Just for Fun - Trees

One of the wonderful things about being on a Design Team is always having someone to talk "shop" with. They are there to bounce ideas off of, to tell me when there is a great deal and where, to encourage each other when we are in a crafty funk and also to challenge each other. MariLyn came up with the theme-Trees.Lots of images came to mind - trees with brightly colored autumn leaves, bare branches, Christmas trees, a tiny Charlie Brown tree.. But when I thought of making a card, I immediately thought of my Impression Obsession tree line die. Hope you like what I came up with ! Also check the MPC blog for the other tree creations.

Supplies : Fancy Pants " Merry Little Christmas" Brag Pad page, Impression Obsession tree line die, Unity Stamp Company "Tiny Tags Vintage Christmas" sentiment, DCWV Cafe Mediterranean cardstock matstack  for die-cut image

Try a challenge like this with some of your creative friends. We have a list of themes that we can choose from for challenges, blog posts etc... The possibilities are endless..Thanks for visiting. I hope you will be back soon to see what Meticulosity is up to next.

And the Winner(s) is (are)....

Thank you so much to everyone who visited here and/or commented as I celebrated 6 months of Meticulosity... I will be forever  grateful to Crafter's Companion for providing my first "official" blog candy !! I had fun making the cards for this post and know that the winner will enjoy creating with her prize. The   comment chosen at random was from " heidiscollNovember 24, 2014 at 10:50 PM  Awesome cards! And many more blog posts too come! Love Crafters Companion! So great that they were able to sponsor your blog! :) "     Heidi, please send me your snail mail address and the goodies will be on their way !! 

I had so many nice comments about my blog and the cards I have made that I chose a second comment at random for a bit of blog candy to inspire your creativeness..   " creedalyssaNovember 23, 2014 at 7:54 PM   Happy 6 month Blogaversary to you!! Love seeing your creations and the ideas and tips you teach. Keeps me inspired. Want to go try the sequin in the snowflake idea right now. Keep the beautiful creations coming!! "   Send me your address and I will send you a bit of Happy Mail...

6 Months of Bliss

6 months ago today, I started this blog, Meticulosity. It had been a dream for several years but what got me started was the chance to try out for the Mountain Plains Crafters Design Team. Pam Kline Stang, Terri Albro Burson & Sheryl Dwyer Kemper are women I had met through our postings on Unity Stamp Company's Facebook pages. They formed Mountain Plains Crafters and put out a call for Design Team members.I applied without having a blog, but assured them I would have one soon.. I was lucky enough to be chosen, the blog was started and I guess that now the rest is history, as they say !!

I am honored to have a sponsor for this blog post. Crafters's Companion was kind enough to donate some of their amazing products for 1 lucky winner. All you have to do is comment on this post for a chance at some gorgeous stamps and an embossing folder. I learned about Crafter's Companion when I saw their set of Brambly Hedge stamps of the 4 seasons . I immediately purchased them and became hooked. Check out their web-site to see all of their wonderful products.

For this post, I made cards using 2 different holiday embossing folders.The first was made with the Vintage Christmas Wreath folder. I mounted it on some American Crafts paper, used some Tim Holtz Ideology tissue tape on the edge and placed a few rhinestones on the wreath. I used  Core'dinations Color Core from the Whitewash collection and sanded it after embossing it to show the color underneath.

The second card was made using the Vintage Snow Bells folder. I used Core'dinations Distress Collection cardstock along with a Tim Holtz sentiment. It was finished with some Martha Stewart twine and a few snowflake and round sequins..

My last card is a Happy Thanksgiving card to everyone involved in these last 6 months.. I am grateful for each and every one of you. Friends and family, who supported me all along the way. The wonderful gang at Mountain Plains Crafters, who took me out of my comfort zone and helped my creative side blossom. Unity Stamp Company for being the forum through which I met the MPC gals Pam, Terri & Sheryl ( and my fellow DT members MariLynn, Jennifer, Paula and Christina ). And especially to all of you who read this blog. Meticulosity is a part of me and I am so glad to be able to share it with all of you. Your support and comments mean so much to me. Let me know what you would like to see here over the next 6 months. Challenge me to try something different. Comment on this post and I will pick 1 person at random to receive an amazing prize from Crafter's Companion.

Stamp by Unity Stamp Company & paper by We R Memory Keepers

Thank you all again for traveling with me on this creative journey of mine for the past 6 months. I hope you continue to join me as I take Meticulosity through our first year.  And a big shout-out to Crafter's Companion for helping me - AND YOU - celebrate this 6 month milestone of mine !!

GIVING THANKS Winners...

Congratulations to Crystal from Crystal Amaris Creations... Her comment here during Mountain Plains Crafters GIVING THANKS Blog Hop was my giveaway WINNER !! On November 15, 2014 at 7:36 PM she wrote " Very pretty and such a fun way to re-use! " PM me your address and I will send you your goodies. Also a shout-out to MARY LOU HOLSHOUSER for winning the MPC Rafflecopter prize. Thank you all so much for visiting our blogs. And THANK YOU again to Unity Stamp Company & Tombow USA for being such wonderful sponsors !!

GIVING THANKS Design Team Blog Hop

It's that time of year when we focus on what we are grateful for. I know that all of us at Mountain Plains Crafters are thankful for the opportunity to show you more of our creative sides. As we share our projects with you, we also welcome Angeline Choo from Scrappy Scrappy as our first Guest Blogger. She has amazing ideas and makes such fun projects. We are so glad to have her here with us !! Our sponsors for this Blog Hop are Unity Stamp Company &  Tombow . There will be a prize package with great products from each company. You could receive these great Tombow adhesives along with 6 Itty Bittys from Unity !!

I decided to do a DIY project for this post. I received a Starbucks Coffee Sampler several years ago and kept the box to store stamps in. I have been keeping some of my Unity Stamp Company  Itty Bittys in it. The excellent adhesive qualities of Tombow were perfect for this DIY Stamp Box. And I have been wanting to try this Unity Stamp set. Check out my Snapguide tutorial....

Check out How to Make a DIY Stamp Box by Debra Davison on Snapguide.

It's been fun sharing my project with you. Up next in the Hop is MariLynn . Check out her project then please visit each of the other blogs and leave a comment, then enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the MPC Blog. Thank you SO much for visiting Meticulosity and joining in this Blog Hop with all of us at Mountain Plains Crafters. A special thanks to Angeline for sharing her talents with us !! Leave a comment on my blog for a chance to win some Happy Mail from me !!  I am truly grateful to each and every one of you for your comments and support.

A Crafty Funk & Friends With Flair......

"I'm in a crafty funk" she said ...How many of you have felt this way ??  I know that challenging myself to create and/or share something creative every day of 2014 has given me many an opportunity to get into a crafty "funk".. And also how to get out of them.. My fellow Design Team member Paula was in a crafty funk... So I offered to challenge her.... I would give her 3 themes to choose from.. She would pick one and create something..The themes I decided on were 1. Pink Snowflakes  2. Retro Christmas or 3. Text Background. It started out between just the 2 of us but then some fellow DT members became interested, so I posted it for all of us to participate in. There is no deadline but 2 of us have completed it already so I wanted to share it with you here. I also am sharing my card on Unity Stamp Company's Friends With Flair , which is a Friday post on their blog.

My theme was Text Background.. I chose a new stamp "Tis the Season" by Unity Stamp Company . For my text background, I used American Crafts "Dear Lizzy" Christmas patterned paper.  The borders were by Paper Bouquet and the twine is from Whisker Graphics .I also used a bit of Snowflake Kraft washi..

Paula actually finished her card just a few hours after I challenged her. She used "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Unity Stamp Company .. Her theme was Pink Snowflakes.I think she did a fantastic job of getting out of her crafty funk.  And did you notice how similar our color schemes turned out to be ??

Hope you enjoyed our challenge results. When you get in a creative funk, choose a few themes or pick out a few supplies and work from there. It will help you start on a new project. It can be as simple as a color. Choose something out of your comfort zone. Ask a friend to join you. You will be creating something new in no time at all !! Comment and tell me what you do when you are in the midst of a crafty funk.. How do you get that creative spark back ??

TAGS --- You're it !!

Cards are my comfort zone....I create one almost every day.. I have made small gift tags, decorated several notebooks and made a few containers at the stamping groups I attend. But this year, I happened to see a Halloween Tag Swap sponsored by Jess Kinderstampo -- officially  the Kinderstampo Julie Nutting Halloween Tag Swap.. We were to use a Julie Nutting paper doll stamp and the theme, of course was Halloween.. I had to make 10 and send them in when I was finished.. I would then get 10 in return from others in the Swap... I do not like to make the same card twice - exactly the same way - so I ended up creating 10 different designs. I wanted to try something new and was also excited to be involved in it with a group.. After some initial hesitation ( because I had seen some of the previous gorgeous tag swap designs ), I had a blast making all of them.. I thought of them as cards and this lessened my nervousness at sharing them with 10 other designers..I used transparencies, flowers, washi, Distress markers, ribbon etc.... And I am now officially in love with Julie Nutting's paperdoll stamps..

Gathering my supplies, choosing paper for the dresses... Oh, and gotta have my coffee. I used some of my favorite Graphic 45 "Steampunk Spells" paper. It was perfect !!

My Julie Nutting Paper Doll gals

I really had so much fun making these tags. They were all colored using my 

Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz Distress Markers

I will admit that when I sent them out after completion, I had a little tear in my eye.. It was like sending 10 little children to kindergarten for the first time.... Below are the tags I received in return... All amazing works of art. I challenge you today to get out of your comfort zone... Sign up for a swap, make something different, try a new technique.. You will be so glad you did !!

Thanks to Jess Kinderstampo for hosting this Swap and to the amazing Julie Nutting for creating such amazing stamps.