Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste 10/16

It's week 3 of my creative fun with Celeste and this time,  our theme is Fall colors ...  I absolutely love this crafty stack that I got for $5 at Michaels. It is a 12 x 12 stack from Craft Smith aptly named "Pumpkin Spice". I have been using it on quite a few projects these days. 

• I stamped the Pumpkin image from Unity Stamp Company's  Pumpkin Greetings 3 times - once on plain paper and then again on 2 different patterned papers. I then cut out the patterned pumpkins and adhered them to the plain image. This image was then adhered to a burnt orange card base on the Right side. The ink I used was Memories Black India Ink.
• I cut the journal card from the Pumpkin Spice paper stack by Craft Smith. The '"Autumn is Calling" image was cut from another page. The journal card was adhered to the Left side of the card base and the Autumn image was popped up at the top of that image using Dimensionals.
• Several sequins in both Fall & contrasting colors were placed around the pumpkins. I also scattered some fun glitter around the bottom of the pumpkins. 

Fun sequins and Glitter

This blog post has been brought to you by a Gevalia Mocha Latte made in my Keurig coffee maker and served in my Starbucks re-usable travel cup.  That fun cozy on the cup was made by my creatively talented friend, Hetty Sanders who I met through our mutual love of coffee and papercrafting. I had forwarded her a pic of a cool foxy cozy I had seen and she actually made a few of them herself AND sent me one !! Thanks, Hetty -- I absolutely love it !!

Thank you once again for visiting Meticulosity !! I'm sure Celeste has a fun creation over at her blog, Crafting Junky so head on over there, check it out and leave her a comment.. We hope that you will follow our blogs if you aren't already. It's my turn to pick a theme for next week's card --- any suggestions from my commenters will be welcomed and considered. Have a wonderful week and do something creative !!!

Sending a Bunny To Say Hello

Today I made a cute bunny card to send to a dear friend. The last time I used my embossing paste, I embossed a few extra card bases so I could easily use them to create a quick card in the future.. I had already sprinkled some glitter over the paste before it dried so I had a cute sparkly background to start with..

To finish the card base, I bordered the Left edge of the card with pieces of glitter and text  washi. I then cut a tag from the  Live in Color Tags paper made by Susan K. Weckesser and placed a turquoise sequin in each corner. The little bunny is from the Bunny Hugs stamp set, also by Susan K. Weckesser. I stamped the image with Clearsnap Colorbox Color Pop Archival Dye Ink in Mystery and colored it  with a combination of Distress Markers and Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pens. I adhered the tag to the base with my all-time favorite glue - Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue. It even adheres really well over the glittery base of the card. The bunny was popped up using Stampin' Up dimensionals.

This bright, cheery card will be heading off to say hello to a dear, faraway friend. Next time you sit down to make a card, put together several card bases. You can put patterned paper and a doily on a kraft background or emboss a few backgrounds. Then the next time you need a quick card, you will already have a starting point.

How do you streamline your card-making process ?? This past weekend, I got out my Vagabond machine and cut out  lots of coffee cup and teacup designs and also used embossing folders to create some backgrounds.. So now I have some readily available elements and backgrounds for my next card-making session !! I will be sending  some of these to one lucky commenter. Be sure to follow my blog so you can see what I do with them in the future !!

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity..

Have a great week !!

G45 + MPC Challenge

We have another great challenge with the fabulous Graphic 45. What amazing products they have and the papers I used with my projects have to be some of my all-time favorites !! We were challenged to make projects using a die and a metal embellishment. I'll have to admit that I had a hard time choosing what supplies to use. So I chose the papers first and worked my way from there.

My card was made for my best friend, Sue. It uses G45 Christmas Rose paper which I think is one of the most beautiful designer papers that I have ever seen..The metal embellishment I used is actually from a box of Chesapeake Bay Frosted Vanilla Tealights. It was attached to the cord wrapped around the box !! This card is a combination Christmas/Friendship. I attached the snowflake with some fun scrapper's floss and added a red rhinestone.

Supplies : Graphic 45 "Christmas Rose" paper, 

Karen Foster Scrapper's Floss, 

Sentiment by Authentique stamp set by Hampton Art, 

background stamp by Uptown Design, 

Glitter paper by American Crafts

My second project is a Christmas wall plaque. I have had these Christmas tags by G45 for quite awhile and when this challenge came up, I knew I wanted to do something with them.. I combined them with some stamped images, a glittery flower and some Robin's Nest pebbles. The metal plaque  is from Hobby Lobby and I got it for 50% off -- a great score for only $2.00 !! I used a great die cut from Spellbinders that was the perfect size for the Christmas sentiment. I hope you like this project as much as I do. It will hang in my front hall with my other holiday goodies..

