Papercrafters' Year In Review 2021 Blog Hop

I'm over-the-moon delighted to be part of Ellibelle' Corners Papercrafters' Year in Review 2021 Blog Hop! And the exciting news is that you can join too! Each crafter in the hop is linking up a favourite project (or two) from 2021. There's a linky tool below where you can post your favourite project as well. You can link anytime from December 29 through January 4. 

I chose a card that I made for a dear and much-loved colleague of mine on her retirement (hence the fairy's grey hair!) from our department this summer. Nancy was an incredible fountain of knowledge and support for me and the team - as well as our students. She was (and is) so respected and admired. Nancy loves all things glitter and sparkle and adds the same to the hearts and lives of all she meets. 

I do have a little something to give away. If you'd like the chance to win a new MFT Staggered Circle stencil, simply leave a comment below. On January 5, I'll randomly draw a name from the comments left on this post. 

Please head along to the next stop in the hop - Maria Giselle's Creative Cuts

Debbie -  Secrets to Stamping

Ellie - Ellibelle's Corner

Helene - Mummylade

Kate (me!) - Small Bits of Paper

Maria Giselle - Maria Giselle's Creative Cuts

Misty - A Card a Day

6

We Wish You a Merry Christmas Treat Pouches

It's our final challenge of the year at Little Red Wagon and the fabulous Imke is wanting to see Stripes or Dots. I went for both!

I created a set of 12 treat pouches using some Christmas striped and dotted paper from my stash. I tried to photograph them all but it just looked messy. I've had this paper for ages and it seemed perfect for this challenge. I used paper from the same stack to make the little paper bows, using dies from My Craft Spot (no longer in business). The tiny tags and sentiments are also from My Craft Spot. In each pouch, I tucked some Lindt chocolates. I've got so many left over although my middle didn't seem to think that should be a problem. I have a huge "sherry" glass that I keep on our table and always fill it with treats over the holidays. It's currently full and I still have lots more left over. Oops!!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see more stripes and dots! We'd love to have you join the fun as well!

For those of you celebrating Christmas, I wish you the happiest of days! And I'm sending blessings to all, whoever you are and however you celebrate the holidays. My your days be merry and bright. 

7

Merry Gift Card Holders

Happy 10 days until Christmas! I've got so much done although feel there's still so much to do. My freezer is getting filled with baking and shopping is done. However, wrapping has not even started yet! This weekend will (hopefully!) take care of that. 

In 1984, I was in high school and traveled to England for the Christmas holidays. My older brother, who was in university at the time, had flown ahead and met me there. We had an amazing time visiting my grandparents as well as all my aunts, uncles and cousins. (My immediate family moved to Canada when I was a child and my entire extended family was and is in England.) 1984 was the year Bandaid released their hit charity single, Do They Know It's Christmas. I melted each time I heard Sting sing his lines (and still do!). I remember the song was playing absolutely everywhere we went and, to this day, the song brings back lovely memories.

In keeping with my 80s hit challenges this year at Little Red Wagon, I felt that Do They Know It's Christmas was a fitting way for me to wrap things up for 2021. I understand that, while my family's tradition is Christmas, not everybody celebrates the way I do so would like to invite those of any tradition to join with their winter holiday projects. Regardless of beliefs, the idea should be about peace, love, joy and blessing others. 

I made a set of gift card holders. I will use these for both gift cards as well as information about a charity to which I've donated in honour of others.

Typically, my siblings and I exchange gifts for charities rather than gifts for each other. I absolutely love this idea and am always so delighted to learn that a family is getting a cow, education, immunizations, books, etc., in my name. And when I donate in my siblings' names, I always like to create a little note to let them know more about the donation. If you're not sure what to give somebody, giving a gift through charity is an idea you may wish to consider. You probably won't hear, "You shouldn't have" or "Is there a gift receipt with this?"!!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then link up your own Christmas/winter holiday projects!

