Good Tidings of Great Joy

How is it just a few days until Christmas?! Time has been flying here and am looking forward to a couple of weeks off. 

Our final Little Red Wagon challenge of 2022 is hosted by the lovely Imke and she wants to see "Angels". 

Of all the cards I've ever made, this one took me the most amount of time to create. That's because there were supposed to be six of them. I stamped and coloured six sets of those mice (including a set of Joseph) but, when I cut them on my Scan'N'Cut, the poor little mice all lost their tails. It was something horribly reminiscent of the Three Blind Mice nursery rhyme. Fortunately, little Jesus had his tail tucked safely away under his swaddling clothes and was spared. Anyway, I had to quickly do up another (single!) set of the nativity leading cast and fussy cut them. Despite five remaining backgrounds, I decided I was done! And Joseph seemed to crowd the scene so I opted to leave him out. Perhaps Mary sent him off to pick up some extra finger foods to serve all the unexpected guests. 

I used an MFT stencil to create my multi-scene background and then stamped with a sentiment/verse from Sweet and Sassy's Born This Day stamp set. The adorable little mice are from Clearly Besotted's Nativity Play stamp set (which seems to be discontinued). Hopefully, Imke is okay with my angel having big ears and a tail!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to be immersed in angelic inspiration - and then use an angel (or a  multitude of heavenly hosts!) to create your own project.

Wherever you are, I wish you a very happy Christmas and/or the happiest of holidays to those who celebrate differently. Whatever you believe, may your holidays be filled with joy and peace.

7

Today is all about you

Happy snowy Wednesday! We're due for another snowstorm tomorrow. I think I'd be much happier down south!

It's my final turn to host at Little Red Wagon this year and, in keeping with my Beatles' hits as inspiration, I've chosen, "You Won't See Me" as our challenge for the week. I'm looking for vellum or transparency on your projects. 

I created this card with a strip of vellum which I embossed with an ancient floral embossing folder. The peony and leaves were made from free stamps that came with a magazine a few years ago. The stamps really didn't stick to anything (my Misti or acrylic blocks) so there was a bit of frustration involved! However, I was determined to make things work and, with patience, they did. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends used vellum and transparency and then create your own "You Won't See Me" projects to join in the fun!

3

Babies are Such a Nice Way to Start People

Happy Wednesday! I simply cannot believe it's December. The time is flying by! For the most part, I've finished my Christmas shopping although will get groceries closer to the big day and also have some baking to do. I've done lots already although too much has already been enjoyed!! 

It's the lovely Brenda's turn to host our latest Little Red Wagon challenge and she's looking to "Make it Move". From shakers to spinners to wobbles to sliders. If your creation is interactive, please share in the fun!

My goddaughter recently had a baby shower and I made this shaker card for her. I bought these tiny little beads years ago with shaker cards in mind so I'm glad Brenda finally gave me the incentive (push!) I needed. The fun little sentiment sticker (I love it!!) was from the paper pack I used for my card. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to catch all the action there! We would love for you to join us too! 

PS At the shower, my daughter (pictured right) and a friend gave my goddaughter a little onesie reading, "The friends before we were born club - the next generation". The girls' mothers and I have been friends since before the girls were born, so they always refer to themselves as "The friends before we were born club". I absolutely LOVED the idea of the little onesie!! We're so excited to meet this little one in the next generation of friends. 

4

Joy to the World

This week's Little Red Wagon is all about glitz, glitter, gleam, and glow! Jan is our awesome hostess and she's looking for anything that sparkles or shines. I'm thinking I pulled this one off! 

I cut out a variety of snowflakes (and a little doily) from a two different pink glitter cardstock and some silver glitter cardstock. I layered them up in different ways and adhered them to my ink-smooshed background. I added some clear gems (although they look grey in the photo!) and some pink sequins and also used a metallic silver embossing powder on my sentiment. I saw a card similar to this ages ago but I'm not sure where. Thanks to whoever provided the inspiration! 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to be inspired by the glitz, glitter, gleam and glow shared by the Girlfriends - and then get out your sparkly and shiny stash to join the fun!

7

Sprinkled with Happiness

It's the lovely Doni's turn to host our Little Red Wagon weekly challenge and she's hungry!! This week's theme is "Let's eat!" Doni is looking for any and all food-related creations.

My daughter appreciates going through my stash for birthday cards and recently let me know I'm starting to run low so I decided to seize the opportunity to replenish my collection. And what a better food for a birthday celebration than a cupcake (or three)!

Now it's time to head to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then pull out your own tasty supplies to join this week's challenge. 

6

With Sympathy

It's our wonderful Chrissy's turn to host this week at Little Red Wagon and she wants to see Flower Power! Use a flower on your project and show us what you've got! 

I used a stamp from MFT which is now my go-to for sympathy cards. I've used it a few times in a few different ways and here's what I did for this week.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to be inspired by the rest of the Girlfriends. And, speaking of Girlfriends, a HUGE welcome to the newest member of our design team, Shani (aka Paperesse)!! I'm thrilled she's joining us with her incredible talent. Bienvenue Shani! 

5

Merry Christmoose

Imke is our fabulous Little Red Wagon hostess this week and she's looking for any and all things "Winter" - from colours to activities to landscapes and more!

Living in Canada, our winter colours are white and more white! I decided to create a little winter scene for a Christmas card with lots of white to represent our snow - but do have some blue sky in there too. It's difficult to tell but there are three stamped and heat-embossed sets of snowflakes in the sky. We do have a number of evergreen trees so I include one of those too. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the winter projects - and then create and link up one of your own!

6

Come Let Us Adore Him

Welcome to Yesterday! This is my way of introducing you to our latest Little Red Wagon challenge. I'm hosting this week and, in keeping with Beatles' hits as inspiration, I've chosen "Yesterday". I'm looking for vintage projects or projects with vintage elements.

I'm thinking my project looks a bit more rustic/farmhouse than vintage but I did do a lot of distressing to make my project look a hundred years old! I started with a piece of leftover lumber that my son used this summer when replacing part of the fence that had been destroyed by a fallen tree during a derecho. I cut the wood to 5x5 and then started banging up the edges. I covered it with chalk paint (black and white) and then printed a Christmas graphic, being sure to reverse the graphic before printing on regular computer paper. After Mod-Podging (not sure that's really a verb!) the image to the board and waiting overnight, I rubbed off the paper to leave the ink transfer. It's not as clear as it could/should be as I used an ink jet instead of laser jet printer. Once everything was done, I banged up the edges and front of the wood with various objects and added a bit of grey paint. I finally sanded down the edges to distress things a bit more. I finished things off with some jute, some twine and a little bell (to which I had added some grey ink to distress). 

That's the "Before" pic!

I chose the graphic as O Come All Ye Faithful was my gran's favourite carol. Whenever I hear/see it (or a lyric from the carol), I am reminded of her. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' vintage projects - and then create one of your own to link up! 

4

Thank You Card

Hello friends! It's Brenda's turn to host our Little Red Wagon this week and she's looking for us to use ribbons on our creations. I have more ribbon than I know what to do with - and don't use it on my creations as often as I should. So I'm thanking Brenda for encouraging me to stretch my creativity while using up some ribbon.

I made this card as a simple gesture of appreciation. I was recently gifted with an incredible dreamcatcher handmade by a colleague and friend. This gift was a complete and total surprise and it moved me to (happy) tears. I'm blown away by not only the dream catcher but also the personal touches that were added to make it all the more meaningful for me. I'm touched beyond words. I made my card especially for Sheri. 

And this is a photo of my beautiful dreamcatcher hanging on my office wall at work. 

Please pull out your ribbons and create something for this week's challenge. There's lots of inspiration from the Girlfriends over on the Little Red Wagon blog. 

6

What Makes You Different

It's the wonderful Janice's turn to host our latest Little Red Wagon challenge and she's seeing spots and stripes - or at least, that's what she wants to be seeing. 

As soon as I saw the challenge them, I knew exactly the stamps I'd use - the giraffe and zebra from MFT's Wild About You. I decided to use some striped and spotted designer paper too. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the Girlfriends have used stripes and spots - and then join in the fun too! 

6

The Witch's Apothecary

Happy Wednesday! Unfortunately, Covid hit our home again late last week with my boys getting quite ill (as in needing to stay home in bed but nothing horribly concerning). My daughter had Covid almost two months ago and I was surprised that the rest of us avoided it. Our Thanksgiving plans were all cancelled and I used the time at home to get ahead on some of my crafting. I had lots of fun and it sure beat washing windows which should have been further up on the priority list!

