November 2021 Layouts...

Hey,

Happy Monday!

It has been a while since I shared any of my digital layouts with you. October and November were CRAZY with NSD (National Scrapbooking Day) and Thanksgiving/Black Friday specials.. I was on fire for my creative team commitments!

Here is a selection of my fave November layouts.

The main photo was for a Digital Scrapbook.com / Pixel Scrapper challenge, only my second time using stock imagery.

The Digital Press - Gone Digital Design Challenge 

The Digital Press - Jimbo Jambo Challenge

The Lilypad - Rachel Jefferies Challenge (I won a prize!)

The Lilypad - BYOC challenge

Sweet Shoppe Designs - One Little Word - Tribe - Challenge

Sweet Shoppe Designs - Typography Challenge

Sweet Shoppe Designs - Seasonal Challenge - Use Buttons

The Nifty Pixel - Creative Team Layout

Studio Liv @Gingerscraps - Creative Team Layout

Buzzbee Scraps - Creative Team layout (template, using kit from Pixel Scrapper)

They are so varied and I love them all for different reasons, I created 40 layouts in November!! I am having a month off of my CT commitments in Jan, so I can play along with the Month of Challenges at The Lilypad! I really enjoyed it this year and I am eager to play this year, with my improved skills.

Cx

Perfectly CAS - Make Pina Coladas...

Hey,

Well, I have been so busy being on teams and digitally scrapping that I haven't really been playing along much.

But I came across this awesome challenge over at Perfectly CAS - Tropical

I mean YAASSSS!! I just moved to Tampa in August, so I am all about feeling tropical.

I used x2 stamps - Sassy Crafting 'Feeling Fruity' and a wood Pineapple stamp by American Crafts.

I inked up the stamp with Distress Oxides - a bit of green bled into the Pineapple, but I kinda like it. I tried the sentiment a bunch of ways, until I finally settled on chopping it up and arranging it in a funky way!

I love it! SO not a Christmas card.

Cx

Retro Rubber #173 - Merry Christmas....

Hey,

Welcome to the final 2021 Retro Rubber challenge.

Can you believe it is nearly Christmas?! Where on earth has 2021 gone?

It has been a much better year, I got to see my family for the first time in 18months, my goddaughter had a baby, we relocated to Tampa and we spent a fun summer in NYC enjoying it before we left for good. For me 2021 has been a good year, my family and friends are well and happy and what more can I ask for?

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a great 2022.

Now onto our last challenge of the year! Of course Christmas themed.

This is one of my all-time fave Christmas stamps by Lil Inker (Oh Deer!) and I have had it since 2017. I was inspired by the colours and the banner. 

I stamped and coloured the image and die-cut it using a stitched circle die, mounting the panel onto a kraft card blank felt like it matched the background in the photo. I love the banner that is part of the stamp, makes life a lot easier!

Show us what makes you were inspired to create and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends December 17th.

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

Fusion Card Challenge - Grey Christmas...

Hey,

Welcome to the last Fusion Card Challenge of 2021! How quickly did that go?!

This time we have 'Grey Christmas' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

This time I just went with the sketch.

The background stamp is by Studio Calico 'Scandinavian Christmas' and is one of my all-time fave stamps. It's always fun to colour and worked really well with the scalloped die. I added a sentiment and the bow to finish it off and match the sketch.

This super fun card got added to my stash :) and will be heading out to someone soon.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on December 7th.

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving today, Happy Thanksgiving to you, remember to take some time and tell your loved ones how grateful you are to have them in your life.

See you in January 2022.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #172 - Get your sketch on...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a sketch for you this time, created by me!

You know how much I love a sketch!

I wanted to use the My Favorite Things 'Stitched Strip' dies, I got these earlier this year when I bought a fellow scrapbookers card stash. I stamped the Hero Arts 'Tiny Hearts background' stamp onto watercolour paper and spritzed it with water, so there is a teeny bit of movement. This is one of my fave stamps that I have had since 2017. I then used the MFT die to die-cut the strips.

