Christmas in July @ Little Red Wagon

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Rosanne has picked Christmas in July. Hard to believe we're halfway there.

This is what I did....

Digi is from Teddy Bo.

So, muster up some Christmas cheer and head on over to Little Red Wagon and enter the challenge. And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

Tags @ Little Red Wagon

This week at



Regan wants to see tags. So, either a tag, or a tag(s) on your card. Now, I've said in the past that I'm not a fan of making tags, even though I'll drool like crazy over some of the fabulous ones I've seen out their in blogland. But, tags as part of a card...I'll totally do.

Like this.....

Four tags, ha!

If I can do it then you can do it too so, why not head on over to Little Red Wagon and enter the challenge? And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

Enthusiastic or...........

........or just kinda pathetic?

Okay, so, I'm usually a person who plays my cards pretty close to my chest, especially emotionally. Generally, if I want something, and I mean really want something, I'll try not to make a big deal of it. I'll be all cool cucumber like. (Okay, sidebar: Why is a cucumber considered cool anyway? You can bet a man came up with that saying.) That way if I don't get it I can be all, "yeah, whatever"....and don't forget to picture me slouched against a graffiti wall (even though we don't have any graffiti in the area, but leaning up against painted historical murals just doesn't work for the visual I'm going for here) wearing sunglasses and a black leather jacket, and if it was about 14 years ago I'd have a cigarette hanging out of the corner of my mouth to boot when I'm saying that. (Though I'd probably take out the cigarette out while I talked 'cause if I didn't the cigarette would likely fall from my lips down the front of my top and I'd be dancing around like some funky chicken as I desperately tried to get it out and I just don't think I could pull that off and still look cool and uninterested.)

But, I really, really, really, really want to score a position on the Tiddly Inks DT really bad. So bad that I'm willing to look overly eager. And, maybe slight pathetic. 'Cause here's my third entry for the DT call. (If you want to take a gander at my other Tiddly Inks cards they are here and here.)

I used a brand new freebie which you can get for yourself right here. Super cute, eh?

I decided to go cas this time.  It's hard to tell from the pic but I used my Silhouette Glitter Sketch Pens for the sentiment and the kraft panel is popped up on, well, pop dots.

So, there you have it.   My hopeful third card for the Tiddly Inks DT call.

Also for:

Sweet Stampin':  Christmas in July
The Kraft Journal:  tie it on + kraft
Fab 'n' Funky:  Christmas in July
Cuttin' and Stampin':  Christmas in July
Addicted to Stamps:  cas
Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  snowmen
Paper Crafting Journey:  Christmas in July
Sentimental Sundays:  Christmas in July
Cas On Sunday:  kraft + twine
Clearly iStamp:  Christmas in July

Crafting Time.....ummm...what's that??

I'm sure I'm not alone with that title, especially to those of us who have kiddies out of school.  (Dt creations I've posted have, for the most part, been made awhile ago.)  Believe it or not I got a phone call at work at 10:00am on the first day of summer vacation from my middle child (whom I love to pieces but is a "middle child" in every stereotypical sense of the word) who said, "Mom.....I'm bored." Yep, it's been that kind of summer.

But, I did managed to fit scraps of crafting time in here and there and I was able to come up with this card.....

...which is actually a "just because" card for that aforementioned child....who right now is trying to wipe his dog licked face on mine because he wants "to share her kisses with me".

And it's only July.

*sigh*

Digi is from Whimsie Doodles.

For:

Catch The Bug:  bingo - sparkle, summer image, player's choice
Southern Girls:  no spoolin'
Top Tip Tuesday:  circles
Tuesday Throwdown:  anything goes
Here Come The Boys:  for boys/men
Pile It On:  just because
Addicted to Stamps:  lots of layers
TokBobok:  animal friends
Seemacrafts:  holiday/vacation
Muse Card Challenge:  case muse card - I chose the animal theme and the colours
Crafting Desert Divas:  summer
C....is for Challenges:  summer 
Card Mania:  pearls and/or gems
Scrap-Creations:  vacation
Anything Goes:  anything goes
Creative Card Crew:  the great outdoors
Simon Says:  by the sea
Inky Impressions:  summer
4 Crafty Chicks:  let's hear it for the boys
Delightful Challenges:  glitter and bling and sparkly things
Sister Act:  anything goes
Stampin For the Weekend:  sparkle & bling
Digi Haven:  animal
Creative Corner:  let it sparkle
Coffee, Chocolate & Cards:  life's a beach
Brown Sugar:  anything goes
Catered Crop:  summer
V's Sweet Ideas:  summer fun

Halfway Inspiration @ UnstampaBelles

Well, we're midway through July so it's time for some mid-month inspiration at UnstampaBelles. We're still celebrating UnstampaBelle's 2nd birthday, so the challenge is still Happy Birthday. Easy-peasy. Just remember - no stamps (unless they are sentiment stamps with less than four words).

