Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / January 2023

The Crafty Elves are back to start off your New Year with some holiday inspiration !! It was nice to have a stash of cards for the 2022 holiday season, so we decided to come back again for 2023.  We will all be posting at least 1 card and if we are extra creative, there might be additional cards. Did you make your holiday cards throughout 2022 with us ?? Or was there a mad rush to make some and then a quick trip to the store or  maybe Amazon for last minute cards ?? I will admit that I did hit the Hallmark after-Christmas sale and bought cards, coffee cups and a nightshirt !!

To kick off 2023, we have a Guest Elf !! Chris Franco is a fabulous papercrafter and most importantly, my dear friend .. She is a consultant for Close To My Heart and that link will take you to a wonderful world of stamps, paper, etc. !!! She is my CTMH enabler and knows just what I can't live without .. It is also her birthday this month - January 23 - so we wish her a wonderful birthday month !! I hope it was filled with fun, family AND cake !! Here are Chris's  social media links . Please take a look at her  wonderful creativity ..

• Chris Franco - Stamped Blessings
  
•  Chris's Facebook Page
• Chris's Instagram
  

For my card this month, I chose a favorite Close To My Heart stamp/die set - WINTER IN A BOTTLE. It's no longer available but there are 100's of other wonderful holiday sets by CTMH . They also have the most amazing sales throughout the year and believe me, I have shopped many of them !! The card that I made is a CASE card . I saw a card made by another CTMH consultant  - Kristina Baldwin -  and fell in love with it .. So, thank you so much for the inspiration, Kristina !!

• I stamped the Skyline and Jar from "Winter in a Bottle" on watercolor paper with a Memento Jet Black ink pad .
• The snowflakes were also stamped on watercolor paper with Memento Dew Drop inks - Teal Zeal & Summer Sky .
• The jar, skyline and snowflakes were die cut with the matching dies.
• I cut the sky backdrop from a piece of white glitter paper also with a die from the Winter in a Bottle set .
• The sentiment was stamped in Nautical Blue Memento ink and then cut into a banner shape .
• I adhered a piece of checked paper from the Echo Park "Home Again" 6x6 paper pad onto the lower right side of a  pale green card base.
• The skyline image was colored with my COPICS.
• The glitter sky and stamped skyline were adhered inside the jar.
• I tied a piece of Christmas twine around the neck of the stamped jar and then adhered it to the checked panel . 
• Rhinestones were placed at the center of the snowflakes and then I adhered them around the completed stamped image,
• The sentiment was adhered to the checked panel .
  
• 2 clear rhinestones were placed down the top left side of the card base . 

Michael, Lisa and Misty are also welcoming 2023 with me . We will be back each month on the 25th to inspire you to start on your holiday cards .. It was nice to have a stash this past holiday when it was time to start mailing out cards!! Please take a look at the other Crafty Elf creations .. I'm sure that they are all fabulous as always !!

Michael Trent / World of Michael Trent

 Lisa Reynolds-Bzibziak / Life of a BZ Scrapper

Misty Lavigne - Jolly Fat Elf on You Tube

Thank you for joining us for our first post of 2023 !! We're excited to be back to inspire you to get a head start on your holiday cards !! I'd also like to thank Chris Franco for helping us get the New Year started. We hope that she is having an amazing birthday month !!

Until next time, Stay Creative 

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / January 2023

Another year is starting - time to get organized, make resolutions, plan your next 365 days .. Celeste and I are back with our January Coffee and Cards posts to welcome 2023. Our theme is Books. I am an avid reader and know I will have fun choosing a few books to start off my 2023 reading list .

For my card , I chose an older stamp from Whimsy Stamps - Book Worm. It's no longer available but they have a few other fun book-related stamps. I have been a bookworm since childhood - and can remember "reading" with my dad long before learning the alphabet !!

• I stamped the image with a Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad on white Mixed-Media paper.
• The image was colored with COPIC markers.
• I matted the stamped panel with green cardstock,
• I adhered a piece of book patterned paper from the American Crafts Project Life paper pad - Desktop Edition onto a turquoise card base.
• The completed stamped panel was then adhered to the book paper.
• A Tim Holtz Idea-ology sticker phrase was placed in the bottom right corner of the completed stamped panel .

I'm excited to see what Celeste did with one of my favorite themes !! You can check out her project over at her blog - Crafting Junky .  Are you a reader ?? If you are, let me know one of your favorite books so I can add it to my reading list .  I will choose one commenter to send a card and bookmark to .

My coffee today is my all-time favorite - Gingerbread.  I found some Starbucks K-cups on sale at Target and also some boxes of store brand K-cups at Food Lion  for $2 each, so I stocked up !! And because I'm drinking "holiday" coffee, why not use a holiday mug I picked up at Life is Good at a recent sale.. This might just be a new favorite mug .. 

Thank you for joining us as we kick off the New Year with our book-themed posts .. We'll be back in February with more Coffee and Cards. Until then, stay creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity