Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste - November

It's been a busy month here for me with work and creative deadlines and trying to balance home life. But especially at this time of year, I try to remember that I have so much to be thankful for. And that includes having a virtual cup of coffee each month with my friend, Celeste. This month, our theme is Thankful & Grateful.

For my card, I wanted to use a Mommy Lhey Design stamp set - Sweater Weather.  It has many fun stamps included that I decided to combine for my project.

• Using my MISTI and Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink, I stamped each of the images - the fox, sentiment, pumpkin and sweater - in a square pattern onto a piece of watercolor paper.
• I colored the images using Tombow Dual Brush Pens .
• On a dark brown card base, I adhered 2 coordinating patterns of Julie Nutting "November - December" paper .
• I added several Prima Marketing Crystals to the lower right side and upper left side of the card. 
• The stamped image was popped up on the card base with foam tabs.

As I sit here writing this, I am drinking a cup of Pecan Pie coffee in a holiday Starbucks cup. I just bought a new turquoise Keurig coffee maker and have been thoroughly enjoying it.

I'm excited to see what Celeste has made and you can check it out on her blog  - Crafting Junky . With Thanksgiving coming , I just want to say thank-you to everyone who visits Meticulosity. I appreciate all of your comments - please sign up to follow me so you don't miss any new posts. 

Until next time, Stay Creative.

Debra Davison

Coffee & Cards With Deb & Celeste 11/26

This time of year we reflect on what we are thankful for. Family and friends come to mind first. Then health is something we might take for granted until something happens. A roof over our heads, food to eat, a steady job. The list goes on. I am also thankful for all of the amazing people I have met through social media. Celeste and I met online through our love of cards. A group I have been involved with on Facebook is the Global Postcard Art Swap ( heART Exchange ). Three times a year ( Feb, June/July & Nov ), you can sign up to swap postcards with 3 people. You create these postcards with a theme that is chosen for each swap. The theme for this November's swap is appropriately  THANKFUL and that is also what we have made the theme of this blog post.The cards made by the participants in each Global Swap are fabulous - watercolored, mixed medium, paper pieced, rubber stamped etc... I am in awe of everyone's creativity...

• I stamped THANKFUL from the Prima "Autumn Moon" stamp set onto 3 pieces of fall-patterned scrap paper from my stash.  I then used scraps of autumn-themed papers to create my card bases. I covered some postcards that I had gotten free at a local store -- they were ads for the company and were sturdy for mailing, and I just adhered papers front and back to go with the theme of  THANKFUL.
• Bits and pieces of paper, doilies, dots and washi were placed on each card. I also punched out a few butterflies for the one postcard, stapled the middle, then folded them in half. I glued one side only to the postcard to make it look like they were flying !
• I used some lined paper on the front of the postcard and placed a piece of glitter washi down the middle to separate the address and note sides.The acorn stamp is also from the Prima "Autumn Moon" stamp set.
• I sent these to California, Maine and the United Kingdom in acetate envelopes to protect them from the perils of the USPS.
• Another card ( shown below ) was made for my swap partner in the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Group on Facebook. There is a swap each month we can sign up for and we are given the name of someone to send a Coffee, Tea or Cocoa card to. I used a limited edition Mommy Lhey stamp set and the same Prima "Thankful" stamp. 

I hope that my postcards and cards inspire you . Join a group and swap with some like-minded creative people.It is so much fun. Be sure to take a look at Celeste's November post at Crafting Junky. I just know that she has come up with a fabulous card celebrating being THANKFUL.. And Celeste's crafty friend Becky Ledbetter is joining us again with her blog post over at This Chick's Challenge.Becky says that her blog is her attempt to "challenge myself to do the things I love more often".. And that is something that will always make us thankful !!

For my coffee today, I am drinking Toffee Nut Starbucks coffee with Frosted Sugar Cookie Creamer in a fabulous Starbucks mug from a friend in Spain... Thank you to Natasha for adding another great cup to my collection... Let me also thank Louise Gale for being an amazing hostess of our Global Postcard Art Swaps / heART Exchange & Amy Tsuruta for hosting the  Coffee Loving Papercrafters  page. I know that so many of us are thankful that they have brought us together to share something we love !!

We hope that you will sign up to follow our blogs. I'm excited about next month already because Christmas themes are some of my favorites ! If you  would like to be our  guest sometime in 2018, please let one of us know and we'd be happy for you to join us and show off your talents.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity