Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / July 2022

There are 154 days until Christmas !! Can you believe we are over halfway there ?? It's been fun sharing our holiday cards with you all year . This month, Michael is taking a break so Lisa and I  are holding down the fort and posting our cards for your crafty inspiration !! He will be back with us next month .. 

First order of business is to announce the winner of some holiday blog candy for commenting on June's post .. Karen Ladd left a sweet comment and especially loved the kitty cards !! I will be contacting her .. Thank you to all who commented - I appreciate each and every one !!!

Our weather is brutal here in Virginia Beach , with temps close to 100 many days and my crafty energy seems to dwindle as the month comes to a close. So for my cards this month, I will only list the stamp /stamps that I use . If you have any other questions about supplies,  please feel free to ask .

Enerson Girl by Angie Blom from Unity Stamp Company

Cozy Wishes from Fun Stampers Journey

Fall Gal by Jeanie Hays from Unity Stamp Company

 Stamp from 2010 - Cuddle Season by Stampendous  

I'm actually happy with my cards this time -- I think that sometimes we can be very self-critical but this time, I am satisfied with the outcome .. I hope that you are inspired to create some holiday cards ahead of the rush too . Please take a look at Lisa's cards .. They are always masterpieces !!!

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZscrapper

There is a Christmas in July Linky Party sponsored by Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers . They have fabulous sponsors, amazing prizes and tons of holiday inspiration. I will be linking these cards up to join in on the fun !!  I hope that you will visit them and maybe even consider linking up a card of your own !!  #christmasinjuly2022byshclp

Thank you again for visiting Meticulosity and watching as we get ahead of the holiday happy mail rush each month.. I'm looking forward to having Michael back in August .. Until next time., stay creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb and Celeste / July 2022

I am really having a difficult time believing that it is July already !! And it is even harder to think about Christmas in a month where our temperatures have often  been close to 100 degrees. But that is our theme this month - Christmas in July .. Celeste and I will bring you some creative inspiration to give you some ideas for your holiday happy mail ..

I used Cozy Wishes by Fun Stampers Journey for my card this month .. It's a great set and can be used with fall or winter colors for different looks .. It's also a excellent set for a teacher gift, using the apple stamp . It's on sale now and very easy to fussy-cut !!

• I stamped the cup image on white cardstock and the heart on a pale blue patterned paper with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink .
• The cup and heart were fussy-cut. These images are so easy to cut .
• I colored the knitted lines with various shades of blue COPIC markers.
• The holes in the heart "button" were made with my Crop-a-dile ..
• A piece of silver gift patterned paper  - from the Studio Calico "Magical" collection - was adhered to a silver card base.
• The cup was popped up on the patterned paper with foam tabs.
• The heart "button" was also adhered to the cup handle with foam.
• A sentiment from my stash was placed above the cup - also with foam tabs for dimension .

This card was so easy to make and a breeze to color !! Perfect for some Christmas in July projects .. I'm excited to see what Celeste has designed - please take a look at it over at her blog - Crafting Junky . We hope that you have been inspired to start on some holiday cards of your own..

 I'm also posting this card to the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Linky Party - Christmas in July 2022 . There are some amazing sponsors and prizes and tons of fabulous inspiration for your holiday cards !!  #christmasinjuly2022byshclp

For my coffee this month , I thought that Gingerbread would be very appropriate !! I am drinking it from a a holiday mug I found on clearance at Barnes & Noble in January .. It's always a good time to find holiday sales !! The hard part is remembering that you bought them when the holidays roll around ...

Thank you for visiting us this month ... Until next time, Stay Creative ...

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / April 2022

I'm not quite sure where the time is going but it sure is flying by .. Here it is April already and Celeste and I are back for more Coffee & Cards.  We've decided on a Retro theme this month and my first thought was to do a holiday card . But then I remembered a stamps set I have from Fun Stampers Journey and my card idea was born.. I hope you like it as much as I do ..

This stamp set Pop Art has a Retro vibe to it .. It reminds me of old time comic strips- the ones I used to use Silly Putty on as a child. Does anyone else even know what Silly Putty is ??? I guess I am showing my age.

