Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / April 2022

I am so happy that the weather is finally turning warm - in fact, today here in Virginia Beach, it will be 89 degrees !! I hope that Spring weather has reached you wherever you are .. Have you been starting your holiday cards along with us ?? It's never too late to start !! Michael, Lisa and I are posting each month on the 25th to inspire you and stay ahead of the holiday rush ..

For my first card, I used the stamp set - Whimsy World - Noel - by Colorado Craft Company . This stamp set is actually on sale right now and is a wonderful addition to your holiday stash.

• In the upper left corner of a piece of patterned paper, I stamped a string of lights from the Busy Sidewalks stamp set from Crate Paper.
• I stamped the other images to create a scene, using a variety of colors of Memento Dew Drop inks . All are from the Whimsy World - Noel set .
• The string of lights are colored with glitter pens and the scene with my COPICS.
• I added a few strips of holiday washi to the bottom left of the stamped panel.
• Confession time - I stamped a different house image on the patterned paper but was not happy with it .. So I stamped the Colorado Craft image onto the same patterned paper then placed it over the original. 

My next 2 cards are made with the Vicki Boutin - Warm Wishes collection . This collection has the most amazing elements - stamps, ephemera, washi, stickers. All are just beautiful !! It was the one complete collection I could not resist last year ..

• On a piece of Warm Wishes patterned paper, I stamped JOY and the bird with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink . The other words were stamped with Memento Dew Drop Ink -Lady Bug .
• I stamped the stars on another piece of Warm Wishes patterned paper and then fussy-cut them.
• The bird and JOY were colored with my COPICS.
• I popped up the 3 stars with foam tabs onto the stamped panel.
• A cream-colored card base was used.

• On a Kraft card base, I adhered a piece of Warm Wishes  patterned paper.
• I used ephemera from the collection  - a string of stars along the top, reindeer on the left side and a 25 on the right.
• This card needed nothing else - no bling or glitter .. I think it is just simply perfect as is !!

My last card was made with the Shine Bright Girls stamp by Angie Blom from Unity Stamp Company . I was so excited when the image fit inside the opening in my new favorite wreath die .

• I die-cut the  Momenta Holly & Berry Christmas wreath with dark green cardstock.
• The Shine Bright Girls was stamped onto cream cardstock with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink .
• I die-cut the wreath again with the stamped image to get the circle. And I now have a cream-colored wreath to use for another card.
• I adhered the stamped circle and the wreath to a 5x7 Kraft card base near the top .
• A Happy Holidays sticker from the Vicki Boutin "Warm Wishes" collection was placed under the wreath.
• Unicorn Stickles Glitter Glue  was used on the hats.

Unicorn Stickles detail

I was happy to use some new stamps and collections for my Crafty Elf cards this time.. I know they were all purchased before the holidays last year but never used. I'm excited to add them to my holiday stash !!  Please take a look at Michael's and Lisa's blogs to see what they have created . I'm sure that they are all fabulous as usual ..

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds-Bzibziak - Life of a BZ Scrapper

I will also be posting one or more of these cards in the Christmas 2022 Linky Party sponsored by Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers .  They are a group of papercrafters who are also making their holiday cards all year long . You can learn all about the Linky Party at their website HERE .  #springintochristmas2022byshclp

Thank you for stopping by again to see the Crafty Elves' April inspiration. We hope that you will start to create some holiday cards of your own. Take care, stay safe and until next month, stay creative.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity