The Journey Is The Destination-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello, and welcome to another Coffee and Cards with Celeste and Deb collaboration. Deb and I decided to create masculine cards this month in honor of Father's Day. To create my card I started by stamping the boat image from Tim Holtz Here And There stamp set onto some white 110lb cardstock using Versafine onyx black ink and heat set it with Zing clear embossing powder. I then stamped the stripes onto the bottom of the card panel using the Winter Wishes stamp set from Simon Says Stamp and heat emossed that as well. I stamped the sentiment from the same Tim Holtz stamp set and heat embossed it and cut it down into a think sentiment strip. I created the background by stamping the World Map background stamp from Stampin' UP using white cardstock and Versafine onyx black ink. I then started assembling my card using basic black cardstock from Stampin' UP and finished the card off with some small black gems that were left over from a diamond kit that I created for my living room. I literally had an entire bag of them left over and thought they would make great embellishments so I saved them. All I had to do was add a small dab of glue onto the cardstock to adhere them. 

For my coffee this month I opted for a nice dark French roast with some white mocha creamer mixed in. So yummy! Now be sure to head over to Deb's site to see how she was inspired this month. Thank you for visiting my blog today. Stay safe and cool out there!

 

Butterfly Happy Birthday

Today's card was created for the latest Watercooler Wednesday card challenge. To create my card I started by cutting a piece of Stampin' UP basic black cardstock into a pretty decorative border using a Stamplorations Cutplorations decorative edge die. I adhered it to some pretty patterned paper from the Studio Calico Atlantic 6x6 paper pad and layered it onto my standard white card base. I then stamped the sentiment from the Winnie & Walter The Big, the Bold, and the Happy stamp set directly onto the card base using Versafine onyx black ink and my mini-Misti to ensure nice, crisp lines. I stamped the butterfly image from the Bo Bunny Flutter Stamp stamp set onto some Canson watercolor paper using Versafine onyx black ink and heat set it using some Zing clear embossing powder. I watercolored the image using some Tim Holtz distress ink and attached it to the card using some glue dots and some foam dimensionals. I added a few clear rhinestones from Recollections and some clear Wink of Stella glitter to the butterfly for a nice finishing touch. Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend!

Thinking Of You

Hello and happy Sunday! Today's card was created for the latest Freshly Made Sketches. To create my card I started by cutting a piece of patterned paper from the Studio Calico Atlantic 6x6 paper pad into a panel using a wonky edge stitched rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I mounted it straight to my white card base. I then cut a small strip of basic black cardstock from Stampin' UP and mounted it onto the card. I die cut a white circle using some white cardstock from Staples and a Spellbinders circle die. I mounted it directly to the card panel. I then stamped the flower from Stampendous Fresh Bloom wood mounted stamp using Versafine onyx black ink and heat set it using some clear embossing powder from Zing. I then watercolored the image using some inexpensive watercolors I picked up at Hobby Lobby. Once the image was dry I fussy cut it out and went around the edges using my Memento tuxedo black dual tip marker and added some white gel pen detail to the flower's stamen.  I stamped the sentiment from the Hero Arts OWH Year Round Sentiments stamp set using Versafine and heat set it as well. I cut the sentiment down into a small strip banner and mounted it directly to the flower and then popped it all up using some inexpensive fun foam. Love how pretty this turned out with the ombre of the watercoloring and the ombre of the patterned paper. I thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Dream-W2CB August/September Challenge

Hello! Welcome to the August/September Words 2 Craft By challenge. This month's challenge is "Will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.). Kid, you'll move mountains!-Dr. Suess." This made me think of graduation and all of the hope and promise that comes with ending a scholastic chapter of a person's life and the beginning of implementing that education into the next phase of life. So, I created a graduation card. To create this fun gender neutral card I started by layering some textured black cardstock from Hobby Lobby onto my white card base. I then layered some patterned papers from the K&Company's Graduation Designer Mat Pad paper pack onto the card and added a strip of black cardstock that I cut with a dotted edge die from Paper Smooches in between the two papers for some contrast. I then stamped the image from Unity Stamp Company's Diploma Cap & Gown mini stamp set onto some white cardstock from Staples using Versafine and heat embossed it using Zing clear embossing powder and my heat tool. I trimmed the image down and mounted it onto more of the same black cardstock and popped it up off of the card base at an angle using fun foam from Hobby Lobby. I then stamped the same image again onto a small strip of the patterned paper and trimmed it down into a fishtail banner and mounted it up off of the focal image using some Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares. To finish this card off I added some 6mm black sequins from Pretty Pink Posh around the focal panel. I look forward to seeing what the rest of the team comes up with and how it inspires the rest of you create something fun and inspirational!

