Cookie, from my children’s’ book series, Cookie and Olivia, is based on my cat, Oreo.

  Oreo and her sister, Olivia came into our lives in June 2009.  My husband and I were enjoying a walk around our neighborhood when one of our neighbors stopped and asked if we wanted to see some kittens.  She also asked if we would be interested or if we knew anybody that would be interested in adopting them.  She had found a momma cat and her kittens in a box.

  I said no because I never pictured myself as a cat owner.  (Don’t tell my cats, but I wanted dogs.  Ha, ha.  Jokes on me because the cat are now my very spoiled fur babies. ) We also had plans to travel to New York to see our families and then we were off to Europe to visit my brother in law.

  However, at the same time my husband enthusiastically said yes.  He was so excited, and he rarely gets excited about anything, that there was no way I could say no!

  So, we followed my neighbor to her house and out on her back porch was a long haired brown and black cat just relaxing.  In different areas of the porch, were four kittens playing.  Two black and white ones and two tabbies.  (I still remember Olivia playing with a sparkly ball when I first saw her.)

  Our neighbor had a ten year old son at the time who had already named the kittens.  Oreo was originally named Black and Whitey.  However, I had decided long ago if I ever had a black and white animal, I was going to name it Oreo.

  Olivia was originally named Hidey, because we were told, she liked to hide.  However, a few days before, my husband had joked that if we ever got a cat, they were going to give it a regal sounding name.  Olivia’s full name is Olivia Fluffybottom the III.

  Since we had been talking about getting pets, we decided to adopt two of them.  It’s a coincidence that we ended up with two girl cats.  Our neighbor asked us which ones we wanted.  I chose Olivia because she was adorable playing with her sparkly ball and Oreo got chosen because se was closest to us.

  Don’t worry though.  Their brothers and mom are living their best kitty life with a nice lady in South Florida.  It’s weird to think there is another Oreo and Olivia out there, but boys.

Some fun facts:

• Cookie and the Frowny Face Day came about from a time I was going through a bought of depression.  I decided instead of wallowing in my misery, I was going to make something positive come of it.
• Oreo’s name got changed to Cookie in the books because I didn’t want to worry about trademark issues with Oreo cookies.
• Oreo loves to cuddle!  She also enjoys lounging in boxes, paper piles and the sun.

• She loves soft food and tuna! (Which she only gets as a treat.)
• Oreo has several nicknames. They are: Cuddle kitty, the black and white one and Sunshine Kitty.
• Not only has Oreo been the inspiration for Cookie, she’s also been the inspiration for various art pieces such as Cat Rave Dance Party, Here’s Looking At You Cat and I Can See You Cat to name just a few!
• Cookie and Olivia also have their own store! You can check it out on Zazzle.

Do you have any pets?  How did they come into your life?

Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas from all of us at Valerie’s Gallery and Beautiful Cuteness!

Animation by: Valerie Waters

Music by: “Jingle Bells” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, have been to any of my online shops or viewed my videos you probably already know about Ninja Kitty! If not, that’s okay! You can read all about this adorable cat ninja in the post The Story of … Ninja Kitty.

I’m excited to announce that Ninja Kitty has his own app! It’s a game called Ninja Kitty Rope Climb. The object of the game is to get Ninja Kitty safely to the top for a surprise without letting him fall!

The game is currently available in the following places:

Google Play (free with ads)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=info.solocrowd.ninjakittyropeclimb

Amazon (free with ads)
http://www.amazon.com/SoloCrowd-Ninja-Kitty-Rope-Climb/dp/B00M5ZIPAU/ref=sr_1_1?s=mobile-apps&ie=UTF8&qid=1406738666&sr=1-1

Barnes and Noble for the Nook (free trial available as well as a full ad-free version for 99 cents)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1120022782?ean=294014721262

Ninja Kitty Rope Climb isn’t available for iOS devices yet, but an iOS version is in the works!

Have you tried Ninja Kitty Rope Climb yet? What are your thoughts? Is there another character from my online shops that you think should have their own game or app?

Now, my brain tends to lean more towards the creative side rather than the scientific. However, I feel very lucky to have the Kennedy Space Center near by. Not only is it a fun place to visit and truly has a little something for everyone, I’ve been able to see shuttles and rockets go off while sitting on my own front lawn!

