Happiness Is. . .

I took a tumble a bit ago and twisted myself in such a way that I was in a lot of pain on my side.  It was one of those invisible curbs that got me; I'm naturally clumsy, so when I stumble, I stumble all the way.  I did the "I'm trying not to fall" jig for a bit, then scraped my knee, tore my jeans, and twisted like a pretzel. I ended up going to the walk in {they are set up to help the backlog in emergency rooms; so you go to a walk in if you are injured, but it isn't life threatening} only because I needed a note for work as I knew I wouldn't be able to cashier, and the doctor told me he thought I broke my rib.  There is no treatment {unless your rib is so broken perhaps you need surgery} and I had known this, but I needed that note.  The Man was a fabulous help during the full week when I couldn't even bend over to put my pants on, so I made him this card.

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Verve stamps, Happiness is. . . #VS-0257
Verve dies, Coffee Word, #VSDC-060
Verve stamps, Coffee, #VS-0219
Verve dies, Happiness in a Cup, #VSDC-093
Distress Ink in Ground Espresso
Tutti Designs Stitched Nested Rectangles, #TUTTI-217
Brown Scrap
MISTI
Dimensional Dots

First, I arranged and stamped the words so that I could fit the coffee word die in the middle of the sentiment.  I used Ground Espresso on all the stamps.  Then I

Before Coffee

die cut the coffee word and attached that to the white card.  I used the Tutti rectangle die to cut out that panel.

I stamped the coffee cup twice, once on what is to become the smaller panel and once on scrap white card.  I die cut the cup on the scrap card and used dimensional dots to pop it out a bit.  I also stamped the steam {it looks SO cool in person, sort of a paisley pattern} above the cup, then used the Tutti rectangle die to cut out the panel.

I attached some brown card to the white card base, then glued the two panels onto the card.  It made an excellent man's card - got the "lovey" point across without being too sappy, and it was a snap to create.

Another Look

Thanks so much for reading my little tutorial - I appreciate it! Since you have made it this far, I'll let you in on a secret; I'm getting ready to have another giveaway, but you are going to need to be a subscriber to my blog to win, so why not beat the rush and subscribe now? You never know when I'll be announcing the new giveaway and you don't want to miss it! Thanks again, Christi



I am entering my Happiness is Card in the following challenges:
Crafting with Dragonflies - #102, Card Using Dies and/or Punches
Happy Little Stampers - April - Anything Goes with Dies
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Not Just Cards - M, Anything Goes
Die Cut Divas - M, Anything Goes

Keep Calm. . .

For years I couldn't drink coffee - my stomach just didn't approve of it, so I drank tea 'cause, you know, I need my caffeine.  I also have a huge addictive personality {just one look at my craft room will tell you that!} so if I made a pot of coffee, I drank the entire pot {this was before the single serve coffee pots came out}.  The good thing is, I can drink coffee again!  I've been a bit crazy buying coffee stamps and these are one of my new acquisitions - I LOVE them and I hope you do, too!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
STAMPlorations Stamp Set, What's Brewing, #STMP1353
Tutti Designs Stitched Nesting Rectangles, #TUTTI-217
Your Next Stamp 6" x 6" Paper Pad, Crazy for Coffee, #YNSPP011
Versafine Ink in Onyx Black
Clean Color Marker, Beige
Distress Ink in Ground Espresso

This was a quick and easy card to make; doesn't take much time at all.  I stamped the coffee cups, using the 'to go' cups, facing each other, on white card using the onyx ink.  Then I colored the holders with a Clean Color marker in beige.  I stamped the sentiment under the cups using the Distress Ink and then

Another Look

cut out the rectangle using a die.

I trimmed a piece of plaid paper from the Crazy for Coffee paper pad, mounted the stamped card onto that, then mounted the entire thing onto a white card.  That's it!  I think this would make a great masculine card {you know how difficult it is to make those!} as well as the perfect card to give any coffee lover.

Thanks for visiting and leaving comments - I do read each and every one of them and I appreciate them SO much!  Don't forget to follow me and, if you do, leave me a note so I can follow you back - again, thank you for stopping by! Christi

I am entering my Keep Calm card in the following challenges:
STAMPlorations - M, April, Focus on the Sentiment
STAMPlorations Never Ending Anything Goes
Moving Along with the Times - #68, Food and/or Drink
Mod Squad Challenge - Simply Clean & Simple
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge - M, April, Anything Goes
NEW CHALLENGE Crafts Dreamy - M, Mood Board {Coffee!!}

A Morning Poem. . .