I die-cut a heart in gold glittery paper and used a Love die-cut that my bestie sent me - she die-cut a bunch for me in all different colours. It's always nice to share kit. I stamped the sentiment using the same Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide that I had used for the hearts. The sentiment is a freebie that I have had since 2017, this set means a lot to me, as my bestie gave it to me when she came to visit me in NYC after the big operation complication..

Anyway, I love this card, I love making anniversary cards, celebrating love is always a nice thing to do.

Show us your interpretation of the sketch and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends December 3.

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.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Hubby and I are heading to Sarasota to spend it with friends.

Cx

CASology #397 Type - I Like Your Face

 

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a lovely weekend? Hubby and I had our first houseguest here in Tampa last week, which was a lot of fun.

I haven't played along with CASology in forever, but I saw so many cute typewriter cards that fit Fusion Card challenge AND my friend Jen's card made me laugh so hard I had to play along!

I mixed a bunch of sets to make this fun simple card.

The pink swoosh is a stamp from the Clearly Besotted 'Brush it Off' set and I used Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide. Heidi Swapp turned me on to stamping with Oxides and I am HOOKED.

The cute little typewriter and small sentiment below it, are from Lawn Fawn's 'Just My Type'  set. To add the fun sentiment, I masked off an ancient fave by Stampin' Up, so that I could have it stacked, it's actually in one straight line -

I loved this card so much I ended up making a bunch of them as a gift for a friend.

Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving Week. We are lucky enough to be going to spend ours with a friend.

Cx

Fusion Card Challenge - Bauble Triangle...

Hey,

Welcome to the penultimate Fusion Card Challenge of 2021! 

How quickly has this year whipped by?!

This time we have a fun 'Bauble Triangle' theme for you. As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

I went back to my normal ways for this card and fused both the sketch and the inspiration image.

I used the colours and the Christmas theme from the image as inspiration for my card. 

I had a different idea in mind, I was actually going to put the circles over the top of the grey and white panels, but I didn't love that! So I got out a fun die by Simon Says Stamp that cuts 3 circles in a row and that created the look I had envisioned!

I am a big fan of the Flora & Fauna sets that feature a VW Camper Van, they are always so quirky! And this one features various things for you to dress up your van with! I went with Antlers (of course). I mixed in the snowflake and the sentiment banner and I opted to keep them all black & white, as I think the red base that is showing through the circles makes them pop.

I used - Flora & Fauna 'Driving to the Holidays', Pink Fresh Studio 'December Days',  A-Muse Studio 'Ugly & Bright', Simon Says Stamp 'Tri-Circle' die and the papers are all from my stash.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on November 23.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #171 - Fall Colours...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

Another fall-inspired challenge for you, use fall colours on your card - limited to purple, orange, yellow and brown.

Love this colour palette.

It was fun to pull out one of my fave sets by Ink Blot Shop 'Botanical Borders' I have had it since 2019 and it was hard to decide which border to use here.

But I love this one, it actually feels a bit like the foliage outside my new home!

This card was super simple, I stamped the border and then watercoloured it using Distress Inks (Fossilized Amber, Expresso, Wilted Violet and Carved Pumpkin).

Stamped the sentiment and boom! super pretty, quick card.

Looking forward to seeing how you use the colours, and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends November 19.

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

Fusion Card Challenge - Pink Typewriter...

Hey,

Welcome to another fabulous Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Pink Typewriter' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

Weirdly for me, no fusing this time, the typewriter inspired me so much, I didn't use the sketch!

I love these sets from Lawn Fawn - Just My Type and Love Poems. They make super cute little scenes and I thought it would be fun to make a little scene for this challenge.

I stamped everything onto watercolour paper and watercoloured everything - easier I find when you have lots of bits and pieces! I constructed the 'room' by sticking all my papers together to get the right division for the wallpaper, skirting board and floor and then I die-cut it all out as one piece.

