Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / December 2020

It is so hard to believe that Christmas is here !! This is our last post of 2020 And then it is on to 2021. I don't think anyone will be sorry to see this year in our rear-view mirror . On to bigger and better AND happier and healthier !! Michael and Lisa and I will all be back for another year of Crafty Elves . But for this month, we are each posting 1 card and then choosing our favorites from each other.  And believe me, that was a hard task because all of their cards were amazing !!

If you know me at all, you know that I love to read.. I have been a bookworm my entire life !! I am in several book groups on Facebook and love keeping up with everyone's latest reading list.. I actually met several like-minded readers in one group and we actually created our own group - Novel Characters . Last year we started a Christmas Book Exchange and my card today is the one I sent with my book to my fellow reader this year ..

• I stamped the READ Bookshelf onto watercolor paper with  Gina K Amalgam Jet Black ink  and trimmed it, leaving room on the right side and the bottom.
• The image was colored with my COPICs  and Faber-Castell Pitt Artist pens.
• A thin strip of gold washi was placed at the bottom of the watercolor panel and then a strip of book washi above that, ending near the bottom of the book shelf.
• I used planner stickers to add the 2020 to the panel.
• A piece of pale green patterned paper was adhered to a light green card base.
• The completed panel was adhered near the top of the card and a Tim Holtz sentiment sticker finished the card perfectly.

I also made a bookmark to send with the card - using a great stamp set by A Jillian Vance Design - Coffee and Books . The bookmark is backed with thick cardstock and then a piece of lined ledger paper  so the reader can take notes or keep a book list. I love this card and bookmark and can't wait to see what the recipient thinks !! Hopefully  the USPS won't let me down and the card will delivered safely ..

What can I say about Michael's cards ?? They are always colorful - they are beautiful - they are always amazing !! I actually chose one of his more "subdued" cards as my favorite . It is absolutely beautiful and you can read all about it here in his July 2020 post . When I look at this card, the word I think of is "SERENE" - something that this year was sorely lacking.. This card is perfect !!

Lisa has a knack for creating the most intricate scenes in many of her cards !! I am envious of her talents .. But for my favorite, I chose a slimline card that she created that just explodes with Christmas Spirit !! The colors POP and the glitter washi along the bottom adds just the right touch of shimmer. You can read all about her card in her October 2020 post .

I have a few more to send but otherwise, I am done with my Holiday cards.. I am working a 12 hour shift at the hospital this year so we will be celebrating  Christmas on the 26 with  a spiral ham and all the fixins !!! And sometime during the first week of 2021, I will be starting on my Christmas cards oncc again !! I hope that you will join us throughout the New Year, But for the last posts of 2020, please take a look at what Lisa and Michael have created for December and also their favorites of their fellow Crafty Elves..

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZ Scrapper

Until next time ( in 2021 ), Stay Creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - January 2020

A New Year has begun and the Crafty Elves are back for more .. Last year. my amazingly talented friend Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak and I created a Christmas card each week and blogged about it on the 25th of each month.  We kept each other inspired and when the holidays rolled around, we had a nice stash of cards ready !! I had many friends comment that they were going to try to do the same this year along with us . And for 2020, Lisa and I have each added a Crafty Elf to our Christmas Countdown. Michael Trent is joining me from Brasil with his blog- World of Michael Trent and Lisa has asked Jessica Pickeral from Polka Dot Orchard. We are thrilled to have them for our 2020 posts !!

I learned a few things over the course of 2019. This year I will be addressing my envelopes as I make my cards.Even though I had many cards made, it still took quite a bit of time to address envelopes, stamp the insides of the cards and put my "Made By" stamp on the backs of the cards. I send many cards to the same people every year so I will be ahead on that for 2020.  Another tip I have for our Countdown is to choose your stamps, supplies at Week 1 for the entire month. I have MANY Christmas/holiday sets and I had a hard time choosing each week, especially when I was trying to work quickly on my deadline to finish a card each week. So this month, I chose 4 stamps/sets and put them in my dedicated Countdown to Christmas box, along with other supplies I thought I would use. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has plans to make a card and then when you sit down to finally get started, you can't find that 1 supply you had your heart set on !!

