Hanging Around.

     Pickle is my third project for Creative Expressions this month. This lovely little cat is in just that, a pickle! hanging on a rope over something interesting like a fish pond.
     With postal restrictions as they are now I chose to make a one layer card with no embellishments, this way it will go as a basic letter at no extra cost. I have also made it with more of a masculine feel to it by using browns.
     The base card is 5 3/4 inches square with the edges coloured dark brown with Archival Ink Coffee.
     I have worked my image on a piece of Coconut White card cut to 5 3/4 inches. I have trimmed it to fit once finished, this allows for any slight off centre stamping to be corrected. So it's not strictly one layer but it saves messing up a card blank if I make a mistake.
     I have also cut a mask, slightly larger than the card, of a paw print. I had to draw and cut  the large pad by hand but I have used a Spellbinder die oval for the four small pads.

      With the card fixed to my mat with masking tape I then fixed the mask at the top over the card, this way I can lift it up and take a look at the card when I need to. I have covered the holes I'm not using with scrap paper while I work so I don't leave dirty marks where I don't want them. (Especially if I drop a stamp by accident)
     The stamp I have used for the small pads is Kitten Treats inked up with Archival Ink Coffee. Each pad has also been coloured in with Distress Ink Brushed Corduroy.

     Pickle has been stamped with the same ink to appear in the large pad of the paw. I have also stamped him on a sticky note that I no longer need to keep and without re-inking too, he's going to be a mask so he doesn't need to be perfect. Cut out the sticky note and cover up the card image while colouring in the pad with DI and Pickle will stay nice and clean.
     Pickle is coloured with watercolour pencils in an effort to give him a ginger tom type look. The rope is coloured with a different brown.
     Each corner of the white card is punched with a small paw print. To finish off the card I have stamped with Distress Ink Old Paper using a paw stamp from stash, to make sure it was pale each stamping was second generation (stamped on scrap and then on the card without re-inking). I have mounted the card on to the coloured blank with double sided tape, making sure to avoid the corners so it won't show through the punch holes. The sentiment is from the Paws-itively Great set stamped in Archival Coffee and Clear Embossed with Cosmic Shimmer powder.

I would like to enter Pickle in the following challenges:

Send Us A Smile 4 Kids - Anything goes 4 Kids