This is what I did.....

Sentiment is a rub on, which you all know you have, so why not break them out and and then head on over to UnstampaBelles and enter the challenge. You have until July 31 to do so and you'll have the chance to win a wonderful prize.

Also for:

Anything Goes:  anything goes
Deep Ocean:  blue
Papertake Weekly:  buttons & bows
613 Avenue:  anything goes + birthday
Here Come The Boys:  for boys/men
The Squirrel & The Fox:  use something spooled
Kaboodle Doodles:  embossing
4 Crafty Chicks:  let's hear it for the boys
Brown Sugar:  anything goes
2 Sisters:  stars

Card Reno @ Little Red Wagon

This week at



Tammy's got a neat-o idea for us - Card Reno! So, what she wants you to do is take a card (or other crafty project, I'm sure she won't mind) that you weren't over the moon about and do some major renovations so that you're happy (or at least, happier) with it. Cool, eh?

Now, you probably don't remember this post, but it was for another LRW challenge where I mentioned that I was completely unhappy with my first try so I went with something else. But, I really liked the digi I had used so I decided to salvage the card.

So, this is the "before"....

Ew, eh? Not good. And this is what I turned it into.....

Got rid of that patterned paper and went CAS with it. Nothing stellar or anything but I did manage to save it from the circular file.

You know you've got some projects that could use a fresh coat of paint, so to speak. So, why not head on over to Little Red Wagon and enter the challenge? And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

Monochrome @ Little Red Wagon

This week at



it was my turn to pick the challenge and I went with "monochrome".

This is what I came up with....

Gawd, maybe one day I'll actually ink around an image and not have it look so blotchy. Digi is from Some Odd Girl.

So, why not head on over to Little Red Wagon and enter the challenge? And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

The Bee's Knees - A History

Telling someone that they're "the bee's knees", imo, is a wonderful compliment to give. In essence you're telling them that they're all that and a bag of chips, but in an old fashioned way, which in turn sounds sweet and classy all at the same time and is more inventive than "you're great", more elegant than "you're da bomb" and just plain better than "you're the fleas eyebrows" (which is a saying that came out of the same era as "the bee's knees" but didn't survive to make it to today).

Now, about "The Bee's Knees"....according to some internet sources, was coined in the 1920s. This expression came about because a bee's baskets for pollen is located near its knees so when the bee's baskets are full of pollen, they are filled with "the good stuff" and off they went to make honey. It's also cited as being derived from the phrase the "B's 'n E's" meaning the "be all end all" which of course means the absolute best.

I just like it 'cause it's a super cute phrase to go along with this super cute digi.

Which is from Tiddly Inks.

For:

Tiddly Inks: DT Call (This is just a bonus entry. If you want to see the original post a did for the DT Call, please click here).
Deconstructed Sketch:  sketch
Catered Crop:  buttons
No Matter Which:  anything goes
Divas By Design:  cute
Love To Scrap:  anything goes
Make It Monday:  anything goes
Clear It Out:  something sparkly + old stash (paper flowers, pearls)
Inky Chicks:  anything goes
Papertake Weekly:  anything goes
Crafting For All Seasons:  make it girly
Crafts and Me:  anything goes
Inspire Me Fridays:  anything goes
Crafty Catz:  it's child's play

Tiddly Inks Is Having A DT Call!

And, am I going to apply? You darn well better believe I am.

Now, the fabulous ('cause I'm not too proud to do some shameless sucking up) people over at Tiddly Inks are (understandably) asking that a few bits of criteria be met in order to be considered for a DT position. So, let's see......"lead with my own sense of style that comes through in your posts"....hmmmm....well, I don't know if you'd call what I've got "style" but I do tend to lead with my own sense of "something".....have a blog and be able to post one Tiddly Ink creation a week - check...."be reliable and on-time"......I do consider myself reliable and on-time tends to happen just fine here in blogland though not so much irl.....definitely "no sharing" and "no pinning" going on here, I do firmly believe that posting and/or sharing digis is stealing (she says as she shakes her fist at those who don't feel the same)....kind with comments and participation with no drama.....yeppers, no problem with that here.....though I do wonder what soap opera type stuff is going on in the blogosphere that I seem to be missing. (I'll admit that while I hardly ever get sucked into drama, I have clapped my hands with glee, grabbed a bowl of popcorn and settled in to watch on occasion.) Oh, and selective about DTs....I'm on two and neither one is a stamp company.

