February Cookies - Take 2

Spring is definitely in the air and Cookie Challenge #88 pays tribute to that with a bird/birdhouse theme. This month's sponsor at the IF YOU GIVE A CRAFTER A COOKIE Challenge Blog is Pattie's Creations Digital Images. I hope that after you check out my project, you will also look at the projects from the other Design Team members. And I'd also like to invite you to link up one of your creations to the post.. You have 2 weeks from Feb. 22 to join us .

I will confess that this Bird Crazy stamp set and the matching dies have been in my possession since 2015. A friend got them for me at a stamp show in California and even had Tim Holtz himself sign the die packaging. I will admit that I had something of a fangirl moment when I held the dies in my hands. It was really fun getting creative with these stamps and I am sure I will be using them again very soon !!

• On a pnk card base, I mounted a background of pink tree/ branch patterned paper
• I stamped 3 different birds on a variety of different colored scraps and also a few on some Neenah Stardust White cardstock. 
• Using the dies, I cut out the 3 birds and also their wings. 
• I fussy-cut the eyes and beak from the Stardust White cardstock and adhered them to the birds after coloring some of them with my favorite markers.
• After coloring the wings, I adhered them to each bird. A Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush Marker added some shimmer to  several of the wings. 
• The birds were adhered to the background with Tombow MONO Adhesive+ and the saying from a Dylusions Coloring Sheet was popped up using Tombow Foam Tabs.

This was a fun card to make. These birds can be used in so many ways !! I'm sorry I waited so long to get them inky .. They were perfect for this Challenge.  Thank you for visiting Meticulosity and be sure to look at all of the Design Team projects here.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Kitchen Logic - GIU Day 1

I am thrilled to be back as a Growing in Unity Girl this week for Unity Stamp Company. It is my third year and there will be another person this week who is joining us as a first-time GIU girl. Welcome to Kim Gray - I can't wait to see all of your projects !! I will be posting a new project using Unity stamps on my blog Monday through Friday. Please comment each day for a chance to win a grab bag of 25 Unity stamps. There will be 2 lucky winners.

For my first project, I used an older Unity kit called Kitchen Logic. Everything about this set reminds me of my mom - the stove with the kitchen towel hanging on it, the lovely apron and the sentiments that are included.

" if you can't take the Heat, get out of the Kitchen "

• I started with a turquoise card base and adhered a pink doily in the center. 
• I stamped the 3 images on patterned paper from the Echo Park "Happy Days" collection .This is a fun, retro paper pad. All stamping was done with Memories India black ink.
• The stove and apron were fussy-cut and adhered to the doily. I used foam dimensionals to pop up the apron. 
• The sentiment was paper-punched out then stapled to a same-sized square of turquoise paper. 
• 3 retro banners were adhered to the upper Left corner of the card base. A strip of pink glitter washi gave the card a pop of color .  It reminds me of kitchen curtains !!
• And don't you love that small cake stand that I found at TJ Maxx - how perfect is that !?!? I think that maybe I made that card to match the stand !!

I used turquoise on this card because my mom used to write recipes in her recipe book with a turquoise ink pen. To this day, when I see that color ink, I have great memories of my mom in the kitchen with me. She was an amazing cook and baker. Miss her every day.. This card is for you, Mom !!

I hope that you like my first GIU project. Be sure to leave a comment and at the end of the week, I will choose 2 winners at random to win 25 Unity stamps. Thank you so much for visiting Meticulosity.

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste 6/25

And here we are again in the middle of another Coffee Lovers Blog Hop !! So of course, this month, our theme is coffee.  One of my favorite ways to pass the time is having coffee with a friend so this card celebrates that. Our guest is Renee Moran, who I actually met through our love of Unity Stamp Company. She is an amazing person who reaches out and sends her cards to those who are having a tough time. I am lucky to call her a friend. The cards she makes are amazing and I hope you will check out her blog - Because of Delaney Jane.

What could be more fun on a summery day than coffee with a friend ?!?!?! That is what inspired this card and I had the perfect stamp for it. I have had this Paper Salon stamp for years and the company is no longer around but I am still getting so much enjoyment from this image.

• I adhered a piece of summery floral paper from the Project Life "Desktop Edition" paper pad to a light green card base.
• Using Memories India Black Ink, I stamped the coffee girls image onto a "Lovely Edition" Project Life journal card. A piece of striped washi was placed along the lower edge of the stamped image.
• 2 paper-punched clouds were stapled to the journal card above the stamped image.
• I adhered the journal card to a scrap piece of blue paper and then adhered that to the floral background paper at an angle.
• A piece of grass washi was placed under the striped washi up to the edge of the floral background paper.
• A pink, turquoise and silver sequin were randomly placed on the journaling card to complete my project.

Please take a moment to comment on this post for a chance to win some blog candy. And don't forget to head over to Celeste's blog Crafting Junky and Renee's blog Because of Delaney Jane . I am sure you will be inspired by their cards. We would love for you to comment on our posts and also to follow our blogs ..

Today's card is brought to you courtesy of me finally cleaning the kitchen pantry .. I found a Starbucks mug that I had purchased which was still in the bag wrapped in tissue. I am drinking a Colombian coffee with Coconut Cream creamer this morning. What are you enjoying in your mug today ?? And don't you just LOVE this travel mug !?!?!?

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity and indulging my love of coffee and coffee cards. And of course, the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop ...

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Drink, Read & Be Happy

Another Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is here and of course, I had to post something on the first day. I combined my love of books and coffee for this card that is being sent to a friend of mine in Munich, Germany. I think that Gina loves books and coffee as much as I do !!

 

• I started with an apple green card base and placed a piece of my hoarded Public Library  paper by October Afternoon on top of that as a background. I have had this paper for a LONG time and just couldn't bring myself to use it until I was working on this card for Gina & the Blog Hop. 
• The stamped image is Chapter One from Unity Stamps that I colored with my favorite markers - a combination of Distress markers, PITT Artist pens & Stabilos. The image and sentiment were stamped with Memories India Black Ink. The books were stamped on Neenah Stardust White Cardstock and the sentiment was stamped on Kraft cardstock.
• I adhered  everything using my Bazzill Permanent Adhesive Runner. A bit of glitter was used on the steam rising out of the coffee cups.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of the projects linked up to this Hop. They are always amazing and inspire me to make more and more coffee/tea/cocoa cards !! Thank you for visiting Meticulosity... I'll be offering some blog candy to someone who comments on my posts throughout the Hop. 

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste 5/28

Another collaboration from me & Celeste for May. This month,our challenge was to make a children's card. I do not have any young children or very many kid-themed stamps, so I had to put my thinking cap on for this one... I remembered that I had several stamps that had sayings by children on them and finally chose the one I used today. Our guest this month is Sybrina King, who is involved in the Send a Smile 4 Kids campaign, that collects and distributes handmade cards to patients at Children's Hospitals.  We are thrilled to have her join us !!

• For this card, I started with a Molly & Rex watercolor card base . I placed a few different washi tapes at the top and bottom of the front of the card.  The Llama washi and striped washi are both made by Recollections for Michaels.
• On a journaling card from the Project Life "Charming" Edition Core Kit , I stamped the fun Inkadinkado image using Memories India Black Ink.
• A butterfly was punched from a piece of scrap patterned paper that I had in my stash and then stapled to the top left corner of the stamped image,
• The journaling card was adhered at an angle using my Bazzill Marathon Tape Runner. Kids often do say the darndest things and I think this advice is perfect.
• If you're feeling blue, try painting yourself a different color !!

