2018 Spring Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop: Good Morning!

Welcome to the cafe!

Today's card reflects my country-lovin' style.

{Today's Brew: Coffee Cup stamp and die (Mama Elephant), rooster and sentiment (Waltzingmouse stamps)sunshine diecut (Lawn Fawn), stitched frame (Lawn Fawn), tag die (MFT), bakers twine, Simple Stories papers, PTI card stock and ink}

I do love living in the country. Small town is where I want to be! There's nothing I miss about living in the big city...except for one thing.

Egg Harbor Cafe! My favorite restaurant from our time living in the Chicago 'burbs.

I hope to visit again one day. But for now, I'm happy with the coffee mug! Today's card reminds me of my favorite mug!

Blessings, cafe friends!

2018 Spring/Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop: Inspired by McD's

Hello, cafe friends!

I've brewed up a coffee-themed project today, just in time for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop!

Today's card was inspired by my recent trip to a McDonald's in Indiana over the weekend. I love my McD's coffee! And this cup was super cute. I knew I'd have to use it for some crafty inspiration!

{Today's Brew: Stamps from Concord and 9th, MFT stitched circle die, PTI Polka Dot Basics stamp, DYMO label maker, gelly roll white pen}

I had to copy the sentiment from my new favorite t-shirt. It seemed to go so well with the foamy heart at the center of this cup.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

2018 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Good morning!

It's blog hop time at the Coffee Lovers Blog! woo hoo!

This week, I will be featuring lots of coffee related projects, but today I wanted to show you a tea-themed card I made this morning.

I used stamps and dies from My Favorite Things, and combined them with some old papers in my stash from Cosmo Cricket called Tea For Two.

This card was inspired by the impromptu tea party I had last week when my mother was in town. We were watching footage from the royal wedding, and I decided to put on a pot of tea and make some scones to celebrate the occasion.

Chocolate Chip scones from Skinnytaste, along with Yorkshire Gold tea!

{Today's Brew: stamps and dies from MFT, Cosmo Cricket Tea for Two papers, doily, seam binding, straight pin}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Planting Vegetables in Containers

Sorry for the long absence, cafe friends! The weather here in Michigan has been lovely, and I have been working in the garden every day. Don't you love this time of year? Everything looks so lush and green!

I wanted to get some seeds planted, specifically these lettuce, spinach, and basil varieties. If I had a nice plot of fenced garden, I would put these right in the beds. But I have entire families of rabbits and deer that would hit them like an All You Can Eat salad bar.

Instead, I plant these in shallow bowls, and you can, too!

Look for seed varieties that say "Container Friendly", and you are good to go. You don't need huge, deep pots, as these will not have big root systems. I found these nice shallow bowls at Walmart (Better Homes and Gardens), and they are perfect! Twelve inches across, with a nice shallow depth for this sort of planting.

Here's a great gardening tip. You will want pots that have drainage holes, otherwise water can collect on the bottom and you will develop root rot. In the past, I used to put a layer of small rocks or smashed potting shard on the bottom to cover the holes and help with drainage. Then I learned this trick!

Take a coffee filter and cover the hole (or holes), then carefully fill with potting soil. The filter will allow the water to drain out, but will keep the dirt in the pot from escaping out the holes. Brilliant!

You don't have to use fancy pots, either. I had these leftover plastic containers from some phlox that I found at Walmart last week. I liked the size and shape of them, so after planting the phlox in the garden I just rinsed these off and used them for more lettuce and spinach planting.

My very fancy labeling system: Sharpie! LOL! Gee, if only I knew a crafty person who could make some cute plant markers. ;)  Future project!

I am so behind on card making! I need to get in the studio and crank some out soon. I need a few rainy days to get my indoor projects done. But for now, the sun beckons me outdoors, and I must go.

Blessings, cafe friends!

Prima Watercolor Confections: My New Obsession!

Welcome to the cafe!

