Frenchified! @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Shani's turn to choose the challenge and she's got an absolutely fun one for us this week.  Shani, who lives in France, is saying, "Frenchified!" which means she wants us to incorporate Frenchness in our project.  So, think the Eifel Tower, croissants, cheese, escargots, kissing (hoh, hoh, hoh), a sentiment en Francais, or even.....

french fries!  Now, I know I should have been a good Canadian and went with some actual French.  And initially, that was indeed the plan.  My original thought was to go with a pretty lady image or the like and pair it with the sentiment: Oh là là.  But, french fries won out....like they generally do, at least for me, when it comes to forms of potatoes.

Image is clip art, I just printed it out twice, once to colour and once at the bottom of a page, then folded it, and cut it out, leaving part of the top uncut.  An easy way to make a shaped card.  Coloured the fries, paper pieced the fry container, added the googly eyes, and that was about that.  I always say, the only thing better than googly eyes on a card, is two different sized googly eyes.  The sentiment inside is as follows:

Would have been great if I could have incorporated French there....but I have frites for only you doesn't really work on the punniness scale.  So I let the fries stand as the only French thing.  Now, if I had any talent, I could have made my fries into poutine, because that's a very French-Canadian thing....and it's delicious too.  I once had poutine at The Canadian Potato Museum in Prince Edward Island (PEI), and let me tell you, amazing doesn't even cover how good it was.  My daughter and I talk about driving out there again just to have the poutine (it's a 1840km drive which would take about 19 hours of straight driving) and we're not completely joking.  Drat, now I'm hungry for poutine.

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:

Ellibelle's:  anything goes

Through the Purple Haze:  anything goes

Cardz 4 Guyz:  make us laugh

Unicorn Challenge:  stripes

A Place to Start:  anything goes

613 Avenue Create:  anything goes

Corrosive:  anything goes

Alphabet Challenge:  XOXOXOXO

Crafty Catz:  anything goes

Creative Fingers:  anything goes

Shape Up! @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's my turn to choose the challenge and I'm saying, "Shape Up!" coz, quite frankly, I'm really disappointed in all......just kidding, of course!! I'm saying, "Shape Up!" because I want to see projects that aren't squares or rectangles. Any shape other than those two would be in. Geometric shapes like circles, stars or triangles are perfectly acceptable. Or, you could make something in the shape of an actual something.....like this.....

It's bear shaped! No rectangles or squares here!  If you tried to call my lil bear friend a square, I'd fight you.  (;  This is a digi from Le Petite Market which I printed out at approx. 5" tall, fussy cut and paper pieced. Then I just cut a folded piece of kraft cardstock around him to make a base.  When I got him all done he looked a little plain (and I felt like I hadn't put in enough effort) so I fashioned him a pair of glasses from some light gauge wire.  And, that took twice as long as the rest of the card seeing as I was trying my darndest to make both sides even.  As you can see, I eventually gave up.  I like to think his vision is a little poorer in his right eye and he needs a larger "lens" on that side.  Coz that's definitely how glasses work in Bearland.

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:

Craft Rocket:  shaped card
2 Crafty Critter Crazies:  feature a critter
Allsorts:  anything goes
Sweet Stampin':  funny that
Alphabet Challenge:  C is for checks
QKR Stampede:  anything goes
Crafty Creations:  anything goes
Arty Divas:  anything goes
Path of Positivity:  furry or feathered
Corrosive Challenge:  anything goes

Shake It! @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Imke's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "Shake It!" which means she wants to see those shaker cards this week. I love me a shaker card!

This is what I did....

As you can see, I went with something a little different in the way of a shaker....I made the 8 the shaker part!  My inside cutting job is a bit ragged....I wanted my Silhouette to do it but it won't read the registration marks on patterned paper so I had to do it by hand.  It cut that digi candle out though.  It's from Melonheadz Illustrating.

Made this for my oldest's birthday.  And, shortly after, my phone spontaneously made me this...

