Lavinia Guest Designer - Challenge #28

I was so thrilled to be chosen to be a Guest Designer this month for Lavinia World . They have a Challenge Blog with a new Anything Goes Challenge every 2 weeks.  My projects will be posted in the June 4 & 18 Challenges with links to my Meticulosity blog post. I am extremely thrilled to be working with such a fantastic company . Their stamps are whimsical and can be used to create beautiful scenes !! And their Design Team have been beyond welcoming and supportive ..

Welcome to Lavinia World Challenge #28

Dance with the fairies and Talk to the moon

Lavinia World Supplies Used :

Enchanted Dreams

Slender Mushrooms

Toadstool Miniature

Talk to the Moon

Moon

Lavinia Papers - Delight 

 VersaFine Clair Inkpad - Nocturne

• For this card, I cut a piece of the Delight paper 4 x 6 inches to fit the scene I had in my head.  I positioned the stamps on my MISTI  and that gave me an idea of the paper size I needed .
• I stamped the snail, mushrooms and toadstool images on the Delight  paper with VersaFine Nocturne ink.
• The sentiment was stamped on watercolor paper also with Nocturne ink, trimmed to size and then cut in half.
• The moon was stamped on Delight paper and paper-punched into a 1 3/8" circle. I also paper-punched 3 watercolor paper circles and adhered all of them together with the stamped circle for added thickness.
• Silver molding paste and a Tim Holtz Bubble layering stencil were used on the left side of the Delight paper to add some dimension . I added it at a diagonal from top to bottom where I knew I would be placing the moon. I also took into consideration where I would be placing the stamped images.
• Sugar Shimmer Fairy Dust Glitter was sprinkled over the molding paste for added shimmer.
• The sentiment was adhered above the snail on the upper right side.
• The moon was adhered over the stenciled area at the upper left.
• I placed black rhinestones on the tips of the snail's tentacles.
• The finished image was popped up on a navy blue cardstock card base leaving a margin on all sides.

These stamps are a dream to work with . Take a look at the projects from the Design Team over at the Challenge Blog . Get inspired and think about linking up a project of your own. You could win a $15 gift code to Lavinia World .The Challenge at the blog post is Anything Goes - you can use any clear or rubber stamp, it does not have to be Lavinia ( but no digi stamps are allowed ). You can also post a project to their Anything Lavinia Facebook page  if you use a Lavinia World product ( stamps, paper ). You have until Monday, June 15 to enter this Challenge.

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my post !!  This card  is a bit different than my usual style cards but I had fun being out of my comfort zone and stretching my creativity .. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think .. 

Until next time, 

Stay safe AND creative..

Debra Davison/ Meticulosity

Just Coffee & Some Blog Candy

This will be my third card for the  Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop and I've saved the best for last !! If you comment on this post, you could be the lucky winner of a fun Java Sok for your Iced Coffee.. I love mine and use it all the time and even got a new design recently .. I'm giving away 1 Lively Lavender Floral sleeve that will fit a Medium Dunkin, Venti Starbucks or Large McCafe. 

My card uses a freebie from the fabulous Artsyville -  Coffee Love coloring page. They are so much fun to print and color !! And the image is so large that you can make several cards  from the image by cutting it !!

• I printed the Coffee Love Coloring page on Neenah Stardust White cardstock.
• I cut a section of the coloring page - a square piece  of 3 rows across and down - leaving the decorative border on the bottom and left side of the square.
• The image was colored with a variety of my favorite markers - Brea Reese, Sharpies, Flair pens and Faber- Castell.
• I mounted the finished piece onto a white card base.
• The right edge of the front of the card was cut to leave a small strip of the inside  of the card showing .
• I placed a piece of metallic blue washi down down the right side of the inside of the card - it can be seen on the edge when the card is closed.
• I also cut another square - with the decorative edge at the top - and placed it in the inside of the card towards the bottom right side near the washi strip .

This was such a fun and easy card to make !! I hope that you like it .. Please leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win the Java Sox sleeve .If you're an iced coffee lover like I am, you will love this sleeve !! I will choose a winner randomly on Monday evening June 1. 

Than you for stopping by for another of my coffee cards .. I always have fun with the Coffee Lovers Hop and find lots of inspiration there !!

Debra Davison 

Meticulosity

May Cookies / 2020 - 2

This Challenge is #143 at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie and the inspiration photo is bright, fun and masculine. Not that tools can't be for a woman, but I'm also thinking of Father's Day coming up. So, interpret the photo in our own way and link up a project for us ..

