Grateful-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

Since we are teetering on the precipice of Autumn, Debra and I decided to use this gorgeous mood board as our inspiration. I won't lie, it's still pretty warm here in Southeast Missouri, so this mood board is more wishful thinking on my part. LOL. All of my stamped elements are from Hero Arts Grateful Pumpkin stamp and die bundle. I colored all of my images to match the color inspiration on the mood board, die cut the images, and arranged them into some light kraft cardstock that I mounted onto my white A2 card base. Some were popped up with Stampin' UP foam dimensionals and some were glued directly to the card base. The sentiment was stamped from the same stamp set using Versamark clear ink and Ranger white detail embossing powder. I finished this card off with some black gloss gems from Trinity Stamps. 

My coffee this month is this adorable latte I had at the Ritz Carlton this past weekend. You gotta love coffee art, right? Now be sure to pop on over to Debra's blog and see how she was inspired this month. 

Oh Happy Day-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

This month Deb and I chose this gorgeous photo as our inspiration. I started by layering an A2 panel of light green cardstock onto my card base. I die cut a smaller panel of white cardstock and embossed it using a Gemini embossing folder. Using pierced edge oval dies from My Favorite Things, I created a focal panel using more green and white cardstock. I popped the focal panel up using thin foam tape. I stamped the tulips from Hero Arts Tulip Bouquet stamp set onto white Copic-friendly cardstock, colored them using my alcohol markers, and fussy cut them out. I popped them up onto the focal panel using foam tape. I stamped and fussy cut the sentiment from the same tulip stamp set and a few butterflies from Sugar Pea Designs Floral Envie stamp set. Once everything was adhered down I added some clear rhinestones from Recollections and Nuvo glitter drops in white blizzard. 

My coffee this month is a gorgeous latte with an Italian biscotti that I got while Nathan and I were having a lovely lunch at The Ritz Carlton in St. Louis. That's one of our favorite get-aways that's still close enough to where we live. Now, be sure to pop on over to Debra's blog and see how she was inspired this month!

Happy Birthday-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

This month Deb and I are creating mini slimline cards. I recently watched a YouTube tutorial on how to create this fun fold flap mini slimline card and couldn't resist trying it. I started with a 7" x 6.25" piece of white cardstock. I scored it at 1.25" and again at 3.5" and folded my score lines. Using Ki Color Crush 6x6 patterned paper pad I selected 3 patterns that I felt went well together and cut them at 1"x 6," 1.25" x 6," and 3.5" x 6." The 1" strip went in the center fold which I popped up a bit with foam tape at the top and bottom of the panels for a little extra dimension. The 1.25" strip went on the top left panel before I adhered the middle flap down. The final strip went on the inside. I then die cut two panels, one in dark pink with a scalloped circle die from Spellbinders, and the second in white using a stitched circle die from My Favorite Things. I adhered them together and popped them up on the card only adding foam tape to the left of the circle so it would not stick to the inside panel of the card. I stamped, colored, and fussy cut the cupcake using Hero Arts CL158 stamp set. I popped that up on the focal panel and added some Stardust Stickles to the cherry and frosting for some added sparkle and shine. The happy sentiment was stamped using The Greetery's Pretext Sentiments and the Birthday was stamped using a Unity Stamp Company red rubber stamp that I got as a freebie from a recent order. They were placed over the cupcake. I finished the card off by adding a circle strategically inside that could not be seen with the front panel closed. I stamped the sentiment from Lil' Inker Designs stamp set. 

My coffee this month is a homemade Chai latte from a mix I picked up at a Home Goods in St. Louis served in a fun, snarky mug one of my friends gave me. It was pretty good for being a mix. Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I greatly appreciate you. Be sure to stop by Debra's blog and see how she was inspired this month. 

Happy Birthday-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

Hello, happy April! This month Debra and I are celebrating Spring, but with a twist...use embossing on your card! I just happened to pick up a few new gems on sale in the last month, and though this was the perfect challenge to display my new goodies! I started by die cutting a panel of soft pink cardstock from Hobby Lobby using SSS A2 Arches nesting dies. I then used Unity Stamp Company's Soft Stitch Lattice Builder embossing folder to emboss the panel. I created my background panel using some clear vellum and SSS Confetti Butterflies 3D embossing folder. I colored the backside of the panel using alcohol markers for a soft, subtle hint of color. I added some shimmer to the dotted detail using my Sakura Gelly Roll pen. I cut down a strip of vellum and embossed the sentiment from SSS Butterfly Blossoms stamp set using Versamark ink and Recollections silver embossing powder. I adhered the strip the bottom portion of the card.  I adhered the butterfly panel to the focal panel and popped it up using some thin foam tape and adhered it to the card. To finish off my card I die cut the butterflies using SSS Flourish Butterfly Trio dies and pink cardstock. I heat embossed the bodies of the butterflies using Recollections silver embossing powder and added some clear rhinestones from Recollections scattered around the card. 

