Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / October 2021

In a few short months, the holidays will be here .. And I will be so glad that I have been making holiday cards all year long !! Have you started yours ?? Michael, Lisa and I have been posting every month on the 25th as we've created a holiday card each week throughout the year .. This month we have a Guest Elf and I'm sure she has some fabulous cards to share with us .. Terri Albro Burson is a talented papercrafter, mixed-media artist and designer . We met through our love of paper back in 2014 when I was chosen to be on the Design Team ( my first ) of Mountain Plains Crafters. Terri and a few friends had created an online community and I was lucky enough to become a part of it . She has worked with many amazing companies, most recently as a 2021 Guest Artist for Ranger Ink . I'm sure that she is just as thrilled to be joining us as a Crafty Elf this month !!

My first card features the cutest Christmas Bird stamp from Impression Obsession  . It was on clearance a few months ago, but they have tons of other fabulous stamps for you to choose from .  This stamp was designed by my friend Lindsay Ostrom.

• I stamped Christmas Bird on Strathmore Mixed Media Paper with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink .
• A square scalloped-edge die was used to die-cut the bird image for the card front.
• I colored the bird image with my COPICS, Sharpies & Flair pens.
• A piece of Tim Holtz Christmas washi tape was placed across the center of a piece of green musical notes patterned paper from a Craft Smart "Classic Vintage" paper pad.
• The musical notes panel was adhered to a Kraft card base.
• I popped up the completed bird die-cut with foam tabs for some added dimension .

My next 3 cards were made with the Elfmas Volumes 1 & 2 stamp sets from Ink Road Stamps .It's no secret that Elf is one of my favorite movies and I couldn't wait to ink up these stamps !! I think I know each and every line from the movie word for word. My guy, Brian even got an ELF costume one year during the holidays and came to the hospital where I work to surprise me when I was the ICU Manager . We walked around the different floors and sang Christmas carols with some of the staff and patients !!  A great Christmas memory ..  

• I stamped ELF  on the left side of a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper  with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and the sentiment on the right side with Memento Lady Bug & Bamboo Leaves. I masked the sentiment on the diagonal to get the color blend exactly right . And I love how it turned out .
• I found a scrap of paper that reminded me of Gingerbread houses & their icing and cut a strip to fit down the left side of a Kraft card base.
• The completed stamped panel was adhered next to the patterned strip.

• I stamped ELF in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and the sentiment below that with Memento Lady Bug ink  on Strathmore Mixed Media paper.
• I placed a strip of red snowflake washi in between ELF and the sentiment.
• The stamped panel was adhered to a red cardstock mat .
• A beautiful floral card base was a pretty touch for this card .

• I stamped the 4 Main Food Groups sentiment onto a piece of Mixed Media paper with Tuxedo Black ink.
• I colored the image with my COPICS.
• The stamped image was matted on a piece of red cardstock.
• I adhered a piece of scrap glittery gumdrop paper to a bright blue card base.
• The completed stamped panel was then popped up onto the gumdrops with Foam tabs. I love how bright and colorful this card is !!

Please take a look at the other Crafty Elf cards over at their blog posts for much more holiday inspiration. And don't miss what our Guest Elf has created for us, because I'm sure it is fantastic !! A big Thank-You to Terri for joining us this month ..

Terri Albro Burson - Waving My Wand

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds-Bzibziak - Life of a BZ Scrapper

We are quickly winding down to the holidays .. Have you started your cards yet ?? Leave me a message about the status of your holiday card-making and you could be the lucky person chosen at random to get some Happy Mail from me . I will send you some supplies to use on your holiday cards.. 

For some extra added fun with holiday cards, you can check out the Blog Hop sponsored by the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers group  . Get inspiration, link up a card of your own and you just might win a prize from some great sponsors !!

Falling for the Holidays 2021 {BYSHC} Hop!

Until next time -

Stay safe and always stay creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / October 2021

It is finally almost sweater weather here in Virginia Beach. Well, except for a few days with temperatures still in the 80's !! It does cool off at night though and one morning as I was heading in to work, it was 59 degrees !! Our theme for this month is Halloween and hopefully after last year's cancellation, we will again have trick or treaters ..

For my card today, I used Remi Girl designed by Angie Blom for Unity Stamp Company.  All of the papers are from a fabulous DCWV paper pad - Halloween Town   This pad has the cutest designs of Halloween candy, black cats, trick-or-treaters and pumpkins - just to name a few.  I actually CASEed this card design from a fellow Unity stamper - Jeannie Thomas .. I told her I absolutely loved her card and couldn't wait to play with the design !! I used some non-traditional colors and hope that everyone likes it as much as I do, especially Jeannie !!

• I stamped Remi Girl on Strathmore Watercolor Paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• The image was colored with my COPICS and Flair pens.
• I also stamped the skirt portion of Remi on a piece of Halloween candy patterned paper and fussy-cut it. It was then adhered onto the stamped panel after the coloring was finished .
• A piece of gray checked paper was adhered to a Kraft card base.
• Strips of patterned paper from Halloween Town were cut and adhered at a diagonal on the right bottom area of the gray panel.  This is a great way to use your paper if you don't have washi that goes with your  card . Any paper can be cut into strips and adhered like washi tape !!
• A strip of polka-dot washi was placed down the left side of the gray panel.
• The completed stamped panel was adhered next to the strip of washi .
• Three turquoise dots were placed at the top right of the gray panel.
• "Hocus Pocus" from a Halloween stamp set made for Michaels was stamped inside the newspaper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .

This was a fun card for me to make because I love Remi Girl so much !! She can be used for absolutely any occasion and I know that she will stay on my desk to be used frequently .. I'm sure that Celeste has created something fun for our Halloween theme so take a look at her post over at Crafting Junky . I'm drinking the best Pecan Praline coffee today from a new mug I found at Kohl's online. Isn't it the perfect Autumn mug ?!?!?!?! What have you been drinking lately while you are getting crafty ?? 

Enjoy the Fall weather whoever you are . 

And until next month, Stay Creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity