Tinfoil Lids

I'm hosting this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon and, still using Elton John as inspiration this year, I've chosen the theme based on "Circle of Life". In the context of the challenge, this can be interpreted as needing to use at least one circle on your creation.

I made a card for my youngest which reads, "Tinfoil lids are notoriously difficult to read". This is often quoted at our house whenever we find something expired in our fridge. The quote is from an old Catherine Tate Show sketch. In fact, there are a few Catherine Tate quips that reduce us to laughter here. This is not actually my original card as the paper went down before I'd lined it up. As I was using my advanced tape glider, I was out of luck when trying to get the paper apart. Anyway, I printed off a second copy of the image and sentiment (done in Canva) and simply stuck it to some polka dot (tiny circles!!) paper. I'm actually happy with the simplicity despite the initial aggravation. 

Here's a video of the sketch:

The wedding I mentioned last week (of the international student couple) was absolutely beautiful! We spent over five hours decorating the hall and it was quite the transformation. Here are a few photos. 

Please head to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' projects and link up one of your own as well! 

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Congrats & Best Wishes

The wonderful Brenda is hosting our challenge this week at Little Red Wagon and she's looking for us to "Get Krafty". In other words, she would like us to use kraft paper on our projects.

On Sunday, I sat beside a young couple at church. It turns out they are getting married on Saturday! As they are both international students, and the bride lives out of town, I offered to help them decorate the hall on Friday night. I figured that I would get them a few things and made this card to add to the gift bag. The card base is kraft and the sentiment was stamped and die cut from kraft paper. The other papers are from a paper pad I purchased years (and years) ago and still have a fair number of sheets left. The mat dies and joined hearts die are also supplies from my stash that I've had for ages. I finished things off with a thin jute string bow. 

Please head to Little Red Wagon to see the other fun ways kraft paper has been used - and then pull some out to create your own project to link in this week's challenge. 

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Life Is Better With You

The amazing Janice is hosting our first August challenge at Little Red Wagon and she’s  got another Star Trek-inspired theme for us this week: Set a Course… For Home. She’d like to see buildings of any kind on our projects.

I used a background stamp from My Favorite Things to stamp the buildings, colouring in only one of them (“home”!). Then I used some circle dies from Simon Says stamp before adding a generic stamped sentiment and a little pup to finish things off. The pup was stamped and die cut ages ago so I’m not sure where he comes from. I only noticed when looking at the photo that the buildings aren’t adhered as straight/upright as I would have liked but I’m currently writing this post on a mobile device while on a camping trip so unable to fix things at this point. And honestly, I would probably end up making a mess if I tried. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends interpreted the challenge. We’d love for you to link up a project as well! 

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Happy Birthday - Goose Card

It's the talented Chrissy's turn hosting at Little Red Wagon this week and she's looking for masculine makes. 

I used a NBUS Penny Black stamp set and some generic arch dies (to which I seem to have a bit of an addiction as of late) to create this birthday card. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the masculine projects created by the Girlfriends - and then link up one of your own! 

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Pizza My Heart

The fabulous Imke is continuing her alphabet-themed challenges over at Little Red Wagon and we’re now at F: F is for Food! Include and sort of food as part of your project - whether it be a card, scrapbook page, tag, altered recipe card, etc. Yum!

Years and years ago, I spent time with a friend and stamped and die cut some images using products from her stash. I finally put them to good use for this challenge! I’m pretty sure the stamps are from Lawn Fawn. The arch dies used on this project are from a generic set. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the F is for Food projects - and then link up one of your own! 

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Smile

Happy Wednesday! I’m currently in Ringwood, England after disembarking the Queen Mary II yesterday. I had an absolutely wonderful time on board. 

I’m hosting this week’s challenge at Little Red Wagon and, in keeping with my Elton John-inspired themes for 2025, I’ve chosen Honky Cat. I’m looking for any projects with a cat, dog, or any other household pet - even exotic ones!

I used a stamp and sentiment from Your Next Stamp (no longer in business) and did a bit of masking to create my “wall”. Mats were cut using MFT dies and I added a heart-shaped gumdrop to finish things off. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then join the fun by linking up a “Honky Cat” project yourself!

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Joy…Peace…Love

Brenda is hosting our Little Red Wagon challenge this week and her theme is “Ya Gotta Have Christmas in July”. I’m always so impressed with crafters who have their Christmas cards all made by this time of the year. Well, now I have one!!

I’m currently in the North Atlantic, on board the Queen Mary II as I sail from New York to Southampton. This has been a dream trip of mine for a while - and I’m doing it SOLO!! I had a pretty nasty spring and this is my “You are worth it” voyage to remind myself that I am a brave, strong and resilient woman. Also, July 11 would have been Ralph’s and my 33rd wedding. Since 3 is a special number for me, I’m pretty sure I would have insisted on something extra special to celebrate this year. All this to say that my next few cards will be fairly simple ones. For this one, I cut and inked a little reindeer head and the rest is some Christmas paper. He’s pretty cute though so I’m happy with how this turned out. 

Please head to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Christmas inspiration - then join us by either starting or continuing your Christmas card collection for 2025. 

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Just a note

Jan is our fabulous hostess at Little Red Wagon this week and she's got another Star Trek-inspired challenge for us: To Boldly Go. Jan is looking for bold and/or bright colours on our projects. 

I created this card with another new generic flower die set. Once again, I was fortunate that the pieces cut smoothly. For the flowers (all parts, including stems!), I cut from a piece of orangey-yellow patterned cardstock and then used distress inks to either highlight or colour the various bits before assembly. I then cut an arched panel and dry embossed it and then stencilled the same colours I'd used on the flowers. Finally, I heat embossed the sentiment and cut from a coordinating die. All dies and the stamp are generic products. 

Please Boldly Go over to Little Red Wagon for inspiration and to link up your own bright/bold project! 

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With Sympathy

The wonderfully creative Chrissy is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's asking us to "Water Paint It!". 

I smooshed some paint on my blending mat, spritzed it with water and then used some bubble wrap to water paint my background. I also coloured the edge of the card base, The flower was created with a generic die using watercolour paper and some vellum. The die-cut sentiment is from Avery Elle. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the water painting! We'd love for you to join the challenge too, 

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Life is Better With You

The fabulous Imke is back with her alphabet challenge at Little Red Wagon and we're on the letter E this month - E for embossing! Feel free to use heat embossing or embossing folders or both!

I used a new generic embossing folder and die set to make my card. I embossed two of the panels and then used one of the dies to cut out a flower. I used distress inks and water colour markers to colour the flower. The sentiment with shadow die is also from a generic set. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends have embossed. We'd love for you to join the challenge too! 

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Night will Shine Like the Day

Happy Wednesday! I'm thrilled to be hosting at Little Red Wagon this week. I'm continuing with challenges inspired by Elton John songs. This time, I am using a favourite, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (include a sun). My favourite is the version with George Michael singing along with Elton. 

A couple of years ago, I bought a number of tools for scripture journalling. I started last week! This is the second page I've done. I've been having difficult sleeping and thought it would be good to make a page with an encouraging verse. I went to ChatGPT who helped me find a verse and the write-up for the little note. I'm really happy with what was returned! I used a variety of stencils, inks and cut letters. I enjoyed putting the page together.

Please head to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends have included a sun. I can wait to visit your blog to see what you create! 

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Nuts about you

Our lovely Brenda is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she wants to "See Through It". Brenda is looking for anything transparent - such as vellum, plastic, transparencies, etc. 

At Eastertime, I was delighted to see a little paper gift box at Shani's Paperesse blog, Shani sent me the link to Shein where she'd purchased the box die and I was able to purchase one for myself! I was thrilled with the way the die cut and it assembled nicely too. I used some dies from My Craft Spot (no longer in business) for the window, doily and tags. The window is backed with transparency to contain the pistachios. The sentiment and paper are computer-generated in Canva. I tied on the triple-layered tag with some jute, also from My Craft Spot. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to look through (get it?!) the projects created by the rest of the Girlfriends. Then, see it through to create something to link up as well! 

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Hello Friend

It's Jan's turn to host at Little Red Wagon this week and she's named her challenge, "... and always shall be your friend". I'm not sure if Jan is a Star Trek fan or not (think of Spock's dying words), but I do know that she IS a wonderful person and a good friend. This week's challenge is all about friendship and, as long as your project is for a friend, in memory of a friend, in celebration of a friend or anything else to do with friendship, we'd love to have you join in.

I've always been blessed with wonderful friends, many of whom have stood the test of time. I made this card for one of them. I inked a back panel and splattered it with water before embossing it with an old Cuttlebug folder. The "FRIEND" letters were cut three times with a My Favorite Things die and the "hello" is from a ne'er-before-used stamp and die set from Gemini that I received in a grab bag. I finished everything off with three clear beads. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' projects. Then, think of ways to celebrate friendship and link up a project of your own! 

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Sunflower Card

Our creative Chrissy is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's looking for flowers. Whether your project has hand-created flowers or store bought flowers, we'd love to have you join our Linky lineup! 

I recently purchased a sunflower die set for just under $2 CDN. They cut beautifully! I was inspired by the layout used by Donna in last week's Little Red Wagon challenge so used it for my sunflowers. I cut several layers for each of the three flowers and added a bit of orange ink to the yellow. The mat and oval are both cut from My Favorite Things dies and I embossed the back mat with a distressed brick folder from Tim Holtz. The hello is also from MFT (I believe). 

Now it's time for you to head over to Little Red Wagon . Check out the DT flower projects and then link up one of your own! 

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6 Months Later

Imke is our fabulous Little Red Wagon host this week. She continues her way through the alphabet, this time landing at the Letter D - for die cuts! Imke would like to see us use die cuts on our projects.

Six months ago Friday, I met a man who had reached out to me on "Match". We messaged back and forth for a few days and then met face-to-face for the first time on November 16. I knew right away it was a match! Friday marks six months since we met and I made this card for him.

I used some postage stamp dies for the frames. I've had these dies for ages and cannot remember where I got them - or even if I've used them before. The sentiment/word art was created in Canva. I then added some die cut speech bubbles with die cut hearts - all cut from My Favorite Things dies.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the die cutting inspiration. We'd love for you to join the fun too! 

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My thoughts and prayers

I'm happy to be hosting this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon. This year, I'm working through Elton John songs to find my inspiration and, this week, it's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". I'm looking for yellow on your projects!

My favourite flower is the daffodil so I knew right away that I'd be using a daffodil on whatever I made. I used a die that came free in a papercrafting magazine years ago (although I'm afraid I'm not sure what magazine that was). I used patterned paper for the bloom and frame (Pretty Pink Posh), with some distress inking done on the bloom for a little bit of added pop. The stem was created with white cardstock inked blended with distress ink. I embossed the background and then added a sentiment (Avery Elle) on a banner die cut (My Craft Spot, retired). 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends have added yellow to their creations. We'd love to have you join us too! You can use yellow to make a card, tag, scrapbook layout, altered item, etc. 

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Happy Birthday, Little One

Our wonderful Brenda is hosting over at Little Red Wagon this week and she's encouraging us to "Use That Stuff". Essentially, go through your stash of crafting supplies (your Little Red Wagon of goodies!) and put it to good use. 

I pulled out some patterned paper and dies that I have not used for ages (if at all) to create my card. The initial part of the sentiment (happy birthday, little) is computer generated and the "one" was made using a variety of dies from different companies. I got this idea from an Etsy store and added my own twist.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends "used their stuff". Then pull out your own goodies to join us in this week's challenge! 

