The Cat’s Meow by Judi Kauffman for The Queen’s Ink

Laurel Burch’s stamps always make me smile and this new one with a pair of cats is a welcome addition to my collection. Hope you’ll want to add it to yours, too! I thought that the leaves and quirky circles by Elizabeth St. Hilaire, part of her Peacock Collection, would coordinate well with the cats. It’s a somewhat unexpected combination because the line quality is very sketchy, but there is a whimsical feel to them that I liked with the cats - I’m really pleased with the mix.

In keeping with my mantra that Easy Isn’t Cheating I used only one ink for stamping and a craft sponge to lightly apply smudged-on ink here and there. (A fussy-cut lightweight paper mask kept ink off the cats while sponging the color.)

Two cards measure 5” x 7”, the other two are 5” x 6.25”. Fun phrases, the word Muse, and some Cat’s Eye stickers round things out on three of the cards, while the fourth got some tiny glitter dot peel-offs under the eyes on the larger cat as shown in the photo below.

The photos below show each card on its own.

OPTIONS

• Add color with pencils or ink-compatible markers.
• Stamp envelopes to match.
• Switch from whimsical phrases to birthday or other greetings and sentiments (stamped or hand-written).

SUPPLIES:

• Stamps - Laurel Burch cats (Stampendous); Elizabeth St. Hilaire Peacock Collection (RubberMoon); You Got This, THE BEST DAY EVER, MUSE, Support your Friends (RubberMoon)
• Ink in color of choice
• White side-fold card blanks (5” x 7”)
• Round craft sponge
• Embossed cardstock in coordinating color (optional: Border for “Support your Friends”)
• Cat’s eye stickers 5mm and 7mm (Stanislaus Imports, lasioux.com)
• Glitter Dots peel-offs (Elizabeth Craft Designs)