Seize the Birthday: Use a Stencil

It's Thursday, and time for a new challenge at Seize the Birthday! Cathy has picked our latest topping: Use a Stencil. When stencils first became a new *thing*, I was better at collecting them than using them. But I have grown to love how versatile they are! For my card today, I went with plaid...

... and a cat. :D A friend remarked that I haven't been making a lot of cat cards lately, so I decided to rectify that. I started by masking off my card panel so I would get a narrow band of plaid across it, using a blending brush and distress ink. I chose one of my taller cat stamps and coloured him in grey. (Yes, a lot of my stamped cats are grey. Duncan approves. :D) 

As always, if the current topping doesn't inspire you, we love to see any birthday card in our gallery! My teammates and our new surprise party guest, Carol, have used stencils in a variety of ways, so be sure to head over to the StB blog and check them out. Hope you'll join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white & scrap red cardstock, MFT Cat-itude stamps and die, Versafine onyx black & barn door distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, ARTplorations Just Plaid stencil, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die, foam tape