Final flight of Discovery February 2011
Photo Credits: ©Valerie Waters

In addition, I was lucky enough to be selected for the GRAIL tweetup at KSC. (If you ever have a chance to attend a NASA tweetup, do it!) At the tweetup I got a behind the scenes tour, to see a shuttle up close, to see old friends and meet new people and got to hear talks by people like Nichelle Nichols and Neil deGrasse Tyson! Plus, I also got to see the Grail launch.

Sign welcoming fellow tweetupers to the Grail Tweet Up
Photo credit: ©Valerie Waters

Also, for those of you that don’t know, I have two cats. One is a black and white one named Oreo and the other is a gray tabby named Olivia. For one reason or another, they tend to inspire a lot of my art work.

Astronaut Kitty Cat Jelly Belly Tins by ValeriesGallery

• Astronaut Kitty is available at Valerie’s Gallery on Zazzle, Skreened, Red Bubble and Cafe Press

• I wore my Astronaut Kitty shirt to the Grail Tweetup

• The cat part of Astronaut Cat is based on my gray tabby cat, Olivia

Olivia the tabby peers down from her perch
Photo Credits: ©Valerie Waters

Have you ever been inspired by space, animals or current events? Let us know in the comments!

A huge thanks to Abundance Love Trip for giving my Five Orange Birds in a Tree Poster an awesome art award! Check out her blog Val Creates!

Another huge thanks to Bebops for featuring my Better in the Morning Tote Bag on the blog, The Daily Rainbow.

Astronaut Kitty Cat not your thing? That’s okay! Here’s some other space and cat art to inspire you:

Unexpected Visitors Canvas Prints by FractalFire	Astronaut 5th Birthday card by Lori DeLeonardis-Aman	Colorful Planets Custom iPad Sleeve by DizzyDebbie
Sarcasm Cat Button by WestCreek	We’ve Adopted, Photo Card, Announcement, Pet, Cat card by Sharon Fernleaf	Scruffy Cats Quadrille Gift Wrap Paper by IconDoIt
TEE The Wayfarer Poster by teepossible	Take Me To Your Birthday Cake Alien Spaceship card by Tamara Dawn Adams	Dog & Cat Rocket Ship Pillow by DoloresDesigns
Kitten on top of the world mug by samupress	It’s your birthday, cute Persian kitten illustration with red balloon. card by Micklyn Le Feuvre	Alien Kitty Wallet by geo_barr
Zombie Cheerleaders From Space T Shirts by AbundanceLoveTrip	Birthday Party Invitation with alien and rocket for boys custom text card by © Cheryl M Hall	Dreaming of Space Cat iPad Mini Cover by ValeriesGallery

I’m not sure why music seems to be a big theme in my work.  I am a music fan and have been involved in marching bands, jazz bands, concert bands, choirs, etc from elementary school through college.  I’ve learned to play many instruments like the flute, saxophone and trombone. I also enjoy making music for my videos. Maybe music is just ingrained into my subconscience.

Rapper Cat in Bell Hat Bag by ValeriesGallery

My game system is set up in my living room.  One of my cats, Oreo, likes to hang out  in the living room sometimes while I play.  (And sometimes she decides that I’ve played enough by plopping down right in the area I would be dancing. )

• Rapper Cat in Bell Hat is part of a trio.  Rapper Cat in Track Suit is part of the posse. (For a sneak peek at the third member of the group, scroll down.)
• Two of the three rapping cats are inspired by 80’s rap fashion trends
• Other of my works that include music and cats are: Cat Piper,  Kitty Cat Kawaii Band,and Lounge Singer Cat to name just a few
• Rapper Cat in Bell Hat is available at Valerie’s Gallery at Zazzle, Red Bubble, Imagekind and Skreened

Rapper Cat in Bell Hat and Rapper Cat in Track Suit pose with the third member of their posse

Are you a fan of rap? What’s your favorite genre of music?

Speaking of music, a huge thanks to Cheryl of Cheryl’s Art for featuring my music notes bag on her Squidoo lens, Sheet Music Bags.

