I'm So Sorry @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Chrissy's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "I'm So Sorry" which means she wants to see those sympathy cards.

This is what I did....

I usually do sympathy cards in white and gray or similarly muted tones but fellow Girlfriend, Imke, once commented that she likes to make sympathy cards more colourful so I thought I'd give that a try, and imho, she's right, using colours on a sympathy cards absolutely works.

Flower digi is from Beccy's Place and the sentiment is from MFT.

Why not give our challenge a go this week and join us?  And, if you'd like more inspiration, be sure to check out what the Girlfriends have made. 

Also for:

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

Allsorts:  from the garden

Crafty Catz:  anything goes

Creative Fingers:  anything goes

Ellibelle's Garden Party:  anything from a garden goes

Fab 'n' Funky:  summer flowers

Unicorn Challenge:  flowers

Beautiful Blossoms:  anything with florals as the focus goes

Triple B:  blooms

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie:  in the garden

A Place to Start:  anything goes

Cupcake Inspirations:  anything goes

Sad Songs (Say So Much) @ Little Red Wagon

 This week at

it's Kate's last Elton John themed challenge and she's going with "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" which means she would like to see those sympathy cards.

It's always nice to have sympathy cards ready in the stash, I think.  I'm not a fan of making them specifically, iykwim.  I also like to keep them mail-friendly.  So, this is what I did....

Hard to tell from the photo, but I added a couple of embossed lines at the top because, well, I thought it needed something up there.  As you can see, the plant hangs over the edge....I might end up trimming it....or pruning, I guess (: .....before it's sent.  But, for now, I left it.  Die is a no-namer, stamp is from My Favorite Things (still can't believe they closed).

Why not give our challenge a go this week and join us?  And, if you'd like more inspiration, be sure to check out what the Girlfriends have made.

Also for:

Ellibelle's:  anything goes

A Cut Above:  anything goes with a die cut

A Place to Start:  anything goes

Just Add Ink:  dies

Creative Fingers:  anything goes

With Sympathy @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Imke's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "With Sympathy".  Always nice to have those types of cards in the stash so you don't have to make one when it's needed.

This is what I did.....

For me, when it comes to sympathy cards, I always think less is more.  And, it's gotta be easy to mail.  I let a piece of patterned paper do the heavy lifting on this one.  Added a stamped sentiment from My Favourite Things, a couple of flat embellies and left it at that.

Why not give our challenge a go this week and join us?  And, if you'd like more inspiration, be sure to check out what the Girlfriends have made.   

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

AAA Cards:  sympathy + cas

Krafty Chicks:  anything goes

A Place to Start:  anything goes

Dream Valley:  anything goes

{PIN}spirational:  stitching

Allsorts:  getting sentimental

Inkspirational:  cas + animal

Triple B:  birds, butterflies, blooms

Simon Says:  stamp it

Cards That Are Hard to Make @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Brenda's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying she wants to see those cards that are hard to make....like sympathy, sorry, etc.  Great chance to add those cards to your stash so you don't have to make one when you actually need it.

This is what I did....

I went with a sympathy card.  I always find it really sucks to have to make a sympathy card when you need it, so I always have a couple in my stash.  I tend to keep my sympathy makes fairly muted and plain.  Not that a sympathy card has to be.  I've seen some lovely ones that are very colourful, but that's not something I find I can do with these types of cards.  And, since they are almost always going in the mail, I tend to leave off embellishments too.

That flower layer is a digi stamp from Artherapie.  

So, why not give our challenge a go this week and join us?  And, if you'd like more inspiration, be sure to check out what the Girlfriends have made.

A Place to Start:  anything goes

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

Cupcake Inspirations:  black & white

Emboss Everything! @ Little Red Wagon

 This week at

it's my turn to choose the challenge and I'm saying, "Emboss Everything!" which just means I would like to see some embossing on your project.  Just some, everything is not necessary.

This is what I did.....

