2018 Coffee Day & A Giveaway

 For those that know me, my love of coffee is no surprise !! After all, I named my blog after a word I saw on a coffee cup at Starbucks -- that I quickly purchased !! I enjoy drinking coffee,  hanging out with friends as I drink coffee and just sitting alone drinking coffee as I work on my latest cards. I love coffee, coffee cups, coffee washi, coffee stamps, coffee stencils --  you get the picture. Soooooooo, I couldn't let this day go by without a blog post and some cards to celebrate National Coffee Day.

I used the Sleepy Owl and the BFF Owl stamps from Picket Fence Studios . These are just the cutest stamps and so much fun to color ! I combined some sentiments from Tim Holtz and Reset Girl , a few doilies, a tag and a coffee sentiment from Simon Says Stamp to create these 4 cards !! The images were already colored so I was able to make all 4 cards in less than 1 hour .. I used a selection of my favorite markers -- from Flair pens to Faber-Castell to color the images. All of the card bases were pre-made; I am seriously addicted to those boxes of cards you can buy to decorate. 

I also take part in a Coffee Card Swap each month hosted by a friend from the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Facebook Page. This month I combined a digital coffee stamp from Bugaboo Digi Stamps with the same Simon Says Stamp coffee sentiment I used in the previous cards and a Vera Lane Studio Journal Card . Tombow Adhesives were used to adhere the elements on all of my cards.

I couldn't let this day go by without a giveaway -- It really is one of my favorite holidays !! I will be sure to look at all of my fellow coffee-lover's creations today !! From those that comment on this blog post through Monday, October 1, I will randomly pick 1 person to win some fun reusable, recycled coffee cups/lids and some coffee goodies !!

National Coffee Day Giveaway

There is a fabulous coffee-themed Blog Hop today hosted by the Coffee Loving Papeercrafter's Facebook page and Amy Tsuruta  --  many great people and companies are participating in the Hop . You can start checking out all 55 posts  HERE . There will be prizes also !!

Thank you for visiting me today as I sit here drinking my Pecan Pie coffee and thinking about what I will be getting at Starbucks later today !! I'm leaning towards a Maple Pecan Cold Brew ... Until next time, enjoy your favorite beverage and stay creative !!

Meticulosity.blogspot.com

Debra Davison

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste 9/23

Celeste and I are back for the start of Autumn and another collaboration !! Celeste chose our theme for this month and it is something that is near and dear to my heart !! Washi Tape !! I think I am a bit obsessed with this craft supply.I must have hundreds of rolls and I use this supply often. I like to use it on my cards and also to decorate stationery, postcards for my snail mail friends.  When I first started writing about washi tape on Facebook and in Messenger, it always auto-corrected it to Washington. But now after writing it hundreds of times,  it must know exactly what I am trying to say ,because it leaves it alone !! LOL

When I saw the Stella Luna Digi Set from Vera Lane Studio, I fell immediately in love. Not your typical witch, kind of Harry Potter-ish, just a bit quirky !! It was perfect !! And I have been wanting to use this Tim Holtz washi forever. Hope you are as excited about this card as I am !!

• On a piece of white cardstock, I layered strips of washi tape from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology "Materialize" Design Tape Set and wrapped the edges to the back of the cardstock.
• I mounted the washi panel onto a piece of black cardstock, using a Tombow Mono Adhesive + Runner. I think the layered washi looks very much like a piece of patterned paper !!
• I printed the digital images of Stella Luna and her cat on Neenah Stardust White cardstock and then fussy-cut the images. The sentiment is also from the Stella Luna set. 
• Stella Luna and her cat were colored using my Akashiya SAI Watercolor Brush Pens. I didn't smooth out the brush strokes on the cat so that it would look a bit like a gray tabby. 
• I used a pencil eraser dipped in Stampin' Up ink to highlight the eyes. 
• Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents were used on the glasses and the cat's eyes. 
• Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue adhered the images to the washi panel. 

