Summer Fundays! @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Heather's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "Summer Fundays!" which just means she wants to see cards that are all about what you think is fun about summer! Yippee!

This is what I did....

Now, in case it's not obvious, the thing the thing that screams summer fun to me is ice cream. More specifically, ice cream cones.  And even more specifically, soft-serve ice cream cones from Erie Drive In Restaurant in Stratford, Ontario.  And even most specifically, zebra cones (which are called zebra cones at Erie Drive In Restaurant, not twist, or half chocolate/half vanilla, zebra and therefore should be called zebra cones everywhere) which are the most delicious ice cream cones ever, with the best texture and consistency and taste and there will never be any other ice cream cones that could ever top them ever, ever, ever.

Let's talk about ice cream for a some all the minutes, my friends.  First off, I don't really get hard ice cream cones.  Maybe it comes from me ending up pushing the hunk of ice cream right out of the cone and onto the ground, or as I got older and developed cat-like reflexes, into my hand as I caught it on it's way down, with overzealous licking.  Maybe it's that I don't see the point of paying for a couple of scoops of ice cream with what you could pay for an entire carton's worth.  Maybe it's because when I do eat hard ice cream at home I definitely microwave it until it is soft which you can't really do when it's in a cone.  Only benefit I see with hard ice cream is the fact that there are oh so many scrumptious, delicious, unique, glorious flavours and you cannot get those in soft-serve.

My love for Erie Drive In Restaurant zebra cones is the stuff of legends around our house.  Stratford is about an hour's drive from our place, so it's not like we regularly hop in the van and scoot off for a cone.  Luckily though, my kids will have at least one tournament in Stratford in the summer, and Stratford is one of my favourite places on Earth, so I do make the trip at least once a summer for non-tournament reasons.  And, believe me, I make up for not getting there often when I do go.  Two weekends ago my daughter had a ball tournament there....and I had four zebra cones over the course of the weekend.

So, the other night, this is was conversation that went on in my house:

Oldest:  You know that new ice cream shop in town is open, right?
Me:  *slightly distracted*  It'll just serve hard ice cream though.
Oldest:  Yeah.  But it has a machine that'll turn hard ice cream into soft-serve ice cream.
Me:  *head shoots up and internally says*

Me:  *outloud*  *small throat clear* Um, wut?
Oldest:  *amused because he knew exactly how this would affect me*  Yep, you just pick your ice cream flavour, they put it through the machine, and it's soft-serve.
Me:  Like soft-serve, soft-serve or like slightly softer hard ice cream.
Oldest:  Like.  Soft.  Serve.
Me:  *frantically checking calendar and comparing it to the shop's hours to see when the closest possible time to that moment I could go check out this freakin' miracle*

fast-forward to last night.....

Scene:  Me, Middlest & Youngest in aforementioned ice cream shop, waiting at the end of a line longer that I would ever wait for non-Erie Drive In Restaurant ice cream because we managed to hit right when kiddies rec soccer was done.  After forever of waiting....
Server:  What can I get for you?
Me:  I heard that you can take hard ice cream and put it through a machine get soft-serve ice cream.  Is that true?
Server:  Yes, that's the machine right there.....but I did some frozen yogurt a bit ago so I'd have to clean out the machine.....so......
Me:  So......can I have that?
Server:  But I'd have to clean out the machine.
Me:
Server:
Me:
Server:
Me:
Server:
Me:  I'm not getting any soft-serve, am I.  *whimpers internally*  *small piece of soul dies*

Normally in this a situation like this it'd be awhile before I'd go back.  I tend to hold a bit of a grudge when something like this happens.  But, I'm just so darned curious about the nature of this ice cream, and if it's as good as I'm imagining it, I doubt I'll last the week.  Though, I'm thinking about spreading a rumour 'round town that eating frozen yogurt causes excessive ear hair or something like that.  I want to hedge my bets for the next time I go in.

I would love to know what your summer fun is so why not give our challenge a go this week and head on over to Little Red Wagon and link up?  And, while you're there, be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Also for:

Cutie Pie:  spots & dots + cute
Make My Monday:  ice cream
Dare 2B Artzy:  bright colours
Di's Digi Stamps:  summer fun
Sweet Stampin':  food & drink
Jo's Scrap Shack:  anything goes
Aud Sentiments:  anything goes + sentiment
Cardz 4 Galz:  summer sunny days
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge:  summer
Sasayaki Glitter:  summer fun
Allsorts:  sweet treats
Crafty Sentiments:  anything goes
Simon Says:  anything goes

Rain, Dear? - Fab Friday @ Tiddly Inks

Okay, so in my attempt to come up with an interesting title I decided to highlight the fact that we're in a bit of a drought 'round these parts.  Nothing serious, mind you, heck, the grass is still green....but it's starting to sound crunchy.  So, we could definitely use some rain, dear.  Oh, and speaking of rain, dear.....how 'bout a.....

reindeer!  A reindeer from the Inky Critters set, at that.

Pretty weak, JanR, pretty weak.  *dropping head in shame*

Do make sure you go check out the other fabulous Fabby Friday makes the rest of the DT has come up with. You can see 'em all right here.

