Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / October 2026

It seems like we were just in the middle of a heat wave here in Virginia and now it's Autumn, with beautiful cooler days. In no time at all, it will be Christmas - so Lisa, Mchael and I are back to show you our holiday cards for October. Have you started yours yet or are you one of those last minute crafters?

For my card today, I used the Simon Says Stamp Limited Edition Kit - Cozy and Bright. It was the final release for Stamptember, which is a month of fabulous releases each day during the month of September . Many great stamp companies come out with limited edition sets and a different company is announced each day . I was a very good girl and did not even look until the last day !! But I couldn't resist the Cozy and Bright kit - it had papers, cardstock, ephemera, an embossing folder, rhinestones, adhesive, inks and a fabulous stamp set. I also ordered the matching dies. The kit is absolutely beautiful !!

• I stamped the Window image with my go-to Memento Tuxedo Black ink  ( from my own stash ) on white cardstock .
• The image was die cut with the matching die .
• I colored the image with my Ohuhu markers.
• I used the embossing folder and red cardstock from the kit and embossed a front panel for my card.
• The sentiment was stamped with an Apple mini ink cube on white cardstock and die cut .
• I adhered the embossed panel to a white card base.
• I did use an Impression Obsession Scalloped Rectangle die for the frame and a piece of seafoam cardstock.
• The stamped Window was adhered to the embossed panel inside the scalloped frame.
• I popped up the sentiment with foam tabs below the frame.
• I used some rhinestones from my stash on the Christmas tree.

Stamptember Cozy and Bright Kit

Simon Says Stamp

To see what Michael and Lisa have made, you can check out their blog posts at these links -

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

As the countdown to Christmas continues, we will keep making cards and be back November 25 .. Until then, stay creative and enjoy some beautiful Autumn weather wherever you are !!  

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / September 2026

Fall is finally here and with it comes cooler weather.  Hard to believe that the holidays will be here soon. It's time to start on your holiday cards, if you haven't already.

I've been destashing and found some great older wood mounted stamps. Today I'm using Tinsel Tree from Stampendous.

• I stamped the Tinsel Tree on white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• The tree was colored with my Ohuhu markers.
• I used a stitched edge rectangle die to cut out my image .
• A piece of scrap patterned paper was trimmed and adhered to a 5x7 white card base.
• The stamped panel was adhered to the patterned paper with foam tabs.
• I placed some yellow rhinestones on the stars and some light blue and turquoise rhinestones on the snowflake.
• A Tim Holtz sentiment was placed in the lower right corner of the card .

Michael and Lisa are also adding to their holiday stash and you can check out their cards over at their blogs - 

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZscrapper

Thank you for stopping by to see our holiday inspiration . I hoe you are having some cool Autumn weather where you are . It's been pretty rainy and windy here but at least the temps are cooler. We will see you next month for our October cards .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / July 2026

The Crafty Elves are bringing you their Christmas in July posts !! Although to be honest, every month is Christmas for us .. I am celebrating our new kitten with 2 of my cards this month. We adopted a sweet Siamese Mix kitten on June 16 and she is the Princess of our household. 

I raided my scrap paper drawer for 2 of my cards and used some Recollections holiday card bases for the other 2. The stamp set I used is Christmas Kitties by Simon Says Stamp! .  And my go-to black ink as always - Memento Tuxedo Black .

NO PEEKING Tim Holtz Small Talk sentiment

Kraft Cardboard box fussy cut and popped up with foam tabs

Paper Studio Holiday Foam Sticker

Tim Holtz sticker sentiment

Tim Holtz sticker sentiment

I hope you like the 4 cards I've added to my stash this month . Check out what Michael and Lisa have created over at their blogs.

World of Michael Trent

Life of a BZscrapper

We will be back next month with more holiday inspiration for you !! Take care, keep cool and stay creative.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / June 2026

Michael, Lisa and I are back with our holiday inspiration for the month  . Hard to believe we are half-way to Christmas. My post will be short and sweet because we adopted a rescue kitten a week ago and she is keeping us busy. Serafina is a 4 month old Siamese kitten that was abandoned on the side of a road with 3 siblings. She is so teeny and we are smitten. We lost our 6 year old cat Pixie to Cardiomyopathy almost 1 year ago and just recently felt ready to give another kitty a forever home. The idea for my cards came to me last night and I think that for a last-minute creation, I did good !!

