Coffee, Tea and ... a little Subway Art!

Hi There!  I'm here today with some fun cards from the brand new Creative Cafe Kit called Tea for Two.

Except for the Memento Inks and a few small pieces of twine, everything else is included in the Creative Cafe Kit.  The stamp set that comes with the set is called Tea for Two & the Add-On set is called Coffee Break.  This kit includes fabulous Carte Bella pattern paper called Traditions, 4 colors of seam binding, lace, coffee scented embossing powder, wooden tags and chipboard pieces.  You'll see a little bit of everything as I share my cards this month.

Over the last several months, I've made a few cards using the Subway Art technique and lately I've had many requests to show how I do this on my cards.  I thought the latest Creative Cafe Kit would be the perfect time to do it because there are so many fabulous images in both stamp sets.  Here are the finished projects so you can visualize the final results as I show you step-by-step how I came up with my cards.  

I'll start with the Coffee Card (above right) which shows how I decided on my layout of stamps and tips for paper piecing images.  You can click on the photo below to enlarge it.

Photo #1: Trim a cream card panel 4 3/4" x 3 1/2" and select ink colors.  I chose Memento Ink ~ Rich Cocoa, Peanut Brittle, Toffee Crunch, Rhubarb Stalk and Potter's Clay.

Once my supplies were chosen, I started with the larger images in the set and started laying them out on my card panel to see how they would fit.  TIP: When stamping the images, don't use the same colors right next to each other.

Photo #2:  I started my card with the sentiment in the top left corner and then added other larger images around the card.

Photo #3: I decided that the To Go Cup & the coffee cup images really needed some extra texture, so I stamped the images on a few scraps of pattern paper from the kit and cut them out.

{click photo to enlarge}

Photo #4: After cutting out the images from the pattern paper, I added color with markers around the stamped outline and then popped up the image with 3D Foam Adhesive.  TIP: If you add an outline of the same color as your pattern paper, once the image is popped up with foam adhesive, the image won't just have a stamped edge under it & will give it a finished look.

Photo #5: The finished piece all ready to be added to a card.

As a final touch, I added some of the burnt red seam binding from the kit around the card front and tied it with a bow.

Once the bow was complete, I took one of the chipboard coffee cups from the kit and colored it with a goldish yellow marker.  Then I stamped the small trio of coffee beans on the cup and tied it with twine to the bow.   Simple as that ~ there's my Coffee Subway Art!

Next up... My Tea Subway Art Card.  This step-by-step shows a little bit more in depth how I decided on the placement of each image.  You can click on the photo below to enlarge it.

Photo #1: Trim a cream card panel 3 1/2" x 4 3/4".  I started with the largest image in the Tea for Two stamp set ~ the tea pot and stamped it in the lower right corner.  TIP: When stamping the images, don't use the same colors right next to each other.

Photo #2:  I selected my remaining ink colors.  Again I used Memento Inks ~ Rich Cocoa, Peanut Brittle, Rhubarb Stalk, Bamboo Leaves and Teal Zeal.

Photo #3: I added the stacked coffee cups from the Coffee Break set.  I colored the image after I finished stamping the card so I would have a better idea of which colors needed to be highlighted.

Photo #4: Added the "You, Me and a cup of Tea" sentiment in Bamboo Leaves Memento Ink.

Photo #5: Added the "Tea for Two" sentiment in Rhubarb Stalk Memento Ink and the solid tea cup in Peanut Brittle Memento Ink.  TIP: Don't forget to change directions when stamping.  It's more interesting to look at if you stamp images and sentiments sideways.

Photo #6: Add the "Tea Perk Up!" sentiment in Teal Zeal Memento Ink.

Photo #7: Add the heart tea cup in Rhubarb Stalk Memento Ink and the tea bag in Rich Cocoa Ink.

{click photo to enlarge} 

Photo #8: I added the solid spoon image as a filler in Peanut Brittle, Bamboo Leaves and Rich Cocoa Memento Inks.  TIP:  Save the small images for last to fill in little the blank spots.

Photo #9: I stamped the Tea Pot image on a scrap of pattern paper and trimmed it with my scissors and craft knife (for the inside of the handle).

Photo #10: Using coordinating markers, I colored the stack of cups, the large tea bag and the tea bag on the heart on the little tea bag on the tea cup.

Here are both finished pieces before attaching them to card bases.

I added my finish Subway Art to a brown card panel and then attached it to my card base.  I added some of the gold seam binding and made a half bow.

As my final touch, I attached a chipboard spoon (which I colored with a green marker) with some twine.

I hope you've found my tutorial on creating Subway Art helpful.  You can do this with any images and/or sentiment stamps ~ just have fun and take it a step at a time!

Supply List:
Creative Cafe Kit: The Rubber Cafe February 2014 Kit - Tea for Two; Cardstock; Pattern Paper; Seam Binding, Chipboard cup and spoon.
Memento Inks (listed above)
3D Foam Adhesive