Happy Birthday, Hubert!

It was my oldest brother's birthday yesterday and this card is for him. There's a little extra java treat inside for him, since he enjoys his java as much as I do! :)

I'm always challenged to make masculine cards, so I needed a little inspiration for this card.  I found just that from a card by Laurie Schmidlin. I absolutely adore her work, you can see her blog here.   Thanks for the inspiration, Laurie, you rock!  :)

To make the background panels, I crumpled up a plastic bag and inked it up and the pounced it on the cardstock.   Sponged on a little extra ink by spearing it around.  Then, I randomly stamped all of the java words and cut the paper in thirds and mounted them on the chocolate cardstock to make the panels.

I don't think you can really tell in the full card pic, but the stitched medium is actually chocolate brown felt ribbon.  Very cool stuff!  I found this a while back and have waiting for the perfect project to use it with.   I think it works well with my masculine card.   I like to embellish a card, but didn't want it to seem girlie so this gave it just the right added touch.   I hope my big brother likes it!  :)

Here's a close up of the felt ribbon and Fancy Scallop Border Piercerabilities.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Chai Latte - Savoir Faire (Inque Boutique)
Cardstock: Ivory (Staples), Chocolate (CRS), Textured Olive Green (CRS), Olive (Creative Memories)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tea Dye (Ranger), Memento - Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Cuttlebug, Fancy Scalloped Border Piercerabilities (Spellbinders), Sponge (SU), Crumpled Plastic Bag for Distressed Background
Embellishments: Chocolate with White Stitch Felt Ribbon (Michaels)

RAK from Catherine

Catherine surprised me with this beautiful card and gorgeous RAK of Impressabilities by Spellbinders. Thanks so much, Catherine! I love the card and I can't wait to play with my new crafty toy! You're such a sweetheart! :)

The inside stamped sentiment reads, 'Behind every successful woman is a whole lotta coffee!' How funny is that! She knows me too well! lol :)
Things are going well at work and we're busy getting ready for our annual Gala Reception and Auction next month. It's lots of work, but it'll be so much fun that night. I'm really looking forward to it. Now, I just need to find something to wear...

I still have more to show you, stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Altered Coffee Gift Box

Sorry I've been MIA again for a while...my schedule is starting to slack off a bit now I'm down to about 45 hours per week as apposed to 75 hours per week. But, the house has taken quite a beating so I've been trying to get it back in order along with trying to get some much needed rest. The house is much tidier now and I'm feeling a lot more rested now, so I finally got a chance for some crafty play time. :)

The altered cigar box that I'm sharing with you today is one that I made for my brother for his birthday. We don't exchange gifts anymore for our birthdays, but I just wanted to give him a little something and I thought coffee might be in order, since he loves coffee as much as I do. :)

Here's an angle view of the cigar box that I altered.

Here's a top view.

Here's the inside, as everyone always seem to curious as to what I put inside my altered boxes/containers! lol :) If you haven't tried this coffee from the Second Cup, you really should! It's delish!
With working all the extra hours I've been working, the money has come in handy for bills, but I also wanted to treat myself to something new, so I went out and bought myself a new Making Memories paper trimmer. OMG, this thing cuts like a DREAM! It's awesome! I've wanted this for a year and this is the first time that I didn't feel guilty in the least about buying myself something worth $70! Granted I used a M's coupon for it, so I got it for a lot less, but it was worth every penny. Beautiful straight cut and such smooth edges. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a new paper trimmer.

Here it is folded out to be full size. Isn't she a beauty? lol :)

Here it is folded down to half size.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Chai Latte - See d's (Inque Boutique)
Cardstock: Chocolate (CRS), Flat White (CRS)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine)
Pattered Paper: Au Chocolat (SU)
Embellishments: White Cigar Box (Michaels), Caramelo Coffee (Second Cup)

Penguin Coffee Gift Bag

Another quick post, just wanted to share another style of the coffee gift bags that I’ve been making lately. This is one of three that I made to go along with some presents for some friends up here. I had some more of this coffee the other day and I have to thank Catherine for introducing me to it. It really is delish! It’s called Caramello by The Second Cup. These were just sample bags of coffee, but I think I’m gonna need to go and stock up! Being the coffee fanatic that I am! Lol J

Well, that’s all I have to post, I’m gonna be MIA for another few days, so please be patient, I will be back, once our lives get back to a bit of a more normal state after the holidays. Who ever called the holiday season a ‘holiday’ is mistaken, I just find it a lot of running around and a bit hectic. I’m almost looking forward to getting things back to my regular routine. I hate malls this time year and how crazy people get. Don’t get me wrong, I really do love Xmas, I just wish it were focused more on spending time with the ones that you love and less on all the hype of buying presents and then it’s all over. All for what? Know what I mean? OK, before I sound like a total humbug, I’m gonna sign off. Lol :)

Thanks for stoppin’ by! :)
Julie

Supplies:
Stamps: Penguin (Stampendous)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine), Purely Pomegranate & Basic Black (SU)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate (SU), White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Peace Believe (Bo Bunny)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Oval Punch (Emagination Inc.)
Embellishments: Chocolate Satin Ribbon (Michaels), Caramello Coffee Package (The Second Cup)

Coffee Gift Bag

This is another one of the gifts that I have on the go for little Xmas gift ideas. I finished this one yesterday and have several more to make, but they'll all be different colours. I got this idea from Catherine, she has the directions to make this cute little coffee gift bag on her blog. I just altered the design of mine a wee bit. So, thanks for the idea, Catherine, it's being put to action! lol :)

This is the little bag of ground coffee that's inside. Catherine told me about this coffee and how yummy it was, so I had to try some! You know, us coffee fanatics have to stick together! lol :)

This is a side view of the gift bag.

I have a couple more posts to make, so stay tuned... :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Chai Latte - See d's (Inque Boutique)
Cardstock: Chocolate Weave (Bazzill), Ivory (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Holiday Phrase - Teri Martin (Creative Imaginations)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine), Cranberry Crisp (SU), Creamy Caramel (SU)
Tools: Oval Punch (Emagination Craft Inc.), Terrifically Tacky Tape (ProvoCraft)
Embellishments: Chocolate Brown Ribbon (Michaels)