I will include the supplies I used under each picture. I have had the Tim Holtz Layer Frames since 2023 and this is my first time using them !!  The Impression Obsession sentiments I used were from Christmas Coffee Sayings . And my Go-To ink - Memento Tuxedo Black .

Tim Holtz Holiday Layers Frame 

Coffee Cup / Stampers Anonymous for Stamptember 2024

Impression Obsession sentiment

Pink Fresh Studio Holiday Dreams paper

Tim Holtz Holiday Layers Frame

Coffee Cup / Stampers Anonymous set from  Stamptember 2024 

Impression Obsession sentiment 

Pink Fresh Studio Holiday Dreams paper

I used my Ohuhu Honolulu B markers to color the coffee cuos. These cards were so simple and easy to make . I popped each of the frames up with Stampin' Up Dimensionals.

Michael and Lisa have also made something to inspire you to get started on your holiday cards . I always send out close to 50 cards each holiday so it's nice to have a little stash on hand when December rolls around .

Michael - World of Michae; Trent

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

Thank you so  much for stopping by . We hope you are inspired by our creativity . We hope to see you next month .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / May 2026

The Crafty Elves are back with their May holiday inspiration for you !! Michael, Lisa and I post each month on the 25th to get you in the mood to start on your holiday card-making along with us.

I got out an embossing folder I have been wanting to try, along with a favorite Impression Obsession stamp designed by my friend Nola. The image was colored with my new sets of  Ohuhu markers .I got a 48 count Honolulu B bright set and a pastel set .These have a brush and a fine tip and I am really enjoying them already !!

• I stamped the IO image on a piece of white cardstock .
• The image was colored with my Ohuhu markers.
• I die-cut the stamped image with a stitched border die.
• I used the Sizzix "Texture Fades" Holiday Knit embossing folder by Tim Holtz  on a piece of red cardstock .
• The embossed panel was adhered to a white card base,
• The stamped panel was popped up on the embossed panel with foam tabs.
• A Tim Holtz sentiment strip was adhered at the bottom of the card .

This was a fairly simple card to make and I love it .. I even stamped out a few more images to color . You can see what Michael and Lisa made over at their blogs -

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

We are having some cooler weather here thankfully. But with it came rain !! We did need it but maybe not on a long holiday weekend.  Thank you for stopping by . We will see you next month, when we will be at the halfway mark to Christmas 2026 .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

She Made It / He Made It - May 2026

Michael Trent and I are just 2 crafty friends who bonded online over paper and coffee !! He's in Brazil and I'm in the USA. We have very different styles and like to challenge each other every so often .. We choose a theme, technique, stamp or in this case, a date  and each create a card .  Here is our latest  collab for today - May 21 - International Tea Day .

I chose to use a Close To My Heart set - Tea-rrific . It was a Stamp of the Month . I colored it with my new Ohuhu Honolulu markers. My COPICs are slowly drying out ( I have had them about 10 years ) and I have also had splatter problems with them and also my OLOs.... So I decided to try Ohuhu since the price was excellent. So far I am really enjoying them ..  Time will tell - I'll report back in about a month and let you know how it's going .

• I stamped all of the tea cup images with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• The sentiments were stamped in a variety of colors of Impression Obsession inks.
• I die cut each stamped panel .
• The images were all colored with my new Ohuhu markers.
• I fussy-cut the tea bag papers and popped them up on each card with foam tabs.
• The completed stamped panels were adhered to pre-made patterned card bases.

I feel like a bit of an overachiever this time because I actually made 4 cards . I spotted an older wood-mount stamp by Judikins of a tea pot and just had to use it . It was designed by Paula Best, a favorite artist of mine .. The sentiment is from Unity Stamp Company . I thought the embossed star background was perfect for the card ( found in my scrap drawer !! )

International Tea Day is all about celebrating the cultural heritage, health benefits and economic importance of tea. Grab a favorite cup, choose a lovely variety of tea and enjoy some quiet time today .  And don't forget to check out Michael's card ( or cards ) at his blog - World of Michael Trent . He is usually the overachiever in this relationship, so let's see what happens !!

Thank you for stopping by our latest She Made It / He Made It  posts  . Let us know if you have a favorite card that we've made. Until next time, stay creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

She Made It/He Made It - February 2026

Michael Trent and I are back this month with another edition of  She Made It / He Made It .  We choose a theme, or designer or craft supply, and each make something -  it's fun to see how different ( or sometimes similar ) our process is.  This month we decided to use Word Snippets - Valentine's Day from the KCS Designs by Kim shop on ETSY .  There are 100 words and phrases included in this fun set, along with some blank strips .These are all printable designs that can be downloaded and used over and over .We hope you like what we've come up with . KCS Designs by Kim is having a 40% off sale for Hump Day so be sure to check out all of the fabulous images they have to offer.

