Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / October 2021

In a few short months, the holidays will be here .. And I will be so glad that I have been making holiday cards all year long !! Have you started yours ?? Michael, Lisa and I have been posting every month on the 25th as we've created a holiday card each week throughout the year .. This month we have a Guest Elf and I'm sure she has some fabulous cards to share with us .. Terri Albro Burson is a talented papercrafter, mixed-media artist and designer . We met through our love of paper back in 2014 when I was chosen to be on the Design Team ( my first ) of Mountain Plains Crafters. Terri and a few friends had created an online community and I was lucky enough to become a part of it . She has worked with many amazing companies, most recently as a 2021 Guest Artist for Ranger Ink . I'm sure that she is just as thrilled to be joining us as a Crafty Elf this month !!

My first card features the cutest Christmas Bird stamp from Impression Obsession  . It was on clearance a few months ago, but they have tons of other fabulous stamps for you to choose from .  This stamp was designed by my friend Lindsay Ostrom.

• I stamped Christmas Bird on Strathmore Mixed Media Paper with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink .
• A square scalloped-edge die was used to die-cut the bird image for the card front.
• I colored the bird image with my COPICS, Sharpies & Flair pens.
• A piece of Tim Holtz Christmas washi tape was placed across the center of a piece of green musical notes patterned paper from a Craft Smart "Classic Vintage" paper pad.
• The musical notes panel was adhered to a Kraft card base.
• I popped up the completed bird die-cut with foam tabs for some added dimension .

My next 3 cards were made with the Elfmas Volumes 1 & 2 stamp sets from Ink Road Stamps .It's no secret that Elf is one of my favorite movies and I couldn't wait to ink up these stamps !! I think I know each and every line from the movie word for word. My guy, Brian even got an ELF costume one year during the holidays and came to the hospital where I work to surprise me when I was the ICU Manager . We walked around the different floors and sang Christmas carols with some of the staff and patients !!  A great Christmas memory ..  

• I stamped ELF  on the left side of a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper  with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and the sentiment on the right side with Memento Lady Bug & Bamboo Leaves. I masked the sentiment on the diagonal to get the color blend exactly right . And I love how it turned out .
• I found a scrap of paper that reminded me of Gingerbread houses & their icing and cut a strip to fit down the left side of a Kraft card base.
• The completed stamped panel was adhered next to the patterned strip.

• I stamped ELF in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and the sentiment below that with Memento Lady Bug ink  on Strathmore Mixed Media paper.
• I placed a strip of red snowflake washi in between ELF and the sentiment.
• The stamped panel was adhered to a red cardstock mat .
• A beautiful floral card base was a pretty touch for this card .

• I stamped the 4 Main Food Groups sentiment onto a piece of Mixed Media paper with Tuxedo Black ink.
• I colored the image with my COPICS.
• The stamped image was matted on a piece of red cardstock.
• I adhered a piece of scrap glittery gumdrop paper to a bright blue card base.
• The completed stamped panel was then popped up onto the gumdrops with Foam tabs. I love how bright and colorful this card is !!

Please take a look at the other Crafty Elf cards over at their blog posts for much more holiday inspiration. And don't miss what our Guest Elf has created for us, because I'm sure it is fantastic !! A big Thank-You to Terri for joining us this month ..

Terri Albro Burson - Waving My Wand

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds-Bzibziak - Life of a BZ Scrapper

We are quickly winding down to the holidays .. Have you started your cards yet ?? Leave me a message about the status of your holiday card-making and you could be the lucky person chosen at random to get some Happy Mail from me . I will send you some supplies to use on your holiday cards.. 

For some extra added fun with holiday cards, you can check out the Blog Hop sponsored by the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers group  . Get inspiration, link up a card of your own and you just might win a prize from some great sponsors !!

Falling for the Holidays 2021 {BYSHC} Hop!

Until next time -

Stay safe and always stay creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / October 2021

It is finally almost sweater weather here in Virginia Beach. Well, except for a few days with temperatures still in the 80's !! It does cool off at night though and one morning as I was heading in to work, it was 59 degrees !! Our theme for this month is Halloween and hopefully after last year's cancellation, we will again have trick or treaters ..

For my card today, I used Remi Girl designed by Angie Blom for Unity Stamp Company.  All of the papers are from a fabulous DCWV paper pad - Halloween Town   This pad has the cutest designs of Halloween candy, black cats, trick-or-treaters and pumpkins - just to name a few.  I actually CASEed this card design from a fellow Unity stamper - Jeannie Thomas .. I told her I absolutely loved her card and couldn't wait to play with the design !! I used some non-traditional colors and hope that everyone likes it as much as I do, especially Jeannie !!

• I stamped Remi Girl on Strathmore Watercolor Paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• The image was colored with my COPICS and Flair pens.
• I also stamped the skirt portion of Remi on a piece of Halloween candy patterned paper and fussy-cut it. It was then adhered onto the stamped panel after the coloring was finished .
• A piece of gray checked paper was adhered to a Kraft card base.
• Strips of patterned paper from Halloween Town were cut and adhered at a diagonal on the right bottom area of the gray panel.  This is a great way to use your paper if you don't have washi that goes with your  card . Any paper can be cut into strips and adhered like washi tape !!
• A strip of polka-dot washi was placed down the left side of the gray panel.
• The completed stamped panel was adhered next to the strip of washi .
• Three turquoise dots were placed at the top right of the gray panel.
• "Hocus Pocus" from a Halloween stamp set made for Michaels was stamped inside the newspaper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .

This was a fun card for me to make because I love Remi Girl so much !! She can be used for absolutely any occasion and I know that she will stay on my desk to be used frequently .. I'm sure that Celeste has created something fun for our Halloween theme so take a look at her post over at Crafting Junky . I'm drinking the best Pecan Praline coffee today from a new mug I found at Kohl's online. Isn't it the perfect Autumn mug ?!?!?!?! What have you been drinking lately while you are getting crafty ?? 

Enjoy the Fall weather whoever you are . 

And until next month, Stay Creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

The Four Seasons Challenge / October Guest Designer

I'm very excited to be the Guest Designer this month for the new Four Seasons Challenge Blog Last month was their first Challenge and they had 127 projects linked up . Isn't that amazing ?!?!?! I hope that you will take a look at their page and the rules HERE,  and create something of your own for this  October Challenge !! For Fall, there is a fantastic Mood Board to inspire you ..

 Four Seasons Challenge Blog

I have had this beautiful stamp from Unity Stamp Company for awhile and it immediately came to mind when I was asked to be this month's Challenge Guest Designer.  Specially Warm comes with 2 sentiments and a fabulous image . I know I will be making several cards with this set !!

• I stamped the Specially Warm image on watercolor paper with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam Ink and the sentiment with Ranger Archival Ink "Potting Soil" .
• The image was colored with my COPICS & Flair pens.
• I adhered the trimmed stamped panel to a piece of brown glitter paper, leaving a small edge of glitter showing around the panel.
• The completed panel was adhered to a piece of Fall-patterned paper that I had in my scrap drawer. It's so nice to be able to find just what I need in there !!
• 3 strips of coordinating washi from the Happy Fall & Give Thanks collections from American Crafts were placed in the upper left corner of the stamped panel and secured with tiny staples.
• The entire completed panel was adhered to a brown cardstock card base.

I absolutely LOVE this stamp and have already started to color a few more images for cards . I hope that you will go to the Four Seasons Challenge Blog and look at all the inspiration there !! AND even think of linking up something of your own. Make yourself a Pumpkin Spice Latte, pull out your Fall stamps and get creative !! A big thank-you to Darlene Pavlick and her Team for inviting me to join them this month.

Debra Davison /  Meticulosity

 

 

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / September 2021

It's time for the September edition of Crafty Elves And today it is finally cooler here. I actually put a sweater on this morning to run to the store !! Of course, this afternoon it is fairly warm again but I am not complaining .. Are you enjoying some cooler temps where you are ??? Pretty soon I will be turning on the Christmas music while I make my cards . Do you do that  ?? Have you been working on your holiday cards along with us ??

My first card just started as a quick idea when I spotted the stamp on my shelf one day. The Flight of Fancy stamp by Printworks Collection is an older wood-mounted staamp that I have had for years . The snowman reminded me of the letter "O" and I came up with the idea to use letters to form a holiday word.

• I stamped the snowman with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam Ink onto a piece of scrap paper that had that cute border already at the top. I had already lined up the letters so I could be sure they fit on the panel. 
• Cosmo Cricket "Jolly by Golly" adhesive chipboard letters were placed on the panel to spell out the word "NOEL".  I placed 2 peppermint dots at the end, mainly because I had leftover space ..
• The snowman was colored with Flair pens.
• I placed a strip of thin green checked washi above the snowman image .
• A piece of snowy glitter washi was adhered across the bottom of the stamped panel and then a piece of red scalloped washi was placed along the bottom of the word "NOEL".

For my other cards, I used the cutest set from Close To My Heart - Winter Penguins .These images are so easy to fussy-cut and color.  My plan was to make 1 card with this set but I ended up making 4 !!

• I again used Gina K Jet Black Amalgam Ink for my remaining cards . The Sweater Penguin was fussy-cut and then colored with my Copics. 
• The sentiment was stamped near the top of a piece of snowflake patterned paper from the Craft Smith "Gingerbread Cottage" paper pad.
• The penguin was adhered below the sentiment with foam tabs.
• I adhered a piece of blue glitter paper onto a white card base at an angle.
• The completed penguin panel was adhered on top of the glitter paper.

• I folded a piece of snowflake patterned paper from the Craft Smith "Shimmer Noel" paper pad to make a mini slimline card. It already had the Merry and Bright wording and the snowflakes on it. I used a 6x6 paper pad and it creates  a perfect 6x3 mini slimline when folded. 
• The sentiment was stamped near the top of the card base. I colored the letters with a Flair pen. 
• The Skating Penguin was fussy-cut and colored and then adhered above the sentiment with foam tabs.
• I placed a strip of the red scalloped washi above the sentiment.
• I love slimline cards but tend to be intimidated by a full size slimline. The minis are just the right size for my creative mind. 

• I fussy-cut and colored the Penguin  with Present and adhered it to the right side of a piece of silver striped glitter paper from the Shimmer Noel paper pad.  The penguin was popped up with  foam tabs . The paper was cut to fit on a mini slimline card base.
• The sentiment was stamped on a tag from the Gingerbread Cottage pad and colored with Flair pens.
• I adhered the sentiment on the left side of the silver glitter panel.
• The completed panel was adhered to a green mini-slimline card base.

• I got carried away with these penguins and even made a 5th card . And I think this last one is my favorite !! I fussy-cut and colored the Penguin with Glasses.
• I adhered the penguin at the top of a snowflake -patterned panel with foam tabs after stamping the sentiment onto the panel.
• At the bottom of the panel, I adhered a wide strip of glitter washi that is patterned to look like a snowy forest scene. This washi is absolutely beautiful and I cannot for the life of me remember where I got it !!
• Above the glitter washi, I adhered several white, silver and blue sequins 
• The completed panel was adhered to a white mini slimline card base.

I hope you like the cards I have created this month. We are getting down to the last few months before the holidays !! Please take a look at what Michael and Lisa have created . I'm sure they are amazing as usual !!

Lisa Reynolds-Bzibziak - Life of a BZScrapper

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Until next time, please stay safe and healthy . 

And always Stay Crafty !!

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / September 2021

September is the month that many people patiently wait for all year long !! And I'm not talking about parents waiting for children to go back to school . Although this year children are finally trying to get back to a normal school year, while we are still dealing with a pandemic .. I'm actually talking about our theme for this month - Pumpkin Spice !! You either love it or hate it . But it sure does make for a fun collaboration for me & Celeste ..

The stamp I used for my card is Pumpkin Latte by Stampendous . I have had it for awhile and never used it so it was about time.  It is a fun stamp to color and very easy to fussy-cut !!

• I stamped Pumpkin Latte on Mixed Media paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• The image was fussy-cut and then colored with my COPIC markers .
• I stamped the image again along with the sentiment on an orange vintage-look paper.
• The pumpkins were fussy-cut from the orange paper and I also trimmed the sentiment.
• I adhered the fussy-cut orange pumpkins over the pumpkin images on the cup.
• A piece of autumn striped paper from Bo Bunny's Bella Rosa Collection was adhered to an orange card base.
• The completed cup image was popped up with foam tabs on the left side of the striped panel.
• The sentiment was adhered to a piece of bronze glitter paper and then to the right side of the striped panel.
• A strip of square golden gems from the Glitz Frosting collection was adhered across the bottom of the card.

I am not an obsessed Pumpkin Spice lover but will have a few Pumpkin Spice Lattes during the next few months when I am hanging out at Starbucks. Let's see what Celeste came up with for this month's theme - take a look over at Crafting Junky While making this card, I did have some Toasted Pecan coffee from another mug I found for 99 cents at Hobby Lobby . I don't wear much makeup - maybe just a bit of eyeliner, some mascara and sometimes lipstick . For awhile, we were asked not to wear makeup at the hospital because we were re-using masks So I had stopped wearing lipstick . When I saw this cup, I immediately thought of me at work !!

Thanks for stopping by Meticulosity again !! We really appreciate you taking a look at our projects ! Please stay safe, stay creative and we will see you in October ..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

There's a New Challenge in Town

I saw some information about a new Challenge Blog that intrigued me. The Four Seasons Challenge Blog is a monthly challenge and the theme is always Seasonal Anything Goes. You can read all about it at their link . September, October and November are the Fall months so I decided to link up a project of my own to get me in the mood for cooler days, sweater weather, pumpkin spice and beautiful autumn colors !! Their mood board is absolutely gorgeous !!

For my card, I used a favorite stamp from Impression Obsession - Coffee Blooms - designed by my amazingly talented friend, Lindsay Ostrom. This stamp can be colored to match any season, but I think it's especially beautiful  with Fall colors.

• The Coffee Blooms image was stamped on watercolor paper with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam Ink and then punched with a 2.5 inch circle punch.
• I colored the image with my COPICS .
• Using scraps from a favorite paper pad -       - I cut out several coordinating Fall-patterned strips. 
• I used a larger scrap for the main panel of my card, adhering it to a Kraft card base.
• The Fall strips were adhered vertically  across the card, leaving space between
• The completed circle was adhered in the lower right corner of the card with foam tabs.
•  Several coordinating sequins were placed around the cup.
• A piece of twine was tied across the top of the card to complete it.

You have through September 25th to enter this Challenge and winners will be announced on the 28th . I hope that you will welcome this new Challenge by linking up a card of your own. I know that all of my crafty friends have a stamp/stamps they can use !! 

Thank you for stopping by Meticulosity and checking out my Fall Four Seasons project ..  Show Darlene and Diane and their new Challenge Blog some love by creating something of your own ..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

A Creative Bibliophile / August 2021

The month of August got away from me . I've basically spent the whole month dealing with insurance companies etc.. re a house and a car claim.. When it rains, it pours !! But finally, it seems like things are working themselves out and here I am to talk about my August book ..

I have been reading many domestic thrillers and "dark" mysteries and historical fiction lately . The hospital has been getting busy again and I needed to read something "light". Just when I was trying to decide on something, a package arrived in the mail from a dear friend. She must have read my mind because enclosed was my August book review - The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary.

This quirky romance asks the question - "What if your flatmate is your soulmate ?" But the bigger question is "Can this be true if you've never met in person ?"  Tiffy needs a cheap place to live after a bad breakup and Leon needs extra money for a family situation. He works nights, she works days and the arrangement means they will never meet in person. Simple, right ??? They get to know each other through their Post-it note communications . The stories about each of their lives gives us a background into each of these characters and an understanding of what is now drawing them together. I really loved this story and the characters . I highly recommend it if you want a sweet story that will draw you in with its interesting premise and then keep you interested to see what develops .. 

My bookmarks this time were made with a fantastic book-themed stamp set from Unity Stamp Company - Not The End of Your Story . It has 2 book themed images and 10 sentiments .. 

And as always, I put some sort of ledger/lined paper on the backs of my bookmarks . This allows me to keep a book list or take notes while reading  etc... 

Thank you for joining me for my August book review ! A light, quirky romance .. Do you have any books like this that you could recommend to me ?? And thanks to my friend Barb for sending me this sweet book .. There will be something on its way to you soon ..

I'll be back later this month ..

Until then, Stay safe and Read a good book !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity