Christmas Tea Remembrance Cards

Top Pick at Stinkin' Inkers
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Chestnut Praline coffee

Hello and Happy weekend! :)

I wanted to participate in both the Caring Hearts Card Drive and the Fall/Winter Coffee Lover's blog hop. I was so excited when I saw that the Caring Hearts card drive deadline had been extended, so I got busy. understand that it takes me forever and a day to get anything crafty made anymore. oh, the joys of cancer. rolling eyes.....and when I thought about creating cards for people who are in nursing homes, I knew I would be remiss if I didn't make some to send to my MIL, who is also in a nursing home. I thought I would make some little tea cards for her to pass out to her friends. she has always been one of my biggest supporters of my crafting. I think she has truly given away hundreds of my cards as gifts to her friends over the years. :)

So about a week ago I started crafting. yep, it takes me that long! :D I usually have an hour or two each day when I feel well enough to craft. I am so very thankful for that time! although I confess that I spread out on the living room coffee table these days so that I can rest on the couch when I start to feel icky. hubby is so very kind and understanding!

The little packets use digital papers from Gecko Galz, including items from the following collections: Christmas in Nature ATC set, Botanical Christmas, Grandmother's House, Merry & Bright, Christmas Past, and Merry Little Christmas. the tea cups were die cut with dies from Stamp Simply Coffee or Tea set. foliage is from the Tim Holtz mini Holiday Greens die set and cut from cs sprayed with several shades of distress oxide sprays. the poinsettias are from Michael's.

inside the poem is die cut with the Tim Holtz stitched rectangles set, and the scripture is cut with a Spellbinders die set. distressing was done with both inks and a paper distressing tool. beautiful gold organza ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon. mini doilies are from my stash. oh yes, I also stamped the right hand side behind the scripture with the music score from the Tim Holtz Mini Holidays 3 stamp set. sheesh, my head these days! oh goodness!

as I was checking the Caring Hearts card drive post to find out about envelopes, I discovered that they are only wanting A2 sized cards. oh well. I guess I will be sending all 24 of these to my MIL instead! but I hope all of you who are reading this can get something made in time to participate in the card drive. it's for such a worthwhile cause. I know there is no way I am going to be able to get anything done in time between the way I am feeling and the amount of time it takes me to create. but I know that my MIL will be happy to have some treats to share with her friends. :)

have a most amazing weekend! love to all of you, my dearest friends!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Crafting by Designs - anything goes
Ellibelle's Corner - Christmas/holidays
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Ike's World - K is for kindness
Holly and the Ivy - anything Christmas goes
TTCRD - anything goes
Unicorn Ch - Christmas/winter
Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas/winter
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - anything Christmas goes
Merry Little Christmas - anything Christmas goes
Papercraft Business Ch - to give as a gift
Stinkin' Inkers - 'die'lirious and punchy (dies by Tim Holtz, Spellbinders, and Stamp Simply)

Where There is Tea, There is Comfort

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Tea Thyme (this is a weekly drink for me. I love the rich, robust flavor of the thyme with the citrus. so very good!)

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I am trying to get more cards made for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop, so I hope you enjoy the projects I am sharing. :)

Today's card uses an image from a dear online friend, Krista Smith of Saturated Canary fame. I know her store is no longer open, but you can find a few of her images at Make it Crafty. PLEASE do not purchase or download any of the images that you find on Pinterest or from the dishonest people who copy her art. there are quite a few out there who have made a livelihood off of copying Krista's lovely style. She is such a genuine, caring soul who reached out to me when I was going through my cancer treatment. I knew her beforehand, but really got to know her personally during that challenging time. So yes, I get a bit bothered each time I see those who are unscrupulous making money off of Krista's ideas and artwork. sadly, it happens to many artists. another friend, Maurie Manning, deals with this on an almost weekly basis as well.

now, on to my card. :)
I have used the wonderful "Happy Tea" image and papers from the Authentique Summertime collection. the sentiment is from Create with TLC. little flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts, vintage buttons & doily are from my stash, die is by Spellbinders, and punches are by EK Success. the tea tag is one that I saved and have repurposed. isn't it fun tied in a little bow? the seam binding snippet works perfectly stapled alongside for some added texture. I keep these on my craft desk because I can't bear to throw these beauties away! grins!

Thank you so much for stopping by and saying hello! I will try to get around repay the kindness. I apologize that I am taking so long. these silly migraines and seizures have knocked me sideways. :/ blech.

