myasperations 12-1-25

     This year, the Path of Positivity (POP) is challenging you to Embrace the Unexpected! (Click HERE if you'd like to read more in depth about our overall theme for 2025).  To help inspire you on this journey, each month we will be doing things such as creating fun unexpected projects, working with items we might not typically work with, taking approaches that are different from what we normally do, offering up the unexpected to someone in our life, etc. So, let's get to the details for this month's challenge, " Embracing the Unexpected: Unexpected Animal on a Holiday Card.” (More theme information can be found HERE.)  

    Here's an excerpt of the month's challenge from the creator of the POP challenge, Lisa D.-

 “Just like with colours, we often associate certain animals with specific holidays and/or occasions. What would Christmas be without reindeer, polar bears and penguins, or all of the birds listed in the classic carol, The 12 Days of Christmas (partridge, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds, geese, swans and technically the cows that those maids are a milking). Regionally, other animals make an appearance with kangaroos pulling Santa's sleigh in Australia, and robins and wrens being symbols in the UK and Europe. Finally, there are the animals associated with the birth of Christ: donkeys, sheep, oxen and the camels that brought the visiting wise men. 

     So, the optional twist this month, is create a card for any holiday, using an animal that IS NOT NORMALLY CONNECTED to the occasion you have chosen. With Christmas ahead, and other holidays in the new year that will be here sooner than you know it, it is a good time to make a fun card.  Your choices are endless, but here are a few examples to get you thinking: Create a Christmas card with one of the following: a hedgehog, a rabbit, an elephant, or a zebra. Create an Easter card with a lion or a tiger, or a bear [oh my]! Make a dog or a cat the focus of a Halloween card.”

    Final note- the twist is completely optional and you don't need to follow it in order to win. As long as your creation is positive or encouraging in some way, enter it into the POP challenge for a chance to win $6 worth of images from our sponsor, Scribbles Designs, and/or be honored as one of our special "picks"!

     My card features a Scribbles Digital Image named “Snow Kisses.” I had fun featuring a penguin as the critter on my card, doing a bit o’ friendly nose-touching with a friendly Snowperson! The primary colors on my card are shades of blue, plus pink and few bits of red and green! I picked sentiments that supported the sweet image and it’s feeling of wonder love and joy!

Supplies: 

·    Scribbles Digital Image (Snow Kisses).

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

·    Background Papers from Hobby Lobby and my stash

·    Front Sentiments from a Beccy's Place Digi Set, which is no longer available. (Business recently changed to clear stamps/wholesale only)

·    Inside Sentiment is from We Are 3 (Sadly Etsy Shop is closed.)

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

Entered into:  

Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #816: Winter Colors  

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday: Nov (Christmas, Friendship)

Outlawz Challenge-Nov 2025 Linky  

The Four Seasons Challenge- Winter Season Dec 2025 

    I love this sweet digi of a girl and her cat named “Cozy Christmas Together,” especially because I had a circle sentiment in my stash that fits it perfectly! After coloring and fussy-cutting the digi, I adhered it to the sentiment circle, which I had lined with a scrap of vellum. (The vellum softened the burgundy/gold patterned paper so that it didn’t overpower the sweet pair of friends. Plus, I like how the gold filigree appears lighter under vellum.) I love the elegant feeling of the card, so I used a square of the patterned paper as a base for the inside sentiment to extend some elegance there, too!      

     PS- I like to use a very fine line pen to add strands of hair, especially on images that could actually have hair blowing in the wind! In this case, I might have gone a bit overboard? I'll blame in on the fact that I could say snow sailing past our front window as I finished this card! 

Supplies: 

·    Digi- The Paper Shelter (Cozy Christmas Together)

·    Burgundy and Gold Patterned Paper- Hobby Lobby

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

·    Circle Sentiment “Cozy Christmas,” a freebie from Birdscards.com (Blog now closed)

·    Inside Sentiment- “Love Joy Peace” A freebie from YouTube@Sassy’s LLC (learn more Here)

·    Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue and Flower Soft Polar White (add sparkly texture to fur on hat) 

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

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

Entered Into:  

The Paper Shelter- #660 AG

Papercraft Challenges- Challenge #124 Theme- Cozy & Warm 

Penny’s Paper Crafty Challenge- #610 Anything Goes

Park Hopping-My Happy Place (Dec)      

    A short time ago, I stumbled upon a FB page of a talented and generous artist named Sande Woodson. Sande manages a FB page and an email newsletter through which she provides free digital images on a regular basis. The beautiful, embroidered Angel wreath on the card is an example of the types of images Sande creates and shares!  

    I turned this mini wreath into an ornament, creating the cap and ring on top with scraps of silver paper. An evergreen background, strips of silver cord and satin ribbon, silver photo corners, and sentiments finish the card.

   Note- The shading and highlights on the digis "embroidery" create an almost 3-D look of real hand-stitching. I added a close-up of the ornament to try to show that effect. So neat! 

Supplies: 

·    Embroidered Angel digi is from a Sande's Poema digital set (Obtained via a recent weekly email newsletter, which you can join HERE, or check out the FB  page HERE for additional info. Sande’s creations always impress me… and she provides them free to those on her newsletter and FB page!)

·    Sentiments are freebies from YouTube@Sassy’s LLC (learn more Here)

·   Evergreen Patterned Paper- Hobby Lobby

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

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

·   Paper, ribbon and cord scraps, red rhinestones, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

ABC Christmas Challenge- W and X are for?    'W is for Wings’  and  ‘X is for X-Stitch’

Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes #11-2025 Nov/Dec  

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #726-727 AG/Family Friendly