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