Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste /April 2021

Celeste and I are back for our April Coffee & Cards posts !! It is National Letter Writing Month so we decided to do a Snail Mail / Happy Mail post .. I send many letters and postcards every month to friends all over the world . But in April, I am in a group that assigns a penpal for the month, so I am sending even more snail mail than usual..  And this past year when we have all been spending much of our time at home and away from friends and loved ones, it's even more important to stay connected . It's always nice to see a letter from a friend in my mailbox. So, pick up a pen and some paper and write a note to someone.. You will make their brighter !!

I love all things snail mail - postage stamps, rubber stamps, paper, washi etc.. It was hard to choose a stamp set to use but I finally decided on Mr. Snailman from Trinity Stamps . The set includes a cute snail, sentiments and also stamps suitable for decorating your envelopes !!

Snail Mail - paper hug enclosed

Envelope Art

• On a pink-pattered card base, I adhered a piece of envelope patterned paper from the sweet Lucky Charm paper pad from Dear Lizzy by American Crafts .
• I stamped the snailman image on a piece of Solar White  cardstock and also on an April calendar panel from Graphic 45.
• Snail Mail was stamped with Ladybug Memento ink.  The snail and sentiment were stamped with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink .
• I fussy-cut the snail shell from the Neenah cardstock.
• The images were colored with my COPICS.
• I  created a border with a Martha Stewart border punch and a piece of vintage white ledger paper also from the Lucky Charm paper pad.
• A strip of thin pink confetti washi was placed down the vintage white border.
• I adhered the border down the left side of the card.
• I popped up the Neenah cardstock snail shell on top of the snail with a foam tab.
• The calendar panel was also popped up on the front of the card with foam tabs.

I also used several images from the Mr. Snailman stamp set to decorate the front of the envelope for this card . I always like to at least add some stickers or a stamped image to the front and back of my envelopes. Some of the envelopes I have received from friends are true works of art !!

I am sure that Celeste has created a fabulous Happy Mail card .. You can check out her post over at her blog - Stamping Junky ..Today I am drinking Twinkie coffee from a Mikasa cup. The pattern - Garden Gallery - is perfect for a gorgeous Spring day !!

I hope that you all are doing well and staying safe. Take care of yourself .. Thank you for visiting me once again  at  Meticulosity.. Until next time, Stay Creative !! And don't forget to let someone you know that you are thinking of them -  write a letter and send it off soon !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Christmas in July - GIU Day 5

For those of you who know me well, my love of ALL things Christmas is no secret. Patterned paper, stamps, washi, embellishments. You name it and I love it !! So I couldn't let my last GIU day pass by without a holiday card. And because I can be a bit quirky at times, it's not a traditional red & green card.  

Ever since I saw the Imagine Only stamp by Angie Blom, I have thought of making a holiday card with it.  This has been a fabulous GIU week for me and all of you are the reason why !! I could never thank you enough for all of your visits to Meticulosity and also your comments. They made me excited for each of my 5 posts !!

• Once again, I stamped on patterned paper - this time, I used Crate Paper's Peppermint collection. I cut the paper  to include the pretty scalloped border. I also stamped the image again on a doily-patterned piece of Peppermint collection paper and fussy-cut the headband and dress . All images were stamped with Memories India Black ink.
• The image was colored with my favorite Distress markers and Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens . A Zig Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush pen added a bit of shimmer. A silver glitter pen by Kaiser gave her eyelashes a little "pop"..
• A bit of fine glitter was added to the areas around the girl. To me, Christmas + card-making = glitter  ( to the horror of my guy, who ends up wearing it most days !! )  
• I placed a variety of washi across the bottom of the of the card. The teal washi strip under the girl is from My Mind's Eye, the snowflake washi with a hint of red is by Docrafts and the last 2 snowflake washi are from Recollections @ Michaels.
• I just couldn't find  the perfect saying for this card so I decided to use a die-cut from the Graphic 45 "Christmas Past" collection. I adhered it to a piece of slightly larger silver glitter paper.
• I adhered paper and elements with Tombow adhesive - the permanent adhesive runner for larger areas and the MONO Aqua Liquid adhesive for smaller areas. 
• AND because it is a holiday card especially, I could not say enough was enough. Soooooooo, I added a few Basic Grey Opaline half-pearls along the top scalloped border. 

It's hard to believe my week is at an end. Please comment on each post this week for a chance for 2 lucky winners to receive a grab bag of 25 Unity stamps. Winners will be chosen at random.  Comment by midnight EST on Sunday, July 30. I hope you will continue to support all of the GIU girls. There will be 2 more next week who will share their creativity with us. And again, a big thank-you to Unity Stamp Company for allowing me to be a GIU gal !! I hope all of you were inspired and  I would love to see what you create with your fabulous Unity stamps. 

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity.

Debra Davison

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 !!

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. 

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.. 

Reading, Writing, 'Rithmetic.....

On  the Mountain Plains Crafters blog this weekend, we were inspired to create projects with an End of Summer / Back to School theme. I thought about my all-time favorite teacher and created this card below. I am always reminded of Miss Igo at the start of each school year. The ABC's, the ruler, the stacks of books and the apple for a favorite teacher all bring back wonderful memories of my time in her class. The words on the tissue tape -- Journey, Artful, Imagination -- were by chance at the end of the tape when I tore it off. Perfect words as I reflected back to first grade and created a card to remind me of my adventures in Reading, Writing & 'Rithmetic.... Tell me about your favorite End of Summer / Back to School memory in the comment section . And be sure to check out all of the Design Team Members' cards in the MPC blog .

Supplies: Darice embossing folder, Graphic 45 ABC Primer stamps, 2 Berry Creative twine, Tim Holtz tissue tape, ruler washi tape, Core'dinations Whitewash cardstock . Cardstock was embossed then sanded to reveal the color underneath.