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! 

4

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. 

4

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! 

4

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! 

5

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! 

5

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!!  

5

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. 

5

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. 

5

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! 

5

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! 

5

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! 

5

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! 

4

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. ❤️

5

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.

5

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! 

5

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! 

5

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! 

5

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! 

4

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! 

5