Retro Rubber Challenge #238 - Theme - The Great Outdoors...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

A bit late posting this, but I got sidetracked last week when I got back from my solo cruise, which was a blast!

This is such a fun theme, but I was a bit worried, as I had just used my ONLY camping set for another challenge lol.

I remembered having this fun set 'Forest Friends' by My Favorite Things (I've had it since 2021). I am a Star Wars fan, so I loved the sentiment I used here, it made me chuckle and later this year, I will be repurposing this card for my Daddy's birthday, as he is a big Star Wars fan too.

I used all of the animal and tree stamps to create my background, coloured with Altenew markers. I decided to use a Taylored Expressions Shaker infinity panel because then I don't lose too much of the background.

It's such a fun card, I love it, hopefully Daddy will too.

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 September 6th.

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

Catherine Pooler - Mug Shots...

Hello!

I cannot resist a mug stamp, because IRL I LOVE mugs and it's a good job I have hubby to rein me in, otherwise we would have a bejillion of them.

This great set by Catherine Pooler 'Mug Shots' has gotten so much use since I got it last year. I love pairing it The Rabbit Hole designs Caffeinated sentiments set.

These cards are pretty similar, just a bit of ink blending to anchor the mugs, because they are so pretty they need to shine!

I think the Corgi mug above is actually my fave!

Hope you enjoyed these simple, elegant beauties.

Cx

 

Koala Hugs..

 

Hey,

Happy Friday!

Recently whilst in Connecticut, we dropped into Papercraft Clubhouse - LOVE Tracie and Jona.

I saw the sample for the Avery Elle 'Sending Hugs' set - I am a big Avery Elle fan and the sample made me NEED this set LOL.

It is so much fun, as the envelope is actually x2 pieces that you sandwich the Koala (or other critter from the set) between.

I added a Gina Miller cover plate and watercoloured the stamp. Teeny bit fiddly, but somethings are just worth the extra effort.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, I'll be brunching, desking and relaxing.

Cx

Cat-Cactus aka Catus...

 

Hey,

Happy Monday!!

I have been neglecting my blog a bit, so over the next couple of weeks I am hoping to bring you a few more posts ;)

Starting with today's punny beauties.

On a recent trip we popped into numerous craft stores and these amazing Cat-cactus stickers were on sale.

So I turned them into super quick slimline cards and added stickers for 'Catus - get it...

LOL.

Cx

Be Happy...

Hey!

One of the downsides to being on design teams is that when you go to comment on cards, you discover all the goodies you didn't know you needed!

Or is that just me?!

During my first Fusion Card Challenge I saw a card with the amazing Zebra planter and I was like - gotta have it!

The stamps are Be Happy by Penny Black, such an awesome set. 

I stamped and coloured x4 of the images from the set and used a mix of sentiments from the set and others from my stash. I kept the cards pretty simple, as the images are so gorgeous when coloured, they really need nothing else adding.

I don't need an excuse to be enabled when it comes to stamps...

Cx

 

My Favourite Earthling..

Hey,

Happy Saturday!

Today's card I made for a colleague that is a good friend and he recently left the company I work for - today also happens to be his birthday!

He is pretty much the definition of G.O.A.T (Greatest, Of, All, Time) and he is very missed.

We have this space thing going on, so I wanted to make him a silly card with the Lawn Fawn 'Beam Me Up' set.

I obviously wanted the spaceship to be beaming up a Goat - LOL, obvs. BUT I suddenly realised that the beam that comes with the set is too small for my large goat (Paper Smooches - Green Acres), so I had to draw the beam myself.. I am pretty pleased with myself!

I made the background using a cover plate by Hero Arts 'Star Confetti' and neon paper. I added a little hill using Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside borders' and stamped the sentiment.

I'm pretty pleased with how well the idea in my head came out!

Have a great weekend, gym and brunch with a friend for me.

Cx

 

Fusion Card Challenge - Old MacDonald...

 

Hey,

Well, this is pretty exciting!!