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Wishing You Everything Wonderful

This week, our wonderful Janice is hosting at Little Red Wagon. She's asking us to "Make it Sew" and is encouraging us to use sewing/stitching on our creations, whether those creations be cards, tags, altered items, journals, scrapbooks, or anything else paper related!

I used some faux stitching and some cross stitching to make a card. All dies and stamps are from My Favorite Things. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created. We'd love for you to join us to "Make it Sew" as well! 

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Hap-PEA Birthday

The talented Chrissy is hosting our newest Little Red Wagon challenge and she's chosen the theme "A Birthday for Anyone". We always have a need for birthday cards, tags, gifts and scrapbook pages and this is the perfect time to create something for a special somebody or for anyone by adding to our stashes.

I opted to make a set of cards as one can never have too many birthday cards on hand. I went looking for a digistamp as I've been wanting to try them out more. However, I wasn't too keen on the prices so decided I would make my own! I headed to Canva (which I also used last week) and designed a digital image to colour. I added the sentiment in Canva and got the idea for the coloured PEA and exclamation points from a card I'd originally seen when looking for digistamps. I then used the image I made to inspire the design paper I created for the background. Now, I've got a set of four (which may be quickly depleted as I keep learning of more birthdays this month!).

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the birthday projects. We'd love for you to join in this week's challenge too! 

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Easter Bunny Treats

It's Imke's turn to host at Little Red Wagon this week and she's continuing to work through the alphabet. This week, she's at C for which she's chosen circles. Use circles on your projects!

Easter is hands-down my favourite holiday and I'm starting to get quite excited for next weekend! I made some little bunny treat holders using a generic die. The cut in the middle of each bunny is a circle and the chocolate treats held by each bunny are circles too. I designed the Easter-themed paper in Canva and, should you be interested, you can download a PNG FILE to use. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the way the rest of the Girlfriends used circles on their projects. We'd love to have you join in the fun as well. And remember, your projects can be cards, tags, altered items, home décor or Easter bunny treats!!  

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Sympathy Card Set

Happy April! We've had quite the weather here over the past few days. My city (and surrounding towns) were hit quite hard with an ice storm over the weekend. In fact, we're currently under a state of emergency. Things are slowly getting cleared up. Fortunately, our power has been restored but there are still some places with no power. We had a few branches down but no damage, unlike many others in the city. I had an appointment on Monday so had to go out and it was upsetting to see the damage to some cars and homes. No deaths and I haven't heard of any injuries either - so that's a huge blessing. "Stuff" can be replaced. 

In keeping with my Elton John-inspired challenge themes at Little Red Wagon this year, I've chosen "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" this week. Essentially, I'm looking for blue in your projects! I made a set of sympathy cards so I'd have some on hand when needed. The background mat is cut from blue vellum. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Design Team's fabulous creations! I'd love to see your "blues" project too! 

Here are a couple of photos of our back yard/garden from the weekend's ice storm. The first I took from under the gazebo and the second is from our veggie garden, looking to the back. 

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Amazing Mum

Our wonderful Brenda is hosting at Little Red Wagon and she's all tied up. It's not that she's too busy for us. It's that she's wanting us to use ribbon, thread or twine on our projects for this week's challenge.

I've got a busy couple of months ahead so decided that I would use this challenge to prepare a Mother's Day card for my amazing mum while I've got some time on my hands. I used a Simon Says Stamp stencil for the MUM and a generic sentiment with matching die for the sentiment. The crinkle ribbon and twine are from My Craft Spot (no longer in business). I also added a little button on the bow and three little "pearls" below the sentiment. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon for inspiration from the rest of the Design Team - and then pull out your ribbon, twine and/or thread to join this week's challenge. 

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Luggage Tag

Jan is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's on quality control looking for fakes! Her "It's a fake!" challenge is looking for anything faux - faux stitching, ribbon, wood, etc.

I went to NYC for a long weekend last week and made a luggage tag for the new luggage I got for Christmas. One side has all my personal information and the other side is more decorative, as you can see. There is faux stitching on the mat as well as on the little suitcase. The stamps are all from a freebie set that came with a magazine a few years ago and the tab is cut from a generic die. The faux-stitched mat is from My Favorite Things and the flowers are cut using dies from Your Next Stamp (no longer in business). 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to check out all the other fakes!! Then fake your way into joining our challenge! 

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Happy Easter

Chrissy is our wonderful hostess at Little Red Wagon this week and she's excited for us to get started on our Easter projects. As Easter is my favourite holiday, I was more than happy to join in the fun!

I recently purchased some generic Easter bunny dies. They cut well with the exception of the ears which might have been because I decided to use felt. And, for whatever reason, and despite multiple attempts, I could not get the bunnies in focus when trying to take their photo. I like the look of the felt though and I'm glad I found it when rummaging through my stash looking for tiny pompoms which it seems I don't actually have. The original plan was paper bunnies with little pompom tails. The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti (no longer in business). 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Easter projects - and then start your Easter creating and link up what you've made! 

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Birthday Balloons

The wonderful Imke is hosting our Little Red Wagon this week. This year, she's going through the alphabet and she's now on the letter B. B is for Birthday! Feel free to create any birthday-themed project.

I made a card using some balloon stencils from My Favorite Things and a stamp from My Craft Spot (no longer in business). I finished things off with some little sequins.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the birthday creations for inspiration. We'd love to have you link up a project (or two!) as well! 

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Happy Mail

Where has the month gone?! I can't believe we'll be into March by week's end. This month has been full of snow for us. It just keeps coming and coming and coming! 

I'm delighted to be hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge. This year, I've chosen Elton John as inspiration for my challenge picks and, this week, it's Tiny Dancer. I'm looking for tiny/small images, themes, embellishments, etc. 

For my card, I've got a tiny envelope embossed with a Tiny Hearts embossing folder. On the envelope, there's a tiny mouse holding a tiny envelope with an even tinier stamp. I used a border punch with tiny hearts and there's even a teensy-tiny button embellishment on the border. 

The envelope opens to reveal a tiny notecard. There are little layered hearts which I attached as a pull tab for the notelet. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the tiny creations, critters and embellishments used by the Design Team. I'd love for you to join the fun as well! 

I took this photo last week as I was walking home from an appointment downtown. The snowbanks are taller than some houses! 

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Have an Extreme Birthday

Brenda is hosting our Little Red Wagon challenge this week and she's looking for your "Winter Blues" - the paper crafting kind! This makes for the perfect opportunity for you to pull out your blue papers, pens, markers, etc. and put together something that contains the colour blue. 

My youngest nephew had a birthday yesterday and this is the card I made for him. The last time I saw him, he had just been skiing and I was told that his "just one more run" turned in to five more runs! with the exception of the circle die (Simon Says Stamp) used for the window and the improvised snow "mogul", all products used are from My Favorite Things. 

Please pull out your blues and join this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon! There's more inspiration from the DT on the LRW blog. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

PS If you are feeling the winter blues, try some exposure to the sun, eating healthy, getting exercise and making sure you get enough sleep each night. And if those winter blues are significantly impacting your life, please connect with your health care professional. You're important and deserve to be happy. ❤️

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Valentine's Day Wrapping Paper

Jan is hosting our challenge at Little Red Wagon this week and she's calling out a "Red Alert!'. No need for alarm though. She's simply looking for a bit (or a lot) of the colour red on our projects. 

With Valentine's Day on Friday, I decided to create some personalized wrapping paper. I used a one stamp (hugs) from Simon Says Stamp, a variety of stamps from My Craft Spot (no longer in business), and some Ciao Bella letter stamps to spell "Keith". I have a Valentine! I met Keith last year and we hit it off right away. ❤️

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends have used red on their projects - and then get out your red paper, inks, pencils, markers, embellishments or anything else you have to create a project of your own. 

