die cuts - Right as Rain

Brewing Creativity | Celebrating Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa

Hello! Today, I am exploring the hot beverage theme–coffee, tea, and cocoa (hot chocolate)–on handmade cards. Beyond visual appeal, the theme embodies comfort, connection, and contemplation.

I am always on the lookout for new stamp and die sets with this theme, and a quick glance at several online retailers tells me that products featuring coffee, tea, and cocoa remain extremely popular. In fact, there are several challenge blogs focused on the coffee theme. Over the years, I have collected both stamp and die sets relating to coffee, tea, and coffee. Occasionally, I have bought coordinating sets where the sentiments coordinated with the mug or cup die set. More often, I have mixed and matched from my collection.

Throughout this post, I’ll be using cards from my blog archive as examples. Click on the card image to be taken to the original post. While the specific products used on these cards may no longer be available, the focus is on how the theme is represented on the card with a variety of holidays and occasions included. Note: As I updated information and links on the original posts, I also checked to see which retailers carried the older sets. Frantic Stamper, offering fantastic customer service, has a number of the older and retired items in stock.

Many of my hot beverage cards have been created for Christmas and winter featuring mugs of cocoa. Cocoa mugs often have festive and whimsical designs such as snowflakes. As a child, I drank cocoa in a Santa mug, brought out at Christmas.

You can use the same die to cut a mirror version of a mug for die sets that contain only one mug. Additionally, I have mixed and matched elements from similarly sized sets to decorate the mugs. In the card below, I used a Penny Black mug set with additional elements from a CottageCutz set. Like the card above, this one features a subway-style background that also serves as the sentiment.

The sizes of cup and mug dies vary considerably. The Elizabeth Craft Designs Warm Winter Mug set includes one of the largest mugs I have found.

Depicting a seasonal hot beverage in a holiday-themed, to-go cup blends the idea of tradition (the annual Starbucks holiday cup design) and indulgence.

Reinforce the appeal of a hot beverage in cold weather by including a hat and mittens with the cup on a friendship card.

A pair of to-go cups and coordinating sentiment creates an invitation to a coffee date.

A kitchen countertop scene showing a classic coffee maker and cups, paired with a punny sentiment, makes for a timeless friendship card.

Spotlight the coffee making equipment, as in the card below that shows a Keurig machine paired with a punny sentiment.

Create a friendship card depicting friends getting together in a cafe for coffee.

Send holiday greetings on a card showing a camper café, like something straight from a Hallmark movie.

An anthropomorphized to-go coffee cup in a snowbank makes for a whimsical Valentine.

Snowflakes are included in the abstract scene below to show the appeal of a hot pot of tea in the winter months.

Tea is often associated with comfort, as in the card below, which shows a teapot with hearts coming out like steam, paired with a message of support.

Many card designs show cup (and mug) dies stacked, as in the seasonless friendship card below, which also includes an anthropomorphized cup.

Are you drawn to this theme? If so, what are some of your favorite products with this theme? Do you have products on your “to buy” list with this theme?

As I went through my blog archive for this post, I noticed that I often choose red cardstock for the coffee- and cocoa-themed cards, largely because I am most likely to craft the hot beverage theme during the winter and often include red on wintertime cards. I also noticed that I have never created a card featuring cold beverages, such as Frappuccinos or iced tea. I haven’t decided whether that is something I will craft in the future or not, probably because we are moving into the winter season.

Spellbinders | Snowman’s Winter Wonderland

Hello! Beyond the confines of the snow globe, I’ve ventured into the winter wonderland using the very same dies from the Spellbinders Simon’s Snow Globe and Snowman Scene sets as I did on this card. These versatile dies allowed me to create a captivating winter scene without the globe.

Create A2-size card base from Brushed Gold cardstock.
Cut Cosmic Sky cardstock panel to 3.625″ x 4.875″ with die in the A-2 Matting Basics A set and dry-emboss with the Stargazer folder.
Stamp Snowdrift cardstock in black with sentiment in the Santa’s Sippin’ Sayings set. Cut using the 3.625″ x 4.875″ die on the bottom and sides and a snowbank die in the Snowman Scene set on the top. Use the other snowbank die in the same set to cut another snowbank in the same way. Use a snowbank die in the Simon’s Snow Globe set to cut the third snowbank. Add snowbanks to dry-embossed panel. Add panel to card base.
Cut snowman and trees with dies in the Snowman Scene set. I dabbed glue on to the small trees and added dry glitter. Add trees and snowman to card front.

