Retro Rubber Challenge #57..Colour challenge..

Hey,

Time for another awesome challenge with the Retro Rubber team.

This time we have a colour challenge for you - use the photo for the colour inspiration..

I was inspired by the jars in the image, so I pulled out one of my all time fave stamps by Unity Stamp Co. (Array of Vases from 2015).

I coloured it used distress inks (Squeezed Lemonade, Festive Berries, Mowed Lawn and Mermaid Lagoon) and an aquabrush to match the colours in the photo.

I decided that it would work best in a die-cut circle and thought the stitched scalloped version by MFT worked really well, as the image is so detailed, I didn't want to detract from it too much.

Final touches were to add a sentiment, stamp is by Kaisercraft from 2014 and the die-cut wishes is by Winnie & Walter - I LOVE their word dies.

I am a bit in love with this card, the vases really pop..might need to make a few more.

Your turn to show us your makes and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things my teammates have made..

Challenge ends March 10th. Don't forget to tell us the age of your stamp, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Playdate challenge Flamingo's....

Hey,

Happy Monday,

So JT and I had a fun Skype playdate yesterday and she said she was intrigued by the sketch over at CAS(E) this sketch -

I loved the sketch, but I was concerned about the matching up..so after closer inspection of the DT cards, I came up with a way to cheat ;)

I also had an idea that struck me as either genius or plain weird..involving Flamingo's.

I stamped the Lawn Fawn Flamingo's onto a white piece of watercolour cardstock, but I had marked where I was planning on die-cutting the rectangle (cheat), so I knew how to stamp the Flamingo's and which ones to colour (distress ink in Picked Raspberry and aquabrush).

I die-cut the main panel and then the centre rectangle, affixed the main panel to the card blank and then using pop-dots added the centre rectangle - super clever cheat, will be using again.

The sentiment makes no sense to anyone else but my friend and her posse who live in California..

Weird, pink and wonderful..I think all playdates should involve Flamingo's.

Cx

FMS: Hello Summer...

Hey,

Happy Sunday!!

I know the title of my post might seem like wishful thinking, but seriously the weather in NYC the last few days has been Spring / Summer gloriousness...

I am playing along with Freshly Made Sketches this week -

I instantly thought the Simon Says Stamp Flamingo background stamp would be perfect here. It needs to be broken up, it is a bit busy.

I think the weather inspired me to pull out the SSS Warm Weather Animals stamp set. I wanted this set for SO long, but it was a bit cost prohibitive and then Black Friday happened and I bought it for both JT and I..

I love the bear, I coloured him with Promarkers and Spectrum Noir sparkle pens.

The sentiment is stamped on a coordinating piece of card and I used a Stampin Up banner punch to finish it off.

This card makes me long for warmer weather..

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Hubby and I have been out and about in NYC this weekend, so fun to be out and about. Today I will be mainly playdating with JT.

Cx

Sketch Saturday: #452 Bugaboo Birdie...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Sketch Saturday.

Our sponsor this time is Bugaboo and they are offering a prize of four digital stamps.

Here is the sketch.

As you can see I rotated the sketch, I felt it worked better with my image. I won a LOAD of images in a Bugaboo challenge at the end of last year and so decided to use one of those.

I chose Bugbdaybird4 I love this cute Bugaboo range of birdies.

I coloured the stamp with Promarkers and fussy cut it out.

My papers are by American crafts and are part of a 6x6 stack, I added a piece of glittery ribbon to separate the papers and instead of an embellishment, I die-cut a stitched oval (MFT) and stamped the sentiment onto it.

Such a cute way to say thanks.

Your turn now, but first go over to Sketch Saturday and check out what the rest of the DT have done with the sketch.

Challenge ends 3 March 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Reverse Confetti..Toucan...

Hey,

Happy Friday!

My first week back at work has been good, but tiring.

Again my friend Jen is pointing me in the direction of fun challenges, this time in the form of Reverse Confetti..

