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

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / August 2021

I find it hard to believe that in 4 short months, it will be Christmas !! I can honestly say that I will be glad when August is behind us .. I managed to spend my whole 2 weeks of vacation mostly on the phone dealing with car and home insurance issues / repair work . And neither is resolved yet !! Being crafty did take my mind off of it at times but I still was not in much of a creative mood. Which is why I procrastinated on this blog post until the last minute .  So I will be posting just the stamps I used, without a full description with details . I'm sure that by Sept. 25, I will be back to a normally hectic life !!

We have another special Guest Elf this month . Misty Lavigne - aka The Jolly Fat Elf - is a fantastic card-maker with her own FB page and You Tube channel . You can see her projects and get all of her info at the link at the end of this post 

My first card is made with an older stamp set from Ink Blot Shop  - Seasoning's Greetings . It's no longer available but they have many other wonderful stamp sets for you to choose from !!

Unity Stamp Company's Joy To Go has always been a favorite of mine !! Fun to color and so easy to bling it up a bit with some Wink of Stella or glitter .

The Holiday Cat Stamp from Paper Source reminded me so much of our rescue kitty Pixie that I just had to use it this month !!

And last  - but certainly not least, - is my card with the sweet Anita Jeram  Anniversary Mini . This mouse couple was a good pick for wishing someone a Marry Christmas AND a Happy New Year !!

I hope that you will also take a look at the other Crafty Elves' cards for August, as well as our special guest, Misty !! 

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak -  Life of a BZ Scrapper

Misty Lavigne - The Jolly Fat Elf You Tube Channel

Thank you to Misty for joining us this month . We hope that you are inspired by all of our  creativity and start on your on holiday cards !! You will be so much less stressed when you have a nice stash of cards ready to send .. And even if you start in September, you will have at least 12 cards to send to friends..

Until next time, stay crafty and above all, stay safe !! 

Debra Davison - Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / August 2021

Celeste & I have chosen a birthday theme for this month . That leaves us with so much to work with and I couldn't wait to get started. I wanted to go with a non-traditional design - no cake, no candles .. And of course, I found the perfect stamp in my stash ..We hope our cards  inspire you to make a  birthday card for someone special in your life .. I'm sure you have the prefect stamp in your stash .

The stamp I chose to use is from the Planner Gal collection by Angie Blom for Unity Stamp Company - All About You . And it had the sweetest sentiment in the set also . 

Today is All About You

• I stamped the Planner Gal image on watercolor paper, leaving space on the right side for my sentiment .
• The sentiment was stamped to the right of the Planner Gal image .
• I colored the images with COPIC markers and Flair pens.
• A strip of Sarah Frances Rainbows washi was placed underneath the sentiment.
• The stamped panel was matted onto a piece of adhesive-backed cork .
• The completed panel was adhered to a floral card base .

Celeste's birthday creation can be found over at her blog - Crafting Junky .I'm so glad that you stopped by to see what we have for you this month !! For my August coffee, I found this cute mug for 59 cents at Hobby Lobby last week and I'm drinking some delicious Vanilla Macadamia Nut coffee.  What is your drink of choice when being creative ??

Be Your Own Kind of Wonderful

Thank you for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to share our collaboration . We always do appreciate it and hope to see you next month . And maybe we will have some cooler weather by that time. 

Until we see you in September.

Stay Creative & especially Stay Healthy