Little Red Wagon # 235 - April Showers Bring May Flowers (DIY flowers)

It's time for another challenge over at

This week Jodi is hosting our challenge and she would like to see some flowers bloom on your projects. Actually what she would like to see is for you to create a project with a DIY (do it yourself) flower.

I must confess that I procrastinated a lot on this challenge. At first, I thought I had it all figured out. That was until I sat down to create my card and I realized, "I really have no clue how to make a DIY flower". Thank goodness for the Internet because within minutes I had an overwhelming number of ways to create flowers with paper and ribbon.

My DIY flower was made with ribbon. You can see the how to in this video here.

The image is a digi from Whimsie Doodles called Flower Girl. She is coloured with Copic marker. The paper on the card is Carta Bella Alphabet Junction.

To ensure my flower did not fall apart I did a quick hand stitch in the back and then added a touch (actually a rather large glob) of Glossy Accents. I added the tiny pearl and there you go a some-what rose looking DIY flower!

Do you feel like making spring bloom on your cards. Join us for this weeks challenge over at Little Red Wagon. While you are there check out the DIY creations by the other Girlfriends.

Thanks for stopping by today and please come back soon.

Tracy

Your Next Stamp - Getting More from Your Dies - Inlaid Die Cuts

Hey everyone, just a quick post to let you know that I have a tutorial over at the Your Next Stamp blog today on how to get more from your dies.

Stop over and check it out. It's my first photo tutorial and I am showing you how to create an inlaid die cut on your card using the new Flower Fun die from Your Next Stamp. There are 3 different Flower Fun dies that are available and each set has 2 dies. This die is so versatile and a lot of fun to use.

Here is the card featured in the tutorial.

Stop over to the Your Next Stamp blog to see the full tutorial.

Tracy

Your Next Stamp April After Party Post

Hello. Today we are enjoying the Your Next Stamp April after party! That means another day for you to check out more amazing projects with this months stamps and dies. You can see all the wonder creations from the DT by heading over to the YNS blog.

Did you enjoy the YNS April new release blog hop yesterday? If you haven't already done so, you still have time to hop, hop, hop. You will want to stop along to each of the blogs and leave a comment for a chance to win a $20 YNS gift certificate. The hop end April 29th and winners will be announced on the YNS blog.

You can find the YNS release blog hop post here.

For today's project, I created a fun "bird-day" card using the new Bird Critter Crew stamp set. You may have noticed that I really love this stamp set. In yesterday's release blog hop I created a card featuring the pretty peacock (here). Today I am showcasing some colourful and fun flamingos on my card.  

Oh and another fabulous note to share about this set, there is also a coordinating die set! Yeah!

Here is my card. The images were coordinated with bright paper from Pebbles "Scene & Noted" collection.

A closer look at this fun images which were stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink and coloured with Copic markers.

Of course my card is never full complete unless the inside is decorated. This means it is ready to go for whatever party or event that may sneak up on me.

Inside my card I added another flamingo and included my favourite sentiment from this set.

Now hurry along and check out the after party projects from amazingly talented YNS design team. Then make your way over to the YNS store and take advantage of the new release deal.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Karen and her wonderful design team for having me as a guest designer during the month of April. I have had an amazing time.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Tracy

Your Next Stamp April New Release Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the April Your Next Stamps New Release Blog Hop! We have some ADORABLE new stamps and some really fun new dies for you this month. So hop along with us and check them out!

The hop begins on Maureen's blog and if you've been hopping then you should have arrived here from Julie's blog. You have through Tuesday April 29th to leave a comment on all of the DT blogs for your chance to win a $20 YNS gift certificate.

I love the images and dies from this release and had so much fun creating these cards. For my first project I used the super fun Bird Critter Crew set. This stamp set includes 3 fabulous images including a flamingo, ostrich and this fabulous peacock.

There are five great sentiments with this set and I manage to incorporated 3 of them into my card.

For my next project, I used the versatile Flower Fun Two die set. I made multiple cuts with this die and assembled the flower using different colours of card stock. To create the glittered petals I used the die on a sheet of Therm O Web Peel n' Stick double sided adhesive and applied a layer of pink glitter (Glitter Ritz Rose) to the petal pieces. The flower is finished with a white Gumdrop.

