can easily purchase, and you can focus on the face of your beloved companion, not be distracted by the shape or see an image possibly distorted by the glass.

Working with your supplied photo or artwork, I use my decades of pet portraiture on paper and canvas and my photoshop skills to prepare the image to fit the votive.  I remove background distractions and correct distortions if necessary, and add a color or gentle pattern that suits your pet, pulling ideas from the supplied photos.

I print that image on a frosted vinyl label that holds the image with clarity and diffuses the light of the candle, and wraps completely around the outside of the votive.

You can use a wax votive, but as much as I love real candles and flickering candlelight, with years of curious feline noses and waving tails I’ve been trained to use flameless candles. I provide an LED votive candle with each votive I make that has an inexpensive and easily purchased replaceable battery so that you don’t need to run out and find a brand new votive to continue remembering your pet when the original grows dim.

Each votive is packaged with a small care and use card and a message of sympathy from me, “May their light shine on you always”.

If your votive is a gift a sympathy card with your message is included

You may include a message to any recipient. I offer memorial note cards that are blank inside where I will write your message and include it, in an envelope, with the votive. There is no charge for this.

The note card I send with your votive.

Whether the votive is for you or a gift for a recipient, the votive and card are carefully packed and shipped in a Priority Mail box.

A few more sample votives

In some cases I can place two pets on the same votive. This family, unfortunately, lost both of their companions, unexpectedly, in the space of one month. In this case I was provided with several photos and I put them together, which was a small extra charge for the extra time of removing the background from both photos, then merging them together ensuring that Cody and Dakota were proportional to each other.

Cody and Dakota with votive

Cody and Dakota without votive

Examples of working with photos

Below are some examples of the work I’ve done with supplied photos.

Henry

Henry

Rufus custom memorial votive.

Luna

Luna custom memorial votive.

Stormy

Stormy without votive

Biggie

Biggie custom memorial votive.

Tips on choosing a greeting

Other memorial votives

Love Never Ends votive.

Two other votive designs both became popular as customers purchased them as memorial votives. This idea began with the “Star of Wonder” votive I designed for the 2018 winter holidays. Many people purchased it as a memorial item for themselves or for friends. I started working out the process of customizing the same square votive, but with a pet’s image on it as a customized item. Click on either image to read more about the design.

Star of Wonder feline votive.

Stained Glass Cats votive.

OTHER VOTIVES

Find other votives featuring cats, butterflies, flowers, nature and wildlife in my Handmade Gifts Gallery or search “votives”.

Ask your questions, write a review or a testimonial about Custom Pet Memorial Votives

Would you like to leave a comment, question, review or testimonial about a votive? I can’t add comments to my product pages, but please use this form below and I’ll respond, or add your testimonial it to this page.

Testimonials

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This glass votive is etched by hand and finished with a clear label I printed from my artwork “Star of Wonder”. It’s made from a purchased cube-shaped glass vase 3.25″ in each dimensionand comes with an LED tea light. Price includes shipping.

Star of Wonder feline votive.

I etched the inside of the vase to better diffuse the light from the candle, then printed the design on a purchased clear vinyl label and burnished it onto the vase.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Star of Wonder holiday card.

This design is adapted from a holiday card, and of course inspired by and features my fine felines.

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…

Star of Kittens holiday card.

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.

Star of Wonder holiday card.

OTHER VOTIVES

Find other votives featuring cats, butterflies, flowers, nature and wildlife in my Handmade Gifts Gallery or search “votives”.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This remembrance is a print of my design “I Will Always Walk With You” on a cradled wood panel, and a combination of finishes around the sides to coordinate with the image and appear like stone. The size is 5″ x 7″ x 1.5″. Price includes shipping.

I Will Always Walk With You Pet Remembrance Gift

This particular design was based on a chance photo from a June morning in 2009 when Cookie and Namir and I were out in our back yard, each doing our thing, they smelling and tasting and stalking, me racing from flower to glistening dewdrop with my camera. They often followed or preceded me as I wandered, and I happened to see the stepping stone at the bottom of the steps with my wet footprint and two pawprints, a faint third above them. We lost Namir a few weeks later, and when I reviewed the photos from that morning I found this one, and immediately knew it had to be one of the set of sympathy cards I was designing and what text I’d use.