I am reasonably new to Reverse Confetti products, I have seen them around and have had a few things in my wish list for a while, but I just got my first set - Toucan of Friendship, I feel this is the start of a happy purchasing spree...

I love this set so much, it makes me so happy because it is just crying out to be coloured in bright colours.

I die-cut a white panel using MFT wonky stitched dies, I found the pink panel in my circle die envelope and thought it was kismet, as it coordinated perfectly.

I coloured the Toucan, flower and leaves with Promarkers and once I mounted them onto the pink circle, I added glossy accents to the Toucan's beak.

It all felt a bit flat, so I went around the sides of the card with an ancient Bo Bunny stitches stamp, much better.

Have a great weekend, don't forget to come back and check out the latest Sketch Saturday sketch tomorrow.

Cx

Modern Anniversary..

Hey,

So there are a few categories of cards that I love making, new baby, thanks, Valentine's and anniversary.

I have no idea why these are my faves.

Today I am showing you an Anniversary card I made for friends of mine. I always like to make this couple a special card, as I am responsible for bringing them together (yep..I am bragging).

I bought a great stamp and die-set by Lil Inker second-hand (my new fave thing) and the white die-cut circle/wreath is what started this card off..

First I got all the elements together, so I die-cut two hearts (Sizzix) in coordinating colours and stamped the freebie sentiment (from JT) onto white card and created a banner.

I stamped the awesome salvaged wood background by Prima and die-cut it using a MFT stitched rounded rectangle die.

After much messing around with the layout of the elements, I had a layout I was happy with, so affixed it to the card, using foam dots.

For a final touch I added white gel dots by Stampin Up, I don't love these, but they work really well here.

The card reminded me of my friend's kitchen, its a bit salvaged wood, with red and white elements..

Cx

Yay! New Home...

Hey,

So one of my work colleagues recently bought her first home.

I wanted to make her a fun card.

When making things for friends that are designers I get a bit nervous...what if it's not good enough!

This card came together easily, I had a vision and it looks exactly as I wanted it to.

I used a great Studio Calico set for the landscape - it's called Howdy and I love the fact that the stamp is on an arc.

I added the sentiment by Simon Says Stamp and Clearly Besotted.

The colour was added using distress inks and an aquabrush..the stars came at the last minute, after I had photographed it, it looked flat, so I added them and took the photo again!!! OCD much?

Super simple but modern new home card.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #56 Birthday theme..Still time to Play

Hey,

There is still time for you to play along with the latest Retro Rubber challenge.

Don't forget to go over to Retro Rubber and check out what the DT made.

Challenge ends on Feb 24th, don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us all about it, that's the fun part right?

Also, please limit your challenge entries to 10 including ours.

Cx

CAS Mix-up: Corrugated Heart...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

My first day back at work!!

So I said that I would probably play along again with the February CAS Mix-up challenge

This is my second entry and I used the same old DCVW corrugated card in grey.

I die-cut a heart from the corrugated card and from a piece of velum. I matched them up, so the vellum piece is slightly higher and just peeks out.

The background splatter I stamped using a great Concord & 9th stamp (Lace Leaf).

I die-cut the Love You from a Simon Says Stamp die set and before I stapled them in place, I glued the letters together so they were slightly wonky.

I put the heart and the sentiment together before mounting it over the splatter. For a bit more stand-out I added black enamel accents dots.

Again a pretty CAS card and covers off the main two requirements, the your choice elements are die-cutting, splatter and vellum.

I am seriously considering playing again....I am loving working with the corrugated card.

Cx

New Stencils...

Hey,

Happy Sunday.

I recently bought 3 more Tim Holtz stencils, Doily, Bricked and Argyle.

I thought it would be fun to have a play with them and see what I got.

I ended up with 3 really different cards.

The main card uses the Bricked stencil. I stenciled it using Hickory Smoke distress ink onto a piece of Tim Holtz woodgrain watercolour paper. I thought a bit of extra texture would be nice.

I added an already coloured Avery Elle Alligator from their Band Camp set. The sentiment and the musical notes are also from the set.

I love this card.

The next card utilises some Christmas Simon Says Stamp stamps and dies. I made them work a bit harder and become a birthday card.

I stenciled the jumper using the Argyle stencil. I love it!! Perfect male birthday card.

I love the Doily stencil, it is so intricate. I stenciled it with Hickory Smoke distress ink and then added the Unity Stamp Co sentiment. The women are by Stamping Bella.

I like the colour tones of this card and the sentiment is a hoot.

I love stencils, you can do so much with them, create a scene, highlight an image or add detail. They are one of my fave parts of my stash.

Cx

Kim Dellow CASE...

Hey,

I saw a great Pinterest card by Kim Dellow that I totally had to CASE.

I really love Kim's work and I thought this card would make a great set for a friend.

I tore pages out of a thesaurus that I bought for using in Mixed Media projects and I created a giant watercoloured background, so I could punch out the flowers (using a Stampin Up punch).

I drew in all the details for the flowers using a .3mm letraset pen.

All the backgrounds were either created using stencils, geli plates or background stamps. And of course I snuck in a tag version...

The sentiment and the awesome die are by Neat & Tangled and I affixed the awesome to all the cards using staples.

Super easy to make and fun to do, it felt like playing in my art journal.

I love how different each card is.

Here is a close-up so you can see the details.

Here are the rest of the cards - 6 in total.

 I love it when a Pinterest CASE works out even better than expected..

Cx

CASology: Romance...there you were...

Hey,

Happy Friday, back to work for me on Monday, after 5 weeks off. It's been an uphill battle, but I am well on the way to recovery and ready for work!

I love this week's CASology cue card -

It made me think of a stamp set  bought last year by Unity Stamp Co..I bought it simply for the sentiment that you see on my card today.

Looking through disarray and seeing the one you love, that's romance to me.

I used some texture paste through a heart stencil (Dutch doobadoo) and once it dried I went over it with Festive Berries distress ink and then die-cut the panel using an MFT stitched wonky die.

I wanted the sentiment to shine, but I didn't want to lose the hearts, so I die-cut a piece of vellum using MFT oval stitched dies and stamped the sentiment on to it.

Fortunately I had pink staples in my stapler already ;)

Simple and pretty romantic to me..I wonder can I use it as an Anniversary card..

Cx

Calling all Crazy Cat Ladies....

Hey,

So I saw this week's Freshly Made Sketch - 

It has tons of possibilities and I thought it would be fun to play with something new or not used very much..

I stumbled upon the 'You Crazy Cat' set by Concord & 9th when rummaging through my stash and an idea formed.

I used a die-cut circle for the cat's face and stamped, the nose, mouth and eyes on. Then I stamped the crazy text and then the decorative swoosh (ancient stamp found at a thrift store).

Once all that was done I affixed the cat face to my card and stamped ears and whiskers.

Final touch - Cat Ladies Unite sentiment.

Cracking myself up, this is WAY too funny and the even funnier part is I know 3 or 4 crazy cat ladies that I could send this too, I might need to make a batch.

Cx

Showing off my MISTI Skillz...

Hey,

It was JT's birthday last week and I bought her a faux MISTI - works the same, just 50% cheaper.

I thought it would be good to make something to show her the benefit of this extra tool (I love a tool and keep enabling her...)

I stamped these cards using the MISTI and it makes it ALL so much easier.

I die-cut the white panels first, makes it easier to position everything.

Then I stamped the doily border in four different colours, no need to move the stamp, just clean and put a new piece of paper in the MISTI.

The stamps were a freebie as part of Stampin' Up Sale-a-bration and are called Delicate Details..I am already in love. The inks were also a freebie from my Retro Rubber teamie Debbie (who is my SU demo) she had a spare set and sent to me, how sweet is that!

The hello stamp is by WPlus9 and again, I lined it up using the MISTI and stamped it 4 times, simples.

I mounted the white panels onto grey card blanks and added some sequins.

Super simple, elegant cards that were a breeze to make.

Cx

Valentine's Day Card Frenzy....

Hey,

Happy Valentine's Day.

A rare second post for me.

I love to make Valentine's cards..even though I think VDay is a nonsense, I can say I love you all year round!

The main photo today shows all the cards I made, most are sets of 4. I wanted to send cards to all the lovely people that have helped me get back on my feet and stay positive following my surgery and the subsequent complication.

I used so many different products by great companies, it was a lot of fun to dig through my stash. The writing out was tedious though...I always forget about that part LOL.

Here are a few of them close-up.

Constellation, using an idea by Debby Hughes, stamps by Simon Says Stamp, Hero Arts and Clearly Besotted

Monster-ous Valentines, using stamps by Your Next Stamp and Simon Says Stamp and adhesive googly eyes and a lot of masking for the sentiment. Thank god for the Misti.

Viking Valentine's, using Avery Elle Stamps and Lil Inker and Spellbinder dies

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #56...Birthday...

Hey,

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Time for another fun challenge with the Retro Rubber team.

This time we have a theme for you..

Birthday, everyone's fave..

I decided it was time to break out an old (slightly neglected) fave by Avery Elle 'Hipster-Potamus' I have had this set since 2014 and I use to over use it.

I thought I'd use creative license and make my Hippo a pale Lilac..no idea why, just felt like it.

I stamped the Birdie from the set on his back and added glasses too, then fussy cut it all out.

The background paper is a recent addition to my stash from Pink Fresh Studio, I bought a grab box and got a ton of stuff.

The quirky borders were die-cut using Sizzix border dies that JT bought me, I thought if I affixed them with staples it would be more fun. The fact that the borders overhang is a happy accident..I was planning on cutting them down, but I like them like this way better.

The sentiment is also from the set and I stamped it on white paper first and placed it all over my card, trying to work out where I liked it best..this is a new trick of mine so I don't make a mistake..

Your turn to show us your Birthday inspired makes. Make sure you go over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things my teammates have made..

Challenge ends February 24th. Don't forget to tell us the age of your stamp, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Color Throwdown...Flowery Awesome

Hey,

So I came across the CDT colours yesterday -

They are so fun, I totally had to play along!

I got out some Lil Inker goodies - the tag die and the flower dies (2 different sets).

I die-cut the tag and heat embossed the sentiment by Concord & 9th first, before I placed my flowers.

I die-cut both sets of flower in Orange, Teal and Black, giving me a good mix to work with.

I arranged the flowers along one side of the tag, using all different sizes and colours. For the centers I went with bling and the die-cut mini circles.

I added a hole and a piece of black raffia...it's a bit scruffy....not sure about that!

I love the card, the embossing and the flowers really stand out against the black tag.

Cx

Pocket Birthday...

Hey,

Recently there was a mini sale on some die sets over at Lil Inker and so I treated myself to Perky Posies and Spring Flowers.

I had a piece of watercoloured card ready to go, so die-cut both sets out of the background and got lots of delicious flowers!

I made the card for a friend, using some of the flowers - a mix of both sets.

As you know I love Tags, especially shop bought ones. I got these great pocket tags on sale last year and they have sparkly gold dots at the bottom.

I stamped and die-cut a piece of green card for a Birthday greeting to go in the pocket. I affixed the flower to the tag and then using glue dots I affixed the tag to the spotty card blank.

Using glue dots means the recipient can use the tag again ;) a twofer..

I can't wait to play with these flowers more..watch this space.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #450...Drawn With Character

Hey,

Welcome to another superb Sketch Saturday..

This week our sponsors are Drawn with Character and they are offering a prize of 3 digital stamps.

Here is this week's sketch -

If you know me, you know I LOVE Monster stamps..

So it should be no surprise that I decided to use the awesome Valentine's Monster Love 2 digital stamp and I imported it into my Silhouette library and die-cut the two monsters out. I coloured them with Promarkers and stamped the sentiment onto the balloons.

I decided to dig around in my stash for fun things to accompany the Monsters. The grid paper is ancient and the last piece left, I bought it when I first started crafting around 2009... The groovy purple background piece was made using a gelli plate, purple paint and a scraper.

