Meticulosity

Who can believe that Christmas is here  !?!?!? I'm looking forward to all the holidays off now that I'm retired. It feels surreal that after 38 years at the same hospital, I'm now sleeping most nights without a 0430 alarm, don't have to worry about driving into work in bad weather AND best of all, I can enjoy my morning coffee quietly without any telemetry alarms or phone calls !!

I made a few cards and will just be posting which stamp I used .. There are holiday movies to be watched and a few more gifts to wrap so this post will be short and sweet .. I hope you are all ready for the holidays- no matter how you celebrate. I also know from experience that the holidays are not happy for everyone . Reach out to someone who needs a little support. It will mean the world to them.

Dasher stamp/die set by Catherine Pooler

Decorate My Life stamp by Unity Stamp Company

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

I really cannot believe that it is already November and Christmas is only 30 days away.. I have been retired since 0ctober 1 and still have a hard time remembering what day of the week it is or if I have to work tomorrow or on the weekend. It's taken some getting used to but I sure will be glad to not have to work any holidays this season.

For my card this month, I used Aubree Girl by Angie Blom , This is such a fun holiday design and easy to color . I hope you like it as much as I do .

• I stamped the Aubree Girl image on white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
• Aubree was colored with my COPICS .
• I cut the image panel with a Rectangle Big and Little Pierced Chain Die .
• On a bright green card base, I adhered a piece of vertical striped holiday paper .
• I popped up the completed stamped panel with White Dimensionals .

Michael Trent -  World of Michael Trent

Lisa Reynolds Bzibziak - Life of a BZscrapper

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you find some time for yourself to be creative this week in the midst of all the holiday hustle and bustle.  

Lisa, Michael and I are bringing you our holiday cards as we continue to count down to Christmas !! I had every intention of making my card early in the month and somehow it was time to write up my post and the card wasn't even stated. I really didn't even have  a card idea in my head except maybe for a stamp set to use. But after working a 12 hour shift today, I decided to make it easy on myself and use some fabulous Pink Fresh Studio supplies  I had in my stash !!! I actually got them at one of their clearance sales a few years ago .

•  I adhered a piece of green plaid paper to a white card base.
• The red scalloped border at the top of the card was a strip from another piece of paper in the Holiday Dreams collection .
• I adhered 4 of the Wood Accent Stickers below the border .
• A Puffy Sticker sentiment was placed near the bottom of the card .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

Here we are about to say good-bye to summer and hello to Sweater Weather !! Christmas will be just around the corner so Michael, Lisa and I are continuing to show you our holiday cards each month on the 25th to inspire you to get started on your own . It's a great way to beat the holiday rush and decrease your holiday stress level .

For my card today, I used the Photoplay stamp set - I Love Christmas . I also used the matching dies.  The cute holiday ephemera is from Aall & Create - Warm Wishes .

• I stamped the girl and tree images with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then die-cut them with the matching dies .
• The images were colored with my OLO Markers .
• I adhered a piece of green patterned paper to a white card base.
• I cut some Glitter Zig-zag paper and adhered it to the bottom of the card base for a snowy background.
• The red border at the top of the card was found in my scrap drawer . I'm pretty sure it was from a Tim Holtz die. ( one of my favorites ) .
• The tree the girl is holding is popped up with a foam tab . It is one of 5 designs that can be stamped and die-cut for her to hold . There are also a cup of cocoa, a stocking, a present and candy canes. 
• I adhered the girl onto the left side of the card base .
• The presents were placed on the bottom right of the card base - the 2 on each end were adhered with mono adhesive and the center one was popped up with a foam tab.
• I adhered the Warm Wishes tag at the top right of the card then popped up a bird with another foam tab.

There was absolutely no reason for me to procrastinate on making this card since I have been off all week. But I did !! However, I did have the stamp set picked out. And from start to finish on this card, it took me exactly 2 hours . To stamp, die-cut, color and also come up with a layout !! Not too shabby, if I must say so myself. AND I'm happy with the finished product ..

Please take a look at Michael and Lisa's cards at the links below. I know that they both always inspire me with the cards they create .