Stella Luna Glossy Accents detail

Tim Holtz Materialize Design Tape Set

Take a look at Celeste's washi creation over at her blog, Crafting Junky. I'm excited to see what she came up with too !! I love how we have 2 totally different styles and can inspire each other to get creative with our themes each month. 

For my coffee this month, I am drinking Pecan Pie coffee with Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer. My guy found this cute Starbucks travel mug in the bedroom when he was going though some bags, so I had to use it !! I often waste a large cup of coffee or else end up reheating it throughout the morning, so this size travel mug is a good size for me.

Thank you for once again joining us for our collaboration !! I'm so glad it is the start of Autumn and after a Hurricane Florence scare and summer temps often reaching near 100 degrees, I am SO looking forward to sweater weather !! See you next month. Let me know if you have theme suggestions and if we use yours, I will send you the card that I make for that collaboration. 

Debra Davison/Meticulosity

September Cookies - Take 2

First of all, let me thank everyone who linked up a project for our "Anything Goes" 4th Anniversary Challenge over the past 2 weeks !! At last count, I saw 124 fantastic creations - from holidays to dragons, cute animals to mermaids !! Even a zombie mermaid !! For Challenge #103 over at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie, the theme is a subject near and dear to my heart ... Cats- our furry friends !! And aren't these the cutest cookies for inspiration !! Our sponsor this time is Fabrika Fantasy. 

For my card, I chose to use a wonderful stamp set from Whimsy Stamps. It was designed by Deb Davis, who has become a friend of mine through our love of mostly zombies and card-making and now of cats! LOL  The stamp set is called Purre Love and it is wonderful !! The card I made has a white cat on it, for our new furry friend, Pixie. She came into our lives as a rescue after having lost our beloved Anna after 14 years. We waited a year to even think about another cat and she really is the BEST therapy.

• I stamped the girl with the cat image from Purre Love onto a piece of watercolor paper, a scrap of floral paper and a piece of Neenah Stardust White cardstock ,using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.
• I had cut the watercolor paper to fit a green ombre' card base and adhered a scrap piece of wood grain paper across the bottom of the girl/cat to look like she has her hand on a wall that they are sitting on. 
• I fussy-cut the shirt and the cat images and adhered them to the watercolor paper. Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue was used to adhere the shirt,cat and wall, as well as the watercolor panel to the card base,
• I colored the girl with a variety of Faber-Castell Markers.
• The sentiment is also from the Purre Love set by Whimsy Stamps. It was stamped on a piece of watercolor paper, using Adirondack Stream Ink . 
• I then popped up the sentiment at the top of the panel using Tombow Foam Tabs.

I hope that you like my creation for this inspiration photo !! I had fun making it. Please  check out the other projects of my teammates over at the Challenge Blog. And there  will be 2 weeks for you to link up a project of your own - you just might win a prize  from our sponsor. Be sure to link it up before  October 4. Thank you for visiting me again at Meticulosity. 

Debra Davison/Meticulosity

Most Grateful

We are in for some stormy weather here on the East Coast so to take my mind off of Hurricane Florence for a bit, I decided to get  creative.. As a member of the Design Team for Anthony's Paper Craft, I have a variety of amazing stamps to get my creative juices flowing !! Since I am ready to be done with the summer we've had , with temperatures reaching near 100 degrees on many days, I decided to make a Fall-themed card. 

I recently found the perfect 6x6 paper pad at Tuesday Morning. Fall colors and patterns had me immediately thinking of cooler temps and also cards that I could make. I decided to paper-piece my card so that I could more adequately highlight the wonderful new papers I had found. 