I didn't even ask it to.  A little while after I took a bunch of photos of the birthday boy and his brother and sister (who still, even at the ages they are, make me have to get slightly cross with them in order to get a decent picture) I got a notification from my phone telling me my pictures were ready.  I was all like, "Huh?" and this was what it had for me.  Pretty cool, eh?  I told my phone it could make me these anytime.

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 fantastic projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Also for:

Dream Valley:  shaped cards
Crafty Cardmakers:  that someone special
Unicorn Challenge:  spots or stripes
Pile It On:  favourite colour - blue
613 Avenue Create:  kinetic card
Crafty Catz:  real or faux stitching
Southern Girls:  someone special
Moving Along With the Times:  for a man
As You Like It:  favourite colouring medium - I love my Prismacolor pencils.  So easy to control how much colour you put down....and, when compared with Copics, you can't beat the price!

Not Just Black & White @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Imke's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying, "Not Just Black & White" which means she wants to see not only black & white but another colour as well.

I normally have difficulty with colour challenges but I guess, technically, this isn't one. After all, black and white aren't reaaaallly colours OR black & white reaaaallly are colours depending on who you ask. And, the fact that I could choose ANY colour to go with them, made it not as constricting as most colour challenges. So, just to throw in more of challenge, I decided to make a not-square/rectangle card.....

Used up some scraps,sparkly felt, glitter fun foam and dies from Paper Smooches.  And that's, pretty much, that.

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:

Shopping Our Stash:  tis the season
Simon Says:  Christmas
Moving Along With the Times:  anything Christmas

Cardz 4 Galz:  non-traditional Christmas colours
Winter Wonderland:  anything Christmas goes


Crafty Calendar:  it's Christmas time
Pile It On:  shaped cards
Crafty Cardmakers:  Christmas
Christmas Card Throwdown:  pick a challenge from 2017

Paper Smooches:  ribbon/twine etc.
 

Going A-Round @ Tiddly Inks

This month at

we're "Going A-Round" which just means that we want to see your circle cards....using a Tiddly Inks image, of course!

When I saw the theme for this challenge, I IMMEDIATELY knew what I was going to do. And the card I made....well, to me, it was the only most logical choice for this challenge. So much so that I was actually afraid that the other lovely ladies on the DT would end up making the exact same card. But, as always, turns out that my brain was not on track and the others made wonderful and gorgeous cards/projects featuring some of the new digis, a lot of the super cute Tiddly girls, some adorable couples, a couple of fantastic mermaids, even a sweet, sweet baby, while I did this.....

....made a Doughnut Card.  (And yes, I know Christy's sentiment uses the American spelling of "donut" but seeing as my card is Canadian, it's definitely a "Doughnut" Card.  (:  )  I used the doughnut from Molly's Donut.  I love the sentiment, no matter which way you spell it.  Who wouldn't be happy if they had a doughnut?  Now, I will admit a paper doughnut is nowhere as joy-producing as an actual doughnut, like say an apple fritter or a Canadian Maple, but it would hopefully bring a bit of a smile to the person who received it.  Or maybe it would just make them hungry.

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.

Also for:

Moving Along With the Times:  food and/or drink

Round Up Time! @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Brenda's turn to choose the challenge and she's saying it's "Round Up Time!" which means she wants to see round projects. So fun!

I love making round cards....but for some reason I don't do it very often. Probably because I'm such a square - haha. This is what I did....

No stamps on this one. Pineapple and letter dies are from Paper Smooches.  I'll admit, I did struggle with this one.....couldn't seem to figure out a good layout for Mr. Pineapple.  Turned out he just needed a friend and a frame to make it come together.

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:


Simon Says:  add a sentiment
My Time to Craft:  something new - pineapple dies
Deep Ocean:  something new - pineapple dies
Paper Smooches:  anything goes

Shape Up @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Brenda's turn to choose the challenge and she's got a fun one for us. She's saying "Shape Up"....now she's not telling us to behave or exercise....she wants to see cards that aren't rectangles or squares. See, told you it was fun!