My first post as part of the Fusion Challenge team - yay! What a great birthday week!!

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

Which will you try?

As it is my first time as DT AND I loved both, I fused them!

I was inspired by the farmyard animals and the shiplap. 

So I stamped, coloured, and cut the Goat. I then stamped the shiplap background, which got die-cut and matted with a grey paper. The little banners were cut from paper scraps and I stapled them to the top of my card. You can't really tell, but my Hipster Goat is popped up using foam tape.

Really happy with the end result, it is going to be sent to a friend/colleague that recently changed job and I promised to 'spam' him with happy mail!

I used -

Tim Holtz Hipster stamps and dies, Taylored Expressions Shiplap Background, MFT Large Fishtail Banners, and the sentiment is a mix of Waffle Flower and Lil' Inker

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. 

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #137.. Sketchy Collab..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge. This time we are teaming up with Double Trouble.

Our challenge is a sketch challenge so all you have to do for Retro Rubber is to make a card using our sketch and at least one stamp older than a year.

The Double Trouble challenge requirements are:

Thing 1 – Trouble Maker: 3-2-1 Recipe: 3 colors – 2 embellishments – 1 old stamp

Thing 3 – Twisted Sister: Follow our RRCB sketch but do not use ovals, circles or rounded corners.

Thing 2 – Double Dare (Optional): If you used the RRCB sketch and the 3-2-1 Recipe be sure to link your card Double Trouble’s challenge to receive an additional chance to be in Double Trouble’s random draw.

I combined the challenges like this - 

Thing 1 - 3 colours (gold, blue, yellow), 2 embellishments (x2 little blingy gems), 1 old stamp (Prehistoric by Neat and Tangled, that I have had since 2018).

Thing 3 - Use the sketch, but no rounded corners (I used a hexagon)

Thing 2 - Combine both - yay!

My background was created by smooshing distress inks, the vertical paper strip is SO old, I believe that I bought that paper with my Momma BEFORE I got married 11 years ago.. The hexagon die is by Spellbinders and was a gift from my friend JT, because I love Hexagons so much. I die-cut it from a glittery gold paper. The 'rawr' banner and the Woolly Mammoth are from the Neat & Tangled set and I got them second-hand from my friend Cheiron. The white banner is one of the awesome Taylored Expressions simple strips.

Show us your interpretation of the double challenge or just our sketch and pop over to Retro Rubber and Double Trouble to get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends June 26th

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

Cx

Shopping Our Stash: Sticker Lion..

Hey,

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a good weekend?

I am starting the week off with another challenge entry, I had an epic challenge playtime at my desk on Saturday.

I was lucky enough to get a top 3 spot over at Shopping Our Stash from one of their recent challenges, which was a nice surprise. I love their current theme 'Stuck on You' - use your stickers!

I have been saving the awesome Lion sticker, for something, I was never sure what and then SOS came along with this challenge and I felt it was time for him to shine.

I bought a random pack of Project Life stickers ages ago on sale and I have used quite a few of them, but most are just sitting around needing a home..

I die-cut x2 panels using scalloped, dotted, stitched rectangle dies from The Works in London. I went with a yellow palette as I felt it coordinated nicely with the Lions crown.

I stamped part of the sentiment onto the yellow panel and the other part I stamped into the speech bubble and fussy cut it out. The sentiments and the speech bubbles are both by Avery Elle (Rawr and Speech Bubbles sets).

He came together so well and it makes me so happy to see the sticker finally on a card.

Cx

CAS Colours and Sketches: Nice Things..

Hey,

Yesterday I had a fun playtime at my desk.

I decided to play along with a bunch of challenges.

I really love sketches, so the current CAS Colours and Sketches was perfect for me and a new stamp set..

The very cute Gus & Gertie set by Taylored Expressions arrived on Friday and I thought it would be perfect to ink it up for this challenge.

I stamped, cut and coloured the stamp and die-cut a stitched circle and scalloped square in coordinating colours and layered them and the image up.

The sentiment came with the set and it's just so cute! I am sure all dog/cat owners can identify with it!

Super quick and easy card that made me smile.

Cx

CTD: Word...

Hey,

Happy Saturday!

I had a nice morning, leisurely stroll to the bagel shop with Hubby and then we sat on a bench, enjoying the sunshine and our bagels.

I loved the Color Throwdown colours this week -

I thought I'd use a Zebra for the black and white part of the swatch. I smooshed some Broken China distress oxide ink and picked it up with acetate to get a more precise smoosh onto my white panel. I added some black ink splatters, which sadly were not dry when I put my card together (sigh).

The white panel was die-cut using a stitched, dotted, scalloped rectangle die from The Works in London. The Zebra is ancient (circa 2016 and he was second-hand then..), he is from the Waffle Flower 'Monochrome' set and I really should attempt to buy the dies, as I hate fussy cutting so very much!

The sentiment is by Recollections from their 'Creative Chaos' set and I felt like my Zebra would totally be saying this LOL.

I'm pretty pleased with him - I really need to use this set more!

Cx

WOW!!

Hey Happy Friday,

What a week!

No posts from me, it's been a touch busy!

But today I am pretty happy to be sharing this awesome card that is a CASE of this wonderful card by the amazing Julie Ebersole.

Amazing card right?!

I used spotty Clearscraps stencil with Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide. The WOW was cut from the super large alpha dies I bought with my Christmas money from my in-laws.

Weirdly I do not have an Elephant in my stash, so I pulled out the Pink Fresh Studio 'Party Animal' set and decided that a Giraffe would be perfect here.

Whenever I hand stamp the Mama Elephant sentiment banners, I wish that I had used a misti - never gonna learn right..

Anyway, it still came out really well and I LOVE it. I need to make more of them.

Have a great weekend. Stay Home.

Cx

Happy Mail, Happy Easter...

Hey,

Happy Easter / Good Friday to all of you!

It's gonna be a weird one this year right? How will 'remote' church work?!

I love making Easter cards and last year I acquired the awesome 'All The Bunnies' set by Neat & Tangled (now retired). It's just so cute! I love the idea of the Bear dressing as a Bunny, which reminds me of a Liz Climo cartoon.

So I dug it out again along with a few other things and cracked out a ton of Easter cards that are already dropping on doorsteps.

Here is a version that I paired with the Neat & Tangled 'Eggciting' set - also retired. I added a strip of grass using my fave Lawn Fawn grass die.

This final shot is of some variants I did of a challenge entry, using the great Hema bunny stickers.

I did actually make a few other kinds of Easter cards, but foolishly forgot to photograph them (eye roll).

The main thing is that they are arriving and making people smile. That's what happy mail is about..

Cx

Wake Up Hug Dog...

Hey,

When I was back in London in February, I managed to get my hand on my fave cardmaking mag.

Making Cards Magazine. I always love their freebies and they do a great set of free digital stamps all year.

I actually managed to get both February and March magazines. You have already seen the March cards.

The Feb set was awesome, all dogs and great sentiments -

When this whole virus thing started, it kind of became apparent quite quickly that this wasn't coming to an end soon. So I wanted to make some cards for my people.

I made a whole batch of the one that you see today. I love that Poodle stamp and colouring it in randomly and in non-dog colours really worked well. And who could resist that sentiment 'Wake Up, Hug Dog, have a Good Day' I NEED A DOG.

I like to heat emboss sentiments onto vellum, when I have a big interesting background - I mean why cover it up if you don't have to!

Cx

Avery Elle: All of Us...

Hey,

I fell in love with this fun set by Avery Elle 'All of Us'.

I didn't really think about how I would use them and then I saw this awesome idea on the Avery Elle Blog - 

Awesome right!

So I coloured all x3 rows of critters using watercolours and I fussy cut them out and then cut the rows of critters in two, so I got x2 rows for my 'polaroid'.

I used the awesome MFT Selfie Frame die to die-cut the polaroid frame out of x3 different papers.