6

Merry Christmas

Somehow, it's already Wednesday again. It seems like it was Wednesday only yesterday. That said, it was mid-morning yesterday when I realized that it was only Tuesday. I had thought it was Wednesday up until then! The days are going fast enough. It would be better if things slowed down a bit. 

Brenda is our wonderful hostess at Little Red Wagon this week and she's chosen the theme NBUS - Never Before Used Stuff. I'm ashamed to admit how many unused items I have in my craft room. I'm hoping to go through my cupboards during the holidays in order to give away things that I don't use. 

About a year or two ago, I received a "Tree Trio" die set free with my MFT purchase. I decided to use the dies for this challenge, creating a set of coordinating cards. I also used a never-before-opened silver paper roll that I don't even remember purchasing - so who knows how long I've had it! It's pretty but quite thin so I had to stick the paper to cardstock before cutting it. The embossing folder on the right-hand card was also new-in-the-package and I received that in a grab box from Simon Says Stamp about three or four years ago. In fact, the entire contents of the box of goodies remain unused... 

Thanks to Brenda, I've at least put a few of my crafting supplies to good use! And this makes for a perfect opportunity for you to do the same. Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' NBUS projects and then link up one of your own!

6

Christmas Cookies

Happy December! The countdown is on. I'm pretty much done my Christmas shopping. The remaining items are orders to be placed closer to the big day. I've started baking as well.

This week at Little Red Wagon, the wonderful Janice is hosting and she wants to see snow! From snowflakes to snowpeople to snow-covered houses, if it includes the white stuff in some way, we want to see it. It's been snowing a fair bit in my part of the world. I'm more of a sun and sand type of person but do like a white wonderland for Christmas.

Our church holds an annual Christmas market and I was asked to do some baking. I packaged up my goodies with some snowflake ribbon and added some little tags with a snowflake on each. Jan's challenge was perfect timing!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the snowy projects - and then join the fun too! Any sort of paper project is welcome. 

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I'm entering my project in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: Happy Holidays/Christmas.

5

Joy in Bethlehem

It's the last Wednesday in November!! I've got a good start on my Christmas preparations although haven't started my baking yet - and I usually go overboard in that department. 

The wonderfully crafty Chrissy is our hostess at Little Red Wagon and she wants us to "Cut It Out"! Fortunately, this doesn't mean that she wants us to quit crafting. In fact, quite the opposite! Chrissy is looking for Christmas (or winter) projects created with die-cuts.

My entire card is made with die cuts - from the mat, the arch window, the sentiment, the star and the little town of Bethlehem. I did create the background with some blended distress inks - but otherwise, just cut it all out!

After taking the photo of my finished card and looking at the photo, I realized that my cuts are in the wrong order. I seem to have the gated wall in the middle of Bethlehem instead of around it! I have actually entered Bethlehem through the gate in the wall so I have no excuse to have not realized this! I am still happy with how the card turned out though.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then use your dies to cut out words or images for your own Christmas/winter-themed projects.

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I'll be linking up my card in the latest Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.  

4

Hoppiest Birthday

How is it already mid-November? Yikes! Time is passing too quickly for me. I continue to be incredibly busy with work. Usually, things slow down a bit by this time of term but that's not the case this year. I'm heading to Toronto later today for a business meeting. It's the first in-person business meeting I've attended in about two years! I've been on the executive committee since May 2020 and have never actually met the other executive members in person. I'm looking forward to it!

Imke is our hostess at Little Red Wagon this week and she's asking for creations with no patterned paper. I actually don't use patterned paper as much as I should (given the reams I have in my craft room) so this challenge wasn't too difficult for me. I have to admit taking this idea from a card I spotted on Pinterest although can't seem to find the card now. I always try to link and give credit where credit is due so apologize that's not the case here. 

