TSG Animal Theme Card

Just getting this card in under the wire. This is for this week's TSG challenge which is to create a project with an animal theme. It's also my first time playing along with them.

I'm using TSG's Little Moments stamp set which I was fortunate enough to win a couple months back. The images are so sweet, and even though I'm not a cat fan, I think this one is awfully cute.

I deliberated over the composition for a while. Part of me thinks that it's too stark, but another part of me loves the simplicity of it.

To create the lighting effect, I used a scrap piece of cardstock, and lined it up along the edge of the shade. I used a sponge dauber to add ink along the edge of the scrap piece of paper, shading from the scrap piece in, and from the bottom of the shade down. For the light beams at the top of the shade, I just estimated where I thought the angle should be, and did the same thing. It's a really easy technique that adds a lot to the image.

The papers for the cat and lamp shade are from the retired Dreamin' paper pack and the 'carpet' pieces are from the Stella paper pack.

Another little tip for piecing. Since I overlapped the base of the lamp with the cat image, I added a small piece of cardstock to the back of the cat so that the image sits evenly on the card. The small piece of cardstock doesn't need to match the cat exactly, it's just there for some added stability and to make sure that when you adhere the top piece it doesn't look uneven.

Hope you are enjoying what remains of your weekend!

Supplies Used:
Paper/Cardstock: Dreamin and Stella Level 2 Paper packs, Chocolate and Colonial White cardstock
Stamps: TSG - Little Moments
Ink: Cocoa, Honey