As you can see, I've used an embossing folder, as well as a sentiment embossed with silver embossing powder.  What's that?  All those little dots of embossing powder around the sentiment?  I don't know what you're talking about.  Perhaps it's your screen.  *slides bottle of screen cleaner in your direction*

Ha, kidding of course!  While this is my favourite sentiment for sympathy cards (from MFT), I never have much luck getting a clean embossing of it.  This was my third attempt, so I just decided to go with it.  I was thinking about doing a light splatter of grey on the whole card to make it look that it was done purposely, but given what happened yesterday (more on that below), I decided to just leave it as is.

So, I had a bit of an.....issue.....here yesterday.  On the weekend I brought all my craft stuff up from where it was stored in the basement so I could get my craft area all back together again.  But, I had something come up.....nothing major at all, just something that needed my attention so I didn't have the opportunity to get everything put away on the new furniture.  Yesterday, while I was working, both my cats were kinda laying/playing around where my craft stuff was piled, which I didn't have a problem with until Ollie started chewing on some paper.  When I went over to take it from him, I noticed that a bottle of spray ink, which I had carelessly left on the carpet, was leaking.  Like, huge.  And, of course, Ollie had stepped in that ink and there were little smudges of cat prints all over the carpet in that area.  Now, luckily, the ink is very water soluble, so the little smudges cleaned up easily.  The big blot is another issue though.  The amount of ink that soaked into the carpet is A LOT.  The only way to clean it up seems to be to wet the area, and then use a paper towel to soak up the water/ink.  It's time consuming, to say the least.  My daughter spotted a plastic bag stuffed full of inky paper towels and asked if I had killed someone.  So, that's where my spare time has been going these last couple days.  Blotting at an ink spot on the carpet.  'Coz that's what counts as fun around here these days.  lol

So, why not give our challenge a go this week and join us?  And, if you'd like more inspiration, be sure to check out what the Girlfriends have made. 

Also for:

Retro Rubber:  anything goes using stamps older than 1 year - I'm not quite sure how long I've had this stamp set for....definitely at least a year...but probably more like four years.

Can You Handle the Pressure:  anything with embossing goes

Sweet Stampin':  KISS

Try Stamping on Tuesday:  sketch

Double Trouble:  cas + white + 1 colour

Use Your Stuff:  white + one other colour

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

Crafty Catz:  anything goes

Incy Wincy:  nature  

The Sisterhood of Crafters:  sentiment only

Goodbye @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Imke's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "Goodbye" (but don't worry, she's not going anywhere!) which means she wants to see those projects in a farewell theme....it could be a retirement or moving or graduation or......

....in sympathy. I tend to keep my sympathy cards simple, this one's a little more....more....than usual. Image was a freebie from Artherapie, but I noticed afterward I could have just used patterned paper and could have achieved the same look....though I don't think I have any paper that's this classy & pretty.  Sentiment stamp is from MFT.  And, that little felt bird is from a pack of embellishments that I picked up from Michaels eons ago.  Like, back when I used to buy embellishments because I thought I'd use 'em.  Now I just internally pterodactyl scream at myself if I even look at a pack of embellishments while I think of the clogged drawer in my crafting area that is bulging with packages of pretties I don't really even have any intention of ever using.  Well, unless it's buttons or bling.  But those get stored in a different spot so it's okay to still buy them.  Paper flowers also go in a different spot but it's NOT OKAY to still buy them.  Just making sure I get that out there so myself doesn't try to find a loophole with that.

Why don't you 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 fabulous projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Also for:

Aud Sentiments:  anything goes + sentiment
Through the Purple Haze:  anything goes
Crafty Creations:  anything goes
Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday:  something that begins with B - blooms, bird
Simon Says:  midsummer blues
Arty Divas:  anything goes
613 Avenue Create:  anything goes
Dragonfly Dreams:  anything goes

Flowers! @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Doni's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "Flowers" which means, she wants to see makes about how we perceive reality, that answer the question: Can our minds correctly interpret reality or is reality subjective?

I'm just kidding....she wants to see projects with flowers on them. (: Just one, or as many as you can fit on!

This is what I did.....

As you can see, I've got some lovely sunflowers on there from A Day for Daisies, and......wait for it.....the shop is back open!  Yay!!  It always makes me sad when I see one of my favourites close down...I'm thrilled to be able to say that these wonderful images are available again.  Sentiment is from MFT.

My mojo has been lacking lately, I haven't been doing much creating.....and now's the time I have extra time to do it!  I think a lot of us are feeling uninspired these days.  Still, I was happy with how this turned out.  Quality over quantity is always the way to go.  Now, if I could just convince the part of me that's been shovelling crap junk food down my gullet (my go-to way to combat stress) since the whole pandemic began that the aforementioned sentence would be the better way to go.....

Why don't you 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 fabulous projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Also for:

A Vintage Journey:  beautiful blooms
Colour Crazy:  anything goes
Crafty Catz:  sending hugs
Creative Fingers:  anything goes
QKR:  anything goes
Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday:  make it feminine
Always Fun:  female cards
Make My Monday:  use a digital stamp
613 Avenue Create:  anything goes
Stamping Sensations:  say it with flowers
Arty Divas:  anything goes
Crafty Sentiments:  anything goes

In Memorium @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Brenda's turn to choose the challenge and she's wants to see those projects made for those who have lost loved ones (sympathy cards/creations) or even a creation in memory of someone special in your life. A very fitting challenge theme to commemorate the tragedy that happened in the U.S. on this day in 2001.

This is what I did...

I've made similar cards to this in the past.  I find make sympathy cards difficult so once I hit on a design that I liked I decided to just stick with it.  Flower is from AJ's Digi Shop (sorry, couldn't find it to link to it ): ) and the sentiment is from MFT.

Why don't you 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 fitting projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Also for:

Southern Girls:  anything goes
Stamping Sensations:  flowers

I Want To Be A 2017 Card Design Superstar! @ MFT

Did you guys hear about this contest?  To be honest, I want to be a really bad bloggy-friend and not even tell you about it.  Coz I know you all rock the making of the cards and why would I want to give myself more competition?  I mean...there are five GRAND PRIZES OF A $250 SHOPPING SPREE in each of the three categories.  That's a serious shopping spree, right there.  Makes a person want to be a little cut-throaty, kwim?

But, I can't be that mean to you, Dear Readers, coz you're all too awesome.  So, you can check out the contest here.

When I saw this contest was going on, I ran straight to my craft desk.  (Okay, ran might be a little strong...my computer is three steps from my craft desk so running would have put me into my desk before I could get stopped.)  I don't have much time to devote to crafting anymore, as you can tell by the fact that my blog posts are strictly for my Little Red Wagon and Tiddly Inks duties.  (Which I love doing and would not give up even if I had to start swapping sleeping & eating......hahahahahahahahahahaha.....got a little carried away there.  I would never trade anything for eating.  I'm pretty sure I could get my craft on with one hand while shoveling Doritos in my mouth with the other.)  But I was sure going to make some time for this.

I got busy pulling out all my MFT products.  Dies, stamps, paper pads....just spread 'em all out on my desk (which then left me with a 1' square area for creating) and just scanned them over, pretty much inhaling inspiration from them.  A plan started forming.....I decided I was going to do something for the Clean & Simple category.....and got busy.

So, this is what I did......

I genuinely had intended to showcase more MFT products, but, and this almost always happens when I do cas cards, I went super-duper cas.  Still, I did use a sentiment from the Deepest Sympathy stamp set as well as the Die-Namics Roses in Bloom, so s'all good.

Welp, there's my entry.  I guess I'm done here.  (Though, I am seriously considering going back through my post and inserting "please pick me" subliminally throughout, but that would be exceedingly juvenile, even for me.)  So, I'll just wish everyone a Happy Sunday.  Laterz, all.  :-)

Go Hybrid @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's my turn to choose the challenge and I thought I'd do something a little fun. The challenge is "Go Hybrid" (not to be confused with "Go Hybird" which would have us all waving at our feathered friends). So, I want to see both digital and physical (clear, rubber) stamping on your project. That's not too hard, right?

This is what I did.....

The flower is a digi stamp from AJ's Digi Shop and the sentiment is from the Deepest Sympathy set from MFT.

