grumpy cat door decorating.

We are having a door decorating contest at work, just for fun. Well, not just for fun. The winner gets a fabulous prize. I already own said prize, but I wouldn't mind a newer one … that's not what motivates me though. I'll participate without the urge of "I have to win!" So I was trying to come up with an idea for decorating my door. Meet …

 Grumpy Cat.

Actual name is Tardar Sauce (aka "Tard") from the color of her fur. Became an Internet sensation last year because of her grumpy expression and won the 2012 Internet Meme of the Year award. The photos are funny; she's reportedly a very sweet cat, but she has feline dwarfism so she is extra small.

So this was my inspiration. The cartoon Grumpy Cat doesn't look the same as the actual, so I tried to use a photo for drawing/painting Grumpy Cat under and umbrella.

A very rough draft done on poster board. I was trying to figure out the best way to shade/blend the paint for the fur.

Then I painted on soft fabric. I double up the fabric, and when I was done, I hand-stitched on a felt nose, and then hand-stitched the doubled-up fabric to a poster board outline so I could easily attach it to my door. I only bought brown and white paint, so I used food color to make the blue paint for the eyes and pink paint for the paw. The paw was weird, because cats don't have opposable thumbs, so they can't really actually hold an umbrella.

Finished this up Sunday night. It took a long time! I cut the umbrella and handle out of scrapbook paper; the handle is reinforced with poster board. Then I stayed up extra late so I could finish folding the laundry.

Up on my door at work. My sister gave me the idea to hang hearts in front of the door which added a nice touch. I put heart-cutouts from photos of Miles and Otis on the strings. I originally had them mixed in on the door, but I didn't like how it looked.

Judging is at the end of July. I'm one of the first people to get my door decorated on our floor, so people are stopping by preparing to one-up me. Oh well. :)