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

Coffee & Cards with Deb and Celeste / July 2026

We're in the midst of summer - the perfect time for a Summer Wildflowers theme . I was initially hesitant but then found an amazing stamp set while destashing . I was so thrilled that I made 3 cards !! I'm really not a big fan of floral stamps but I think I did a good job with this theme . 

For all 3 cards I used Katie Daisy "Wildflower Picnic postcards" ,  and Prima Marketing Inc . clear stamps, journaling cards and crystal embellishments . The Prima supplies are all from older retired collections. The Katie Daisy postcards come in a box of 100 . I love sending snail mail and her designs are all so beautiful .. And they were perfect for our July theme . 

Lose Yourself in Nature

Let's Explore 

• I stamped the wildflowers with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Journal cards.
• The sentiments were stamped in red and navy inks .
• I adhered postcards to pink and yellow cardstock card bases .
• The stamped journal cards were matted with pink cardstock .
• I popped the completed stamped panels up on the postcards with foam tabs for some added dimension.
• Prima crystal embellishments were added to each card .

I enjoyed making these cards and can't wait to see what Celeste creates. You can find her post at Crafting Junky  .  This month for my coffee, I went with a Christmas in July theme and made myself a Gingerbread Latte in a favorite holiday cup. Hard to believe the holidays will be here soon !

Thank you for stopping by and checking out our July inspiration. We hope our Summer Wildflowers projects tempt you to create some cards of your own . 

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

Coffee and Cards with Deb & Celeste / and Michael - June 2026

Michael Trent is back once again to create with us  / all the way from Cosmopolis, Brazil  . We are in the middle of a heat wave here in Virginia Beach so it's nice to just stay indoors and make cards !!  This month, I wanted to use stencils . I have SO many that I have never inked up . It was about time to get them out and have some fun with them ! Now the only problem is deciding which ones to use .. I finally decided on a few snarky sentiments to go with a favorite Ink Road stamp .  

• I stamped the Night FAFO image from Ink Road stamps twice - once on white cardstock and again on a marbled watercolor piece of scrap paper.
• The sentiments were stenciled on each panel - Love Letter Memento ink was used on the white panel and Tuxedo Blak Memento ink on the marbled panel. 
• I used the Sarcasm stencil from A Colorful Life Designs .
• I matted the white panel with turquoise cardstock and adhered that to a black card base .
• The marbled panel was matted with pink cardstock and applied to a lavender hombre card base with foam tabs.

I was an overachiever this time and created another card too . The Snarky Coffee Stencil from A Colorful Life Designs was paired with a Unity Stamp Company stamp set - Tricia Girl .

For some added inspiration on how to use your stencils, check out Celeste and Michael's posts at these links . 

Celeste - Stamping Junky

Michael - World of Michael Trent

This month I'm drinking Caramel Pecan coffee from a favorite cup that I just realized  matches my Kindle perfectly !! Don't you just love these mushroom designs?!?!?!

Thank you so much for choking out our stencil inspiration  ! Do you have a stash of stencils that you need to locate and create with ? If so, I hope you find them and get busy .. Until next time, have some good coffee (preferably with a friend) and stay creative. Thanks to Michael for joining us today . I know he was looking forward to a fun weekend watching the FIFA game between Brazil & Morocco  on television .

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

Coffee & Cards with Deb and Celeste / May 2026

This month Celeste and I decoded to make a slimline card. These are a fun alternative to standard A2 size cards.  Standard slimline cards are 3.5" x 6" . I usually make mini-slimline cards with 6x6 paper. I swear I must have 100+  6x6 paper pads so I try to use them as often as I can . Here's an example of a slimline card ..

I chose an Ink Road Stamps image - Inked R'Chel - from October 2023 .  I had an idea for my card but unfortunately I had a bit of a mishap with a marker. More about that later. 

• I stamped the R'Chel image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on cream cardstock .
• The sentiment was also stamped on cream cardstock with Memento Teal Zeal ink .
• I paper punched R'Chel with a square punch . 
• The sentiment was trimmed .
• I colored the image with my COPIC markers .
• A piece of pink cardstock was die-cut to be used as a mat for the R'Chel image.
• I folded a 6x6 piece of patterned paper ( found in my stash - source unknown ) for my card base. 
• The matted panel was adhered at the top of the card .
• I used foam tabs to place the sentiment below the stamped panel .

So, about my little mishap ... I was just starting to color R'Chel when my marker bled onto my image . I have had this problem occasionally with my OLO  markers but rarely with my COPICs. And I have tried all the solutions, but this day was just trying to be difficult. I almost just crumpled the image to throw it away but then had an idea !! 

First it bled on her leg ..

Then a few other places as I moved the marker .

Sooooooooo, here was my solution ..

I guess I could be like Bob Ross and call it a "happy accident" . 

Have you had to save a project from a mistake, "happy accident" ? I also just hate wasting paper so it was good that I could use the top half of that image for my card .  I sure hope that Celeste had better luck with her creative process .  To see what she made, head on over to her blog - Crafting Junky . 

This month I'm drinking Caramel Pecan coffee from a coffee cup given to me by my lovely friend Nola. She was my rock after my son died in a car crash 12-23-21 . She lost an adult son to cancer 15 years ago .  We have formed our own little support group with another friend who also lost an adult son . Nola bought us each this cup and I cherish it . It sits on my desk always. 

Thank you for visiting us once again. We look forward to bringing you more Coffee & Cards next month . We had a few weeks of lovely Spring weather but are now in for some 90' days until next weekend.  I hope you are enjoying some coffee and cardmaking wherever you are !! Until next time, stay creative ..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity