New York State of Mind @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Kate's turn to choose the challenge and she's continuing to have Billy Joel songs inspire the theme with this week being "New York State of Mind" which just means she would like to see those creations with urban scenes, or skylines or even travel.

This is what I did....

I used some building dies (which I think are from Taylored Expressions) and a freebie from Create with TLC to make this scene.

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:

The Male Room:  vehicles or transport

Shopping Our Stash:  up, up & away

Sweet Stampin':  Christmas in April

Peace on Earth:  inspirational image

Krafty Chicks:  masculine

Unicorn Challenge:  use dies

A Place to Start:  anything goes

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

As You Like It:  pastels or brights - I prefer brights as I feel they make more of a visual impact.

Cupcake Inspirations:  travel

Crafty Catz:  anything goes

Simon Says:  anything goes

Tic Tac Toe:  patterned papers, layers, red

Who Wants To Live Forever? @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Kate's turn to choose the challenge and she's continuing with her Queen inspired themes and is asking, "Who Wants To Live Forever?" which means she wants to see those birthday creations.

With my make I answered a question I had often wondered about which is.....

...Can you emboss over embossing?  And it turns out that yes, yes you can.  I used a stamp from Taylored Expressions that I picked up at a garage sale some time ago....can I just say, Taylored Expressions stamps are excellent quality!  I have some of their dies (also excellent) but had not purchased any of their stamps ....coz, as you all know, I'm basically a digi girl.  I tell ya though, if I had the money to spend of craft supplies that I wish I had to spend on craft supplies, I'd own a whole bunch of these stamps.

Can I also point out that it's completely possible to make a masculine card with sparkle and shine?  Coz *gestures at card*.  I dare say, I do like how this turned out.  This time I remember to keep all those negative pieces that are needed for this style of card, unlike the last time when I tried it with this card.  Thought I'd lost the little piece between the B and the I but luckily it was on the floor....which made it easier to find than if I had been buried under the mess on my desk!  (:

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:  

Cardz 4 Guyz:  autumnal colours

Ellibelle:  anything goes

A Place to Start:  anything goes

Double Trouble:  create your own background

Make My Monday:  autumn colours

613 Avenue Create:  autumn colours

Stamping Sensations:  autumn colours

Crafty Calendar:  autumn colours

Krafty Chicks:  stamp act

Moving Along With the Times:  anything goes

Crafty Catz:  colours of autumn

Sea You Then! @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Shani's turn to choose the challenge (her first one as a Girlfriend - yay!) and she's saying, "Sea You Then!" which means she wants to see those makes that include sea/ocean elements on your project, so think ocean, lighthouses, seashells, seagulls, boats, nautical themes etc.  

This is what I did....

When I starting thinking about what I would do for this challenge, this song starting playing in my head.  Not that it's part of my playlist or anything.....but I'm betting almost everyone knows this song from hearing it on TV or some other media on the like.  When it kept on going, persistently I might add, I decided, why not?  And that's how this card was born.  

Boat die is from Taylor Expressions and the background was cut with my Silhouette.  That was a bit of a slog.  Made me remember why I like dies better as I watched multiple pieces of cardstock being dragged all over the mat by the blade instead of the blade, you know, just cutting the cardstock and leaving it put.  Then, somehow, a piece of paper came unstuck from the mat (and this was a brand new mat) and ended up over the top of the feeder bar.  Like, how???  I will say, my Silhouette probably made the card quicker for me to put together as I didn't have much of a choice as what shade of blue to use where because often times there was only one piece that was useable for a spot.  And let's just say, the sentiment is placed strategically.  I will admit though, I found fitting the pieces into the background quite enjoyable.  So much so that I when and bought some no-name background dies - ha, take that Silhouette!  (:

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:

As You Like It:  favourite reason to send a card - My favourite reason to send a card is just because!  I think people appreciate it when you let them know you are thinking of them.

Ellibelle's:  anything goes

Paper Funday:  anything goes

A Place to Start:  anything goes

Make My Monday:  fave challenge from 2022 - Summer Fun

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

Corrosive:  anything goes

Allsorts:  blue

Crafty Calendar:  add a sentiment

Creative Fingers:  anything goes

Strawberry Fields Forever! @ Little Red Wagon

 This week at

it's Kate's turn to choose the challenge and she's continuing with her The Beatles theme and saying, "Strawberry Fields Forever!" which means that she would like to see something with either a fruit or farm theme.  Ei, ei, o!  (:

Have to admit, I wasn't sure where I was going to go with this.  Was about to do something with pears with a "We make the perfect pear" sentiment or the like, but I took a gander through my Farm Animals digi file and I was glad I did.  Coz, I saw a clip art file, remembered a certain slang acronym and not only did I come up with something I actually like....

 ....but it's a perfect birthday card for my youngest sub-baby (which is the term I use for my kids' SOs) for his upcoming birthday.

Honestly, I had every intention of colouring the goats but thought it might look cool in black & white.  And, I don't think I was wrong.  GOAT was cut from fun foam with a Taylored Expressions alpha die.

And, in case some of you aren't familiar with this acronym, GOAT stands for Greatest Of All Time, which is a phrase said sub-baby is known to use.  In fact he bought my daughter very pretty goat earrings for her birthday early on in their relationship.  So, I'm thinking this card is well suited.  (:

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:

Allsorts:  any real animal

Critter Crazy:  feature a critter

Crafty Catz:  lots of layers - counting from the cardstock up to the GOAT, there's 5 layers

My Time to Craft:  3 or more layers - counting from the cardstock up to the GOAT, there's 5 layers

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday:  animals of any kind

Through the Craftroom Door:  anything goes

Unicorn Challenge:  include an animal

Dream Valley:  anything goes

Incy Wincy:  animals

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

Die Cuts! @ Little Red Wagon

 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

Me On a Monday....Whaaaaaaat?

Yup, I've got an non-Little Red Wagon post!  Turns out I've managed to find a smidge more time this year 'round the holidays so I made something non-challenge related.  Okay, that's a bit misleading.  Usually, if I make something that isn't specifically for a Little Red Wagon challenge I'll hoard it to see if it can be used for an upcoming challenge, and therefore won't post it on my blog.  (I know I'm not the only one who does stuff like that.  (: )  But, I surprised myself and made something that actually impressed me.  And, I don't often impress myself.  Well, I sometimes do, but it's rarely for something one should be impressed about, it's more like about how much food I managed to eat at a buffet restaurant or what new interesting combination of curse words I put together in a situation that calls for swears.

Nope, I managed to impress myself with a crafty make.  And it's not a card.  Well, it is a card, but not just a card.  Anyhoo, I'll get on with the showing of it.  So, here is the outside.....

And here's a short video to show you what happens when it's opened.....

(Shout out to my daughter for helping out with the cinematography....wish I would have told her to record in landscape though....but to be honest, I figured she'd know more about what to do than I would!  (: )

Haha - bam!  It's a $20 bill in yo' face!  What's more is that I figured out the measurements all by myself because I wanted to use my Taylored Expressions lil bag die that I bought aaaggggeeees ago, and definitely have not been using much.  But the real impressive part (and why I'm showering myself with accolades) is that it all worked out on the first go and I didn't have to remeasure or redo or anything, and that, my friend, is nothing short of miraculous here at Huh. So This Is a Blog.  

Sentiment stamp is from The Cat's Pajamas.  Now, as some of you probably already know, The Cat's Pajamas have pivoted and are now strictly digi stamps (yay, digis!!) and cut files but I just gotta say, their clear stamps are top-notch.  Added a lil bit of colour and a little bit of Stickles, and this is all ready to go in my mailbox as a gift to out mail carrier.  Fun fact, I actually was a rural mail carrier back, almost 21 years ago now, and quit the job when my kids were born.  Our current mail carrier is the person I trained for the job, so she's been doing it for 21 years come January 1st!  So, she certainly deserves a little Christmas present.

Welp, that's all I got.  Feels kinda weird not to sign off with my usual, "check out what The Girlfriends have done".  But, hey, if you've haven't seen what they've done this week, do check them out.  They are all very talented, and definitely deserve some love.  (:

Also for:

The Cat's Pajamas:  12 Days of Crafting: Day 6 - gift card holder (I know it's holding money not a gift card specifically....)

