Time for the limited-edition holiday ornament for Asheville Humane Society. When I started this project in 2012, I honestly didn’t know if it was a good idea or not. However, it seems to have caught on and it’s definitely one of my favorite projects each year! As in prior years, I create a limited number of ornaments of a specific animal and donate those ornaments to the shelter for use in a holiday fundraising campaign to help the animals in the shelter. (You can read more about this project here.)
The ornaments represent a different domestic animal each year and, while certainly suitable for use as holiday ornaments, they can also be used year-round as wall hangings, sun catchers, or mobiles.
This year’s ornament is a Siamese Cat.
My inspiration for this year’s ornament came from two converging occurrences in my life. First, I stumbled into these really cool little blue stones that are just like the blue eyes that you see only on Siamese cats.
(Okay, it’s kind of a shallow inspiration, but…really…who could resist?)
But secondly, and more importantly, I made a friend through my fellow Etsy store owners contacts this year (ShabbyAnnieCorner) who makes adorable little stuffed gnomes, reindeer and all sorts of other wonderful creatures and home decor. I love her stuff. But, in addition to that, I love her cat, Sonia, a beautiful little Siamese cat who very agreeably poses in her photos. As a side note and some background to why I find this so particularly charming . . . internet marketing gurus tell us (we who sell our artwork online) that photos of your pets with your artwork, especially your cat, enhance viewer interest in your posts and can significantly boost your sales.
Here’s Sonia posing for my friend, Annie:
And . . . . here’s my cat posing for me:
(I think it speaks for itself . . . )
How could I not fall in love with Sonia????? If she didn’t live halfway across the world, I’d steal her to model for my pictures! But, that’s not really an option… so, I just stole her persona for this year’s ornament. And, now she’s an official ambassador for the animals… Thank you, Sonia!
And so, Sonia is my 7th annual limited-edition ornament for the Asheville Humane Society 2018 holiday fundraiser, the proceeds of which go to the Lily Grace Fund – a special medical fund for animals who arrive at the shelter requiring extraordinary medical care or rehabilitation and who would otherwise not get a second chance. I’m pleased to say that these ornaments help to add thousands of dollars to this fund each year and help save the lives of many animals.
If you are interested in finding out how to get one of these ornaments by supporting Asheville Humane Society through this special holiday promotion, please contact Jim Fulton at Asheville Humane Society at: (828) 768-5458.
If you’re interested in seeing more of my work please check out my galleries on my website for Copper Witch Designs and consider signing up for my email list to receive exclusive sales and see my newest designs.
Thank you!