And now on to our Llama -----

Funny story about the Llama. I bought the tube of washi for the unicorn design that was included and wondered what I would EVER do with Llama washi tape. I am involved in a fabulous postcard swap group called the Love Notes Postcard Project and this Round, I was lucky enough to be paired randomly with a friend, Anne Ryan. Well, she outdid herself by sending me this wooden Llama postcard that she bought and embellished on the back with a lovely mantra. So, immediately, my Llama washi came to mind and I used it on this card to send to her.. So if she sees  this blog post before the card arrives in Washington state, the cat is out of the bag, so to speak... But I wanted her to know how much she means to me and also how thrilled I was to get to use my Llama washi !! Coincidence, I think not ?!?!

Please check out Celeste's card at her blog -  Crafting Junky. I have a feeling that it is going to be Dino-Mite !! And you will be inspired by Sybrina's project at her blog - Taking Life One Page at a Time . We would love for you to leave us comments and also to follow our blogs. 

This month's coffee is brought to you by a wonderful Iced Coffee - Hazelnut Cinnamon Roll from Guy Fieri ( yep, he makes coffee too. )  I am using one of my Starbucks Reusable cups that I bought for $2 . This is a design from last year and I still love it. Bright and springy !! I hope you have enjoyed our collaboration for the month of May. If you would like to be our guest sometime, please contact me or leave a comment here with your contact info. I look forward to seeing you back here next month and hope we have inspired you. 

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Let Your Dreams Bloom

Another installment of our blog collaboration is here and I guess you could say that we have gone International. Our March guest is my friend, Liz McGuire from Glasgow,Scotland. She is amazingly talented and has been on many Design Teams as well as being published in numerous paper-crafting magazines. We wanted Liz to choose our theme for this month's posts and she came up with this Inspiration Board. Don't you just love these colors, especially with Spring right around the corner ?!?!

As soon as I saw this, I immediately thought of a stamp set that I have had for awhile but have not gotten inky yet. I'm sure you have some of those in your stash,don't you ? I had fun paper-piecing on this card - one of the techniques that I love using, It allows me to combine 2 of my loves - stamps & patterned paper !!

• I started off with a patterned card base by My Mind's Eye that was a perfect color for this challenge. I kind of have a "thing" for boxes of patterned cards. 
• I stamped the succulents and sentiment from the Unity Stamp Company stamp kit Succulent Salutations, which was their June 2016 sentiment kit. It is an amazing kit with the main image, 14 sentiments, a flower and 2 cute birds. My ink pad was  Memories Black India Ink.
• The images/sentiment were stamped on Stardust cardstock and several pieces of scrap patterned paper that were luckily in the colors from this month's Inspiration Board. See, it helps to keep those scraps !! At least, that is what I have been telling myself all these years ...
• A yellow doily was folded and placed in the upper L corner. The sentiment was stamped, then punched out with my ever-faithful square paper-punch. I then stapled it to a contrasting square of patterned paper and attached it to the doily with a Pop-Up Glue Dot.
• On the main image of succulents, I paper-pieced the R and L vases and the middle succulent. I then colored the remaining areas with my Tim Holtz Distres Markers. For some shimmer, I used a Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush Pen. 
• A strip of glitter washi was placed at the bottom of the image as a shelf for the succulents. Tombow Adhesive was used to adhere the stamped images, paper-pieces and doily onto the card.

This month's card has been brought to you by an amazing cup of Jamaica Me Crazy coffee in my wonderfully colorful mag. I hope that you are inspired by our Inspiration Board chosen by Liz and that you liked the card I created. Now it's time for you to head over to  Crafting Junky to see what Celeste came up with. I hope you will also take a look at Liz's blog  Buttons for Brains - I am sure that she has outdone herself !! We welcome your comments on each of our blogs and also invite you to follow each of us. Thank you SO much to Liz for helping us broaden our horizons and taking this collaboration to another level !!

This is where I blog ....