This week, the wonderful Doni is hosting our Little Red Wagon challenge and she's telling us that she's bats about us! She let us know that she wants us to use bats on our projects. 

A few weeks ago, I saw a video posted by Deidre on her Our Upcycled Life YouTube channel. Deidre is one of my favourite YouTube crafters - and it turns out that she's not only Canadian but from my province of Ontario too! She repurposed a Crown Royal bottle and I thought it was so clever. Although not too horribly into Halloween, I decided to give things a go myself. I followed Deidre's steps for the most part although didn't bother with the dirt as this was my first time painting bottles with chalk paint. It was much easier than I'd thought! 

I started designing my own labels as I knew I needed something with a bat and decided to go with "bat saliva". While looking for ideas on what else a witch might store in her apothecary, I stumbled across some free printables at 17 Turtles and decided to go with them. I did a minor edit to the bat label, switching it from "bat wings" (which I figured the witch would struggle with to remove from the thin-necked bottle) to "bat saliva" which I'm presuming could be poured. Fortunately, I rewatched Deidre's video prior to adding the labels and was reminded that I needed to reverse the images. Phew!! 

Here's Deidre's video: 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the bats - and then get batty and join our challenge!

5

So Glad I Met You on the Web

Happy October! It's certainly fall here with the crisp temperatures - although it's going up to 22C today. Woohoo! I much prefer summer and the warmer temperatures 

Chrissy is our fabulous hostess this week at Little Red Wagon and she's getting in the spirit of Halloween by calling for all things spooky. 

A few weeks ago, I saw a creation with the sentiment I've used here, "So glad I met you on the web" and thought it clever so put it in my back pocket. Chrissy's challenge is just perfect for spiders and webs (even though I actually quite like spiders). I used a variety of alphabet stamps and only one was harmed in the creation of this card. In fact, I think it was accidentally washed down the drain - the poor tiny "n". I'm hoping the "u" in the set will do in the future. The little die cut webs and spiders are from My Craft Spot (no longer in business). 

Feel free to head over to Little Red Wagon for some more spooks. We'd love to have you join us this week too! 

Happy Thanksgiving (Monday, October 10) to all my 🇨🇦 Canadian 🇨🇦 friends! May you have a wonderful holiday with lots of blessings, turkey and pumpkin treats! 

4

Let's Celebrate You

It's the fabulous Imke's turn to host this week's Little Red Wagon and she's calling out, "Happy Birthday!" Given that every single person you know has a birthday, there are lots of options and need for birthday projects. 

I put together a birthday card using one of my MFT layered stencils. I then also ink-blended a strip of paper and die-cut the "you" before heat-embossing the "Let's Celebrate" sentiment. I put everything together and added a few gumdrops and had my card. It wouldn't have taken particularly long except I had tried to stamp directly on the background with the green ink. It turns out that stamping vs. blending provide two entirely different shades. Who knew?! This is when I decided to ink blend the paper and die cut. Much better match! 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created for birthdays. We'd love for you to join us too! 

5

Love Ewe

I'm hosting another Beatles-inspired challenge at Little Red Wagon this week and it's one of my favourite songs: All You Need is Love. I have to admit to singing this song rather a lot, although often changing the lyrics to whatever's nearby. For example, "All you need is Guilder" when I'm singing to my dog, Guilder. "All you need is (one of my kids' or all of my kids' names)", "All you need are cookies" when I want a cookie, etc. 

However, for the challenge, I did stick to the theme: LOVE. I started by inking some cardstock with a pink ombre look and then die cut the little hearts. I used the same die with black cardstock for the outline. I stamped and coloured a little lamb, cut out the frame and sentiment, stamped "ewe" and stuck everything together. I finished things off with a few little sequins.

I'd love for you to join our challenge this week! There's some great inspiration from the Girlfriends over at Little Red Wagon. 

4

So Thankful for You

It's the amazing Brenda's turn to host this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she wants to see anything other than a square or a rectangle.

I decided to make an easel card with circles. I haven't made an easel card in years and had forgotten how to make them! Fortunately, there are a lot of tutorials and instructions online. I used a variety of dies and a stamp from My Craft Spot to create my card - and was sure to include no squares or rectangles!

Head over to Little Red Wagon to see the inspiration from my talented Girlfriends - and then think outside the box as you create something too!