When I first made the card, the only sentiment was "Celebrate" and there was no frog. I felt the card needed just a bit more so added the sentiment underneath. It wasn't until I was finished everything that I realized the card said "Hoppiest Birthday" and not "Happiest Birthday" as I'd originally thought. The sentiment then seemed a bit ridiculous and non-sensical with the confetti only so I looked for a small stamp that might work. Fortunately, this cute and happy frog came to the rescue! I'm not-so-secretly glad for my gaffe as I am rather smitten with that little frog.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the projects created by the other Girlfriends - and then link up your own creations. Just be sure to leave your patterned paper on the shelf this week. 

6

Happy Birthday to You

It's my turn to host at Little Red Wagon this week and I'm singing along with Deniece Williams' "Let's Hear It For the Boy!". This week's challenge is all about cards for boys and men so I've taken the liberty to make a slight adjustment to the lyrics - Let's Hear It For the Boys! I often change the lyrics at home given that I've got two boys and think they're both pretty awesome. 

I used some stamps from Mama Elephant for my little guy and his dog. The sentiment, die for the sentiment and YOU letters are from MFT.  I smooshed some Distress Oxides and then used a wonky die from Lil' Inker to cut out my mat. Card complete!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then link up your own "For the Boys" project! I'm looking forward to seeing what you make!

5

Q-tip Lilacs

It's Brenda's turn to host at Little Red Wagon this week and she's feeling "So Very Thankful". She's looking for projects of all kinds which show thankfulness and gratitude. 

I recently saw a YouTube video in which the crafter used Q-tips to create a scene with lilacs. I decided to give it a go myself and created a thank you card with a lilac background. It actually came together quite quickly, mostly because there were no lines to stay between! I used Q-tips for the flowers themselves but did use a brush for the leaves and splatters. The stamp is from Concord and 9th. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends are being "So Very Thankful" - and then link up your own thankful project!

5

Pumpkin Spice to my Latte

It's the wonderful Janice's turn to host our latest Little Red Wagon challenge and she's calling Outside! Jan is looking for any and all creations dealing with the great outdoors, animals in their natural habitat, weather, scenery, etc. 

I have spent a great deal of time outdoors this month. In fact, I've been away every weekend! It's a bit much given how busy work has been although the time away has been fantastic and has provided a much-needed break. I've been camping, to two retreats at two different camps up north and took the past two days off work as vacation days in order to spend time further up north to go hiking. It's been quite a month! November will be busy with the Christmas countdown on, but I'll be home more which will be nice as well. 

One of my favourite treats on a cool day this time of year is a pumpkin spice latte. I've had the MFT Sweater Weather stamp sets for a while now (and have inked them up in the past) and thought this challenge would be a perfect opportunity to pull them out. I'm not so sure that a polar bear sporting a cardigan while sipping on a pumpkin spice latte surrounded by a buffalo check sky background would be considered a natural habitat so I'm hoping that Jan looks past those creative liberties and notices the snowdrift and birch trees! I saw a similar card layout on the MFT website so need to give credit for that.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the Girlfriends' Outside creations - and then link up your own projects!

6

Thoughts and Prayers

Our latest Little Red Wagon is Flutter By and it's being hosted by the incredibly talented Chrissy. It's starting to get chilly here in Central Ontario (Canada) and I think we've seen the last of butterflies in this part of the world. However, Chrissy lives on the opposite side of the world and I'm wondering if the butterflies are starting to come out for her! 

I used a few products that I've had for years and years! The large butterfly and coordinating butterfly are Cuttlebug products and the little butterflies and sentiment are from My Craft Spot. I've still kept all my My Craft Spot products from when I was on Kimberly's design team and love to pull them out from time to time. They were perfect for this challenge! 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to check out the rest of the butterflies showcased by the Girlfriends - and then flutter to the link up your own butterfly creations!

6

Geo Pro Makeover

It's the talented Imke's turn to host our latest Little Red Wagon challenge and she's chosen the theme "A Wreath for all Seasons". I have different wreaths that I hang on my front door for most seasons - although I have flowers in summer but no wreath. However, my project involves a summer wreath. 