The other thing that those incredible crafters over at Tiddly Inks are asking is that this post be written up as if it's a DT post. Okay, so everything below that line ↓ is gonna be an example of how I would do up a blog post if I was picked (fingers crossed!) to be a member of the DT. Everything above the line, well, that'll just be me going on as my usual blathery self. So, below the line - DT post, above the line - normal (hahahahaha - normal) me.

Now, we're supposed to pick our fave Tiddly Inks stamp and create something with it. Pick a favourite image.....pfffffft. That would be like have an array of chocolate placed in front of me and then told to pick a favourite chocolate. And that can't be done, chocolate is chocolate. And if I was forced to pick a fave I'd just keep sampling and tasting the chocolate until it was all gone and I still wouldn't have been able to pick one. And then I'd have to ask someone to fill up all the plates again, and the chocolate fountain, so I could have another go at it. It's basically the same with trying to pick a fave Tiddly Ink stamp, there's lots that I love, and I am partial to Wryn, (but don't tell the other characters I said that!) but I couldn't possibly pick a fave.

Luckily, someone thought of that possibility and said we could use any Tiddly Ink stamp. Phew!

Now, without further ado.........

___________________________________________________________________________

Hey, everyone. And, Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! (It was kinda cute, this morning my middle son looked at the calendar and said, "Hey it's America Day today." Took me a minute to realize what he meant, and to let him know that while we call our July celebration "Canada Day" that those south of the border went with something different.) As you know we're officially into summer now, and that's wedding season. Now, most of my friends have long since tied the knot but there's a number of younger cousins in my dh's large family who are just taking the plunge so I've got some cards to make for them.

Now, if you're looking for some wonderful images for your wedding cards, Tiddly Inks has some fabulous digis in the Love/Valentines section of the store, including an actual Happy Couple.  But, since this card is for a couple who's getting married and it's the groom's second marriage (and I wasn't sure how, I don't know, old-school the traditional family-of-the-bride might be especially when it came to wedding attire) I wanted to avoid the whole issue of that (which might not even be an issue these day, really, what do I know) and just feature a beautiful couple......

...who look very much in love.

The digi is called "You and Me" and you can get it right here.  Perfect for a wedding, anniversary, Valentines, or a just-because-I-love-you-card.

Enjoy your Thursday!  ;-)

___________________________________________________________________________

Well, there you have it.  My submission for the DT call.  I really, really hope you like it.

CAS @ Little Red Wagon

This week at



Joanne said, "I want to see CAS!" Now, when I read this, I pictured her saying this very loud and emphatically, more like she wanted to see Christian Alexander*-** Slater, not just a clean and simple card.

I know, if it came right down to it I'd rather see Christian Slater than a measly card but since I don't have him tucked in my back pocket....that's just a saying you dirty birds!!...ahem, available to produce, a measly card is all you're getting.

Digi was a freebie from A Day For Daisies.

So, why not head on over to Little Red Wagon and enter the challenge? And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

*A blogging friend of mine, Lauren, has a totally neat way of putting these stars beside text that she wants to refer to later [I did something similar when I was a teenager and would write in my diary and/or when I was writing some (really bad) fiction when I wanted to go back and add something that wouldn't fit between the spaces so to speak. I even used a * as a reference too.) which is so much better than putting long, run on sentence inside ( ) seeing as stopping one thought to add something (that I think is important) inside parentheses (or brackets, whichever you want to call them) pretty much fouls up the ebb and flow of a sentence, thought and not to mention a whole entire post. But, seeing as using ( ) when I really needed to use them above would totally have wrecked this post, I'm trusting that she won't mind me stealing her style just this once.

**Christian Slater's middle name is not Alexander. (Good golly, it would have been so cool if it was.) His full name is actually Christian Michael Leonard Slater. But a google search for "famous people with the initials CAS" turned up nothing and a search of "famous people with the initials CS" turned up only four people of the male persuasion (it's not like I wanted to put too much effort into it for those of you who are now rhyming CS celebs off the top of your head), one was the creator of Charlie Brown, Charles M. Shultz, who has a very recognizable non-A middle initial; Chuck Schumer, who is a bit unfamous and not exactly believable for the purpose of this post (though Joanne is actually American and being Canadian and all, I'm not exactly sure what kind of posters papered the rooms of American teenagers back in the day....it's possible that a US Senior Senator of NY would be considered a heartthrob) and Charlie Sheen. And might I say to that last one - ew.  So, I'm thankful that there was at least one easy-on-the-eyes actor that was suitable for my attempt to be amusing.