Retro Rubber Challenge #279 - Theme - Anything Goes..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have everyone's fave anything goes for you!

I made these cards as a bit of therapy one night. I just felt the urge to watercolour and I pulled out this beautiful flower stamp by Altenew 'You Make Me Happy', I have had it since 2018. It watercolours beautifully and is so simple. I used a fave Clearly Besotted sentiment from 2019.

They were not popping off the card blanks, so I added a piece of vellum and I think they look much better now!

What will you choose to play with? Pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends September 4th.

Don't forget to tell us the age of your stamp, that is part of the fun of our challenge, and please only enter 5 challenges, including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #251 - Anything Goes..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

Anything goes is always a popular challenge, it gives everyone a chance to dig deep into that retro stash!

I recently got my 'new' stash organised and so I now swing by there first before making anything. Some of it is shamefully quite old...

Today, my stamp set is by Concord & 9th 'Umbrella Turnabout'. I bought it on sale in 2023, and I have never used it. Which is such a shame, as it's gorgeous.

I stamped it using my Altenew stamp wheel, which is perfect for turnabout stamps. I used Altenew inks too - Mountain Pine, Pink Diamond, Eastern Sky and Rocky Shore. I used my colorcube cards for inspiration and blended 2 cards -

I love these colorcubes, the first one was bought for me as a gift and I use them for cardmaking and quilting to get perfect colour combos.

To finish my card (which I made for my Aunt), I added a piece of glitter cardstock and a Hello die-cut (by Simon Says Stamp).

I love how this turned out and I ended up with a large leftover piece of the umbrellas, perfect for another card.

What will you find in your stash to play with? Pop on over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends April 4.

Don't forget to tell us the age of your stamp, that is part of the fun of our challenge, and please only enter 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #242 - Fall inspired....

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

Hubby and I are getting ready for our anniversary trip to Mexico at the weekend, we have been together for 20 years and married for 15 years, so it is a big one for us and we are celebrating in our fave place.

We have an inspiration image for you this time.

I have generally avoided fall / autumnal stamps and sayings, it's not really my thing. But I do love fall colours and obviously have leaves, etc. I thought it would be fun to make a hello card using fall colours and leaves.

I used x2 sets for my card - Concord & 9th 'Friendly Hello' that I got in 2021 and Lil Inker 'Welcome' that I have had since 2016.

I used Altenew and Hero Arts inks for my leaves, flowers and little dots. 

I recently got a set of Color Cubes - these cards are designed to help you when you are stuck for colour inspiration and I love them. I used card 260 from cube 2 to help me here and I think that the colours have ended up perfect.

What kind of fall inspired card will you make? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends November 1st.

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 #239 - Colour Feeling Fallish..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have some lovely Fall / Autumn colours for you..

I thought palette would work really well with a Concord & 9th turnabout stamp. I settled on 'Wreath Turnabout' - this is their OG wreath turnabout and I love it, I bought it in 2020 when Jenn Shurkus was having a destash. Autumnal colours are lovely, I don't really get these colours here in Tampa, I do miss that.

I used inks by Taylored Expressions (Lavender Glaze, Jelly Donut) and Alternew (Marigold, Chamomile).

I was a bit stuck about what to do for a sentiment and I settled on the hello die by MFT from their 'Hi, Hello, There' set that I have had since 2021.

I'm thrilled at how pretty this is and it was SO easy, I love turnabouts, especially when I use the Altenew stamp wheel which is perfect for these stamps.

Show us your interpretation of the colours, pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends September 20th.

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 Blog Challenge #226 - Theme

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

Ths time we have a spring theme for you.

I love flowers and now I am slowly becoming a gardener spring brings much excitement!

I have these pretty orangey-red flowers in my front garden (no idea what they are, the landscaper for the builder added them) and they inspired my colour palette.

I used 'Mondo Sakura' by Ellen Hutson that I have had since 2019. I heat embossed the stamp onto watercolour paper and then watercoloured it using Altenew Watercolour brush markers. The sentiment is also from the set and despite having used this set a lot, I have never ever used this sentiment combo!

Which spring flowers do you have in your stash that will inspire you? Pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends March 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 #218 - Fall Picnics colour challenge..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge - can you believe it is almost November?!

This time we have a colour challenge for you.

I love Concord & 9th turnabout stamps and I have a lot of them, so I thought as we need to use at least x3 colours, it would be fun to dig one of my faves out. For this card I used the 'Lovely Blossoms' turnabout, that I have had since 2021.

I was aiming for x3 colours in my background, blue, green and yellow.. but guess who stamped the blue first and then the yellow.. so I got a kind of greeny tinge! No matter, I like it and I used yellow for my sentiment instead. The sentiment is also by Concord & 9th from their 'Big On You' set (also 2021) and I use this set a lot.

Super easy and fun card to make. I used my new Altenew Stampwheel for the background and I am in love!

How will you use the colours? Be sure to pop on over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends November 3rd.

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 #211 - Tic Tac Toe!

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a tic tac toe board for you.

I love these boards, so many ideas!

I went with your choice (bling) - die cut or punch - stencil.

I love stencils and I am a big fan of these 'create in quads' ones by Taylored Expressions, you layer the stencils over letter-sized paper and end up with x4 different stenciled panels. Clever.

The one I used here is from the TE Quad monthly club and is called 'Pattern Party'.  I decided it was the perfect background for one of my fave Monsters by 'Your Next Stamp' the set is 'Way Cool Monsters' and I have had it since 2019. I am sad to say goodbye to YNS as they are closing their doors after 14 years, they are the reason for my love of Monster stamps. I added some googly eyes to my Monster.

My die-cuts are obviously my Monster and the yellow panel.

I stacked the sentiments, because I wanted to use the Favorite Human stamp by Technique Tuesday, I find that this sentiment always works well with Monsters! It is from their 'Favorite Human' set and I have had it since 2017.

Because the background is so busy, I didn't want the 'your choice' element to get lost, so I went with large blingy gems, so they would stand out and not get lost.

A fun cheery birthday card.

Can't wait to see which row you decide to use, pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends July 28th.

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 Blog Challenge #206 - Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a Tic Tac Toe board for you.

I had fun with this, this card is actually for my MIL (her birthday is today!). I went with Birthday / Flowers / Your choice (watercolour).

Recently I have been pulling out the stamps I got as part of the 3 day SCT crop and create last March. This stamp set is called 'Beautifully You' and is actually by SCT. I used my fave Altenew watercolour brush pens and a waterbrush to colour the stamp. Super easy and really very therapeutic.

Here is a little close-up, you can see the gold ink splatter that I added.

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 May 19th.

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 Blog Challenge - #196 - Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge - the penultimate one of 2022! That went fast!

We have a fun tic tac toe board for you this time.

Tic tac toe boards are so much fun! I went with the first vertical row - Orange/Pens/Pattern Paper.

How cute is my sledding Yeti!? I love this stamp set 'Baby It's Cold Outside' by Evelin T Designs... sadly I have had it since Sept 2021 and despite cutting him with Big Sexy (Brother Scan n Cut) he has never ever been inked!!

I recently sold all my Copic markers, as I decided I preferred Altenew's markers and that is what I used to colour him, along with my fave Sakura Gelly Roll Starburst pens, that add a ton of shimmer.

I added some glittery snow paste through a Clearly Besotted stencil (snow day) for a bit of additional interest and created the hill using a Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside'. The stripey paper is actually from a Halloween kit!

I love it and he is actually going into my 2023 Christmas card stash..

I can't wait to see which row you choose! Be sure to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends December 2nd.

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 - So Berry Sweet...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

It's been a bit of a whirlwind the last week and a half. We bought a house and finally moved in last Friday. The craft room and my work desk were the first things I unpacked. The craft room is not finished, but it is totally open for business ;)

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

Which will you try?

I loved both, so I fused them!

I knew I had a set by Studio Calico that had fruit in it!! Fortunately, I packed my stamps in their bins, so it was easy to find!

I cut a piece of white cardstock to fit the front of an A2 card blank and stamped the strawberries on the piece that would appear below my glittery border. I coloured them using Altenew markers. The sentiment is from the same set and echoes the 'thanks' sentiment in the inspiration image.

I am super pleased with the first-ever card from my forever craft room.

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 8th.

Cx

Artsy Fartsy Reindeer...

 

Hey,

Today is my last day of work until 4th January - whooooop!!

I thought I'd share a card that I made for JT last year, I loved the idea so much that I made a bunch of them this year.

The photo shows it without a sentiment - because I foolishly forgot to take a photo of them when I added it!

I love super easy cards like this. I started by smooshing a piece of watercolour card in a variety of green distress inks. Then I die-cut the wreath's from this piece of card. The smooshing means the wreath gets a range of colour and intensity, making it feel more like a real wreath.

I used gold mousse through a stencil to create the background and to match the background the fabulous Reindeer was die-cut from gold glitter paper.

They looked so nice and shimmery and were a bit unusual. I love to make non-traditional Christmas cards.

I used Ellen Hutson - Wreath Die. Altenew - Festive Silhouettes stamp and die set. Clearly Besotted - Falling Snow stencil. Nuvo - Indian Gold Mousse.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #144 Anything Goes...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

I am counting down to VACAY!! I have my birthday week off next week, there is gonna be a whole lot of eating and crafting!

But before then, we have everyone's fave Anything Goes..

By now you should not be surprised to see a Monster pop up on most of my cards, I LOVE Monster stamps and I am so lucky that my friends are constantly gifting them to me. To date I have not had a duplicate, which is amazing.

I chose this Hero Arts 'Eat Cake All Day' set (I've had it since 2017) deliberately because it was given to me by my friend Cheiron, who I was introduced to by Jenn Shurkus who was the previous owner of the MFT Birthday Speech Bubbles set (Jenn bought it in 2016).

I love these ladies and I thought it would be fun to make a card that combines things from them :)

As you know I am a big fan of Altenew inks and I used x3 of them to stamp the bubbles here - Starlight, Tide Blue and Sea Breeze.

It felt like the Monster needed something and so I hunted through my dies and came up with a bow-tie for him from the Elizabeth Craft Designs 'Party Accessories' set. Perfect!

Your turn to dig out something neglected and show us what you can do with it. Also, pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends October 2nd.

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

MFT: Picture Perfect Party Animals..

Hey, 

Happy Friday!

Hope you have had a good week?

I love the Birdie Brown for MFT Picture Perfect sets, I have the original set and when this one (Picture Perfect Birthday Animals) was released I had to have it. I already have the dies that match the selfie squares, so it made it all very easy.

Colouring them was a blast! I used all scraps of paper to create the frames for each card and I used the sentiments from the set and stamped them using Altenew inks. The sentiments on a banner, are by Taylored Expressions and are their simple strips - genius!

I got creative with the Lion below and he is actually a shaker. These x2 cards are my fave images from the entire set. The Hippos are just too much and I think I eat my cupcakes like the Lion!

 Have a great weekend, gym, NFL and desk time for me.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #143 Colour Me...

Hey,

Can you believe it's already September?!

Time for another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a colour challenge for you, use only yellow and green.

I thought it would be fun to pull out a set that I really haven't used very much and I have had it since 2018, it has been thoroughly neglected - Avery Elle Balloons & Banners.

I stamped my banner and balloons using Altenew inks - Sweet Leaf and Maple Yellow. I love their inks, they stamp SO well. I am slowly buying them when they have deals on :)

As I was putting it together with the pretty polka dot Lawn Fawn paper, I thought it was a teeny bit dull. So I was going to add my default Monster to jazz it up and then I thought how about an actually 'green' creature and went with the fun Croc from the Heffy Doodle Happy Snappy Crocs set (I've had this since 2017).

The end result made me smile a lot! I love a card with a happy Critter!

How will you use the colours? Be sure to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends September 18th.

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 #134.. Spring Flowers..

Hey,

Happy Cinco de Mayo (and Happy Birthday to my bestie Lemon).

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time it's all about Spring Flowers..

If you are anything like me, then you have a TON of flower stamps and this was quite hard for me to decide which ones to use LOL.

I decided to use the amazing Waffle Flower x Helen Dardik 'Enveloper Hugs' set. I love Helen Dardik's work and these stamps always make me smile. I have had this one since 2018.

I stamped and coloured the main image and x3 of the other flower images in the set. I used Altenew watercolour pens to colour the stamps. I die0cut all of the coloured stamps and layered them onto my stenciled cloud background (stencil by Dutchdoobadoo).

I created the sentiment by combining two of the Waffle Flower x Helen Dardik sets.

A really fun make that went to a good crafter friend for her birthday, as I knew she would appreciate it!

Show us your Spring Flower makes and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends May 15th.

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 #132.. Be Squared..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge, a couple of weeks ago the RR DT did a google meet-up and omg it was so nice to see everyone for the first time ever. CV-19 is creating a mess in the world, but some good things are coming out of it too.

We have a fun theme for you this time -

I like squares, they suit my linear brain!

I used all Concord & 9th products here, the background blocks set that I bought in 2017, but couldn't really afford the letter/number dies that you can use with the set. BUT I got lucky in their blowout sale earlier this year and got them for a steal.

I stamped the blocks in x4 colours of Altenew inks (Pinkalicious, Maple Yellow, Sea Breeze and Sweet Leaf) onto a white base. I LOVE Altenew inks and I am slowly building my collection of them.

Then I stamped the same blocks onto white card and die-cut the letters/doubles. These are special double cut dies, so you get a solid and the outline - here is a close-up example of how they look -

I mixed and matched my placement of them and you get such a fun effect. I can't wait to do more things with them.

Show us your square makes and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends April 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

Shopping Our Stash: Under the Sun, Moon and Stars..

Hey,

So, my Retro Rubber teammate, Maria is DT over at Shopping Our Stash and I saw her card, so I went to check out the challenge.

They have a theme of Sun, Moon, and Stars.

I knew exactly which stamp set I was going to use and I am 100% embarrassed to say that this beautiful set 'Late Nights' by Pink Fresh Studio (retired) has been owned by me since 2017 and had not seen ink until Thursday night..

I really didn't have to do much, the stamps are so beautiful, they just pop off the card and don't need to be over-embellished. I love all of the details in the stamp and the smiling moon is lovely.

I made x2 cards because the set was out and I have ALWAYS wanted to play with it, but just kept neglecting it.

I used Altenew Starlight ink - love Altenew inks.

I die-cut navy cardstock as a mat, so the white stamped panel would pop even more.

Can't lie, I am feeling super pleased with myself at how gorgeous these are. I hope the stamp set will forgive me for the terrible neglect.

Lockdown can be a wonderful thing..

Cx

Monsters: Repeat Stamping..

Hey,

Welcome to March!

You must all know by now that I LOVE Monster stamps!

A few weeks ago, I decided to pull out a couple of Monster stamp sets that haven't been used in a while and I chose Flonzcraft Monsters and Microbes and Jane's Doodles Monster Squad.

I thought a bit of repeat stamping would be fun.

The main photo uses the stamps by Flonzcraft, these are too much fun and were a gift from Lisette. I decided to just use x3 colours and x3 of the stamps - you get approx 20 stamps in this set!

I love how fun and bright it came out and it really pops against the orange mat, my sentiment pops more IRL.

Next up is my fave Jane's Doodles monster - I think I love him because you can use a large googly eye! The background for this card was created using an arrow stamp that came with the Monster set and I stamped it using Altenew inks - I have the Shades of Purple set - I LOVE their inks.

Super easy and fun monster cards.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #124 Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have our last Tic Tac Toe board of 2019, created by Jan.

Loves me some Tic Tac Toe.

This one was fun, as I got to pull out a ready to go smooshed background. I chose the bottom row - Birthday / Masculine / Twine.

I stamped some of the sentiments from the 'Large Sentiments' set by Studio Calico that I have had since 2017 and coloured them in using an Altenew Watercolour brush marker in 'Lagoon'. I added the little dots that are part of the set, you get stripes, dots and solids so you can decorate your sentiment.

I added some ancient (circa 2011) paper twine to finish it off and match my chosen row.

Perfect card for a male friend :)

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 November 29th.

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

Giant Hug..

Hey,

So a while ago my boss asked me for some cards that were 'thinking of you' in style, but didn't actually say that.

Pretty clear brief.

I made a ton of cards for her, but the ones I made using the Altenew Leaf Medallion set are my faves and they all used sentiments from the A-Muse Studios 'Fierce' set.

I fell in love with the Altenew set and had to have it, I love the variations that you can get from one set (praise the lord for stamping platforms) and I also love that Altenew always gives you a short ideas/instruction leaflet with their stamp sets.

The green inks are also by Altenew. I have x3 sets of their oval inks (greens, pinks, blues) and it took me a while, but I LOVE them now, the colours are so rich.

I've remade this card so many times and used lots of different sentiments in the centre.

Cx