I Will Always Walk With You Animal Sympathy Card

The card has continued to be popular and I’ve also sold a few prints of it. It’s one of three in the dozen that are non-species-specific, so can be used for any pet with paws; in some cases those distinctive pawprints stand for animals in general.

This year I’ve been designing and creating keepsake items to be used as memorials to pets. I designed animal sympathy cards in 2009 and have always wanted to add to gifts to what I offer. In 2018 I made my first votives including “Star of Wonder” intended as holiday items, and to my surprise people purchased “Star of Wonder” to give as a gift, or to use themselves, to remember beloved pets. That confirned for me that my idea for memorial gifts was valid.

I Will Always Walk With You pet memorial gift

These items are called “shelf-sitters” today, but ten years ago when I made a series of them with just my art I called them “wood-mounted art”. They can sit on a shelf or table, or because the “cradles”, or wooden frame backing, can be used for hanging like a canvas print, they can also hang on the wall.

Small wood block with artwork.

The back showing the “cradles” that can be used for hanging.

Wood-mounted art hanging on the wall.

I had intended to make the sides look like faux stone mimicking the stone from the design. I added a soft cool gold transparent glaze to the wood, then originally created three different finishes and asked local friends for feedback about which one they liked best because I couldn’t decide, and that turned out to be the pale green and copper with the pale gold glaze on top.

The corners.

The finish on the side.

The top corner.

In time I will add to this remembrance, to close in the bottom to be able to hold ashes or keepsakes, and also to customize the side with a name.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This glass votive is etched by hand and finished with a clear label I printed from my artwork “Stained Glass Cats”. It’s made from a purchased glass vase 3.25″  x 3.25″ and comes with an LED tea light. Price includes shipping.

Stained Glass Cats votive.

I etched the inside of the vase to better diffuse the light from the candle, then printed the design on a purchased clear vinyl label and burnished it onto the vase.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Here’s an idea that’s been occurring to me lately as I watch the cats in the sun by the dining room window in early May. I love the way the glass in a stained glass panel is shaded light toward the center of its shape, darker outside by the shadow from the lead between the shapes, and even the rippled quality of the color in many pieces of glass. I’d considered oil pastel for this but they weren’t handy when Jelly Bean, Mewsette and Giuseppe gathered in the late afternoon sun in the dining room window. The geranium leaves were aglow, shadows were deep and colorful, and each cat is its unique color. I followed the simplified shapes and colors I saw through squinted eyes.

OTHER VOTIVES

Find other votives featuring cats, butterflies, flowers, nature and wildlife in my Handmade Gifts Gallery or search “votives”.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in indigo with bright red trim, with a print of “Two Cats After van Gogh” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 6″x6″ in diameter x 3″ high. Price includes shipping.

Front view Two Cats After van Gogh Keepsake Box

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box, in this case the red and blue being 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. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

Side view of colors.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

“Two Cats After van Gogh”, oil pastel, 6″ x 5″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I was so taken by the exhibit “Van Gogh Close Up” that I began visualizing sketches of my cats and other things in techniques and colors that van Gogh may have used, the thick impasto of the paint, the contrasting outlines of figures and bright bold non-objective colors The first of these was “Two Cats After van Gogh”, using oil pastel to create the layered impasto and texture. I also have other keepsake boxes and gift items with other images in this style such as “Mimi on the Windowsill “, “Sunshine in Colors”, and “Kelly’s Yellow Bath”. Please search my shop for those titles to see the items I offer with those images.

In creating my Daily Sketches of my cats I experiment and work in a different style and medium each day. You can read more about these three sketches and other on The Creative Cat (www.thecreativecat.net).

See other Keepsake Boxes.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This box has my painting “The Perfect Place” on the top, painted with deep forest green and sides embellished with a cutout of the flowers from the painting. Box measures 11″ x 9″ x 5″ high. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’051c9bba-ff8c-11e6-9a46-002590787d08′ ]Handmade, The Perfect Place 11″ Rectangular Keepsake Box[/ss_product]

The Perfect Place keepsake

Keepsake top and sides

Keepsake corner embellishments

Keepsake open

Just one little careful study of sun on the bench and flowers, from anothers’ garden. My own garden bench should be so well landscaped.

