Luna and Maru (b.6 March 2010)

I'd like to introduce you to two beautiful Siamese cats, Luna and Maru. They belong to a dear friend, Anna, who not only designs and makes the most exquisite jewellery under the name of Sakura Jewelllery, but she is also the tireless editor of UK Handmade magazine.

This was the first time I'd made up Siamese cats, and I very much enjoyed the challenge. Luna has a slightly more rounded face than Maru, and Maru is a little bit smaller. I made the body shapes more streamlined than my usual cat shape, and then cut the face markings out of a thin sheet of dark brown clay. Because the cats have a lovely dusting of darker fur on their backs, I did this by applying a light covering of pastel dust, and then sealed it with varnish.

There are a few sad stories attached to these wee cats. When I first posted these cats off to Anna, by recorded delivery post, the parcel went missing. It still hasn't turned up. And the galling thing about this was that I had included a surprise extra gift of a Wee Shadow, a black Staffordshire terrier who belongs to one of Anna's good friends. So while I was able to replace Wee Luna and Wee Maru without too much trouble, Wee Shadow remains lost in transit, and the only evidence of him can be found here.

But the much sadder news is that in recent weeks, from the beginning of April, Maru has not been at all well. She has chronic renal failure with suspected pancreatitis, and so Anna and her husband have been doing their best to look after the wee mite. She's not out of the woods yet and is on special medication, but she's a fighter and hopefully she'll adapt to this new reality. You can read more about Maru's journey here.

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