A Petit Collection

I have started a small collection for The Coffee Cup . . . brown Thermoses.  They are small, easily displayed, and go well with my java-themed Scotty.  Luckily, the ones I've found so far have been pretty cheap.  I have no idea how many brown-colored ones are out there, but so far, I've found five.  

I think the reason they are kinda cheap is that at some point in time, they got separated from their lunch boxes and that dropped their value considerably.  Good news for me, I'd say!  The weekend is approaching and I hope there's a camping trip in your future.  At the very least, I hope there's a good cup of coffee in your plans. Have a great weekend and always remember . . . 

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"

Ready For The Next Picnic

I have a love/hate relationship with Walmart.  I hate that 99% of the merchandise comes from China, but I love the fact that I can find bargains there.  See what I mean?  I'm sure some of you share my quandary.

Several weeks ago we were in Wally World for a few items when I spied a display of tablecloths on sale for $4.00.  Big, long, vinyl tablecloths with cloth backs just perfect for campground picnic tables!

In looking through the pile, guess what I found?  Yep, a coffee-themed one.  A good glamper has only one choice in a situation like that . . . throw it in the cart and head to the check-out!

I spread it out on the patio table last evening to get a good look at it and it's going to rock The Cup . . . 

Even though it looks like it's round, it's actually very long and will be a perfect fit!  So now I'm ready for the next Java Journey so I can actually use it!  Have a great week all you campers and glampers and always remember . . . 

"Camping, Coffee & Super Cool Tablecloths . . . 

Life Is Good!"

Rainy Day Sewing

Greetings everyone from a very rainy, stormy, sunny, humid, soggy, steamy day after the Fourth!  Those of you here in the Carolinas understand exactly what I'm talking about and how we have been experiencing all of these weather conditions hour after hour, day after day since last weekend.

I was just about to walk out the door to head to C.O.R.E. Fitness this morning when the bottom fell out yet again!  So I turned right around and headed into the studio to finish a pillow project I've been working on for The Cup.

If you enjoy making pillows but need some inspiration from time to time, let me recommend a good book to you . . . 

While thumbing through the book in the fabric store, I saw several pillows that would be fun to make using my Coffee Cup fabric scraps.  The directions were easy to follow and here's the one I chose to work on first . . . 

  

Using leftover fabric from my curtains and cozies, plus some other patterns I had on hand, here's what the pillow top looked like after stitching the pieces together according to directions . . . 

So while it was pouring down rain outside, I took a seat at the sewing machine and finished this project.  The finished size is 18 x 18 and I think it looks pretty sweet sitting among all the other pillows on the bed!

I already have another pillow picked out to start work on and since our weather pattern doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon, it looks like a second java-themed project will commence shortly.

Have a good weekend everyone, stay high and dry if you are here in the South and remember . . . 

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"

Happy Fourth of July

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Since The Coffee Cup doesn't look very patriotic, I've snitched a photo from Facebook to share with you that fits today's celebrations perfectly.

This is a painting by Paige Bridges entitled "Vintage Patriot" and features a Holiday Rambler.  Paige will be featuring this sweet old red, white, and blue gal in her new 2014 Vintage Travels Calendar!

Happy 4th of July to all my camper and glamper buddies and always remember . . .

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"

Sweet Java Bunting

A couple weeks ago sister Becky brought me a sale flyer from Hancock Fabrics out of her newspaper.  Always on the lookout for coffee fabric at a bargain price, we struck out to see what they had in stock.  On the sale table was a big bolt of oilcloth that looked exactly like burlap coffee bean bags!  I calculated that I could get by with just a yard since it was so wide.  Using my 40% discount coupon, it totaled less than five bucks!

Since I found a cappuccino-themed picnic tablecloth at Walmart in early June on sale for $4, I knew this purchase would be used to make bunting for The Cup.  Some call it bunting and others call it a pennant . . . I call it easy to make and super cute!

I found a free fabric bunting pattern online from chickabug (a cute blog I thought you might like a link to), downloaded and printed it out to use as my template for the pennants.  I decided to go with the largest size at 7.75 inches.

With rotary cutter, mat, template, straight edge, and oilcloth ready, I set about cutting out 40 different pennants.  I know that I wasted some fabric, but I wanted to make sure that I captured the best aspects of the oilcloth pattern.

In no time flat, I had a stack of 40 ready for the next step in the process.  I went back to Hancock Fabrics on Saturday to find just the right ribbon to act as my binding strip.  In hindsight, I should have gotten something wider, but I went for price and color first.  Each $1.29 roll had 9 feet and I knew that would be a good length to attach to my awning.

At that point I needed help from the resident math expert, so I called on Wendy for my calculations as to where to place nine pennants along the 9 foot run and still have room on the ends to tie it off.

My next step was to fold the ribbon in half, iron it flat, and start sewing!  Wendy's measurements were spot on and in less than an hour, I had three finished pennants.  Since I don't have the awning put out, I simply strung one strand from the front window of The Cup to show you how they turned out.

With three strands of bunting looking like real burlap coffee bean bags, I cannot wait to glamp out The Cup by hanging them all the way around my awning next time I'm out camping!  

Thanks for coming 'round today and remember . . . 

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"

The Cup's First Collage

Evenin' everyone!  Not long after getting home from our maiden Java Journey together, I created The Cup's very first camping collage.  I've been doing these fun remembrances with SplashT@B since our first trip way back in 2007.  It's only fitting that I make them for The Coffee Cup too!  A click on the collage will enlarge it for you to see it a bit better.

Here's to all my camping buddies from Rob's R-Pod & Friends Rally!  Have a great 4th of July holiday and remember . . . 

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"

Coffee Cup Thank You Notes

Being in an artsy-fartsy mood lately and having a need for some thank you cards, I spent the afternoon in my studio creating some coffee-themed cards.  I really didn't have a design in mind when I started, but one came together quickly once I got several sheets of plain and patterned scrapbooking paper pulled from my stash.

Several years before there was even a daydream of a vintage trailer, I was making an altered book with a coffee theme. Because of that, I had all the right colors of paper, lots of rubber stamps, and even a bunch of stamps I designed and carved myself. 

PUNCHED PAPER, MESSAGES & ACCENT STRIPS READY

ACCENT STRIPS AND ENVELOPES READY

FOUR NEAT RUBBER COFFEE STAMPS

ANOTHER TRIO OF RUBBER STAMPS 

COFFEE-THEMED STAMPS IN MY COLLECTION

2002 STAMPIN' UP SET

Rubber stamps can be pricy, so I decided at some point to make my own and it wasn't as difficult as you might imagine.  I made a dozen or so and they turned out quite well I think.

THREE COFFEE CUP DESIGNS

COFFEE AND TWO MUGS

After about an hour of stamping messages, punching out shapes, cutting paper stock, and taping everything together, I now have a supply of thank you notes ready to pop in the mail!

FOUR NICE NOTE CARDS

FOUR MORE IN MY SUPPLY

Thanks a latte for dropping by again today to share a bit of my Java Journey and remember . . . 

"Camping and Coffee . . . Life Is Good!"