Coffee Thank You Card

I played with this STAMPlorations coffee stencil today and have a couple extra papers saved for the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Summer Blog Hop coming up. (see badge/link on sidebar)

I loved what STAMPlorations DT Vicki did with this stencil so I tried my hand at it.  We both embossed the stencil image, but she used a different ink technique than I did.

I placed the stencil on stamp cardstock and used Ranger Clear Emboss It Dabber to go over the design.  After removing the stencil, I sprinkled on Ranger Super Fine Clear embossing powder and heat set it.
Then I took my paper outside and sprayed it with ink sprays:  Dylusions Fresh Lime and Squeezed Orange and Maya Road Hydrangea Blue Mist. After waiting a bit, I used a paper towel roll to sop up the excess ink.

Sentiment is from Paper Smooches Cyber Cafe stamp set, stamped with Archival Coffee ink.

I used red line tape to tape my stencilled card to a standard 6.5 x 5 inch premade white card.

I'm sending this card to my cousin who hosted me for a few days during a recent visit to Milwaukee. We both love our coffee and Panera where we stopped for, what else, coffee and a cookie! We discovered we both order the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad.  Guess you can tell we're related!  I'm reminded of how my mom loved her coffee.  She put cream in hers.  She quit using sugar during the Depression when sugar was scarce.  I drink mine black but love flavored coffees.  I miss taking her out for coffee.  So it was nice to go with my cousin.

Entering these challenges:

A Creative Need May challenge:  Favorite Moments with Mom due May 31.  Next challenge June 5 x

ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop HERE   I'm #37  due Sunday May 31 x

Loves Rubber Stamps Challenge #153 Coffee, Tea or Favorite Beverage   I'm #18 due June 1 x

Open Minded Crafting Challenge #37 Inspired by a Song.  I love the jingle "Folger's in Your Cup" although I never buy Folgers! But I do like their commercial where the son comes home early in the morning, brews a pot of coffee and the aroma wakes up the rest of the family. I'm #45 due June 13

Pile It On Challenge #170 Coffee or Wine/Adult Beverages   I'm #20 Due May 30 x

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #203 Play Misty for Me   I'm #11 due June 1 Spotlight Top 3

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge:  Thank You   I'm #107 due May 31 x

Sister Act Cards only Challenge #108:  Always Anything Goes  I'm #26  due June 4 x

The Paper Explosion Purse

Once a month a group of papercrafters gets together at our local scrapbook store to make something. Today we assembled an explosion box/purse. It required one piece of 12x12 doubled-sided cardstock for the explosion box and couple of extra pieces to make it look like a purse. Here's mine. I'm going to give it to my granddaughter.

 

I found the directions for you on You Tube, if you're intrested in making one of your own.  FYI: We used only red line tape and velcro when we added the purse parts.

Two More Puzzle PIeces for Week 5

Spraying, stenciling, and doodling are in order for our next two altered puzzle pieces at Claudine's Art Corner HERE.

For my sprays I used Maya Mist Bubblegum Metallic and Hydrangea Blue.  After spraying the first piece, I dabbed onto the second piece some of the excess ink.

First Piece
I used a black Sharpie, a white Signo. coffee cup pennants cut from Prima Coffee Break paper.

Second Piece
Instead of stencilling, I used my 3 beans stamp from Verve to create a background.  I added washi tapes. Then I toned them down with white pen and added some torn strips of paper.

Across both pieces I put a sentiment from Riley and Co.  I've been wanting to used this stamp even though it's too large for the individual pieces.

I like how the piece on the left turned out.  Not so sure about the one on the right but maybe it will look better as part of the whole puzzle.

Graduation Card

Here's a quick card I made for my neighbor who's graduating from high school.