Supplies :  Spellbinders Lacy Sqares Die

G45 Christmas Past tags

G45 stamp set by Hampton Art

Prima 'Holiday Lights" flower

The Robin's Nest pebbles

I hope you like my projects and have also looked at the other blog posts of the Mountain Plains Crafters Design Team.. Comment on the MPC  blog HERE for a chance to win some crafty goodies... Also if you comment on my blog, I will choose 1 lucky winner to get some samples of my favorite G45 paper..

MPC Prize

 Thank you so much for visiting Meticulosity ... It is greatly appreciated !!
Happy Holidays to everyone !!

Art Playing with Adornit and MPC

Thank you so much for joining us for the Adornit & Mountain Plains Crafters Blog Hop !! It's amazing to be involved in another Blog Hop with such a fabulous company and have the opportunity to use their fantastic Art Play Paintables again.There are new designs that just beg to be colored, paper-pieced and used in your next project.

First, I made a card using some fabulous Recollections "Steampunk Botanica" background paper  on a kraft card base. From top to bottom, I sponged Wild Honey and Forest Moss Distress inks, then Stampin' Up Peachy Parfait ink onto an Art Play Paintable. I colored the images with Distress and Neon markers and paper-pieced the mountain and house onto the background. After matting it with both  black and bronze glitter papers, I finished it off with a bit of Stampin' Up lace ribbon. 

"If the Shoe Fits" Art Play Paintable by Michele Hamilton

The second project is an altered cookie/candy dish. Found at Michaels after Halloween last year for $1, I knew it would be fun to decorate it for this year's Trick-or-Treaters !! Using Distress markers, some blingy rhinestones and a few black pearls, I got it all ready for Halloween. A bit of Scotch brand Day of the Dead tape around the top of the dish was the perfect finishing touch. 

"Wicked" Art Play Paintable by Lindsay Waltman-Ostrom

"Wicked" Art Play Paintable by Lindsay Waltman-Ostrom

Alternate sides of candy/cookie dish

My last project is a Pocket Letter for my best friend in the whole wide world who is going through a health crisis with her 25 year old son. She lives in Maine and I am in Virginia. We met about 27 years ago working in the ICU and used to get together all the time to be crafty. I have been addicted to coloring lately and love how it reduces my stress levels,,, So this Pocket Letter is for her.. Some are colored, others are not. I left blank spaces for her and it will be sent to her with an array of markers, colored pencils and crayons !! The tag is an Art Play Paintable  from "Take Flight" by Carolee McMullin and the actual PL uses designs from  "Pray" , Creative Life" and "Create" by Stephanie Ackerman. I hope it relaxes her and allows her to de-stress a bit and think of me coloring  here as she is doing the same there..

Art Play Paintables by Stephanie Ackerman

 Art Play Paintable "Take Flight" by Carolee McMullin

This post has been brought to you by the word .

Collect all of the clues and follow the instructions on Adornit's post for a chance to win a great prize from Adornit. Comment on my blog post here for a chance to win some Art Play goodies from me! Your next stop on this blog hop is the fabulously artistic Paula. She is a creative genius and I cannot wait to see her coloring on this hop's projects. Head over to see her creations and get another word clue. Follow the links on Adornit's post ..

And thank you so much to Adornit for their amazing Art Play Paintables. It was so much fun making all of my projects and I cannot wait to send  the Pocket Letter to Sue... Now I think it's time to start on some Christmas designs !!

I'm Falling for Cocoa

Can't forget about all of the cocoa lovers out there.. As soon as I saw this stamp, I envisioned coloring it with the oranges of Fall.. It is from Unity Stamp Company and is included in the September Kit of the Month.. The sentiment is also a Unity Stamp --from  Delight in the Little Things. Of course, the cup was colored with my Distress Markers. I used my glitter stash to make the whipped cream sparkle.. The background paper is by DCWV and is an older Fall & Halloween Combo Matstack.

There are already over 425 projects linked up to the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. Be sure to comment on my blog posts for a chance to in some coffee goodies from me. You also have a chance to win prizes by linking up your Fall themed project by the deadline.. All rules are on the Blog Hop page.

 Thank you again for visiting Meticulosity !!

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..

Let's Hear It For Bacon

Okay, I can truly say that I have lost my marbles !! I see card-making supplies everywhere.... In the doilies underneath my decaf coffee mug at a local restaurant, in the wooden stirrers and coffee info cards at Starbucks, in advertisements I receive in the mail--- just to name a few... But this one tops it all !! My boyfriend made breakfast yesterday for me and when I looked at the turkey bacon on the plate, all I could see was a lovely scalloped border..

So I made a card using the cutest piece of turkey bacon...Finally broke into my stash of Melissa Frances "Kitschy Kitchen" paper for the background and used a red Paper Bouquet border at the card bottom. An older Inkadinkado sentiment was just perfect and I finished it off with a cup from the Stampin' Up Perfect Blend set.. A wooden stirrer from my Starbucks latte was placed in the cup and topped off with a glittery heart !!

So, tell me what is the oddest thing you have ever used on a project ?? I know that I can't be the only one who sees craft supplies EVERYWHERE !!

Thank you so much for visiting Meticulosity and the first blog post of my 2nd year.. I hope you will continue to visit me as I follow the path on my creative journey..And I hope that I didn't scare you away by playing with my food...

P.S. I did take the real piece of bacon off the card.. I actually made a photocopy of the bacon, cut it out and it looks exactly like the real thing on my card !!

Coffee, my nook ..... And a book

I can spend a whole day at a local bookstore or coffee shop, reading and drinking coffee ( or tea sometimes ).. This stamp set by V's Sweet Ideas was perfect for ME !! At first, I wasn't sure I would like e-readers.. Holding a new book has always been an amazing feeling for me; turning the pages and always picking out a favorite bookmark ( usually hand-made ).. But I have grown to love my nook. I now have almost 1000 books/book samples on it as well as magazines .. I used an American Crafts "Lucky Charm " card base and some of their Glitter paper as a mat. I positioned 3 stamps on an acrylic block and stamped the image. The twine is by Martha Stewart and the sentiment was made with my awesome DYMO label maker.

I have had such fun creating cards for this Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.. I am so happy that you have visited my blog and I am grateful for all of your lovely comments ...

Queens of Glitter

MariLynn DeGroot challenged us to create a glittery card in honor of our crafty sisters .. This was the perfect time for me to finally use my Suzi Blu "Queen of Glitter" stamp by Unity Stamp Company ... On a DCWV Inc. card base, I placed some October Afternoon patterned paper banners.. The glittered edge is a piece of double-sided tape that I poured the leftover glitter on from the stamped image... A bit of paper-piecing, several rhinestones, a red mini-clip and it's done .... Sheryl, Terri, Pam, Jennifer, MariLynn & Paula ••• I love you guys ••• You are my crafty sisters... We are Queens of Glitter !!  And to all of my creative friends, thank you so much for letting me share Meticulosity with you .... I appreciate your support and comments .... Leave a comment about this post and you have a chance to win a glittery surprise !! Also check out the Mountain Plains Crafters blog to see all of our creations ... And Happy Holidays to all of you ...

Let's FALL into a Challenge .....

Without any school-age children at my house, back-to-school doesn't have the same meaning it used to.. No frenzy of shopping for supplies or choosing first day clothes.. But the arrival of FALL in all its glory is a much welcomed time of year. Here in  Virginia Beach this summer, we have had many weeks of 90+ degree weather. It is humid, sticky and downright uncomfortable.. I am not a beach or pool person; cooling off in the water is not an option. So each year, I look forward to FALL and all it brings.. Sweater weather.. Salted Caramel Lattes.. Bonfires.. Multi-colored leaves.. And many options for cards during this Year of Creativity for me !! I have a whole drawer of Fall themed supplies, just waiting to inspire me..

Everyone over at Mountain Plains Crafters has also been inspired and we have another challenge for you. The theme is Leaves/Autumn. Go with leafy, autumn or combine them. Create a new project, link it to the blog post and you will have a chance to win an amazing prize from our sponsor, Pan Pastel - a Donna Downey Mixed Media Kit (colors may vary)...

Check out what I created below and then stop by the MPC Blog to see all of the creations by our Design Team members. The Challenge lasts until September 24.. Hope to see your new creations !!

Supplies :  Inkadinkado Pumpkin Girl stamp, Stampin' Up sentiment, Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells paper ( pleated into a border ), Martha Stewart Fire Opal Glitter

After stamping the Pumpkin Girl design on a dotted background paper, I stamped it a second time on Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells paper. I cut out the pumpkins and paper-pieced them onto the original design. I cut a strip of contrasting paper from the same collection and folded it back and forth onto itself to make pleats. You can do this either free-hand or by using a scoring tool. I used Mini Glue-Dots to adhere each section. A Stampin' Up sentiment completed the card.. I absolutely love the rich colors on this card and was especially happy to find that glitter in my stash. It was perfectly pumpkin !! 

Also, anyone who comments on this blog post of mine during this challenge will be entered in a drawing to win an Autumn themed card from me in addition to a few other goodies... So comment and tell me what you like most about Autumn..