For someone who’s been on Oprah, met two U.S. presidents and been featured in People magazine, you’d think Cary artist Seton McGlennon might be a little full of herself.

But meeting her in a paint-splattered apron, cheerfully buzzing around her home studio and trailed by her comedic Siamese cat, Chang, nothing could be further from the truth.

“My mom and sister said, ‘do your ornaments,’ and I was like, ‘really?’” she said, remembering her modest foray into the art world.

She quit real estate and was settling into being a stay-at-home mom when her family urged her to sell the ornaments she made as housewarming gifts for her clients. Each had a tiny replica of their new home.

The ornament sales took off and morphed into more ambitious pieces, eventually culminating in McGlennon’s signature “Story of your Life” online service, where she paints trunks, canvases, tables or trays depicting people’s lives with heart and humor.

“I can’t draw ugly things,” she said of her whimsical style that emerged naturally. “If I did a snake, it would be a cute snake.”

Her brushes with fame came just as breezily as her successful career. Not a trained artist — more of a chronic doodler — she traveled to art shows and gained word-of-mouth notoriety for her unique pieces, which often become family heirlooms.

Then she decided to send a memory trunk to Oprah. It was a good decision.

A year later, a producer called saying her trunk was one of Oprah’s favorite possessions. Soon McGlennon found herself in a limo, going to a live taping in Chicago, as part of Oprah’s “Favorite Things” show.

“Look at me, I look like a scared rabbit,” she said, pointing out framed shots her father took of the television set.

And trips to the White House? She said she’s not sure how presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton found out about her, but both separately commissioned her to paint about 1,000 holiday ornaments depicting the White House.

“It took me a year, but I did 924 of them,” she said with a weary smile.

Though she’s cutting back on traveling, McGlennon still has new ideas in the fire — the latest being a children’s book about Chang.

She thumbs through preliminary sketches and giggles, excusing herself to finish a client’s memory canvas — all part of the creative frenzy that has become McGlennon’s life.

“But don’t catch me at 9 p.m.,” she said. “I’m out.”

Seton McGlennon will be at Spring Daze on April 25, selling prints of her newest piece and on colleges in North Carolina. Visit Setonontheweb.com or call 468-3111 for an in-studio appointment.