Let sleeping cats lie...

Hello all, it's Friday, and time for a new challenge at Fussy and Fancy... and this fortnight the theme is "Our Furry Friends".  I'm not going to lie to you - I had problems with this one!  But I hope you'll hop over to see the great inspiration provided by my fellow Design Team members - and that you'll find some Christmas crafting time to join in with the challenge.

For some reason, I couldn't get my head round the theme this time - and I promise you I'm not an animal-hater - quite the reverse, but I don't really do "cute", as regulars will know, and this seemed like a "cute" theme.  In the end, I just had to try to follow my nose... I'm still unsure about where it got me (and if you were around to see what was on my workdesk on Wednesday, you'll know there were plenty of discarded efforts en route).

Rather than cute I ended up going "Zen"... and I rode on the back of another artist's inspiration.  I've used one of the amazing cat sketches by Steinlen (Théophile Alexandre Steinlen - now there's a name to conjure with) as my central image.  He captures cats to perfection in his drawings.

Round the edges I used Pumice Stone and Frayed Burlap DIs, blended over a torn tag to get a subtle natural framing wave of colour.

The quote comes from Jane Pauley (an American journalist), and seemed to go perfectly with how the image makes me feel... And I'm telling you, I needed some of that Zen-like calm after struggling with this project!

In the background, I used some handmade type paper - the natural fibres provide such pleasing texture.




And on the white card I used my Kaisercraft woodgrain stamp to provide another natural element.  It's stamped in a mixture of Memento London Fog (a lovely grey) and Black Soot DI, so that it echoes the pencil/graphite strokes of the drawing.



On the edges I added texture by stippling gesso and French Roast Fresco paint from PaperArtsy, keeping the brush fairly dry, to get the whiskery/paw-printy look in places.





And since the natural look seemed to have taken hold, I grabbed some more of the twigs leftover from creating my Golden Memories of Home tag.  Once I tried them out, the other elements needed a little more definition, so I used Gathered Twigs DI to edge them.










So that's my attempt to honour Our Furry Friends!  I'm sure you'll find lots from the rest of the DT to tickle your fancy over at Fussy and Fancy... and it would be lovely to have you join in with us this time - I can't wait to see what you all come up with!


I have studied many philosophers and many cats.  The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.
Hippolyte Taine

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
Robert A Heinlein