Materials:
outside:
Doodlebug premade A2 beetle black polka dot card
Dew Drop Brilliance Silver Galaxy ink
Ranger Silver Super Fine Embossing Powder
STAMPlorations Fond Expressions clear stamp set
inside:
the Paper Studio Chalk artist trading cards
Memories White dye ink
red line tape
STAMPlorations Celebrate Sentiment Builders clear stamp set
White ink pen to sign our names in the bottom right corner of label

Entering These Challenges:
STAMPlorations Anything Goes challenge
Creative Card Crew Challenge 87 Embossing Wet or Dry
My Sheri Crafts Challenge #157  It's Graduation Day

Some Stencilling

This is a birthday card for my daughter-in-law.  I started out thinking trellis with butterflies.  But then I wanted to add the stencil, as if butterflies were continuing off in the distance.

Materials:
Maya Road Hydrangea Blue Spray Mist
STAMPlorations ARTplorations Foiled Again Stencil
STAMPlorations ARTplorations Shower of Flutters Stencil --I used a tiny round foam brush to dab around the edges of some of the butterflies with Ranger Distress Broken China ink.  I stopped where there was a break (indentation) in the stencil pattern.
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink forget me not
STAMPlorations Trendy Butterflies clear stamp set
Stampin' Up label punch


Entering these challenges:

City Crafters Challenge #262  InkyNesS x

Fantasy Stampers Challenge: Wings and Things x

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #184  Anything Goes Family Friendly x

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:  Stencil It  (second entry) x

STAMPlorations Bi-Weekly Sketch Challenge #34 x


STAMPlorations CASEplorations May challenge HERE
Vicki, Cornelia, Laura Jane and Sherry all posted May CASE cards which inspired me to use the Flutter stencil, as well as Monika's CASE card from May 8 (Inspiration Project Post #16).

STAMPlorations Anything Goes Never Ending Challenge HERE


In the process of stencilling my card, I placed it with a second card before I sprayed.  I also mopped up the stencil with a paper towel.  And then there's the paper that was under the excess portion of the stencil.  Here are some pics to show you what I mean.  Now I have a few more items ready to use....calling these stencil by-products.

You will note that the ink looks blue in some of the photos.  The ink is a blue/green so it depends how the lighting is.  The card is the true color.

4 More Altered Art Puzzle Pieces

I went on a rail trip to visit relatives and just got back.  Although I enjoyed my time, I'm anxious to get back to crafting.  Four puzzle pieces seemed like just the ticket.

Week 3 for the next two puzzle pieces from Claudine's Art Corner can be found HERE.

Verve Stamps coffee metal die; Tim Holtz tissue, Wendy Vecchi heart stencil, distress glitter;
Two Paper Divas teacups stamp; Hero Arts digital sentiment cut up


Week 4 for the latest two puzzle pieces from Claudine Criner can be found HERE.

STAMPlorations Mixed Media Grunge stamp with Wendy Vecchi embossing powder; Verve Stamps Coffee cup; Shabby Creek Cottage blog digital sentiment

Bugaboo digital stamps; Dylusions star stencil with Prima graphite embossing paste

The puzzle so far.  Oooops!  Looks like I have to go back and make white word strips for the first piece!

Canvas

I assembled some of the new products I acquired in order to make this canvas.

I sponged blue with a STAMPlorations cloud stencil.
I printed, fussy cut, and colored with Copic markers some Vera Lane Studio images and
placed sentiment in cloud bubble from Janet Scott at Pixel Scrapper.
Using various papers with the Paper Smooches Backdrop Builders dies, I created the scene.
Then I finished with several layers of grass created with the Lawn Fawn grassy border die.

Entering:

Country View Challenges:  May - Simply Scenic

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #310 colors lime, graphite, and sky



Paper Smooches SPARKS Anything Goes Challenge due May 23



Word Art Wednesday--Challenge #184 Anything Goes Family Friendly

AND

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:  Stencil

Card for Mom

A card honoring mothers.  Although I made this with a particular mother in mind who just earned her angel wings, it also reminds me of my mom who rarely got a day off from kitchen duties. Times certainly have changed.