• The images were stamped with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam Ink, colored with my  COPICS and then fussy-cut.. 
• The sentiments were then stamped onto each image .
• I adhered a scrap piece of vintage telephone paper to a Kraft card base.
• The completed Retro images were matted with teal Tim Holtz Distress Cardstock - from a paper pad that I have been hoarding for years !!
• I adhered the completed matted panels to the Vintage phone paper. This card just makes me laugh.

Be sure to check out Celeste's blog - Crafting Junky -  for her take on our Retro theme. This month I am drinking Original Donut Shop Nutty Caramel coffee in my new Life Is Good mug . I am becoming addicted to the LIG tee-shirts and their coffee cups !! And they have the best sales too ..

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter today // I hope that you get to spend some time with your family and also take an hour or two to be creative.. Until next month, take care and stay safe .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Coffee & Cards with Deb & Celeste / November 2020

November is here and with it there will be another Thanksgiving  .. Different than in the past with COVID still around -- but there is still much to be thankful for. AND that is the theme this month - Thanksgiving !! Celeste and I have been collaborating on these blog posts since October 2016 and I am forever grateful for our continued friendship .. I'm also thankful for everyone who has been following us as we get creative each month. 

For my card this month, I paired stamps from 2 of my favorite companies -  Gather Together  from Fun Stampers Journey and Love To Go from Unity Stamp Company . I think that they go together perfectly !!

• I stamped the sentiment and the coffee cup image with Espresso Ink from Close To My Heart on a piece of Kraft cardstock. I used my MISTI  to get the images lined up for my card panel . 
• I also stamped the coffee cup on a variety of Autumn patterned papers and then cut out the coffee lid, sleeve and heart images and paper-pieced them on the cup . 
• The stamped panel was adhered to an orange patterned card base with my Pink Scotch ATG gun. 
• A piece of fun Autumn  red truck washi tape was placed at the bottom of the card. 

This was such a fun and easy card to make . And I love that  at the bottom of the sentiment is the instruction to "eat pie"  ..  Because what is Thanksgiving without at least a small piece of pie.. This year I think that mine just might be some Chocolate Pecan Pie from Cracker Barrel !!

Celeste has created her own Thanksgiving card and you can see it over at her blog -  Crafting Junky . Have you been making any Thanksgiving cards ?? Have your plans changed at all  this year ?? I'm so glad that you took some time to visit Meticulosity again to see our latest collaboration..

I cannot quite believe it is so close to Christmas . Time to get out a holiday cup for my coffee this month !! I bought this last year long after the holiday for only 90 cents !! And it is from a a favorite movie of mine  - ELF - so I really could not resist !! There is some Maple Pecan coffee in my cup with Sweet Cream creamer.  What are you drinking this time of year ??

Thanks again for visiting Meticulosity to see what Celeste and I are up to this month .. 

Until next time, stay happy, healthy and creative !!

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

 

 

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - May 2020

Well, we're still staying home here in Virginia but slowly re-opening. It's hard to believe we have been doing this since March . I wear a mask at work at the hospital and also when I have to go out. I'm playing it safe and so is Brian, but I see many who haven't gotten the mask/social distance message. I've had lots of time at home to read, relax on the deck and get creative. My creative mojo comes and goes, but I enjoyed making  the cards for this month . I hope that you enjoy them too !! For this month's post,  we have another Crafty Elf joining us - Amy Tsuruta is an amazing papercrafter and the  host of the amazing Coffee Loving Papercrafters page on Facebook . She is also a creator of the Coffee Lovers Hops, one of which is going on right now  ( May 22-29 ) . So of course, I had to include a hot cocoa card in May's line-up !!

I decided to use bright green card bases for all of my cards this time. Sometimes I spend lots of time figuring out what color /pattern of card base to use. So this time I made it easy on myself and chose one color. I also used my favorite Versafine Clair Nocturne ink to stamp all the images. 

Stamp ; Gretta by Lindsay Ostrom for Impression Obsession

Ephemera Sentiment ; Crate Paper

Stamps : Snowman by Rubber Moon

Joyous Christmas by Rubber Moon

This stamp is retired but they have many more fabulous snowman stamps

Stamps : Christmas Cookie stamp set with matching dies by Stampendous
This card will also be linked up at the current Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop

Stamps: Holiday Cookies by Fun Stampers Journey
For the cookie jar card, I stamped, colored and fussy-cut all of the cookies.