It was all super easy to assemble and with the addition of the 'hand' that holds the sentiment banner, they are just too cute!

Honestly, I have made at least 15 of these cards..they are so easy to make and suitable for everything.

Cx

Pun Cards: Let's Sea-abrate...

Hey,

Happy Monday to you!!

Let's start the week with a great pun!

I had been waiting quite a while for this great set by Avery Elle - Seal-abrate, essentially if I don't really 'need' it (it's relative) I try and wait until it goes on sale..but boy I really had to wait for this one!

The card is actually super simple, as I wanted my Seal's to be the standout part of the card. I have used this set a bunch since I made this card. This card was part of my pun-card project.

Thanks

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #126.. It's Cold Outside..

Hey,

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the first Retro Rubber challenge of 2020 and in fact of the decade!!

Hopefully it's not too cold where you are, but if it is maybe it will inspire your card.

I thought it was high time I dug out my Lawn Fawn Winter Bunny stamp set (I've had it since 2016), it has been rather neglected.

I thought that it paired well with the Simon Says Stamp birch window die and their Hand Lettered Winter Wishes stamp set to make a really sweet wintery thank you card.

As you can imagine I didn't have to do a lot, it all came together really easily and I love the end result.

What wintery 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 Jan 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

Hipster Kitty...

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I am showing you a card today that I made quite a while ago!

I love the Tim Holtz 'Hipster Animals' set, it gets quite a lot of use. For my birthday my friend Lisette bought me the dies for them!

So now they are getting even more use.

For today's card, I used a kraft card blank and added my fave spotty stamp Penny Black 'Dots in Space' to the card blank in a toning colour for a bit of interest.

The new dies for the Hipster Cat came with a die for his cool glasses, sadly you can't see in this photo, but I cut them out of sparkly black card, so IRL they are super sparkly.

The sentiment is by A-Muse Studio.

Fun, easy card for a male friend.

Cx

Simon Says Stamp: Stamptember Critter Crowd..

Hey,

Happy Monday (from Mexico).

I love Stamptember over at Simon Says Stamp, there are always so many fun collaborations.

This year I bought two sets, one of them I used on today's 'Critter Crowd' - the other set, you'll see soon.

I started by stamping and watercolouring the critters and the balloons. If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen my little video about this step - I am attempting to make videos, they are a bit janky right now, but practice makes perfect ;)

I then stamped the Happy Birthday and created a little mask for it, so I could blend over it to create the pretty pink and orange background you see. I watercoloured the sentiment too and then added my critters and the balloons, all popped up using foam tape.

Such a pretty card, I can't wait to play with this stamp set a bit more.

Cx

Christmas Cards 2019: Whimsical Winter...

Hey,

I wanted to show you another set of fun Christmas cards I made two weeks ago.

This time slightly more elaborate..

Two weeks ago the girls (aka Craftgang) and I went to the Mama Elephant birthday bash at the Westbeth Center - major fangirling moment for me, as I got to meet Kathy Rac, my colouring heroine and the creator of the Daily Marker 30 day colouring challenge.

I bought the fab Whimsical Winter set that I used for these cards at the event, it was on super bargain sale WITH THE DIES!!!

I was making Christmas cards over Labor Day and used texture paste through the Clearly Besotted 'Snow Day' stencil for a snow effect and as I had the paste and the stencil out, I made a few extra - smart.

So the backgrounds I used for these x3 cards were the extra ones. I really must remember to do this more often.

As I have mentioned before, I do the prep first and the fun stuff later - meh. To prep these cards, I stamped and die-cut the trees, the Deers, Squirrels and Robins first. Then I affixed my backgrounds to the card blanks.

I coloured all the stamped elements and started arranging them on the x3 cards, so I would know where to stamp the sentiment, before I affixed everything down.

I think they came out really well, there was a fair amount of prep, but the outcome was worth it.

Fun times ahead, it is my birthday on Saturday and my Goddaughter Amy arrives tonight to spend the weekend celebrating with me..it's going to be interesting with the crutches and the boot!

Cx