SQUIRRELS GONE NUTZ -- CHRISTMAS IN JULY AND ACETATE --JULY 21, 2021

Hello friends!  Welcome back to my blog.  I hope all is well with you, and that you are staying healthy.  It's that time of the month again, when the Squirrel Squad and I drag out those supplies we've squirreled away and put them to good use!  If you are hopping along, you should have come from the wonderful Lounon's blog, Craft Me, Craft Moi.

Since it is July, I suggested Christmas for our theme.  I know that no one is at all surprised by that!  For our supply, acetate was picked from our list. I would think that most card makers' first thought would be to make a shaker.  I totally did not want to do that, since that is what would be predicted.  Time and other ideas got away from me though, so I did end up making a shaker.  It's not the "normal" shaker though...I decided to try a full panel shaker instead!

I have been so inspired lately by AmyR at Prairie Paper & Ink on YouTube, and also by Nina Marie Trapani's latest video about full panel shaker cards, that I decided now was the perfect time to try one!  I have had this piece of plastic with the snowflakes on it since December when I received it as a treat bag full of goodies.  That's right, the bag was so pretty, that I just HAD to save it and re-purpose it!  I washed it and cut it apart, and now is its time to shine!  I also grabbed a shimmer powder panel that I created a couple of months ago and embossed it with a TOTALLY  GORGEOUS 3D snowflake folder from Sizzix, just like Nina Marie did in her video.  I continued following what she did by adding Brilliance Moonlight White ink to the raised areas, and then heat embossing with Ranger's holographic powder.  It looked SO GORGEOUS afterward!  It was a shame that I had to cover it up, but I have another similar panel that I can do the same steps with and NOT cover it up. 😀

Next, I used strong double sided tape by Scrapbook.com on the back of the panel, and adhered the plastic sheet to it, keeping one side open for the addition of the sequins.  The sequins I used are:

Moonshine Confetti by Cartwright's, Blue Blizzard blend, Frozen blend, and Winter Mix all from Sparkle Blends.  After closing up the fourth side, I added more tape, and adhered my shaker panel to a purple cardstock mat from my stash.  Incidentally, both panels were die cut using Spellbinders Card Creator die sets.  More double sided tape was added to the back of the purple panel, and then adhered to the card base.

For the sentiment, I pulled out the Christmas Phrases die sets (Tim Holtz/Sizzix), and cut "Winter" and "Wishes" 3 times each from the same purple cardstock.  I adhered them together using Bearly Art glue, and then adhered them to the panel with the same glue.  It worked very well, I might add!  When that was dry, I added several layers of clear Wink of Stella to the words so they would be as sparkly and shiny as the rest of the card!  See?

--CHALLENGES--

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #79:  ATG (3/10)

Merry Little Christmas #36:  ATG (3/5)

CHNC #551:  ATG Christmas

Crafty Calendar:  ATG (3/3)

Love to Craft #60:  ATG (4/5)

Mix it Up #51:  ATG (4/5)

Moving Along With the Times #132:  Cool it Down (2/3)

Crafts Galore Encore #89:  ATG (2/3)

613 Avenue Create #7:  ATG 

Crafty Gals Corner #221:  Christmas in July (2/3)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

Digi Doodle Studios #40:  Christmas in July (3/3)

A Place to Start:  Craft your favorite holiday/celebration (2/8)

A Perfect Time to Craft:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #42:  ATG (2/3)

SheepSki Designs #52:  Celebration (3/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #7:  ATG (2/4)

Dragonfly Dreams:  Christmas in July (2/3)

Pearly Sparkles #64:  Favorite time of year

Cute Card Thursday #690:  ATG

Creative Craft Cottage #142:  Christmas in July (2/5)

Gem of a Challenge #15:  ATG (2/2)

Word Art Wednesday #501 - #502:  ATG (1/5)

Cardz 4 Gals #151:  Christmas in July 

Polkadoodles #29:  ATG (2/2)

Digi Choosday #29:  ATG (1/2)

Penny's Paper Crafty #501:  ATG (1/3)

Christmas Craft Creations:  ATG

Crafting Happiness #105:  ATG 

Sweet Stampin':  Create your own background

Crafty Catz #560:  ATG w/optional Christmas in July

The Outlawz Twisted Thursday:  Christmas in July

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Sparkles Christmas:  More than 1 Snowflake

Papercraft Challenges:  Shaker Cards

That's all from me!  Your next stop on the hop is the sweet Bory at Bory's Crafting Place.  Please leave us some comment love, and consider subscribing to our blogs and other social media sites, if you haven't already!  We hope you have been inspired today!  Until next time friends,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!

~ Marie