Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Coffee Valentine

I didn't realize how much I was influenced subconsciously by guest designer Tenia's coffee card until I went to post my entry over at STAMPlorations.  The post was from January 2, and as you can see my post is on January 28.  That's a lot of time in-between to remember the idea.  (She used rings for her background--hers were white on dark brown and very much more orderly--I went with a random design.)

First I tried coffee splatters by actually tossing some coffee from my cup onto this card.  I also dipped a cup into the coffee and tried to stamp coffee cup rings.  None of this worked.  The card absorbed the liquid and left no stains--perhaps because, to begin with, the card was a toothy dark kraft stock.

So I resorted to stamping with Archival "coffee" ink (perfect color choice, of course!).  I used a glue jar for the rings and then a Crafty Individuals ink splats stamp, literally to make splatters.  I used the "roll" technique, rather than putting the stamp on a block which gives an uneven effect to the stamped image--perfect for a "blotch".  I also used the "kiss" technique, meaning I stamped twice without re-inking, which creates two different intensities of color.  Finally, you'll also notice a few finger smudges in a lighter color, as if I tried to "mop up" the spill. That would be the sum of my inking technique for an inky background.



Other Materials:
STAMPlorations Eat Drink Be Merry stamp set:  sentiment and coffee cup
Stampin' Up early expresso ink for the stamps
Stampin' Up very vanilla and early expresso card stock (what can I say, I'm on a roll with the theme)
1-3/8" circle punch
1-3/4" scallop punch
Wilton red doily for a pop of color (I love red with kraft)--I kept with the "circle" theme but added a punched heart that was a reject from another project--it was the perfect little touch of  "Valentine".


Challenges I'm Entering:

STAMPlorations January Ink and Stamp challenge
By completing this challenge, I'm in the running for the frequent player prize, as I now have entered all three challenges offered in January.  Plus I was able to put a couple entries in the never ending Anything Goes challenge.

Hiding in My Craft Room:  Challenge #184 Any Holiday x

The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog #101 Create Your Own Background x

Time Out Challenges #23  Valentine's Day with optional twist of hearts x

Entering these two challenges because I'm working on my coffee splatter technique AND with my new STAMPlorations Eat Drink Be Merry stamp set.

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday:  New product/technique

Crafty Gals Corner:  Challenge #4 Try Something New until Feb 3 x

10 comments:

jane stillman said...

A great card, love the splash of red

Deepti said...

This is gorgeous! Love the color combo and the doily :)

Lisa Mensing said...

Cool technique using coffee! The card turned out beautifully. Thank you for sharing with us at Crafty Gals Corner Try Something New Challenge.

Monika Skinner said...

Wow, love it! Great colours and perfect combination of elements. Thanks for joining us at STAMPlorations this month. Good Luck! Monika

Gerrina said...

What a beautiful grungy look for this card! Great for a guy and still with a heart and red'that's clever! Thank you for taking the TIME OUT and join us!

Lena said...

What great ideas you had to come up with this perfect background! I bet that was fun to make too :-) I love everything about your card - perfect for Valentine :-)
Thank you for playing along with us at Crafty Gals Corner. I hope to see you again soon. Good luck!
Hugs,
Lena - DT
Lena’s Creations

Samantha A. said...

Haha! I love the sentiment!
Thanks for playing along this week at Crafty Gals Corner!
-Samantha
Crafty Gals Corner - DT Coordinator
Crafty Gals Corner

Stephanie said...

What a fun and sweet card! I need to make this for my hubby since we both love coffee :)

I saw your pretty profile icon while visiting another blog and just had to click on it. Then, I saw your pretty blog and I instantly knew I would be following you :) I look forward to many more visits.

Hugs! Stephanie - The Enchanting Rose

Anita in France said...

The rich red doily really pops against the stamped background, Hélène ... and what a fun sentiment! Thanks so much for playing along with us at Time Out! Anita :)

Nonni said...

Gorgeous card with STAMPlorations stamps! I love your "stained" bg and the doily of course... I'm a huge doily fan! :) Thanks for taking TIME OUT and joining our challenge. We already have a new challenge running, it's a fun CASE challenge -I hope to see you playing along!

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