It's SO cute, I love it and it is accompanying a gift for a friend.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on November 9th.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #170 - Fallin' for Autumn...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we want you to use fall / autumn-inspired imagery on your card.

I love fall/autumn imagery. I also love Hedgehogs and they make me think of autumn in my parent's garden when the family of Hedgehogs start appearing! I have no idea if they are a family, but my parents have been in their house for 32 years and every autumn a Hedgehog appears!

I love this set by Jen Hadfield 'Warm & Cozy' which I bought in Jan 2020.. to my shame I have NEVER used it! I stamped the Hedgie in brown ink and coloured him with copics. Then I fussy cut him.

The papers are by Lawn Fawn from their Sweater weather collection and I added a Taylored Expressions simple strip that was stamped for me by a friend.

It came out so cute and is going to a friend.

What fall/autumn goodies will you pull out? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends November 5.

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

Fusion Card Challenge - Pumpkin Mug...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

A bit of an absence from me, with the move, etc, but I am back! 

This time we have 'Pumpkin Mug' for you. As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

I loved both, so I fused them!

The pumpkins and the mugs inspired me. I used a fave set of mine by Waffle Flower 'Happy Fall' - are you like me and don't always use the tiny stamps in a set? Well this was a great opportunity to do that. I used a bunch of scrap papers to mimic the sketch and created a little pumpkin, pie, mug scene.

Sorry my photo is a touch dark, but I am still getting used to the light at night in the new house.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on October 26th.

Cx

Retro Rubber #169 - Anything Goes - Big Thanks

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

I have missed about 5 weeks of Retro Rubber challenges, as Hubby and I relocated from NYC to Tampa!! It was a LOT and I needed to focus on my little family for a while.

But I am back, with everyone's fave - Anything Goes!

I love this set by Concord & 9th 'Big Thanks' I have had it since 2019 and I use it a lot, it comes with an awesome die-cut and looks great stamped in a rainbow of colours. Love your face is one of my all-time fave sayings.

What will you pull out of the archives for anything goes? Pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends October 22nd,

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

Retro Rubber Challenge #166 - Inspiration Image...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

I am SO glad that I made a few of my RR cards before I started the packing for the move to Tampa, it was total chaos. As this goes live, we have moved (30th Aug) and we now officially live in Tampa - WHOOOOP!! We move into our new home at the weekend.

Anyway, this time we have some photo inspiration for you.

I was inspired by the flowers and I love this stamp by Scrapberry's 'Thinking of You' I have had it since 2018 and I love the idea of the cat and the mouse gifting someone flowers!

I kept this card really simple and just stamped the image, coloured it with Copics and Sakura Gelly Roll Starburst pens. The sentiment is a mix of random sets.

Super simple and cute and has already left my desk.

What will you be inspired by? Head over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends September 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

Fusion Card Challenge - Crayons...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have a 'crayon' theme for you.As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

You know I love to fuse the sketch and the inspiration image. So that is what I did here.

This card was made in the weirdest circumstances.. I am in the middle of packing for the big move to Tampa (from NYC) and my craft room is pretty much packed, so I had to improvise LOL.

The solid colour strips were actually coloured using Copics (including the sentiment banner) and the awesome crayon clutching Bunny is from Mama Elephant's 'Little Bunny Agenda' set, but I packed it (doh!) and so my friend kindly stamped and cut him out for me!! The patterned strip of paper was a scrap that I kept to one side and ended up fitting my colour scheme here.

The Happy Birthday stamp honestly, no word of a lie was on my craftroom floor LOL! Handy, but it also means I am not sure who it is by!

Hope you like this cute little card.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on August 31st.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #165 Crusin'...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a fun theme for you, asking you to show modes of transportation on your card.

I love VW Bugs and Campers, they remind me of my teenage years, when everyone started to drive and had them. I had a friend who had a bright orange VW Bug and we went everywhere in it, even though it was wholly unreliable!