I also used the Layered Remnants Journal Pages from KCS Designs by Kim . There are 20 images of neutral, timeworn collage backgrounds - perfect for my card bases.  I created 3 cards with a vintage feel to send to some long distance friends. 

Tim Holtz Mini Blueprints 2 stamp set images were used on all 3 of my cards - February 14, LOVE and Queen of Hearts.  My go-to ink /Memento Tuxedo Black stamped the 14 and the Queen of Hearts. Catherine Pooler "Peppermint Scrub" stamped LOVE.  Scraps of ribbon and a button from my stash helped me create a vintage feel. Snippets from KCS Designs by Kim added a sweet sentiment to each card . I popped up the 14 on the first card and the Queen of Hearts on the third with foam tabs . A few cute hearts, a  fun vintage housewife , a glittery heart sticker and a bit of coloring completed my cards. 

Here is the link to Michael's blog - World of Michael Trent - for his he Made It / She Made It post . Let us know what you think of our creations . See you again soon for another He Made It / She Made It .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / January 2026

Well, here we are .. The holidays have past us by and now we can get our crafty selves in gear for more holiday card inspiration throughout 2026 !! Lisa, Michael and I will post cards each month on the 25th and hope you will follow along with us and maybe even start early to create some of your own.  

For my January cards, I used a stamp set by Penny Black - Baubles & Boughs .I have had this set for awhile and just never inked it up , It's an easy stamp to  color and create with , There are 4 stamps - the branch and 3 ornaments .

• I stamped the bough then placed the ornaments and stamped them also, using my MISTI . I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• The image was colored with my COPICS.
• I die-cut the 2 stamped panels with a Stitched Square die .
• Using card bases from a Recollections  boxed set, I placed the stamped panels using foam tabs .
• A Tim Holtz sentiment sticker was placed on each completed stamped panel .

It feels good to know I will once again have a stash of cards to send when December arrives. I also address envelopes ahead of time which makes the process of holiday mailing even easier !! I hope you will follow the links below to see what Lisa and Michael have created.

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Thanks so much for starting off a new year with all of us .It's fun to create holiday cards all year long . See you next month . If you are in one of the areas dealing with the wrath of Winter Storm Fern, stay warm and creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / December 2025

Who can believe that Christmas is here  !?!?!? I'm looking forward to all the holidays off now that I'm retired. It feels surreal that after 38 years at the same hospital, I'm now sleeping most nights without a 0430 alarm, don't have to worry about driving into work in bad weather AND best of all, I can enjoy my morning coffee quietly without any telemetry alarms or phone calls !!

I made a few cards and will just be posting which stamp I used .. There are holiday movies to be watched and a few more gifts to wrap so this post will be short and sweet .. I hope you are all ready for the holidays- no matter how you celebrate. I also know from experience that the holidays are not happy for everyone . Reach out to someone who needs a little support. It will mean the world to them.

Jubilee Crew Reindeer stamp & sentiment by Close To My Heart

Sleigh sticker from Papyrus

Dasher stamp/die set by Catherine Pooler

Decorate My Life stamp by Unity Stamp Company

I didn't send or receive as many holiday cards this year as last year . Not sure exactly why people weren't sending them. I just honestly ran out of steam and made a few last-minute cards and called it quits. But luckily, I make holiday cards all year long !!

To see what Michael and Lisa have created, check out their links -

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds- Bzibziak - Life of a BZscrapper

Thank you for stopping by. I hope that you enjoyed our latest creations and we look forward to making many more for you every month in 2026.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

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 and Cards with Deb and Celeste - and Michael / November 2025

November is here and it's a time of colorful leaves, creating holiday cards and being grateful for wonderful friends ( both near and far ) . Today Michael Trent is joining us again from Brazil . He introduced me to KCS Designs By Kim and the fabulous digital images in their Etsy shop . We've been having so much fun with their designs that Celeste suggested we all use KCS Designs images for our November posts . Michael and I are also new members of their Design Team !!

 

As soon as I saw the new Christmas Past Journal Papers, I knew I had to have them . And then I started thinking of card designs I could make with them. I've already used one of the 20 included designs for a recipe swap . There are ornaments, strings of holiday lights, a holiday village and Santa - just to name a few.

