Inspired by Challenge

I'm coming in close to the wire on this one but I always try to make time to play along with Laurel at  the Inspired By Challenge Blog.  The challenge this time around is Hot Chocolate.

This certainly looks yummy!

Because I'm a Florida girl (and most of my cards go to my local friends) I decided to go with the color scheme which just happens to be one of my favorites.  You can't go wrong with black, red and cream (or white for that matter).  I dug in to my stash and came up with this....

Center stage is a coffee cup die exclusive to Simon Says Stamp which I paired with a sentiment from an exclusive Ellen Hutson stamp set called Totally Random Sayings.  (See how I got both of my favorite online stores into one focal point?)  The postage card die is from Avery Elle and that awesome sweater background is from the Ink Blot Shop.  (I certainly don't wear cable knit sweaters here but I LOVED this stamp.)  Here's a closer look....

To create the texture I stamped the background image onto Rustic White card stock from PaperTrey Ink usingVersamark ink and then heat set it with clear embossing powder.  It came out so pretty!  The striped paper is from an MFT Stamps paper pack and the hearts were cut from an old Martha Stewart punch.  I added a thick layer of Nuvo Crystal Glaze over the hearts to create the shine.

I had a lot of fun creating this and my version is ready to send to any of my Florida friends.  

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules