A Whole Latte Love!

As usual, I'm late for this post, but I wanted to make sure that all the recipients got their cards before I gave anything away.  

I often bemoan the fact that I don't have enough people to give cards to.  I exhaust family and friends' birthdays, graduations, holidays, thank you's... etc. etc. etc., and I still have creativity overflowing to the point  of my forcing cards on family and friends to give to their family and friends - which was the case this past Valentine's Day.  

Although I, sadly, did not have a special someone on whom to bestow one of the most considered and carefully-made cards of the year, I made some for friends so that they could give them to the ones they cherish.  

The inspiration for this card came from a friend who loves coffee with whom I often shared a cuppa joe in the mornings in my spacious, sunny apartment.

The inside of the card (which I forgot to take a picture of) was stamped with the "A Whole Latte Love!" stamp from the below rubber stamp set.

I used the Stampin' Up set below called Treat Yourself.  I love this set because you can make so many different things with it such as popcorn containers, cupcakes, beer mugs, etc.  One Valentine's Day in years past, I made a cute candy dispenser card (see third card down in the link) using stamps from this set.

To make the two mugs of lattes, I used the below three stamps.  I thought it was a nice touch to use the popcorn kernel stamp as the froth foaming out of the tops of the mugs.  Afraid that someone might mistake the frothy mugs as beer mugs, I added little red stirrers.  : )

For the steam curling up from the mugs, I used a technique called "quilling".  Put simply, quilling (or paper filigree) is an art form popular in the 18th century involving creatively rolling strips of paper into decorative shapes.  I cut regular printing paper into two narrow strips and folded each of them up into even narrower strips of about 0.5 centimeters wide, and rolled them into opposite halves of a heart.

Come February 14 next year, I am optimistic that I will have someone in my life to bequeath a special card to!  : D