4

You Make Everything Better

Happy September! It certainly is starting to feel like fall here. Boo!! I'm a fan of summer and always feel a bit sad when it's over. However, Pumpkin Spice Lattes do help with the fall blahs! Our Starbucks brought them back last week and I've already had two. Our team has "Walking Wednesdays" which basically means we walk from our office to the Starbucks on campus. I'm looking forward to our Walking Wednesday today!

Janice is our wonderful hostess at Little Red Wagon this week and she's calling out Cute! Cute! Cute! Create a cute project and you're in!

I used a stamp I purchased about six years ago and have never used - until now!! I was rifling through my stamps to find something cute, saw this one and thought, "That's it!" I paired the stamp with a sentiment from MFT and did some watercolouring for a soft look. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to enjoy all the cuteness this week! We'd love to have you join us too!

6

Have a Crabulous Day

It's hot this week at Little Red Wagon! Doni is our wonderful hostess and she's looking for warm colours (e.g., red, orange, yellow).

Last week, I created a beach scene and wanted to use this little crab and sentiment but it just didn't seem to fit the background. I looked ahead at other challenges and thought of a way to use my fun crab and sentiment for this week's "It's Hot!" challenge. I had fun smooshing red, orange and yellow ink to create my background and then simply cut a little window for my crab, added the sentiment and put everything together. 

We'd love for you to visit Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Hot projects created by the Girlfriends - and then get out your warm colours to join in!

5

Hello from the Beach

This week's Little Red Wagon challenge is being hosted by the lovely Chrissy - and she wants a day at the beach! A couple of weeks ago, I visited Grand Bend beach in south western Ontario. It was beautiful! I love walking through sand. I prefer the ocean but we're quite far inland. Our Great Lakes are massive though and we've lots of smaller lakes in my area - so beaches are easy to be found around here. 

I created a little inked beach scene. Originally, there was going to be a crab wishing the recipient a "crabulous" day. However, the crab just didn't seem to fit with the little sunset beach scene (nor did the sentiment particularly as the sunset implies the day is over!) so I went a different route. I'll save my fun little crab for another project.

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

5

Miss You

Imke is our wonderful hostess at Little Red Wagon and she's asking us to "Embellish It"! She's looking for inspiration with embellishments, whether that be buttons, ribbons, sequins, twine, or anything else that you'd like to use to embellish your creations.

As soon as I read the theme, I knew I wanted to use my favourite little heart button embellishments. I ordered these years ago from Australia (and have a similar blue start button set as well). There are three sizes and I used them all - two to the left and a tiny weeny one to the right. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the way the rest of the Girlfriends embellished their projects -and then get out your glue and embellishments to have some fun of your own!

6

You Make Me Happy

I'm hosting this week's challenge over at Little Red Wagon and continue to use Beatles' hits as my inspiration this year. This week, the theme is "Here Comes the Sun" which seems quite fitting given all the sun and HEAT we've been having. I think that last week's camping trip was the hottest time I've ever had camping. Even just sitting in the shade worked up a sweat!

I used a variety of projects from different companies to put my card together. I think I went through about four different background ideas before I finally decided this one was somewhat blog worthy. 

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

3

Hippo Birdie to You

Happy Wednesday!! I'm actually on holiday this week, camping in Eastern Ontario. This is a wonderful time of year to go camping in my part of the world as most of the biting insects are gone for the season. My youngest guy and I were originally booked to go up on the weekend (a long weekend here in Ontario) and stay the entire week but he ended up having two final exams scheduled. We now have far too much food but that's a pretty good problem to have, especially when some of that food includes ingredients for S'mores!

Brenda is our wonderful hostess at Little Red Wagon this week and she's looking for us to use circles on our creations. As soon as I read the inspiration, I knew I wanted to use a layered circle stencil set that I purchased from MFT a year or so ago and had used only once (now twice!).  After inking up my two-toned circles, I splattered some yellow paint for more tiny little circles. I then used an oldie but a goodie set from Lawn Fawn for my sentiment and images. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then use circles for your project to join our challenge this week!

4

Hanging By a Thread?

Jan is our hostess at Little Red Wagon this week and she's chosen the theme "Stitching Sensations". In some way, use stitching on your papercrafting project. 

I created a Memorydex card. I keep my Memorydex on my home office desk. I've made a number of cards with words of inspiration - whether those are words of encouragement for rough days or simply happy thoughts and ideas to keep up office morale (just me so a pretty easy task!) when things are good! I typically just use scraps and leftovers from other projects when making my Memorydex cards and that's just what I did here too. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to how the Girlfriends have added stitches to their projects. We'd love to have you join us too!

