How to make Coffee Scented Embossing Powder that actually works!

Yesterday I told you that my attempt at making coffee scented embossing powder was unsuccessful.  Today I want to tell you why it was unsuccessful and why I believe today's attempt worked.  To make your own scented embossing powders you need a ratio of 1:2, which is 1 part scented sugar free powder to 2 parts clear embossing powder.  Yesterday's attempt used 1 part coffee, like the recipe requires, but I noticed that the consistency of my 'powder' was not powder like, but more clumpy.  My coffee was too chunky.  For today's powder I decided to put my already ground up coffee through the grinding process again to creating a finer powder.  It worked beautifully, and now I have a very nice coffee scented embossing powder that actually works when you scratch it!

For my card I used a combination of sets from Papertrey Ink.  One of them is a newer set that I bought with the Stamp-a-faire kit that won't be available to the general public until September called Sent-imentals, along with yesterday's set called Latte Love.

Stamps:  Sent-imentals, Latte Love

Ink:  SU Pool Party, SU Real Red, Memento Espresso Truffle, Versamark

Paper:  PTI White, SU Domestic dp

Accessories:  coffee scented embossing powder, Circle Nesties, foam tape, corner rounder

Here's what the set looks like. . .I'm kinda lovin' it!

My Unsuccessful attempt at making Coffee Scented Embossing Powder

Last weekend was Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-Faire, and I had total plans to play along all weekend.  Unfortunately, I was unable to play along with everyone else, because the weekend before our plans got foiled by the weather.  That was my daughter's 12th birthday, and we had plans to head up to Atlanta, go to Six Flags, spend the night, and wake up and head to the water park.  It rained all that weekend, so we changed our plans to this last weekend.  The things we do for our babies ;)  

So I didn't get to play along with everyone else, but that is okay with me.  My kids will only be living in our house for a few more short years and they may not want to hang out with me for every one of their bithdays, so I will take what I can when I can!  I did, however, still want to play along with the PTI fun.  One of the things they did was create their own scented embossing powders.  I decided to make some coffee scented embossing powder, and my first attempt was not so successful.  I'll show you my second attempt tomorrow and tell you what I did differently.

Stamps:  Latte Love

Ink:  Craft White, PTI Ocean Tides, Memento Espresso Truffle, Versamark, PTI Simply Chartreuse, SU Melon Mambo, PTI Lemon Tart

Paper:  pink cs, PTI Rustic White, various dp

Accessories:  white embossing powder, PTI Simply Chartreuse twill ribbon, coffee scented embossing powder, aqua paint brush

I attempted to watercolor on the PTI Rustic White cardstock, but as you can see it was a bit unsuccessful.  Granted, I was trying to go out of the lines a bit, but that just looks messy and not what I was going for.  Thanks for stopping in!

Added to my SALE items!

I just added some ink pads and stacks of paper to my FOR SALE page!  Go check it out!  I'll be adding to it as I find more stuff in my stash in need of a good home :)

Forget the Cake

Happy Saturday morning friends!  I'm playing some tennis right now and then we are headed to Six Flags to celebrate my daughter's birthday!  We were supposed to do this last weekend for her actual birthday, but the weather was super crumby.  I thought it was fitting to show you this birthday card that I had made for my time on the Dirty Dozen for Splitcoaststampers.  That adorable image is from The Cat's Pajamas and it's called Forget About the Cake.  

I watercolored him on some Papertrey Ink Rustic White cardstock. . .not traditional I know, but it worked, and used a Martha Stewart punch to get the dripping icing effect.  The papers are from Studio Calico.

Hopefully the weather cooperates today and we'll be screaming our brains out on some crazy rides.  Wish me luck :D

Don't be Alarmed. . .it's just a card. . .

Happy Friday, crafty peeps!  I realized just this morning that there were about 3 cards that I never shared here from Dare to Get Dirty!  This one wasn't necessarily one of my favorite, but I do love that image.  We had to make something with an element of time on it, and I used this fun set called Tick Tock with it's coordinating die from Taylored Expressions.  It seems to be a hodge podge of background stuff that I just threw together, because it happened to be sitting on my desk. . .c'mon we're all guilty of that sometimes ;)

Stamps:  Tick Tock with coordinating die

Paper:  Lilybean soup dp, red cs, PTI Rustic Cream

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories:  copics, TE Ric Rac Border Die, washi tape, foam tape

We've got some crazy busy days this weekend, so I may have to schedule a post or two.  I've been crafting. . .just nothing you can see yet ;)  

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Trails with the TE KI Kit

Hey crafty peeps!  I hope you're having a lovely week!  We are back in the swing of school and sports practices. . .it just got real!  I've been crafting in my free time, and I have this little diddy to show you.  I made this using the Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit along with the Stamp of the Month (SOTM).  It uses a couple of different die sets, and one of those was made to coordinate with the kits this month: Around the Campfire.  