Here’s some music and cat inspired art from other artist you may like:

Cat and Mice Game Party Plate by heizfrosch	Adopt Shelter Cat, Love a cat card by Sharon Fernleaf	Pet Memorial Photo Necklace by elizdesigns
acoustic guitar urban collage posters by hutsul	DJ Wedding Reception Thank You Stick Figures card by Sandra Rose Designs	Singer Business Card Templates by AbundanceLoveTrip
Mt lion wallet by Artnmore	Cat Popping Out Of Cake Birthday (Bud & Tony) card by Betty Matsumoto-Schuch	Loving Cats Wedding Stamp by DizzyDebbie
Bag – Musician’s Music by bkmuir	Merry Christmas from Music Teacher, Joyful Song Guitar card by Lisa Crisafi	cat serenade – customizable post cards by greendeer
Caspian and Kimber Birthday Card by ZorroCreations	Funny Black Cat – Dear Santa It was the Dog Christmas Card by Charlyn Woodruff / CWDesigns	Wicked Black Cat T Shirt by JenHoneyDesigns
TEE Cat Nip iPhone 5C Cover by teepossible	Grumpy Cat Mug by thegrumpycat See other Grumpy Mugs	A female African cheetah and her three cubs Postcards by NationalGeographic

Lounge Singer Cat T-Shirt
by ValeriesGallery

 
I am a child of the nineties and once of my favorite cartoons from that time is Rocko’s Modern Life. (For those of you who don’t know, the show is about a wallaby who moves from Australia to a place called O-Town (somewhere in the US) and his adventures with his dog, Spunky and friends, Heffer (a cow) and Filburt (a turtle). Of course I was thrilled when Netflix started to carry it (for a very very short itme) and then Amazon. It’s fun watching the reruns and having a new perspective on them for various reasons.

So what does Lounge Singer Cat have to do with Rocko’s Modern Life? There is an episode called The Lounge Singer. In this episode, it’s revealed that Filburt is a very talented singer and dreams of being a famous lounge singer.

Add in the fact that I had just finished Kitty Kawaii Band not to long before hand and that my cat Oreo enjoys watching television with us, and thus Lounge Singer Cat was born! Totally logical, right?

Did you know?

• I sketched Lounge Singer Cat while enjoying a delicious baked good at a Barnes and Noble’s Starbucks
• Lounge Singer Cat has inspired another musical cat artwork. (It’s sketched, but not completed yet.)
• Even though the official name of this artwork is Lounge Singer Cat, I keep referring to it as Lounge Singer Kitty. Whoops.
• Lounge Singer Cat is available at Valerie’s Gallery at Zazzle, RedBubble and Skreened

Has music or animals inspired you in any way?  Let us know by leaving a comment!

Lounge singing cats not your thing?  Enjoy some artwork by other talented artist:

Halloween cute and funny black vampire cat tshirt by TheHopefulRomantic	Cats Making Valentines (Bud & Tony) card by Betty Matsumoto-Schuch	Tuxedo Cat postage by WestCreek
Mix Tape Personalized iPhone 5 Case by JerryLambert	Mum Humorous Birthday Card – Dog with Headphones Listening to Music card by Natalie Kinnear	Speaker – Blues Cat by bkmuir
Guitarcase Cat Fridge Magnet by JKcoder	Cat Leash Humor Card by Leo Cullum	Singing Cat. Neck Ties by Animal_Art_By_Ali
Mewsician in training mug by Mewsicians	Congratulations for Dance Performance with Ballet Shoes card by Teri Nelson Kuster	Cat Playing Upright Bass Ornament by pogfrond
Sleepy Kitty {Tuxedo} Refrigerator Magnets by heartlocked	Christmas Cat With Decorated Christmas Tree Tail card by Will Davis Studios	green cat face tie by mailboxdisco
Rainbow Sheet Music Binder by UROCKDezineZone	Cat Art: Vintage Art Print: The Kitten’s Recital by VintagePets	Add a name to this birthday card with a violin by Eggznbeenz
Singing cat cards by deemac1	TEE Rocker Girl by teepossible	Retro black cat face with numbers wall clocks by Sideview

Kitten Christmas Surprise Ornament by ValeriesGallery
Make your own ornaments at Zazzle

The original picture was snapped during play time.  When they were kittens they both adored playing with boxes.  These days Oreo has more of a affinity for boxes than her sister.  She plays with them, sleeps in them, watches the world go by in them etc.  However, Olivia does have her box moments.  The joke around our house is just throw out the toy and give the cats the box!

A photograph of Olivia peeking int o a soda box

Oreo and her many boxes

To me, in the design photo, it looks like Olivia is trying to shove Oreo into the box. In actuality, it was more of a “Hey sis!  Let me see what you have there!” type deal.)