• On Kraft cardstock bases, I adhered a different pattern of paper from the  American Crafts Cedar Lane 6x6 paper pad .
• I stamped the pumpkins from the Anthony's Paper Craft stamp set Pumpkins onto 3 different complementary patterned papers, also from the Cedar Lane paper pad, using Memento Espresso Truffle ink.
• I then stamped the smallest pumpkin once on Kraft cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
• The sentiment from Greetings Set 2 was stamped on woodgrain paper,  and cut out. 
• The medium pumpkin was adhered flat to the right side of the card base The larger pumpkin was adhered near the bottom right of the card, covering a portion of the medium pumpkin and popped up using  Stampin' Up Dimensional Foam Tabs.
• The smallest pumpkin was adhered to the right lower corner of the card over the medium and large pumpkins using American Crafts Foam Tabs. These are thicker than the Dimensionals and  allowed me to raise that pumpkin up higher. 
• I used the pumpkin that I stamped on Kraft paper for the stems of the patterned paper pumpkins. 
• All paper and images were adhered using a variety of Tombow Adhesives - MONO Adhesive+ Permanent Runner and MONO Aqua Liquid Glue.
• On the largest card, I adhered a dotted border across the top and tied a bit of Orange/Black twine around that to finish the card. 

Pumpkin stem detail

Confession time -- Making these cards did take my mind off of the weather for a few hours, which was a lovely distraction. But I know I must not have been paying attention to detail as much as I normally do, because I adhered everything to the front of the card upside down. The opening of the card is at the top !! Oh well, I'm sure I'm not the only one with a story like that to tell !!

Thank you for allowing me to share my creativity with you .. I hope you like the stamps I used and that you will check out the SHOP at Anthony's Paper Craft . There are many fantastic stamps to inspire you and some great images to get you ready for Fall and the holidays .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

September Cookie Anniversary

It's time for another If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Challenge and this one is even more special because it is their 4th Anniversary !! To celebrate, we are having a special Anything Goes Challenge.  Yes, you read that right. You can make anything and link it up for a chance at some wonderful prizes from our sponsors !! To see a list of the sponsors and their prizes, go to the main blog page HERE . This challenge runs for 2 weeks so link something before September 20. 

I am showcasing stamps from 2 of our sponsors. This first project uses a digi from Bugaboo Digi Stamps and I think they were the first ever digis that I ever used. I absolutely LOVE coffee images and they have some fabulous ones !! I used a favorite on  my card !!

• I printed the MIS JJ Coffee image onto a sheet of my favorite Neenah Stardust White cardstock.
• The image was cut to fit onto an A2 card base and then colored using Sharpies, & Faber-Castell markers. 
• I adhere the image to a wood-grain card base on a slight angle, using my handy-dandy ATG Gun .
• I used a Yellow ZIG Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Marker to highlight her hair and Glossy Accents on the lenses of her glasses.

For my second card, I used  a digi from Little Blue Button .  I love to paper-piece and this stamp is perfect for that . I can see her wearing many prints on those cute yoga pants !! The Tree Asana is a basic yoga pose that you can read more about here. 

Do More of What Makes You Happy

• The Tree Asana digi stamp from Little Blue Button  was printed on Neenah Stardust White cardstock.
• I cut the image, leaving enough room at the bottom for a washi tape yoga mat and on the left side for a sentiment.
• On a pink hexagon patterned card base, I placed a row of banners down the left side of the card. A sentiment was placed to the right of the Tree Asana image. These stickers were from the Mint To Be Fab Sticker Book by The Paper Studio.
• The Tree Asana image was adhered using my ATG Gun.

I'd like to thank all of our wonderful sponsors for supporting us throughout the year and especially now for this 4th Anniversary Challenge !! It was so nice of them to each donate a prize. I was very intimidated at the thought of a digi-stamp for a long time but finally took the plunge and now I am a big fan !! Please link up a project on the main Challenge page HERE. And we'd love for you to comment on our posts -- all of my teammates will have projects of their own highlighting digis  from our sponsors.

It's fun being a part of this Challenge Blog Team and I'm so happy that you are following along on my creative journey through my blog, Meticulosity !! Stay tuned for more fun challenges from If You Give a Crafter a Cookie !!!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Happy Holly-Days with Anthony's Paper Craft

This is our last  week of Christmas in August Blog Hop posts highlighting holiday stamps from  Anthony's Paper Craft,  Mike, Michael, Mary Kay and I have been showing you our projects and hoping to inspire you to create some of your own. During the month, Anthony is also offering free shipping with a $25 purchase in the US - use the code "freeship25" at checkout.  

