Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / October 2024

Can you believe that it is October already ?? Christmas is only 2 months away and the Crafty Elves are here with their latest cards for your inspiration. Michael Trent is joining us again this month so you will have triple the creativity..

For my card this month, I used the Avery Elle "Dear Santa" stamp set. I recently purchased several stamp sets from a friend at her "Crafty Garage Sale" online and decided to ink up this set and use it for my card . I actually made 6 cards, using different patterned papers, But I was interrupted by something and didn't get to take my pictures in good light, so you will only see 1 here.  I will post the others in my Facebook group and on IG. The cat reminds me of our sweet Pixie !! She would NOT be caught dead wearing a Santa hat, but she would definitely go for that beautiful bow !!

• I positioned the cat, holly and sentiment images on my MISTI and stamped them on white cardstock. I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink for the cat and holly and Ruby Impression Obsession ink for the sentiment.
• The stamped image was die cut with a scalloped oval die by Stampendous.
• I colored the images with my OLO markers .
• A piece of Miss Mary Christmas  glittered holiday striped paper was adhered to a Kraft card base. This is a fun paper pad from Hobby Lobby.
• A strip of the holiday striped paper was adhered across the top of the card.
• Several enamel dots of various sizes were placed above the sentiment.
• A Santa hat dimensional sticker was placed on the cat's head.
• The completed stamped panel was adhered to the card base with foam tabs.

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what the Crafty Elves have been up to .. Take a look at what Lisa and Michael have created at their links :

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Have you started on your holiday cards yet ?? Lisa and I will be back next month with more inspiration for you . It feels nice when I have a stash of cards to use when holiday mail time rolls around. See you in November. Until then, stay creative and enjoy some beautiful Autumn weather.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / July 2024

Here we are in July, posting our Crafty Elf cards !! Michael Trent is once again joining us to bring you some holiday inspiration .. Our weather has been brutal here but certainly not as bad as other areas of the country. As I made my card, I thought of cooler temperatures, hot cocoa with whipped cream and holiday snail mail.

For my slimline card today, I chose a sweet design from Stampendous - Mini Holiday Wheels  . It even has our sweet cat Pixie looking out the window as we drive off on an adventure.

It's the most wonderful tie of the year

• I stamped the Mini Holiday Wheels stamp on white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with my COPICS .
• I trimmed the stamped image and then matted it with bright green cardstock.
• The plaid patterned paper was adhered to a Kraft card base.
• I adhered the completed stamped panel to the plaid paper.
• A Tim Holtz Idea-Ology sentiment was placed above the stamped image.
• A dark red glitter candy dot was placed on either side of the sentiment.
• Small colored pearls were placed on the wreath.

I'm so glad that Michael has joined us today. He always creates such fabulous cards and I'm sure today will be no exception. You can follow the links below to see what he and Lisa have made to inspire us.

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

There are now only 5 months until Christmas !! Have you started your holiday cards ?? It's a good feeling to have a nice stash when the time comes to start on your Christmas card list ..  I look forward to seeing you again next month ..

Debra Davison

Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / April 2024

Lisa and I are bringing you our holiday cards for April so we can stay ahead of the Christmas rush this year .. Each month on the 25th, we have new inspiration for everyone. I also try to start addressing my envelopes, placing address labels etc .. Have you started on your holiday cards yet ???

My card  was made with the DEC 25 Bird by Stampendous . I bought this stamp with a few other Stampendous holiday images last year and forgot I had them .. Sound familiar ?!?!

• I stamped most of the Dec 25 Bird image on white cardstock with Tuxedo Black Memento ink . The sentiment was stamped with Catherine Pooler Skylight ink .
• The image was colored with my COPICS.
• I used a Clear Wink of Stella marker to highlight the 25, hat and red breast.
• The completed stamped image was trimmed with the Tim Holtz Tonic Deckle Torn Edge Trimmer.
• Rhinestones were placed on the hat pom-pom and the bird's eye.
• I adhered the panel to a black card base.

You can see what Lisa made over at her blog - 

Life of a BZscrapper 

Thank you for stopping by to see our latest holiday creations . 