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

Thank you for stopping by to see our latest cards . We hope we inspired you to make some of your own before the holiday begins. Until next time, stay creative .. 

There are only 5 months until Christmas !! Where has the time gone?? Lisa, Michael and I have been making our holiday cards all year long and will have a nice stash when it comes time to mail them off to family and friends .. 

When I think of the holidays, I always remember that it is also Hallmark movie season.  A new batch of movies to watch along with some older favorites .. They start showing them before Thanksgiving and I have to admit that I'm hooked . Are you ??  I made my card with a wood-mounted stamp from Impression Obsession  - Hallmark Movie Season, designed by Lindsey Waltman Ostrom .. IO is now closed but I definitely have a wonderful stash to use when I create. 

• I stamped the "Hallmark Movie Season" image on a piece of white watercolor cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink .
• I trimmed the stamped image, leaving room at the top and bottom for some holiday washi .
• The image was colored with my COPICS.
• 2 strips of holiday washi were placed above the stamped image and 1 below.
• I adhered a piece of Cozy Christmas paper from My Mind's Eye to a tan card base. The paper reminded me of a cross-stitch pattern !!! I used to cross-stitch constantly and love that paper design . 
• The stamped image was matted with a piece of green cardstock, then adhered to the patterned paper with foam tabs.
• A gingerbread man was placed on the stamped panel under the N in season .

We are glad you stopped by to see our latest holiday creations. And we hope you are inspired to start on your holiday cards ahead of time too!! Check out the links below to see what Michael and Lisa have created.

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

 We will be back next month with some more holiday  cards to show you .

Debra Davison / Meticulosity

For my cards this month, I used the "EDGY" line from Unity Stamp Company.  I have been known to have a sarcastic side and just love these stamps. I know they aren't for everyone so you can just skip to another post if you'd like.

• On a pale pink A2 card base, I adhered an ephemera  notebook page from the 2023 Spellbinders Holiday Fun Crafty Advent calendar. .
• I stamped the sentiment from the Snarky Holiday set onto cream cardstock with IO mini imks - Turf and Deep Rose.
• The stars were  attached to the completed sentiment panel with staples.
• I adhered the sentiment panel to the notecard page with foam tabs.
• Twinkle was placed in the lower right corner with foam tabs.
• All ephemera was from the 2023 Spellbinders Holiday Fun Crafty Advent calendar. 

• The vintage woman was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on cream cardstock.
• The sentiment was stamped with  a Peacock IO mini ink pad.
• I used a circle die to cut out the completed stamped image.
• A piece of patterned paper from the Simple Stories "Simple Vintage Fresh Snow" paper pad was adhered to the front of an pale blue A2 card base.
• I placed the completed stam[ed panel on the front of the card with foam tabs.
• Pale blue pearls were placed on the coat buttons.
• I highlighted some of the stamped areas with my OLO markers.

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

Can you believe that it is October already ?? Christmas is only 2 months away and the Crafty Elves are here with their latest cards for your inspiration. Michael Trent is joining us again this month so you will have triple the creativity..

• I positioned the cat, holly and sentiment images on my MISTI and stamped them on white cardstock. I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink for the cat and holly and Ruby Impression Obsession ink for the sentiment.
• The stamped image was die cut with a scalloped oval die by Stampendous.
• I colored the images with my OLO markers .
• A piece of Miss Mary Christmas  glittered holiday striped paper was adhered to a Kraft card base. This is a fun paper pad from Hobby Lobby.
• A strip of the holiday striped paper was adhered across the top of the card.
• Several enamel dots of various sizes were placed above the sentiment.
• A Santa hat dimensional sticker was placed on the cat's head.
• The completed stamped panel was adhered to the card base with foam tabs.

Lisa - Life of a BZscrapper

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Have you started on your holiday cards yet ?? Lisa and I will be back next month with more inspiration for you . It feels nice when I have a stash of cards to use when holiday mail time rolls around. See you in November. Until then, stay creative and enjoy some beautiful Autumn weather.