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.
About the image “I Will Always Walk With You”
Original photo for “I will Always Walk With You”
This particular design was based on a chance photo from a July morning in 2009 just three days after we lost Namir, and Cookie and I were out in our back yard, each doing our thing and remembering him, me racing from flower to glistening dewdrop with my camera.
They often followed or preceded me as I wandered. I happened to see my wet footprint and Cookie’s wet pawprints walking next to me on the flagstone path around my yard. Cookie and I were both missing Namir; he would have been with us on that morning, I feel he was.
Later that month I knew it had to be one of the set of sympathy cards I was designing and what text I’d use. I designed a few other remembrance items too.
About the “I Will Always Walk With You” Garden Flag
Flags are 11″ x 15″ and can be displayed outside in the garden or used indoors as a small banner. I print my flags on one side of cotton canvas duck fabric and stitch the pocket and hem. Cast iron flag stand is extra. Flags have been colorfast and resisted fraying for two years in just about all of my test yards around the country except where there’s been some wild weather. I’ve left my own out through the winter.
I was a little surprised at the popularity of this flag—I sell at least one at nearly every vendor event where I display my pet memorial gifts.
Scroll down to read about ordering a single flag or a quantity.
I make this flag in quantity because it’s also popular at my vendor events, so they can be ordered in quantity.
A single flag is $20.00 including shipping.
I can ship a single flag 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:
The first flag is $20.00, each extra flag is $10.00 each up to five with greater discounts for six. My price breakdowns are:
one = $20.00
two = $30.00
three = $40.00
six = $50.00
Order an “I Will Always Walk With You” Garden Flag
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.
In 2011 I published Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book, a 16-month desk calendar that included a commissioned portrait of a rescued cat or cats for each month, plus more about the portraits, cats and rescuers in the back and information on cat care. But calendars go out of date and I knew these stories had to go on.
Great Rescues Day Book carries on the original idea in a way that’s much more permanent. This book is not dated for one year, but has all the dates in a month for you to fill in the birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and social and personal events in your life.
Great Rescues Day Book is spiral-bound and measures 8″ x 10″ to easily fit on your desk or in a purse, briefcase or backpack. While the original Great Rescues had a die-cut cover with the title stamped in gold foil, this has a solid 12 pt. printed cover for durability.
What’s a Day Book?
I’ve used a day book for over 20 years and have all the arrivals and, sadly, departures of each of my cats along with my friends’ weddings, my nieces’ births and the births of their children, the day I first registered a business name, all that sort of stuff, conveniently included in one place.
On the left is the featured portrait with the kitty’s story, below that the monthly fun quote of something feline. On the right is the month name with enough lines for all possible dates in that month. The holidays that are celebrated on a certain date are marked on that date, but ones that float, especially those Monday holidays, are explained at the bottom just to remind you that they also happen in that month. If animal-themed holidays are celebrated on a certain date, like Spay Day USA, they will also be included, but just the same if they are ones that float like Pet Memorial Sunday they will be explained at the bottom.
Here are the pages individually so you can open them and view them a little larger.
Although Great RescuesDay Book is a 12-month book I am still featuring from the original calendar 15 of the portraits of rescued cats I was commissioned to paint over 20 years as an animal portrait artist (to that date), plus the portrait of my own which I consider my first, “Waiting for Mom”, below.
That means you get a few pages in the center where you have only portraits and stories to enjoy.
And the story continues…
While the portraits are lovely and I’m proud of my body of work, the stories of these cats, and the people who rescued them, is what compels me to share them with you. Each of the stories tells of cats from shelters and cats abandoned and saved, cats found inside car engines and cats reluctantly surrendered by people who could no longer care for them, but each one has a happy ending as a cherished companion in a loving home.
And while each cat has an individual story, each rescuer has a story as well of reaching out to an animal in need to bring it in from the streets. In many cases they helped heal physical and emotional wounds and gave that cat a lifetime of love, in return receiving love and devotion; often those humans received some healing in return they weren’t aware they needed.
The story continues
After the calendar pages I have a section where the stories are continued, either with more details or updates; I remained friends with all my portrait customers and received continuing news. I also have notes on how I created the portraits that weren’t included in the stories.
