Pick Me! Read Me!

Ok, can anyone tell me where this year has gone? Its mid November and a blog post is well overdue! Let me first tell you about my newest Lisscat Creation... the "Pick Me" hand painted card (pictured above).
Did you know, roughly, there are 147 million orphans world wide. Thats a lot of sweet kiddos out there with out families to call their own. I go through days where I think I have it rough, then I think about these kids out there.
It kinda breaks my heart, and i truly respect the lovely people out there who care for, feed, and shelter these orphans. That is why we are donating to the organization, 147 Million Orphans. This was started by two very passionate women, who between them have 13 kids, including both national and international adoptions. They are amazing women, and have done so much work to help feed and find homes for orphans worldwide! check out 147 Million Orphans here!

So I just returned from a book reading event for the book, "Bittersweet" by Shauna Niequist. She is a breath of fresh air! She is so real, and so very supportive and encouraging of people living out their dreams by their God given abilities. Her writings have inspired me multiple times to continue making my art, at times when I may have been overwhelmed with doubt or discouragement. And yes, I will admit, though I am not a crier at all, her words of encouragement have brought me to tears ( happy tears of course!) If you havent yet read them, I'd encourage you to go out and read "Cold Tangerines" and "Bittersweet". :-)

So as you go into this weekend and Thanksgiving week, stay encouraged. Live in the moment, and remember God gave you your gift for a reason, so dont be afraid to use it!

Also don't forget to get your hand painted "Pick Me" cards now. $5 of every card sold will be donated to 147 Million Orphans. Click here to get your card now!

Cat on a tree...

Well, now that Pink month is over we are back to your basic black font. October was a somewhat slow month for cards, but we still managed to raise $10 that will be donated to fight Breast Cancer. I am very thankful for the donations that were were able to raise! Thanks for all who helped.
So do you ever feel like it's too quiet? Ya keep hanging on trying to do your thing, whatever that is, hoping for a change. Then BAM, suddenly opportunities fly at ya!
I came across a very appropriate scripture this week, right after I got through complaining to God that I felt like I wasnt seeing results in my life...
"Remember Jesus' example. Wicked people were doing evil things to him, but he held on. Never get tired and give up".
For me, that was confirmation that no matter how hard the world tries to block you out, or push you down, you gotta keep believing in what you are doing, and refuse to let it go.
I have some great opportunities coming up for my artwork. Not sure which them will work out, or which ones wont, but I am going to step out and give them a shot, because I truly do believe that what I am doing will someday make a positive difference!
So if you've ever felt like that cat hanging on the tree branch that says "hang in there"....remember it's going to be worth it!
This weeks pic is a painting I did last weekend and was blessed enough to sell it to a good home only days later! :-)

Paging Dr. Me....

Hey All,
No super amazing updates this week but just wanted to check in and show ya a couple of new cards.

Oh by the way, I am keeping the pink font again this week since its still October and still Breast Cancer Awareness month. If you haven't checked out the featured card this month, please do.
Remember $5.00 of every card will be donated straight back to Susan G Komen. 

  (click the picture for more information)

I know money's been tight for everyone, so as much as I would like to encourage you all to pick up one of these hand painted cards, I understand if you can not. What I will ask though, is if you would please take 5 seconds and repost this on Facebook or retweet on Twitter. The more exposure we can get, the more money we an raise for a great charity. And hopefully a few extra smiles will be had when they get their new "A Shade of Hope" card.

Last night I got a random burst of creative inspiration and popped out 4 new custom cards. This was for 2 birthday, a wedding, and a sympathy card. I felt like a Dr delivering babies, running from room to room trying to find the materials to build each of the cards. It was fun and refreshing! Hope you like them!

Remember you can always email me with your special card requests. melissa@lisscatcreations.com

Stay blessed this week and thanks for reading! :-)

PINK....is the new HOPE

As many of your may have noticed, it is October. And with that comes cool weather, beautifully colored landscapes, warm apple cider...and Breast Cancer Awareness month!

I spent a lot of time trying to find a good charity to give back to this month. And then God laid it in front of me to help to find a cure for breast cancer! It seems that everyone has been effected, or atleast knows someone who has been effected by cancer. So for all those of you who have dealt with this, my prayers go out to you. I hope that this week's painting will help to give you the hope and peace you need to keep pushing forward. 
I would encourage you to send this to someone who may need a pick-me-up, or a little hope to keep on living!
Just a reminder that no matter how rocky your journey seems, God is with you the whole way, and in only an amazing way that He could plan, there is a special purpose lying for you down the road.

Each hand painted card is only $15.00 and $5 of that will be donated directly back to charity to help fight breast cancer. For  those confusing legal reasons, I am not allowed to  mention the charity's name but they are extremely well known and the initials are SGK. Trust me, your donation will be going towards a good cause. 

Please consider getting one and sending someone a smile in this new fall season!


Click here to get your "A Shade of Hope" painting for Breast Cancer.

www.lisscatcreations.com/cards 

It's good to have a little CATtitude...

Dear readers,

So sorry for the amount of time that has passed since my last blog post. Guess I havent done so well with posting consistently every week this year! As usual life gets busy and it seems dreams get pushed aside only to remain dreams for a little while longer. And to add to my list of excuses, I've been hit with a bit of discouragement lately. Last week was a slow month (for sales), not just with my day job, but with Lisscat Creations as well. Trust me, I understand its hard for everyone right now, me included. I guess the part that is so hard is the possibility of disappointing others. Though a fun little card, the "Truth Hoots" card wasn't a big hit, and when I say wasn't a big hit, I mean it didn't hit at all. Last month we tried to raise money for my brother in law and his college ministry at Marquette Univ. I hated to tell him that the fund raiser didn't go so well.

But enough of the excuses and not-so-happy posting...that was just a little dose of honesty that needed to be vented across the WWW.

Instead let me introduce the new cards, and share a little quote about persistence.... 

"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places" and "Nobody trips over mountains.  It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble.  Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. "

.....Pretty good, huh?!

So I've been getting a lot of requests for affordable printed card sets with the same Lisscat Creations design....so here they are introducing the new 6pc card set "CATtitudes".
Each set comes with 2 of each design shown (6 cards total), and 6 envelopes, all for only $12.50. And as always, shipping is free, and 10% will be donated back to the charity of the month. This set can be purchased at here.

Please help me to help you! Just drop me an email or leave a comment to tell me what kind of cards and sets you want to see. Special requests are always welcome! Email me at melissa@lisscatcreations.com 

Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Truth Hoots, yeh you read it right!

I always felt like I was different while I was in school. Not because I had some super powers, or was incredibly smart, but because I loved God. It seems like not many Christians populate in art school, especially in south Florida.
Of course God did bless me with some awesome friends during that time. But I'd say my one regret in college was that I didnt get more involved. It was hard to find a group of people that had similar morals to my own.
Sometimes ya just want some one to come up to you and make you feel welcome.

That's why the group that Lisscat Creations is sponsoring touches pretty close to my heart.
This month I created a fun card called "Truth Hoots." $5 of every card purchased will be going to support a college ministry group called Intervarsity. (Specifically proceeds will help the Intervarsity chapter at Marquette University in Wisconsin.)
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is an evangelical campus mission working with more than 32,000 students and faculty on approximately 550 college and university campuses. Their goal is to transform lives, renew the campus, and change the world. I think its pretty awesome that this group is trying to encourage students, not only in their walk of faith, but to help change the world for the better.
As I always say, sometimes it just takes a smile, or another small nice gesture to turn some ones day around.

So, if you are college student, were a college student, love God, like owls, or your favorite color is blue, then you have a good reason to get the newest hand painted Lisscat Creations card now. Then send it to a friend, and feel good that you made them smile, while helping to other organizations (Lisscat Creations and InterVarsity).
"Truth Hoots" is depicted above, and is available only $15 at www.lisscatcreations.com/cards 

Blessings, love you all, and thanks for the support!

If you lived here....

Slightly exhausted after an insane work week, I decided I should add a new blog post. This may have been inspired after watching the blog-filled movie, 'Julie & Julia'. Ok, who wants a personal chef to have them make those meals?!
Anyway, this week was filled with 13 hour work days which unfortunately didnt leave much time for the creative stuff. Anyone who knows me, knows I am always counting down till the weekend.  But this weekend, I am EXTRA happy Friday night has arrived. I have some great ideas for new card sets, who we will work with on the next featured charity card, and also some fun things for the blog and website. It will be nice to have a little time to start on all of this.
So for quite a while I've had this itch to travel. Not exactly do-able at this point in life, but I did find an awesome opportunity for my art to travel. Its called 'The Sketchbook Project 2011." For $25 I will be sent a blank sketchbook and can use my own creative license to fill it up, with my own art (based off the theme and title for this week's blog "If You Lived Here"). My sketchbook will then be packed and ready to do a multi-city art show tour across the US. Each sketchbook will be tracked so I can see who has been checking out my book. It sounds pretty exciting! I should be getting the sketchbook in the mail next week and cant wait to start on it. Since my Lisscat Creations was made to encourage, inspire, and bless,  I was thinking the sketchbook should be inspirational, uplifting, and fun. I will be sure to post pictures along the way on this journey. And if tour happens to come visit your city, please go check out my little sketchbook. It would appreciate the love! :-)
For more info on this project be sure to check out this link:
The Sketchbook Project 2011

Have a good weekend everyone, and until next time, stay blessed!!