With Love-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello and welcome to the April Coffee and Cards with Celeste and Deb collaboration. This month we have another fun guest designer joining us, my friend Maria Giselle, who I had the pleasure of meeting at a Copic coloring certification class in St. Louis two years ago. And here's a fun fact about the three of us...Deb, Maria, and myself are all in the healthcare industry and we all share a love of card making and crafting!

So, despite mother nature doing her best to hang onto winter (in our area at least) we thought it would be fun to use the above photo as our inspiration and focus on a springtime project. I used the inspiration photo quite literally and started my project with a piece of basic black cardstock from Stampin' UP and prepped it with my EK Success powder tool. I then stamped the wreath from the WPlus9 Valentine Wishes stamp set onto the cardstock using Versamark ink. I then selectively sprinkled some Zing embossing powder in rouge onto the flowers and then Recollections embossing powder in snow white onto the rest. I then stamped the sentiment from the Winnie & Walter The  Big, The Bold, and the Happy stamp set in the center of the wreath and sprinkled more white embossing powder onto it. I hit it with my heat tool to set it and then added some white dashed lines around the outer edge of the card using my white gel pen. I added some fun foam to the back of the panel and popped it up off of my white card base and that completes my card. Love how clean and simple this is but offers so much impact. I may have to duplicate this card using different sentiments in the center! 

For my coffee selection this month I opted for a Dunkin Donuts mocha macchiato and as a side bonus I got a donut for free with my purchase! Coffee and a donut? That's a win in my book any day! Now be sure to pop on over to Deb and Maria's blogs and check out what gorgeousness they've created! Thank you for stopping by today and be sure to leave a comment and subscribe. 

Thanks A Latte

Gotta love when you find something so fun and so economically priced, right? I was visiting my daughter and granddaughter this weekend and we popped into her local Hobby Lobby. I was too excited when I found this fun coffee stamp set by Stampabilities for the ridiculous price of $2.99!!! I had to snag it and the fun little slab of birch wood that I used for my photograph. I'm still trying to beef up my photography but I'm still not quite there yet. 

Anyway, I created my card by matting some early espresso cardstock by Stampin' UP onto my white card base. I then die cut a piece of Canson cold pressed watercolor paper down using a Gina Marie Design stitched rectangle die. I prepped the paper for embossing with my EK Success powder tool. I stamped the coffee beans from the stamp set all over the background and heat embossed it using Zing embossing powder in chestnut. After that cooled off I added some "coffee stains" to the background using a paintbrush and some Tim Holtz distress ink in walnut stain. I mounted the panel to the card and added another strip of espresso cardstock that I had added some stitched lines to by using a Paper Smooches border die. I stamped the sentiment and the cup onto a pierced oval die panel that I die cut using a My Favorite Things die. I stamped the cup again and colored it using my Copic markers and fussy cut it and mounted it to the panel using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. A bit of Glossy Accents on the heart of the cup finished my card. I hope you like it and thank you for visiting my blog!

Big Holiday Wishes

Today's card was create for a challenge but I completed it too late to participate. To create my card I started with a piece of Canson cold pressed watercolor paper, smooth side up. Using my Misti stamping tool I stamped the XOXO border from the Simon Says Stamp Big Holiday Wishes stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink. The Misti stamping tool came in handy since I was stamping onto watercolor paper and even though I was stamping on the smoother side of the paper it took several stampings to get a good impression. I then stamped the focal sentiment and the strings for my mitten onto the watercolor paper using the same ink and heat embossed it using some Zing clear embossing powder. I did this so I could watercolor around the image and not have the ink dull from the ink. Using Tim Holtz distress ink in faded jeans I watercolored the focal panel and added some splotches and dots using an acetate sheet and the smooshing technique. I then stamped the mittens from the same stamp set onto some plain white cardstock and used Gina K Designs ocean mist ink to stamp the coordinating heart on the mittens. I fussy cut those out and popped them up off of the card using some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. For a finishing touch I added some clear Wink of Stella glitter pen to the mittens for some pretty shimmer and shine. I hope you like my card! Please don't forget to leave a comment. 