And the story continues…
Resources for cat guardians
Following the calendar section and section of stories of the rescuers and their feline families I’ve included a mini cat-care book illustrated with my drawings. I based this information on the most frequent questions I field from people needing help with cats in any way, from finding strays or orphaned kittens, adopting for the first time or caring for a geriatric cat, a list of household toxins and toxic plants, or helping stray and feral cats and beginning with TNR.
“22 Cats” Notepaper
Each book includes 10 sheets of my “22 Cats” decorative notepaper with a collage of all the portraits in black and white so you can make your own notes or write special notes to friends.
“22 Cats” Notepaper
Each month on The Creative Cat I post the featured portrait, story and pages from Great Rescues Day Book and then describe the creation of the portrait in detail as well as even more history of the cats and the rescuers. You can browse here to read a few of the stories.
Here are images of the other portraits in the book—perhaps you’ll recognize a kitty you know!
All the portraits on the back of the book.
Purchase Great Rescues Day Book
Price includes shipping, and discounts for wholesale and quantity purchases.
If the book is a gift to someone, or you have a particular cat or cats in mind, I would be glad to add an inscription in the front of your book.
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.
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.
The line art I created from the photo.
Puck at the window.
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.
Window Silhouette Votive Lamp
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.
Four Silhouette at the Window votive lamps.
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.
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.
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.
Text reads: I’ll always remember the way you looked at me.
This is the cat to whom I dedicated my first set of Animal Sympathy Cards, and who actually inspired me to tell his story of HCM and CHF on a new website, The Creative Cat. Against all odds, after four years of daring CHF to see if it could catch him, it finally did and he lost his battle with heart disease on July 1, 2009. Today I remember his remarkable spirit and share this sympathy card that I designed in his memory.
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 was sure he had you under his spell he turned 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 thought), purring joyfully, certain you belonged to him completely.
It was so much a part of “us”.
You can find this card on my page with the entire selection of similar cards, Animal Sympathy Cards.
But read on to find out more about the card, and about Namir. Things like this are the inspirations for my creative life and my memorial gifts.
Composing the text for this card
When I chose the phrase for this card, as with all my other animal sympathy cards that have text, I chose to make it positive in all ways I could. Instead of “I’ll never forget the way you looked at me” I chose to turn that “never” to “always” and felt it lift me: “I’ll always remember the way you looked at me.”
Like many of the phrases I choose for my sympathy cards, this one can work either way, as something you would say to your cat, or he might say to you because, of course, he would see the love in your eyes as well.
Who could look at those eyes and not see the love? I always felt so honored.
About finding the photo, and about Namir
Namir was an inspiration for many creative things for me, hundreds of photos and several sketches and paintings. His loss was my final motivation for creating the sympathy cards designed especially for the loss of a pet, focusing on cats.
But when I designed that first set of 12 cards, Namir wasn’t part of it. I think in fresh grief I focused on other cats, photos I remembered well, even though I scrolled through all my photos as part of my grief response. If I had found this photo I would have been over the moon, or maybe it would have stopped me.
I call this expression of Namir’s his “bedroom eyes”, that “come-hither look” that invites, well, in the case of cats, cuddles and pets and purrs, but most often it just means “I really love you”. I tried for years to get a photo of this expression on Namir, one that captured not only his face but a setting that I associated with him. But it’s really hard to focus down onto a pet’s face and get a good photo that isn’t somehow distorted in a way that I didn’t want in this memory, and wanting to use my DSLR for the best photo quality possible I practically had to stand on my toes to get the focal distance for my lens to capture his face and not his back or the ground around him.
I took this photo May 22, 2009, when I knew Namir was failing, and when it was also spring and prime gardening time and he and I and Cookie were spending as much time as possible together out there, and I was taking more photos than I even had time to look at. When he passed just six weeks later on July 1, 2009, I desperately wanted a photo of those eyes but there were so many to look through and this one was so recent, not as firm in my memory as others. I found many others, but not this one.
When Cookie passed in February 2012 and the year wore on into spring I was crowded by memories of her and sorted through all those photos again, and there it was, after the clematis vine in full bloom, the pea vines we’d planted in April, the daisies and fleabane, just a few photos of Cookie in the garden and the patio, a photo of Namir on the steps to the deck, and the last one of the day, this photo. One before it was a little blurry.