I have had this set 'Hattastic Car' by Flora & Fauna since 2019 and I have only used it once! I thought it would make a cute little scene.

I stamped the 'grass' first, which is actually a set by Avery Elle 'Brushed' and it has all these great brushstrokes in it, that I am always using for 'land'. I stamped the Campervan, masked it off, so I could stamp the flowers, which are also masked because they are only a 3 stem stamp. I stamped, coloured, and fussy-cut the hat because I wanted to add dimension.

Show us your fun transportation makes. Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends on August 27.

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

Fusion Card Challenge - Kitty Butterfly...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Kitty Butterfly' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

I decided to be brave and fuse them because I had a crazy idea in mind..

I used a pencil to recreate the sketch on my white panel and then I masked off all the individual areas and blended them using distress oxides. I was pretty pleased with the outcome.

I knew I was going to use this amazing stamp by Carabelle Studios x Birgit Koopsen 'Cat Angel' - isn't it gorgeous.

It came out exactly as I had imagined and I just added a simple Happy Birthday and it is now winging it's way to my boss in London.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! 

When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on August 17th

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #164 - Anything Goes...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

It's everyone's fave this time - Anything Goes!!

Anything goes is great, it truly is the time to dig out some of the super neglected stamps.

This card uses x2 of my all-time fave stamp sets. The birds, the line and part of the sentiment are by WPlus9 from their 'Happy Birds' set that I have had since 2017 and the 'It's your birthday' stamp is the most overused thing in my craftroom, so much so I have a spare one! It is by Simon Says Stamp 'Big Birthday Wishes' that I got in a kit in 2016.

I decided this was a perfect time to create another stenciled cloud background (I can't stop doing this), using the MFT mini cloud edger with distress inks.. If you don't have one of these, you need it in your life.

The rest of the card was super simple, stamp and colour 2 of the birds from the set and stamp the line, so it looks like they are sitting on something.. rather high up LOL.

This is one of my fave makes I think this year!

What are you going to dig out of the archives to play with? Pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 13.

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

Fusion Card Challenge - Lemon Hydrangea...

 Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Old MacDonald' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

I loved both, so I fused them! The lemons were my inspiration and we all know I love a sketch.

I cut a scrap panel to match the sketch and blended Squeezed Lemonade distress oxide ink in the cutaway.

I then stamped 2 different lemons from the Sassy Crafting 'Feeling Fruity' set over the top of the blended area, using Mustard Seed distress oxide. 

To finish it off and add a bit of impact, I added a large sentiment from Concord & 9th from their 'Big on You' set.

Super fun and I am a teeny bit impressed with my creative use of the sketch ;)

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on August 3rd.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #163 - Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Hello from London and welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge. I was in quarantine for 10 days and that was nice to get so much time with my parents and now I am visiting other family and friends.

This time we have a great tic-tac-toe board created by our very own Jan.

I love tic-tac-toe boards, they are always a lot of fun and everyone interprets the prompts so differently!

I went with the top row - Masculine, Square, Something Mechanical.

I love the cog stamp by Papermania and I have had it since 2015, I have toyed with getting rid of it many times, but it's actually super handy! 

For this card I stamped it in grey ink and die-cut it using a square die, the wonderful blimp and sentiment are from a Stampin' Up set called 'Moving Forward' and I actually bought it second-hand last year.

I think I have ended up with a really nice monochrome masculine card.

Which row will you choose? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends July 30th.

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

Fusion Card Challenge - Blue Decor...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

We have a great 'Blue Decor' theme for you and as always a great sketch for you to use. Remember you can be inspired by the image or the sketch OR fuse them together.

Which will you try?

I loved both, so I fused them!

I decided that I would use all the blues and created a fun background using the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero April kit. You got a fun set of layering stamps that I used to create my background. I stamped flowers and a sentiment from the set and layered those onto a blue circle die-cut to mimic the sketch.

It came out so well! I love the abstract background with the pretty flowers.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on July 20th

Cx