For  January, I gathered some holiday washi, twine, my Versafine Clair Nocturne ink pad and my favorite 3.5  x 5 watercolor Visual Journal by Strathmore. I also placed 4 stamp sets in the box and these were my main supplies for the month. Another tip is to stamp extra images and keep those in your stash so you have some ready to color or embellish for more cards . I'm starting 2020 off with one of my favorite new images from Unity Stamp Company.

• Unity Stamp Company's Pure and Simple is a favorite of mine. She was stamped on watercolor paper with Nocturne ink.
• I colored portions of the image with Red & Green and trimmed the image to fit my card base.
• A strip of red plaid washi was placed along the left side of the watercolor image, next to the torn edge.
• I popped the image up on a black A2 card base with foam tabs.

For my next 3 cards, I chose stamp sets by Flora & Fauna .I used Mini Holiday Van, Mini Reindeer Love and Mini Aviary. I love these little stamp sets and used several others last year for the Countdown. All images were stamped on Strathmore watercolor paper.

• The van was stamped with Nocturne Ink on the watercolor paper and I colored each of them with my Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens.
• I stamped the tree on top of the vans with Memento Dew Drop ink in Bamboo Leaves and the sentiment below the vans in Lady Bug.
• A strip of red glitter washi was placed below the red van and a thin strip of gold marbled washi below the blue van.
• I matted the blue van with a piece of metallic green paper.
• A piece of tree washi was placed down the side of the torn edge of the blue van . It matched the card base perfectly even though from 2 different companies !!
• I tied a piece of holiday twine along the torn edge of the red van and a piece of natural twine along the edge of the blue van.
• I used a red card base for the red van and a tree-patterned card base for the blue van.
• These stamps were so cute that I couldn't resist making 2 cards !!

• The reindeer was stamped in Nocturne ink  towards the bottom of a page of my watercolor paper.
• The sentiment was stamped with a Memento Dew Drop in Lady Bug  and the holly with Bamboo Leaves. 
• I colored the reindeer with a Tombow Dual Brush marker.
• At the top of the watercolor paper, I adhered a border made with a scrap of red snowflake patterned paper,
• Across the top of the border, I adhered a piece of red glitter washi and a piece of holly washi.
• Red rhinestones were placed on the holly leaves for berries.
• A gold glitter heart was adhered  next to the sentiment.

• The bird/branch image was stamped with Nocturne ink.
• I stamped the sentiment with a Bamboo Leaves Dew Drop by Memento.
• I colored the bird with my Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens.
• A strip of gold glitter washi was placed under the branch and a strip of pinecone washi beneat that.
• Red rhinestones were added to the branches.
• I adhered the completed watercolor panel to a piece of metallic pink paper.
• The entire completed panel was adhered to a patterned card base . 

I hope that you are inspired by my January cards !! Are you working on your stash already ?? Please take a moment to look at the other Crafty Elves' creations -

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak @   Life of a BZScrapper

Michael Trent @ World of Michael Trent

Jessica Pickeral @ Polka Dot Orchard

Lisa and I are so glad that Michael and Jessica have joined us as Crafty Elves !! We are a veritable Santa's workshop of holiday card-making. Looking forward to seeing you next month with our February projects !!

Debra Davison/ Meticulosity

December Cookies - Take 1

For Challenge #132 at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie, we have a sweet inspiration photo - another take on the holiday favorite - gingerbread !! We would love for you to join us and link up a project of your own  - you have through January 8 . I am a BIG fan of all things Gingerbread -- lattes, tea,  etc..  We hope you are inspired by the projects of our Design Team..

     

• I chose a fun digi stamp by Angela Y Designs on Etsy -  Gingerbread Angela - and printed it on watercolor paper.
• The image was trimmed and then colored with a variety of my favorite markers - Faber-Castell, Tombow and Staedtler. 
• I kept a margin on the left side of the image and added three strips of washi tape lengthwise next to Gingerbread Angela.
• The stamped image waa mounted onto a Kraft card base.
• A Crate Paper ephemera HO HO HO postage stamp was popped up next to Angela.

I really like how this card turned out.... I had colored another one and made a few boo-boos, so I colored it again !! I'm sure I'm not the only one who does that .. Take a look at the other projects by my teammates over at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie. I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday full of lots of love , surrounded by friends and family. I look forward to seeing you back here for more challenges in 2020.

Until next time, Say Creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - August

Lisa - aka BZ Scrapper - and I have been making a Christmas card each week since January. Sometimes we have even made more !! We post each month on the 25th and it's time for our August  cards. After a brutal month of crazy hot weather, today it is in the 70's, so I was a little bit more in the holiday spirit !! Hard to believe that there are only 4 months until Christmas . Have you started on your holiday cards ?? We hope you will follow along with us as the Crafty Elves count down to Christmas !!

• For my first card, I used a beautiful stamp from Stampendous - Snowy Postcard .  I stamped the image on watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink . I used my MISTI so I could stamp a few times and get a nice, crisp image.
• I cut the image to fit on a wood grain card base, leaving a small border around the edge. 
• The image was colored in a few areas with glitter markers and Faber-Castell PITT Artist  Pens.
• I adhered the image to the card base with my Pink Scotch ATG Gun.
• The rooftops were dusted with Sugar Shimmer Fairy-Dust Glitter .

• Next I have a card using the Spellbinders Merry & Bright Stamp and Die Set . I again stamped the image on watercolor paper using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink. 
• The image was cut out with the matching die. 
• I colored the image with Sharpies and glitter markers.
• I cut a piece of snowman patterned paper from the CraftSmith Say Freeze collection. 
• A piece of holiday twine was wrapped around the patterned paper and tied on the front.
• After adhering the patterned paper to a bright green card base, I popped up the Merry & Bright  die cut with foam dimensionals.

• I bought the Pink Fresh Simple Joy stamps and dies because the cat reminded me of our Pixie !! I stamped the images on watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink then die cut them. 
• The images were colored with Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens. It's hard to see but Santa is wearing a cool pair of red framed glasses !!
• I adhered a piece of green gingham paper to a bright red card base. 
• A red scalloped border was added to the top of the green gingham and a piece of black wood-grain washi was placed across the bottom.
• The Santa and cat images were adhered to the card base with my ATG Gun  and the sentiment was popped up with foam dimensionals.

• My last card was also shared on the If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Challenge blog this week. The cookie  theme included llamas so I created a holiday card with a Fa La La La Llama !! 
• I cut a piece of Recollections Holiday Bash paper to fit my green card base.
• The Inkadinkado FaLaLa Llama was stamped in Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink on Neenah Stardust White cardstock, then trimmed to fit on the lower right side of the card.
• A gold doily was folded over the top left edge of the card to create a corner element.
• Several pastel candy dots were placed around the llama.
• I used a border paper punch to make the JOY design, then cut it to place it at the top of the card across the doily.
• 2 large Teal candy dots were placed on the left side of the JOY design.

Lisa's cards can be found at her blog - Life of a BZ Scrapper . I'm sure her cards are fabulous as always !! We are thrilled that you are joining us as we continue to create our cards and get ahead of the holiday rush !! Have you started yours yet ??  It's never to late to start . We will be back again next month with more Crafty Elf creativity.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

May Cookies - Take 3

As soon as I saw the Cookie Challenge picture for this post, I immediately thought of a friend's daughter . She is bright and articulate and wants to be a scientist when she grows up .. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she became President of the United States !! Or an astronaut, or a nuclear physicist or maybe even an amazing doctor or nurse. Her possibilities are endless. Her name is Claire and she was my inspiration.  Whatever she chooses to do with her life, I have no doubt that she will make a huge impact !!

I used the fun Super Girl set  from Close To My Heart  that I bought from my amazing friend Chris Franco. You can find her  fabulous creations at  Stamped Blessings . The Super Girl set  is retired but there are plenty of other great products available. I am a pretty good clearance shopper and got the Super Girl stamp AND die set for only $6 !! I hope you like what I created for the Super Girl that I know - Claire !!

• I first embossed a cloud background with an embossing folder onto blue cardstock, then trimmed it down to fit on a 5 x 7 card . The clouds are easier to see on the close-up below these instructions.
• The images were stamped on Strathmore 400 Series Watercolor Paper using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink.
• I used the matching dies to cut out the girl and WOW images . The sentiment was punched out with a Tag punch.
• I colored the images with my Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens .
• The buildings at the bottom are from a scrap piece of DCWV paper. I cut it to fit at the bottom of the watercolor paper to look like Super Girl was flying over the city.
• I adhered the images to the background using my Scotch Pink ATG Gun.
• Glossy Accents  was used to highlight her glasses.

This was a fun challenge !! I hope that you will be inspired to create a project of your own and link it up before June 13. Be sure to go to the IF YOU GIVE A CRAFTER A COOKIE blog and take a look at the other creations from our Design Team.  I'm going to put my card in the mail to Claire, along with some stickers !! Because what Super Girl doesn't love fun stickers !!! Some might even have glitter on them.. 

Until next time, Stay Creative !!

Debra Davison/ Meticulosity

March Cookies 2019 - Take 2

Cookie Challenge #113 at If You Give A Crafter A Cookie is a fun take on one of my favorite images - Ladybugs !!  But I quickly realized that I didn't have any ladybug stamps at all . An Internet search came up with thousands and I finally chose a cute digi-stamp from Star Stampz on Etsy. I loved that our inspiration photo this time had purple ladybugs and continued that theme in my card ..

I am somewhat of a paper hoarder but when I was designing this card,  I knew that I wanted to use my Graphic 45 "Secret Garden"  Patterns & Solids paper pad. It had the perfect colors that I was looking for and once again, I mixed a few patterns !! Thesepapers are gorgeous and I;m glad that I finally took the plunge and used them for this card !!

• I printed the Spring Ladybug image on Neenah Stardust White cardstock , trimmed it and then cut a piece of Kraft cardstock as my card base .
• The image was colored with my favorite Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens .
• The stamped image was matted with 2 patterns from the  Graphic 45 "Secret Garden" paper pad of Patterns & Solids.
• Several rhinestones were added for some sparkle.
• An 'It's the Little Things" wooden embellishment completed the card.
• Tombow MONO Adhesive+ Permanent Runner was used to adhere all elements.

This Challenge runs from 3-21 to 4-1 and we hope that you will link up a creation of your own.  Are you partial to basic RED ladybugs or will we see some other unique colors  !?!?  I'm thinking I just might have to make a turquoise one next !!  Take a look at all of our Design Team projects HERE . 

Thanks so much for visiting Meticulosity once again !!

Debra Davison

June Cookies - Take 2

The second June Challenge at the If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Challenge Blog is all about a warm weather treat . But if you are an ice cream lover, I'm sure you enjoy it all year long !! The Inspiration photo made my mouth water. I'm excited to see what my teammates come up with. 

I can remember walking hand in hand with my dad to the ice cream parlor in the small Pennsylvania town I grew up in. And I can still hear the music of the ice cream truck as it came up my street !! That is what inspired me to make this particular card.

• When I saw that scalloped background paper, it reminded me of popsicle sticks and I knew I had to use it for this Challenge. It is from an older DCWV paper pad "Sunday Afternoon".
• I cut a piece of turquoise cardstock to fit slightly larger than the 4.5 x 6.5 background paper and adhered it with Tombow MONO Adhesive+.
• I printed the digi stamp of the ice cream truck and the sentiment from the Things With Wheels set by Vera Lane Studio.  They were printed on my favorite Neenah Stardust White cardstock. 
• The truck was fussy cut and then colored with a combination of Brea Reese markers and Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens. 
• I popped the ice cream truck up off the paper  on the lower left side with Tombow foam tabs and adhered the sentiment and scalloped edge top center  with Tombow MONO Adhesive+.
• The ice cream was colored pink then highlighted with glitter. 
• 3 coordinating rhinestones were placed on the banner for some shimmer. 
• I will be sending this through the mail as a postcard in a clear envelope. 