And how much more perfect could it be? Out in the back yard, the warm morning sunlight on Namir’s fur, enhancing his green eyes and the pink of his nose and mouth and ears, all just as I’d remembered. Best of all, our favorite time, out in the yard, the green of spring behind him and just a few vivid forget-me-nots, of all the flowers to be there.
Once I found it I remembered that morning and taking those photos, standing in one of the rows between tomato seedlings when he’d walked between them all from the brick path to me, stood and looked up at me, then sat down and looked at me more fully. It was important I notice him and share this moment. If I only had one chance to get this photo, I couldn’t have asked for a better one, nor been given a better one.
I guess I found it when I was ready.
NOTE: none of my cats roam. We visit the yard together, always under my supervision, and usually on a leash, unless they’ve proven they will stay with me. The days of Cookie and Namir with me out in the garden are like a myth, they were so perfect.
Salad Days, Morning in the Garden, May 9, 2009, with Cookie and Namir.
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.
Memorial card for Stanley.Memorial card for Stanley.
Help heal your grief at the loss of your precious companion with a creative card full of memories you can make and send to people who knew them: friends, family, veterinarians and others who may have provided services. Creating something is a calming and enriching activity, and reviewing images and remembering stories helps to bring you closer to a smile. Knowing the recipients will think of your animal companion and you helps to spread the grief a little thinner.
A few days before Stanley gave up his battle, I was trying to organize the kitchen sink, pushing around prescription bottles, small cans of cat food and jars of baby food, the bag of used needles from his sub-q fluid therapy, and there was the bag hanging from the ceiling, the line wrapped around the paper towel holder, and on the chair the beach towels I used to wrap him so he wouldn’t be able to get away from me, and the modified daily schedule to ensure that he ate and exercised and spent some time with the rest of the household. I guess he always knew there was nothing I wouldn’t do for him, and in the end isn’t that all any of us really need, the knowledge that there is at least one being in this world who cares unconditionally for our welfare and will do whatever they can for our happiness and security, simply out of love? When I was 25 years old and Stanley walked into my life did I know I could provide that for a cat? I don’t think so, but in the 21 years Stanley was with me I learned without even knowing there was a lesson.
. . . . . . .
This is from the card I created in Stanley’s memory, pictured above.
Years ago, before blogging, I designed a little printed piece for each of the cats I’d lost which included the most memorable photos and artwork and a tribute, printed them and mailed them out to friends and veterinarians. Designing and printing cards was a natural thing for me since I’ve been a graphic designer since the early 80s, but today it’s something just about anyone can do with an online service, or at home with simple software and a desktop printer, or cut vinyl, art paper and stamping.
The cards gathered my thoughts at that moment, sometimes begun a short time before they actually transitioned as I sat with them in those final days, and sometimes a week or so after if I needed a bit of time. I often found I’d discovered or rediscovered a bit of poetry or prose that was entirely appropriate for the times and shared it in my card along with my own words and images.
First inside fold of card.
It was an important part of my grieving, the writing, the design, turning my grief into creative energy and taking my time with each part. I wrote notes in each of the cards, reading the names and addresses and thinking of each person to whom I was sending the card and their relationship with the cat and with me, who was new on the list and how my life had changed during the years I’d shared with this cat. And not the least, I thought about how my life would be different without this cat to share it.
I had designed Stanley’s card to fold in on itself until it was a square, so that the reader could unfold it frame by frame and read and look at the art in sequence.
Second inside fold.
I still go through the rest of the process while gathering content for my blog posts, but of course there is no real design and I miss the finality of mailing and handling something tangible while thinking of the kitty in question. But I traded that for being able to reach more readers who have been following me on The Creative Cat, and that the story is accessible as long as I leave it there so I can continue sharing it. But recently I’ve gone back to cards and now I make cat-themed gift items with my art and creative equipment and include that inside the card.
What is important for me is, of course, for me to reach down into my creative self to find the ideas which in its own way washes away my current state of mind for a short while. The deep thought process begins to lead to acceptance, working my way through the guilt that arises sometimes with a difficult passing and questioning my judgment, or with a long illness and actually looking forward to being released from complicated care when my feline is released from suffering.
