Winter Fun: Whimsical Wednesday Challenge! (And blog candy winner!)

Happy Wednesday, my beloved crafty friends! Are you feeling whimsical? I sure am!

This week's Whimsical Wednesday challenge is Winter Fun! Create any Christmas/Winter-themed project and include something sparkly on it. This can be by adding Stickles, Glimmer Mist, glitter, etc... or you can include a pre-made glittery embellishment. Surely you know my heart happy danced instantly. Required to use sparkle?! I'm on it! :o)

The sparkle-fest I created has a very special destination. As most of you know, I am passionate about the I Feel the Love Project created by the inspiring and talented Madison of Funky Cards. Every month she selects a particular person, family, or organization in need of any extra dose of love. In turn, we all have the privilege of creating cards to send sunshine to that recipient. To read a little more about the current collection, you can read my first Christmas "I Feel the Love" card. To read a lot more, visit the wonderful Madison.

Soon to be received by a wonderful child spending Christmas at the the Pediatric Oncology Unit at Kaiser Hospital... my very first spinner card!

I've lost track of all the laps I've given this sweet penguin! The fabulous Whimsical Designs sentiment from the "Snow Much Fun" set inspired the interactive element. (Oh how I love and adore these stamps!) As I was pondering how to make an extra special card, it dawned on me... surely a sick child would smile at a penguin rockin' around a Christmas tree! :o) That is always my goal, especially for Madison's IFTL... I just want to make these kids smile and feel my sparkling love. Keeping with the challenge theme (and my nature), I essentially sparkled everything I could. ;) I used Core Couture sparkling cardstock for the penguin, Christmas tree, and spinner track. Then I Stickled the lights in three shades. I used sparkly DCWV for the giraffe, who is wearing shades because of the super-bright festivity. I was going to add rhinestones or other fun embellishments to the sides, but decided it would be best to keep the sides open in case a super dooper little one receives this card. I'd feel terrible if tiny eager hands tore something off accidentally in their excitement to spin him like mad. So instead, I simply centered the snowflakes with dollops of Christmas Red Stickles and Studio G iridescent glitter glue.

That sweet penguin face... those of you who have been friends of mine for a while are expecting me to say I drew it. But guess what? I no longer need to draw my Peachy Keen faces! My sweet bloggy friend Nita surprised me with a fabulous birthday gift last month. I own Peachy Keen stamps! I am still in shock. (You are amazing, Nita.)

I topped the Christmas tree with a sparkling heart because it is filled with Christmas love. :o) I was worried about adding bulk near the penguin and disturbing the spinning action, but didn't want to leave it bare beneath the tree... so I flipped through my papers and was thrilled to find a little cluster of presents to carve out and adhere to my card. It's super metallic, which is fun in person. 

I loved the sentiment anyway, but I adore it even more for inspiring this special card. I used masking to make the sentiment three lines instead of two so it would fit in this Spellbinders Nestabiliity. I sponged around it in green for a little more festive fun. And there's one other little surprise to this card...

Once he or she stops spinning and opens it up, they will find a teeny tiny present. My sweet bloggy friend Jayne sent me some Christmassy goodies to use for my cards, including this special charm. (You are fabulous, Jayne.) I was originally going to use it tucked with a big ribbon bow or something on a future card. Instead, I slipped it onto some Peppermint Stick Trendy Twine for this child to use as a little decoration in their hospital room. I hope and pray this card delivers a heap of Christmas joy.

Tutorial used (and I WILL get the Stampin' Up punch they used for the track... the frustration saved will be priceless!): Thinking Inking Spinner Card Tutorial.

I hope you'll play along with us this week by linking up your sparkly Christmas or Winter project to the Whimsical Wednesday challenge post! I always look forward to seeing your creations. There is so much talent in this crafty blogging community. :o) Also, we have two wonderful sponsors this week: 

 * Our very own Nanne is generously donating a prize pack of beautiful Webster Pages scrapping supplies. Thank you, Nanne! :o) 

 * Our very own Cindy is generously donating three of her wonderful digital stamps! They are such fun to create with. Thank you, Cindy! :o)

Be sure to spin on over to the rest of the Whimsical Designers' blogs to see their fantastic creations for this sparkly challenge! 

One more thing... it's time to announce my personal BLOG CANDY WINNER from the blog hop! :o) Thank you all very much for celebrating with us during the stamp release festivities. The random winner of Stephanie's marvelous "With Love" stamp set is:

Karen of Crafted With Love by Karen! Congratulations!!! :o) Contact me at the address listed under the Contact Me tab to claim your prize and send me your address! I am ecstatic to share these stamps with you. :o)

Thank you for fluttering on by today, friends! I hope you have a gorgeous day. :o)

Key Recipe Components:

 * Cricut cartridge: Create a Critter

 * Spellbinders Nestabilities: Labels Four

 * Stamps: Sentiment~ Whimsical Designs (Snow Much Fun); Peachy Keen Critter Faces (Medium)

 * Paper: Core'dinations, DCWV, K and Company (presents), SEI

 * Miscellaneous: Stickles