 Stamps:  S'more Fun, Grid Paper

Ink:  SU Pool Party, SU Always Artichoke, SU Crushed Curry, SU Dusty Durango, SU River Rock, Memento Espresso Truffle

Paper:  August TE KI Kit

Accessories:  ribbon from kit, TE Around the Campfire die, TE Notepaper & Clipboard die, Copics, foam tape, sponge

Check out the papers in this gorgeous kit:

Be sure to check out the TE Gallery to get lots more inspiration for this fabulous kit!

You Make Life Sweet

Hey everyone!  I don't have anything super special to show you, so I'll show you something I made for Splitcoaststampers when I was on the Dirty Dozen.  This was made for January's challenges, and I thought of my husband while making it.  I watercolored the little doughnuts that come from the Sugar Rush stamp set by Paper Smooches, and used some glossy glaze to adhere the beads for sprinkles.

This last weekend was my daughter's 12th birthday. . .where has the time gone?  I can't show you the card I made her for her birthday, but I will.  I made it back in April for the Dirty Dozen, so it can't see the light of day until October :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps for Sale!

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I have a Stamps for Sale section up above.  Go check it all out and see what's left.  I'll be adding to in periodically, but things seem to be going pretty fast.  Get them while you can!

August Taylored Expressions SOTM Blog Hop

Hey there, friends!  Welcome to the August Taylored Expressions Stamp of the Month (SOTM) Blog Hop!  If you just happened upon my blog, you're in for a crafty treat!  If you're hopping in the Blog Hop, thanks for coming my way!

It's that time of the month where the Key Ingredients Design Team and the Baker's Dozen get together to show you a little inspiration using the latest Stamp of the Month that Taylored Expressions offers as a part of a monthly kit.  There are 3 options for the kits that Taylor offers, and if you are new to the idea then you'll want to head to her Kits page to get all of the deets.

The stamp this month is called S'more Fun and its matching die (that can be purchased separately) is called Around the Campfire.  Both are just perfect to get you in the mood for the Fall weather that is just around the corner.  My husband's family always goes camping this time of year in Northern California.  Because we live in Georgia, it's been a while since we have made our way over there to camp and salmon fish with the rest of the family.  This set brings about great memories of the times that we have been able to get over there :)

 Stamps:  S'more Fun

Ink:  Memento Espresso Truffle, Versamark, SU Certainly Celery, SU Dusty Durango

Paper:  August TE KI Kit

Accessories:  ribbon from kit, TE Around the Campfire die, TE Large Layering Doily die, foam tape, wood veneer stars, corner rounder

There is a ton more inspiration that you will want to see, so be sure to check out everyone's cards in the hop!

Amy Crockett

Carole Burrage

Cassie Trask (me)

Charmaine Ikach

Jami Sibley

Jen Shults

Joan Ervin

Kerri Michaud

Monika Davis

Sankari Wegman

Shannon White

Shelly Mercado

Stephanie Kraft

Tammie Edgerton

Taylor VanBruggen

Tracy Clemente

A Saturday Sketch on Monday

Happy Monday!  It was a wonderful weekend in our house.  My husband got back from a residency week on Friday afternoon, and we just enjoyed time together.  It was our 14th wedding anniversary last week, but we celebrated Saturday evening by heading up to Atlanta for an amazing dinner at a place called Fogo de Chao. . .OMGoodness it was so delicious!  On the way home we took a detour and drove through the town of Senoia, which is where the Walking Dead filmed a lot of season 3.  It was a fun little adventure.  

I treated myself for my anniversary by buying myself a few new goodies from Taylored Expressions.  Have you checked out all of the new awesomeness that they just released?!  I plan on playing some more today with my goodies hehe.  

