Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas / November 2024

Well, it always seems to happen like this .... You turn around and it's the holiday season !! I am working Thanksgiving and the day after this year, but will be off for Christmas and New Years. Such is the life of a nurse . I have been at it for 40 years, so working holidays is just part of the deal. But at the end of a long shift, I get to come home and spend some time with Brian & Pixie .. I hope you get to spend some time with friends and family this Thanksgiving.Lisa and I are back with our creations for November - we both should have a nice stash of cards to mail out next month !!

I decided to use the Merry Catmas stamp set from Unity Stamp Company. This is such  a cute set and I loved it so much that I made 5 cards for today .. My initial thought was to leave all the cats white but my OLO markers were calling to me and I decided to color in a few on each card . I even colored a few to match some of my friend's cats. Meow !!

• I stamped the Cat Tree image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock that I already had cut to fit my card bases. I used my MISTI so stamping all 5 was very quick.
• Some of the cats were colored with my OLO markers.
• I made red, blue and green versions of this card.I stamped the sentiments on white cardstock in each color and trimmed them to fit below the tree.
• The border at the top of each stamped panel was made with a Tim Holtz Alterations On the Edge Scallops Die . This is long retired but can be found on eBay.
• I color-coordinated each card - card base, border and sentiment were all the same color family.
• The sentiment was popped up with foam tabs.
• Each completed panel was adhered to a matching card base. 

I had alot of fun with these cards !! Can't wait to send them to my "crazy cat lady" friends next month . I purchased 3 books of holiday  stamps and several International stamps I usually send about 60 cards each year. Take a look at what Lisa made over at her blog -Life of a BZscrapper . I hope you have been thinking ahead and finding ways to beat the stress and holiday rush this season.  We will see you next month with a wrap-up of our year .

Debra Davson/Meticulosity

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 ..