Penny Black | Whimsical Halloween Delight

Hello! A playful hedgehog, a spooky tree, and a “Boo” sentiment create a whimsical scene on this Halloween card showcasing Penny Black stamp and die sets. The scene embodies the spirit of Halloween and emphasizes the creativity found in older crafting sets. Several of these products were introduced in 2020 as part of the Autumn Extraordinaire Collection. I previously used the Windy die set on Halloween cards HERE and HERE. Other products used on the card have been in my collection even longer.

- As I mentioned HERE in my post on stamped backgrounds, background stamps can be stamped with colored ink on to inked backgrounds. For this card, the inked background was created with Wilted Violet and Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink colors (sky section), and the Dots in Space background stamp was stamped with Wilted Violet Distress ink (not Oxide). I lightly stamped the background on to scrap paper, before stamping on to the inked background, so that the amount of ink stamped would be more subtle. The ground was masked when I inked the sky and stamped the dots. I inked the ground and then cut the panel with a stitched A2-size die, and attached it to a card base.
- Stamp Candy Kisses in Versafine on Arches Cold Press watercolor paper and heat set. Color the images with watercoloring mediums of choice. I used mini Distress Inks in the following colors: Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, Crackling Campfire, Squeezed Lemonade, Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry, Saltwater Taffy, Peacock Feathers, and Scattered Straw. Once dry, cut the image with the die in the coordinating set. (Check out my “Resources for Watercoloring Stamped Images” HERE.)
- With the Windy die set, cut the tree from cardstock on which Distress Oxide inks have been applied. Assemble.
- Cut the “Boo” sentiment with a die in the eeek! set from cardstock on which Distress Oxide inks have been applied. Cut again from black foam for depth. Adhere the two and attach to the card.
- Add tree to the card with dot adhesive and the hedgehog with foam adhesive.

Spellbinders | Festive Christmas Ornaments

Hello! Today, I am delighted to share a whimsical and festive holiday card featuring new die sets and stamp set from the Merry Mugs & Circle Delights Collection at Spellbinders by Nichol Spohr. Adorned with three charming ornaments, including a jolly Santa Claus, this slimline card is sure to bring a smile to its recipient’s face.

Cut slimline panel, 3 1/2″ x 8 1/2″, from Waterfall cardstock. Dry emboss with the Peppermint Stripes folder and add to card base.
With the Festive Ornaments set, cut three ornament bases from Fern, blush, and Pomegranate cardstock. With the same set, cut ornament holders from Brushed Gold and Brushed Silver.
Cut decorative items for the ornaments on the left and right. Heat-emboss in white the Santa’s Sippin’ Sayings sentiment on the Pomegranate ornament. Add decorative items.
Cut Santa elements with dies in the coordinating Santa’s Festive Circle Crew set. Adhere to flesh cardstock ornament.
Add ornaments to card base with foam adhesive, doubling for the Santa ornament in the center.

Spellbinders | Holiday Snow Globe

Hello! Today, I am showcasing die sets in the Simon’s Snow Globes Collection by Simon Hurley at Spellbinders. The holiday card captures the depth of a three-dimensional snow globe scene within the confines of a two-dimensional space. Inside the globe, a charming snowman stands in front of a row of charming houses while Santa and his sleigh fly overhead.

For the background, cut an A2-size piece of patterned paper and attach to a card base.
Next, create the snow globe. With the Simon’s Snow Globe die set, cut snow globe pieces – glass and base – from Sea Glass and Brushed Gold. Use the sentiment die in the Snowman Scene set to cut “Let It Snow” from Snowdrift and Brushed Silver cardstock.
Cut Santa and reindeer, trees, and village from cardstock with dies in Simon’s Snow Globe set. Cut the village two more times with white glitter foam. Set one aside; this one goes in the back and helps create depth. With the other village section, to create the front snowbank, cut off the houses from the top then cut the bottom with the globe circle. Back the windows of the silver village section with Beeswax cardstock to simulate light. Attach the silver village section to the intact white glitter foam section. Adhere the trimmed snowbank to the front. Add assembly to the light-blue globe.
With the Snowman Scene set, cut the snowman pieces. Assemble.
Adhere Santa and reindeer above the snow globe assembly. Add snowman to scene, tucking the bottom of the snowman into the snowbank. Add globe base. Optionally, for a more finished look in the back, cut an additional globe base and slide in the back.

Save up to 40% on select Spellbinders dies, now through October 13.