The left over die cut pieces were used to decorate the inside of the card. The sentiment is the YNS Heartfelt Sentiments.

This month Karen is offering an amazing hop special! You will receive 15% off your entire purchase (including sale items) by entering the code below!

Now it's time to hop over the Thanh's blog, but don't forget to leave a comment before you go! Enjoy hopping and happy shopping my crafty friends!

Tracy

Your Next Stamp April Release Sneak Peek

Hello everyone. I am here to share a quick sneak peek of one of the new images that will be available tomorrow at Your Next Stamp! Join us for the April release blog hop where we will show off more amazing new stamps and dies.

Stop over to the YNS blog and check out what the DT is sharing with you today.  Then stop back tomorrow and hop away with more new release projects. If that weren't enough you can come back and join us again on Monday for after party release projects. We have a lot to share with you.

For my first project I used the Monkey See Monkey Do set. Isn't this little guy just the cutest? I added a few additional vines to fill in the background around my image.

Of course I couldn't get enough of these little monkeys, so I added more images to the inside of my card too. The sentiments with this set are so much fun.

Thanks for stopping by and I will see you tomorrow!

Tracy

Your Next Stamp - Fun Friday Challenge # 11 (Week 4)

It's almost the end of April and that means I am nearing the end of my guest design spot with Your Next Stamp. I have had such a wonderful time working with so many great people.

Today I am sharing another card for the monthly Fun Friday Challenge over at the YNS challenge blog. This week I worked with the inspirational photo. I focused on the eggs, bright colours and of course Easter theme.

Using Bunny Ellie I created a fun Easter centre step card. To complete my scene I added a few YNS dies which included the Puffy Clouds and Fence dies.

Here is a side view of the step card. The grass and ovals were cut from my Cricut. I decorated the inside with additional eggs and fence die cuts. The paper is Lawn Fawn "Hello Sunshine".

Ellie is coloured with Copic Markers. For a bit of texture I added Glossy Accents to the eggs and a bit of white flocking to Ellie's bunny ears. Ellie's shirt is paper pieced.

There is still time to play along with this month's Fun Friday Challenge. Don't forget to check out the wonderful creations by the DT. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Tracy

Little Red Wagon # 234 - Count Me In

Time for another weekly challenge over at

This week I am hosting the challenge and I am looking for numbers featured or found on your projects.

Now I hate math but I figured creating a card with numbers should be pretty straight forward. I made a birthday card for my Dad using the "You've Got Game" stamp set from Kraftin' Kimmie. I of course did not want to feature my dad's still youthful age, so instead chose to let him know he is #1.

I don't have a lot of images for boys/men, but I thought a sports themed set works well for a number of occasions.

Inside the card I included a sentiment from the You've Got Game set and to make it a birthday card, I added a sentiment from a Stampendous birthday set.

Sound like a fun challenge? Stop over to Little Red Wagon to link up your project and to see what the other Girlfriends have created.

Thanks for stopping by and please come back soon.

Challenges:
Kraftin' Kimmie: Wonderful Wednesday

Tracy

YNS Special Event

I am back with another post for Your Next Stamp. This is a special event post and the chance for the design team to play around and showcase creations using older YNS stamps and dies.

For my card I used Moving Ellie along with white Gumdrops. The paper is Lilybee designs Buttercup.

Ellie is moving some of her craft supplies. To create some dimension I added a second layer with the box and filled the box with embroidery thread.

I love the sentiment that comes with this stamp set. Inside my card I set it off the sentiment by matting it on the black scalloped square.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my latest card.

Tracy

Little Red Wagon # 233 - Easter Parade

Hey everyone it's time for another fun challenge over at Little Red Wagon.

This week Jayne is setting the challenge and since it's almost time for Easter, she would like to see us create a project with an Easter theme.

Easter is not a holiday I normally create cards for. I really don't know why. I love the holiday, the spring colours, chocolate, cute bunnies, chocolate, beautifully decorated eggs and of course the chocolate.