One day when I was trying to think of  Christmas designs and was going through some photos, I happen to stumble across this picture and something just clicked. I wondered, “What would a kitten want for Christmas?” Mice of course!

After adding the speech bubble, I thought it needed something to make it seem more Christmasy.  At first I considered putting a Santa hat on one of the cats or adding stockings, but worried that those would look fake.

Since the box was a plain brown box, I decided to dress it up by giving it a winter theme.

Did you know?

• Oreo and Olivia are now four years old.  (Time goes by so fast!)
• They are sisters.
• This design use to be available on a greeting card POD, but was pulled due to changes in their marketability and submission guidelines.  (It’s okay though, they accept a lot of my other designs so I really can’t complain.)
• This design is available on Zazzle on a variety of products.
• Oreo loves boxes!  She has quite a few around our house that she enjoys napping in!  Especially if its in a sunny spot!
• I actually made this design on Black Friday a few years ago

Does anyone (human or animal) in your house enjoy boxes?

And if you can handle any more cuteness, be sure to check out Neko Creations website by Neko Creations.  You may see my Fox in a Dress iphone case somewhere on the post about Kitsune Phone Cases!

Also, here’s some more Christmas and Cat designs by artist you may like:

Christmas Cat Magnet by DizzyDebbie	by Betty Matsumoto-Schuch	Photocard – Winter holidays with cat Photo Cards by FelineFriends
Christmas penguin holding candy cane card by RustyDoodle	by Valerie’s Gallery	Holly and Cardinal Holiday Letterhead by FalconsEye
Tuxedo Cat postage by WestCreek	by Olivia A. Kneibler	Merry Christmas Greeting Card by TheCreativeNative
Christmas Squirrel with Snowflakes Christmas Ornaments by funnaturephotography	by Valerie’s Gallery	Santa Claus Hat Christmas Owl Mugs by ArtsyKidsy
Black Kitty Face Tshirt by FoxxyTees	by ©Doreen Erhardt	Cartoon of a Cat in a Santa Hat and Beard. Tie by Metarla_Christmas

Polly the Cat

Toes the Cat

Sadly, her brother, Toes, passed away recently.  He was very friendly and had no qualms about sitting in your lap and saying hi!  Toes also liked to spend a lot of time staring out the window and watching the world go by.

Fire breathing cat poster by ValeriesGallery

Polly and Toes

This is one of my earliest digital art pieces.The original picture of the cats was taken when we went for a visit in 2004.  At the time, I was just starting to get into Photoshop and would photomanipulate any picture I could get my hands on and the idea of a fire breathing cat struck me as funny. As you can see, not only did I add in the fire, but I also cloned part of the rug and Polly to cover up a cat streamer.

The text reads, “And you thought it was a good idea to talk to me before I had my coffee, why?”.  It was inspired by my mom.  She’s one of those people who has a hard time functioning without her coffee.  (Some of you can relate, right?)

Also, when my sister or I would do something that maybe wasn’t the brightest thing to do, mom would say, “And you thought that was a good idea, why?”  So I imagine that if someone dared to talk to her before she had her coffee, she might say something like that.

Did you know?

• Fire breathing cat was one of the first pieces I uploaded to Zazzle
• I uploaded this piece before I realized that Zazzle offered customizable text. (Which is why you can’t customize the text on this product line.)
• My mom owns a travel mug with this design on it.
• Toes and Polly are brother and sister.
• Fire Breathing Cats are available at Valerie’s Gallery on Zazzle and on a pet bowl in my Cafe Press shop.

Have you ever made an art piece involving yours or someone else’s pets?

A Huge Thanks

• A huge thanks to Goosebury for featuring my Doves in a Tree pitcher on the blog, Home Accents on July 22.
• Also a huge thanks to Bebops for featuring my Five Orange Birds in a Tree poster on the blog, The Daily Rainbow on July 26.

Fire breathing cats not your thing?  That’s okay!  Here’s some other art work inspired by cats, coffee and humor for you to enjoy!