Challenges:
Try Stamping on Tuesday - sketch with metallic accent option (staple, if that counts)
Creative Moments - anything goes
Crafty Catz - anything goes w/Christmas option
Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes w/patterned paper
Not Just Cards - anything goes
Everybody Art - for friends (sending this to one of my tea loving friends)

Tea - A Hug in a Cup

Winner at Get Creative
Top 3 at Through the Craft Room Door
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Iced Cinnamon Dolce Latte

Hey there! I just realized that on the days I have been featuring coffee cards, I have been drinking tea, and now that I am sharing a tea card, I have had coffee. I am sure mixed up, aren't I?! :) does it help if I say that hubby and I had ginger plum tea from Panera for lunch? grins! I tried getting out of the house for a bit today, and sadly it didn't go well. but it was ever so lovely to spend time with him and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. :) too bad the icky seizures had to pop up and say howdy. but that is life right now.... sigh.....

on to my card -
I have another one to share for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop. this time with a tea theme, as I mentioned above. I do love my tea. hot or cold, it doesn't matter to me.

the adorable image is from LOTV and the sentiment is from Create with TLC.  papers are actually from a Valentine collection - Authentique Crush, but I adore the florals and pretty pink stripe. if you notice, almost everything I made has pink on it somewhere. ;)  flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, dies are by Spellbinders, and vintage buttons from my stash. lace, trim, and twine are stash items as well. some faux stitching was added to the base dsp.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a most wonderful day!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Digi Choosday - #22 anything goes
Lemon Shortbread - #68 anything goes
Retarte - #122 anything goes
TTCRD - anything goes
Artistic Inspirations - anything goes
My Creative Scoop Color Inspirations - anything hand colored goes (watercolor brushes and SU! ink refills)
Crafting From the Heart - anything goes
Get Creative - lots of flowers
Corrosive Challenge - anything goes
Digi Stamps 4 Joy - anything goes w/optional twist for Mom (sorry, my mom isn't around any longer, so this is going to my bestest friend. she is my tea buddy!)

Take It Easy, Little Bunny

Top Pick at Tuesday Throwdown

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Lemon Basil Tea

Hello, everyone! :)

to start, since I have gone back to drinking so much tea again, I am changing my coffee of the day to a coffee/tea combination. If I am drinking one of the blends from our favorite tea shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Tea Haus, I will be sure to link it so that you can check it out. :)  I place an order at least once a month to get their monthly special, but 'might' just pick up a few other yummy flavors either when we go up to visit Mick and Lauren or place another order when I run low or the mood strikes. they really do have the most delightful blends of tea and are super nice as well. no, I am not a paid employee nor am I an affiliate.  just a very happy customer!

now, on to my craft project for the day....

one of my crafty international friends put out a call for cards for both her daughter and her husband - her daughter has an upcoming birthday, but her husband has surgery soon and is worried about it. I thought it would be nice to send him a card when I send a birthday card. guys don't always get cards since people tend to think it's tough to make cards for them. well, with my house being ALL guys, that used to be the only kind I made!

so Fiki, this one is for Mario! and she filled me in on a special challenge that another crafter has going on now to make bunny cards, so I used this adorable little get well rabbit image & sentiment from LOTV.

papers are from the Basic Grey B Side collection, ribbon and twine are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, vintage buttons & ticket are from my stash, and woodgrain piece behind main image is a piece of packaging from Webster's Pages that I had saved. a few dots of Viva Decor Pearl pen accent the sentiment banner.

now to get busy making the birthday card for Fiki's daughter. :)

Challenges:
Crafty Nomad bunny hop
Pause Dream Enjoy - lots of layers
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - anything goes w/a critter
A Perfect Time to Craft - anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown - critter crazy

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Coffee of the Day - Irish Creme, of course! :)

I've been drinking some wonderful Irish teas from the quaint little tea shop up in Ann Arbor, Michigan that we love so dearly. they have an online store and monthly special that we have just become aware of. so happy happy happy to discover this! :) this month's special is all about Irish teas, so of course we ordered some. oh my goodness, are they ever delightful! now if we could only get them to ship their lavender shortbread and macaroons! grins! It's called the Tea Haus if any of you are interested.

I am still battling this terrible migraine. it has been years since I last had one of this magnitude. some days I can't even get myself downstairs to say hello to anyone. I need the dark because any kind of light is just too painful. this one is a doozy.... my high powered migraine medications aren't even touching it. ick. hopefully it goes away soon. this is getting ever so tiresome.

so I do apologize to all of you that I haven't been able to share any craft projects with you. I really want to get to my craft room and create, I really do. hopefully it won't be too much longer.

until then, wishing all of you a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!
love to you,
Jennifer

Tea Time with Typeset

Coffee of the Day - Starbucks Christmas Blend and Eggnog

whew.... the holidays are OVER! are all of you as whooped as I am?! ;) I have been so tired this week, trying to get over the mad rush of the past few weeks.... the good news is that yesterday I was in my craft room for FUNSIES! :) that is always a good thing!!!!

a coffee and tea loving friend of mine was interested in some tea bags that I had sent to another friend. I told her I'd get some in the mail to her, but you know us crafters - we can't just toss something in an envelope! we have to make a fancy shmancy card to go with!!!

so I grabbed some fun stamps sets I had won a little bit ago from Dare 2 B Artzy. I stamped the tea pot and steam from the Tea 4 Two set in Versamark and then embossed with copper ep. the image was then watercolored with SU! inks. the sentiment comes from the Serenity Tea set. there is a matching die set that goes with both of these sets that I hope to pick up eventually. I love when one set of dies works with several stamp sets, don't you?!

papers are from the Basic Grey Typeset collection. the main image die is by Spellbinders and the cool peek-a-boo die for the bg is by Tim Holtz. isn't it fun?! I added a little tea tag to the baker's twine bow. vintage buttons are from my stash and little flower is by Wild Orchid Crafts. a tiny snippet of mini ric rack at the bottom adds a touch of fun and whimsy.

thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a most amazing weekend and enjoy your New Year's Eve celebrations, whether it's a quiet evening at home or a huge blowout with friends!

I also want to thank you for so faithfully stopping by and leaving me such wonderful, inspiring, and encouraging comments throughout the year! you make my heart so full!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Mod Squad - warm and toasty
Paper Girls - anything goes
Robyn's Fetish - anything goes
Creative Knockouts - anything goes

Collect Moments Christmas Tea Cup Card

Coffee of the Day - Creamy Chestnuts

I have been such a VERY busy bee in my craft room, so be prepared to be inundated with a LOT of crafty goodies. :) it's been fun, but I am a whooped puppy! still going at it until my list is done...

Today I'm sharing with you a card I made for one of my bestest friends in the whole world. she used to be a coffee buddy, but she no longer drinks coffee. she does still drink tea, though, so I was happy to make a card for her with several yummy tea bags added. we used to go to a wonderful tea room here in town until they sadly closed their doors.

the stamp is by Prima and was added to a library pocket. the pocket and the library card the tea bags are adhered to are sprayed with several shades of glimmer mist. I also used my SU! ink squirty tool. little ribbon snippet is from Really Reasonable Ribbon and pretty lace trim is from Hobby Lobby. holly flourish die is by Cheery Lynn and doily die is from Little Darlings Rubber Stamps. paper & poinsettia are from Hobby Lobby as well. button is from my vintage stash.

have a most amazing day! see you back here tomorrow! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Winter Coffee Lover's blog hop
Crafty Sentiments - anything goes
Everybody Art - doily (die)
Inky Chicks - Christmas card in traditional colors
Ike's World - photo inspiration
Crafty Boots - Christmas

A Cup of Tea To YOU!

Coffee of the Day - Carrot Cake

yes, you are in shock. I have made a card about tea, not coffee. and I'm linking it to a Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop. makes no sense whatsoever if you visit my blog very often. I'm happy to be able to link this to the blog hop though. I miss taking part in these since I'm not on FB any longer.

but if you know me irl, then you know that I was a tea drinker lonnnnnnng before I became a coffee addict. during the summer I make all kinds of blends of iced tea. and this card is going to a very, very special friend.

my bestie in all the world is sickie poo. so she needed a special card. we have gone for tea many times, and I knew she would appreciate the little tea bag I added to the tag. we used to go for coffee, too, but when you are sick, nothing comforts like a cup of hot tea. so I can do that for her. :)

this precious stamp is a House Mouse Gruffie called 'All Warm and Fuzzy'. I still remember the first card I ever made with this stamp. as much as I love the little House Mouse mice, these bears are my faves.

papers are from the Authentique Remembrance collection, flowers are a combo of Wild Orchid Crafts, Prima, and Live & Love Crafts specialties. buttons and lace/crochet trim are vintage. tea border die is Cottage Cutz and was sprayed with my SU! ink squirty tool, while main die is Spellbinders. little punches in the upper corner are SU!. tag with tulle ribbon is in a library pocket that was distressed. the sentiment was computer generated.

and I know all of you are curious as to what the yummy flavor of tea is that I included..... it's a tasty Ginger Peach by Stash. delicious hot or cold. :) the tag slides further down in the pocket, but I left it out so you could see the full sentiment.

btw - if you click on the actual card photo, it will take you to a larger photo to see more of the details, and it won't look quite so blurry.

hope all of you are having a great weekend so far! don't forget I'll have blog candy coming soon for my birthday! :)

Challenges:
Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop - the colors are summery to me! :) plus there is nothing worse than having pneumonia at the start of the summer...
Gruffies and Guests - lavender and lace
Catch the Bug - anything goes
Di's Digi Designs - die cuts (Spellbinders & Cottage Cutz)
Your Next Stamp - sketch or color challenge (color)
Aud Sentiments - bingo: patterned paper, rubber stamp, paper punch plus sentiment
Scrap and Craft - tag it
Card and Scrap - use dies (Spellbinders & Cottage Cutz)
WAW - anything goes/family friendly
Crafty Creations - All Creatures Great and Small
Penny's Paper Crafty - anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie's Wonderful Wed - anything goes
Loves Rubberstamps - anything goes
Papertake Weekly - anything goes
Ribbon Girls - animal
Verve Stamps - eat me, drink me photo inspiration
613 Avenue Create - anything goes with option of making something for your best friend (and I did!)
Corrosive Ch - pile it on (LOVE this theme!)