In Stanley’s case, he had peed all over everything through his life, and I would not miss that and should not miss that, but felt guilty for admitting it. In his last months his spine was degrading, in his last week it might be pinching his spinal cord so that he was losing the use of his hind legs until he could no longer manage his bowels. I had to express his bladder and bowels by putting him in the tub and squeezing, and with the tender state of his frail body I was frightened I would hurt him as I easily could have.
He was fully aware and social and loving, so the decision was not easy. A few days into that he looked up at me and I knew he was ready to finally let go. It was during that time that I wrote the narrative at the beginning of this post, organizing my thoughts while I organized my caretaking materials at the kitchen sink.
But the message, the written memorial, the time of focused contemplation, are all important to moving grief along at a pace that is right for each of us. And at the end of that process is not to be free from grief but shed the doubt and guilt and sadness and to turn your grief back into the love from which it was made.
Full inside.
. . . . . . .
Sweet Stanley, on one of his last mornings, enjoys the winter sun to warm him and perhaps remind him of younger days.
January 15, 2007 marks the day Stanley transitioned to his next existence after about 25 years in this mortal coil. I don’t always remember birthdays but I do remember the days my cats entered my life and left it; much led up to each event, and my life was changed forever with each one as well.
Stanley, though, for his longevity and for many other qualities, has a memorable leavetaking as much for his condition and care as for what his age and position in seniority represented. Not only was he very old, he was the last of the cats I’d rescued before I even moved into this house, and with him went all those memories of early rescues and working on the beginnings of my art career late into the night. A certain sense of my own youth had gone with him.
I haven’t written Stanley’s rescue story or much about him, partly because I’m working my way back from the cats who’ve been with me since I’ve been writing The Creative Cat. When you live with an evolving household of cats over a period of years, they arrive, stay for their time and sadly leave us too soon, but they are intertwined with our own lives and those of our other animal companions. Stanley was with me for 21 years, and that’s a lot of history to share. I’ve been reviewing photos for months, years really, and I’m constantly surprised at what I’ve forgotten. Some day soon, I’ll do him justice.
He was fully adult when his big green eyes first looked through my door one day and with all those tabby stripes, white whiskers and big white mittens and a white diamond between his eyes he asked to come in as if he’d been sent on an important errand, though it took him a couple of weeks and an ice storm to get his point across. Surely he was sent equipped with all the lessons he would deliver about feline diet and health, emotional needs, patience and understanding, and it took him all 21 years to teach me, and to resolve the issues he carried until he was thoroughly done with me and this world and ready to move on.
The veterinarian who examined him at his first urinary blockage guessed his age at between three and five, so we took the average and figured he was four. He was the most troubled cat I’ve ever known, suffering from constant urinary issues and acting out from the chronic pain, finding a reason to pee on just about everything and once biting me so badly and narrowly missing the artery in my right wrist that I spent hours in the emergency room being filled with antibiotics and pain killers. But he was sweet and silly and apologetic so I covered much of my house in sheets of plastic and learned to understand what he was telling me so that I could help him through whatever physical or emotional crisis caused him to act that way. He was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure at age 21 but survived four years of my treating him with fluid therapy, wrapping him in a towel and sitting on him to hold him long enough to give him a therapeutic dose, and supplements thanks to my veterinarian’s patient guidance.
I’m not one for shopping in grocery stores on a regular basis, but a few weeks after he passed I found myself in the grocery store near midnight and realized the last time I’d been there it was also later at night to buy a few jars of baby food for Stanley because he would not eat his canned food. Stanley had still been alive, and that had not been too long before then. Stanley’s death had been long in coming and expected, I had plenty of time to prepare and recovered fairly quickly afterward, but right in the baby food aisle I began to cry all over again. I have no idea what anyone thought who might have seen me.
Stanley was the last of the original clowder I moved in here with and the last of four senior cats who passed in the space of a year. Though the adult cats who still lived with me were also seniors, I also had Lucy, my kitten, the new life who had known those older cats. I could pause and rest from a lot of caretaking and a lot of loss.
. . . . . . .
Below is the poem I’d discovered just a few months prior to this time, which I placed on the back of the card.
After great pain, a formal feeling comes –
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs –
The stiff Heart questions ‘was it He, that bore,’
And ‘Yesterday, or Centuries before’?
The Feet, mechanical, go round –
A Wooden way
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought –
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone –
This is the Hour of Lead –
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow –
First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –
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.
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
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.
CD cover art first version
CD cover art 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.
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.
I began my design ideas for suncatchers the same way I did with many of my handmade gifts, wanting to see my art on gift items I saw in stores. In the early 90s I bought a 3.25″ x 3.25″ square bevel-edge clear suncatcher with a kitten etched in the center, which I not only liked but found inspiring. I had lots of pencil and ink sketches that would work on things like this. I held that idea all these years knowing I’d want my artwork on that beveled glass somehow, someday.
That etched kitten suncatcher from the early 90s is pretty battered by now.
And like most of my memorial gift items, my suncatchers began as personal gifts for friends who’d lost their animal companions. Using the standards I’d set up to create the images on my Custom Pet Memorial Votives I was ready to make good on that suncatcher idea.
Scroll down to read about how I developed the Custom Pet Memorial Suncatchers and information about the use of each shape with photos, and about ordering a suncatcher for yourself, a friend, or a customer of your practice or business.
All suncatchers range between $25.00 and $30.00 including shipping.
Adding an extra subject, a special background pattern like a favorite blanket or chair are extra, usually no more than $10 per addition.
Further customization by adding a name or brief text is included in the price.
I can ship a suncatcher to your recipient with a note from you at no extra charge.
Custom suncatchers also make unique customized gifts even when they aren’t in sympathy for a loss.
The original round Custom Pet Memorial Suncatcher
I wanted a piece of glass with a generous beveled edge that would cast rainbows when the sun shone through it the same as my little one did. Clear beveled glass pieces, preferably predrilled, were surprisingly not easy to find as many were too small for a nice-sized image and few were beveled, but I finally found a 5″ circle with 3/16″ thick glass and a deep beveled edge at least a 3/8″ wide. This glass feels substantial in your hand and the bevel is generous, the image is a good size.
I made a few for friends, then made a quantity of them for my longtime customer who owns the pet cremation business where I’ve taken my cats for the past 20 years, and I manage her website, photograph urns and events and provide design and promotional services.
We host a Pet Memorial Sunday celebration each September and I make a custom gift for each person who has RSVP’d. The suncatcher idea proved to be popular right away.
5″ beveled glass suncatcher.
Planning the square Custom Pet Memorial Suncatcher
I still wanted the square shape, though, partly to see my original idea, and to offer an alternative shape, and because not all images fit well in a circle.
The company I buy from has 4″ squares which would seem to have less presentation space than the 5″ circle so I debated, then bought some to work with. The outside dimension is smaller but the corners allow the image to be almost as large as the circle. Below is the square, modeled by Buckwheat, whose portrait I painted years ago and whose person encouraged me to use his image.
4″ square beveled glass pet memorial suncatcher.
And working out the rectangular Custom Pet Memorial Suncatcher
I had another idea, of course…the company also carried a graceful arch-top rectangle I’d wanted to try but found they wouldn’t be carrying it after current inventory ran out.
I had been looking at their 3″ x 5″ rectangle and also debated because it’s a difficult shape to fit, but when the company suggested that shape as an alternative—all their customer service people use all their products so you get the best real advice—I decided to go with it.
The first time I offered one at the Blessing of the Animals many people found that vertical rectangle very attractive and I had several orders.
The image area on this shape is 2.25″ x 4.25″. This suncatcher is modeled by Pixie, a beloved rescue kitty of a friend in rescue who’s been the recipient of just about all my new ideas; there’s a lot of loss in rescue.
Pixie, a 3″ x 5″ beveled rectangle glass suncatcher.
The rectangle and square are just as popular as the original circle.
What recipients have said:
“I have her suncatcher hanging in my kitchen window. I stand there and look at her every morning while I drink my coffee.”
Anonymous recipient, in person
I want to thank you for the very special, beautiful glass ornament suncatcher …It brought a tear to my eye that day and the day I hung it up in the sunlight. You really have a very special talent.
