This week I'm sharing another gift I received that I just loved & that I use every day! Demonstrators who attend Founder's Circle are invited to participate in a swap. Canadian demonstrator, Heather Summers, swapped 135 of these adorable coffee cup cozies using several Stampin' Up! products. I looked at this and thought "easy, fast, inexpensive for those people you can't afford a big gift for but who you want to know that you appreciate them" – teacher, mailman, hair stylist, neighbor, gal you work out with, front office staff of any business or service you frequent, casual friend, etc….
And, remember, you don't have to be creative to create…….. JUST COPY!
Go buy yourself a cup of joe at your favorite place that you know gives you one of the cardboard cozies. Keep the cup so you can check tightness of your cozy later. Keep cardboard cozy and gently open it up at the seam to allow it to lay flat which will create your template. Trace onto a piece of felt (brown in my sample) that is likely to be about 11" long and about 4" wide then cut out. Great chance to use scraps.
Using a blanket stitch and embroidery floss stitch around top and bottom of brown felt then stitch edges together to make it tight enough to go around coffee cup. Not sure how to blanket stitch? I found a super easy tutorial on a blog here.
Using our Hearts & Brackets Originals Die (pg. 213 of main catalog) cut out heart using contrasting felt color (red in my sample) using our Big Shot. Adhere heart to brown felt using our Crystal Effects (page 197 of main catalog) or via a hot glue gun or Aleene's tacky glue, etc… Allow to dry completely. Note how heart is leaning a little and not straight. It stands out more that way I think.
Using a button from our Holiday mini catalog Big Designer Buttons (pg. 17) stitch button onto cozy overlapping onto heart a wee bit.
Using Watercolor Paper (pg. 170) stamp the coffee cup and "perk up!" images from main catalog set Morning Cup (pg. 60) using Early Espresso ink. Color in using either markers or via our AquaPainter and a little ink squished into an ink pad lid. Take care to not color too much over the brown ink of the image so it does not bleed.
Punch stamped image using 1 1/4" Circle Large punch (pg. 203) then layer/adhere onto a piece of Early Espresso card stock then punch using 1 3/8" Circle Large punch (pg. 203). Punch tiny hole at upper left using 1/16" Circle punch (pg. 202). Insert a piece of the same embroidery floss into hole and knot so that the loop is about 1 1/2" long. Dangle this piece onto button that you sewed onto the cozy.
Slip cozy onto some warm coffee, tea or cocoa and enjoy!
Voila! Was this easy or what?
You can use any colors, any die cut images, you can cut something out free hand. You can add any embellishments you want (more buttons? our Fleurettes (pg. 188), our Paper Daisies (pg. 188), our ribbon (pg. 190-191). As long as you can comfortably hold the coffee, the sky's the limit as to how crazy you want to get with this.
For a complete list of supplies for this exact project as shown here:
- A Starbucks Grande, Decaf, 1 Splenda Latte 😉
- Coffee cozy that goes with coffee cup
Brown felt about 11" x 4"* - Red felt about 4" x 4"*
- White embroidery floss*
Hearts & Brackets Originals Die, Item# 115955 - Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Item# 113439
- Big Designer Buttons – Deck the Halls, Item# 121002
- Watercolor Paper, Item# 105109
- AquaPainter, Item# 103954
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad, Item# 119670 - Early Espresso Card Stock, Item# 119686
1 1/4" Circle Large punch, Item# 119861 - 1 3/8" Circle Large punch, Item# 119860
- 1/16" Circle punch, Item# 101227
- Crystal Effects, Item# 101055 or…
Aleene's Tacky Glue or hot glue gun* - * = easily found at craft or fabric store
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