This card's sentiment is definitely one I can relate to; welcome to card #5 for the Cat Lovers' Blog Hop.   This card has caused me the need to vent a bit; unfortunately, the Man is a talker, and has a tendency to blather on and on first thing in the morning about an all manner of things - and I typically have absolutely no idea what he is talking about until I am on my second cup of liquid caffeine.  I often have to ask him questions like, "Did you say there was going to be 30 feet of snow tomorrow?" and he will grudgingly correct me, "No, dear. I said it is going to be in the 70's tomorrow". Well, I've told him a million times not to bombard me first thing and it's not MY fault if he continues to do it! Heck, he will even ask me if I have seen "so and so on the news" ~ HEY! Do my eyes look open?!? Do I look as if I am up to date on things?! I can't even find the remote, never mind actually turn it on! So, it's no shock that this card is a favorite of mine and again, the Katzelkraft Cat has the BEST expression! 

What I Used to Make My Card:
KaiserCraft Square Kraft Card Base, #CD509
Distress Ink in Ground Espresso
Katzelkraft Cats
Sentiment, Riley & Co., Coffee Poem, #RWD-539
Water Color Paper
Water Brush
Derwent Inktense Pencils
Light Brown Card
Lawn Fawn Love You Latte Stamps, #LF704
Spellbinder Nestabilities Labels Forty-One, #S4-468
MISTI
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black 
Dimensional Dots

I had my cat already stamped, colored and fussy cut out, all she needed was the right card to put her on and this one totally fit the bill! I used Inktense Pencils and a water brush to color her as well as Jet Black archival ink. She was put on the side to wait to be glued onto the card.  

I made my own background using the MISTI , the Lawn Fawn Love You Latte stamp set and Ground Espresso ink.  I just put the stamps I wanted to use in a

It's NOT crooked in Real Life, just in Photo Life

row, stamped, rotated the stamps one over, stamped and repeated the process until I was satisfied.  Since I knew my kitty would be hanging out in the left hand corner I didn't quite finish the background. To be honest, I didn't think the sentiment would cover so much of the background, but so it is.

I stamped the sentiment {that reads: A poem for mornings ~ Coffee, coffee, coffee. Coffee. Coffee, Coffee. Everyone shut up. Coffee.} on a lighter brown than the Kraft card, cut it out with the Spellbinders die and attached it to the card base with dimensional dots. Lastly, I attached the cat onto the card.  I know how this cat feels as I feel it every. Single. Day.  Could be worse I suppose and I do have to give props to him since he makes the coffee {if only he'd do it silently!}

I hope you got a chuckle out of my card and perhaps it inspired you to enter the Cat Lovers' Blog Hop AND share {and enter} my little giveaway?                               Art~Without~Anxiety

presents

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I’m having a small drawing on my blog.  All you need to do is click onto this post, chose the costume you like best & when I get 75 costume comments, I’ll draw a random winner.  Open Internationally! Please feel free to share!

EXPIRES Nov, 1. 2017

Thank you so much for stopping by - I hope to see you on the giveaway as well as the Cat Lovers' Blog Hop! Fondly, Christi XOXO

In addition to the Cat Lovers' Hop, I am entering my A Morning Poem card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Scrapy Land - #76, Anything Goes w/ a Die Brand they Sell
CCEE Stampers - #1743, Cat Day

A good day has both COFFEE and YOU!

I just recently started drinking coffee again. I stopped years ago due to some stomach issues and found that English Breakfast tea was delicious and didn't give me ulcers. Granted it wasn't only the coffee that gave my ulcers, but I successfully got rid of everything that was causing them <wink>.  That was years ago and since my honey drinks coffee I began drinking it again.  I try to limit myself to one cup a day (unless I'm going out with my sister - then an ice cold, sweet, coffee drink is a must) and I still crave Dunkin' Donuts over Starbucks (Dunkin' Donuts are far and few between out here in Colorado.)  I felt that this adorable card could be given to anyone with whom that you enjoy a cup of coffee.

What I Used to Make my Card:
Kraft Card Base
StampCouture Small Cup with Foam Heart (Brand New)
Sentiment from STAMPlorations Literary Caffeine-Ations (Big Grins by Becca Cruger) (First Time Using the Set)
Brown Card (2 shades from stash)
Distress Marker in Festive Berries
Versamark Ink
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Pop Dots

My Custom Stamp

I recently needed to get a new "Stamped by Christi" stamp for the back of my cards.  My old one had finally seen enough ink and I put it to rest.  I love to support small businesses, and I found StampCouture on Etsy, to make it even more special they are practically local to me! Honestly, I had contacted - via Etsy contact - every manufacturer of custom stamps in the USA that were listed and they were the ONLY ones who got back to me!  But I am SO glad they did because I had many conversations with them about how I wanted the stamp to look and they were fabulous to work with.  While I was waiting for my custom stamp I browsed their shop and just had to pick up a few more stamps - this adorable coffee cup with the foam heart being one of them. The others are patiently waiting their chance to be used.  I highly recommend StampCouture if you ever need any custom stamps or if you are in need of some adorable little whimsical stamps. They kept in contact with me, even through the busy holiday season, where extremely helpful and the prices were very reasonable (and I get no commission from any manufacturer or company just because I link to or write about them!)

OK, now back to the card.  I used one of the coordinating brown papers from my stash and stamped the small coffee cup with Versamark ink sort of in a

Another Look at the Card

pattern, but I wasn't too careful about the placement of the cups.  Once that was finished, I trimmed the panel to fit the card (since I always use A2, 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" cards, I typically trim a panel to 5 1/4" x 4". If the card size or panel sizes are different, I will mention it in my post. Taking the Festive Berries Distress Marker, I chose one of the cups and colored in just the heart portion.

I then stamped the sentiment and the coffee cup onto a darker brown cardstock using the Jet Black ink. I used some thin Pop Dots to adhere the panel to the card.  Making this card brought back so many memories of when I first began stamping - the awe of watching embossing powder melt for the first time, finding amazing products like chalk, Versamark ink and the pure wonder of the entire art form.  It has inspired me to play with some of the products that were around when I first began stamping.  So, I'll be breaking out cool stuff like Shrink Plastic, Veggie Leather as well as some other "oldies but goodies" in the near future.  Is there any old product or technique that you loved to play with when you started stamping?  Please leave me a comment! Thank you SO much for sticking with me, and this post.  I'd love for you to become a follower. If you let me know in your comment that you have begun following me, I'll be sure to do the same for you.  Fondly, Christi

I am entering my "Coffee & You" card in the following challenges:
The Artistic Stamper - (M) February's Challenge - Love Hearts
STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - (M) Anything Goes w/ option of Hot Pink
STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch - (M) Stamp Retro (theme)
Simon Says Stamp, Monday Challenge - Young at Heart (too much coffee makes my heart race like when I was young and literally used to race <grin>)
Use Your Stuff - Love is in the Air (Use Hearts)
Addicted to Stamps - #141, Love
Simon Says Stamp, Wednesday Challenge - The Color of Love
Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday - (M) Use Something New
DL Art Thankful Thursday, #197 - Anything Goes option of Thank You
DL Art Monthly Linky Party - (M), February, Anything Goes

Coffee Anyone? The Cutting Cafe at TTCRD

For this fortnightly challenge at Through the Craft Room Door we are sponsored by the fabulous cut file store, The Cutting Cafe.  As always, our challenge theme is "Anything Goes"

http://thecuttingcafe.typepad.com/the_cutting_cafe/ 

For my card, I chose to use the Coffee Cup Shaped Card 2, and this is what I designed:

What is really cool about this cut file is that it comes with cute little circle sayings for every occasion, which I couldn't use because I have yet to master the Print & Cut feature on my Silhouette - I can do one or the other, but not both at the same time.  Ah well, it's on my list of things to learn.  I also like the little pocket on the inside, perfect for a gift card, or as I used it, cash.  There is plenty of white space to write loads of greeting card stuff for your recipient.

You have two whole weeks to enter at Through the Craft Room Door and a chance to win an awesome prize! Please stop by the blog and check out my teammates creations! As always, I appreciate your lovely comments and the time you take to stop by ~ Christi

I would like to enter my Coffee Cup Card in the following challenges:
Not Just Cards (January) - #28, Anything Goes
That Craft Place Blog - Anything Goes
As You Like it Challenge - Anything Goes
Paper Creator Crafts (January) - #43, Anything Goes