Succulent Salutations

Debra Davison

Meticulosity.blogspot.com

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste 11/13

Welcome back to the blog collaboration of  Deb and Celeste. We had so much fun every week in the month of October that we decided to continue this once a month. Also my friend, Lynne had asked if she could play along with us and that gave us the idea to have a monthly guest. So for the month of November, our guest is the wonderful artist, Lynne Mizera.. We hope that you will visit all three of our blogs and leave us some comments. Lynne got to choose the theme for this month and she picked SNOW.. I hope that you like my card -- the weather is finally getting chilly here, so I put on some holiday music and created this for you.

•  On a Kraft card base, I first stamped the Hello Flags banner from Hero Arts on the left upper side of the card.  The Sassy Snow stamp set from Skipping Stones Design had the perfect snowperson and sentiment for my card. Both images were stamped using Memories Black India Ink. 
• I then cut a piece of white glitter paper to make a hill for my snowperson and the trees and adhered it with my Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue. 
• The  banner was stamped on Merry Little Christmas paper from My Mind's Eye. I adhered several different patterns to the banner and also used some of the banners at the bottom of the card as trees !! 
• Two red candy dots were used as tree-toppers and several snowflakes from my stash were also placed around the snowman. I used glitter markers to highlight the scarf, mittens and nose.
• I also used the Sassy Snow stamp set for the Skipping Stones Blog Hop this weekend.

Today's card -- in the spirit of SNOW -- was brought to you by a cup of Santa's White Christmas Coffee  ( by Barnie's Coffee Kitchen ) and my 2011 Starbucks Holiday Fa-La-La-La ceramic tumbler. I rarely use this tumbler but this was a great opportunity to get it down off the shelf and enjoy my coffee in it !! Head on over to  Crafting Junky to see what Celeste did with our SNOWY theme. And be sure to see what Lynne Mizera did with the theme she chose -- you can find her post here at Lynne's Art World. Lynne is an amazing mixed-media artist and her blog is full of fun from her studio, garden and kitchen, We are thrilled that she asked to join us as our guest this month !!! Take a moment to sign up to follow our blogs when you are checking out our cards. Celeste and I will be back next month with another guest .. And who knows, it could be YOU !!

Thank you once again for visiting Meticulosity !!

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste 10/30

I'm so glad that there are 5 Sundays in October so that Celeste and I can have another Sunday together. It was Celeste's turn to choose a theme and she chose a sketch challenge. I have only done 1 or 2 of these so this was fun for me !!

• I found some Craft Smith emoji washi tape today at Michaels for 80% off  and that was the starting point for this card. I used a large graph paper journal card and made the rows across the card with 3 different patterns of washi. 
• The stamped image is an older one by Inkadinkado and I love it. I have used it many times to make cards for friends at work who were having a rough day. Memories Black India Ink was my ink of choice. I stamped onto a piece of white cardstock then cut it to fit onto a Sherwin-Williams paint sample.
• The paint sample was adhered to the card base and then 3 Neon Enamel Dew Drops by Lawn Fawn were placed on the Right side of the card above each of the washi strips.
• An Amy Tangerine Decorative Roller Stamp by American Crafts was used to make the date on the bottom, stamped onto a pink flag banner.
• Here is the sketch that Celeste chose for us to use :

I freakin' LOVE this stamp !!

Today's card has been brought to you by Mom's Diner Cinnamon Roll Coffee in a fun Retro cup that I bought for $1.99 at Tuesday Morning. Celeste and I have had so much fun doing these blog collaborations that we have decided to continue with them once a month. We hope that you will continue to visit our blogs and follow us. Head on over to Crafting Junky now and see what Celeste has come up with for this week's challenge..

Thank you so much to Celeste for suggesting we do a blog collaboration. It has been so much fun to see what we come up with from each of the weekly themes. Celeste, you are a dear friend and I value our friendship immensely !! I hope that one day we will be able to get together in person and have some creative fun as we sip our coffee - you will have your French Roast and I will have some wonderfully flavored brew !! Looking forward to that day ...

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity ..

Join The Fight For A Cure

I am posting my third and last Think Pink card today in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I absolutely love this stamp set and in the process of buying it, I also made a new friend. I saw a card online that was made with this set - Awareness Ribbon Set #2 . The company is A Creative Journey With Melissa. You can read all about this wonderful company and my new friend Melissa Langford Mueller  HERE. 