Crafty Sentiments:  anything goes

Through the Craftroom Door:  anything goes

A Place To Start:  anything goes

Sweet Stampin':  anything Christmas goes

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

Dragonfly Dreams:  anything goes

International Art & Soul:  dies and punches

Corrosive:  anything goes

Beyond the Blue:  gift card holders (I know it's holding money not a gift card specifically....)

Creative Fingers:  anything goes

Cut It Up:  holiday gift giving + die cut

Jingle Belles:  Christmas link-up

My Time to Christmas Craft:  anything but a card

Winter Wonderland:  anything Christmas

Moving Along With the Times:  fancy folds

Through the Purple Haze:  anything goes

Make It CAS! @ Little Red Wagon

 This week at

it's my turn to choose the challenge and I want you to "Make It CAS!".  So, let's see those projects with lots of space, little layers and lacking embellishments.

This is what I did.....

Yup, this card is basically a sibling to last weeks card...despite the fact that (because work forced me to) I have indeed changed the ink cartridge in my printer.  Got dies from a mix of companies on there....the sentiment is from Stamplorations, the gnome/elf is from The Cat's Pajamas and the glasses are from Taylored Expressions. 

Let me tell you my friends.....if you're looking to make something more the stuff of nightmares-y, try adding googly eyes to an elf like this.  It goes from sweet lil toy-making sprite to horrifying evil-plotting minion real quick.  Don't believe me?  Well.....

There's obviously a reason why these gnomes are always pictured with their hats down over their eyes.

Why not give our challenge at 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

Dragonfly Dreams: for the boys

Corrosive:  anything goes

The Fairy & the Unicorn:  anything fantasy goes

Alphabet Challenge: E for easy simple

Crafty Catz:  anything goes

As You Like It:  CAS or Fully Fancy - I prefer CAS cards....admittedly, I usually go for more patterned paper than on this, but it's still all clean lines and minimal (if any) embellishments.

Stinkin' Inkers:  you're the man

Incy Wincy:  for the men

ABC Christmas:  L is for letters

Crafty Gals:  one for the boys

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday:  clean & simple

Fab 'n' Funky:  for the boys

The Holly & Ivy:  anything Christmas goes

Dream Valley:  die cuts

Aquarius The Water Bearer @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Brenda's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "Aquarius The Water Bearer" which means she referencing the current zodiac sign AND she wants to see projects that have to do with water. Glug, glug!

I've got two Aquariuses living in my house...both my boys. I'm not one to put much stock in the zodiac....not that I'm dismissive of it either, it's just not something I've ever really investigated. But I do think this challenge is cool though! (:

Let me tell you, my friends, earlier this evening I was in a bit of a panic as I was trying to figure out when I might be able to get my card made for the challenge as I had to do this, that and the other thing (all not at home) before I could even think of getting crafty. And, I don't craft well under pressure...it's usually akin in a big pile of llama spit whenever I've tried. I popped onto my challenge list to see what the challenge actually was.....and that's when I realized....I had already made a card! Woooo hoooo!

And this is that card....

Really, I can't believe I forgot about this.  I mean, it has a pun on it and everything.  Shame on me!  Not much needs to be said about the making really, Taylored Expressions (I believe) sailboat die, some waves from Neat & Tangled (I think) and a computer generated sentiment (that one I know for sure, definitely a computer generated sentiment).

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:

Ike's World:  N is for naughty or nice
Tuesday Throwdown:  create your own background
A Place To Start:  masculine
Double D:  again and again - the wave stamp is just one line so it was stamped multiple times
AAA Cards:  up to one third
Crafty Calendar:  use die cuts
QKR Stampede:  anything goes
As You Like It:  warm or cool colours - I prefer cool colours, especially since my favourite colour is blue.  Actually, I really like to use cool colours and then add a touch of warm colour for some pop!  (:
Crafty Catz:  anything goes & fave colour - My favourite colour is blue.
Pearly Sparkles:  include some red
Crafty Sentiments:  anything goes

GDT @ CAS On Sunday - Colour Challenge

A couple of weeks ago I was all kinds of thrilled when my card was chosen as the winner at

And I was even more thrilled that it came with an invite to be a Guest Designer for an upcoming challenge!  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Now, if you're a Huh. So This Is A Blog regular, you'll know that I generally don't do cas cards.  However, I do very much love cas cards.  I love 'em so much that I declared back at the beginning of January, that I would be making more cas cards this year.  So, this was a great opportunity for me to make good on that declaration.