About the keepsakes

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

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.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Read more about the art and other daily sketches at: http://thecreativecat.net/daily-sketch-inscrutable-patterns. In creating my Daily Sketches of my cats I experiment and work in a different style and medium each day. You can read more about these three sketches and other on The Creative Cat (www.thecreativecat.net).

See other gift boxes.

Gift boxes

Also see keepsake boxes.

Keepsake boxes

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

Friendship Friday

This set of cube-shaped papier-mâché boxes range in size from 9″ x 9″ to 3″ x 3″. Each box has five images, one on the top and each side, and is trimmed in a complementary color. All images are from the Panhandle Trail. You don’t need to buy the whole set, but you can certainly buy more than one.

Set of Seven Keepsakes Inspired by Nature

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

I choose a theme for each box and from that choose the five images and a color that coordinates with the artwork to paint the trim. 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.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Wildflowers, butterflies, seasonal art, muddy spring days, hot summer afternoons, crisp autumn mornings and quiet winter dusks, a set of seven cube-shaped keepsake boxes. Nature is so full of color and beauty I hardly know where to start or finish.

9 x 9 box: Wildflower Fields, photographs

• Woodland Sunflowers
• Sweet Peas
• Daisies, Hen’s Foot and Vetch
• Hyssop and Sweet Peas
• Hen’s Foot and Vetch

8 x 8 box: Four Seasons of the Panhandle Trail, paintings

• The Rope Swing
• Spring Trail
• Summer Sunset, Robinson Run
• Autumn Along the Trail
• Dusk in the Woods

7 x 7 box: Winter Beauty, paintings

• Dusk in the Woods
• Sycamore Moon
• Snowfall
• Winter Sunset Reflections
• Panhandle Outbound

6 x 6 box: Into the Woods, paintings

• Summer Sunset Robinson Run
• Running Through the Woods
• The Swimming Hole
• Paths I Have Walked
• The Rope Swing

5 x 5 box: Butterflies of the Trail

• Great Spangled Fritillary on Milkweed
• Silvery Checkerspot on Orange Butterfly Weed
• Monarch on Mulberry Leaf
• Silvery Checkerspot on Fleabane
• Tiger Swallowtail on Joe-pye Weed

4 x 4 box: Summer Wildflowers, photos

• Three Sunflowers
• Sweet Peas
• St. John’s Wort
• Hyssop and Vetch with Cabbage White Butterfly
• Ironweed

3 x 3 box: Spring Wildflowers, photos

• Nodding Trillium
• Downy Yellow Violet
• Red Trillium
• Spring Cress
• Cranesbill Geranium

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in indigo with bright red trim, with a print of “In Window Light” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 5″ x 5″ in diameter x 2.5″ high. Price includes shipping.

In Window Light Keepsake Box

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box, in this case the red and blue being 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. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

Side view of colors.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

In Window Light, 5 x 7, oil pastel © B.E. Kazmarski

I was so taken by the exhibit “Van Gogh Close Up” that I began visualizing sketches of my cats and other things in techniques and colors that van Gogh may have used, the thick impasto of the paint, the contrasting outlines of figures and bright bold non-objective colors The first of these was “Two Cats After van Gogh”, using oil pastel to create the layered impasto and texture. I also have other keepsake boxes and gift items with other images in this style such as “Mimi on the Windowsill “, “Sunshine in Colors”, and “Kelly’s Yellow Bath”. Please search my shop for those titles to see the items I offer with those images.

In creating my Daily Sketches of my cats I experiment and work in a different style and medium each day. You can read more about these three sketches and other on The Creative Cat (www.thecreativecat.net).

See other Keepsake Boxes.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in indigo with bright red trim, with a print of “Cool Morning Bath” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 4″ x 4″ in diameter x 2″ high. Price includes shipping.