ABC Christmas Cup of Tea

Coffee of the Day - Eggnog

Today I am posting a midway reminder card for the ABC Christmas challenge 'E is for Eyes down' bingo. We are sponsored by both Shape EZ templates and Stamp Fairy. Last week I used an image from Stamp Fairy for my card, so this week I am showing a project with a Shape EZ template.

I am using the following options from the bingo board: not a square, flowers, glitter. my card uses the Tea Cup Flip Card template. it was an easy one to cut out, which is great for my bad head.

I first printed out some digital papers onto white cs. I then printed then tea cup template right on top of the printed papers. easy peasy! :) I then typed out my poem onto the inner liner piece template prior to printing. that became the pocket for my tea bag. 

the outside cup was sprayed with walnut gold glimmer mist. be careful, because glimmer mist does cause colors from the printer to alter. in this case I love the different shades it turned the red. vintage crochet trim and buttons plus a glittered Prima poinsettia were added. edged were distressed. 

as you open the card, snowflakes from a Basic Grey stamp set were stamped on the liner. the base was sprayed with the same walnut gold glimmer mist. more distressing of the edges with both reds and browns.

it has been a very difficult past few days for me. I'm not going to go into it all here, because it has become apparent that most of you really don't want to hear my cancer/health woes. I don't blame you one bit. I don't either. guess that is why there are some complaints about me going around on the internet that I am catching wind of....that hasn't been easy to deal with either. sure do wish that people would at least be courteous enough to talk to me about their issues. I don't even know who the people are who dislike me so much.  oh well. I can't make everyone happy. I have cancer and can't change that. I'm dying and can't change that. the only thing I can change is my crafting and try to do the best I can with what I make, and believe me, I really do pour my heart into my projects. and I try to find something to smile about in the midst of it all. it isn't easy, and some days I'm not successful. 

sorry for the humbug. I'll try to do better. 

Time for Tea with my BFF

Coffee of the Day - Vanilla Nut

Now I know all of you will find this hard to believe, but I have actually been a tea drinker much longer than I have a coffee drinker. even though I would drink 'coffee milk' with my Dad on weekends when I was a little girl, I have always loved tea - both hot and cold. I love to mix up my own brews, most especially cold blends in the summer.

So when Claire drew this most adorable, precious image of 2 little girls having tea and cakes, I jumped right on the chance to play with it! This is one of the new releases at Jellypark this week. we also have a great new challenge - Bunny Hop: use your bunny images on projects. This is also my submission for our new Paper a la Mode challenge at The Outlawz - anything goes.

Of course my little girls on the card had to have loads and loads of PINK! ;) I used papers from the My Mind's Eye Lavender collection, a fab vintage button, this heart border die by Memory Box that has captured MY heart, a fun fabric flower by Jolee's, and baker's twine. The doily was sprayed with glimmer mist.

Now I suddenly feel the need for a cup of lavender earl grey! :)

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge photo - colors and the girls' cute little cakes

Challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks - die for dies
Divas by Design - buttons and bows
Paper Shelter - punches or dies
Party Time Tuesdays - die cuts
Crafty Sentiments - pretty in pink
Can You Digi It - little ones
365 Cards - cake
Crafty Bloggers - spring or pastels
Fashionista - make it pink
My Craft Spot - tasty treats
Ribbon Girls - ribbon or twine
Clearly Inspired - die cuts

So Sweet at Jellypark

Coffee of the Day - Cinnamon Hazelnut

Today starts a new challenge as well as new releases over at Jellypark Friday Friends! be sure to stop by the challenge blog for some fun news, too! :)

Our challenge is 'So Sweet' - we want to see how sweet you can be with your projects!

My card uses the fun ticket for tea image, Fancy Pants Time for Spring paper collection, Cottage Cutz tea time border die, and various other embellies. lots of stickles, too! :)

have a wonderful weekend!

btw - thank you to so many of you who have let me know about 'The Walking Dead' starting up again this weekend. sadly we don't have cable tv, so we wait until the current season comes out on DVD at the library. until then I just dream of zombies........ I try to stay away from all of the spoilers, but gosh, it is HARD!!! ;)  PLEASE enjoy it for me!! :)

also, please forgive the quality of my crafting these past few days. my not feeling well is most certainly showing in my projects. hopefully it will improve soon.