Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / November 2025

I really cannot believe that it is already November and Christmas is only 30 days away.. I have been retired since 0ctober 1 and still have a hard time remembering what day of the week it is or if I have to work tomorrow or on the weekend. It's taken some getting used to but I sure will be glad to not have to work any holidays this season.

For my card this month, I used Aubree Girl by Angie Blom , This is such a fun holiday design and easy to color . I hope you like it as much as I do .

• I stamped the Aubree Girl image on white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
• Aubree was colored with my COPICS .
• I cut the image panel with a Rectangle Big and Little Pierced Chain Die .
• On a bright green card base, I adhered a piece of vertical striped holiday paper .
• I popped up the completed stamped panel with White Dimensionals .

Grab a cup of coffee or tea or even cocoa and take a look at what Michael and Lisaa have made for November. You can find their cards at the links below -

Michael Trent -  World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZscrapper

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you find some time for yourself to be creative this week in the midst of all the holiday hustle and bustle.  

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

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / August 2021

Celeste & I have chosen a birthday theme for this month . That leaves us with so much to work with and I couldn't wait to get started. I wanted to go with a non-traditional design - no cake, no candles .. And of course, I found the perfect stamp in my stash ..We hope our cards  inspire you to make a  birthday card for someone special in your life .. I'm sure you have the prefect stamp in your stash .

The stamp I chose to use is from the Planner Gal collection by Angie Blom for Unity Stamp Company - All About You . And it had the sweetest sentiment in the set also . 

Today is All About You

• I stamped the Planner Gal image on watercolor paper, leaving space on the right side for my sentiment .
• The sentiment was stamped to the right of the Planner Gal image .
• I colored the images with COPIC markers and Flair pens.
• A strip of Sarah Frances Rainbows washi was placed underneath the sentiment.
• The stamped panel was matted onto a piece of adhesive-backed cork .
• The completed panel was adhered to a floral card base .

Celeste's birthday creation can be found over at her blog - Crafting Junky .I'm so glad that you stopped by to see what we have for you this month !! For my August coffee, I found this cute mug for 59 cents at Hobby Lobby last week and I'm drinking some delicious Vanilla Macadamia Nut coffee.  What is your drink of choice when being creative ??

Be Your Own Kind of Wonderful

Thank you for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to share our collaboration . We always do appreciate it and hope to see you next month . And maybe we will have some cooler weather by that time. 

Until we see you in September.

Stay Creative & especially Stay Healthy

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / June 2021

Can you believe that it is June already ?!?! We are halfway through the year  - and what a year it's been  I hope that all of you have been safe and healthy . As Michael, Lisa and I show you our holiday cards for June, we also have a guest again to show you hers !! Have you been working on your cards along with us ?? I know I'll be so happy when December rolls around and my cards are ready to be signed and sent.  I have been addressing envelopes each month too, which is also a big help when the season rolls around ..

My first card is made with a Lil' inker Designs stamp set. This company is no longer in business, but I just had to ink this stamp set up for this  post !!  I know I have had it for a few years so it was about time to get creative with it ...

• I stamped the image with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink on Mixed Media paper and also on a piece of pastel shaded paper .
• I fussy-cut the bird and the banner from the shaded paper.
• The Mixed Media stamped image was colored with my COPIC markers. 
• The shaded bird's body and banner were adhered on top of the stamped panel image.
• The panel was trimmed and then adhered to a piece of red glitter cardstock.
• The red glitter panel was then adhered to a piece of red/black plaid patterned paper.
• The completed panel was adhered to a cream card base.

This next card uses one of my favorite Angie girl images by Unity Stamp Company - Pure and Simple . It was inspired by the latest sketch challenge over at the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Group on Facebook . My friend, Crystal Minkler is an Admin of that group and she is also our special guest this month . Her group has a new Sketch Challenge each month and encourages us to get an early start on our holiday cards .

• The Pure and Simple image was stamped on watercolor paper, punched out with a 2.5 inch circle punch and then colored with my  COPICS.
• I placed a strip of my favorite Tim Holtz Noel washi tape  across a piece of plaid patterned paper - just a bit above the center of the paper. This paper already had that splatter pattern that is so cool !!!
• On a black card base, I adhered the plaid paper..
• I adhered the stamped image to the right side over the washi tape.
• A sentiment cut from a paper pad was popped up to the left of the stamped circle.

