Coffee companion

Kathy commented on the tea fairy card I made recently asking about the possibility of a coffee fairy. Tee-Hee was keen to prove her credentials as an accommodating sort (but points out she’s actually a pixie). As Kathy’s been doing battle with a nasty lurgy recently, I figured an easy cuppa might be just the job so Tee-Hee got her way and upped the level of caffeination!

Coffee bags are not something I’ve tried but thinking about whether they existed (they do, there’s one in this card in the same way there was a tea bag in the tea card) triggered the memory of little individual “over cup” filters in the first place I ever worked. Those had what was essentially a big round coffee bag in the base of a filter basket that sat on top of a cup — you filled the basket and let the coffee drip through. Totally wasteful plastic-wise but I guess every person got freshly brewed coffee. My 14 year old waitress self didn’t really appreciate the faff though!

The cup is the bottom one from a stacked tower. That meant I couldn’t do this as a genuine one layer card as it’s pretty much impossible to stamp that one cup so I fussy cut and stuck it in place.

I’ll add this to the January Lost Coast Designs challenge as my final entry this month.

Stamps:
TeeHee HLP (Lost Coast Designs)
Coffee and Tea (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Tea time (I think that's what it's called)(Crafter's Companion)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Coloured pencils
Wink of Stella pen
Gift card dies (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Corner Chomper

Green tea?

Leo is setting the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see projects featuring a teacup with something in it - it could be just the drink or it could be something else, have a look at the blog to see what the design team put inside theirs!

I decided to go small for a change and make an ATC. I used the MISTI to let me do some slightly complicated masking so I could stamp my little green monster inside the cup, jumping out to say hello.

I hope Leo will forgive the use of an espresso cup rather than a teacup - it was the closest thing I had. Mind you, many years ago we visited Japan and in a lovely hotel in Hiroshima I ordered green tea and a traditional cake. Maybe it was the combination of the sugar in the cake and the "gun powder" style of the tea but it practically gave me hallucinations so green tea can definitely rival espresso for potency!

Stamps:
Monsters Ink by Technique Tuesday
Splat That by Waltzingmouse Stamps (no longer with us)
My own cup design

Ink:
Soft Granite Shadow Ink by Hero Arts
Graphite Black Brilliance ink by Tsukineko
Shabby Shutters Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger

Other:
ATC and Corners die by Tim Holtz Alterations/Sizzix
Copic markers
Hello die by Waltzingmouse stamps (no longer with us)
MISTI stamp positioner
Clear Wink of Stella pen

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely weekend!

Coffee lover!

Inspired by a mixed media challenge on Splitcoast Stampers, I've been having a little play with coffee!

We don't usually have instant coffee but I got a small jar a while ago when we had workmen around who preferred it to "proper" coffee! The bit left in the bottom of the jar came in useful.

I made a strong coffee mix to start and used it at different dilutions - weak on a flat brush through the stencil to start off with and to sponge the edges of the card, strong to tint some gesso to paint over the hearts and also to add shading. I smeared some of the full-strength solution onto a craft mat, dabbled the flourish stamp into it and stamped around the edges. I finished by stamping a coffee-related quote with pigment ink.

I made a more conventional card with the same stencil for the Bubbly Funk blog too - you can see that here if you're interested!

Stamps:
Dinkie Vintage Flourish by Indigo Blu
My own design coffee sentiment

Ink:
Instant coffee/water!
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Love Post 6x6 stencil by the Crafters Workshop
Gesso

Thanks for stopping by!