Cool Morning Bath Keepsake Box

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box, in this case the red and blue being 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. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

Side view of colors.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

“Cool Morning Bath”, oil pastel, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I was so taken by the exhibit “Van Gogh Close Up” that I began visualizing sketches of my cats and other things in techniques and colors that van Gogh may have used, the thick impasto of the paint, the contrasting outlines of figures and bright bold non-objective colors The first of these was “Two Cats After van Gogh”, using oil pastel to create the layered impasto and texture. I also have other keepsake boxes and gift items with other images in this style such as “Mimi on the Windowsill “, “Sunshine in Colors”, and “Kelly’s Yellow Bath”. Please search my shop for those titles to see the items I offer with those images.

In creating my Daily Sketches of my cats I experiment and work in a different style and medium each day. You can read more about these three sketches and other on The Creative Cat (www.thecreativecat.net).

See other Keepsake Boxes.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

These papier-mâché boxes are hand-painted in indigo with bright red trim, with a print of one of my “Two Cats After van Gogh” sketches adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Boxes nest and measure 6″ x 6″, 5″ x 5″ and 4″ x 4″. Price includes shipping.

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box, in this case the red and blue being 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. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

Side view of colors.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

I was so taken by the exhibit “Van Gogh Close Up” that I began visualizing sketches of my cats and other things in techniques and colors that van Gogh may have used, the thick impasto of the paint, the contrasting outlines of figures and bright bold non-objective colors The first of these was “Two Cats After van Gogh”, using oil pastel to create the layered impasto and texture. I also have other keepsake boxes and gift items with other images in this style such as “Mimi on the Windowsill “, “Sunshine in Colors”, and “Kelly’s Yellow Bath”. Please search my shop for those titles to see the items I offer with those images.

Two Cats After van Gogh

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in indigo with bright red trim, with a print of “Two Cats After van Gogh” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 6″ x 6″ in diameter x 3″ high.

Front view Two Cats After van Gogh Keepsake Box

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Click the image to read more.

“Two Cats After van Gogh”, oil pastel, 6″ x 5″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

In Window Light Keepsake Box

In Window Light Keepsake Box

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in indigo with bright red trim, with a print of “In Window Light” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 5″ x 5″ in diameter x 2.5″ high.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Click the image to read more.

In Window Light, 5 x 7, oil pastel © B.E. Kazmarski

Cool Morning Bath Keepsake Box

Cool Morning Bath Keepsake Box

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in indigo with bright red trim, with a print of “Cool Morning Bath” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 4″x4″ in diameter x 2″ high.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Click the image to read more.

“Cool Morning Bath”, oil pastel, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

See other Keepsake Boxes.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in green with black trim, with a print of “In Afternoon Sun” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 4″ x 4″ x 3″ high. Price includes shipping.

In Afternoon Light Keepsake Box

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box. I then print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the lid. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

“In Afternoon Sun”, ink brush pen and watercolor, 10 x 11 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

In creating my Daily Sketches of my cats I experiment and work in a different style and medium each day. You can read more about these three sketches and other on The Creative Cat (www.thecreativecat.net).

See other Keepsake Boxes.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This vintage cardboard cigar box maintains a little of the original finishes plus a crackle finish and enamel leather brown trim with an image of my batik “Orange Cheshire Cat Batik”. Box measures approximately 6″ x 4″ x 2″ high. Price includes shipping.

Ginger Cheshire Kitty Batik Keepsake

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box, in this case two shades of orange. I then print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the lid. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

I actually created this batik in a sixth grade art class. Nothing like pulling things out of the attic and reviving them. Read more about “Cheshire Kitty Batik” on The Creative Cat.

Find other keepsakes on my Keepsake Boxes page.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted entirely in matte black with a print of my scratchboard “Black and Light” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 5″ x 8″ in diameter x 3″ high. Price includes shipping.

Black and Light Keepsake Box

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box. I then print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the lid. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

“Black and Light”, scratchboard, 8 x 8 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Read more about “Black and Light” on The Creative Cat.

Find other keepsakes on my Handmade Gift Items page.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in cobalt with black trim, with a print of “Lucy Most Exceptional Kitten” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 4″ x 4″ in x 3″ high. Price includes shipping.

Lucy the Most Exceptional Kitten Keepsake Box

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box. I then print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the lid. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Click the image to read more.

Lucy, the Most Exceptional Kitten the World Has Every Known

In creating my Daily Sketches of my cats I experiment and work in a different style and medium each day. You can read more about these three sketches and other on The Creative Cat (www.thecreativecat.net).

See other Keepsake Boxes.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in sky blue with forest green trim, with a print of “Mother and Daughter, Sun and Shadow” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 4″ x 4″ in diameter x 3″ high. Price includes shipping.

Mother and Daughter, Sun and Shadow Keepsake Box

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box. I then print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the lid. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Click the image to read more.

Mother and Daughter, Sun and Shadow, watercolor pencil, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

In creating my Daily Sketches of my cats I experiment and work in a different style and medium each day. You can read more about these three sketches and other on The Creative Cat (www.thecreativecat.net).

See other Keepsake Boxes.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in violet with black trim, with a print of “World Cat” adhered to the lid. Lid and bottom are finished with a light coat of matte-finish varnish. Insides are unfinished. Box measures 4″ x 4″ in diameter x 3″ high. Price includes shipping.

World Cat Keepsake Box

Use them to store your kitty’s keepsakes or your own, or jewelry or office items and much more. Give them as a gift or use them as gift boxes. Some people have used them as urns for their pet’s cremains.

I choose colors that coordinate with the artwork and paint each box. I then print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the lid. I finish the bottom and lid of the box with water-based clear varnish. Box insides are unfinished.

The boxes are handmade and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Click the image to read more.

“World Cat”, ink and watercolor, 9″ x 12″ © BernadetteE. Kazmarski

In creating my Daily Sketches of my cats I experiment and work in a different style and medium each day. You can read more about these three sketches and other on The Creative Cat (www.thecreativecat.net).

See other Keepsake Boxes.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

This papier-mâché box is hand-painted in matte black paint and the photo adhered to the lid. Box measures 4.25″ diameter x 4″ high. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’fd546bae-9241-11e6-bc24-002590787d08′ ]Handmade Feline, “The Eye Model Round Keepsake Box”[/ss_product]

Keepsake Box, “The Eye Model”

Keepsake Box, “The Eye Model”

Keepsake Box, “The Eye Model”, side view

Giuseppe models the keepsake boxes.

This photo has long been one of my favorites, taken in my studio where the lighting was good and Giuseppe was getting drowsy supervising me, hence the bedroom eyes.

Use for storage for small items, photos or special keepsakes, or use as gift 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 matte-finish sticker paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the box. I will occasionally add a varnish as a finish, Box insides are unpainted and unfinished.

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.

This box has my painting “My Mother’s Columbines” on the top, painted with deep forest green and sides embellished with a pattern of smaller images of the painting. Box measures 9″ in diameter x 5″ high. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’e0fe595c-ff8c-11e6-b30c-002590787d08′ ]Handmade, Columbines 9″ Round Keepsake Box[/ss_product]

Columbines keepsake

View of top

Side of keepsake

Keepsake open

Another piece borne of January inspiration in my seed and flower catalogs, this little bunch of columbines was so joyful that it stayed with me. One of my favorite flowers, it is also a favorite of my mother, and I gave this painting to her as a birthday present one year. She has since passed away and I’ve sold her home, and kept the artwork I’d done. I sold the original to a good friend to give to her mother but this image will always remind me of her.

About the keepsakes

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

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.

See other gift boxes.

Gift boxes

Also see keepsake boxes.

Keepsake boxes

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

Text reads:
The sweetest memories often come in quiet moments.

[ss_product id=’de53da52-dfa2-11e5-9261-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Kelly Twice[/ss_product]

When I took this photo one autumn morning of Kelly in the long warm sun path from the back yard through door and across the mottled basement floor, though it was such a common event, I knew immediately this photo was special.

Timid rescued kitty Kelly could not pass up a chance to sit and be washed by comforting warmth, and while she often talked about things she liked she had settled and was quiet and contemplative in these moments. Although most of her body was in shadow leading off into her elongated shadow on the floor, I could see just enough of her tortie splashes on her silhouette to always know it was Kelly. and when she turned so I could capture her delicate profile, and curled her tail characteristically around her paws, I knew this photo, of all the ones I took in those moments, was going to “be something”.