I love challenges like this because I love shaped cards. My issue is that shaped cards usually take a bit of effort and I find I can sometimes get lazy with my cardmaking. So, this forces me to do something different - yay!

This is what I did.....

I guess I really shouldn't give the impression that I was being all kinds of ambitious making this as I used a template from Art Made With Heart.  But I, like, traced it and cut it all out and everything, so I had to expend some effort at least.

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:  not square or rectangle
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge:  shaped card
Inky Chicks:  anything but square
Fab 'n' Funky:  paper piecing

Love You To the Moon & Back @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Mandy's turn to choose the challenge and she saying, "Love You To the Moon & Back". Aw thanks, Mandy. We think you're really special too. :-) As you can probably guess, the challenge is all about the moon, stars and those types of celestial bodies.

This is what I did.....

I really took the challenge literally.  I've got a moon on there, along with a very complimentary sentiment.  And, I've always thought this lil astronaut from Bugaboo Stamps was having one of those "I love you this much" attitudes.  So that's fitting too.

So why not get out all your things pertaining to the night sky 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:

Unicorn Challenge:  for the guys
Aud Sentiments:  bingo + sentiment - patterned paper, digi stamp, fave colour (blue)
Craft Rocket:  for the men
Star Stampz:  make it for a man
Watercooler Wednesday:  masculine
Cardz 4 Guyz:  stars
Crafty Sentiments:  add a sentiment

Round and Round @ Little Red Wagon

This week at

it's Mandy's turn to choose the challenge and, well I guess she's feeling at little dizzy, 'coz she's going "Round and Round". Yeppers, she wants to see projects using lots of circles.

This is what I did.....

Yep, it's a Christmas card. I'm trying to make good on the promise I made myself back in December, when I was actually done all my Christmas crafting a couple of weeks before Christmas. (And that felt soooooooooooo good, let me tell you. Only problem was that I then baked more goodies.....and therefore ate myself through the holidays.) I decided I wanted to be done that early again this year. And every year henceforth.

I think I've definitely got my Good DT Example quota of circles filled on this. A scalloped circle base, a cardstock circle, a patterned paper circle with circles on it, another piece of patterned paper with words on it with lots of Os, 5 bling (which are also circles) and the word joy, which has an O and a tittle (which is what the dot over the j is called).

Speaking of the word JOY, I gotta expound on that. I dunno know about the rest of you cardmakers but one of my biggest pet peeves is the fact that all Christmas/holiday sentiments are so gosh-durn long. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Feliz Navidad, Merry & Bright etc. etc. I can never find room on my cards for those greetings! "Joy" is my go-to Christmas sentiment, though I have also used "Peace" and "Believe" from time to time. But those words aren't exactly greetings, kwim? I would much rather put a Christmas wish for someone on my cards rather than just a simple word.

So, as a community, I think we should come up with a few succinct holiday greetings, you know, to make our crafting lives easier. I'm thinking something like, "HapHo" or "MeMas" or, seeing as here in Canada we have two official languages, "JoNo". In this day and age of text-speak and short forms I think it could really catch on. Besides, wouldn't it be awesomely fun to toss out a "SeGree" or a "HapMas" to people during those few weeks before Christmas?  I know I'd have a blast.

So, why not get all circular and enter the challenge? Then you can 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.

The Great Christmas Round Up of 2015

Hey all.  I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.  I must say, Christmas was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much less stressful for me this year as I was all done with my crafting and cardmaking about a week and a half before the big day.  In fact I was all done with everything, save baking, by that time.  And, let me tell you, it made Christmas so much better for me that I'm vowing to be that in control next year too, rather than my usual up really late every night from the 15th on, making and doing Christmas stuff right into Boxing Day.

I think one of the reasons it went so smoothly was that I made a number of Christmas cards earlier in the year, which I have already posted as I like to combine my dt cardmaking with cards I actually need to make.  But, I do still have some I haven't posted so I thought I'd show 'em all in one big round up post.  So, here we go.....