Also for:

Addicted to Stamps:  make your mark
Sisterhood of Crafters:  animal crackers
Sunny Day:  any animal
Merry Christmas Challenge:  anything Christmas goes
Pile It On:  holidays + lots of layers
Winter Wonderland:  square cards only
Cutie Pie:  spots & dots + cute
Christmas At Sweet Stampin':  anything Christmas goes
The Holly & the Ivy:  anything Christmas goes

All About Travel @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Imke's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying "All About Travel" which is pretty self-explanatory, I'm thinking.

I struggled with this challenge for a bit but in the end this is what I came up with.....

This was one of those times where the card turned out exactly like I had it pictured in my head.  I'm not sure what my head was smoking though coz I'm not all that impressed.  Sometimes it is what it is.  And sometimes even when I'm not all that crazy about it, some of you think it's grand.  That whole subjectiveness thing, obviously.  Lighthouse die is from Paper Smooches and the sentiment was a freebie from Create With Tlc.

Let's talk about that cloud paper for a minute.  I love patterned paper with clouds on it.  In fact, I've bought whole 6x6 paper pads just specifically for the two sheets of cloud paper inside.  Some paper manufacturer really ought to produce a paper pad of just different cloud papers.  Bet it would fly off the shelves.  I know I'd buy one.....or possibly two.

Why not give our challenge a go this week and head on over to Little Red Wagon and link up?  And, while you're there, be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Also for:

Allsorts:  use 2 or more dies - I've used four.  (:
Aloha Friday:  masculine
Simply Create:  for a male
Simon Says:  bright & cheerful
That's Crafty:  a summer's day
Cuttlebug Mania:  summer - using lighthouse die, stitched circle frame die, circle die, stitched sloped hill die
Shopping Our Stash:  she's a crafting machine - used my Cuttlebug to cut the dies

To Bee or Not To Bee @ Little Red Wagon

Subtitled:  OMG, Why Didn't I Save Talking About Shakespeare For This Week's Little Red Wagon Instead of Doing It Last Week?

This week at

due to some holiday switcherooing it's Kate's turn to choose the challenge again and, well I'm guessing it might have to do with her recent trip to England, because she's gone with another Shakespeare-but-not-really-Shakespeare theme and she's saying, "To Bee Or Not To Bee", and as you've probably figured out by the way bee is spelled in the title....she wants to see projects that include bees. Buzz, buzz!

This is what I did.....

Okay, you all will have to tell me if the sentiment is evident.  It is to me, of course, but then it came out of my head.  It wasn't to my 13 year old daughter (the only other person in the house when I was typing this up) but then she's not exactly versed in Homer quotes or idioms.

No stamps here, just a couple of computer generated words and a super cute Paper Smooches bee die.

Why not give our challenge a go this week and head on over to Little Red Wagon and link up?  And, while you're there, be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Also for:

International Art & Soul:  sentiment as the main focus
Simply Create Too:  for a male
As You Like It:  favourite shape or fold - I'm a boring girl....my favourite shape is 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square as that's the size and shape needed to use my much-loved stitched square dies.
Aud Sentiments:  anything goes + sentiment
4 Crafty Chicks:  love is in the air
Crafty Cardmakers:  for a man or boy
Die Cutting Divas:  masculine + die cut
Unicorn Challenge:  masculine
Always Fun:  for a male

A Rose By Any Other Name @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Kate's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "A Rose By Any Other Name" would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name; And for that name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself. Ha....got a little carried away there with the cut & paste.  Was never a big fan of Romeo and Juliet.....not that I was a big fan of Shakespeare period, after all, is anyone really ever a fan of the books/plays they have to study?  I will admit to being slightly partial to As You Like It, but that could be because it was playing at the Stratford Festival the year we were studying it so we got to see it performed.....that said, I did also see MacBeth performed and I can't say it made me like that play.   Anyhoo, with Romeo and Juliet, and the ending.....eshhh.  It probably doesn't help that I don't have a romantic bone anywhere in my body, so I just don't see the point of all that.....waste.

But I digress.....hugely.  This week's challenge has nothing to do with Shakespeare or plays or anything like that.....it has to do with flowers!  We just want to see some on your project.

This is what I did.....

I used a clear stamp from the Pile O' Stamps on my desk.....which means there's now one less - yay!  At the rate I'm using them that pile should be done in about three and a quarter years.  I stamped it on some script patterned paper, coloured the leaves with my trusty pencils, but used a white Wink of Stella brush for the flowers.  It is slightly sparkly irl.  I felt I could be a better DT Member and amp up the flower ratio so I also embossed a piece of patterned paper with flowers.  The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Why not live a little; comfort a little; cheer thyself a little and give our challenge a go this week and head on over to Little Red Wagon and link up?  And, while you're there, be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Colour Inspiration @ Tiddly Inks

This month at

it's a colour inspiration challenge. Here's the photo....

So, all you need to do is use the colours in the photo and a Tiddly Inks image!

Have to admit, I generally struggle with colour challenges.  They just aren't my thing....I find them too restricting.  I was struggling with this until I remembered the cardinal rule of being able to use neutrals too, threw in some black and came up with.......

....this.  I used Wonky Flowers, which is a two digi set for just $2.00.  (I used the other stamp on this card, if you're interested.)  I love these flowers.  So fun.

Why not grab a Tiddly Inks image, and join us for the challenge?  And be sure to  check out the fabulousness the DT has come up with.