myasperations 7-30-25

     I was honored to be invited to be a guest designer for the Word Art Wednesday Challenges in July. This is my third card using the current scripture verse, which I embellished with torn kraft paper and an anchor digital image. The card base, with a beautiful background scene, is from a set of boxed cards and envelopes I found at Hobby Lobby.              

                
Supplies: 

·   Front Sentiment- Scripture Digi- from Word Art Wednesday post (7-30-25)

·   Painted Landscape Cards- Watercolor backgrounds from a set of boxed cards and envelopes-Hobby Lobby

·   Anchor digi- from a Beccy’s Place Digi set (No longer available. Sadly company is no longer in business.

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Crafty Catz Challenge- #699 AG

Penny’s Paper Crafty Challenge- #602 Anything Goes

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-AG

    Since summer is in full swing here in the Midwest, I’m remembering my childhood summers when I spent most of my time in the water. We lived a few blocks from the city swimming pool, and I was always lined up at the entrance when it opened, and spent the afternoon screaming, jumping, and diving. After a run home for supper, I’d head back for a few more hours until the pool closed just before dark. Whenever possible, we’d beg an older brother to take us to the beach at the nearby lake. We’d spend the day playing water tag, having swimming races, and building sandcastles. Aw…. Summer!

   This card features a cute digi from Bugaboo Stamps, beachy items from a Tiddly Inks digi, sparkly stamps, a few sentiment labels from my scrapbook stash, and stickles to add a bit of sparkle to the waves and sand.

Supplies: 

·   Swim suit girl digi- Bugaboo Stamps (Company is no longer in business.)

·   Beach toys and shell digis- Tiddly Inks Digis (Company no longer in business.)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Stickles- Diamond

·   Sparkly beach-themed Stickers- Hobby Lobby

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday: July (By The Sea)         

Outlawz Challenge-July 2025 Linky 

Via Pinterest- Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-AG

   I needed a birthday card for a friend who loves flowers. Discovered that I didn’t have any in my ready-to-use box, so I quickly put this one together with items on hand. I’ve had this large spray of flowers sticker in my stash for many years. It has an unusual texture, with corduroy-like stripes spanning the blooms and leaves. However, the flowers and leaves were very pale, so I sketched on a few additional details (i.e.veins on the leaves), and added shading and highlights. The sentiment and butterfly are both freebies from a site I discovered when I attended a Stamping Summit a few months ago. The artist/owner is talented, friendly, and so very generous (as you’ll see if you visit her blog.)

 

Supplies: 

·   Floral image- a large sticker from my scrapbook stash

·   Detailing, shading, highlights added with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Front Sentiment “Happy Birthday” and butterfly digi are FREE from www.papercraftsecrets.com.au. (HERE) Click “Free-Printables” on the toolbar, then scroll down to “Free Printable Sentiments”  

·   Inside Sentiment “May your day blossom…” from a  Power Poppy Digi Set (Blossoming Cherry)

·   Pioneer Clear Photo corners- available from several sources

·   Silver photo corners available from several web sources (WXJ13 Photo Mounting Corners)

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #710-711 AG/Family Friendly

  Park Hopping-My Happy Place (July)  Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival,  

myasperations 7-27-25

     I’m honored to be a guest designer for Word Art Wednesday, and wanted to make another card featuring the current challenge verse with  items from the current sponsor, Divinity Designs. This rose bookmark is from a paper pack that offers 12 different designs, and 6 copies of each. A great deal! I liked how the swirls on the foliage die complement the lettering on the verse, and used a dark grey paper with a greyscale pattern that would make a statement but yet not overwhelm the delicate roses.

     Speaking of the roses, Jesus is sometimes referred to as the Rose of Sharon, so I did some scripture research and Song of Solomon 2:1 notes, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley.“ (You can find a link to the information I found in my supplies list!)

 

Supplies: 

·   Bookmark Digi from Divinity Designs (Shabby Chic Rose Bookmarks Paper Pad)

·   Foliage Die from Divinity Designs (Foliage & Leaves)

·   Front Sentiment- Scripture Digi- from Word Art Wednesday post (7-16-25)

·   Rose of Sharon information can be found on Biblehub.com HERE

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

  Park Hopping-My Happy Place (July)  Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival,  

Polkadoodles Challenge- Challenge 8- Week 4- AG     

Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes #07-2025 Jul/Aug

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #708-709 AG/Family Friendly

     I had fun creating this card using two different free digi a blog that has a large number of wonderful freebies. It was easy to print them off, trace, and fussy-cut the balloon letters from sparkly gold paper. Then, after adding the “…birthday to you!” line to the lower part of the card, I attached the HAPPY balloons in place and used a fine-line black marker to draw the strings, tying their ends to the lettering at the bottom. When finished, I used a grey marker to add shading to the balloons and lettering.

    An added note- Happy Birthday is one of my favorite songs for a few reasons. It is one of the first songs I remember singing... mainly because there were 6 children in my family, so this song was sung often. Plus, it is a song that I remember had a few optional lyrics that one of my brothers would usually sing loudly, and inappropriately. It involved a monkey... that smelled!

Supplies: 

·   Front Sentiment (first part)- Balloon letters Desert Diva freebie (Happy New Year)

·   Front Sentiment (second part)- a Desert Diva freebie (… birthday to you!)

·   Background patterned paper with strands of lights- Cropped from a card found in the Wedding section of Hobby Lobby

·   Inside Sentiment- “May… filled with Magic” From Beccy’s Place Fairy Folk digi set (Sadly, Beccy recently closed her digi shop)

·   Sparkly Gold cardstock- Hobby Lobby

·   Shading added with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, and balloon strings added with a Sharpie Black Permanent Fine-Line Marker

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Time Out Challenge- Challenge #293 (Inspired By… Your Favorite Song)      

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Focus on the Sentiment

Crafty Catz Challenge- #699 AG 

     I had fun making this fun card for the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers (BYSHC) monthly challenge using assorted items from my stash. I found Olaf, a cupcake topper, at an after-Christmas sale several years ago. I sketched a window frame from a cardstock scrap, trimmed the windows, and lined them with a scrap of acetate. After positioning Olaf to be peeking into the window, I adhered him in place and adhered a wintery scene cut from an upcycled calendar behind him and set the finished window aside. Using the BYSHC Sketch as my guide, I decorated the front of my card, then attached the window section, added sentiments, and Ta Done!!

     I’m entering this card into several challenges including the ABC Christmas Challenge- ‘N is for Non-Christmas Stash!' (I used non-traditional colors and several winter themed items to create this fun Christmas card, that I think my three little great-nieces will love receiving this coming Christmas. Although, their mom and dad might not be excited about having to listen to the song, “Let it GOoooOOooo! ad nauseum after that!)

                               

Supplies: 

·   Olaf Digi- Cupcake Topper from WalMart

·   Front Sentiment “Hello” DieCouture Creations Butterfly Garden Mini Cutting Die-Hello

·   Snowy scene-upcycled from an old calendar

·   Inside Sentiment- “Christmas Kisses” from Lili of the Valley digi set (Christmas Wishes)

·   Inside Sentiment- “…and a Warm Hug!”- Computer Generated

·   Snowflakes- Lawn Fawn LF995-Mini Snowflakes Die Set

·   Stickles- Diamond

·   Heart punches- from my stash

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge FB- #59 July 2025         

ABC Christmas Challenge- “N and O are for…? ”  ‘N is for Non-Christmas Stash!'

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday: July (Christmas)         

Outlawz Challenge-July 2025 Linky  

myasperations 7-25-25a

    This is my final entry into the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers (BYSHC) annual Christmas in July Linky Party. It features a fun-to-color printable Christmas card that I discovered when I was the manager of an after-school program a few years ago. The agency where I worked staffed a middle-school program in four school districts. I enjoyed being part of the exciting, but also exhausting, adventure as we provided weekly educational sessions, large and small group games, field trips, snacks, and more. I was blessed to be able to provide art lessons and craft projects to interested students. They loved coloring and creating as much as I did, so I was able to do both… while I was “on the clock”! Many of them liked making cards, and this is one that they asked for… partly because there were four options they could choose from: Snowmen, Wreath and Mistletoe, Nativity, Santa & Toys (the one on my card).  Note: Click the link in my supplies list to view pictures of each option and gain access by providing your email address.  