5

Just a Meeting

Happy Wednesday! It's Doni's turn to host our challenge at Little Red Wagon this week and she's letting us know that it's "Time for Ice Cream".  Given that any time can be time for ice cream, feel free to join us all week long, regardless of the time!

I used some stamps from Mint Owl Studio (which is no longer in business), a frame from Your Next Stamp and stencils from Simon Says Stamp to create my card. The ice cream tops are covered with some Wink of Stella for some sparkly fun.

When my daughter was a toddler, she thoroughly enjoyed peeling wallpaper off our walls. If we were redecorating, this would have been a wonderful help. But that was not the case. Erin also thoroughly enjoyed ice cream. In fact, it was a favourite. At our wits end with what to do about Erin peeling the wallpaper, a friend suggested that Erin be denied ice cream the next time she was caught. And so, when the inevitable occurred, my husband and I had ice cream for dessert and Erin was not permitted to have any. Oh! The tears! And the ice cream tasted like sawdust to Ralph and me given Erin's devastation. We felt cruel... However, Erin never peeled wallpaper again. Drawing on walls was another story though!!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to join our ice cream fun. We can't wait to see what you create!

6

Sole-mates

The fun and talented Chrissy is hosting at Little Red Wagon and she's looking for some laughs. Create something - anything - to make us laugh!

I put some "Shoeper" Your Next Stamp products to work and created this punny card. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created (and have a laugh while you're there)! Then, create your own fun project to join this week's challenge!

5

Merry Kiss-mas

It's Christmas in July at Little Red Wagon where the wonderful Imke is hosting. This is the perfect time to start on your Christmas projects to avoid the December rush. 

I used stamps and a border die from Your Next Stamp to make my Christmas creation. One down and many more to go!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of Girlfriends have created and then start (or add to) your own Christmas creations to join the fun!

4

I Dolphinitely Hope

I'm back with a project for our latest Little Red Wagon challenge where I am the hostess this week. In keeping with my Beatles' greatest hits inspiration for 2022, I've used "I am the Walrus" and am asking crafters to create a project with a sea creature (or more!). 

I had been sure I had a walrus stamp but it turns out I must have dreamed that. However, I do have a number of stamps with sea creatures and chose this fun dolphin from Your Next Stamp's "Sea Friends". I'd love to have a dolphin friend!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then link up your own sea creature project to join our fun!

5

Yes!! We Do!!

Back in the fall, I decided to take off three weeks in June (now!) as today marks five years since I lost my beloved husband to esophageal cancer. I can't believe it's been five years already. I've spent some time at the trailer, resting in nature while reading, writing and literally resting (napping). It's been so good for me. I returned home yesterday and am heading up north to Algonquin Park (a huge provincial park in Ontario, Canada) for a few days. I was able to book a spot right on the lake (Rock Lake) and am looking forward to that. 

I did realize with horror on Monday that I had completely overlooked this week's Little Red Wagon challenge. Fortunately, Janice, this week's hostess, has chosen the theme "Digi-do!" As I'm sure you can guess, Janice would like us to use digital images on our projects. I found this stick figure image at a free clipart website (although copied and pasted the link to a runner-up image and no longer remember where I downloaded this one from - ugh!) and used my Silhouette software to add the "We do!!" sentiment and names. Just a bit of paper cutting and some minimal colouring and I was done. I like the simplistic look with the stick figures so it all works out.

I do hope you'll visit Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the digital images used by the Girlfriends. There are lots of freebies out there if you'd like to join but don't have any images in your stash. 

5

Two less fish in the sea

It seems that Doni is thinking "Something fishy is going on" over at Little Red Wagon. If you head over to the blog, you'll see all sorts of fish from the DT (and participants) this week as Doni is looking for fish on our projects. 

I'll be heading to a bridal shower this weekend and needed to make a card for that so decided to do something fun combining the challenge with my need for a card. The card is quite a simple one. I designed the background (heart, hooks and sentiment) in Silhouette, printed and then cut it out with a wonky frame, cut a mat just a bit larger to sit behind and then used a couple of fish from Your Next Stamp's Aquarium Antics to finish things off, colouring and then popping them on the front. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the aquatic life there - and then link up your own fishy project!