My coffee this month is an iced lavender latte from Starbucks. Very tasty! Now, be sure to head over to Deb's blog and see how she was inspired this month!

You Are In My Prayers-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

Happy March! This month Deb and I are playing with a sketch. I love patterned papers and layers, so sketches are always a lot of fun for me, but I admit this one challenged me. I chose to do a mirror image of the focal panel on my card. I started by embossing some basic black cardstock using Simon Says Stamps Dotted Diamond 3D embossing folder and layering that onto my card base. I created the background by using patterned paper from Crate Paper's Pretty Party 6x paper pad. My focal panel was created by using stitched square dies from My Favorite Things sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas Simply Stacked Sentiments, Echo Park's Wintertime Braches Die set and more of the patterned paper, and some old black brads I had in my stash from forever ago. I opted to not create a bow on my card because I find it difficult to mail cards with twine or ribbon on them. 

For my coffee this month, I opted for a lovely caramel coconut shaken latte from my local Ziggi's. It was delicious! Now, be sure to head over to Debra's blog and see what fun she created this month with our sketch!

You Have My Heart-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello, happy Valentine's Day! This month Debra and I are using this fun heart graphic as our inspiration. I will also be entering this card into the latest Inkspirational card challenge. I created my card by using the CTMH Hearts cover die and real red cardstock to create the background for my A2 card base. Using the die and Echo Park's Hello Valentine 6x6 paper pad to create the hearts that I inlaid into the design. I created the oversized sentiment using SSS You Have My Heart die and red cardstock and vellum. I adhered the sentiment directly onto the card using liquid glue and finished it off with some clear sparkling gem stickers from Recollections. 

My coffee this month is a lovely pistachio Cortado from Starbucks! It was warm and delicious, and I will be ordering this again while it's still available. Now, be sure to head on over to Deb's blog and see how she was inspired this month. 

Noel-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Holy cow, how is it almost Christmas? I feel like this month has been in hyperdrive. We are less than a week away from Christmas, and the new year is looming large! This month Deb and I chose to use this beautiful Christmas image as our inspiration for our collaboration. I created my card using the color scheme from this photo. I started by layering some basic black cardstock onto my A2 card base. I die cut a panel out of white cardstock using a Spellbinders postage edge die.  I then layered some forest green cardstock on top, and then a panel of kraft cardstock that I embossed using a Spellbinders plaid embossing folder. I stamped and colored the focal images from Concord and 9th's Merry Mantle stamp set, colored them to match the inspiration photo, and die cut them out using the coordinating dies. I die cut the sentiment from the same die set using basic black cardstock. Everything was popped up off of the card using thin foam tape. I added a few clear rhinestones from Recollections around the focal images for a little sparkle and shine. 

For my coffee this month, I opted for a nice cup of dark Dubai chocolate in a fun, snarky mug one of my friends gave me a few years ago. It's very fitting! Now, be sure to head over to Debra's blog and see how she was inspired this month. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year! 

Leaves Are Falling-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

As many of you know, my monthly coffee and cards co-host, Debra Davison, is a KCS Designs design team member. Because I don't have a color printer, she was kind enough to print and ship some beautiful papers and images to me this month. We decided it would be fun to create something using those fun designs. Also, as a bonus, Michael Trent, who is also a design team member for them, will be joining us this month! I used the Autumn Coffee Clip Art cups, Shabby Vintage Journal backgrounds, and Autumn Flair Buttons to create my card. I fussy cut the images out, inked around the edges using Tim Holtz vintage photo ink and an ink blending tool. I adhered everything onto a base of medium brown cardstock from my stash that I embossed with Honey Bee Stamps Spring Leaves cover plate for a little additional detail and interest. I popped the mugs and the sentiment button up off of the card using foam tape. I finished it off with some beautiful sequins from Simon Says Stamp. 

My coffee this month is a beautiful lavender latte paired with a coffee macaron from a fun new place I found in St. Louis called Tous Le Jours, a French patisserie with an Asian flair. The food and coffee were amazing!  Now, be sure to head over to Debra and Michael's blogs to see what fun they created with these great digital designs!

Happy Halloween-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

Happy October, and welcome to the latest Celeste and Deb coffee and cards collaboration! This month we are focusing on all things Halloween and spooky! For my card I used some gorgeous, patterned papers from American Crafts Spooky 6x6 collection, a sentiment from Picket Fence's Triple Trouble stamp set, a bat die from Spellbinders Haunted House collection, a skull stamp from Craft Smart, numeric dies from Recollections, and some gorgeous black, sparkly gems from Simon Says Stamp. I followed a fun sketch I found on Pinterest to put this card together. I love how it turned out and hope you do too!