Unfortunately I don't think you can see how glittery my ribbon strip is! I added some staples here and there for a bit of interest.

Fun card that I love and is going to make an awesome Valentine card.

Your turn to show us your sketch interpretations, go over to Sketch Saturday and see what the rest of the DT have been making.

Challenge ends Friday 17th February 7pm GMT / 5pm EST.

Cx

CASology: You're my SuperHERO....

Hey,

Happy Friday.

Today I am playing along with CASology -

The minute I saw the cue card, I knew that my The Cat's Pajamas My Hero stamp set would be perfect. I bought it last year to make a birthday card for my Dad, but it has had plenty of use.

I die-cut the panel first using MFT wonky stitched dies (new faves) and then I stamped and coloured the Big Eared Bunny and the sentiment.

Keeping the CAS feel by making my focal point the center of the card and leaving lots of yummy white space..showcases my Bunny Hero nicely.

I have a lot of these Big Eared Bunny stamps, as digital stamps and they are so gorgeous to work with, it has been nice to have a physical version.

This card is going to be given to my Hubby, who over the last 4 weeks has been a superhero, I have been unable to bend, due to a complication with my surgery and he has done absolutely everything in the house alongside working and caring for me. Nothing I give him will fully express my gratitude and love, but this Bunny Hero might make him smile.

Cx

Just us girls...Puppy Love..

Hey,

So as I get back on my feet, I am spending time at my desk and this week I am playing along with various challenges to help inspire me.

My friend Jen played along with Just Us Girls this week and I loved her card and the inspiration word, so thought I would join in too...

As I am in the midst of making Valentine's cards for my people..I thought this was the perfect time to play with a new Recollections Valentine's set called Puppy Love.

I die-cut a piece of Pink Fresh Studio heart paper for my background.

I stamped the Puppy, the sentiment and the hearts from the set, coloured it and die-cut it out using a Simon Says Stamp stitched circle.

I mounted the circle onto the card using foam tape.

I love how this came out, more puppy love cards for me!!!

Cx

CAS Mix-up February...Corrugated Valentine's...

Hey,

So I thought I would play along again with CAS Mix-up challenge - February is fun -

I pulled out some old DCVW corrugated card in grey. I instantly decided this would be a Valentine's card...

I die-cut it using a Taylored Expressions heart border die.

I also die-cut the white panel using an MFT wonky die.

I splattered my card with pink ink and affixed the border using pink staples for a bit of a match.

I stamped the sentiment (Clearly Besotted) and added 2 of the hearts that came out of the die.

Pretty CAS and covers off the main two requirements, the your choice elements are die-cutting and splatter.

So much fun I might play again.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #55 - Cross my Heart..Still time to play

Hey,

There is still time for you to play along with the latest Retro Rubber challenge.

Don't forget to go over to Retro Rubber and check out what the DT made.

Challenge ends on Feb 10th, don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us all about it, that's the fun part right?

Also, please limit your challenge entries to 10 including ours.

Cx

The Paper Players: Unusual Valentine....

Hey,

Happy Monday to you.

I am slowly getting back to full strength. I should have been back at work today, but I had a complication that set me back a week or two..

Anyway, enough of that!

I am in the midst of making Valentine's cards. I only really need to make one, but I like to send them to my little posse..

I haven't played along with The Paper Players in a while and thought this would be a great opportunity as their theme this week fits what I am up to -

I love making slightly off the wall Valentine's Day cards and these are quite out there..because the fishes are so ugly and not very Valentinesy (totally a word), but they made me giggle and worked out well.

The stamps are by Avery Elle and I stamped, coloured them with Zigs and die-cut them. I die-cut the white panel using MFT wonky stitched dies and I then stenciled on the spots for a slight sea effect.

Once I had my fishes in place, I added some hearts and the sentiment - both by Simon Says Stamp.

Here is the other one that I made -

Every time I see them they make me smile, they are quite weird, but I think my friends will love them.

Cx