• I embossed a piece of white cardstock with the Sizzix "Dotted" Embossing Folder and mounted it on a bright pink card base. 
• I stamped the intertwined ribbon from Awareness Ribbon Set #2 on a piece of pink BasicGrey paper, then fussy-cut it out.I then colored parts of the ribbon with a pink marker.
• The words were stamped onto scraps of red, white and pink paper with Memories Black India Ink, then cut into banner shapes.
• I mounted the heart in the lower Right corner using foam tabs. The flag banners were placed on the upper Left side and adhered with Tombow Mono permanent adhesive. 
• A piece of Maya Road 'Pink Lemonade' Twine was tied around the top of the card.

Cancer has touched me personally many times - my mother passed away of lung cancer in 1996 5 months after her diagnosis/surgery, my brother at 42 years old of colon cancer in 1996 only 1 year post-diagnosis and I had Thyroid Cancer surgery a little over a year ago.  There have also been many other family members and friends who were faced with this diagnosis. In my 30+ years as an RN - 27 of those in Critical Care - I also dealt with what cancer does to those patients diagnosed and also their support systems. But I also have never met a stronger, braver, resourceful group of people in my life. I support those I know who are faced with this diagnosis as a way to give back to those who cared for my loved ones. And  to those who cared for me. 

I hope that you like this card.... It's a nice way to send some Love, Encouragement, Support and Hugs to someone who needs their day brightened.  Thank you for visiting Meticulosity.  I am always grateful for your time and your comments.

A Creative Journey With Melissa

Awareness Ribbon Set #2

Think Pink 10/11

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a few years ago, I got this wonderful "Fight Like a Girl" stamp set from Amuse Studios. Most of the images can be used for any type of Cancer Awareness and it is one of my Go-To stamp sets. I received so much support this past year when I went through my Thyroid Cancer diagnosis and treatment. It meant the world to me and I love paying it forward by supporting others who are fighting their own battles. 

I decided I wanted to have a giveaway this month and offer the set to one of my blog commenters/followers.When I contacted my friend, Chris Franco to see if the stamp set was still available, she was kind enough to offer the set to my winner. Amuse Studio offers this stamp set for only a $3 shipping fee and also has free printables and a calendar. There is also a ribbon die available to purchase that matches the ribbon stamp in the set. They are all available here. I have no affiliation with Amuse Studio at all.Just wanted to offer you a chance to have this fabulous set for your own. Thank you so much to Chris for her kindness. And to Amuse Studio for such a fantastic stamp set.

• I started out with my favorite Kraft cardstock card base and placed some pink floral washi along the top edge and a strip of pink glitter washi down the left side. They are both from the Recollections Tea Party collection.
• I covered a chipboard tag with a piece of Hello Love patterned paper by Crate Paper. After stamping HOPE with Memories Black India ink, I placed several pink and silver sequins on the tag.
• THINK PINK was stamped using Pixie Pink ink by Stampin' Up  and punched out with a square punch. I adhered it to the edge of the tag then stamped the cutest pushpin stamp on the tag/edge of the THINK PINK image.
• The HOPE image was adhered to the Kraft card base using Scotch Pop-up Foam squares.

I will choose 1 random winner on Sunday, October 16. So please comment on this post and sign-up to follow my blog. You will love this stamp set as much as I do. I appreciate you taking the time to visit Meticulosity. There will be another Think Pink card later this week using another amazing stamp set. 

Amuse Studio / Fight Like a Girl

Coffee & Cards with Deb and Celeste 10/9

Welcome to Week 2 of my crafty collaboration with my friend, Celeste !! I'm sure you all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My card today is made with that in mind as our theme for this week is THINK PINK..I guess I still must be on a high from the Fall Coffee ( and Tea and Cocoa )  Lovers Blog Hop because the card also has a tea theme. I wanted to use a stamped image that didn't require lots of coloring but that I could use a variety of pink shades on. This one seemed perfect and I love it !

• On a piece of white cardstock, I stamped a Tea Love image from Unity Stamp Company with Memories Black India Ink. I colored the image using my favorite pinks from Stabilo, Stampin' Up and Distress Markers .And those  2 little prints near the word "tea" were colored with my fingerprint after pressing it onto a pink ink pad.. Below the image I placed a piece of Pastel Welcome Words Washi from Recollections. 
• The Awareness Ribbon stamp ( and die ) are by Amuse Studio. I stamped the ribbon once then die-cut the image and also die-cut a piece of DCWV Watercolor Stack cardstock. That stack is gorgeous with many sheets having a touch of gold foil.They were both placed above the stamped image.
• Pink sequins were scattered throughout the stamped image. A hint of green was used on a tea cup to signify growth because having been through a cancer diagnosis ( mine is Thyroid ), I can tell you that the process includes growth as a person, as a patient, as a survivor.. 
• A piece of contrasting pink paper with sweet little hearts from the Hello Love collection by Crate Paper was placed on the pink card base at an angle. The completed stamped  image was then popped up  ( using Dimensionals ) on top of that paper, also at an angle. I am very OCD about getting images, cardstock etc. straight on a project so I place many images, cardstock etc.  at an angle to allow me to create with just a bit less stress !!

Today's card is brought to you by a wonderful cup of Starbucks Caramel coffee in my fabulous new mug from my friend, Rae. Are we starting to see a theme here with these mugs ?? 

Thank you  for visiting Meticulosity again. Now head on over to see Celeste at her fabulous blog Crafting Junky. Leave her a comment and/or sign up to follow her blog. We hope you are being inspired by our posts. We will see you back here next Sunday !! Make yourself a nice cup of coffee -- or tea -- and create something today !!

Skip {ping} into Fall

Welcome to my second official Blog Hop as a Stamp Tramp for the fabulous Skipping Stones Design. As we enjoy our Fall weather here in Virginia Beach,  the scariest thing on our minds is NOT that Halloween is approaching --- it is Hurricane Matthew !! Hoping our area fares well, along with everyone in the path.. My project for today's Hop uses a sentiment & the doodled bird image from the Best of Birds stamp set. Take a look at all of the wonderful supplies available at the  Skipping Stones Store.This stamp set  is great for any season but today, I used rich Fall colors.  You might have gotten here from Jessie's blog; but just in case you haven't, the line-up is listed at the bottom of this post .. As you can see, I used an embroidery hoop to create a scene for a friend. I was an avid counted cross-stitch fanatic in the past and have many hoops and tons of fabric, so I enjoy putting them to good use in my stamping life..

• I first placed some linen fabric in a wooden hoop. If you do not have fabric, you can always use paper cut to the size of the hoop and glued to the outside rim.  The sentiment was stamped on white cardstock using Memories Black India Ink and then the background was colored using a foam applicator and a Tim Holtz Wild Honey Distress Ink Pad . I adhered the sentiment to the larger piece of fabric and then that piece to the fabric in the hoop.
• I fussy-cut 4 of the doodled birds and color-blocked 3 with Distress Inks. The 4th was colored using a combination of Distress Markers and Stabilo pens. They were then attached to the fabric in the hoop using large Glue Dots.
• Along the top of the sentiment, I alternated used 3 Prima flowers and 2 square Making Memories Crystal brads. A round brad from Making Memories completed the project at the bottom of the hoop.

There will be a giveaway of a stamp set of your choice to one lucky person. All you have to do is comment on each member's post and subscribe to each of our blogs. I hope that you enjoy all of our projects for this Hop !!

Here is the order of our Hop :

• Skipping Stones Design
• Cornelia
• Jessie
• Debra   YOU ARE HERE
• Martha
• Tanja

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity
and for hopping with all of the Stamp Tramps from SSD.