Coffee & Cards with Deb / 5th Anniversary Post

It's time for a Coffee & Cards post with my dear friend Celeste, but she unexpectedly couldn't be here today . So I will instead have my coffee alone with you and bring you my 5th anniversary post. I can't believe that it has been 5 whole years since I started Meticulosity. Wednesday,May 21, 2014 was my first ever post and I've come a long way !! In the past 5 years, I've made some amazing friends, worked on some fabulous teams and been inspired by many creative people. For today's post, I thought I would use a fantastic stamp sent to me by my friend Jennifer Bishop-Anderson of Dreamz Etc. . She designed the stamp  Artistic Penmanship for Carabelle Studio and also designs for Blue Fern Studios. A big thank-you to Jennifer for helping me celebrate 5 years of blogging !!

 Artistic Penmanship

• I started with a blue-patterned card base.
• The image was stamped on watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink and cut to fit on the card.
• The hand was colored with Akashiya SAI Watercolor Brush pens .
• I adhered the image on the diagonal in the center of the card towards the right side.
•  A strip of floral embroidery patterned washi was placed down the left side of the card.
• Some shimmer was added to the dragonfly wings with a ZIG Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush pen .
• Recollections rhinestones were placed along the bottom of the stamped image. 

I loved this design so much that I made 2 cards. I just altered the card base, washi tape and the color of the rhinestones. I love writing letters which I think is what drew me to this stamp. 

To celebrate my 5th Blogaversary, I will be sending 1 commenter - chosen at random - a variety of my favorite supplies. There will be a paper pad, washi tape, embellishments, a stamp, bags and stickers. Just leave a comment here on this post for a chance to be chosen. I couldn't have done this without you  - I greatly appreciate all of your support and comments and encouragement. I'm looking forward to another year of creativity with all of you. 

Today I am drinking Caramel coffee out of the cup that started it all - my Meticulosity cup from Starbucks !! Here's to another 5 years !! And many more fun coffee cups...

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

A Cookie For Santa - Take 2

The second November Challenge over at If You Give A Crafter A Cookie is full of holiday inspiration !! And it ties right in with the November Stamp of the Month from Anthony's Paper Craft . A wonderful image of Santa holding a chocolate chip cookie that was left for him by the children is a fabulous stamp for your  holiday cards ! And for the entire month of November, if you add this stamp to your basket, you will receive free shipping ( USA only ) .

I was proud of myself because I used paper scraps to make this card !! I have 2 scrap drawers in a rolling cart - 1 for solid colors and another for patterned paper. I had the plaid papers that I used as well as the snowflake paper. Unfortunately that only reinforces my need to save all those scraps !!

• I stamped the Santa image on pieces of white wood-grain paper and  a scrap of snowflake paper, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
• I colored the Santa image  and frame border using my favorite Brea Reese markers and Akashiya SAI Watercolor Brush Pens .
• I cut the snowflake background and adhered it to the wood-grain background.
• I layered a tartan plaid strip across the center of a  piece of  green plaid paper cut to fit my Kraft card base. I loved that the tartan plaid scrap had navy blue on it to match the lighter blue snowflake background.
• I wrapped a piece of black checkered ribbon around the plaid papers, tying a bow off to the left side of the card. 
• The Santa image was adhered to the center of the plaid papers on top of the ribbon,using Tombow Adhesive  -MONO Adhesive + Permanent Runner .

My fellow Anthony's Paper Craft Design Team members are posting each day this week with this fun Santa image.  You can see the other projects on the Anthony's Paper Craft Facebook Page.. Take a look at all of the great stamps HERE that Anthony's Paper Craft  has to offer , and be sure to add this Stamp of the Month to your cart through November to get free USA shipping. 

I also want to give a shout out to my Challenge teammates at If You Give A Crafter A Cookie. And to our sponsor this time -Fred She Said. If you link up a project before November 29, you just might win some free digis.  Take a look at the Design Team's inspiration here  from the photo shown below :

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity for some holiday inspiration !! See you again soon..

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