Crafting with a Cuppa Love

Months ago, I was looking for tea-themed Christmas stamps online and discovered a stamp company I'd never heard of before, Papertrey Ink. I bought their cute teacup-shaped Merry Mug stamps in hopes of creating tea-themed Christmas cards for a few friends, as I sometimes do, but the matching dies never became available, and I wasn't happy with the design without them, so … I continue to wait and cross my fingers that the dies will become available again. (Besides, the way the mail runs lately, I could make Christmas cards in February and mail them and nobody will know they weren't sent on time!) But then I discovered and ordered another set of Papertrey Ink products, their Cuppa Love stamps and dies, and that's what I've been experimenting with over the weekend.

One reason I find this set so intriguing is that the patterns are based on the old Fire-King and Pyrex glassware patterns. (I don't collect old Pyrex, but the heroine of my cozy mysteries most certainly does, and I couldn't help thinking that "Emma Madison" would appreciate this.) When I learned by looking on Pinterest that some crafters have stamped these designs in pink and turquoise palettes, I got even more interested. (I have a Pinterest board here if you'd like to see what others have made. I'm just getting started.)

Really, though, I bought this set because a) the stamps were on sale and b) I wanted that mug-shaped die. (Alas, I ruined a pair of Tim Holtz scissors cutting these metal dies apart. I didn't realize I should have had a pair of metal snips awaiting, and I don't own any—yet!) But I just loved the idea of making tea-mug-shaped cards, and I used some things I already had on hand to make a few trial runs. Most of the things were from Stampin' Up (the embossing folder, the small rose, the die for cutting the paper lace trim), but the larger rose (on the green card) uses a Peaceful Roses stamp from Gina K. Designs, part of a set that was a Christmas gift from my friend Kathy.

The cards open vertically (see first photo), and since I scored the white backing piece about 1/4 inch from the top before gluing these two pieces together with snail adhesive, they can even stand up. Each card fits inside a standard 4 x 5-1/2-inch envelope. I've also found a pattern for a treat box that can be constructed from card stock then glued inside two pieces of these mug cutouts, for mug-shaped treat boxes, and I imagine I'll be trying that soon as well. So that's what I was up to this weekend. What about you, friends?