As you may remember, I purchased a small new-to-me trailer (caravan) in June and spent hours and hours giving it a facelift. Most of the work included painting and papering, although I did make a few décor items. I was going for an English cottage look in order to walk inside and feel a sense of peace. Mission accomplished! I really do find the trailer a place where I can rest and recharge. One of the items I made to decorate the trailer is a little plaque with a wreath and I've chosen to share that today as an excuse to finally post my trailer pics!

To create the little plaque, I took an oval piece of pine and layered it with some of the wallpaper I'd used in a few spots in the trailer. I used some sandpaper to lightly distress the edges and then applied a small amount of antique wax to the edges as well. I took some floral vine and wove it into a little wreath before adding a final touch of twine and hydrangea petals. 

I've affectionately named my trailer "Barb". Apparently, she was previously owned by a couple of women who I believe to be a bit older than I am given the stories I heard about them. I was also told that they were an absolute hoot and that drew me to the trailer, knowing that it had been a place of love and laughter. I'm assuming that one of the women was named Barb as, when the keys were handed to me, the name "Barb" was on the keychain. The name stuck! I've since been gifted a new woven keychain with the name Barb as well as a "Barbara" notebook which I use as my travel log/journal when I go away camping. 

There was nothing wrong with the trailer when I purchased it although I found it rather dark and wanted my happy place to feel light, airy and happy! This is why I went for whites and soft florals. 

Here are some before and after pics to see Barb's transformation. 

Kitchen:

Bathroom:

Dinette:

Murphy Bed / Couch:

Bed:

Another view:

And a few more after shots:

And finally, a view of the trailer itself. I was fortunate to spend time in my trailer for one last getaway over the past weekend. Here's my home-away-from-home surrounded by our gorgeous fallen autumn leaves!

Thanks for enjoying my project with me! Don't forget to head over to Little Red Wagon to check out the other wreaths and to link up your own projects! 

6

Happy Birdie Wishes

I'm hosting at Little Red Wagon this week and I'm continuing my theme of 80's hits, this time with Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Basically, I'm looking for girl-themed projects of all kinds. I'm fine if you reject the gender binary too! 

My daughter loves frills and jewels, pinks and purples - as well as hummingbirds! I made this card for her back in the summer. It's one of a few cards I made well in advance for our Little Red Wagon challenges. Not because I was super organized but because I misread the challenge themes and ended up working way ahead! It all works out though as this has been a particularly busy start of term as our students transition back to in-person learning. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' creations (which I'm sure they had fun making!). Then link up your own paper projects so I'll know to pop by your blogs to see what you've created. 

5

It's Your Day - Milk It!

The wonderful Brenda is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's singing Old McDonald's Farm - use a farm animal on your project. 

I knew right away that I wanted to use a cow although I'm not sure why! I had fun stencilling the background balloons and then coloured my black and white cow. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' projects - and then link up your own farm animal creation! 

6

Best Fishes for a Very Happy Christmas

It's Janice's turn to host at Little Red Wagon and she's looking for us to use digi stamps - images, sentiments, backgrounds, etc. I don't typically use digi stamps and, although I do have a few, I decided I wanted to try something new. I was delighted to find some fun festive freebie fish images from Polkadoodles so downloaded the set and picked one of my favourites. 

Since it is a digistamp, I was able to do a bit of editing to add my own sentiment. I suppose that counts as a digi stamp too!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then take this opportunity to browse online to check out the multitude of digistamps out there! 

6

With Love on Your Birthday

It's the very talented Chrissy's turn to host at Little Red Wagon and she wants us to "Washi Any Way You Can". As you probably guessed, Chrissy is looking for washi tape on our creations.