• Using a musical patterned paper from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Seasonal paper pad, I created a gift card holder from a Sizzix Thinlits Gift Card Bag Die . I absolutely LOVE this die and can tell I will be using it for many things. I like to enclose small goodies in the Snail Mail that I send and these will be perfect for that !!
• On a black plaid card base by The Paper Studio, I placed a piece of holiday word washi and a piece of red glitter washi vertically down the left edge.
• I stamped the Holly Sprig image from Anthony's Paper Craft onto a sheet of Neenah Stardust White cardstock and also on some scraps of green patterned paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. This is a new image and will be available shortly. Memento
• I colored the bow and holly berries using a variety of my favorite markers - Sharpies, Kaiser Glitter markers and Akashiya SAI waterbush markers.
• I fussy-cut the entire image from the Stardust White paper  and clusters of the holly leaves from the patterned paper. I then adhered the leaves to the white cardstock using Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue.
• I adhered the gift card bag to the card base using my Scotch ATG Gun.
• The holly sprig was popped upon the gift card bag using Tombow Foam Tabs.

I love the vintage feel of this card and know I will be making many more !!  I'm sure my teammates from Anthony's Paper Craft have created some fabulous projects and I hope that you will check out their blogs to see them. We'd love for you to leave comments and also follow us.

Mary Kay Werry

Michael Trent

Mike Fernholtz

Thank you again so much for visiting Meticulosity and also for letting us all show you some wonderful stamps from Anthony's Paper Craft. Don't forget to use your code for free shipping through August 31 as mentioned above. I had a giveaway on last week's post and the winner is Celeste Goff. She will receive a fun snowman stamp and I can't wait to see what she does with it !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste 8/26

It's hard to believe that August is almost over. Right around the corner are pumpkin spice lattes, sweater weather and everything Autumn. But for this collaboration with Celeste, I chose something different, nothing Pumpkin !! Steampunk is our theme this time. And Murphy's Law was in effect.I had a paper pad chosen to use with great grungy, steampunk designs and misplaced it.. The stamp/die set I wanted to use was also missing in action !! If there was ever a sign that I need to destash, this was it !! Luckily, I figured out a back-up plan but it was touch and go there for awhile !!

Viva Las Vegas Stamps came to the rescue with their City on Snail stamp.  And a stamp I found at Hobby Lobby by American Art Stamp  "Gears of My Heart"  also found its way into my design. This card is all about my absolute LOVE of Snail Mail. I am in several postcard/card swap groups and send Snail Mail on a regular basis.

• I stamped the snail image on a piece of Neenah Stardust White cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink..
• The Steampunk Heart was stamped with Ranger Perfect Medium on Neenah Stardust White cardstock, then embossed with American Crafts ZING Rouge embossing powder. I fussy-cut the image.
• Also using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I stamped the Long Love Snail Mail by Savvy Stamps onto a scrap piece of ledger paper, cut it out, then distressed the edges.
• Using Tombow Adhesives, I adhered the snail, heart and sentiment to a black/red patterned card base. This base was in a box of cards inspired by the Twilight books and has some great patterns in it !!
• I left room under the City on Snail image to place a row of my favorite stamps. 
• A gear was placed on the heart to add some dimension. My guy, Brian actually bought me a small bag of those gears to use on my cards. Could this mean that he finally understands my love of cards ( AND snail mail ) ?!?!?!

Today's coffee is a wonderful Blonde Roast from Starbucks.  It's in the cutest cup sent to me by a Snail Mail friend who lives in Cali. I'm not a traveler but have many friends who understand and even share my love of coffee cups !! I've received Starbucks mugs from all over the world !!

Thank you for visiting me here at Meticulosity for another collaboration with Celeste. Check out her take on our Steampunk theme over at her blog Crafting Junky. Autumn will be arriving soon and I'm looking forward to some fun fall color schemes and inspiration. So come back in September for more coffee and cards with us !!

.Debra Davison