First up we have my card for my oldest, who has a barn full of sheep,....and is 14 years old going on grumpy-old-man 90.  Thought this file from SVG Cutting Files was fitting.

Next up is a clean and simple card that I knew had to be mailed and just this once I wanted to do so without having to pay extra postage so it's completely free of any embellishments.  It's not free of mistakes though since the first embosing go 'round I accidentally put the image in upside down so now there's both embossed and debossed snowflakes on there - whoops!  Digi is from From the Heart Stamps.

This one is using a fantastic digi from Dilly Beans Stamps.  I just love this penguin.  I also used some of this fabulous tinsel trim I should really use more often.

I made a shaped card again this year too.  This was my second try for this card as I made a very poor paper choice with my first, opting for a colourful tiny polka dot design.  Poor Frosty looked like he had a hideous case of the chicken pox and someone took their Copics to his spots!  Neutral colours were certainly a better choice....

(Inspiration for this card came from this card here.)  Cutting file was a freebie from Miss Kate's Cuttables.  If I made this one again I would take out the cut lines from the top of the hat seeing as they look a bit silly without the cardstock backing them.

I also made a few non-card crafts too.  I made some ornaments....

...which are basically wooden shapes with paper and some embellies added.  Funny story with these....I had my aforementioned 14 year old drill some small (although they were bigger than I wanted) holes in them so I could add the hanging wire.  Later on I said to him, "Wanna see what I did with those shapes you put the holes in?"  When I showed them to him he very seriously said, "But...but...but, you covered up my holes with paper.  No one can see them."  To make him feel better I had to promise I'd tell the recipients to flip the ornaments over to look at the holes he made.  I guess he didn't want his contribution to go unnoticed!

And finally....we come to the pièce de résistance.  Let me tell you, my friends, this project was so much a bigger undertaking then I thought it was going to be.  Like ridiculously so.  So, so, so, so ridiculously so.  I underestimated how long it would take so monumentally.  Not that I didn't enjoy making them, it was fun designing them and the cutting wasn't too big of a deal....but putting them together, omg, what a time suck!  All told, for the six of them I made, I bet it took....let's see.....24 to 30 hours of designing and making.  Now because of the colossal amount of time this took, and because I'm still sensitive about the time I spent on this project, I have come up with a number of prepared compliments you may use if you would like to comment on this make.  Only these comments will be accepted, all others will be ignored.  Feel free to either copy and paste them into the comment section, or for the sake of ease, simply quote which comment by its number.

1.  Wow, these are cool!  Your friends are so lucky to receive such a thoughtful gift. 
2.  Very neat!  Your friends are so lucky to receive such a thoughtful gift.
3.  Nice!  Your friends are so lucky to receive such a thoughtful gift.
4.  Your friends are so lucky to receive such a thoughtful gift!  And you are such a wonderful friend to spend hours and hours of your time to make something for them.  JanR, I wish I had a friend like you.  What lucky friends you have!  Lucky, lucky, lucky!

Now, after all that build up, here it is.....

As you can see, it's a desk calendar.  Now, this was my copy, 'coz I decided that I was gonna make one for myself too, so there's a special feature that I didn't photograph for the other calendars but should have.  I had also made a "Birthday Wishes" panel with a happy cupcake.  And I put that panel on the recipients' birthday month.  And, on my copy too, one of the mitt hearts went awol and I had to cut a new one.  Of course, I couldn't find the exact colour, and did I think to just cut two hearts out of the new colour?  No, of course not!  And that's going to bug me the whole month of November, guaranteed.

So that's my round up of Christmas makes.  I hope my Canadian, United Kingdom & Australian (and other readers who are living in former British colonies) are enjoying Boxing Day.  And to my American friends, a quick Google search let me know that some of you (depending on the state you live in.....meaning geographically, not philosophically) will be celebrating Day After Christmas Day....Day?  (I'm unsure of the second Day is necessary.)  I must say, original name, that is.  Well, whatever you're celebrating (or not celebrating) today, I hope you have a good one.