I absolutely love this Santa's List stamp set from Essentials by Ellen . I purchased it at a recent sale that they had and was excited to use it for one of my cards !The finished product was nothing like what I had imagined creating, but I'm overall happy with the card ..

• I stamped the Santa, tree, and sled with bag on Mixed Media paper with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam Ink . I cut the paper to fit an A2 card and created a scene with the stamped elements .
• The tree was also stamped on a piece of green patterned paper and fussy-cut .
• The bag was also stamped on Kraft and fussy-cut .
• The list was stamped on a scrap of Mixed Media paper and fussy-cut.
• Tim Holtz Christmas/Noel washi was placed at the bottom of the stamped panel and also under the tree and Santa. 
• The stars were stamped with Memento Dew Drop Dandelion and the sentiment with Memento Dew Drop LadyBug.
• I fussy-cut the list and popped it up with foam tabs near Santa's hand.
• The glittery red border at the top was creates with a Martha Stewart punch.
• I placed a strip of Tim Holtz washi across the top of the border .
• The completed stamped panel was adhered to  a piece of the same paper that I had used to fussy-cut the tree.
• A cream card base was used for this card.

My final card was made with an older stamp/die set from Erin Lee Creative . It is.  n longer available but they have many more fabulous products to choose from .

• The Vintage Postcard panel was cut from a piece of 12x12 paper in a CraftSmith Classic Vintage Paper Pad. 
• I adhered the postcard panel to a tan card base.
• The girl and snowman were stamped in Gina K Amalgam Jet Black ink  on Mixed Media paper and then die-cut.
• I colored the images with my COPICS.
• The images were adhered to the postcard panel - the girl was popped up with foam tabs.
• A Tim Holtz sentiment completed the card .

We are lucky to have the very talented Crystal Minkler joining us this month. Her cards are always fabulous and I have no doubt that this one will be just as amazing. You can check out her card and also Michael and Lisa's at their links below :

Crystal Minkler - Tawny Owl Paperie

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Bzibziak Reynolds - Life of a BZScrapper

As always , we hope that we have inspired you to begin your holiday cards and decrease some of the stress that the season can hold. There are 5 months left so you still have time to join in on the fun and get yours started !! We will be back next month for our Christmas in July posts and we just might have an extra special guest elf . Until then, please take care, stay happy and healthy and also stay creative !!

Debra Davison 

Meticulosity.blogspot

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

My Planner Gals - GIU Day 4

Thank you all so much for visiting my blog for my first 3 GIU posts. For Day 4, I decided to let you all take a peek into my Happy Planner for this week.  I sometimes think that my planner is way more organized than I am, but I do have fun decorating the pages !! Does anyone else feel that way ?? 

I absolutely fell in love with the new Planner Gals by Angie Blom. Now that I have purchased these, they have also come out with short-haired Gals . ( There might be another Unity purchase in my future !! )

• Planner gals and their sentiments were stamped with Memories Black India ink. I used two of the gals - Be a Beauty & Don't Be Perfect. I stamped the images on blank planner pages from previous months, the cut them and adhered them to the pages for this week.
• I colored in the images with Distress Markers and Faber - Castell PITT Artist pens  and drew stripes on the be-you-tiful gal's shirt 
• Some of the flowers were highlighted using a Zig Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush Pen. This has to be one of my very favorite pens for adding shimmer to a project !! I also used some "Rock Candy" Distress Stickles Glitter Glue .
• I added some Craftsmith washi tape from their French word /black stripe set, purchased at Michaels. I am not a "fill in every bit of white space" planner girl, Unlike my need to add more and more to cards that I make, I am more of a minimalist when it comes to decorating my planner.
• A "hoarded" banner sticker and some enamel dots by Basic Grey also were added to the pages. I used a variety of stickers and embellishments to highlight weekly activities.  I like to leave space for spur-of-the-moment fill-ins.

My $5.99 Blitsy Happy Planner

Hard to believe that Day 4 is here . I'll be back again tomorrow with my final project and hope you will stop by to see it. I want to thank everyone at Unity Stamp Company for giving us all this chance to show our creative side to everyone.  Their stamps are amazing and their designers are phenomenal !!  I'll see you back here at Meticulosity tomorrow. Please comment on each post this week for your chance to win a grab bag of 25 Unity stamps.

Happy Stamping !!