We will see you next month .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / July 2022

There are 154 days until Christmas !! Can you believe we are over halfway there ?? It's been fun sharing our holiday cards with you all year . This month, Michael is taking a break so Lisa and I  are holding down the fort and posting our cards for your crafty inspiration !! He will be back with us next month .. 

First order of business is to announce the winner of some holiday blog candy for commenting on June's post .. Karen Ladd left a sweet comment and especially loved the kitty cards !! I will be contacting her .. Thank you to all who commented - I appreciate each and every one !!!

Our weather is brutal here in Virginia Beach , with temps close to 100 many days and my crafty energy seems to dwindle as the month comes to a close. So for my cards this month, I will only list the stamp /stamps that I use . If you have any other questions about supplies,  please feel free to ask .

Enerson Girl by Angie Blom from Unity Stamp Company

Cozy Wishes from Fun Stampers Journey

Fall Gal by Jeanie Hays from Unity Stamp Company

 Stamp from 2010 - Cuddle Season by Stampendous  

I'm actually happy with my cards this time -- I think that sometimes we can be very self-critical but this time, I am satisfied with the outcome .. I hope that you are inspired to create some holiday cards ahead of the rush too . Please take a look at Lisa's cards .. They are always masterpieces !!!

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZscrapper

There is a Christmas in July Linky Party sponsored by Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers . They have fabulous sponsors, amazing prizes and tons of holiday inspiration. I will be linking these cards up to join in on the fun !!  I hope that you will visit them and maybe even consider linking up a card of your own !!  #christmasinjuly2022byshclp

Thank you again for visiting Meticulosity and watching as we get ahead of the holiday happy mail rush each month.. I'm looking forward to having Michael back in August .. Until next time., stay creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / May 2022

It's been hard to focus on Christmas cards here in Virginia Beach when we have had weather in the 90's !! But we are getting a bit of a break today with 70 degrees as I write this post .. I can't believe that June will be here in a matter of days. Time is flying ..

My first card was made with aa stamp that was sent to me by a lovely friend last year right before the holidays. She said that as soon as she saw it she had to get it for me. I love Laurel Burch AND cats so I was thrilled to receive it !! 

• I stamped Feline Candle from Stampendous on white cardstock with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink and then fussy-cut it .
• I also stamped the image on a piece of snowflake patterned paper and cut out the dress .
• The image was colored with my COPICS .
• The snowflake dress was adhered to the Feline Candle image .
• On a navy blue card base, I adhered a piece of patterned paper with gold highlights.
• A holiday tag from my paper stash was adhered to the left side of the card base with foam tabs.
• The stamped image was adhered on the right side of the patterned paper .

My next 3 cards were created with Echo Park Paper Co. products. They had a great sale recently and I was able to get a variety of paper, stickers, die-cuts and chipboard . There is no stamping on these cards, which is unusual for me. But I love how they turned out .

• These 2 cards used products entirely from the Christmas Cheer collection.  I added 3 buttons to the garland card .

• My fourth card was created with the A Very Merry Christmas Collection Kit. It has a retro feel, which I love !!            

How are you doing with your holiday cards ?? Are you an early starter ?? I know that the holidays will be here before I know it and I will be thrilled to have my stash ready to sign, address and send. Be sure to check out Michael and Lisa's cards for May . I know that they will be fabulous as usual.

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Bzibziak-Reynolds - Life of a BZScrapper

We hope that the Crafty Elves continue to inspire you throughout the year . We will be back next month at the 6 month mark when we are halfway to Christmas. Until then, Stay crafty !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / September 2021

September is the month that many people patiently wait for all year long !! And I'm not talking about parents waiting for children to go back to school . Although this year children are finally trying to get back to a normal school year, while we are still dealing with a pandemic .. I'm actually talking about our theme for this month - Pumpkin Spice !! You either love it or hate it . But it sure does make for a fun collaboration for me & Celeste ..

The stamp I used for my card is Pumpkin Latte by Stampendous . I have had it for awhile and never used it so it was about time.  It is a fun stamp to color and very easy to fussy-cut !!

• I stamped Pumpkin Latte on Mixed Media paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• The image was fussy-cut and then colored with my COPIC markers .
• I stamped the image again along with the sentiment on an orange vintage-look paper.
• The pumpkins were fussy-cut from the orange paper and I also trimmed the sentiment.
• I adhered the fussy-cut orange pumpkins over the pumpkin images on the cup.
• A piece of autumn striped paper from Bo Bunny's Bella Rosa Collection was adhered to an orange card base.
• The completed cup image was popped up with foam tabs on the left side of the striped panel.
• The sentiment was adhered to a piece of bronze glitter paper and then to the right side of the striped panel.
• A strip of square golden gems from the Glitz Frosting collection was adhered across the bottom of the card.

I am not an obsessed Pumpkin Spice lover but will have a few Pumpkin Spice Lattes during the next few months when I am hanging out at Starbucks. Let's see what Celeste came up with for this month's theme - take a look over at Crafting Junky While making this card, I did have some Toasted Pecan coffee from another mug I found for 99 cents at Hobby Lobby . I don't wear much makeup - maybe just a bit of eyeliner, some mascara and sometimes lipstick . For awhile, we were asked not to wear makeup at the hospital because we were re-using masks So I had stopped wearing lipstick . When I saw this cup, I immediately thought of me at work !!

Thanks for stopping by Meticulosity again !! We really appreciate you taking a look at our projects ! Please stay safe, stay creative and we will see you in October ..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / February 2021

It's so hard to believe that February is almost over -- time seems to be dragging and flying by all at the same time.. We just heard that our COVID-19 restrictions will be eased as of March 1, which is good news.. Still have to wear masks, but some restrictions have been modified. Work at the hospital has still been busy and some days I am in a crafty mood, others not so much . For this month's Crafty Elf cards, I  chose a fun 12x12 paper pad I got on clearance after the holidays .. It has soft, pastel shades that are just beautiful !! My first order of business, though, is to name the commenter from my January post, who will get some Christmas supplies to help with her holiday card-making. Vannessa Osbourn - you are the lucky one and I have e-mailed you !!

For my first 2 cards, I used images from Rubber Moon . These stamps were part of their Stamp-of-the-Month offerings and I absolutely adore them. You can have access to all of the fabulous Rubber Moon stamps  and products by joining Kae Pea on Patreon.  You can get all of the details HERE .. 

• I stamped the Holiday Moon image on watercolor paper with Gina K Amalgam Jet Black Ink .
• The image was colored with a variety of my favorite markers and pens - COPICS, Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens & TUL pens.
• I trimmed the stamped image and adhered it in a Polaroid-style snowflake frame.
• Several shiny gold stars were scattered around the noon.
• I placed some green snowflake paper on a Kraft card base and then adhered the Polaroid frame to that paper near the top .
• A Tim Holtz Idea-ology sticker sentiment was placed at the bottom right corner of the Polaroid frame.

• I stamped the Tweet Santa image on Marker paper with Gina K Amalgam Jet Black ink .
• COPICS & Flair pens were used to color the image.
• I trimmed the Marker paper and placed a piece of Whipped Cream glitter washi at the bottom ..
• The Santa image was matted on a dark rose designer paper.
• A green snowflake-patterned paper was adhered to a pale green card base .
• The Santa panel was then adhered on top of the snowflake paper.
• A JOY ephemera circle was placed at the top right of the Santa .

• The stack of cups from the Brutus Monroe "Tea Time" stamp set was stamped on  Watercolor paper with Gina K Amalgam Jet Black ink .
• I colored the cups with my COPICS.
• The image was trimmed and then 3 rhinestones were adhered - a red, green and clear .
• I adhered the stamped panel to a piece of the green snowflake paper 
• A dark pink card base completed the card .

• On a Kraft card base, I adhered a piece of green snowflake paper.
• The Stampendous Whisper Friends Reindeer was stamped on Marker paper with Gina K Amalgam Jet Black ink .
• I trimmed the Marker paper and colored the image with my COPICS.
• The stamped panel was adhered to the snowflake paper and a Greetings banner was placed at the top left corner.

I hope that you are inspired by my cards for February !! Now it's time to check out the projects of the other Crafty Elves - Michael and Lisa. 

World of Michael Trent

Life of a BZScrapper

Are you making your holiday cards yet ?? I'm even addressing envelopes already, which will greatly help my stress levels in December !! I had addressed a few last year but plan to have almost all addressed early for those who sent me a card in 2020.  Until next time, stay creative and warm and we will see you next month !!

 

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards With Deb & Celeste / December 2020

Another year is coming to a close and Celeste and I are having our coffee once again !! To ring out the old year, we are getting Snowy .. Luckily we don't get much snow here in Virginia Beach, but that doesn't stop me from loving snowy cards !! Celeste chose this fun mood board as our inspiration ..

I decided to use the Snowy theme and also the colors blue and green for my card today ..  I had so many stamps to choose from but decided on Scarf Kitty from Stampendous . The sweet kitty reminded me of our Pixie .. 

• I cut a piece of glittery snowflake paper from a Classic Vintage paper pad  by Craftsmart and adhered it to a white card base.
• The Scarf Kitty was stamped on watercolor paper with Gina K Amalgam Jet Black Ink . 
• I used my Copics to color the image, using mainly shades of blue and green.
• The stamped image was trimmed and adhered near the top of the card.
• A Paper House Productions sticker was placed below the stamped image.

I really love the sticker on the card paired with the stamped image.. I have enjoyed stickers since childhood and love that I can continue using them in my card-making.. I am also a member of the  2021 Paper House Productions Creative Team so I will be playing with their stickers in my card-making and planner layouts throughout the year..

For my coffee today, I am having a Creme Brulee' Latte in Starbuck's Candy Cane Color-Changing cup.  When hot liquid is placed in the cup, it changes colors. I'm using an online picture to show the cool color changes !!

I can't wait to see what Celeste has come up with for this month's card .. Take a look over at her blog - Crafting Junky . Thanks so much for stopping by again to see our cards and also what we are drinking this month. I hope that you are all staying safe -- what a strange year it has been !! Who would have thought that we would still be worried about COVID 8 months later ..  I'm looking forward to a happier and healthier 2021 and hope that you will continue to stop by to see what Celeste and I are up to in the New Year.

 

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / September 2020

Another month has gone by - another month of COVID social-distancing and wearing masks. AND another month of the Crafty Elves inspiring you to get started on your holiday cards early .. I can't believe it is September and there are only 3 months until Christmas. We have all been busy and I can't wait for you to see what we all have created !!

I had fun with some of my favorite stamp companies and hope you are as pleased with these cards as I am.. Have you started your holiday cards yet ??  You still have time to join in with us for the next few months.

• The image Santa, Stockings, Candy Canes, etc..  from Unity Stamp Company was stamped on Strathmore Marker paper with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam Ink. This is an older stamp from 2013 but is still available ,
• I had masked off the HO HO HO and then stamped that with a Memento Lady Bug Dew Drop. Using my MISITI  makes stamping so much easier !!
• A piece of glitter striped patterned paper was adhered to a white card base.
• A piece of blue snowflake patterned paper was adhered down the left side of the striped paper. 
• I colored in areas of the stamped image with my Copics, added a strip of washi to the top and then adhered the stamped panel to the snowflake paper with foam tabs.

• This Unity Stamp Company image is from 2014 - All is Calm, All is Bright . It was stamped on a piece of tan ledger paper with Close To My Heart Espresso Ink.
• The Sentiment was stamped on pink ledger paper with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink .
• I adhered a piece of metallic plaid paper to  pink card base.
• The deer image was adhered to the plaid paper and then the sentiment was popped up in the upper right hand corner of the stamped panel with foam tabs.

• I was so excited to finally ink up this  Caffeinated - Reindeer  from The Rabbit Hole Designs . I stamped it on Strathmore Marker paper with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink and then used the matching die to cut it.
• I colored the stamped image with my Copics.
• The sentiments were stamped on pink and gray ledger paper and trimmed.
• I adhered a piece of song lyric paper to a pink card base.
• The reindeer was popped up with foam tabs on the right side of the lyrics paper.
• The sentiments were adhered to the lyrics paper to the left and at the bottom of the reindeer.
• Several light and dark pink dots were placed underneath #reindeerfuel .
• Wink of Stella Clear Glitter marker was placed on the reindeer nose and the coffee cup .
• I just LOVE this reindeer and I want that candy-cane robe !!!