Materials
Heartwarming Vintage/Crafty Secrets image
washi tape, Tim Holtz tape
Verve Stamps sentiment (freebie in my order)

Entering the following:
Crafty Secrets May Linky party HERE x
Sentimental Sundays Challenge #258 Mother's Day or Girlie x
Shopping Our Stash Challenge #200 Big, Bold, and Beautiful x
Lunagirl Challenge: Mother

First Three Puzzle Pieces

So excited we're starting our altered puzzle.  We prepped the 24 pieces in Week 1. Officially now we are in Week 2, altering the first two puzzle pieces.

Claudine Criner at Claudine's Art Corner is the one inspiring us with this challenge.  A link to her blog so you can see what she did with the first two pieces is HERE.  Some Archival ink, embossing paste with a stencil, and some inspirational stamping is the theme today.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!  I belong to the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Facebook Page.  I have a large collection of coffee stamps.
Decision 1:  Coffee themed puzzle--although it may quickly change to include alcohol
Decision 2:  When completed, put puzzle together, glue it onto board, frame and hang.
Decision 3:  Not going to obsess about it-just grab 2 pieces and see what evolves.

As you recall from my previous post, I somehow ended up with a 25 piece puzzle.  Determined not to lag behind as I did with the altered playing cards, I jumped in and did 3 pieces today.

You'll note one piece is pink.  That's because, even though I have a school teacher background which means I know better, I failed to read the instructions first.

Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi embossing paste and heart stencil (used my finger to add texture)
Cardmaking and Papercraft  35 Designer Templates (2009) for scrolls to look like coffee steam

Blending archival/dye based inks:
Memento Dandelion and Rose Bud
Versa Magic Chalk Turquoise Gem
Ancient Page Plum Wine

You can tell I'm not going for each piece to be stand alone by the way the ink is blended.  I've put the inks aside to continue using on the rest of the pieces--unless, of course, we add other products such as paint.  But I think I want this color palette.

Not sure at this point what to use,  I tried my Wink of Stella Dark Pink brush on the embossed areas, including the raised sides. I tried the Perfect Pearls but was not happy with the outcome so I wiped it off.
White pen
Black Sharpie
Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad

Stamp Sets:
Verve Stamps Coffee
Paper Smooches Cyber Cafe
Bugaboo Coffeegirlz digital stamp--DIGITALLY COLORED BY ME--I figured out how to do it!
Then added a bit of colored pencil to match background.  This is 1.25 inches tall--a fussy cutting challenge!

As the puzzle gets completed, I may go back and add more beans, doodles or embellishments.

Cupcake Card

The April Schedule of Contents is up at Unruly PaperArts.  This month the theme is MMM---mosaics, masterboards, Mother's Day, or words that start with em because their pronounced as m--such as embossing and embellishments.

This month's Reader Art Quest is all about food.  Be sure to link up your creation directly to the Unruly PaperArts blogozine HERE.  Please visit UPA for all the samples both today and again mid-month.

Here is my design team creative contribution.  Happy World Baking Day!!!!!  And I did some dry embossing to go along with the MMM-em theme!

Materials:

The Paper Studio cupcake embossing folder
Stampin' Up gumball green cardstock
Me and My Big Ideas MAMBI cards (base is yellow greeting card)
STAMPlorations Cupcake stamp set
scrap of yellow cardstock
Stampabilities Nestabilities circle dies
Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad
Ranger wild honey Distress Marker
Copic Sketch Marker YG03 yellow green
KandCompany Party Adhesive Chipboard (lemon, lime slices)
ribbon leaves from stash



Using this card to enter these challenges:

STAMPlorations Bi-Weekly sketch #32 due May 1
STAMPlorations Never Ending Anything Goes challenge
The Crafters Cafe:  Challenge #114 Food and/or Drink