Years ago, I was waiting in line at one of our department stores and I saw some fun Parisian-themed washi tape which I *had* to have. I think I used a couple of the rolls twice and it's been in my craft stash since. Thanks to Chrissy, I put the washi to use along with an Eiffel Tower and sentiment stamp from My Favorite Things. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then pull out your washi tape, get crafting and link up for this week's challenge!

3

Keep Calm and Eat Chocolate

It's time for another Little Red Wagon challenge. This time, our wonderful Imke is hosting and she's chosen the theme "All About Chocolate". I jumped in with two feet for this one. I am especially fond of all things chocolate!!

I decided to make a little treat box for the challenge. Well, the box was mostly made. I just had to fold it. However, I did get out an assortment of supplies to decorate it. Once the box was filled with Twix mini chocolate bars (which were sampled for quality control purposes), I used a spider web punch to create a strip to go around the box. I layered that with orange and green jute tied at a little "Keep Calm and Eat Chocolate" tag. I then coloured up a mummy and die cut a jack-o-lantern and bat. I really wanted to add a little spider die as well but it didn't seem to look right in any spot I tried.

I actually quite like spiders and my friends tease me as I will save any spiders I find in the house and take them outside to continue their happy spider lives. A few weeks ago, I was visiting a friend whose son has a small pet tarantula. Unfortunately, the tarantula escaped and was hiding by the bathroom waste basket. I asked for a small container and then put the container over the tarantula. I then got a thin piece of cardboard to slide under the container and was able to carry the poor spider back to her home. It was quite the adventure and I'm happy I was in the right place at the right time!

Rescue mission!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created. Then think about chocolate as you create your own project to join this week's challenge!

6

Hello Bee

Hello from the beautiful Muskokas (Central Ontario). I'm camping with my youngest and we're being blessed with amazing weather now. Unfortunately, we had a pretty severe storm on Sunday and a tree came down (after the storm while the weather was absolutely gorgeous, oddly enough) on a neighbouring trailer awning with a young man and his son underneath. Although the man was hit by the tree, injuries were not life-changing and his little guy wasn't injured at all. It was quite scary though and shook those of us who responded to help. 

In keeping with with my 80's classics themes this year, I've chosen "Sweet Child O' Mine" as this week's Little Red Wagon challenge. I'm hoping to see all sorts of creations for kids - from cards to decor to fun food packaging and beyond. If it's for a child (and even a child at heart!), we'd love to see it!

I pulled out products from a number of different companies - a background beehive stencil from Studio Katia (which was from my NBUS stash), a Reverse Confetti word die, a My Favorite Things Photo Booth die, Lawn Fawn patterned paper and a rub-on transfer which I think I've had, unopened in its package, from about 15 years ago - or more!! 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon and check out all the fabulous creations from the design team. Get inspired and then pull out your crafting supplies to join us! I can't wait to see what you create! 

5

Happy Fishy Wishes

Well, there's some good news and some bad news... The good news is that I was able to find quite a bit of time in my craft room over the past week as I need to work ahead given that I'll be on holidays and away next week. Plus, I returned to campus this week after working from home since March 2020 and so evenings are busier than they had been. And, this is a busy week with my youngest son having his birthday on Monday and my daughter celebrating today. 

I actually got three projects made! The bad news is that, for the second time in about as many months, I messed up the design team schedule at Little Red Wagon. My projects are for next month. When I realized my mistake, after being up too late for a third night in a row, I burst out laughing. (It was that or crying and I think my fatigue has turned me a bit giddy.) Anyway, I've gone into the SBoP archives to find a project that fits this week's challenge.

The wonderful Brenda is our hostess this week and our challenge is all about "Stencil Power". I had almost used a stencil on one of my cards made for what I thought was for a near future challenge, but went with designer paper instead. Anyway, Monday was my littlest's birthday and my daughter had gone into my card stash, pulled out this card from 2017 and presented it to her baby brother. I'd totally forgotten about the card and was happy to see it again. As I used stencilling to create it, I decided it fit the Stencil Power challenge!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to be inspired by the Girlfriends' stencilling - and then stencil your own way into joining us! We'd love to see what you make!

