Anniversary Cats

Last week, we celebrated our 8^th wedding anniversary.  My card starred the Stampin’ Up Love Cats set.  I love the simple cat designs and they’re easy to fussy cut.  It was also my first go at a spinner card, which was inspired by the “head over heels” sentiment.

Since they’re silhouette style images, I got the best results using a stamping platform so I could repeat stamp to get a good, solid colour.  I wanted the card to have a shaped front so stamped the first cat at the top of the card blank, the plan being to cut around him later.

To make the wall, I used a brickwork stencil from Inkylicious and blended a little grey ink before adding a few splatters for extra texture.

For the spinner panel, I die-cut the top using Lawn Fawn Grassy Border before marking a line where I wanted the channel to be.  I used an old Stampin’ Up punch but this could easily be done with a die or craft knife.

The video I watched said that the card needed to be thick to support the mechanism so I added a couple of strips of card to reinforce the aperture.

Next, the spinner mechanism.  I cut a double stacked circle of foam tape and attached them to the first penny.  To reduce any sticky residue on the side of the foam, I dusted it liberally with my Embossing Buddy, before attaching the other penny on top.   This was then secured into the channel. 

The mechanism needs some room above the card base to spin so the panel was mounted on thick foam strips all round, making sure to leave the channel clear for the penny to slide.

The last job was to stamp the sentiment and trim across the top of the card.  I extended the lines either side of the cat and used these as my guide for fussy cutting.

The spinner panel was mounted on the card and my spinning kitty adhered to the penny.  Mr L said it reminded him of our cat, Leia, who is partial to a game of tail-chasey!

The remaining cat in the set was stamped on the inside of the card and the envelope.

Mr L got his craft on too and created this fabulous card.  He designed this no.8 cat and cut it out with a craft knife - I need to teach him how to use my cutting machines!  Isn’t it fab?

Having done a short hand-lettering course with my sister a couple of weeks ago, I took the opportunity to make my own wrapping paper for his present too.

Lastly, here's the card in action.