No long detailed instruction lists again this time.  The images were colored with a variety of my favorite markers - Stabilo, Faber-Castell, Sharpies and Pilot pens. I then just chose some coordinating washi, patterned paper, ephemera and sequins to complete these cards. And I realize that I have 5 cards this time but the last 2 just went together so well that I posted both !! Take some time now to look at the other Crafty Elf projects -- I'm excited to see them also. And a big thank-you to Amy for putting on an elf hat and joining us for this month's countdown !!

Amy Tsuruta - Tsuruta Designs

Michael Trent - World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZ Scrapper

Jessica Pickeral - Polka Dot Orchard Blog

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas - February 2020

February has basically kicked my butt !! Despite getting a flu shot, I came down with a whopping case of Influenza A AND a nasty bronchitis. Right before Valentines Day, I thought I was getting over a bit of a cold. Couldn't have been more wrong !! But I think the worst is behind me and I'm excited to be here to show you my cards for February. Remember that Michael and Jessica are joining along with me and Lisa as we create a Christmas card each week all throughout 2020. 

For my first card, I chose the Forest Friends Snow Globe stamp from Impression Obsession., designed by  Alesa Baker.

• I started by stamping the image twice - once on a blue background and again on a light brown paper, making sure I captured the complete base of the globe. Versafine Clair Nocturne ink was used. 
• I fussy-cut the globe and base and adhered them onto a metallic border card.
• The image was colored with a variety of my favorite markers - Tombows and Faber-Castells.
• I added glitter to the pink tree.
• A sentiment from Crate Paper was adhered to the top of the card.   

The next stamp I chose to use is Nordic Town, designed by my talented friend Lindsay Ostrom, also   for Impression Obsession .

• I stamped the image on watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink and cut the panel to fit on the front of a dark brown card base.
• The image was colored with my favorite markers.
• A strip of red glitter washi was placed along the bottom of the row of houses.
• Two strips of narrow gold-marbled washi were placed across the top of the panel, leaving a small space between the 2.
• A My Mind's Eye ephemera sentiment was popped up with foam tabs below the gold strips of washi.

This next stamp is going to be used every holiday from here forward !! From Fun Stampers Journey - Sparkly Christmas - is just too much fun and oh so true ..  Just a simple image but after adding a few sequins, I was sure I had a new Christmas classic !!

• The image was stamped on a scrap piece of pale blue paper with  Memento Dew Drops - Cottage Ivy and cut to fit my card base.
• I cut 2 coordinating scrap pieces of Christmas-patterned paper to mat the stamped image. The red dotted paper is glittered.
• I adhered the papers at an angle. The red to the green, then the stamped base to the red. I am OCD about straight lines and often mount images at an angle to give myself a break !!
• The completed matted image was adhered to a white card base.
• Numerous sequins in a variety of holiday colors and sizes were attached to the sentiment.

For my last project, I pulled out a stamped base that I made several years ago when I was stamping with a group of friends. I remember liking the background so much that I made several to use at a later date. And when I was destashing a few weeks ago, I found them again !!

• I stamped the paint stroke in 3 colors on a peachy-pink card base in 3 colors. It looks like I used 2 coordinating greens and a reddish ink . This is from an older Stampin' Up set - Work of Art .
• At the bottom right, I stamped the sentiment - from a Crate Paper stamp set I found at Tuesday Morning -  with a Memento Dew Drops - Cottage Ivy ink. 
• In the center of the paint strokes, I mounted a Crate Paper snow-globe shaker sticker. It is filled with snow and has to be one of the the prettiest stickers EVER made !!!

I'm thrilled that Michael has joined me on my crazy journey as I make a Christmas card each week throughout 2020. Head over to his blog at World of Michael Trent for some more inspiration  I'm also sure that Lisa at Life of a BZscrapper and her crafty partner, Jessica from Polka Dot Orchard were just full of great ideas for our second Crafty Elves post of the year !!

Have you started your holiday cards yet ?? Do you plan to stay ahead of the holiday rush and get your cards,  envelope-addressing and inside the card stamping done throughout the year along with us ?? We would love to hear your ideas for staying organized this holiday season. 

Thank you for visiting Meticulosity.

Until next time, Stay Creative.

Debra Davison / Meticulosity