The Damsel of Distressed Cards

Friday, December 12, 2014

Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - Take 2

By now, if you haven't heard of the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop going on over at the tireless Amy Tsurata's (seriously, when does she sleep!?!) blog, you have either been living in a bloggy cave or you have an allergy to the word "coffee" and have been skillfully avoiding posts like this (in which case, DANGER WILL ROBINSON).

Well there are tea-minus (yes, that was a hot beverage pun. You're welcome.) four hours left in the hop and we're hovering on 300 link ups! WHOA! As I type there are 288 entries and Amy reeealllly wants to get to 300.

I was comfortable just sitting back and relaxing and watching the show. And by relaxing, I mean furiously typing comments on all the entries. But since we're soooo close to 300 and soooo close to the deadline, I felt compelled to once again join in.

Here's my take two card:

This is about as clean and simple as I get (hence, Damsel of Distressed)! And I actually am over the moon with how it turned out! I know it's hot cocoa, and not coffee, but Amy said that's allowable. :)

In addition to the hop, this is going on over to CAS(E) this Sketch! (thanks for the inspiration) and Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge - bling it on! That's some glittery red stripes and some hand-glued seed pearls in those snowflakes. Definitely blingy!

I do have blog candy for the hoppers who leave a comment. Details are in my last post. Make sure to leave your email so I can easily contact you.

And there are a TON of Sponsors for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. There's still time to whip up a card!


17Turtles	Veronica Zalis	Chris Franco

Add a Little Dazzle	Butterfly Reflections Ink	Color Cast Designs

Create a Smile	Hero Arts	Kraftin' Kimmie

Kreative Kymona	Latina Crafter	Neat & Tangled

Newton's Nook	Pickled Potpourri Designs	Poppystamps

Reverse Confetti	Stamp Academy	Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

STAMPlorations	SugarPea Designs	Sweet 'n Sassy

The Alley Way Stamps	Two Paper Divas	Verve Stamps

Whole Wild World	Your Next Stamp	Paper Smooches

17 Turtles: $15 Store Gift Card

A Muse Studio/Chris Franco: Cup of Good Cheer stamp set

Add a Little Dazzle: $25 Store Gift Card

Butterfly Reflections Ink: Prima Coffee Break

Color Cast Designs: Coffee Lovers kit

Create a Smile: Monster Party stamp set

Hero Arts: A Little & Today's Special stamps/Cup 'O Joe Shadow ink

Kraftin' Kimmie: $25 Store Gift Card

Kreative Kymona: Fancy Mug Giveaway

Latina Crafter: Cafe Wood Veneers + $25 Store Gift Card

Neat & Tangled: Warm Wishes stamp set

Newton's Nook: $15 Store Gift Card

Paper Smooches: $25 Store Gift Card

Pickled Potpourri: $7 Store Gift Card

Poppystamps: Tea Cup Stack Die

Reverse Confetti: $15 Store Gift Card

Stamp Academy: 2 classes

Stampin' Up/Veronica Zalis: $20 Store Gift Card

STAMPlorations: $10 Store Gift Card

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store: Coffee Cup Prize Pack

SugarPea Designs: $20 Store Gift Card

Sweet 'n Sassy: Pick Me Up Clear stamp & die set

The Alley Way Stamps: Tea Par-tea stamp set

Two Paper Divas: Your Warm My Heart stamp set

Your Next Stamp: $20

Verve Stamps: $25

Whole Wild World: Coffee before Talkee mug

●●Sponsorship prizes are eligible via random draw from linked hop participants only●●

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Have you all heard of the amazing Amy Tsurata of Tsurata Designs? If you haven't you're missing out on a one-woman-wonder who is full of cheer and always leaves the kindest, most encouraging comments.

Amy started something called the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop because... well.... she may have a slightly unhealthy obsession with coffee. (Sorry Amy, I have to call 'em like I see 'em!) Luckily for my creative spirit - SO DO I!

This Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is holiday themed. My projects aren't the standard green and red, but they are going to be a holiday gift set for my very dear friend and fellow coffee addict, so I think that counts. My friend is obsessed with all things pink, so that's what I stuck with!

All of the images come from ONE great stamp set - Fiskars Latte Love

Here's the full card set:

I used sketches from Mojo Monday, STAMPlorations, and Techno Stamper for inspiration:

Click on the images for details on each challenge!

Side note, the lace on the card above came all the way from Australia!

A big thanks to the fantastic Lizzy Hill!

I tried to cover all the great winter beverages, so I included cocoa too!

A holiday gift set just wouldn't be complete without a special box so I decided to handmake one to match my set. I cut a piece of kraft cardstock to 8 1/2 x 7 and scored it 1'' on all sides. Then I cut the inside corner score.

I glued the corner to the inside fold in order to make a box and then clipped the corners while I made my box top. The top is made in the same exact way, just 1/8 of an inch wider, to fit snugly. The finished box measured 5 inches wide by 6 1/2 inches long by 1 inch high.

As you can see, I also made a set of matching envelopes to go with my cards. I used washi tape and dotted all over with gel markers.

I hope you liked my project! Thank you so much for stopping by. Make sure to leave a comment so I can visit you, too!

Head on over to Amy's blog to check out the full link up! If you participate in a blog hop, or link up a coffee-themed holiday project you can win one of a bajillion (slight exaggeration, but there are a lot!) prizes from fantastic sponsors. I'll post a full list of the sponsors at the end of my blog.

Speaking of prizes, if you leave a comment on MY blog, I'm giving away a whole package of blog candy!

A stamp set from Doodle Bug Design "Bow Wow", a pack of paper flower embellishments, some wooden trees, purple burlap ribbon, a 6x6 paper pack and a set of holiday sentiment stamps! You don't have to be a follower of my blog to win (but I would love it if you would and will return the favor). If you'd like to enter the drawing, please be sure to leave your email in your comment. Drawing will be held on December 12 and winner will be notified by email.

Last, but not least, check out the FANTASTIC sponsors for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. Didn't I tell you there were a bajillion?


17Turtles	Veronica Zalis	Chris Franco

Add a Little Dazzle	Butterfly Reflections Ink	Color Cast Designs

Create a Smile	Hero Arts	Kraftin' Kimmie

Kreative Kymona	Latina Crafter	Neat & Tangled

Newton's Nook	Pickled Potpourri Designs	Poppystamps

Reverse Confetti	Stamp Academy	Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

STAMPlorations	SugarPea Designs	Sweet 'n Sassy

The Alley Way Stamps	Two Paper Divas	Verve Stamps

Whole Wild World	Your Next Stamp	Paper Smooches