5

Ham It Up

The wonderful Janice is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she wants to see some "Animal Antics". Really, she's just looking for any sort of critter on your creation, even if they are simply sitting or lying down looking cute - or even unpleasant for that matter.

I decided that I would include a pig. I made this for my youngest who will be 19 (ack!) on Monday. His favourite colour is pink so I thought a pink pig dancing with a cupcake would be fitting given that my little guy (I still call him that even though he towers over me at 6'6") also loves cupcakes. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the animal antics showcased by the Girlfriends - and then link up your own project. 

6

It's O"fish"al

It's Chrissy's turn to host this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon and she wants us "under the sea". Any and all creations with a sea/water/aquatic theme fit the bill.

I created a card for my middle's birthday last weekend using an underwater theme. The sentiment inside reads, "You're another year older". I can't believe he's 24 already! The stamps and background die are all from Your Next Stamp. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created and be inspired to make and link up your own "under the sea" projects! 

4

Be Still

Happy Wednesday! I'm still off work as I recover from vocal cord surgery - but am now able to speak. My voice isn't what I'd like it to be so I'm doing my best to be patient. I'm currently camping with my youngest as I thought it would be a fabulous way to rest by reading and taking things easy as I recover. Plus, it's a wonderful opportunity to use my new-to-me trailer (caravan/small RV).

Imke is our fabulous hostess at Little Red Wagon this week and she's chosen the theme "Just Because". I made a bit of wall decor for the trailer. A few months ago, I picked up a wooden board (with a hook and rope for hanging already on the back) and decided it was time to put it to use! I dry brushed the wood with white and grey paints (the colours I painted the interior of the trailer) and then got out my incredibly dusty Silhouette to cut out the letters. Be still and know is actually from a Bible verse - and I thought it was fitting for the trailer as it's my getaway place to be still and try to forget the busyness of life!!

Here's my finished wall art:

which started out as:

And before and after photos of the dinette area of the trailer, just because!!

I'm almost done the trailer with just some final decor items to create and hang. Once everything is finished, I'm excited to share the full reveal! I really am so happy with how things have turned out.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created for their "Just Because" projects - and then create and link up your own! We always love having you join our fun!

6

She Who Leaves a Trail of Glitter

I'm delighted to be hosting this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon. In keeping with my 80s classics themes this year, I've chosen "Bette Davis Eyes" and am looking for any sort of creation with a face. How you interpret this is quite open - an actual human or critter face, a clock or watch, and open-face sandwich, and so on!

A colleague of mine is retiring at the end of the week and I created this card for her - hence the fairy with grey hair! My colleague loves any and all things with glitter and sparkle and when I saw this sentiment, I knew it would be perfect so designed the same on my computer and printed it off. 

I'd actually ordered a goose with a crown stamp - as my colleague loves geese - but it didn't arrive in time for the retirement party and I'm actually glad as I prefer the fairy. It's hard to see in the photo, but there is a glittery flight path trailing the fairy and there is glitter on the wings and other parts of the image.

Inside reads:

We hope your retirement

brings you pleasure

Exciting new memories to treasure

And special moments

beyond all measure

Wishing you joy and sparkle always!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the Girlfriends have interpreted this week's challenge - and then hum or sing Bette Davis Eyes as you get crafting to join the fun! 

(I'm sorry I've fallen behind with my blog visits. This has been a challenging month. I was hit pretty hard with side-effects from my second dose of the Covid vaccine and our nine-month old kitten, Bishop, has gone missing. Although the dog is delighting in all the extra walks as we've gone searching, we're devastated that he's not yet turned up. I also went for vocal cord surgery yesterday - and am not permitted to speak for a week! That's torture for me... I'm hoping to visit some blogs during my recovery as I'm not permitted to work.)

