International Coffee Day - Brasil Edition

 

Hello everyone!  Did you know that today is the "unofficial" holiday to celebrate one of the most popular beverages in the world?  Coffee.  Yes, today is International Coffee Day.

I was asked to represent Brasil, along with other International coffee lovers, as part of an international group of coffee-loving card-makers, and we're all over on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog.  

Did you know that  -

• coffee was initially used for religious ceremonies and rituals.
• Sultan Murad IV of the Ottoman Empire hated coffee so much that he made coffee drinking an offense punishable by death. 
• King Charles II, fearing plots hatched over cups of coffee, ordered all coffee houses shut.  

All true.  You can read more about International Coffee Day by clicking HERE. 

For my card...I wanted the card to look Brasilian...maybe with the flag or the colors on the cup?  I found a stencil of the Brasilian flag in my stash and I decided to use it.

Here is the Brasilian flag so you can see how this all came together.  The flag consists of a green rectangle, a yellow rhombus, a blue circle, a white stripe and starts, and the national motto in green - "Ordem e Progresso", which means order and progress.

Using white cardstock, I die-cut the largest of the Cozy Mugs (Memory Box/retired/but still available from Frantic Stamper at this time).  I cut the mugs 4 times and then adhered them together.  I wanted a nice heavy duty cup.  

For the flag, I used the Brasilian flag stencil to trace and cut the rectangle, rhombus, and the circle using papers from Sweet Nectar (K&Company).  

I used Versamark ink and white embossing powder for the stars in the blue piece.

I adhered the pieces together to form the flag, then I die cut it using the largest cup die and adhered it to the front of the cup. 

I found a floral bouquet digi stamp from DakhaShop on Etsy.  Bought it, printed it, die-cut it with a stitched rectangle die, and then colored it using BIC Intensity markers.  

I adhered the stitched rectangle to a piece of fun foam and them to the card front. Then the Brasilian coffee cup and Stickles (Ranger) to the flowers.

 

Then...because I never know when to stop...I found a really old die of a parrot from Bosskut.  Older than Noah's Ark!  We have a lot of parrots here so I cut the pieces needed and put it together.  Then I adhered it to the left side of the cup.

And, lastly, a sentiment.  I typed up "what's brewing?", printed it, and added it to the card front. 

Done!  I am so in love with this card.  I love how all the colors scream Brasil and was very happy to represent my new country for this blog post.  

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  Please let me know what you think of the card.  Don't forget to check out the other card-makers over on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog.  There are some great prizes to be won from Funky Fossil Designs, Gracielle Design, Jane's Doodles, Rachel Vass Designs, and from the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Blog.  

Until next time, hugs from Brasil.

~Michael