Hello

Today's card was created for the latest Tag You're It challenge. I absolutely love this gorgeous tag that the very talented Rubeena Naz created. If you're not familiar with Ruby's work you owe it to yourself to check out her blog. You can find it here. Anyway, I typically don't make tags but I was so inspired by this one, especially the colors that I chose to give it a go. I started by layering some beautiful patterned papers from the Mind's Eye Fancy That 6x6 paper pad onto my white card base. I added a pretty piece of gold glitter washi tape from the American Crafts Make It Happen tape combo pack to the side to break up the patterned papers. I then die cut my tag using a pierced edge tag die from My Favorite Things out of some Copic-friendly white cardstock. I stamped the beautiful flower from the Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous Flower Garden stamp set directly onto the tag. I stamped the flower top again onto a separate piece of cardstock and colored it in using my Copic alcohol markers. I fussy cut the image out and then covered it in Versamark clear sticky ink so I could cover it with some Zing clear embossing powder and heat set it for a nice shiny look. I popped the image up off of the tag using some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals for some great dimension. I then stamped the sentiment from the Winnie & Walter The Big, The Bold, & The Happy stamp set onto the tag using onyx black Versamfine pigment ink and then covered it with clear embossing powder and heat set it. I added a pretty scalloped edge in pink to the bottom of the tag using more of the papers from the paper pack and a bit of glitter washi tape the bottom. I popped the tag up off of the card using some 3M foam tape, added a few sequins from The Ton, and rounded the outer corners using my We R Memory Keepers corner chomper. I love this pretty card and may have to hoard it for a while before sending it off some lucky recipient. I hope you like it too!

Superman Happy Birthday

Today's card was created for my son Brian's upcoming 36th birthday. I still can't believe I have a child that old but that's the sad reality. Cue heavy sigh!  Anyway, he is obsessed with Superman. My son is an advanced infantry airborne Ranger who is now a CWII Black Hawk pilot in the U.S. Army. Back when he was stationed with the 2/75th Ranger Regiment out of Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, WA he had a night jump that went horribly wrong and fell the equivalent of two stories from the plane. After recovering from his injuries he got a large superman crest tattooed on his back and jokes now that he's Superman because he can fly. I'm not as amused by that story as he is but he most certainly has earned the right to tell it. It doesn't hurt that he's as muscular as Superman so I guess there are similarities. 

Here is a photo of he and Erika, my beautiful daughter in-law. 

They most certainly are a handsome couple, yes? 

Anyway, to create his card I kept it pretty simple so the Superman figure would be the main feature. I started with a piece of patterned paper from the Bazzill's Adventures 6x6 paper pad and layered it directly onto my white card base. I then downloaded a Superman image from online and digitally altered it to fit my card. I printed it onto Copic-friendly cardstock and colored the black & white image using my Copic markers. I fussy cut the image out and lined the edges with my Memento dual tip black marker so it would appear to be a perfectly cut die cut image. I popped the image up off of the card using some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals and then stamped the sentiment from Winnie & Walters The Big, Bold, & You stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink and while the ink was still set I covered it with Zing clear embossing powder and heat set it so it would have a nice raised, glossy look. I went around the edges of the card with a blending tool and some black soot Tim Holtz distress ink for a nice grungy look. I'm sure he will love it! Thanks for stopping by!

Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb-Part 2

Welcome to the second week of my collaboration with my friend Debra Davison of Meticulosity. We are doing a coffee and card collaboration every Sunday for the entire month of October. This week we decided to focus on the color pink in honor of breast cancer awareness month. For my card I opted to focus on the people who take care of those suffering with cancer; whether that be a doctor, a nurse, caregiver, family member or friend. Coping with cancer is hard on everyone involved and I wanted this card to pay homage to those who are strong in the face of something horrible because I really do think they make a difference in the lives of cancer patients. For my card I started by layering on a piece of basic black cardstock from Stampin' UP that I had embossed using a honeycomb embossing folder from Momenta. I then prepped a piece of Canson coldpress watercolor paper using my EK Success powder tool and stamping the images from Unity Stamp Company's You Can & You Will stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink. I then heat set the ink by sprinkling on some clear embossing powder by Zing. I stamped the butterfly image twice...once onto to main focal panel and again onto a second piece so I could heat emboss it and fussy cut out the three butterflies. Using Tim Holtz distress inks in spun sugar, picked raspberry, and black soot I watercolored the background using a smooshing technique and added some flecks of black by flicking my brush against the back of my hand. I painted the three separate butterflies and mounted them up off of the card using some 3M foam tape. I popped the butterflies up using small pieces of Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. As for my coffee, again...my choice is always going to be black Seattle's Best French Roast. I know...boring! Please pop on over to Deb's page and show her some blogger love by leaving a comment and/or subscribing! Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Poppies

Today's card was created for the latest Addicted To Stamps And More challenge. The challenge was to create a clean and simple card...something I struggle with. I really love layers and patterned papers so doing a one layer or CAS card is tough for me. But I managed to break out of my comfort zone with this one by doing some light watercoloring on an embossed image. I started by prepping some Canson coldpress watercolor paper with my EK Success powder tool and then stamped the poppy image from Unity Stamp Company's Wishing You Joy stamp set and then birthday greeting from Simon Says Stamp Handwritten Borders stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink. I covered the images with Zing clear embossing powder and heat set them using my heat tool. Once that was cooled I did some very light watercoloring using Tim Holtz distress ink in spun sugar and picked raspberry. Then cut the watercolor panel down to 1/4" smaller than my white card base and mounted it directly onto the card using Sookwang double-sided tape so it would keep it from warping. Love how pretty this turned out!

Seas The Birthday

My second card today was created for this week's Just Us Girls challenge. I started with a piece of Canson cold press watercolor paper and treated it with my EK Success powder tool so I could do some heat embossing. I stamped the octopus and the sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas Seas The Birthday stamp set onto the paper using Versafine onyx black ink, covered it with Zing clear embossing powder, and then heat set. I stamped one of the party hats from the same stamp set onto some separate watercolor paper and fussy cut it out. I covered the letters on the sentiment and the octopus with some Molotow masking and let it dry. Once dry I wet the watercolor paper with a brush and combined a mix of faded jeans, salty ocean, and broken china distress inks onto the paper using both my brush and a smooshing technique with some clear acetate. Once I was happy with the results and added some water droplets using my mini mister water bottle. I heat dried it and peeled up the mask. I then watercolored the octopus, popped the party hat on top of him using a Stampin' UP foam dimensional, and then glued a few googly eyes onto him. I finished the card up by added some white dashed lines around the outside using my Uni-Ball Signo white gel pen. I hope you like it!

Thinking Of You

I created this card for the latest Just Us Girls word week challenge. I bought the gorgeous Memory Box Sketch Rose Branch die off Blitsy about two months ago and simply forgot I had it until yesterday. So, you can imagine how excited I was when I saw the word challenge was flowers because it was the perfect excuse to crack the seal on the package and play with my new die! I had originally thought about coloring the die cut image with Copics and setting it against a white embossed background but changed my mind and decided to go with some simple watercoloring. I started with some Canson cold-pressed watercolor paper and stamped the sentiment from The Cat's Pajama's Simply Stacked Sentiments stamp set in Versafine onyx black ink and then heat embossed it using some clear embossing powder by Zing. I wet my watercolor paper with some clean water and then started dabbing on some distress ink in spun sugar and worn lipstick until I was happy with the color and coverage and then heat set it to dry. I die cut the floral image three times and layered it together using a Zig two-way glue pen. I die cut the watercolor panel using a stitched rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs, which helped flatten it out after watercoloring and heat drying. I popped the focal panel up using some 3M foam tape and mounted it onto a black panel cut slightly larger and then mounted them both to my white card base. I added the die cut floral image last using some more Zig glue and put a few acrylic blocks on it to help it adhere and dry. I love how pretty it turned out!

Confetti

Today's card was created for the CYCI color challenge. I love the bright and happy combo of white, yellow, and turquoise and had just picked up the perfect stamp set to combine with this happy trio.  I started my card with a piece of canary yellow textured cardstock from the Ki 6x6 bright cardstock paper pad, textured it with dotted embossing folder from Lifestyle Krafts, and mounted it to my card base. I die cut a piece of Canson cold-press watercolor paper using a stitched edge rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs and stamped the sentiment from Unity Stamp Company's Confetti Kindness using Versafine onyx black ink, covered it with some Zing clear embossing powder and heat embossed it. I got my watercolor panel good and wet and then covered it lightly with some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in salty ocean for a nice wash. I dabbed a bit of extra color in the center just to darken it more and then heat set it. Once dry I misted the entire panel with Tsunkineko sheer shimmer mist for a pretty opalescent shine.  I scattered a few sequins from The Ton and Pretty Pink Posh in canary yellow, turquoise, and marshmallow in 6mm and 4mm sizes and then mounted my panel up off of the card base using some 3M foam tape. I just love this stamp set and think I will have to make some card sets in various colors using it. It's a cute but true statement! Anyway, I hope you like it!

Don't Wait For The Storn To Pass

Today's card was created for an old friend that is going through a rough patch with losing her job of 20 years. Her company downsized and she has found herself unemployed. I wanted to send her some happy mail to let her know I'm thinking about her during this rough period but to remind her that life is what we make it. She's a smart and tough lady and I know she will bounce back from this better and stronger but a little reminder never hurts, right? 

I started with some coldpress watercolor paper from The Artist's Gallery and stamped the beautiful image from Unity Stamp Company's Harmony Girl using Versafine onyx black ink. I heat set it using some Zing clear embossing powder to make it all waterproof. Using Tim Holtz distress inks in black soot, firehouse brick, faded jeans, salty ocean, spun sugar, scattered straw, and antique linen I painted my image and then zapped it with my heat tool to dry it. Once dry I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set using the same embossing process. Once heat set I sprinkled some water droplets all over to give it a nice mottled look and then mounted the image onto my white card base. Love how pretty it turned out! I hope it brightens my friend's day too!