But, I must admit, I just about DIED when Janneke sent me the challenge theme.....it was a colour challenge.  Not that there was anything wrong with the colours....they're absolutely lovely, just take a boo....

See, lovely.  It's just that I tend to have a mental block when it comes to colour challenges.  Like a giant-sized mental block.  So, the whole "simple" part of the cas acronym immediately took off out the window....at least as far as the thought process portion of the making of the card was concerned.

I thought about it and I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it.  At first I was thinking of doing something with a snowman...but I just couldn't make that happen.  Then, I was stumped.  So I decided to do something I've done in the past when I want to figure out something tough....I put my subconsciousness to the task.

It's not something I'll often do, purposely access my subconscious mind.  My life is fairly uneventful, just the way I like it, so it's not like I ever really have a pressing major problem that I need to get creative about solving.  And, there's another reason I don't rely on my inner id....it's annoying as all heck. 

I realize it probably says volumes about me to have irritating in-the-background mind but I'm betting you'd say the same thing about it if you were me.  So, in order to access my subconscious mind (or maybe even partially, my unconscious mind) I give it the problem before I fall asleep, and tell it to have at it.

And that's where the annoying part comes in.  Because rather than slowly and methodically coming up with a solution to whatever task I set for it, this is what my subconscious looks like while problem-solving....

  
....only there's actually about six of those guys and they all argue with each other.  So, while I usually end up with a solution, I also end up being woke up multiple times in the course of finding that solution.  And I think we can all agree, nobody likes being woke up.  (We can probably also all agree that JanR is slightly whack-a-doo, but that's old news.)

But, after a semi-fitful night sleep, at about 5:00am, all the pieces fell into place when, after hours of brainstorming and the laying forth and rejecting of ideas, with a small pile of usable scraps growing in the corner, one of the six looked at those scraps and screamed, "Yeah, The Love Boat!"  There was silence and gasping, and I think one of them swooned....and then in the morning (well, in the later morning, certainly not at 5am) I got up and made this....

Now, I really hate to sound immodest.....but I love it.  I just love it.  And believe me, there's maybe a one handful of times I've ever said that about something I've made.  Chances are in a week or two, I might look at this card and wonder how I ever thought that.  But, for right this instant, I think it's awesome.  And, I also think it's awesome that I think it's awesome.  I think all of us are guilty of being our own worst critics.  Most of us cardmakers create for ourselves rather than for profit or accolades.  [Yes, most of us give our cards away to others but (at least for me), making cards is much more about the process, and finding joy in that process, than the end result.]  So, if we've pleased ourselves with what we've created....well then, that's a pretty good day's work.

Holy man, how's that for a post, eh?  Waxing philosophical, a crazed muppet and a few rambling paragraphs, all containing way too many grammatically incorrect sentence structures, awkwardly placed commas and ellipses with way too many dots.  It does appear to be missing and all-important thank you though.  A sincere thank you to CAS on Sunday for inviting me to join them this week.  Without your invitation, not only would I not have been able to be featured alongside a fantastically talented DT, I would never in a million year have come up with a card that I truly enjoyed making.  So, hartelijk bedankt.

Do pop over to CAS on Sunday and check out the wonderful cards the DT made.  And, maybe you should let those colours inspire you.  You never know, you might have the same splendid experience that I did!

Also for:

Crafty Catz:  male cards
Sinply Create Too:  love
Cardz 4 Guyz:  something that begins with C - clouds, cardstock
Inky Chicks:  clean & simple
Tuesday Throwdown:  love notes
Pile It On:  hearts on fire
Come and Get It:  Valentine's Day cards
Crafty Cardmakers:  love, love, love
Simon Says: the colour of love
4 Crafty Chicks:  anniversary
Aud Sentiments:  masculine projects + sentiment
Craft Rocket:  it's a love thing
UnstampaBelles:  anything goes + something new - new boat & frame dies (sentiment was printed in Word)
AAA Cards:  shape your love + cas