I need my coffee! coffee mug by Jicha	a cup of coffee and sweets clock by hutsul	Coffee Cup and Java Beans Business Cards by CountryCorner
Cat’s Face T-shirts by fstasu58	Mysterious Cats Throw Pillow by PillowParadise	Sleeping Kittens Notecard by WildDays
TEE I Work For Shoes Round Sticker by teepossible	Coffee the human battery funny humor quote mug by TheGreatestTattooArt	Bubble Rap Mug by ValeriesGallery
Coffee Prescription Caffeine Addict Mug by HumorMe	I love Coffee – custom text – Espresso Cup by likeit	Antique Coffee Grinder Mug by Pastimedesigns
Cat in the Window Mousepads by Bebops	Tabby cat in an apple basket basket pillow by ArianeC	I love cats coffee mug by Astriddesign
Meowy Christmas black cat Greeting Cards by magnoliaflowers	Red Tabby Kitty Rectangle Magnets by EMangl	Funky Cat – 3D (20×20 inch pillow) by HoMeArts
Mug – Polydactyl paw prints by FelineFriends	Cat eyes heart stickers by Nabucodonoshop	Meow cat graphic bright hot pink t-shirt by Mylittleeden
Lilac Purple cat pattern. Pillows by Animal_Art_By_Ali Browse Purple cat Pillows online at Zazzle.com	Life’s Too Short for Bad Coffee Mug by TempermentalMusician	Vintage Cat Writing a Letter Notebooks by JustRightGraphics

But wait a minute, you may say, none of the cats in the Kitty Cat Kawaii Band are black and white!  When I originally started working on the piece, the lead singer was suppose to look more like Oreo.

However, I didn’t like the way it was turning out.  Then I read a book about how to draw Kawaii style and that inspired the direction of the picture.

One of the pieces of advice in the book was to keep it simple and obviously it was simpler to keep the cats a single color.  I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Kitty Cat Kawaii Band Necklace by ValeriesGallery

• This is one of my favorite pieces of art that I’ve done
• I have made a Kitty Cat Kawaii Band animation.  You can see it here.
• The Kitty Cat Kawaii guitar player’s outfit was inspired by Green Day during their American Idiot period.
• Kitty Cat Kawaii band items are available at Valerie’s Gallery on Zazzle, RedBubble, Imagekind and Skreened

Have you been inspired by a pet or video game? Feel free to tell us in the comments!

Kitty Cat Kawaii Band not your style?  That’s okay!  Here’s some cat and music inspired work from other talented artist that you may like:

 

Grumpy Cat Glare iPhone 5 Case by thegrumpycat	Spa Treatments for Your Birthday, Cats Happy Birthday card by Sharon Fernleaf	Mr. Brown Ring Ring! Case-Mate iPhone 4 Cases by BusterNFriends	Grumpy princess cat and the pea colorful posters by LauraDaviesArt
Weapons of Mass Percussion T-shirts by shakeoutfittersmusic	Rainbow Glitter Music Clef Playing Cards by UROCKDezineZone	Rainbow White Music Notes Business Cards by giftsbonanza	Music Is Love Mugs by utachick02
Cute Cats American Mojo Throw Pillow by nyxxie	M is for Music Learn to Spell Shirts by FalconsEye	DJ Wedding Reception Thank You Stick Figures card by Sandra Rose Designs	Cats Sharing Martini Anniversary (Bud & Tony) card by Betty Matsumoto-Schuch

And from our friends at RedBubble:

• Kandy Kit by billyboy is adorable!  Candy and a kitten?  Yes please!
• The coloring in this picture by Christine Purtle is beautiful!

The idea of the color palette came from what I thought might be used in very old story books.

Cat Piper Caseable Case iPad Folio Covers by ValeriesGallery

Have you ever been inspired by something like a television show or a story? What inspires you?

Here’s some work from some other artist that may also inspire you! Enjoy!

Original Grumpy Cat Round Magnet “NOPE” by thegrumpycat	A Christmas Chesire Cat Card by Angela Cater	One More Cup Coffee Mug by randysgrandma	Cute Cats Pattern Pillow by likeit
Blue Notes Jazz Sax Music Hat by UROCKDezineZone	Music Recital Invitation by © Red Rose Digital Art	Jason Mraz – Birdy T-Shirt by ZazzleMraz	Musical Notes Medicine of the Mind Drink Coaster by NotableNotions
The Big Bad Wolf Print by colonelle	Thinking of You – Fairy Tale card by Cartita Design	Cheshire Cat iPhone 5 Covers by disney	Magical Unicorns beside a lake Mousepad / Mousemat by KryfoldSky