I used an adorable digital stamp from Your Next Stamp (by Omnia Design) called Chirpy. I used a combination of Echo Park (Sweet Girl) and Lawn Fawn (Hello Sunshine) papers and sparkly blue Gumdrop (Your Next Stamp). The sentiment is from the TiddlyInks For the Birds acrylic stamp set.

Here is a close up of cute Chirpy. For the dots on the egg I added Glitter Ritz powder for a bit of shimmer.

Here is a look at the inside of the card.

So hop, hop, hop over to Little Red Wagon and join our Easter Parade this week. Link up your Easter creations and don't forget to sneak a peek at each of the Girlfriends projects. There is a lot of inspiration to be found.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and happy crafting.

Tracy

Your Next Stamp - Fun Friday Challenge 11

This month I am so excited to be guest designing with Your Next Stamp (YNS).

Have you been to the YNS challenge blog? On the first Friday of each month a new challenge is posted. There is a wonderful sketch and an inspirational photo to kick your creativity into gear. Throughout the month the design team also shares their projects to help inspire.

Playing along with the monthly challenge you have the chance to win YNS prizes, be featured as a top pick (using YNS images) and win a Guest Designer spot!

For this week I worked with the Sketch.

I used the fabulous Jessica stamp on my card. This is a clear stamp set by Penny Johnson of Omnia Design.

I love layers and tried to working in as many as I could with this fun sketch. I found some elegant paper from Lilybee Designs "Sweet Shop". To showcase my sentiment I added the sparkling blue Gumdrops. There are so many amazing colours.

The image is coloured with Copic markers.

I like to keep the inside of my card pretty just like the outside, so I decorated with the same Lilybee papers, adding the sentiment that is included with this image. I also stamped Jessica again, this time with a light blue ink and added another yummy Gumdrop!

Check out the YNS challenge blog and join in this month challenge. Play along with the sketch, the inspirational photo or use both.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you come back soon.

Happy creating everyone!

Tracy

Springtime Layouts (Doodlebug Designs)

I had another opportunity to create a few layouts for Two Scrapbook Friends, this time using the super fun collection by Doodlebug Designs called Springtime.

This was a great line to work with. The papers are full of cute pattern and bright vibrant colour, that are perfect for Easter and spring, which finally seems like it's on the way.

For my first layout I used a number of small sections of the pattern papers in this collection. They worked really well with the colours in my daughter's Easter dresses. I mat the photos with white so they stood out from the busy papers and I also popped up the upper corners of the pictures for a bit of dimension.

To create the title I used my Cricut to cut out the lets spelling Easter. Now this took a bit of playing because I don't have the software or Gyspy to ensure placement on my background page. I know a Silhouette would have done this very nicely for me, unfortunately I am still unsure if I want to make the jump with buying one. Maybe one day I will be gifted a wonderful laptop and Silhouette (hint hint to my DH, I am still waiting for my 10 year anniversary present. Nothing says I love you like electronics! Especially crafty ones!).

To add colour to the title, I applied a variety of Doodlebug washi tapes on a scrap of paper and adhered it behind my title.

For the rest of the title I die cut the word dresses (Cricut - Plantin School Book) from pink card stock and applied glitter. This was created by running my die cut letters through the Xyron putting adhesive on the top of the letters. I then sprinkled the letters with Glitter Ritz Micro fine glitter. I used the white transparent glitter so you can still see the pink colour from the card stock. After the glitter is adhered, I covered the letters with a scrap of paper and really rub the glitter in with my bone folder.

My layout was finished with some twine and sequins. There were so many fabulous colours of the sequins, I really wanted them all.

On my second layout, I focused on using the paper to capture a fun spring moment where the girls coloured with chalk outside the house.

With the vibrant colours in the collection I went with the white back ground to really have these papers pop off the page.

I was able to use the sticker sheet for part of my title. The rest of the title was die cut from coloured card stock and I again added the Glitter Ritz after running the letters through the Xyron. I created a fun banner with twine and the Washi tape.

For added dimension I used wooden butterflies, enamel dots and twine.

A few more stickers.

These layouts really have me excited about Spring. Thanks for stopping by and seeing my latest layouts.

Happy crafting my fellow paper geeks!

Tracy