Today I am showcasing these lovely Prima Watercolor Confections. I recently ordered these from Joann's online for a great price (they were on sale for about $15 each, and normally sell for $25-$30). These pan watercolors are so sweet and totally portable.

Each tin is about the size of an Altoid tin and comes with twelve pan watercolors, a sample chart, and two palette areas for mixing and blending colors.

After unwrapping each pan, you can place it inside the tin, where it fits snugly into a compartment. And good news...each pan is labeled with its corresponding color, and yes, you can reorder individual colors as needed!

I ordered Tropicals, Decadent Pies, and Classics. I think these will be so fun to take on the road this summer!

The pigmentation of the color is really nice! A good quality paint, for sure. Now I need to get some better brushes. I played around with the paints, and I can see where good brushes will make all the difference.

I had received this nice sample of a new journaling bible from Concordia Publishing House last week. This 40 page preview gives a nice idea of what the full bible will look like, complete with sample pages to color.

I tried my hand at painting with the Prima pans, and it was really nice. I'm tempted to order this bible now!

It has over 350 margin Scripture illustrations, along with ten full page illustrations. The spine also lays flat, and the ESV bible comes in a 9.55 type size, which is nice for reading.

If you order before June 4th, you can get it at 25% off, too!

I enjoy my current bible journal, but I can see where having some illustrations all set to color would be nice, too. It might free my mind up to concentrate on the Word and maybe not so much the artistic process.

As Constance Denninger wrote in the introduction to this bible "The challenge is for this to be a 'heart process' rather than an 'art process'". That is so true!

Blessings on your Friday, cafe friend!

Coffee Is My Love Language

This morning was the last session of our women's bible study before we take a break for the summer. We've really enjoyed this coffee-themed study from Deb Burma. We had a lot of great discussion and encouragement, which is so wonderful.

I decided to make everyone a coffee (or tea!) cozy, just to let them know how much I've come to love all those sweet women.

I used the coffee cozy die from PTI, along with a flower die, PTI buttons and felt. For the monogrammed tag, I used a banner die set from My Favorite Things.

I found this t-shirt at a shop in Holland, Michigan. My husband said I HAD to have it.  What can I say? Coffee is my love language!

Blessings on your day, cafe friends!

Lawn Fawn Sketch Challenge

Hello, cafe friends!

Today, I have brewed up a cup of encouragement for a sweet young mom at our church. She is going through a LOT, and I just want her to know that we are rooting for her!

I made this card for the Lawn Fawnatics card sketch challenge #28. Isn't this stamp set fun? Not only are there adorable vegetable stamps, but there are also 2-step stamps to add dimension and layers. So fun! I had a little scrap of corrugated cardboard on my craft table, and decided to use it for the "garden" dirt. 

{Today's Brew; Rooting For You stamp set and dies (Lawn Fawn), Bannertastic stamp set and die (LF),gingham paper (Lawn Fawn), LF dies, PTI inks and card stock, Dew Drops}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today

MFT Color Challenge #93

Good morning! I hope you had a good weekend!

We took a quick overnight trip to Holland, Michigan to see the Tulip Festival. It was a-mazing! We had a great time, just Ed and I. Not your typical Mother's Day, but it was nice to get away. Flowers, food, and a quick stop to see lovely Lake Michigan.

I made a card for the MFT Color Challenge! This shaker flower is so much fun, and easy to use with MFT dies, shaker circle, and fun sequins!

{Today's Brew: MFT Shaker flower and dies, MFT shaker circle pouch, MFT/ Pretty Pink Posh sequins, PTI card stock and paper, watercolor splatter}

Rainy day here today. Perfect weather for lattes and crafting.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

PTI MIM #221: May Is National Bike Month!

May is National Bike Month!

I got my Townie Electra bike out for a spin around town yesterday. It was so nice to pedal through our neighborhood to the library , the parks, and in to downtown.

I made this card this card for Papertrey Ink's Make-it-Monday challenge #221:Masking Sentiments!

{Today's Brew: Pedal Pusher (PTI), Walk By Faith (PTI), PTI inks and card stock}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!