The sponsor for this Challenge is Elizabeth Bell . They have a wide variety of fun stamps and will be providing a prize to 1 lucky person who links up a project for this Challenge. My teammate's projects can be found HERE. Please take a look and leave us a comment . Challenge # 97 will be open from June 28 - July 11. Link up your ice cream inspiration !!

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity !!

Debra Davison

Sharing My heART

It's no secret that I love the art of letter writing. I absolutely love Snail Mail and connecting with friends near and far by mail. One of the projects I always look forward to being involved in is the Global Postcard Art Swap ( heART exchange ) . They have exchanges 3-4 times a year and you are given 3 people to send handmade postcards to. The theme for this swap was Nature Quotes. My postcards this time are being sent to Mexico, Wisconsin and Georgia.

• The beautiful floral design from Stampendous was stamped onto some old dictionary pages, a wood grain paper and also some patterned paper.
• I fussy cut the flowers from the patterned papers and adhered them to the stamped images on the dictionary pages. 
• The quote was printed from my computer. I have always loved this quote - it reminds me to relax and breathe !! Everything happens in its own time. 
• I adhered the dictionary pages to plain kraft postcards that I purchased on Amazon. 50 postcards for $9.99. A great deal and my favorites to create with !!
• The leaves were colored with various green shades of Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens.
• I adhered the quote to the postcards and then added some borders from a Tim Holtz "Scallops" On The Edge die.
• Using my MISTI, I stamped another favorite quote from a Stampin' Up set on the opposite side  of the postcard.
• I placed the postcards in clear envelopes and sent them on their way . 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my postcards for the Global Postcard heART Swap. If you are a lover of Snail Mail and creativity, I hope you will consider joining in on the next Swap. Louise Gale is a fantastic hostess and amazing artist.  You can learn more about her HERE.

I received my first postcard from Vicki Oster from Florida.It's a gorgeous hand-drawn scene.It will go up on the board in my studio  for inspiration !!  I love it !!

Thank you so much for visiting Meticulosity !!

Debra Davison

January Cookies - Take 2

It's time for Cookie Challenge #86 over at If You Give A Crafter A Cookie and this time we are celebrating birthdays ! Our sponsor for this challenge is Imagine That Digistamp. I hope you will think about joining us in this challenge that is open for 2 weeks beginning Jan. 25. 

Cookie Challenge #86

I couldn't resist using my latest digi-stamps from  Vera Lane Studio. I am a true coffee fanatic and couldn't resist pairing up this fabulous coffee cup with a cute cake image.  I love stamping on patterned paper and realized I can do the same with digi-stamps just by cutting my paper to fit the printer ! Take a look at what I came up with and you can also find my teammate's designs over at the challenge blog.

• I printed the cake image and sentiment from the Cake Sketches set and the cup from Coffee Cup Collection - both from Vera Lane Studio. The paper was from my patterned-paper scrap drawer. I am trying not to buy so much paper and also to use up what I do have, including scraps !!
• The card base is from the Lucky Charm Boxed-Card Collection by American Crafts. I love these card bases. They have the best patterns and I can get them at a discount at my local Tuesday Morning. There are 40 envelopes/cards per box. 
• I fussy-cut the images and also an extra scalloped border & cup bottom. Portions of the images were colored with my favorite Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens. 
• Ranger Distress Glitter in Brushed Corduroy was adhered to the top of the cup to make coffee .
• The cake was popped up with Tombow Foam Tabs. All other images were adhered using Tombow Adhesives - both MONO Aqua Liquid and a MONO Permanent Adhesive runner. 
• A few colorful sequins were placed around the card base and on the sentiment.  

I'm enjoying being on this team and working more with digi-stamps. It's out of my comfort zone and I like that !! Remember that we have 2 challenges a month over at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie and they are based on the coolest cookie pictures for your inspiration !! Please leave me a comment and let me know how you like my latest card. Are you a fan of digi-stamps ?? I'd love you to link up a birthday project ( digi or regular or anything goes ) on the challenge page.  A big THANK YOU to Imagine That Digistamp for sponsoring this challenge.And once again, I appreciate you visiting me at Meticulosity ..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Fa La Llama Latte

Not quite sure how I got into the Llama obsession, but then again -- who could resist this fun paper pad by Craft Smith  at Michaels. Excited to be posting a third card today for the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, especially since a busy work week is starting . I will barely have time to check out the new link-ups, let alone make more cards. Today's card is a fun take on a favorite Christmas carol plus a favorite drink !! Hope you like it ..

 

• On a navy blue card base, I adhered a piece of patterned  paper from the Craft Smith Falalallama paper pad. 
• A journal card from the same paper pad was then cut and adhered to the patterned paper. 
• I stamped the coffee cups on Neenah Stardust White cardstock with Memories India Black ink. They were then fussy-cut and colored with my Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens. Foam dimensionals were used to adhere the cups to the back of the llama. 
• The sentiment was printed on my computer on Stardust White cardstock , then paper-punched into a square. 
• My fun Fa la la  stamp from Rubber Moon Stamps was stamped on the square using Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads in Festive Berries and Evergreen Biough.
• A strip of rhinestones was placed at the top of the Llama Latte square and then the square was adhered to the card.
• My Tombow MONO Permanent Adhesive Runner was used to adhere all the above-mentioned items.
• Brown glitter was used to highlight the coffee in the cup. Gotta have some glitter !!!

Be sure to check out the 2017 Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop . There are already over 350 projects !! Hoping to post some more cards to the Hop towards the end of the week. Enjoy some of your favorite coffee today and listen to some holiday music. I'm also finishing up some Christmas cards - this cute little Llama just might be decking the halls in a faraway land this holiday season .

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity

Debra Davison 

My Alone Time / #fall2017clh

I absolutely love ALL things about rubber stamping, I also have a bit of a snarky, sarcastic side. This probably isn't much of a secret to my close friends. I love bringing out that side in the cards I create and this Dark Coffee set from STAMPlorations is just perfect.  It is from the Big Grins by Becca Cruger line and I'm thinking that maybe she and I are long lost relatives -- we have the same sort of sense of humor.

My Alone Time is For Everyone's Safety

• On a  DCWV  tag, I stamped the Dark Coffee Gal in the lower Right corner and colored her with my Distress Markers and Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens . She was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and her glasses were stamped with Clearsnap ColorBox Fireberry.
• The sentiment was stamped on a scrap of fall-patterned paper and attached to the tag with a copper staple.
• I placed a bit of Fall-themed washi on the tag, then tied a bit of Maya Road twine cording to the top of the tag. .
• A turquoise rhinestone made the perfect earring for this gal and a bit of coppery tinsel glitter added a touch of shimmer to the coffee.
• The tag was popped up on the Paperlove card base with foam dimensionals.

The image of this coffee gal really reminds me of my mom. I colored her hair like my mom's and put the glasses on her like my mom  wore. I don't think I really even thought of this when I ordered the stamp set, but then when I inked it and stamped it, there SHE was !! As you can see in the picture I posted, it's pretty close !! 

This is my second card for the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. They have 83 amazing Sponsors with a chance at some fantastic prizes for those that link up their projects. There are already over 350 projects linked and it is only Day 2, The Hop  runs from September 15-22.

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity !! I'd love for you to follow my blog. I am also having a giveaway during the Hop. If you comment on each of my projects linked to this Fall Hop, you have a chance to win a fabulous limited edition stamp - Java Girl from Rubber Moon.  

Deb Davison

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