I used my MISTI to get the sentiment on there just right.  I must say, even as an almost exclusive digi user, I do very much see the value of the MISTI.  As you can see, I've used textured cardstock.  No way you get a good stamping on that with just one go.  I'll also say that those MISTI magnets....my gawd....I'd be concerned if someone with a pacemaker ever walked into my house, that's for sure.  Those suckers are POWERFUL, aren't they?  I know, I know, they tell you to keep them away from each other coz they're brittle and can break.  Really though, without holding one in each hand, arms extended completely outward from your body, how are you all keeping them from slapping together??  I had set one on my fingertips and one on the heel of my hand and was just going to move a few thing about when WHAM they snapped together catching a piece of my thumb on the way by and breaking the one in the process.  Hey, I'm not complaining....I knew the warnings.  I just wonder if they need to be quite THAT strong.  I'm thinking of taking mine to the beach and just going for a walk and waving them over the sand to see what treasures I can find.  I'll look when I start sucking boats into the shore, won't I?

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:

CASology:  square
Simon Says:  anything goes
Try It On Tuesday:  stitching
Dream Valley:  use a stamp or a digi
Aud Sentiments:  thinking of you/sympathy sentiment
Watercooler Wednesday:  anything goes

March Birthstone @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Brenda's turn to choose the challenge and she's got a fun one for us. The challenge is "March Birthstone" which means she wants to see projects using the colour aquamarine as the main colour.

I'm still very much in my trying-not-my-usual-style phase and this is what I did......

You know.....I can picture some of you now......head tilted to the side, squinting at your screen, slightly shaking your head asking, "Aquamarine as the main colour???  There appears to be a lot more white....."  But, really, as we've been told from time to time, white is not a colour.  So, by that logic, if white is not a colour, then, obviously, the main colour of this card is aquamarine, and therefore, perfectly suitable for this challenge.

*jumps on the technicality's back and rides it out of the room*

*sticks head back around the corner*  Why don't you use March's birthstone as your inspiration and then 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.

Let's Get Inky! @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Mandy's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "Let's Get Inky!" and what she means by that is that she wants to see us use our inks for something other than just stamping.

And, I think she also means, "Ha ha ha ha ha, Jan, good luck with this one! *insert evil laughter here*". If you've noticed, I'm not really an inky gal. Heck, I almost never use inks, only ink I usually use is what's in my printer. That's okay, I'll get my revenge on her though.....when it's my turn to host for my next three challenges I'm thinking I'll go with, "Masculine", "Shabby Chic" and "No Lawn Fawn or Mama Elephant Products Allowed". *insert my evil laughter here*

Anyhoo, I did manage to pull something off for the challenge.....I did a modified Magical Masking Tape technique. It's modified because I couldn't find the masking tape. And when my kids were asked who took it, they told me that that pesky imp Not Me must have struck again. Yep, Not Me is making projects with masking tape AND my left handed scissors (Don't even get me started on that!! I'll bet Not Me isn't even left handed....like everyone else in my house except for me.) and having a blast. But I digress. I used washi tape rather than masking tape. Got a much smoother lay down of ink, I'm thinking, but that's more what I wanted anyway.....

I also heat embossed the sentiment. I figured if I was going to get ink out anyways might as well make it worthwhile.

I don't know what's with my dark photos lately, whether there's something up with my camera or I just am picking the wrong time of day to take pictures or what.  Sadly I had to mail this one straight away so I couldn't wait to try to get a better one.

I'm betting you're not as ink-phobic as I am so, why not whip something up and then 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.

In Sympathy @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's my turn to chose the challenge and I went with a toughie.....yep, I want to see those sympathy makes. Hey, I know they're no fun to create, but isn't it so much better to have them in your stash rather than having to specifically make one up when needed? I know I hate doing that!

This is what I did....

I like to make fairly traditional sympathy cards.....would love if I could find a design I really like and just sit down and mass produce a bunch.  You could do that with this one....but it's got enough layers to not make it very mail-friendly.  And, as you know, being able to get it easily into an envelope, and mailed with one regular stamp is a pretty big necessity when it comes to this type of card.

Why not add a sympathy card to your stash and then 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.