And so it begins - from the beginning ...

 If you've been here and seen "under construction" I'm guessing you are wondering what this is! Well, let me introduce you to myself. 

I am Helen, the crazy cat lady. I've been a crazy cat lady all my life - for real. Let me tell you a little more about me and cats. (Note-I've made my husband a believer too).

I have four cats that live inside my house - these are "our cats". Boudicca, the 14 year old warrior cat; 

Bilbo, the sweet 8 year old bobtail with huge feet; 

Monk (aka Monkey), the 6 year old honey boy who's always in trouble; 

and 4 year old Arwen, the very strange, part Bengal, part squirrel talker. 

But that's just inside. 

Then there are the ferals. Black Mamba (she had two litters before we could catch her and get her fixed) and Tux, her husband. We know this because they are always together and he was clearly the kittens' dad. Both are fixed and they are still always together. 

On some days, a new fella, the Shadow will be out there. But if he sees you, he's like a shadow. Gone in an instant. 

And from time to time there's Rusty, a big, loud ginger; 

and even the neighbor's cat comes to have a bite to eat.

So you see - I love cats. 

I used to sculpt art dolls and sell them. I always had this idea in my head to make historic figures as cats - Cleo(patra), the saloon girl from Gunsmoke, Miss Kitty, and so on. But then I stopped sculpting and never did it. As a little girl, I used to make paper dolls that were cats in women's bodies. Feline fashionistas, so this idea wasn't an unusual thought for me.

Over time I got busy with other things and stopped sculpting. But I kept all my sketches.

And now I'm retired. I work in my yard (I love to garden) and I love to cook. I had a cooking blog for seven years but recently closed it. It was costing a lot to keep it going. After closing the blog, I started my old hobbies again. I've done bead work, and working on finishing a fully beaded doll I started more than 10 years ago! While I was doing that, I thought, lets get that cat doll going!

I pulled out the clay and armatures and doll making stuff and I've been working on Cleo for a few weeks - 

she is sculpted in paper clay and will be fully costumed by me. I'm not the greatest sculptor, but I love the costuming part!

So keep a watch out, she'll be making her debut soon!

Side note - recent news has inspired two new dolls, Kamala and Taylor. I've started them and they will be around next month.

Stay tuned!