For my coffee this month, I opted for a super spicy chai latte from my local Ziggy's coffee shop. It was as spicy and tasty as it sounds! Now, be sure to head on over to Deb's blog and see what sort of Halloween fun she created this month. She always creates the best cards!

Happy Birthday-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

This month Deb and I decided our inspiration would be something I think every card maker or scrapbooker can relate to; left over scraps of paper! We all have some small (or large) stash of left over papers that are not quite sure what do with, right? I was watching YouTube this past weekend and saw a video by Cardz TV with Mary. I was inspired by her fun card technique using scrap patterned papers to create a fun quilt-like card. I save all of my 6x6 patterned paper pads in quart-sized plastic bags. I broke out my Bo Bunny Early Bird paper pad, selected 4 of the patterned papers and created this fun card using Mary's technique. The quilted effect was created using a beautiful embossing folder from Cuttlebug in the textile pattern. The sentiment is from Verve Stamps Poppy Birthday stamp set, the sentiment was created using Stampin' Up punches, and the blue cardstock is from Hobby Lobby. I popped the focal quilt pattern and the sentiment up off of the card using thin foam tape. I finished the card off with some beautiful sparkling onyx black gems from Simon Says Stamp.  I love this fun technique and can see myself creating entire sets of these to give as gifts. 

My coffee this month is a dark French roast with some vanilla bean creamer served in a mug from my regular tableware collection. Now, be sure to stop by Deb's blog and see how she was inspired this month!

Relax And Enjoy Your Day-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

Hello! We are well into July now, and man is it hot! Debra and I decided to go with a summer theme this month for our coffee and cards collaboration. I wanted my card to look very similar to our inspiration photo. I started with some crumb cardstock and added sandy texture to it by stamping the dotted detail from the Stampendous Sunny Flowers stamp set onto the paper using Sahara Sand ink from Stampin' UP. Then I took a piece of textured white cardstock from my stash and inked it up with Tim Holtz Salvaged Patina distress ink. I then tore the edges and created 4 panels. I adhered them to my panel at an angle to look similar to the inspiration photo. I stamped the seashells, and flip flops from Honey Bee's Flippin' Fabulous stamp set, colored them with alcohol markers, die cut them, and adhered them to my beachy scene using liquid glue. I stamped the sentiment from the same set, die cut it, and popped it up using foam tape. I added stardust Stickles to the foam on the waves, the shells, and my flipflops. I added some clear rhinestones from Recollections to the flip flops for a finishing touch. 

For my coffee this month, I opted for a lovely iced, Vietnamese latte that I got when my boyfriend and I visited La Patisserie Choquette in St. Louis this week. It's my favorite French-style bakery, and their coffees are as amazing as their pastries! Now, be sure to head over to Deb's blog and see how she was inspired by our summer theme this month! I have also decided to enter this card in the AAA card challenge. 

Enjoy Life's Simple Pleasures-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

This month Debra thought it would be fun if we used books as the inspiration for our coffee and cards collaboration. I used Angie Blom's Enjoy Life digital stamp. I colored her using Copic markers and die cut the image into a panel using a nesting stitched edge circle die from My Favorite Things. I layered some navy-blue cardstock from Hobby Lobby onto my A2 card base. Using patterned paper from Echo Park's 12x12 Coffee collection and a fun layout I found on Pinterest, I created my base layers. I printed the sentiment from the same digital stamp set and fussy cut it out. I mounted the focal panel onto the center of the card using thin foam tape. I adhered the sentiment below it. Using nesting banner dies from Unity and patterned paper from the Coffee collection, I created a few fishtail banners and adhered them on the top left of the card. I colored a few clear rhinestones from Recollections with a blue Copic marker and adhered them around the focal panel. I finished the card off by adding white gel pen details on the main image. 

It's been getting brutally hot and humid here in Southeast Missouri, so I opted for a nice, ice-cold S'mores blended latte from Scooters. It definitely helped cool things down and was delicious! Now, be sure to stop by Deb's blog and see how she was inspired. She creates the best cards, and her creations are always so fun!

I Like Big Mugs-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

This month Deb and I are focusing on coffee-themed cards! It's been a long time since I've created a masculine coffee card. So, I decided to break out my Miss Ink Stamps Big Mugs stamp set. I stamped the adorable gnome with his mug coffee mug onto white cardstock, colored him with my Copic markers, and fussy cut him out. I stamped background mushroom scene using Woodware Craft Collection Vintage Fungi. I die cut the panel using The Greetery's Nordic Circle dies. I stamped and colored more mushrooms from Bo Bunny's Woodland Mushroom stamp set. I fussy cut the smaller mushrooms and adhered them to the Nordic Circle panel. I die cut a panel of distressed blue patterned paper from We R Memory Keepers Anthologie's 6x6 paper pad using a Spellbinders nesting die. I adhered that directly onto my chocolate brown card base. I added white dashed lines around the outer edge using a white gel pen. I adhered the focal panel on top. I popped the gnome up onto the scene with thin foam tape. I stamped the sentiment from the Miss Ink Big Cups stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink and a stitched banner die from Unity Stamp Company. I adhered that to the lower left side of the card. I finished the card off by adding white gel pen details to the mushrooms, gnome, and butterfly. 

I chose an icy white chocolate latte from a local coffee shop here in town called Ground About. It's been getting warm here in the Midwest and this icy treat hit the spot while I was out running errands! I hope you stop by Debra's blog to see what fun she created this month. She always creates the best cards!

Thank You-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

Hello, and Happy New Year! This month Debra and I are creating winter themed cards. I love to send out thank you cards after the holidays, and I thought a snowflake themed thank you card would be perfect this year. Using my antistatic powder tool from EK Success, I prepped my navy cardstock. I stamped the sentiment from Winnie & Walter The Big, The Bold, and You stamp set using Versamark clear embossing ink. I heat embossed that using Recollections silver embossing ink. Then, using snowflake stamps from Stampendous's Large Snowflake, Stampabilities Winter Wonderland, and Crate Paper's Snow & Cocoa's stamp sets I created my snowflake scene. These all were embossed using the same silver embossing powder. Once everything was dry, I added some beautiful clear rhinestones from Recollections to the centers of each snowflake. This was a pretty easy card to create, so I mass produced them to send to my family. 

For my coffee, I opted for an International Delight Reese's iced coffee. This was my first time trying one of these types of canned iced coffees. It was pretty tasty! Now, be sure to stop by Debra's blog to see how she was inspired this month's theme. 

My Favorite-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

As many of my followers know, Debra Davison of Meticulosity and I have been doing a monthly collaboration called Coffee and Cards for many years now. What you may not know is she and I started this as a temporary one-month collaboration back in October 2016 (original post can be found here) that morphed into a permanent monthly installment. Debra and I became online friends through our mutual love of coffee and card making in 2014. I later found out that she is a nurse. I'm a medical assistant, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover that we both work in the same line of work. 

This month we decided to end this year's collaboration, not by featuring our own cards, but rather a favorite of the other's work from the year 2024. I had a really tough time choosing just one, because I have been a fan of her work for over a decade! She really is a very creative person and has a much different take on card making than I do. She loves coloring and has a very keen eye for layouts. And though it was extremely tough to choose just one card, I opted for the fun cat Christmas card above from September 2024 (original post here). It reminds me of Deb and her white cat, Pixie! I love that she took a non-Christmas Penny Black stamp and created such a cute and clever holiday card with it! I love the image, the coloring, and the fun patterned papers she paired with it. Such a sweet and clever card. Well done, Debra!! Here's to another fun year of Coffee and Card collaborations and, hopefully, another decade of crafty friendship!

For my coffee this month, I couldn't resist the hot gingerbread latte from my local Ziggi's coffee shop! It really hit the spot while I was out fighting the hoards to finish up my Christmas shopping. Be sure to stop by Debra's blog and see what favorite card of mine she chose. Thank you for stopping by my blog. I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a safe, prosperous New Year!

Have A Sweet Holiday-Coffee and Cards with Celeste and Deb

 

This month Debra and I are using this fun holiday photo as our inspiration. I created my holiday card by layering some plaid patterned paper from the American Crafts Hot Cocoa 6x6 paper pad onto my A2 card base. I die cut a focal panel using white cardstock and a Gina Marie Designs scalloped edge rectangle die. I layered another piece of patterned paper from the same paper pad at the bottom of the focal panel to look like a tablecloth. I die cut the focal elements using Momenta's Christmas Mug die set and a mix of cardstock and more papers from the same paper pad. I adhered them onto the focal panel using liquid glue. I stamped the sentiment from Avocado Arts Gingerbread Goodness stamp set at the right upper corner. To finish off the card, I did some shading on the whipped cream using a Copic marker and added a few shimmery red heart sequins around the sentiment. 

While I was crafting, I opted to sip on a delicious mug of Barissimo's Tiramisu coffee. It's positively delicious! Now, be sure to stop by Debra's blog and see how she was inspired this month by our inspiration photo!