Anonymous recipient, in a letter
And they don’t have to be memorials
Custom suncatchers also make unique customized gifts even when they aren’t in sympathy for a loss. One of the suncatchers ordered at the Blessing of the Animals was a Fathers Day gift for a friend’s husband for a kitty who is very much alive.
A suncatcher can hang on any window, mirror or any place you want to see the image of your beloved animal companion.
Standard with each suncatcher
I use my skills as an artist in traditional media and on computer to remove backgrounds, touch up lighting and composition, and add a background color or pattern that complements the subject (see Choosing a Photo…).
A sympathy note card is also included. The one shown below is available with every suncatcher. You can visit my page of Animal Sympathy Cards to see a selection of others. If I am to ship directly to the recipient you can give me a note which I will write inside the card, otherwise I send you a blank card for your personal use.
Love Never Ends note card
The price includes shipping, whether to you, your practice or business, or drop-shipped to the recipient, within the continental US. I have rates for international shipping.
I include a care and use card with each suncatcher. This card has a link to this website.
Little extras
Adding an extra subject, a special background pattern like a favorite blanket or chair are extra, usually no more than $10 per addition. Adding a name or other brief text is optional and is included.
Suncatchers are kept in confidence
I photograph each Suncatcher I make for my records and to keep the details of what it looked like for my reference. I never use a votive in any public venue, whether for display or self-promotion, without permission of both the giver and the recipient.
Order a Custom Suncatcher
Visit Suncatchers to read about all the shapes and order yours. As I mention above with the notecard, if your suncatcher is a gift for someone else I can ship it to them with a note from you.
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.
My display and tent at the Blessing of the Animals, 2025.
I made a quick video of my display at the end of the Blessing of the Animals yesterday, 30 seconds so it could easily fit most social media formats. Ran out of space on my phone to make a longer one! So here we are:
“We’re getting ready to pack up at the Blessing of the Animals today. The weather turned out beautifully and I got to see old friends I haven’t seen for a while, and talk to a lot of people about my Custom Pet Memorial gifts and non custom remembrance gifts, including the fact that they can just be nice gifts for people who like their animal companion’s image on things.
I’ve linked above to each of the custom pet memorial and non-custom pet memorial items and gifts you see here. Soon enough I’ll have a better video to present these items. For now, here’s the one I shared on social media yesterday.
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.
I’ll feature all my Custom Pet Memorial and non-custom pet remembrance gifts, and animal portraits. Hosted by The Creatures of the Creator 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Unity Presbyterian Church, 1146 Greentree Rd., Green Tree
I’m a member of this pet loss support group at a local church. I’m so happy to be a part of this event to celebrate our animals.
I’ve been busy creating some new Custom Pet Memorial items that I’ll share after this event is over…because I’m still working on them today!
I’ll have my Custom Pet Memorial items:
Custom Pet Memorial Votives
Several styles of Custom Pet Memorial Suncatchers
Custom Pet Memorial Garden flags
Love Never Ends garden flag
Non-custom pet memorial remembrances:
Non-custom votives
Non-custom pet remembrance garden flags
Non-custom remembrance keepsakes
Love Never Ends votive
Star of Wonder Votive
Love Never Ends garden flag
A selection of Animal Sympathy Cards.
Custom Commissioned Portraits samples and Gift Certificates.
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.
Most people have purchased custom pet memorial votives soon after a pet has died whether for themselves or for others.
But often the holidays bring up the grief about a pet who died at any time during the year, or even years past. A custom memorial votive is a way to make an animal companion part of the holidays even though they are physically not present. It’s a unique customized gift that shows you remember their pet, and their loss.
I created a video about my Custom Pet Memorial Votives at the holidays. It’s a little less than 3 minutes long.
A custom pet memorial votive is also a gift for the recipient to remember a beloved animal companion at any time, and as a few customers have suggested as they ordered, sometimes they’d like to have a votive with their pet on it while they’re still around.
Using photos you provide I create a unique and lasting gift for your customer who has lost an animal companion, to share your sympathy, to help them move through grief, and have a tangible and durable remembrance.
Each votive comes with a complimentary sympathy card. I can ship it to you to give, or ship directly to your recipient with a custom note at no extra charge.
I also offer gift certificates which you can give to your client so they can work directly with me.
