Crafty Elves Countdown to the Holidays - January 2020

Hello everyone.  My friend Debra (Meticulosity), and her friend Lisa (Life of a BZscrapper), came up with an idea at the begging of last year.  They decided to make 4 Christmas cards per month and 1 blog post per month showing the world what they made.  

They call themselves the "Crafty Elves". 

A few weeks ago Debra asked me if I would also like to be a Crafty Elf.  I said YES!  Who doesn't want to be a Crafty Elf?  And Lisa asked her friend Jessica (Polka Dot Orchard) to be an Elf.  

Now there are 4 Crafty Elves!

And, since I say, every year, that I will make a card a week so that by the end of the year I have a stash of handmade cards to send, and that NEVER happens, this will be a good thing because now I am forced to make the cards and do a blog post.  And, I will have a mixture of Christmas, Hanukkah, and generic holiday cards.  

Here are the cards I made for January 2020.   

Card No. 1 

I actually made this card as part of a "snowflake themed" blog post from a few weeks ago but saved this one for today's post.  I used a snowflake from the "4 by 4 Snowflakes" set from Anthony's Paper Craft with some Stitched Square dies from Gina Marie Designs.  Layered them on some decorative paper along with the "Fancy Celebrate" die from Poppy Stamps.  

Card No. 2

Sometimes you just need a super fast and simple card to add to a present or for a gift card.  I made these 4" x 4" square notecards using one of the prints from a 2019 December Daily that I got from Persnickety Prints.  You can find the file HERE.

I made my card bases by cutting white cardstock 4" x 8" and folding in half.  Then I printed the image of the coffee cup at 90% on to a piece of white cardstock.  I was able to get 4 images on one sheet.  Then I pulled out my Stitched Square Dies from Gina Marie Designs.  I used the 3 largest dies.  I used the largest (4"x4") to cut a piece of solid cardstock, the next die down (3.5"x3.5") to cut a piece of decorative paper, then the next size down (3 1/8" x 3 1/8") to cut out the images.  I adhered the image to the decorative paper and then to the solid cardstock.   

Card No. 3

For the next card, I went super simple.  I used "Light Up The Holidays" from Your Next Stamp.  I made a top folding A2 card to which I adhered a piece of decorative paper.  I used my stitched rectangle die to cut another piece of white cardstock.  I stamped the lights and the sentiment on the front, colored them with BIC markers and then I adhered this to the card front.  Lastly, I applied Glossy Accents to each lightbulb to give it a glass effect.    

Card No. 4

For my last card, I went very clean and super simple again.  I made a side folding A2 card base of red cardstock.  Then I used a Stitched Rectangle die and cut two pieces of white cardstock.  One piece I adhered to the inside for a holiday message.  With the other one, I die cut the Precious Mittens (98663/Retired) from Memory Box.  I adhered this to the card front.  This way, the red card shows thru where the die cut the paper.  I adhered a small crystal to the mittens and some Frosted Lace Stickles (Ranger) to the top of the mittens.  Lastly, I adhered a sticker from a sticker pack I got at Hobby Lobby over the holidays.

I hope you enjoyed all these cards.  Maybe they will inspire you to start making holiday cards early.  Please remember to show some love to the other "Crafty Elves" - 

Debra (Meticulosity)

Lisa (Life of a BZscrapper) 

Jessica (Polka Dot Orchard)

As always, thank you so much for stopping by my blog.  You can also follow me on Instagram where I post photos of crafty things, food, the dogs/cats, and interesting things I find in Brasil.

  https://www.instagram.com/worldofmichaeltrent/

Until next time....hugs from Brasil.

Michael