Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - January

A question was asked about crafty New Year's Resolutions in one of the Facebook groups I frequent . I responded that I wanted to make 1 Christmas card each week so I would have about 48 cards when the holidays rolled around.  And knowing that I can usually make more than 1 card at a time, I figured I could get a bit more than that. Turns out I am not the only one who thinks this way. Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak replied immediately and said she wanted to do the same thing. I know Lisa from the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Facebook page . So, what started out as a promise to keep each other focused on making a card a week has turned into a monthly blog post of our holiday cards !! We are the Crafty Elves and our little mascot is this cute Crafty Little Elf  from Unity Stamp Company. She will help us count down the weeks until Christmas card sending season arrives !!

I made a variety of cards for the first month. I placed stamps,papers, embellishments, adhesives and dies in a photo box along with card bases ( some made by me, others pre-made ) so  I always had everything handy. I made 2 of the cards when I just sat down with the intention of making one of my Christmas cards. The other 2 were made along with other cards when I was also completing some deadlines for Design Teams I am on. I am not going to be giving detailed instructions/supplies used for each card but feel free to ask me about any details. I will be listing the stamps I used under each card's photo.

Stamps Used:

Baby, It's Cold by Vera Lane Studio

Digi Stamp Set

 Stamp Used :

Gracielle Design's Cozy Layers Mode

Unity Stamp Company

Stamp Used:

Christmas Cottage by Stampemdous

 Stamp Used :

Gracielle Design's Cozy Layers Mode

Unity Stamp Company

Glitter highlights on roof,fence

   Glittered foam on my latte                                   

I actually made 8 more cards this month for a total of 12. These were some of my last minte designs at the end of 2018 so I had all of the supplies handy. I can't wait to see what Lisa makes and hope that you will go to her blog at Life of a BZ Scrapper to check out her creations !! We will be posting each month on the 25th and would love for you to join us by starting your Christmas cards early too. In order to help you, we will both be having a giveaway. Comment on our posts and you will have a chance to win a fun holiday stamp to get you started. I will be sending my winner our mascot Crafty Christmas Elf . Comment by the end of January and we will announce winners the first week of February.

Crafty Little Elf

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity.

Lisa and I hope you will join us each month for the Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste 12/16

Hard to believe we will be celebrating Christmas in less than 2 weeks !! Are you finished your cards ?? How about your holiday shopping ?? I told myself that I wasn't going to get stressed this year and so far,so good. Cards will be finished tomorrow and some might be late. Presents are mostly bought . I even bought some for ME !! Our new kitty Pixie seems to be the big winner so far when it comes to presents !!

Because coffee is such a big part of this blog and it is the holiday season, we decided that our theme this time would be Holiday Coffee. Our guest for this last collaboration of 2018 is Shanna Slater. We met through our love of coffee and paper-crafting -- I think it was on the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Facebook page. You can find her blog at Caffeinated Craftiness  -- see, she's the perfect guest for us !!!

For my card today, I used the cutest little elf stamp and made sure she had a nice BIG cup of Gingerbread coffee to energize her while she finishes those last-minute Christmas cards !!

• I placed a strip of Little B red-foiled plaid washi tape down the left edge of a Kraft card base.
• I stamped Crafty Little Elf from Unity Stamp Company onto Neenah Stardust White cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
• The elf image was colored with a variety of my favorite markers - Brea Reese, Faber-Castell, Sharpies & BIC Flair. My favorite yellow Cutter Bee scissors are in her apron pocket !!
• I adhered the stamped image to the bottom of the Kraft card and then placed the red cup next to it, popping that up with Tombow Foam Tabs. I do not remember where that red digi cup came from . If anyone knows, please tell me so I can give them credit.
• The sentiment and red checkered paper are both from the Merry Merry paper pad from Pebbles Inc.

I'm sure that Celeste will have a fabulous project over at Crafting Junky . And Shanna has  undoubtedly come up with something fantastic that you can see at Caffeinated Craftiness. We are so glad that she joined us for our holiday collaboration !! 

My coffee for this post is Sugar Cookie and I am drinking it from my new Starbucks mug. I recently cleaned out some kitchen cabinets and that included some of my vast mug collection. But I really could not resist this one that I found at the Starbucks inside our local Target. Isn't it the sweetest ?!?!?!

Thank you once again for visiting Meticulosity and following along each month with us. Celeste and I have had such fun and hope that you have too !! I hope that you will be back for some more inspiration and creativity in 2019. Merry Christmas to all of you from me, Brian & Pixie. And a happy, healthy 2019 to all of you ..

Debra Davison / Meticulosity