AUCTION INFO: Meows and Minis proxy bidding has begun! ALL of the proceeds of this auction will be donated to Cat Guardians, a no-kill, cageless, all volunteer cat shelter in Lombard, IL. You can read more about this wonderful shelter at http://catguardians.hypermart.net/. Proxy bidding will take place from August 16th to September 13th. Bidding will close at the Meows and Minis live show on September 16th. Generally, about half of the auction is won by proxy bidders, so it is indeed worth trying to bid! There are no reserves - high bidder is the winner! Bid updates will be posted as soon as new bids come in, so keep checking back to see what the current prices are. MORE PHOTOS TO COME SOON!

If you would like to bid, please send your bid ($5 increments only) to Chris Wallbruch at wombats@earthlink.net. All auction items and their current bid price can be viewed at http://www.picturetrail.com/wombats (scroll down to Meows and Minis auction items) Thanks for supporting the shelter!

2006 AUCTION ITEMS:

• Janet Bonney is well known for both her Appaloosas and stablemates - so this little guy gives you the best of both worlds! He is painted a beautiful buckskin blanket, and his detailing is absolutely incredible! This guy has a lot of pizazz. Thanks Janet!
• Holly & Kevin McFarland will be donating a SM trail diorama, complete with water, trees, and rock formation. Thanks guys!
• Jenn Tate of Shadowfax Studios donated a Breyer Classic Quarter Horse foal CM etchie! She gave me this guy at last week's No Frills show, where he promptly picked up 2 NAN cards - one for breed, and one for worksmanship. He is so cool, and now his new owner will have a head start on those merit awards! Thanks Jenn!
• Janis Whitcomb will be donating an item TBA! Thanks Janis!
• Cindy Neuhaus of The Lakeshore Collection Ltd. will be sending us a bay Status Symbol. Thanks Cindy!
• Caroline Boydston will be donating two beautiful pins - one of an Arabian stallion, and one of an Arabian mare and foal - click here to see. Thanks Caroline!
• Jennifer Krollwill be donating a Cheveyo resin painted to chestnut tobiano. Thanks Jen!
• Heidi Reaves will be donating a pastelled 2005 Sarah Minkiewiecz medallion.

  Heidi Reaves also has taken Kathleen Moody's beautiful little SM resin "Dance With Me" and turned him into a wild chestnut! She writes, "White markings are done in gesso. Details in acrylics and pencil. He'll come with a pedigree too." He would look fabulous in those liberty classes, don't you think? Thanks Heidi!

• DeeAnn Kjelshus will be donating two medallions - click here for medallion #1 and click here for medallion #2. Thanks DeeAnn!
• Beth Hoffert will be sending us a CM Ruffian done to blue roan (change from SM Optime). Thanks Beth!
• Allison Rittenhouse will be donating a CM SM Foal. Allison just wrote me with the description of her donation: " She's a leopard appy SM prancing foal with two blue eyes." Thanks Allison!
• The Bucklers of Resins By Randy donated a beautiful unpainted "Eden" resin to the auction! You can see this lovely girl here http://www.resinsbyrandy.com/eden.html
• Lori Daniels painted the "Eden" resin sent by Resins By Randy. She is absolutely BEAUTIFUL - a rich, deep bay with lovely pinto markings! She'll be an eye catcher for those part Arab classes! Thank you to Resins By Randy for donating her, and thank you to Lori Daniels for painting her!
• Karen Dietrich will be donating an item TBA. Thanks Karen!
• Sheri Rhodes will be sending a CM Stone Chips Arab. Thanks Sheri!
• Kristin Berkery will be donating an unpainted SM sculpture - this will be a brand new release. Thanks Kristin!
• Suzanne Feld will be repainting the resin body donated by Kristin Berkery. Thanks ladies for this great two-in-one donation!
• Laurence Cassin Laurence has sent me a write-up on his eventing boots, and says:

  "This is a set of cross-country boots. It includes front and high rear boots, made after real Devoucoux ones. The only detail I have not add is the buckle tongues, to make the tack easier to use at this scale, and less fragile because the straps are so small. They are traditional size and fit horses with thin cannon bones like Breyer Strapless or Lonesome Glory molds. The boots are made in calf skin, with a chocolate body and tan straps, with golden Rio Rondo square buckles. All parts of the boots are entirely hand stitched, absolutely no glue was used. The hind boots have a wire reinforcement on the front of the cannon bone and they protect the inside of the hock, exactly like real ones."

  I have uploaded the photo to the Picturetrail site. Thanks Laurence!

• Cindy Williams will be donating a custom "Dippers Duffy" resin (traditional sized Miniature Horse) to the show. Thanks Cindy!
• Karen Beeson Karen Beeson has donated a beautiful dapple grey Classic Arabian Mare custom. Thanks Karen!
• Jamie Coughlin has donated a STUNNING Breyer Smart Chic Olena (I think that is the mold - I am a bit fuzzy on some of the names of the newer ones, LOL!) customized to strawberry roan with peppercorn spots! This girl is COOL! Thanks Jamie!
• Tom Bainbridge has sent me two unpainted resins: Laura Behning's "Rose Annette" resin (SM sized standing Morgan) and Laura Behning "Alistair" resin (SM sized walking Morgan). You can see both of this handsome sculptures by clicking here. Thanks Tom!
• Lesli Kathman has sent us TWO of her cool purply shaggy pony medallions! They are adorable! Since she sent us two, one will be at auction and one will be a raffle...so if you like the thrill of lottery you can try for it by raffle, or if you'd rather know for sure who the winner is you can try for it by auction!

  Lesli writes "Anyway, the two medallions are samples of the new glaze color I've been using called, appropriately enough, "Blackberry." Very appropriate name for these guys! You are going to LOVE them! Thanks Lesli for donating these two adorable medallions!

Raffle Items, Challenge Items, and Other Assorted Goodies:

• Darian Buckles will be donating a 3 CD Repair and Restoration set! Thanks Darian!
• Ann Bilon will be donating a LB sized huntseat set made by Jane Wagner. Thanks Ann!
• Tracy Eilers will be donating a SM CM foal to our auction. Thanks Tracy!
• Michelle McIntyre will be donating an item TBA. Thanks Michelle!
• Linda Feeley donated a Breyer "Milton" and a Felicia Browell "Breyer Animal Collector's Guide - 4th Edition" to the show. Thanks Linda!
• Maria Mazzacane has donated a big box of "Just About Horses" magazines. Thanks Maria!
• Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig will be sending us two sets of medallions - one for the champ and reserve of our custom and resin divisions. Thanks Sarah!
• Karen Grimm of Black Horse Ranch donated a SR "Ozone"! Her description is...

  "These custom glazed SR (125 pieces I believe we ran) of the Loza mold Quarter Horse, were custom glazed at the factory (Eric Renaker's Loza factory) for us to match a friend of mine's real Paint stallion (he was made famous by the Leanin' Tree prints), Ozone. A black and white tovero pattern, this piece is Curio scale (smaller than Classic, bigger than Little Bits), about 5" tall."

  He's a neat little guy - thanks Karen!

• Lyn Norbury will be donating an item TBA. Thanks Lyn!
• Sheri Wirtz of Rosewood Saddle Co. will be donating a certificate of $50.00 off on a doll costing $150.00 or more. Thanks Sheri!
• Bentley Sales has sent us several Breyer companion animals for the show. Thanks Bentley Sales!
• Katie Schmidt has donated a custom painting certificate for one traditional or classic sized model. Thanks Katie!
• Stephanie Michaud will be donating a Sarah Rose medallion painted by her. Thanks Stephanie!
• Arlene Woods will be donating a set of SM Western tack to the show. Thanks Arlene!
• Manuela Kosmider will be has donated several nice OF Breyer stablemates for our raffle and auction. Thanks Manuela!
• Melissa Addison Melissa Addison sent us two repaints...one of the LB Arab stallion in black, and one of the Thoroughbred stallion in black splash overo. Thanks Melissa!
• Tina DeCaussin will be donating one of her "Cat Scan" mugs. Thanks Tina!
• Jeanne Grunert from EquinArt Creations will be sending us a gift certificate. Thanks Jeanne!
• Laura Pervier writes, "Saturday I mailed out a box to you via parcel. Has a hand stamped clock and decorative canister inside. As well as some hand stamped magnets. All for raffle." Thanks Laura!
• Keren Gilfoyle-McGroarty will be donating a gift certificate for a $50 discount on either a custom rider or tack order from her. Thanks Keren!
• Dave & Maggie Barkovitz of DaBar Enterprises will be donating an unpainted Ultrafine resin to the auction. Ultrafine is a micromini scale saddlebred sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis exclusively for DaBar. Thanks DaBar!
• Jenna Nejman just wrote me to let me know of several donations - "Christy Allen donated two JCP SR- the OM Arab and teh NM Arab. I will be donating a mint PS WPH in a palomino Paint, and my good friend Deb Fritz in NJ donated a traditional sized custom made saddle." Thanks so much ladies!
• Marilou Mol will be donating a Peter Stone Mini-Me Glossy Angelina Chips (SR of 100). Thanks Marilou!
• Tiffany Purdy will be donating an item TBA. Thanks Tiffany!
• Laurel Haig will be donating a CM TBA. Thanks Laurel!
• Hee hee...Sandy Cord of PS Cord & Co. is really a little elf that goes to people's houses and leaves horses on their doorsteps! :D I came home from work today and there was a bag of three boxes of horses on my doorstep for the show - she donated a bay Pebbles warmblood, a black blanket Pebbles warmblood, and the set of four Chips SR "Four Corners" - awesome donations! Plus there was one more item hiding down in the bottom of the bag from Santa Cord - a "Stone Metal" model! Thanks Sandy!
• RESS will be donating a TB3 book - VERY cool for all of you artists out there. Thanks, RESS!
• Sue Hallwas & Kaitlyn Camardo will be bringing a copy of the book "The Beautiful Jim Key" as a donation! Thanks ladies!
• Sandy Bloom will be donating 3 Schleise SM sized foals and a traditional scale Breyer (TBA)! Thanks Sandy!

Would you like to make a donation to Meows and Minis 2006? Please contact Chris Wallbruch at wombats@earthlink.net for more information!