And this photo simply because I absolutely love it when I see other crafters' "outtakes" due to animals who are quite curious to know what's going on. Skimble got up close and personal to the gift! As the present didn't smell like fish, he left soon after this picture was taken.

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Bee Happy Memorydex/Rolodex Card

Imke has chosen a fabulous challenge for us this week - Anything Goes!! If you can make it with paper, you can enter it in our weekly challenge at Little Red Wagon!

I decided to make a card for my Memorydex/Rolodex. I don't think I've added anything new for quite some time - perhaps even over a year! I decided to make myself a little reminder to "bee" happy during the work day. Things are really slow which can be frustrating for me as I like to keep very busy (like a bee!). I've always liked the little critters from Your Next Stamp which is where the little bee is from. I know I'll smile when I see him. 

Please head to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have done for our "Anything Goes" challenge. You're more than welcome to link a project too! 

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Wish You Were Here

It's my first time hosting at Little Red Wagon this year and, just like years past, I'm being inspired by music. This year, I'm using Elton John song titles to name my challenges and I'm starting with one of my favourite songs of his, Can You Feel the Love Tonight. 

I created my card using a variety of stamps and dies from My Favorite Things as well as some circle dies from Simon Says Stamp. After stamping the sentiment in red ink, I sprinkled it with some glitter embossing powder which I've had for ages and only used once. I never thought to use it with coloured ink - until now. I like the way it turned out and will keep this in mind moving forward. 

I would be delighted if you'd join this week's Little Red Wagon challenge by linking up your project(s). For more inspiration, head to the blog to check out the Girlfriends' wonderful creations! 

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Cat in Window Card

Brenda is hosting at Little Red Wagon this week and she's got a fun challenge for us - Peek-a-boo! Essentially, she's looking for us to include a window on our paper creations. This could be a literal window (like I used with a stamp as seen below) or a cut out in your paper creation that acts as a window. You choose!

I used a NBUS set that came in a card magazine back in ... 2016!!! Brenda has a knack for challenges that make me think of supplies I have on hand but have never used. I stamped and coloured before cutting things out with my Brother Scan 'n Cut. I think it's the first time I've ever cut things along the stamp line and without a border of any kind. I'd actually stamped, coloured and cut shutters and a window box but preferred the simplicity of the window and cat alone. I did colour inside the "house" and added some faint white lines for a wee bit of contrast. I then used a "Fancy Thanks" die which I layered on my brick-embossed and inked background. I'd mucked about with colours and inking with the "Fancy Thanks" die cut but finally decided I preferred the straight off white, even though it's difficult to see in the photo. 

Head on over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the "Peek-a-boo" projects - and then link up one of your own! 

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Love you

Jan is hosting our Little Red Wagon challenge this week and she's selected "Piece (and a long life)!" - with paper piecing of any kind being the technique to enjoy.

I did some paper piecing with a hearts die, first using distress inks on watercolour paper to create an ombre background. Once the colours were as I wished, I used the die to cut out the hearts, being as careful as I could to keep things in place so I could adhere them appropriately! I was fortunate that about half stayed in place and I decided that I would keep the original die outline, glue it down and then add the remaining hearts. I then layered a white cut of the same die on top. The back panel was embossed with some little hearts and then scored along the bottom due to the larger size of this card. The sentiment was made using different dies. The inside panel has a heart border and I finished things off with an extra heart.

I'm looking forward to seeing the other paper-pieced projects at Little Red Wagon and invite you to have a look as well! We'd love to have you join this week's challenge too! 

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Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas/holiday and that 2025 will be a wonderful year for each one of you.

Chrissy is starting things off at Little Red Wagon with a challenge she's calling "New Beginnings". Use something new (new product or technique) or celebrate something new (like the new year)!

I used a new generic die to create my little envelope and notecard. The stamp is an old one (My Craft Spot) but never before used. It worked perfectly with the little oval die that came with the envelope set. I used some vintage festive papers that were in my stash and inked the edges. Two green "pearls" finished things off. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the newness being showcased there! As always, we invite you to join us! 

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