I used the Saturday Sketch along with my new Zinnia Bouquet set and the Branches, Banner, & Bloom dies that matches a previous Stamp of the Month .  Talk about fun to color!  I was able to use a couple of Spellbinders dies that I haven't used in quite a while. . .the Large Hexagon & Large Scalloped Hexagon.  It always feels good to use some older things.  It justifies why I hang onto so much ;)

Stamps:  Zinnia Bouquet

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:  MME Up, Up, & Away, green cs, PTI rustic cream

Accessories:  Copics, foam tape, Large Hexagon & Large Scalloped Hexagon Nestabilities, TE Branches, Banner, & Bloom die

Thanks for stopping in!  I'll see you tomorrow for the Taylored Expressions Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit

 Hey there crafty peeps!  Are you enjoying the blazing hot summer days?  Kids back in school?  Still have some Summer left?  We started school this last Monday, and I have to say that it was a smooth transition back.  Thank you, God, for your provisions this week!

I've had some time to play with the August Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit, and I'm really loving it.  It features the great We R Memory Keepers Happy Campers 6"x6" paper.  They are so lovely!  It makes me long for Fall and all of the fun it brings.

I used the Cozy Cabin set from TE.  TE has a fantastic line of house stamps for pretty much everyone!   I've had fun in the past coloring this little cabin, but for today I decided to paper piece it.  Eeeee!  I LOVE how it turned out.  Paper piecing is seriously one of my favorite techniques.  I created a little scene here with my cabin and had to hand cut my rolling hills, but TE now carries these awesome Build a Scene dies that you just have to check out!  There is even a mountain set!   

Stamps:  Cozy Cabin

Ink:  Memento Espresso Truffle

Paper:  August 13 TE KI Kit

Accessories:  ribbon from kit, cream twine, Labels Stacklets 3, Buttercream Liquid Pearls, Copics

If you are new to the idea of TEs Key Ingredients Kits, you really need to check them out.  I love that a fully equipped kit with paper and matching ribbon & cardstock comes to my door each month.  It's a pretty sweet deal!  Check out a peek of the kit:

Thanks for stopping in!  On Tuesday of this next week, the KI Design Team and the Baker's Dozen are teaming up to do a blog hop to show off the kit and the August Stamp of the Month!  

Baby Yourself

Hey crafty peeps!  Sorry I was gone a few days, but we are back into the swing of our daily homeschool routine.  I needed to adjust to that, so that I could set a more consistent crafting schedule.  That and my 'craft cave' is a bit of a mess from Dare to Get Dirty.  I still need to recover from that and get things cleaned up.  I'm working with a 6" x 6" craft space on my desk right, now, lol.  Who hasn't been there?!

I have a card to show that I made for the DTGD challenges over at Splitcoaststampers.  It was an inspiration photo of a little girl with the colors teal, yellow, and white.  I used this darling PTI image from MFT called Baby Yourself.

Stamps:  PTI Baby Yourself

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:  Lilibean Soup, Neenah Solar White

Accessories:  Copics & airbrush, Circle & Tags Nesties, yellow brads

I think this was my favorite card (next to my own challenge card) for the entire DTGD.  Maybe it's because I sat down and colored her. . .not sure.  I just know that I haven't just colored in a long while.  I need to remedy that.  Regardless, I have been making things and I will show you as I get more situated in this routine.  Thanks for stopping in!

Last Day of DTGD Challenges

You still have until Monday to play along in Dare to Get Dirty over at Splitcoaststampers.  I have a couple more cards to show you today :)

My first one uses a Papertrey Ink set called Life is Sweet.  I did a little hand doodling around some of the edges, and I really like the finished look of it.

 Stamps:  Life is Sweet

Ink:  SU Real Red, SU Lucky Limeade

Paper:  July 13 Simon Says Card Kit

Accessories:  yellow twill ribbon, Lilybean Soup stickers, black Copic pen, foam tape

The next card uses a previous Stamp of the Month from Taylored Expressions along with the Twiggy Branch die.

Stamps:  Simple Greetings

Ink:  SU Bravo Burgundy, Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:  blue gingham, Choice Vanilla, Basic Black

Accessories:  TE Twiggy Branch, foam tape, Black Viva Pearl Pen, corner rounder

Thanks for stopping in!  I'll have a couple more to show you tomorrow :)

Another day of DTGD

Are you playing along in the Dare to Get Dirty challenges over at Splitcoaststampers?  I hope so, because there are some amazing prizes up for grabs.  I have a couple more cards to show you today using some goodies I received from Simon Says Stamp.  It all came in the August Card Kit.

My first card is for Wanda and Tenia's challenges.

My second card is for Angela's challenge.

Stamps:  Card Exchanging Friends

Ink:  SU Pool Party, SU Certainly Celery, SU Melon Mambo, Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:  Aug Card Kit from Simon Says

Accessories:  stencil from kit, twine, Petal Pink Liquid Pearls, foam tape

I'd give more deets, but that's for Fan Club Members, so come on over and join us :D