3

Happy Birthday to You

Happy June! It's Chrissy's turn hosting at Little Red Wagon this week and she wants us to "Use Our Lace". 

Years ago, when I designed for My Craft Spot, I made the occasional vintage/shabby chic card and still have quite a few of those types of supplies. In fact, quite a few of the supplies that I used to create my card are from My Craft Spot. It was such a delight to get them out again for this project - so thanks for that, Chrissy! I used some lace behind my border, which was cut with a Martha Stewart lacy border punch, a lace heart doily and a lace doily die behind the sentiment. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends have used lace - and then use your lace to join this week's challenge!

4

I Really Miss You

It's the talented Imke's turn to host our Little Red Wagon challenge and she's chosen the theme: Sentiment as the main focus. 

I created a fun little "I really miss you" card with a large die cut from MFT as my focal sentiment. The little critter (some sort of badger?!) is also from an MFT stamp set. 

I was worried I wouldn't get to post this week's challenge. We were hit by the storm that raged through southern Ontario and Quebec over the weekend and were without power for a couple of days. Some of my family and friends are still without power. One of our large trees was uprooted in our back garden, breaking through the fence while its limbs hit our gazebo and part of the roof. Fortunately, nobody at our house was injured in any way. I keep reminding myself of this during the clean up!

Also last week, we adopted a two-year old stray. The humane society had given him the name Watts. Given his mannerly ways and intelligence (and because all our pets have names of significance, with each of the cats named after some sort of literary character), we have changed the name to Watson. (Think Dr. Watson from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.) He has now made himself at home and is incredibly affectionate. It hasn't taken long to fall in love.  

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' creations - and then link up your own project with the sentiment as the main focus. 

7

You're Super in Every Way

I'm thrilled to be hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and, in keeping with my Beatles' themes this year, I've chosen "A Little Help From My Friends" to guide our mojo. I'm looking for projects for friends - whether they be thank you projects, projects of encouragement or celebration - or anything else that celebrates friendship. 

I used a few different MFT products to create this card and had fun inking the background. I thought the sentiment was just perfect for this challenge.

I am using some of my vacation days this week and am enjoying time in my trailer. It's a bit cool but I'm having a lovely time! And this weekend, I've plans to get away with one of my best friends. We've been friends since grade school! 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the Girlfriends' projects - and then create something for one of your friends to join this week's challenge. I'm excited to see what you make!

2

Amazing, Marvelous Grace

It's the wonderful Brenda's turn to host this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's chosen the theme "Make it bloom". Brenda is looking for flowers of all colours, shapes and sizes. Spring has finally hit South-Central Ontario and I'm delighting in the flowers blooming all around me. 

Over Lent, I focused on the word "grace". I created a Lenten journal in which I wrote out a verse each day (and also included little poems, prayers and song lyrics). I really enjoyed the process. Earlier this year, I also purchased a creative slimline Bible. Every other page is blank and the idea is to take words of encouragement and inspiration (or to journal). I haven't done as much as I'd like, but this is a page I did to focus on grace. The page has lots of flowers stamped with an ancient Stampin' Up set so I'm "Making it bloom!". The sentiment was created with different stamps from My Favorite Things and Ranger.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see all the flowers used on the creations of the Girlfriends - and then "Make it bloom" on your own projects! 

7

I Believe In You

Jan is hosting this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon and she wants us to "Feature Fun Folds". Anything goes, as long as it's got more than one fold. 

I wasn't sure what to do for this challenge so went to Google to explore others' creations. When I came across Songbird Stamper's Multifold Card Tutorial, I loved the look and decided to give it a go. The instructions were fabulously clear and this card ended up being quite quick and easy to put together. Really, it's just some scoring, cutting, folding and gluing. 

There are multiple folds on the belly band too!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see all the folds - and then multi-fold your way into this week's challenge. 

6

Wishing You Sunnier Days Ahead

I'm delighted to announce that Doni is back to rejoin the Little Red Wagon design team! She's taken part in the past couple of challenges and now she's hosting. She's chosen the theme "Save me from April showers" and she's looking for us to use umbrellas on our creations.

I used MFT's "Weather with me" set again. I'd used it for my project two weeks ago and decided to make a card for this week's challenge while the set was still out. We've had a few rainy and snowy days in the past couple of weeks and I'm really hoping we'll soon be moving on to sun!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have made - and then create your own project with an umbrella to join this week's fun! 

