The Card Concept: Winter Warmth

I am so excited to have been invited to be part of the The Card Concept design team!!!   It is an inspiration challenge that always gives us creative and unique images from which to find inspiration.  The challenge that starts today is no exception!!

Although inspiration can come in many ways - the actual image, the colors, the style, etc. - the red cup immediately popped for me.  I used a die from Erin Lee Creative - I picked it from among my many coffee cup dies because it had the fun shaped steam or splash which struck me as appropriate due to the decorative foam and sprinkles in the image.

From there, the inspiration that I took from the image because a bit more subtle.  I was pondering how to back the coffee cup and I ended up with some stenciled squares based on the decorations on the mug.  I was actually going to fill those squares with trees, deer and snowflakes but I felt like they distracted from my steam.  And then it took the sprinkles on the inspiration image for me to add the brown splatter.  I'm not a big splatter person because there's a lack of control when splattering that's very hard for me to deal with!! 

I would call this as a Clean and Layered card. There's not too much going on and it's a clean-lined look.  There's still lots of open space - but kraft instead of white space. It really wasn't "simple" - at least for me.  As soon as I pulled out a stencil and also did some splattering, it wasn't simple!!

Instead of my usual white background for this card, I went with rich coffee/tea colors. I intend to use this for my youngest son for Valentine's Day along with a package of his favorite tea. It's a tea we used to drink at a little tea shop in a Colorado mountain town but they quit carrying it and I just found it online!  He goes to school in Rock Island, Illinois which is on the border of Illinois and Iowa, right on the Mississippi River.  I tell you this because you'd think a Colorado native would understand being cold - but not so much.  Colorado's sun means that even days that look cold on the thermometer feel very warm.  With the humidity and gray skies and winds off the river in Rock Island - now he knows cold!!  So the tea will be very welcome.

I hope to see you playing along with us and the Winter Warmth challenge!!

SUPPLY LIST

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Poppy Parade

Dies: Erin Lee Creative Cup Heart die, Papertrey Ink Wet Paint Cuts ("love"), Simon Says Stamp A2 Thin Frames, Paper Smooches Stitched (the little X's on the cup)

Other: Taylored Expressions Square Windows Masking Stencil, Fun Stampers Journey Dark Roast Silk (this product is great for splatters, it comes bottled like fingernail polish so easy to flick off the brush), Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer spray (on the steam), Taylored Expressions Bits & Pieces - Snowflakes