• I printed the Skaters and the Snowman images from the Christmas Past Journal Papers to fit on an A2 card base.
• I fussycut the snowman from the printed panel .
• A strip of snowflake washi was adhered across the top of the skater image.
• I stamped the sentiment on white cardstock with Nautical Blue Memento Ink . It is from The Jubilee Crew by Close To My Heart .
• The sentiment was cut with a Deckle Rectangle Die .
• I popped the snowman up on the skater panel with foam tabs.
• The snowflakes were stamped in a variety of colors of blue ink on the skater panel and the sentiment image. They are from a 2006 Stampin' Up set - Snow Flurries .
• I adhered the skater panel to a turquoise card base.
• The sentiment was popped up with foam tabs .
• I placed a glittery pale blue candy dot on the center of each snowflake.

I really love how this card turned out . The vintage feel is perfect for some beautiful holiday cards .  I'm excited to use more designs in that set . Please use the links below to see what Celeste and Michael have made for November.

Celeste - Crafting Junky

Michael - World of Michael Trent

I bought a Christmas Coffee cup a few months ago at a fantastic sale price. I used it for the first time today while finishing this card . This SWIG cup is really gorgeous, and I decided to have a cup of Cinnabon Caramel Pecan coffee while I created.

Thanks so much for viewing my card for November. I hope you are staying warm and enjoying some of your favorite beverage . I have been retired for a little over a month now and thoroughly enjoying myself - no 0430 alarms waking me up , enjoying a nice quiet cup of coffee in the morning , reading late into the night whenever I want to .. And being able to create 24/7 . Take some time for yourself and do some creating of your own. We will be back in December. 

Debra Davison / Meticulosity 

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / October 2025

The Countdown to Christmas is on !!! Michael, Lisa and I are creating holiday cards each month to inspire you . Having a stash of cards to send out helps you beat some of the holiday rush . Every little bit helps - whether you make 1 card or many cards . I try to address the envelopes as I make the cards which saves additional time. 

Today -  October 25 - is also World Fussy-Cutting Day . It honors Sharon Klima, a beloved papercrafter who died of a heart attack . It's a day to focus on the joy of papercrafting and mindfulness and raising awareness for women's heart health  - reminding us to pause, connect and take care of our hearts (both literally and figuratively). I love to fussy-cut and used the beautiful Hero Arts - Christmas Robins stamp set for my cards today . The digital background paper is from KCS Designs by Kim - Christmas Gingham Journal Papers. You can find so many amazing digi designs in her ETSY shop and they are all 35% off .

• The birdhouses, bells and birds were stamped on white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• I colored the images with my OLO markers.
• All images were then fussy-cut .
• I printed & then adhered the Christmas Gingham paper to 2 card bases .
• The birdhouses were adhered to the patterned paper .
• I placed the bells  and birds on each birdhouse with foam tabs for added dimension .
• I used Tim Holtz Small Talk stickers for my sentiments. They are always perfect for a finishing touch .

Please be sure to take aa look at what Michael and Lisa have made . They always inspire me to create more cards !! 

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

Thanks so much for joining us as we get ready for the holiday season .. We hope you are enjoying some beautiful Fall weather wherever you are . I look forward to seeing you next month as we get even closer to Christmas . I recently retired October 1 and this year I will have every holiday off !! As an RN, I worked weekends and holidays for the past 40 years so I will thoroughly enjoy this year's as a free woman !!

Until next time, Stay Creative 

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

He Made It / She Made It - October 2025

I have had so much fun making cards with the Freshly Boo'd Collection by Mandy Ford Art & Illustration . So much fun that I challenged Michael Trent to another "He Made It / She Made It" post using Mandy Ford supplies !! I really can't wait to see what he comes up with . 

For these cards and tags, I printed  papers and different elements ( cups, borders, stars, tags, etc. ) from the Freshly Boo'd collection . There are 5 patterned papers and 4 sheets of printable elements included . I don't have a list of step-by-step instructions  because these cards are so quick and easy !! Print the papers and elements. Cut some elements out,  adhere the patterned paper to card bases and play !!! 

My last card was made with a Mandy Ford free printable . The ghostly pics look like old Polaroids. I printed some of the pics and added some felt pumpkin stickers. I then adhered the pics to card bases. There are 14 different ghost images in that freebie collection  . There are many other freebies available at Mandy Ford Art & Illustration . She also has an Etsy shop .

Thank you for stopping by .

Please check out what Michael created @ World of Michael Trent

Until next time, stay creative ..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity