YOU are Fabulous -- and GIU winners !!

I wanted to take the time to create something to thank all of you for visiting my blog and especially for commenting during my GIU week with Unity Stamp Company.. I appreciate it so much. I sat down and created this card in less than 10 minutes to show you that you don't need hours and hours to "feed" your creativity.. I used the sentiment from Fabulous Girl and the flowers from KOM 6/14 In Love With Love. A bit of paper-piecing, punch out the sentiment, grab some washi and it was complete !! And here's a secret of mine --I am OCD about straight lines on my cards and having the same amount of border on all 4 sides. So when I am making a quick card, I often place the elements on a slant because then I don't obsess about it all being straight and even !!

I had over 200 comments on my projects for GIU week. I read each and every one of them and was overwhelmed with the kindness of all of you..Now for the winners of a Grab Bag of 25 Unity Stamps... Congratulations to Lori and Annie !!

Comment # 41..

Lori KobularAugust 19, 2015 at 8:18 AM

Congratulations on being the GIU!! Love your card, the paper is gorgeous and love the sequin skirt! I will be checking back all week to see your wonderful creations!

Commrnt # 149

Annie LaVallee-CurtisAugust 20, 2015 at 2:23 PM

So pretty! Love the glitter diamonds and butterflies!

You each have 2 weeks to contact me with your snail mail info and I will then forward your info to Unity Stamp Company. Enjoy creating with your stamps !!

THANK YOU AGAIN !!

GIU Day 5 - Find Your ZEN

I cannot believe it is already Day 5 for my GIU week. I have been using a different designer each day for my projects. Today I chose one by Traci Malnofski. She has many incredible stamps so it was hard to pick but I finally chose Serenity from her Fashionista line. Just as a reminder, please get your comments in by MIDNIGHT tomorrow night, Saturday ( Eastern Time ). I will pick 2 random winners and post them on Monday. You will have 2 weeks to contact me with your snail mail info.

I have been wanting to play with this Serenity stamp for so long. I'm glad I finally inked it up !! I did a bit of paper-piecing which is always fun for me. And as you all know, I love mixing different patterns of paper. So I colored the design, chose a doily and some patterned paper, threw in a few rhinestones and here you have it !! This stamp set has 5 different sayings and I couldn't decide on only ONE, so I did the next best thing--- I used FOUR ....

Supplies that I used for this card are :
1. American Crafts 5th & Frolic paper
2. Recollections Kraft Doily
3. Rginestones
4. Tim Holtz Distress Markers

I am hoping that if I look at this project long enough, I will decide to give Yoga a try. My problem is that whenever I sit still for any length of time ( without creating something or reading ), my mind starts spinning with lists of things I need to do.. I kind of think that making cards is my Yoga !! I have found my ZEN and it is being creative....

I am so happy to have been the GIU gal this week !! I found Unity Stamp Company many years ago when I saw a picture of one of their kits Hodge Podge of Happiness.. I actually ordered that and several other kits and have been hooked ever since. Thanks to Angela Magnusen and everyone at Unity for giving me this opportunity to showcase my projects this week.

I have been amazed at all of the wonderful comments about my projects so far. If I have inspired you, I am grateful and would love to see some of your designs. Follow me by e-mail if you would like, from the link on my sidebar.. Please comment for a chance to win a Grab Bag of 25 Unity stamps.... I will choose 2 winners at random and post them on Monday so please check back here.

Thank you all so much for joining in my GIU Week

GIU Day 4 - Things Work Out

Cannot believe it is Day 4 for me as the GIU gal. Today's card was made with a stamp designed by Stephanie Ackerman. She has the greatest sayings paired with fabulous designs that are a dream to color. Today's project uses the stamped image Ultimately ...Things Work Out. Sounds like something my mom would have said... Attitude can make or break you.. I wanted this to be a bright, cheery card so my amazing washi from Artsyville was the perfect way to border the entire design. And who could resist those fun ribbons at the top of the card. I took the picture of this card with the supplies surrounding it on my desk to depict "messy".. Because life IS messy. And all we can do to get through it sometimes - in order to keep our sanity - is to make the best of the messy parts. This card will hang in my Creative Space to help me deal with some recent issues.. It will also remind me to reach out to friends to help them make the best of theirs...

Supplies that I used for this card are :

1. Artsyville washi tape ( currently not available but she'll be back !! )

2. Stabilo pens ( regular & neon )

3. Tim Holtz Distress markers ( can you tell these are one of my favorite supplies?? )

4. Faber Castell Neon Brush pens
5. Stampin' Up Flirty ribbon
6. American Crafts Dear Lizzy "Lively" ribbon

Remember to comment on my blog post each day during this week for a chance to win a Grab Bag of 25 Unity stamps. I am thrilled at all of the comments you all are making on my blog and on Facebook. I love being creative and showing my projects, and all of you inspire me to be better !!

Thank you so much for visiting Meticulosity.

A better view of my beautiful mess...

GIU Day 3 - Sense of Wonder

Welcome to my Wednesday post for Day 3 of my week as the Unity Stamp Company's GIU gal. I am also being featured on the Unity blog today. I chose a stamp designed by Phyllis Harris that I have had awhile and had never inked up. I absolutely love her designs and am in awe of what everyone does with the stamped images, but was a bit hesitant to create one of my own. I knew it would have to be a bit more than just a bit of coloring to do it justice.. So I got out my new favorite craft supply--whipped spackle !! And of course, glitter ... The beautiful stamp I used is Sense of Wonder designed by Phyllis Harris. Her amazingly sweet images are brought to life with your supplies and imagination. The sky's the limit !!

I started out by using a stencil and adding embossing paste to the L side of a tag. I wanted to use a paper with a background and thought of a vintage French textbook that I found on the Volunteer cart at the hospital I work at. My friend Benedicte'  lives in La Muraz, France and always sends me amazing photos that she takes of her garden, house etc... This tag makes me think of her...

The supplies I used are as follows :

1. Prima Marketing Inc. Julie Nutting Tag Pad ( Hancock Park )
2. Tim Holtz Layering Stencil ( Harlequin )
3. Faber Castell Whipped Spackle ( this stuff is Dreamy !! )
4. Donna Salazar Fairy Dust Glitter  ( Sugar Shimmer )
5. Heidi Swapp Acrylic Butterflies
6. Tim Holtz Tiny Stapler & staples
7. Yasutomo Pearlescent Watercolors
8. Tim Holtz Distress Markers
9, First Year French textbook by O'Brien & Lafrance  1958

As I mentioned above, I am love with spackle, embossing paste etc..  I layered  some spackle onto the L side of a tag and then glittered it up and let it dry overnight..  I colored the image with my Distress Markers and used the Yasutomo watercolors for the grass... Its hard to see but it is very shimmery. For the polka dots on the dress, I used a pencil eraser that I inked up from my stamp pads.The butterflies were stapled on and bent to look like they were flying. I used a Spectrum Noir turquoise marker to color the staples to match the butterflies. A few colored rhinestones were also added to the girl's hair bow and dress. Wink of Stella Glitter Clear added some sparkle to the bottom of the dress and the butterfly..

I had such fun designing and making this tag !! I hope that you like it.. Thank you again for all of your kind comments on my previous projects.. I will not be replying to any comments ( unless there is a question ) in order to make choosing my 2 winners a bit easier.. Remember to comment each day on my blog post for a chance at a Grab Bag of 25 Unity stamps.. Thank you so much for visiting Meticulosity and taking part in my week as the GIU gal..

Love this book !!

GIU Day 2 - Heart with Joy

Today for Day 2 as the GIU gal, I chose a stamp designed by Lisa Arana. I especially LOVE her flower stamps that look like doodles. I decided to use a wooden embroidery hoop because I have seen such cute projects using these and also because I have tons of them left over from my days of doing counted cross-stitch !! My neighbor Bev's crepe myrtle tree was the perfect place to hang the finished project.. It was a beautiful, sunny day. 

The supplies I used are as follows :

1. Memento ink in Tuxedo Black

2. Distress Markers

3. Stabilo Pens

4. Colored Rhinestsones

5. Tombow Mono Adhesive-Permanent

6.Tim Holtz "Script" Embossing folder -  heart made with embossed paper

7. Clear Glitter Wink of Stella brush

Thank you for visiting today. Comment each day for a chance to win a grab bag full of 25 Unity stamps... I appreciate all of the wonderful comments that I received for my first GIU day. Thank you to all who commented.. Looking forward to tomorrow when my project will also be featured on the Unity Stamp Company blog..

GIU Day 1 - I'm Feeling Blu

This week I am the Growing in Unity gal for Unity Stamp Company and will be sharing a new project every day -- Monday through Friday. My Wednesday project will also be featured on the Unity blog. Be sure to check in on my blog each day this week  AND comment for a chance to win 25 stamps from Unity.. I will be picking 2 winners at random.

I will admit that one of the hardest parts of being the GIU gal was choosing the stamps for my projects... I finally narrowed it down by picking 5 of my favorite Unity designers. And to start it all off, today I am feeling BLU, Suzi Blu to be exact. I chose to use the fabulous stamp  "Love Yourself . Suzi's stamps are such fun, yet many have a fantastic message.

I stamped the design in  Memento Black ink and chose other supplies to complement the sequins that I wanted to use.. Supplies are as follows :

1. Heidi Swapp Memory Planner paper for the background & Glitter Banner

2. We R Memory Keepers Sequin Stickers

3. Dollar Tree glitter washi

4. Tim Holtz Distress markers

5. Faber Castell Big Brush Pens in White & Light Flesh

6. Tombow Mono Adhesive Permanent

7. Clear Glitter Wink of Stella Brush

Thank you so much for visiting Meticulosity today , I am so excited to share all of my projects with you this week. Be sure to come back each day and comment to increase your chance of winning 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company. Looking forward to your return tomorrow for my GIU Day 2..

Color Your Stress Away

The gals at Mountain Plains Crafters never need a reason to color but with National Coloring Book Day being celebrated on August 2, we decided to share our ceations with you. Check out our blog HERE to see all of our projects.

There has been much in the news lately about the benefits of coloring.. I think that creative people have known this all along !! I have been coloring since childhood and still to this day, you can find me coloring at a local coffee shop or on my lunch break at work..

For these coloring projects , I used Adornit's Hello & Love You ArtPlay Paintables. These are fun designs by Lindsay Waltman-Ostrom, printed on amazing watercolor paper that can be used with your favorite markers, colored pencils etc..

Supplies for these 2 Art Play projects were : Faber Castell PITT Artist pens, Tim Holtz Ranger Distress markers, Wink of Stella Brush in Clear Glitter, Stabilo pens & We R Memory Keepers Sequin Stickers. I also used some Yasutomo metallic watercolors for the green on the shirt.. It is SO shimmery !!!

Image from "HELLO" Paintables

Image from "LOVE YOU" Paintable

And last, I have been coloring my Starbucks cup... The design was the winning entry in their White Cup contest.. They are on sale at Starbucks ans I could not help adding some color to the all black/white design ... I suggest you get one today along with a coloring book or 2 and start coloring !!!