Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / May 2024

It's hard to believe we are almost halfway through the year !! This month Lisa and I are being joined by our former Crafty Elf teammate, Michael Trent !! We are happy to have him back for May and can't wait to see what he's come up with ..

For my cards this month, I used 2 stamp sets by Julie Nutting for Prima Marketing Inc. - Merry Nice and Warm Wishes . These are older stamp sets from 2014 but can still be found on Etsy and eBay. 

• I stamped the Warm Wishes Prima girl on  2  pieces of white cardstock and then stamped the holly leaf next to each girl , using Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• The girls and holly were colored with my COPICS.
• Using Memento Lady Bug and Cottage Ivy inks ,I stamped the sentiments.
• Naughty or Nice was stamped on a piece of white cardstock and then die-cut with a Pierced Chain Round Die.
• Happy Winter was stamped on a piece of tan patterned paper and then die-cut with a Stitched Rectangle Die.
• The scallop borders were die-cut from a Basic  Grey 25th and Pine paper pad that I have been hoarding since 2013. I used a Tim Holtz Alterations  Scallops  die from Sizzix .
• I adhered a scalloped border to the top of each stamped panel . The die  makes 2 borders - 1 with holes punched across the border and 1 without .
•  I adhered the sentiments to each panel with foam tabs.
• Naughty or Nice was adhered to a Kraft card base and Happy Winter to a white card base.

I have many of these Prima girls and will be inking more of them up soon !! I hope they inspire you to get started on a few holiday cards .. For more creativity, take a look at Michael's and Lisa's cards at these links -

World of Michael Trent

Life of a BZscrapper

Thanks so much for stopping by . And a BIG thank-you to Michael for joining us, We will see you next month as we reach the halfway mark to Christmas 2024 !! 

Until then, stay creative ..

Coffee and Cards with Deb & Celeste / May 2024

Spring is finally here and what better theme for my May collaboration with Celeste !! It is a bit rainy here today but Brian just planted some items in the garden and is happy for the wet weather today ..  Our Spring inspiration photo is beautiful and I hope it inspires you too ..

You do not just wake up and become the butterfly -

Growth is a process

I loved this stamp from the minute I saw it !! This beautiful image is  Sapling Tales from Aall & Create .. A stack of books with some lovely flowers - perfect for my post today !!

• I stamped the image on white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. 
• It was colored with my COPICS and Flair pens.
• I die cut the image with a Double Stitched Rectangle Die.
• A piece of vintage-looking floral paper from  the Pretty Things collection by My Mind's Eye was adhered to a Kraft card base.
• I matted the completed stamped panel with a pale pink cardstock.
• The panel was adhered to the floral paper with foam tabs.

I love the message on this card - Choose Joy .Sometimes in the midst of turmoil in your life, it's hard to remember to be grateful and happy. Today I am  grateful for my friendship with Celeste and our mutual love of coffee and cards . We are both choosing JOY today. Check out her card over at her blog - Crafting Junky . I know it will be as beautiful as all her other cards ..

My coffee today is Vanilla Skyline from Brooklyn Bean Roastery . I made iced coffee and have it in my new cold cup from Starbucks. I had enough points on my Starbucks card to get this cup for free and couldn't resist it . It obviously has our sweet cat Pixie on it !! The design is by Chinese artist Monyee Chau . Don't you love it ?!?!?!

Thank you for stopping by my post today . Please check out Celeste's also. We will be back next month with more coffee, cards and inspiration for you !!

  

Until next time -

Stay Creative

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Cancer Sucks !!

No one can dispute that Cancer Sucks . I certainly wouldn't . I had thyroid cancer in 2015 and went through treatments and surgery . Now I am considered cancer-free. One of the new release stamp sets from Technique Junkies  includes 9 stamps for you to use to support someone you know who is dealing with cancer.  People often don't know what to say to someone who has a serious illness . I know that I appreciated every card and note that I received  ... I made 2 cards to mail to friends to brighten their day with the Cancer Sucks set .

• I stamped 2 of the sentiments on pieces of white cardstock with Tuxedo Black Memento ink .
• Angel Pink Memento ink was used to stamp the Cancer Sucks sentiment next to the Tuxedo Black sentiments .
• The sentiments were die cut with Stitched Square dies.
• I have been hoarding an amazing paper pad by Me & My Big Ideas that is all Breast Cancer Awareness themed . I adhered a piece of glitter ribbon paper to a Kraft card base and a large pink ribbon piece to a white card basee.
• The Fighting Cancer panel was adhered to the glitter ribbon paper with foam tabs. Small white and pink glitter paper punched banners were stapled to the upper left side of this card 
• The PICC Line panel was adhered with foam tabs next to the large pink support ribbon on the other card .

This stamp set is just one of the 13 stamps/sets in Technique Junkies latest release. Check  them all out HERE . You can always save 10% on your order when you use my code - TJ10Deb. I'll be posting more projects throughout the month along with my talented teammates. I hope you will take some time to get creative too !!