• Leave it to Stampendous to have the perfect stamp for the  2020 holidays !!
• I stamped the All For Christmas image with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink on Strathmore Marker paper.
• It was colored with my Copics, then adhered at an angle to a green card base.
• AND tied it with a toilet paper bow !!!   LOL

I was SO excited when I saw the All For Christmas stamp that I accidentally ordered it twice.. So, I decided to have a giveaway .Just comment on this blog post and tell me what YOU want for Christmas and you just might win this stamp .. I'll choose one person at random on October 3 from those that comment .

I hope that you will take a look at what the other Crafty Elves have been working on .. They always have the most fabulous cards made !!

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZScrapper

Once again , I appreciate you taking the time to visit me at Meticulosity . Please stay safe and healthy and wear your mask. And until next time - - - - - -

Stay Creative

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

August Cookies / Take 2

The latest challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie is a sweet one. We would love for you to link up a project of your own before September 3. I had a few stamp sets that I could have used but the one from Stampendous kept calling my name ! This was just the cutest inspiration photo...

I love this line of fairy stamps from Stampemdous.  The Whisper Jam  stamp seemed to be exactly what I needed for this challenge . She was such fun to color and I stamped several additional  images to color at a later date. 

• I stamped the Whisper Jam image from Stampendous on Strathmore Marker Paper with Gina K  Amalgam ink and then fussy-cut the image.
• The image was colored with  my Copics.
• I cut a piece of Jillibean Soup Coconut Lime Soup paper to fit my watercolor card base and then cut that piece of paper in half on the diagonal - from lower left to upper right.
• After adhering the diagonal piece of patterned paper to the base, I placed the stamped image on the lower right side of the card. 
• Stampin' Up Silver Glitter Glass was placed on the wings for some shimmer.
• I made a red label with my Pink Dymo Label Maker and adhered it  on the upper left side of the card. 

Take a look at all of the Design Team's projects over at the If You Give a Crafter a Cookie blog .Get inspired and create something of your own. I hope that you are all taking some time to de-stress during this period of social isolation/masking .  Get creative, read a book, write in your journal .. Take  some time to create a card to link up with us ..  And until next time .........

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity

Debra Davison

Coffee and Cards with Deb & Celeste / June 2020

I will admit that I totally forgot that today was the day fro Celeste and I to have our coffee !! She reminded me last evening and it was just sheer luck that I had finished coloring a card to send to a friend . Celeste had suggested an "Anything Goes" theme which turned out to be perfect.. So here goes ( anything ) !!

I am very much over this shelter in place / social distancing world we are in but know it's still necessary. So I had used a new stamp set from Close To My Heart  - On Repeat - and paired it with a   Stampendous Watering Can  .   The On Repeat set has Corona-virus and social-distancing images.

• I stamped the On Repeat sentiment at the top of my white card panel with Ladybug Memento ink. The Watering Can was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink at the bottom .
• I placed a piece of rainbow hearts washi across the white panel between the sentiment and the stamped image.
• The image was colored with my new Copic Ciao markers.
• The completed card panel was adhered to a Kraft card base with my Pink Scotch ATG gun.

I'm drinking my Coconut coffee with Vanilla Caramel creamer from a cup I've had since 2003 !! Do you remember Boyd's Bears ?? Well this is a cup and base designed by them .. It might be a tea cup but works just as well for coffee. My best friend Sue gave me this set and I usually use it to hold my favorite pens but today I used it for my coffee .. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what Celeste has made for our Anything Goes  post . I'm so glad she reminded me of today's coffee get-together !! Take a look at her card over at her blog - Crafting Junky. I hope that all of you are doing well and continuing to stay safe. Our state of Virginia is slowly opening up but I'm playing it safe and continue to wear my mask and social distance. I'm a nurse and work at a hospital so I am extra cautious .. Take some creative time for yourself and check back next month when I promise I will be ready for our July blog collaboration ..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity