Tribal Cat Envelopes by Judi Kauffman for The Queen’s Ink

In my previous post for The Queen’s Inkling, I experimented with Laurel Burch’s Tribal Cats and Dog Park die sets – but none of the matching stamps. This time, I’ve been puttering around with the three cat faces from the Tribal Cats stamp set – but without any of the dies.

I thought it would be fun to experiment on envelopes, a favorite way to figure out color combinations and explore ideas before I get ‘serious’ and make cards, ATCs, or work in an art journal. I chose Kraft brown because the rich surface is perfect for doodling with opaque white and gold pens, great with colored pencils and markers, too.

The stamp set includes templates for masking and stenciling the heads, bodies and tail and I’ll get into those in an upcoming tutorial. There are also texture stamps for decorating the bodies and tail that I haven’t yet taken out of the package. I just wanted to deal with the faces first.

This is a portable project, perfect for time spent in a doctor’s waiting room or at the airport. All supplies, including the stamped envelopes, fit in a gallon-size plastic bag or small tote.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Stamp the cat faces on a bunch of A2 Kraft brown envelopes, arranging them as shown or as you prefer. Be sure to leave space for the postage stamp. (I chose dark blue ink, but any dark color will work.)

2. Using the same ink or a matching color pen or pencil, stamp or draw lines for writing a name and address. Add a stamped greeting, positioned vertically so it won’t get confused with the name and address (see below).

3. Color, doodle…Add dots, hearts; extend the whiskers; surround the faces with opaque gold. Play, and then play some more. (I forced myself to stop at nine envelopes but could have made dozens.) 

YOUR TURN:

Use the supplies I’ve listed or whatever you prefer. I chose brown envelopes in keeping with the tribal feel of the stamps, but white or other colors will work just fine.

Instead of using water-based dye inks that blend into the colors of the pens and markers, use waterproof inks. (I like the blending!)

Instead of just faces, include the bodies and tails when you stamp and color the cats. (Suggested layouts: One cat per envelope, or two facing each other with space between them for name and address.)

SUPPLIES:

• Laurel Burch Tribal Cats stamp set (Stampendous)
• A2 Kraft brown envelopes
• Dark blue dye-based inkpad
• Pigma Micron and Graphic pens (Sakura of America)
• Gelly Roll White pens 10, 05, 05 (Sakura of America)
• Colored pencils (Prismacolor)
• ProMarkers (Winsor & Newton)