Tea and Chocolate ... Yum ...

Hello my friends ...

I mentioned earlier this week that I was busy working on creations for a couple upcoming shows.  My first show is for a group of ladies from one of our local country clubs.  This group loves everything 'vintage' so last Fall I created a few tea cups and they went like hot cakes ... needless to say I put it on the top of my list for this years Spring Show.  

The theme is Spring/Summer Brides.

I think these tea cups would be fabulous favors ... don't you?

I've also received emails regarding how these little gems are created so thought I'd share my secret!  Well ... really not much of a 'secret' since most of the work is done by this wonderful (though older) die from Sizzix called 'Tea Cup -3D' ... #656549.  To be honest, I'm not even sure if you can still purchase this die but you might be able to find it on Amazon or Ebay if it's no longer listed by Sizzix.

As you can see on the front of the die there are several pieces that cut at one time.  But of course to create the 'usable' cup, I needed to cut another panel the size of the cup portion and cut it 'in reverse' in order to have a front & back tea cup panel.  

For the saucer, of course I cut a panel from my pretty design paper, but for sturdiness, I also cut a panel using chipboard or a panel from an old cereal box.  We buy our cereal at the wholesale club so the boxes are heavier than those you buy at your typical grocery stores.

Anyways ... If you happen upon this die and have any questions, please feel free to email me (akadafney@yahoo.com) and I will help you as much as I can.

I prefer to use double sided design paper that has some weight to it so it doesn't tear as easily as some other papers do.  I went in search of and found these two beautiful K&Co spring colored, floral 12x12 paper packs that worked perfectly!!

 After die cutting and assembly was completed. Then came the fun of decorating ... which I did three different ways.  Some I decorated the tag with a bird or butterfly (something that matched in with the paper design) ... some I simply added a crochet/pearl flower and others I punched or die cut lacy panels to add to the front rim.  

 You can decorate these in so many ways!  As you can see, I die cut 'a doily' to be placed under each cup.  My 'doilies' are actually to be used as a sentiment tag/label but they worked perfectly for this project.  Those I've used this time around are Sue Wilson 'Scandinavian' Corner, Border, Tag #CED4202 (my favorite), Spellbinder 'Beautiful Locket' & 'Oval Regalia' die sets.

There is a tag that cuts out with the other pieces ... sometimes I use them, sometimes I save them and use on my cards.  This time on some I stamped the 'A Gift for You' sentiment and adhered them to the front on some of the cups along with a 'fancy button' (back shank has been cut off). 

 Since they are TEA cups, I felt a tea bag was required to be included and chose an English Breakfast Tea.  But, we all enjoy a good piece of chocolate from time to time so I decided to also include Ghiradelli  & Dove squares inside each cup.  What a treat!

Next came the packaging ...

Last year I must have had taller treat bags because I was able to pull them together at the top and add a pretty ribbon bow.  But all I found in my stash were these treat bags that are 9" tall ... which was not quite tall enough for that same process ... HENCE PLAN B!

Why not make a topper?

So, that's exactly what I did!

 

After going through some of my dies I found an oval that I thought would work perfectly.  It is actually the largest die from the Sue Wilson 'Frames & Tags' GRACE  (CED4313) set.

I placed each filled tea cup in a treat bag, folded down the top and placed a staple in the center of the (folded in half) oval.  

Of course, that was just too plain so pulled out the tray of already die cut Heartfelt Creations flowers that are actually left over from last years Adventures in Stamping demo.  

All that was required was a sponging of ink, a dab of glue and a touch of greenery.  I wanted something open and airy so chose the Memory Box 'Geneva Vine' #98595.  This is actually more of a floral vine vs leaves but I was able to cut it into smaller segments and think it works beautifully. 

Sorry this post was so long but I was hoping to satisfy all the questions that were asked about this project all at one time.  However, if you do have additional questions please don't be afraid to ask.

A few challenges I'd like to enter into today:

Memory Box Challenge #11 - Anything but a Card

Crafting for All Seasons Challenge #123 - Die Cuts/Punches

Decorate to Celebrate #30 Challenge - Anything Goes

Scrapy Land Challenge - Anything Goes + dies carried in their store

Creative Card Crew Challenge - Die Cuts

If you've made it all the way to the end of my post, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

As always . . .