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

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / January 2021

Lisa Reynolds- Bzibziak, Michael Trent and I are back again  - it is the 3rd year for the Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas !! We are each making 1 card ( or more ) each week and then blogging about it on the 25th of each month. Our goal is to decrease our stress when the holidays roll around by having a stash of holiday cards. We also hope to inspire you to do the same. I had also wanted to address my cards throughout the year but that did not actually get done. So I will try my best to do that this year .. Who would have ever thought that we would still be in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2021 ?!?! It really is hard to believe... So each month, I hope that you will join us to see what we have created.. 

For 3 of my cards, I used an older set from Stampin' Up - Christmas in the Making . The images have a fun vintage look and were so much fun to color.  Plus the cat on the gift-wrapping stamp reminded me of Pixie, so how could I resist using this set ?!?!?!

• I used Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink to stamp all of the images onto Strathmore Watercolor paper.  Sentiments were stamped with Memento Ladybug ink .
• I colored all of the images with my COPIC markers. 
• For the ornament card, I stamped the sentiment on a separate piece of watercolor paper.and adhered it to a piece of floral Christmas paper. The retro image was adhered above the sentiment and then the entire panel to a green card base . 
• The other 2 stamped images were adhered to red and blue card bases.

Santa gave me these merry bells

While Christmas bells are ringing

• The Christmas bells were stamped on a cream-colored designer paper and fussy-cut. They are from the Unity Stamp Company stamp set - Happiest Season of All .
• I mounted the bells onto pieces of black patterned paper ( printed with the word "merry" ) .
• The stamped panels were adhered towards the top of white and blue card bases  .
• Tim Holtz sentiments were adhered underneath the stamped panels.

I cannot wait to see what Michael and Lisa have created for our first post of 2021. You can see their projects at their blog posts listed below. We hope that you will sign up to follow us all as we get ready for Christmas 2021 !! It seems so far away now but I know that soon we will be rushing around because it is right around the corner . 

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds-Bzibziak - Life of a BZScrapper

I was so excited to get started that I made 5 cards for my first Crafty Elf post !! Are you inspired to begin your cards now or will you wait until later this year ??  Leave a comment here and I will choose 1 commenter at random to receive a few holiday goodies to get you started.. Thanks so much for stopping by to see January's  projects .. Until next time, stay creative !! 

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - October

When I decided last year to make a Christmas card each week to avoid the holiday rush,  I was hoping that it wouldn't fall by the wayside like New Year's resolutions.  But when Lisa  - of Life of a BZScrapper - decided to join me, I was pretty sure it would be a success !! And now here we are, 10 months later, almost finished with our year . Yes,  the Crafty Elves are still going strong and are excited to show you our October cards.

For my cards this month, I used several square dies from my collection. Two of the cards have no stamping on them . It's been easier than I thought to come up with new ideas each week, My first card is an expression of my love for snail mail !! 

• I die cut a scalloped lace square from watercolor paper.
• A Doodlebug Design Inc. cardstock sticker "Dear Santa"  set was used to create a scene in the die cut square.
• A Merry Christmas sticker from my stash was placed at the top of the scalloped square.
• Red candy dots were placed at each corner of the square.
• The scalloped square was popped up with foam tabs onto a green card base.

• I stamped, die-cut and then colored images from the Sizzix Dove Framelit Set .
• Versafine Clair Nocturne ink was used for all stamping.
• Using a Tim Holtz Stitched Square Die, I cut a square to fit on the front of my card.
• The dove and HOPE images were adhered to the stitched square with my Tombow MONO Adhesive+.
• The holly were adhered on either side of the HOPE sentiment with foam tabs.
• This card was made for my friend Chrissy who just had surgery for breast cancer. 

• I stamped the 3 images from the Christmas Set 1 by Anthony's Paper Craft onto die-cut squares. Two were Stitched Squares  die-cuts and one was plain.
• The images were colored with a variety of my favorite markers. 
• A bit of shimmer was added with my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush and a Sakura Stardust Jelly Roll pen.
• The squares were placed on cream card bases, popped up with foam tabs. 
• These cards were made by me for the Make n Take at StampScrapArtTour in Hampton, VA this past weekend. I was at the Anthony's Paper Craft booth as a member of their Design Team.

beautiful memories from ordinary moments

• On a cream card base, I adhered a snowglobe made with Pinkfresh Studio Snowglobe Elements .
• A sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio's cardstock sticker collection was placed below the snowglobe. 
• A strip of thin green washi was placed down the left side of the card. 

I know that Lisa has been busy with her cards . You can see her wonderful creations over  at her blog - Life of a BZScrapper . Have you started your holiday cards yet ?? Do you send many ? We are excited that we will be ahead of the holiday rush, at least as far as Christmas cards are concerned !! Comment on this post for a chance to get a bit of holiday snail mail from me . And come back next month for more cards from me and Lisa. 

Until next time, Stay Creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - August

Lisa - aka BZ Scrapper - and I have been making a Christmas card each week since January. Sometimes we have even made more !! We post each month on the 25th and it's time for our August  cards. After a brutal month of crazy hot weather, today it is in the 70's, so I was a little bit more in the holiday spirit !! Hard to believe that there are only 4 months until Christmas . Have you started on your holiday cards ?? We hope you will follow along with us as the Crafty Elves count down to Christmas !!

• For my first card, I used a beautiful stamp from Stampendous - Snowy Postcard .  I stamped the image on watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink . I used my MISTI so I could stamp a few times and get a nice, crisp image.
• I cut the image to fit on a wood grain card base, leaving a small border around the edge. 
• The image was colored in a few areas with glitter markers and Faber-Castell PITT Artist  Pens.
• I adhered the image to the card base with my Pink Scotch ATG Gun.
• The rooftops were dusted with Sugar Shimmer Fairy-Dust Glitter .

• Next I have a card using the Spellbinders Merry & Bright Stamp and Die Set . I again stamped the image on watercolor paper using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink. 
• The image was cut out with the matching die. 
• I colored the image with Sharpies and glitter markers.
• I cut a piece of snowman patterned paper from the CraftSmith Say Freeze collection. 
• A piece of holiday twine was wrapped around the patterned paper and tied on the front.
• After adhering the patterned paper to a bright green card base, I popped up the Merry & Bright  die cut with foam dimensionals.

• I bought the Pink Fresh Simple Joy stamps and dies because the cat reminded me of our Pixie !! I stamped the images on watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink then die cut them. 
• The images were colored with Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens. It's hard to see but Santa is wearing a cool pair of red framed glasses !!
• I adhered a piece of green gingham paper to a bright red card base. 
• A red scalloped border was added to the top of the green gingham and a piece of black wood-grain washi was placed across the bottom.
• The Santa and cat images were adhered to the card base with my ATG Gun  and the sentiment was popped up with foam dimensionals.

• My last card was also shared on the If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Challenge blog this week. The cookie  theme included llamas so I created a holiday card with a Fa La La La Llama !! 
• I cut a piece of Recollections Holiday Bash paper to fit my green card base.
• The Inkadinkado FaLaLa Llama was stamped in Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink on Neenah Stardust White cardstock, then trimmed to fit on the lower right side of the card.
• A gold doily was folded over the top left edge of the card to create a corner element.
• Several pastel candy dots were placed around the llama.
• I used a border paper punch to make the JOY design, then cut it to place it at the top of the card across the doily.
• 2 large Teal candy dots were placed on the left side of the JOY design.

Lisa's cards can be found at her blog - Life of a BZ Scrapper . I'm sure her cards are fabulous as always !! We are thrilled that you are joining us as we continue to create our cards and get ahead of the holiday rush !! Have you started yours yet ??  It's never to late to start . We will be back again next month with more Crafty Elf creativity.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - March

I can't believe that March is already almost over . Lisa and I have been busy making sure we keep up with our weekly Christmas card commitment. We hope that you all have been enjoying our creations and that we are inspiring you to start on your holiday cards with us !!

For my first 2 cards, I again used the Oh What Fun stamp set from Unity Stamp Company. I colored the girls with a variety of my favorite markers -  Brea Reese, Faber-Castell and Staedtler. I stamped approximately 20 of these girls last month so I would have them ready for a quick card. I placed the background papers on cranberry card bases. 

For my next card, I used another Unity Stamp Company set - Noel  . I stamped the tag image on watercolor paper and then colored in the holly leaves, berries and postmarks. I added a touch of shimmer to the postmarks with a Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Pen. After fussy-cutting the tag, I wrapped some holiday twine around the bottom . I made a mat of scrap paper on the cranberry card base and then added a strip of pink plaid paper across the card. Several rhinestones were added to the top left side of the card as a finishing touch. 

My last card uses 1 of my favorite supplies - tags !! I found  a stack of holiday tags at Tuesday Morning and thought they would make fabulous holiday cards. I added another favorite element - coffee cups, so how could I go wrong !?!?!? 

Pebbles "Cozy & Bright" tags were perfect for some quick cards. The tags came in a pad with 6 different designs. I paired them with some fun coffee cup images - Coffee Petites from Stamplorations.  It's hard to see but I added some Wink of Stella Clear Glitter  Brush Pen  to the coffee. I made 7 of these tag cards. I used my Pink Scotch ATG Gun to adhere all elements on all of the cards I made this month..

I'm excited to see Lisa's cards and know that you will love them as much as I do !! Take a look at her cards on her blog - Life of a BZScrapper . We would love for you to follow us and also leave us a comment to tell us what you think of our crazy idea to make a Christmas Card a week throughout 2019. Are you working on yours too ??? 

Thank you for joining me at Meticulosity !!

Debra Davison