Category: Non-customized Memorial Gifts

A contemplative kitty sits quietly, looking out the window at the day.

I created the Silhouette at the Window design as another of my feline votive lamps collection but as soon as I added them to my display people bought them for themselves or others as sympathy or remembrance gifts. I can take the hint, and I can see why. So I’ve included them in my non-customized memorial gifts collection.

Silhouette at the Window Votive Lamp is a particular shape of upcycled jar, frosted outside with a black cut vinyl design and black glass paint embellishment, and offered in clear white or with blue, green or yellow transparent glass paint interior. All votive lamps come with a string of LED lights with a six-hour timer.

The inspiration and design of the Silhouette at the Window Votive Lamp design and product

I created the ink drawing that is the basis of this design way back in 1988, called Puck at the Window from a photo I’d taken in 1984, my roomate’s cat. You may have noticed in other feline art that cats at windows and the feline silhouette are favorite themes of mine, and you can see now it started early.

Its original intent was as a sympathy card for my veterinarian to use, but that never came to fruition. I’ve considered it in my own collection of sympathy cards, but I’ve also had many another idea for items on which I could use this design, most involving light, and most originating decades ago. One of the first was as a nightlight cover, then a suncatcher, eventually, of course, a votive.

Scroll forward to today, when I’m actually planning my votives, this design was top of mind for three years, from the time I started working them out. I could picture this design on one of the four-sided jars I use for my cat art votives.

But what was the best way to present it? I love the contrast in the black and white, but the labels I print for my glass items don’t quite capture that; the black isn’t dense enough and the edges aren’t completely sharp because the label has a surface texture. No, the labels are purrfect for continuous tone artwork, not line art.

I could hand paint it in the dense black paint I use for glass, but I know I wouldn’t be able to reproduce this design well enough without taking a lot of time to handpaint each one. Trying to stencil or screen print each one would be too cumbersome because of the shape of the surface.

But now…there’s vinyl to cut, with nice clean edges and permanent application, just perfect for an adaptation of line art with the interesting cat silhouette. I frosted the outsides of the jars so the glass exposed inside the vinyl design would have a matte finish while the permanent vinyl is gloss, giving it an extra dimensional interest.

I first introduced this design on a votive just in time for my 2021 Holiday Open House, as I’m so fond of creating a brand new item at the last minute for each open house and other events. That was also when Morty first had his urinary issue and I worked off my worry about him with working out this design while I kept an eye on him. I liked the way the original looked but wanted to make other adjustments and changes, and that’s what I worked out over the next few months. I made two to have at my events and was surprised they immediately sold. I’ve been making them since then, usually six at a time.

One of those refinements was adding color to the clear space. I liked the plain white, and the initial sketch was from a winter photo. But I could also visualize a blue sky out there, or a sunrise yellow, or even green for greenery. I will always make the plain white/clear, but I like the colors too. Up to now I’ve painted them on the inside, but I’m also working to see if the colors I use will be permanent on top of the etched surface.

Purchase a Silhouette at the Window Votive Lamp

Each of them comes with battery-operated string lights with a six-hour timer, and each has the original jar lid to keep the inside clean. You’ll also see that each one is a little different where the “leaves” are concerned in the design; those tiny pieces of vinyl don’t always stay where they’re supposed to.

Visit Non-customized Memorial Gifts to order.

Other Feline-themed Votive Lamps

Like everything else I make I’ve worked on the design and production of my upcycled glass jar votives, and one of the things was changing from small LED votive candles to LED light strings, with timers, so they are brighter and more colorful, and you can use them as lamps that turn on and off automatically.

They are made with frosted vinyl labels and embellished with glass paints and cut vinyl. Some of the jars may even look familiar as they are from spaghetti sauce, pickled things and condiments. I don’t mind buying new materials, but I also like to recycle, upcycle and reuse things when I can.

My feline votive lamps have a big variety of felines so you might be able to choose one that resembles the feline in question. Some of them are silhouettes or more abstract cat shapes, and some are collages of cats.

Visit the Votives Page in my Handmade Gift Gallery on Portraits of Animals to see the rest of the votives.

You can also read about Other Memorial Gifts, Animal Sympathy Cards and Commissioned Pet Portraits.

All images and text © 2022-2025 Bernadette E. Kazmarski  •  www.custompetmemorialvotives.com

All images and content are copyrighted and may not be used or reproduced in any way without my written permission. Please contact me if you are interested in using any of my content.

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I make several non-customized memorial gifts, some intended for sympathy and remembrance, and some simply as gifts for animal lovers that can be used as remembrances.

Every day I design, make and sell many different gift items featuring my artwork and photography—that’s how the votives came to be. People have purchased the non-customized gifts when ordering a votive or other customized remembrance isn’t possible or when they want a gift to give right away..

Love Never Ends Votive

I have the “Love Never Ends” votive at nearly every vendor event I attend, and nearly always someone will see the soft rainbows of the “Watercolors” artwork and the text and stop to buy one, tell me about a friend’s loss, or even their own. I’m happy to see the votive and design speaks to them because I designed it for just this purpose.

The Love Never Ends Votive which includes the soft rainbow shades of the “Watercolors” artwork and simple, sincere, phrase, can be a complement to other remembrance gifts such as the Love Never Ends Garden Flag which uses the same art and text.

And it can also be for any loss, humans included, or as an affirmation in difficult times.

Scroll down to read about ordering a single votive or a quantity, how I created the artwork for a pet loss CD after my own losses, and designed this votive.

• I make this votive in quantity, like six at a time, so they can be ordered in quantity, higher quantities too.
• A single votive is $25.00 including shipping.
• I can ship a single votive to your recipient with a note from you at no extra charge.

If you have an animal-related practice or business and want to order in quantity:

• I price quantities of these votives based on shipping, but typically they are $10 or $15 each at a half dozen or more.
• When ordering at least a half dozen I can customize this votive with your logo or other text at a one-time extra charge of $10.00 to set up the changes.

About the “Watercolors” background

In 2009 I joined a licensed counselor’s loving and sincere effort when, after the loss of a beloved dog, she had prepared a recording and book of inspirational readings with information and affirmations for those who have also lost a pet. As a freelance commercial artist and promotional professional I had the opportunity to illustrate this wonderful recording, and to assist the author in publicizing and promoting it.

Two years prior I had lost five cats in a little over a year, and just after she and I began working together I lost my Namir after four years of working with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and congestive heart failure (CHF). I put my heart into the illustrations.

In the human-animal bond when a human loses an animal companion the rainbow bridge story and imagery are strong. Neither of us wanted to use literal bridge imagery but wanted the soothing colors and idea of a journey through grief.

I began with the cover art in a loose interpretation of a rainbow/waterfall with mist and a path in two variations that held the prints of all the animals who had walked there. The soothing feeling of the blue-purple was intentional in the first version, but felt too somber and dark. I lightened and brightened the idea for the final version.

You can probably see where in this art the Watercolors background was born. I then picked up the pattern and application of colors I had used in areas of those illustrations and developed that into “Watercolors.”

As we finished the work on the CD I also designed my first set of Animal Sympathy Cards dedicated to Namir, and we agreed I could use the Watercolors background for my own purposes since it wasn’t a principal image in the CD design.

After 10 years and many CDs, Karen discontinued them and I’ve been using the artwork for a few of my own creations and I plan to use the cover art for my own pet remembrance endeavors. I’ve used the darker version as part of a Custom Pet Memorial Votive in remembrance of three dogs. I’ve used Watercolors as the sympathy note card that accompanies a votive and as a votive itself and a garden flag, and I’ll continue with the cover art versions, starting with small sympathy note cards, then other votive designs and suncatchers.

Order a “Love Never Ends” Votive 

Order up to three premade votives at the link below.

Ordering a quantity?

Because shipping heavy things can vary a lot by distance, please contact me so I can work up a shipping estimate.

Visit Non-customized Memorial Gifts to order.

You can also read about Other Memorial Gifts, Animal Sympathy Cards and Commissioned Pet Portraits.

All images and text © 2022-2025 Bernadette E. Kazmarski  •  www.custompetmemorialvotives.com

All images and content are copyrighted and may not be used or reproduced in any way without my written permission. Please contact me if you are interested in using any of my content.

HOME

order a VOTIVE ♥ QUICK INTRODUCTION TO VOTIVES ♥ OTHER MEMORIAL GIFTS  ♥ ANIMAL SYMPATHY CARDS  ♥  PET PORTRAITS   ♥  TESTIMONIALS  ♥  ABOUT BERNADETTE  ♥  CONTACT  ♥  NEWS  ♥  NEWSLETTER SIGNUP