Playing with ideas

You've all been there, I'm sure.  You want to make a card and your mind goes blank.  There are countless possibilities, especially considering all the products that surround you---but your mind remains blank.  That's when you begin to scour Pinterest for an idea, right?  Well, I usually go to the Stampin' Connection which is a "demonstrators-only" type of Pinterest.  With thousands upon thousands of samples, all using Stampin' Up! products, the place is a gold mine for ideas.

Usually I look through several pages and something in my brain "creaks" as it opens up.  I don't copy any of the samples directly but, like in cooking, a little bit of this, a dab of that and a pinch of this other thing and suddenly it all comes together in an inspiration.  I love moments like that.

Hallowe'en is one of those holidays where so many of the stamps are cutesy and/or predictable.  What if, however, we don't think about bats, monsters and pumpkins?  What if we think about something right in front of us?  I don't know about you, but I have a penchant towards take-out teas or lattes.  I often come home still nursing one of those take-out cups.  That's actually what convinced me to buy the Perfect Blend stamp set.  It was like bringing an old friend home.

What does this stamp set have to do with Hallowe'en except perhaps as a reminder that a cup of something hot might keep your fingers from freezing as you herd your own ghosts and goblins and space-creatures from door to door?  Well, I found an idea on the Stampin' Connection that I adapted and played with to make the following:

 What a difference a few scrap strips of paper can make, huh?   I had some very thin strips of Very Vanilla lying beside the paper cutter and lightly sponged the edges using my Basic Black ink.  Then I just cut and glued strips willy-nilly across the cut-out cup and, afterwards, trimmed the excess from the sides.  A couple of eyes using my small circle punches, a dab of white using my White uni-ball Signo pen for highlights, and a mummy-cup was born.  Just to make the greeting I chose relevant, I added a silver "crown" adorned with a rhinestone, and this cup thinks it is the Queen of the Nile.

My finished card is perfect for one of my fellow-take-out-cup lovers.