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Free Printable Joy Christmas Card from www.thebestideasforkids.com (Click HERE to see all 4 options) 

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique marker, assorted gel pens, and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Inside Sentiment- We Are 3 Digital Sentiments “Christmas- Joyful Noise” (Company no longer in business)

·   Wood patterned Paper- Hobby Lobby

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:

{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2025 Linky Party (Logo)

 Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Focus on the Sentiment

  Park Hopping-My Happy Place (July)  Santa’s Village

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday: July (Christmas)         

Outlawz Challenge-July 2025 Linky

    This is my final entry to this month's challenge from Sweet November Stamps. It features the beautiful Coral Reefwater, daintily perched atop an underwater reef. I wanted Coral to really stand out from the slightly murky background, so I gave her stunning red hair and decked her out in bright and sparkling pink! (I added sparkles to Coral’s scales with tiny dots from a white gel pen, plus Diamond Stickles. If you look closely you can see that I used the Stickles to add tiny bubbles rising from the plants and from Coral to the surface.)

   I created the black and gold paper that frames the scene by using a spray paint Marbling technique found on the web. The deep blue undersea background image is from one of my favorite Facebook sites for free digital images, Free Printables for Your Junk Journaling with TLC.  The group sponsor, Paulette Slater, provides dozens of free sentiments and digis on a monthly basis. (See details in my supplies section.) 

 

Supplies: 

·   Pre-colored undersea background- found at Free Printables for your Junk Journaling with TLC (on FB). If you join HERE, you’ll have access to thousands of digital images and sentiments. You can also search for specific items or topics. 

·   Digi- Sweet November Stamps (Coral Reefweaver and Moki)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Front Sentiment “Mermaid Wishes and Starfish Kisses”- From Bugaboo digi set Under the Sea (Company no longer in business)

·   Inside Sentiment “There’s Something About you… Mermazing”-from Sweet November Stamps (Empowering Sentiments Pack)

·   Stickles- Diamonds

·   Black and Silver paper made with Spray Paint Marbling- two tutorials found HERE and HERE

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Supplies:  

Inspiration Station- Challenge #76 Inspiration Prompt (Inspired by the Beach scene/images) 

Friends of Sweet November (FB) July (AG/Water theme)  

Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes #07-2025 Jul/Aug (Sand/Sun/Water)  

     Several months ago a friend told me how she was looking through a pile of cards she’d made years ago and thought they looked blah or outdated. So she decided to “refresh” them. I was intrigued by this idea, and looked through some of the cards I’d made years ago that were still in my card files. For some reason I’d never used them or added them to one of my gift packages of handmade cards. I pulled one out that looked blah to me and decided to try to give it some oomph!  

    This owl card is the first to get a “makeover” and it really didn’t take very long. I decided that the owl and sentiments were all useable… but the addition of some color and contrasting pattern could really improve the card. So, I pulled the owl section from the card front and embellished the Kraft base using foilage patterned paper. I adhered the owl section atop the foilage, and fussy-cut a few leaves to drape over the edges. This helped the owl settle down in place, peeking out at the card's recipient! cover. Scraps of the foliage paper were carried over to embellish the inside of the card and… Yay! The makeover is a success!  I plan to refresh additional cards as they surface in the coming months as it was a fun activity.

    Below is a pic of the original card, plus the makeover version! 

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Bugaboo owl (Company no longer in business)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Tropical Leaves Scrapbook Paper-Hobby Lobby

·   Sentiments- Computer Generated

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   Kraft paper, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #798:Birthday  

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge- #258 AG 

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #708-709 AG/Family Friendly