This week at
it's Chrissy's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "Die Cuts!" which means that she would like to see die cuts on your creation. Easy-peasy!
I love die cuts. I almost always use dies when I make something....generally stitched shape dies. Gotta love those. But I do also have a collection of die that aren't just shapes.....well, technically, they are shapes, since everything is a shape.....but I'm thinking you're knowing what I mean. In fact, I have a number of dies that I've never even used.....I can't seem to pass up a good deal on dies. So, when I saw this no-name die, I snapped it up. Like, at least a year ago. But, I finally used it and made this....
Originally, I was going to make a baby card, but apppppaaaaaarently, I can't see a bear and not use the sentiment Bear Hugs with it. Yeah, because in looking for this picture to upload it was nestled in amongst a number of other cards of the same....picture files named bear hugs, bear hugs 2, bear hugs again, brown bear hugs, black bear hugs and so on. But, I'm not going to apologize for my overuse of Bear Hugs as a sentiment....it's pretty general purpose when you think about it. Could be for a friend, or a special *wink* friend or a kid or a teen, or just for someone who's going through a tough time. I mean really, who doesn't like a bear hug? For the record, I'm meaning just a nice, tight (consensual) squeeze, I'm not talking about an actual hug from a bear. Though, admittedly, if I could have assurances that the bear wasn't going to eat my face off, I'd definitely be up for an actual bear hug from an actual bear.
Update on my craft area situation....I finally got the piece of furniture I was waiting on....but I had to make two trips to Ikea on consecutive days to get it. *sigh* Our closest Ikea is an hour and a half drive...because, for some reason, Ikea feels like they can only have stores in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) in Ontario. Like, seriously...excuse me while I rant for a minute.....
So, this is a map of the Ikeas in Ontario....
aside from the store in Ottawa, at the upper right corner, all the outliers are either Pick Up Points (where you can get your Ikea purchases shipped for a fairly steep fee), or Ikea Design Centres (they don't have stock, basically, they help you plan your room so you know what you want to buy when you go to Ikea) all the Ikea stores are in that clump next to Lake Ontario. Now, while I know I'll never have an Ikea on top of my house, they could certainly put one in Kitchener/Waterloo or London or, somewhere that's not the GTA. I know, in the grand scheme of things to complain about, it's very minor....but seeing as I went to Ikea on Monday when I got an email alert saying the piece of furniture was in, and when I got there, it was sold out, only to see that it was back in stock on Tuesday, at like, 6:30am and that time, unlike Monday, I was able to buy it through Click & Collect, so I at least knew it would be there when I got there and yesterday it snowed like crazy the whole day, so there I was, creeping my way to Ikea again, on roads that were more snow covered the closer I got to the Ikea....well, I'm just gonna allow myself a little b#$ching. That's the long version on how to say I got my (probably final) piece of furniture for my craft area all put together last night and I should be all set up by the end of the weekend. Yay! I'm hoping to be able to post pictures in my LRW post next Wednesday. (:
Well, if you made it through all that reading, you deserve to take a little time for yourself! 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.
P.S. Alpha dies are from Taylored Expressions.
Also for:
Simon Says: favourite things - stitched dies, dies, bears, kraft paper
The Male Room: animals + male
Through the Craftroom Door: anything goes
A Place to Start: two by two - Two words, two patterned papers
Cutie Pie: cute + beginning with B - bear, brown
Use Your Stuff: masculine
613 Avenue Create: anything goes
Dragonfly Dreams: something to make you smile
Critter Crazy: anything featuring a critter goes
Corrosive: anything goes
Fabulous cute card Jan,love your little Bear.. I was getting worried as I couldn't get hold of you, now I know why, you have being driving all over your country..I would drive even further just to have an Ikea store in New Zealand..
ReplyDeleteLuv CHRISSYxx
LOVE your card, such a darling little bear and LOVE your post. Ikea is always on my visit list when we go to the mainland if there is one within a reasonable distance. I guess if we visit Canada, I better plan on GTA! Can't wait to see your room.
ReplyDeleteOMG!!! Girl, you had me laughing out loud. Sorry though, I'm sure for you it was NOT funny. Driving to Ikea twice to get what you want and in the snow to boot!!! You deserve a big brownie badge for perseverance. I see what you mean though. Could they not spread those stores out a little bit?! I'm lucky to have an Ikea 10 minutes from the house now (it used to be 45 minutes). That's nuts to have them all clumped together like that.
ReplyDeleteAbout dies...ditto over here. I have so many that I haven't got around to using yet. These no-brand ones are great; more expensive dies are outside my crafty budget. Your bear is SUPER cute!!! And I'm with you on 'Bear Hugs', well people bear hugs, not BEAR bear hugs. You can use this kind of card for any occasion. Great card, Jan and great post!
Can't wait to see your craft room!
It certainly sounds like you need a bear hug or two!! I also wish there was an Ikea closer to us as it's about an hour and 15 minutes for me, assuming there are no hold ups in Toronto traffic. I can't wait to see pics of your craft room! Hopefully, the white knuckle drive will have been worth the new piece.
ReplyDeleteYour card is so sweet! Your little hanging bear is a darling one!
I feel your pain. We only have an Ikea in Portland which is about a two hour drive. Good thing I haven't needed anything from there in a while. And there is nothing wrong with using a good sentiment over and over again. Thanks for sharing with us at Use Your Stuff
ReplyDeleteOh dear sounds like you've had a tough time with IKEA>I know the feeling waiting for something to come into stock for three months and then it selling out before you get there. I Wish you could reserve something with them would make life so much easier. ~As for your card that bear is so cute just hanging there and the sentiment is perfect and why not use it over and over as you say it's great for all occasions.First time on your blog and really enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteMarie
What a beautiful card you made :-))
ReplyDeleteThanks for playing with us at TheMaleRoom 🧡
Beautiful bear hug card!"
ReplyDeleteSo glad you have posted this to us at 613 Avenue Create.
Please come back again!
The best of luck with your entry.
Jackie, DT member at 613 xx
Super sweet card, Jan. I hear you with your IKEA story. When we built our IKEA kitchen, we didn't know what kind of sink to use, so we left it out for the time being. When we knew what we wanted, I checked online to see if the sink was in stock at our Ikea store (1/2 hour away). ONE was there. Preorder didn't work. So I rushed there hoping no one would buy them before me **lol** I got lucky.
ReplyDeleteImke ~ MY CRAFTY PLACE
Oh that is cute! Glad you got your furniture sorted from Ikea. x
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us at A Place to Start this month for our "2 x 2" challenge
ReplyDeleteWow.. what a super cute make!
ReplyDeleteThanks for playing along with our Challenge at Critter Crazy and good luck!
Hugs and please come back soon!
Doris
Kleido’s BastelStüble
*Owner* Do-Al(l) Kreatives
*Owner*Critter Crazy Challenges
*List Manager* Challenges for Days
*DT* Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2
Absolutely! who doesn't like a hug and this card conveys the message beautifully I love it. As for IKEA, ours is over an hour away too. I hope your craft room turns out just as you want, how exciting. Thank you so much for joining us in our Animals challenge at The Male Room Good Luck and I hope you will join us in our next challenge.
ReplyDeleteFaith DT
funny and cute! thank you for joining us at Corrosive Challenge! DT Kary
ReplyDeleteThis is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by A Place To Start !
Hugz,
Chana Malkah, Owner
Redora Lee Designs , My Blog
A Place to Start , Owner
613 Avenue Create , Owner
You did a great masculine card! Thank you for sharing your creative talents with us at The Male Room.
ReplyDeleteWe would love it if you could display our challenge badge on your post too, thanks.
Maja, DT