Calling all cat lovers

How is it possible that Christmas is only seventeen days away? Last night I stayed up way too late addressing all my Christmas cards so they could go in the mail today. This afternoon we decorated our little Christmas tree and put up a few other decorations. And I worked on a couple of the gifts I'm making. But I still have so much to do! More shopping, all the wrapping, and a lot more crafting. It gets overwhelming if I think about it too much, so I'm taking a quick break to share a fun non-holiday kitty-themed card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper:Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Basic Black, Smoky Slate card stock
Ink: Smoky Slate, Hello Honey, Baked Brown Sugar, Lucky Limeade, Marina Mist, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: FeLINE die (Penny Black), Brick embossing folder (Taylored Expressions), clear droplets (Pretty Pink Posh), crochet thread (DMC), sponge daubers, Dimensionals, Bitty Banner punch, washi tape for masking

The last time I used this die, I cut the cats out of a monotone background I'd made with my gel printing plate. This time I wanted to try making the cats different colors.

I started by simply die cutting white card stock and setting aside the "negative" pieces (the blue and green pieces in my card). I placed a 1/8" wide piece of washi tape over the white strip across the middle of the die cut and then carefully sponged ink onto the cats and their tails. I think they turned out pretty cute! Maybe next time I'll even try adding some stripes or spots.

Once the cats were done, I carefully removed the washi tape to reveal the white ledge. Then I sponged the negative pieces -- blue sky for the top piece and green grass for the bottom. With all the sponging done, I replaced the negative pieces in the die cut and secured everything together by adhering an extra layer of card stock to the back.

For the card base I used thick Whisper White card stock and added a layer of Smoky Slate card stock embossed with a brick pattern. I lightly sponged Smoky Slate ink over the card stock to emphasize the embossing. I used Dimensionals to adhere the focal panel near the top of the card base and added a black banner peaking out from behind the panel. For a little embellishment, I gave one of the cats a white bow (he's fancy now!) and added three clear droplets to the embossed bricks.

Well, I guess that's enough of a break. I've got to go make dinner and then get back to Christmas preparations. Thanks for stopping by!