CAFE CONVERSATIONS – Part II

Tutorial by Linda Fields

A Special Brew!

Can you smell it? Oh my… that, my friend, is the wonderful smell of freshly brewed coffee! Where’s the carafe? Where’s the cream and sugar? Welcome to Linda’s Studio and this fun tutorial where you’ll brew your way to a whole other craft-ability!

Challenge Accepted!

It’s an honor to be part of Altenew’s Educational Certification Program (AECP). I’m thrilled to be sharing my project with you. The challenge? Create four masculine cards covering Birthday, Anniversary, Encouragement, and Thinking of You. Plus, include an up-cycled, altered item.

It’s not everyday we need cards for guys but why is that? They need just as much love and attention as everyone else. Thankfully, I had lots of inspiration from my husband’s love for coffee. It became the backbone for this great smelling project!

Brew Some Paper

If you haven’t already, check out my previous Cafe Conversations Part I. The tutorial shows you how to use coffee grounds to stain paper! Freshly aged paper is ready to cut and sniff once the stain dries. I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Ground Espresso to give a rich, dark roast edge for each card front.

Materials

• Aged Paper – Card Front
• Black Cardstock – Mat & Pod Cover
• Neenah’s Classic White Cardstock – Card Base
• Altenew’s Coffee with a Splash Stamp Set
• Altenew’s Obsidian Pigment Ink
• Altenew’s White Embossing Powder
• Altenew’s Watercolor Stripes Stencil
• Ranger Embossing Powder – Clear
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks – Ground Espresso, Tea Dye, Walnut Stain
• Tim Holtz Handwritten Stamp Set
• Craspire Coffee Stamp Set
• Sentiments Stamp & Die Set
• Used Coffee Pod & Coffee
• Wax Burner & Old Melted Wax
• Coffee Essential Oil
• Sample Floor Tile

Tips & Tools

EMBOSSING TIPS

You can create some very cool effects with embossing powders but I’d have to say clear has become my favorite. It’s the most forgiving, and in my opinion, the most versatile. Whether you start with an inked image or just the backdrop, clear embossing powder allows you several creative options that the matte colored powders don’t allow. When making my Cafe Cards, I used several techniques.

Floor Tile Becomes Coaster

I used permanent black ink to stamp the coffee mug image from Altenew’s Coffee With a Splash Stamp Set on a sample floor tile from Home Depot that was left over from our previous home makeover. I used clear embossing powder over that and a heat tool to create a great coaster.

Embossing Cards

Create a shadow or cool embossed effect with clear embossing ink and clear embossing powder!

Neat & Trim

There are fancy tapes which I love but don’t underestimate the power of scotch tape! It’s great for holding your trims in place so make sure you have yours ready. Covid may be over but hand sanitizer is amazing for cleaning up all your inky and coffee messes. Remember those paper coffee cup covers so you don’t burn your hands? I brought out my paper crimper to make the Cafe Card Set sleeve.

Cafe Cards & Envelope Set

This has got to be the best smelling set I’ve ever made! I used Altenew’s Watercolor Stripes Stencil and Tim Holtz Distress Inks to make fancy, matching envelopes. I found my Crockadile Tool to put eyelets in the card fronts and used string to fine tune some details. I used a fine tip Micron pen to draw steam coming up from the cup. I splattered water and blotted with paper towels to create that worn and torn but still surviving (because of coffee) kind of look. I wanted all the senses engaged.

Coffee Pod Casting

Part of this challenge was to upcycle an item and turn it into something else. Challenge accepted again! You already saw how you can turn a sample floor tile into a great coaster, now imagine your scented wax isn’t putting out any more fragrance. STOP! Don’t throw away that wax! Mix some essential oil in there and give it another life! Remember the coffee grounds I took out of my husband’s pod? I ripped out the netting inside it, cleaned it up, filled all the holes, then poured coffee scented melted wax into the pod. I added some fresh beans for looks then used an ice cube to cool the wax quickly. I cut out a 2″ circle from black cardstock and decorated it with a white embossed stamp. Congratulations! You now have a new coffee scented candle to melt and enjoy!

Happy Anniversary!

Congratulations! Here’s to another year best of brew!

Happy Birthday!

Another year done, keep on brewing!

Thinking of You!

Hello! Isn’t it obvious? I love you more than a latte!

Encouragement!

Thank you for being amazing! The best brew around!

Bag It Tag It!

Coffee scented Cafe Cards with matching Envelopes? Check! A cool sleeve to keep them together? Check! What about an up-cycled coaster and color coordinated mug? Well of course! A coffee scented, recycled wax candle? Seriously? Let’s bundle this up and tag it ready for gifting!

Altenew Courses

Love to learn new things? It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or seasoned pro, there’s always something brewing when you’re ready to drink it up! So don’t be shy, give Altenew a try, and see course just might make you smile for a while! I highly recommend them all but the three favorites I used for creating this project were: Altenew’s Beautiful Details Course, Beyond Basic Backgrounds Course, and the Impressive Heat Embossing Course.

I hope you enjoyed this longer than usual, two part tutorial special! Be sure to leave a comment, sign up for my newsletter, and follow me on all my social media sites! Love n hugs to you!