4

I Whale Love You Always

Our fearless Little Red Wagon leader, Jan, is hosting this week's challenge and she wants us to CASE someone. Although I knew the general idea of what this challenge meant and what I was to do (copy somebody else's fabulous ideas), I had to look up what CASE stands for: Copy Another Stamper's (or Scrappers) Efforts. 

I worked backwards a bit for this one. I decided that I wanted to use some of the products that I *had* to get when MFT had a fantastic sale last month - and yet still sat wrapped in their original, unopened packaging. I really wanted to use the Wavy Lines stencil so looked through the product inspiration photos and realized that Karolyn Loncon used the stencil as well as the "Best Catch Ever" stamp set which I also purchased (and also hadn't opened yet). I figured it was a win all round! I pretty much kept things the same with a few minor changes. I thought the card was fantastic and I suppose that CASEing is all about showing the original creator that their work is so good it needs to be recreated!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the CASEd creations of the Girlfriends. And now's the perfect opportunity to try out an idea you've seen by somebody else!

7

Warm and Fuzzy Wishes

Chrissy is hosting this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon and she's in the holiday spirit! It's mid-way to Christmas and Chrissy would like to see any and all things Christmas related! From cards and tags to home decor, we'd love to see your creations. Plus, December You will be so happy that July You got a head start on things!

I created a card. I thought the stamps were from a set I hadn't used before, but when I went to open the package, I could tell that a couple of the stamps had been inked up at some point. I have no memory of what I made so it must have been in the busyness of last Christmas!

My son and I had a great weekend camping, despite a day of lots of rain. The camper was fabulous! It was hard to come back to reality. Although I have another trip planned for the end of August, I'm hoping to get out again for a night or two before that.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to be inspired by the Girlfriends' Christmas creations - and then start your own holiday projects to link up and join the fun!

7

Good Times

Imke is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's looking for "Fruit Salad" - use any kind of fruit on your project or create something that has to do with fruit in some way.

One of my favourite fruits is pineapple so I decided to use some pineapple silhouettes nestled by a tropical drink. Our weather feels quite tropical these days with some record-breaking temperatures out west and some pretty hot and humid days here in Ontario as well. I love the summer so won't complain as I'll take this over the cold any day!

My work on the trailer continues. I've been burning the candle at both ends in the process! Although the work isn't finished yet, the trailer is still fully functional. In fact, I'm heading out today with my youngest for the long weekend. It's the first time we'll be using the trailer and I'm looking forward to it! Here's a before/after photo of the little bathroom which is finished. I've been going for a country cottage theme. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then link up your own fruity creation to help us make fruit salad!!

6

Wishing You Sunnier Days Ahead

I'm so pleased to be hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge! I've got another 80s hit - Walking on Sunshine - to inspire you. We're looking for anything sun or summer related.

I recently purchased the MFT "Weather With You" card kit. Although I wasn't going to buy any more paper crafting supplies for a bit (as I'm doing some decor crafting for my trailer makeover), I couldn't resist the 50% off sale on the kit, as well as savings on a few other items. I tried to be good! I used the new kit to create my card. I got the idea for the partially-stencilled circle from the card kit inspiration page. It worked as I was inspired!!

I've been burning the candle at both ends as it's quite busy at work as we intake our new students for the fall. And then I've been spending my evenings and weekends on the trailer makeover. It's starting to come together although it certainly is quite an undertaking! I'm excited to post pictures when I've finished.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then link up your own "Walking on Sunshine" projects to join the fun!

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Hi! Hello!

It's time for another challenge at Little Red Wagon and Brenda's chosen the theme "Bits". She's looking for us to use leftovers. I'm not particularly good at saving leftovers and don't typically colour images if I'm not going to use them - unless I'd wanted to use them and then wasn't happy with them, but then they end up in recycling!! I did have a few items left over for a kit I made a few years ago when my daughter was doing a uni placement in a home for marginalized expectant mothers. Erin was organizing a craft afternoon so I cut up a number of card kits for her. Apparently, the afternoon was a hit! I did have some items left over and really spent no time on this week's creation. I'm not particularly fond of  my colouring job but Brenda wanted leftover bits and so here I go!

The background greeting is from The Greeting Farm. It's one of the first stamps I ever owned. I think I actually won it! And the little hedgehog is from My Favorite Things. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created and then use up your scrap bits to put something together for this week's challenge! 

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CAS Thanks

Jan is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's keeping things CAS - clean and simple. Any project that is not too fancy, has limited details and/or embellishments would fit the bill here.

I pulled out a stamp that I've had stored in the bin on my top craftroom bookshelf for ages. I found a lot of neat treasures in there! The stamp says "Studio G" which I believe is a Michael's brand. I inked it up, stamped it three times and then smooshed some water inks using a small stamp block. I then added a few splatters and a die-cut sentiment from Your Next Stamp. I thought I was done but decided that the splatters took the card from CAS to non-CAS. As the card was simple to create, I decided to make a second - this time with no splatters and a slightly higher sentiment. It's great to have two extra thank you cards in my stash.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then link up your own CAS projects!

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Fifty - 14 in Scrabble

Wherever you are, I hope your weather is as nice as ours!! As I'm still working from home, I'm blessed to have the opportunity to head to the back garden for breaks and lunches each day. I'm loving it! That said, our uni (where I work) is spread over the banks of a river and I typically went for daily walks along the river during my lunches. I love being outdoors with the warmth of the sun shining down.

Chrissy is our talented hostess at Little Red Wagon and she's looking for "Masculine Makes". I have to admit that I totally got the idea for my card and sentiment from Mandy through one of her recent LRW entries. I'd been gifted a bag of all sorts of goodies - including Scrabble tiles - from my daughter for Mother's Day last month so was thrilled to have an idea to put them to good use! I used my computer to generate the printed sentiment. The simplicity of the card with a touch of humour seems perfect to me for a masculine make!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created for the males in their lives - and then create and link up your own masculine make for this week's challenge!

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Be True to Who You Are

Our wonderful hostess at Little Red Wagon this week is Imke and she wants us to "Say it with flowers". The gardens are springing to life here and it's a delight to behold the beauty of this time of year. Your project can have anything to do with flowers.

I pulled out my NBUS Brush Petal 2 stamp set from Flora & Fauna. I love the look of the floral background I created and wish I'd used these stamps sooner! I finished things off with a sentiment strip from my stash and a couple of dew drops. This card was so quick and easy to put together with the stamps doing all the hard work. It was perfect for me to get back outside to enjoy the great outdoors!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' floral creations - and know you're very welcome to join the fun as well!

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Beary Best Birthday

Happy Wednesday! I'm delighted to be hosting at Little Red Wagon this week. In keeping with my 80s hits themes, I'm going with Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" and am looking for anything related to travel. Years ago, I used my Silhouette to create a decal for my car which read, "I don't know where I'm going but I sure know where I've been" - which are the first two lines of "Here I Go Again". Whenever the song came on, my husband and I used to sing the song at the top of our lungs together as we drove along. Happy memories. 

This coming weekend is a holiday one in Canada. I was supposed to go camping and booked my site months ago. Unfortunately, our lockdown has been extended until at least June 2 so "here I stay again"! The pool has been opened though so I'll spend the time working on getting that ready for swimming. In addtion to holiday Monday, I've actually taken Friday and Tuesday off as vacation days and am looking forward to a long-overdue break!

I used My Favorite Things' Town Bear stamp set for my little bear, tree, stop sign and sentiment. The background was stamped using MFT's City Block Background. I bought the stamp when it first came out thinking I'd do all sorts of things with it... and finally inked it up for this project!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the projects created by the rest of the talented design team - and then make your own travel-themed creation to join the fun. I can't wait to see what you make!

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