I recalled it years later when I began to design my animal sympathy cards and wrote the verse to accompany the image, knowing that someday I would look at that spot and remember that quiet moment with Kelly. I do now, each warm sunny morning when we gather at the basement door to watch the nature and wildlife and enjoy one more temperate morning.

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 12 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• Individual cares are mailed first class
• sets of cards are packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount. Visit my Animal Sympathy Cards page to see the entire set.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

Lucy Helps to Make the Bed

Text reads:
Remember the best moments with love and joy.

[ss_product id=’00e4624e-dfa3-11e5-bd42-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Lucy Helps to Make the Bed[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

No text on the front.

• Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.
• Feline Fine Art Cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.
• Individual cards are shipped by first class mail.
• Sets of six and twelve are packed in a clear-top stationery box. Price includes shipping via Priority Mail.

About the artwork

Sophie was always in one of the windows when I left and when I returned, and she always managed to use the curtains to dramatic advantage. This is one of my fondest memories of her, nestled in the creamy lace with the spring-blooming forget-me-nots in the windowbox.

The forget-me-nots are beginning to bloom as they grow taller more quickly, an inch or two each day, in the pots in the windowbox under my dining room window. Each year when I transplant them from the yard and put the pots in place I remember Sophie and this particular beautiful moment in 2005—May 4, 2005 to be exact. It was Sophie’s year to pose in forget-me-nots and I have so many from the first two weeks of May, but of all of them, this is my favorite.

And it’s not just a favorite of that series of Sophie in the forget-me-nots, but of all my photos to date, and a treasured memory.

Sophie always watched me leave the house, and in the evenings I closed my curtains before I left. She also like to play around with the curtain—often I had to inspect the lace to see her white fur through the mesh, or she dramatically appeared from between the panels, around the edge or underneath, but she was always there with her big round eyes.

On this day, in the late afternoon, the warm spring sun angled into the window imparting a creamy tone to the lace, and the forget-me-nots I’d planted in pots in the windowbox were in full flower. Before I left I closed the curtains because I’d be gone after dark, and Sophie began her little game while I was still indoors, so I stopped and captured a few images of her silhouetted and peering through the curtain at me.

See other Animal Sympathy Cards.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

Text on front:
Never enough time, but time enough to love.

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching cream envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text reads:
I will always walk with you.

[ss_product id=’a725e6b8-dfa4-11e5-a006-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, I Will Always Walk With You[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

About the artwork

I Will Always Walk With You Animal Sympathy Card

I call this design one of my “non-denominational” sympathy cards that doesn’t feature a cat or any animal at all, only pawprints next to my footprint on my stone path. If you know animal tracks this print is obviously a domestic cat’s print, but pawprints are universal in our language of animals with paws.

I took this photo one June morning in 2009, less than two weeks before I lost Namir, who along with Cookie spent time out in the yard with me every morning in those years. I remember turning around and seeing these prints on that flagstone as the three of us walked along the path, and hurrying to get the photo before the prints began to dry in the sun. The memory was so strong and I immediately began to form the final title of the image even before I knew what I’d do with it. I remembered it daily, knowing that Namir’s heart couldn’t hold out much longer. It was one of the first designs I visualized when I decided I really would go ahead and design the Animal Sympathy Cards.

Ironically, I had always thought it was Namir’s pawprint but just a couple of years ago I looked through the photos from that morning and realized it was probably Cookie’s. That would be more typical because Cookie was my guardian and followed or preceded me everywhere. But she has gone to prowl the big back yard of eternity with Namir and several of my other feline family, and the pawprint represents that wonderful time with the three of us, and by extension all of us.

Text reads:
Remember the beautiful moments from all those years together.

[ss_product id=’6332e424-dfa4-11e5-a28b-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Tea With Peaches[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 12 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text on front: Unforgettable.

[ss_product id=’4dd46190-dfc0-11e5-9dfa-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Unforgettable[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 12 pt. card stock
• includes a matching cream envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

About the artwork, and Kennedy

Unforgettable

“Unforgettable” features Kennedy, a hospice rescue who was only with us for six weeks but somehow seemed like a brother to the family of four as soon as he came in the door. Those bristly whiskers and gaunt face, copper eyes with a cataract, bent legs, stiff spine, who could forget any of Kennedy’s battle scars? But mostly, who could forget the part that was just him: happy, full of love and friendship, despite his pain and his past as you clearly see in his eyes?