5

Easter Treats

It's Chrissy's turn to host this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's asking us, "What did you make for Easter?" This is the time for you to showcase your projects!

Easter is hands-down my favourite holiday. Most of the things I made were made in the kitchen. I even tried Hot Cross Buns for the first time. Yum! These cupcakes have some paper toppers so I thought they would fit the challenge quite nicely. 

As we were setting up for our Easter lunch, Skimbleshanks had his eye on the treats too!

I also had a few treat toppers and packages left over from other years and used them for little giveaway packages this year. 

Here are a few more cupcakes I've baked since the start of Covid. 

What did you make for Easter? We'd love to see! Head over to Little Red Wagon to link up your projects - and to see what the rest of the Girlfriends created too!

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No One Stacks Up to You

It's the lovely Imke's turn to host at Little Red Wagon this week and she's chosen the theme "Three of something". As three is my favourite number, I was especially happy to create for this challenge!

This term, we had two student staff work with our office. Last week, we celebrated their successful work terms with a little gathering and I made cards for each student. This is one of the cards I made and it has three little critters and three little clouds. I also used three types of paper - cardstock, water colour paper and patterned paper. That makes for three sets of three! (The other card will be posted in about a month.) 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see all the triples created by the Girlfriends - and then work on your own sets of three to join the challenge!

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You're Berry Sweet

Happy April! I'm thrilled to be this week's hostess at Little Red Wagon and I'm still going strong with my Beatles-inspired challenge themes. This time, it's "Strawberry Fields Forever" and I'm looking for projects with a fruit or farm theme. 

As I'm the hostess, I thought I should stick as close to the theme as possible so went with strawberries as my theme. Earlier this year, I spotted some Hershey Truffle Kisses in our local bulk store and thought they resembled little strawberries with their red foil and green tags. I placed some of the Truffle Kisses in each bag and decorated with strawberry-themed toppers, using a Spellbinders cut/emboss/stencil strawberry die that I purchased years ago and used only once. The sentiment is from My Craft Spot (no longer in business). The bags probably could have done with a few more candies each but some of the Truffle Kisses accidentally fell into my mouth before and during my crafting time.

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

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Make Today Beautiful

It's the fabulous Brenda's turn to host this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she wants us to use washi! I got rolls and rolls of washi for Christmas and use it lots in my journals and notes but don't typically use it for my cards. This was a great opportunity to be creative with my washi!

I used some MFT stamps for my sentiment and then added strips of washi tape. Once finished with that, I added some washi flowers and then some little pearls. I wish I'd used some smaller pearls but, when I tried to remove one, I realized that it was not going anywhere. So, these are the pearl embellishments that are staying!

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then pull out your own washi to join the fun!

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Hello Beautiful

It's the incredible Jan's turn to host at Little Red Wagon this week and she wants us to "Emboss Everything!" Fortunately, she did clarify that we don't actually have to emboss everything. 

I remember when I purchased my first (and only, actually) Cuttlebug. It sat unopened and unused on my desk for about six months before I decided to give it a go. And, once I started, I couldn't stop and pretty much did emboss everything! My kids were much younger then and they also enjoyed embossing. I remember one particular day when there were a group of kids over who spent hours embossing scraps of paper which they then took home for their own crafting projects. 

About a year ago, I finally purchased a new die cutting/embossing machine as my Cuttlebug really had seen better days. These days, I tend to do more die cutting than embossing but always do enjoy pulling out my old embossing folders. After doing some distress ink blending on my panel, I ran it through my Vagabond using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder. I then layered a die-cut (Simon Says Stamp) and frame (Mama Elephant) on top. I thought about adding a heat-embossed sentiment as well but decided to stick with a "hello" die cut (Reverse Confetti). I added a few gems to finish things off. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have embossed! And then decide if you'd like to dry or heat emboss - or both! - and join the fun.

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Card for Mum

It's the talented Chrissy's turn to host at Little Red Wagon this week and she's looking for die cuts of all kinds. Pretty much anything goes, as long as you have included a die cut somewhere on your project. 

I decided to make a spring card for my mum. For the most part, dies used are from My Craft Spot. Although they are no longer in business, I have incredibly fond memories of being on the design team for quite a few years. I love bringing out products from My Craft Spot to use.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends have created - and then pull out your die cutting machines or tools, put them to use, and join our challenge! 

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