I received an unusual commission from two cats who desired a card for their “Mom.” They requested that it show how much they loved her and appreciated how she cared for them.

The Simon Says Stamp “Happy Meother’s Day” stamps and coordinating dies were perfect for this card. Knowing that the cats spend a good part of their day watching the outside world at the living room window, I thought an actual photograph of their neighborhood would work well as the world beyond the window that the cats would be looking at.

All of the stamping and embossing for the card was done first, using clear Versamark ink and a stamping platform.  The sentiment banner and two sets of sitting cats were stamped on scrap cardstock and then heat embossed with a detail black embossing powder. (I stamped two sets of cats in case I didn’t like the way I’d colored or cut them so there would be a back-up set to use.)

Layout the placement of the stamps to be used inside the card on a stamping platform. Stamp the red solid hearts first and heat dry the ink before stamping and embossing each side of the card.

It is easier to work at stamping and embossing just one side of the card at a time. Make sure you use an anti-static tool or powder bag to remove the chance of stray embossing powder remaining on your card.

Cut the front and back decorative papers to fit the 5-inch by 7-inch folded card base.

(I used the scraps from cutting the front panel’s 5×7 bottom mat and 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 top layer to decorate the back panel.) Use a rectangle die to cut out the center of the back mat layer so as to get more mileage out of the paper. (Stamp, emboss and color before gluing on papers.)

Cut two of the window frames using the emboss and cut folder. Fussy cut out the windows. (You can trim the back frame a bit smaller than the front frame.) Cut a piece of acetate to fit the windowpane area and glue using small dots of glue at the cross points of the bottom window frame. Use foam squares to adhere the top window frame to the bottom one.

The cats had been kind enough to supply photos of themselves, so I colored the stamped images to reflect their personalities using watercolor pencils and a water brush. To get the stripes to standout more, I went over the wet blended images with a darker color pencil. (I didn’t have to use my back-up set of images as everything worked out as planned!)

The trick to getting perfect die-cuts of stamped images is to make a template the lets you center the cut-out where you want over the image and then taping with low-tack tape to hold the die in place while you run it through a die-cutting machine. 

Once the decorative papers have been glued to the card base, (stamp, emboss and color before gluing on papers,) add the photo back to the bottom window frame. Place one foam square on the back bottom section of the die-cut cats and two squares at the back of the heads where they will adhere through the window opening to the acetate. Use double foam squares on the back of the sentiment banner.

Stamp the front and back of the envelope using two shades of gray and red ink for the hearts and extra sentiment. (I used a red marker to color the collar and extra sides of the heart.)

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MATERIALS USED:

Dies & Embossing Folders

• Open Studio –Emboss & Cut 3D Embossing Folder – EF1022 Classic Window
• Simon Says Stamp! –Steel Craft Dies – Happy Meother’s Day – sssd112342c
• Spellbinders – Cutting Dies – Essential Rectangles – S5-411

Stamping

• Simon Says Stamp! –6×8 Clear Stamp Set – Happy Meother’s Day – sss202293c

Inks and Embossing Powder

• Recollections – Detail Embossing powder – Ebony

• VersaMark – Watermark Stamp Pad

• Nuvo – Highly Pigmented Watercolor Pencils – Skin & Hair Tones

• Crayola Signature Blending Markers- red

• Simon Says Stamp – Premium Dye Ink – Slate

• Memento – Fade-resistant Dye Ink – London Fog

• Hero Arts – Dye Ink – Pale Tomato

Papers

• A7 white card base and envelope
• White and blue scraps of cardstock
• Decorative papers designed by Adam Pescott from Cardmaking & Papercraft, issue 204, January 2020
• Dura-Lar – .005 clear film – Acetate

Miscellaneous

• Cosmic Shimmer – Specialist Acrylic Glue – 125ml
• Sizzix – Big Shot PLUS die cutting Machine
• Fineline 20 Gauge Applicator & Bottle
• LDRS Creative – Stampendable Stamping Tool
• Anti-Static Tool by Kat Scrappiness
• Foam Squares
• Water Brush