The photo is one of the very last I took of him while he still lived, taken on the morning of the day I had him put to sleep, looking at me with trust and love and understanding and all that experience written all over his face.

Read more about Kennedy on The Creative Cat.

[ss_product id=’e4f1a49c-b0cd-11e5-9c18-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Original Set of 12[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Price includes shipping via first class mail.

By ordering Animal Sympathy Cards, Custom Dozen, you can take advantage of the quantity discount for one, two three or four dozen cards and choose the images you are mostly likely to use. They assort with any 5″ x 7″ greeting card too, not just the designs included in the sympathy set.

[ss_product id=’76c5a16e-59c7-11e6-a1e3-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Custom Dozen[/ss_product]

All prices include shipping.

The 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount, including individual cards from other collections.

Feline Fine Art Cards

Feline Photos Greeting Cards

Compositions in Black and Green, Set

Victoriana Cats, Set

Feline Seasonal and Holiday Greeting Cards

And even non-feline cards:

“Inspired by Flowers” Greeting Cards

“In the Garden” Fine Art Cards

Seasonal and Holiday Cards

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Price includes shipping via first class mail.

In the years since I’ve designed these cards I’ve designed several more. Some are new messages and images I want to share, some are dedicated to the geriatric and hospice foster cats I’ve had the joy of knowing, even for just a short time. To read more about how these cards came to be and the remarkable cat whose loss inspired me to realize the dream of designing these cards, read “Animal Sympathy Cards” on The Creative Cat.

Text reads:
No other eyes will look at you in quite the same way again.

[ss_product id=’e1cd1230-df9c-11e5-b5ce-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Cookie Looks at Me[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 12 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

Text reads:
always in your heart

[ss_product id=’4d528c8c-dfa3-11e5-9b53-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Lucy in the Morning[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text reads:
They find a comfortable spot in your heart to live in forever and ever.

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text reads:
They find a comfortable spot in your heart to live in forever and ever.

[ss_product id=’945e746a-dfa3-11e5-9b5f-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Peaches Has a Nap[/ss_product]

 This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text reads:
Remember the beautiful moments from all those years together.

[ss_product id=’03974af0-dfa4-11e5-a24b-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Sally Sitting in Speckles[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text reads:
No other eyes will look at you in quite the same way again.

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

Text reads:
They leave their mark on us, don’t they?

[ss_product id=’d2b556ac-dfa3-11e5-8d32-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, A Trail of Hearts and Paws[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text reads:
No other eyes will look at you in quite the same way again.

[ss_product id=’84a82d08-dfa4-11e5-b6fb-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, Tika, Therapy Dog[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text reads:
I’ll always remember the way you looked at me.

[ss_product id=’15e58bba-dfc0-11e5-9b38-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, The Way You Looked At Me[/ss_product]

Namir turns his gaze up to me, enchanting me with his “bedroom eyes” as we spend a morning in the garden. To visitors and to me, once he is sure he has you under his spell he turns on those famous bedroom eyes, narrowing them just enough so they looked mysteriously slanted and angling up a tourmaline glance, as if sharing a secret, looking totally exotic (he thinks), purring joyfully, certain you belong to him completely.

“I’ll always remember the way you looked at me.” It was so much a part of “us”.

This photo was taken May 22, 2009. We lost Namir on July 1, 2009. He was the inspiration for my sympathy cards and my blog, The Creative Cat. Who could resist those eyes?

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching blue envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

No text on the front.

[ss_product id=’51f5e68c-dfbf-11e5-9833-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, My Old Man[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching cream envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.

Text on front:
I will never forget you.

[ss_product id=’c8f89690-dfbe-11e5-9bbf-0cc47a075d76′ ]Animal Sympathy Cards, I Will Never Forget You[/ss_product]

This line of 5″ x 7″ sympathy cards for pet loss is:

• printed on 14 pt. card stock
• includes a matching cream envelope
• packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box

Sympathy cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.

Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.