For my card, I used a different play on tools .. My guy, Brian is an excellent chef and loves to cook on the grill. So my "tools" are for grilling - tongs and a fork !!

• I used the digi stamp BBQ Bear by Lily of the Valley Digi Shop on ETSY. The images were printed on a piece of light brown cardstock and Neenah Stardust White cardstock .
• I fussy-cut the bear pieces out of the light brown paper and adhered them to the image on the Stardust White cardstock.
• I cut the cardstock to fit on a navy A2 card base.
• I colored the image with a variety of markers - Sharpies, Faber-Castell and  Brea Reese.
• The tools were colored with a metallic TUL pen.
• I adhered 3 strips of paper that coordinated with the colors in the inspiration photo and placed them horizontally down the  right side of the card .
• A paper-punched cork heart was stapled to the upper area of the Bear using a turquoise staple. 
• The BBQ Bear image was adhered over the strips of paper on the left side of the card.

Take a moment and look at the other projects from the Design Team over at the If You Give a Crafter a Cookie BLOG . I'm excited to see what they have created !! I hope that you are all staying safe and keeping busy as we navigate these times of COVID-19.My creative motivation comes and goes. But I try to do something creative every day, even if it's just looking at a craft magazine or stamps that I haven't used yet !!

Until next time  ...

Stay Creative

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - May 2020

Well, we're still staying home here in Virginia but slowly re-opening. It's hard to believe we have been doing this since March . I wear a mask at work at the hospital and also when I have to go out. I'm playing it safe and so is Brian, but I see many who haven't gotten the mask/social distance message. I've had lots of time at home to read, relax on the deck and get creative. My creative mojo comes and goes, but I enjoyed making  the cards for this month . I hope that you enjoy them too !! For this month's post,  we have another Crafty Elf joining us - Amy Tsuruta is an amazing papercrafter and the  host of the amazing Coffee Loving Papercrafters page on Facebook . She is also a creator of the Coffee Lovers Hops, one of which is going on right now  ( May 22-29 ) . So of course, I had to include a hot cocoa card in May's line-up !!

I decided to use bright green card bases for all of my cards this time. Sometimes I spend lots of time figuring out what color /pattern of card base to use. So this time I made it easy on myself and chose one color. I also used my favorite Versafine Clair Nocturne ink to stamp all the images. 

Stamp ; Gretta by Lindsay Ostrom for Impression Obsession

Ephemera Sentiment ; Crate Paper

Stamps : Snowman by Rubber Moon

Joyous Christmas by Rubber Moon

This stamp is retired but they have many more fabulous snowman stamps

Stamps : Christmas Cookie stamp set with matching dies by Stampendous
This card will also be linked up at the current Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop

Stamps: Holiday Cookies by Fun Stampers Journey
For the cookie jar card, I stamped, colored and fussy-cut all of the cookies.

No long detailed instruction lists again this time.  The images were colored with a variety of my favorite markers - Stabilo, Faber-Castell, Sharpies and Pilot pens. I then just chose some coordinating washi, patterned paper, ephemera and sequins to complete these cards. And I realize that I have 5 cards this time but the last 2 just went together so well that I posted both !! Take some time now to look at the other Crafty Elf projects -- I'm excited to see them also. And a big thank-you to Amy for putting on an elf hat and joining us for this month's countdown !!

Amy Tsuruta - Tsuruta Designs

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZ Scrapper

Jessica Pickeral - Polka Dot Orchard Blog

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee and cards with Deb & Celeste / May 2020

This has to be one of my favorite times of the year and a favorite theme for both me and Celeste !! It's the 2020 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop, which runs from May 22 through May 29. There are fabulous sponsors with amazing prizes and so many great projects to look at. It was a no-brainer to have Coffee as our theme for this month !!

I decided to use a fun free digi for my card. The "Stay Home" digi set from 7 Kids Crafts has the cutest designs and I couldn't wait to print it and color.

Keep Life Simple

• I printed the image of the girl at the desk on Neenah Stardust White cardstock and trimmed it to fit on the front of my sage green card base.
• The image was colored with my favorite markers - Stabilo, Faber-Castell & Sharpie - and then adhered to the card base.
• The bow in her hair had highlights added with a Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush .
• I adhered a strip of red-checked washi at the bottom of the stamped image and a multi-patterned strip across the top of the card.
• I placed a Tim Holtz Small Talk sticker above the computer on the stamped image.
• The coffee cup sticker is from a set of Coffee Girl Planner Stickers from DL Art .

I'm drinking an Iced Salted Caramel Latte today and it's in my new Color-Changing cup from Starbucks. I could NOT resist this set of cold cups - I was lucky enough to find them in the Starbucks at our local Target .

I'm sure that Celeste has an amazing card over at her blog - Crafting Junky . Take a look at what she's created. We would love for you to sign up to follow us if you haven't already.  And be sure to take a look at the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop - you will be amazed at all of the inspiration you will find there !! You might even decide to link up a project of your own.. Thank you for taking the time to visit Meticulosity ...

Until next time ,

Stay Creative..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

May Cookies / 2020 - 1

Challenge #142 at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie gave me the opportunity to use a fun stamp set that I have had for awhile but hadn't inked up yet .. The inspiration photo is whimsical and sweet. But I somehow managed to make a card that is a bit snarky AND involves coffee !!

I used the Rabbit Hole Designs  Caffeinated - Unicorn stamp set for  my card. They have a whole line of animal/coffee stamps and matching dies. Another favorite of mine is the Caffeinated - Reindeer , which I'm sure you will be seeing in a future blog post !!

 Caffeine Makes Me Sparkle

• I stamped the unicorn on Strathmore 400 Series Watercolor Paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink .
• The sentiment was stamped on a journal card with Peacock Feathers Distress Ink  and then trimmed to fit on the side of the stamped unicorn.
• I used Spectrum Noir Aqua Blend Watercolor Pencils and TUL Metallic Gel Pens to color the image.
• On a tan card base, I adhered 2 pieces of coordinating coffee-themed papers from a fabulous Craft Smart paper pad Brewtiful Day - found at Michaels .
• I adhered the unicorn on top of the patterned papers.
• The sentiment was popped up on the side of the unicorn image with foam tabs.
• It's hard to see but I added sparkle with a Wink of Stella Glitter Brush - clear .
• I  CASEed this card from one made by Cristena of Copictopia on IG -- you can check out her card HERE on her IG page. Thanks, Cristena - I have been thinking about making this card ever since I saw yours !!

 This challenge runs through May 27 .. I'd love for you to link up a project of your own in the next 2 weeks.  You can look at the projects by some other Design Team members HERE . I hope that you all are doing well with this pandemic we are dealing with . I'm trying to stay busy and limit my online shopping !! Please take care and stay safe.. 

Until next time...

Stay Creative..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

April Cookies / 2020 - 3

The latest Challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie is all about droids, wookies and princesses. I know everything about those because my guy is a bit of a Star Wars fan !! We hope that you will link up a project of your own for Challenge #141 - you have through May 13 to show us that the Force is with you !!

I'm a Star Wars fan too but also a fan of the late Carrie Fisher. So for my project, I chose to make a card with the image of Princess Leia. And I used a digi stamp set  from one of my favorite companies - Vera Lane Studio .The set also comes with a Yoda image and a second sentiment.  This card has my guy's seal of approval. I did honor his one request -- NO GLITTER !!!

• I adhered a piece of galaxy-patterned paper to a white card base.
• I printed the Leia design on a piece of Neenah Stardust White cardstock and fussy-cut the image.
• The sentiment was printed on a piece of blue-green paper and trimmed to fit next to Leia.
• Princess Leis was colored  with a variety of my favorite markers -  Staedtler, Faber-Castell  and Akashiya Sai .
• I adhered the Princes towards the left side of the card and then the sentiment next to her towards the bottom of the card. 
• Two sequins wee placed in the center of the 2 stars on the patterned paper.

Well, I hope that you like my project, whether you are a Star Wars fan or not. We will definitely be celebrating on May 4th with a Star Wars marathon - May 4th = May the Force Be With You ..  I'd love to see you link up a project in the next 2 weeks for this challenge. Also take a look at the other projects by my teammates over at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie .

Due to COVID-19, we are still staying home here in Virginia and I'm still working full time as a nurse. I'm not in direct patient care but I do work in the Telemetry Department  of my hospital remotely monitoring patients. I am hoping we have seen the worst of COVID-19 and continue to improve in our numbers so that we can soon lift  some restrictions. How are you doing these days ?? Are you more creative or more distracted ?? I really do alternate between both. But I knew I couldn't pass up this Star Wars theme..

Please take care and stay safe wherever you are.

Until next time, stay creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity