Crafty Elves Countdown to Christmas - July 2020 Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to the July 2020 edition of The Crafty Elves Countdown to Christmas!  I have to say, this has been a busy crafty month with me making a few albums/folios, a few cards, and lots of cookies, cakes and candies!  The other elves, (Debra, Lisa, and Jessica), have also been busy making their Christmas/Hanukkah/Holiday cards for this month.  

Here are my 4 Crafty Elf cards for July.  The links to the other Crafty Elves' cards are at the end of this post and I hope you will also take some time to check out what they have made.

Card No. 1

• I made a top folding A2 card base of white cardstock to which I adhered a piece of decorative paper.  
• I cut another piece of white cardstock using a stitched rectangle die and then, using a stamp positioner, I stamped the Vintage Holly Border (Great Impressions) with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on the top.  Then I turned the cardstock around and stamped the image again on the other side.
• I colored the holly and berries using Rambunctious Red, Key Lime, and Forest Green BIC Intensity Ultra Fine Tip Markers.
  
• I adhered a piece of white fun foam behind the cardstock with the holly berries border and then adhered it to the card front.
• I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment (Technique Junkies) on a piece a white cardstock and then die cut it using Nestabilities Labels Eighteen (Spellbinders/retired) and colored in the image using the same markers.
• I adhered this to the card front using foam tape.

Card Nos. 2 and 3

For cards 2 and 3, I used Christmas embossing folders that I have had in my stash since Noah launched his ark. Honestly, I forgot how easy and fast it is to make a card using an embossing folder.  

• I made 2 top folding A2 cards to which I adhered a piece of decorative Christmas themed paper from Carta Bella's Christmas Market paper pad.  
• I cut 2 pieces of white cardstock using a stitched rectangle die and I embossed each one with a different folder - Christmas Ornaments by Crafts-Too and Christmas Ornaments by Cuttlebug. 
• I cut 2 pieces of white fun foam and adhered each of the embossed pieces to each piece of fun foam.
• Using the sentiment set called Gifts of Christmas by Technique Junkies, I stamped one sentiment on the front of one of the cards and for the other, I stamped the sentiment, cut it out with a stitched banner die, layered it on a piece of red cardstock and then adhered it to the card front.
• Lastly, I adhered some crystals to one of the card fronts for some shimmer.  

Card No. 4

For this card, I used the Snowflake Block Die by Simon Says Stamp to make a shaker card, an idea I have had in my head since I got this die.  

• I started by making a top folding A2 card base to which I adhered a piece of decorative Christmas paper from Dear Santa by Photoplay.
• I cut another piece of white cardstock using the stitched rectangle die from the Bundle of Stitched Shapes by Simon Says Stamp. 
• Then I adhered the Snowflake Block die where I wanted it and then ran it thru my Sizzix machine.  Then I adhered a piece of acetate behind it to cover the space left from the die.   
• I adhered the snowflake die cut using spray glue.
• I stamped my sentiment "Peace on Earth" from Classic Christmas (Hero Arts/retired) on to a piece of white cardstock, layered it on a piece of red, and then adhered it to the card front.
• Lastly, I adhered crystals to some of the snowflakes for some shimmer.   

Done!!

I hope these cards have inspired you to break out some of your Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Holiday stamps to make some cards.  We all have a lot of time on our hands right now.

There is also a new Holiday Blog Hop that started TODAY...that I will be entering these cards into also.  Some great sponsors with prizes to be won!  You can check out the hop and all the details HERE.

Please remember to check out what the other Crafty Elves have up their sleeves this month - 

Debra (Meticulosity)

Lisa (Life of a BZ Scrapper)

Jessica (Polka Dot Orchard)

I'd love to know which of my projects was your favorite!  As always, thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!  You can also follow me on my Instagram page by clicking HERE!

Until next time, hugs from Brasil - 

~Michael