Retro Rubber Challenge #272 - Time to get sketchy...

 

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a sketch for you this time

You know how much I love a sketch!

I tried a bunch of ideas, that I didn't love! But then I saw this stamp in my stash and it all came together.

I stamped off the edge of the panel and coloured in parts of it.

I searched for the right sentiment for about 2 hours lol!

The main stamp is by Visible Image 'See Everything', I have had it since 2019. The sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts.

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

Challenge ends May 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Retro Rubber #271 - Colour Challenge - Cotton Candy Spring...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a colour challenge for you - pretty springy candy colours!

These colours were so much fun to work with!

Of course, I had to grab my fave MFT Mini Cloud Edger stencil to create a pretty sky for the card I had in mind. I added a Taylored Expressions grass die-cut and then die-cut the whole panel using a stitched rounded rectangle die.

I love this Mama Elephant 'Little Line Agenda' set (I have had it since 2024). It's always so cute. I coloured one of the lines using the colours from the challenge and added a bit of grey for the bunnies. It's very easy to fussy cut, so I did that and popped it up with some foam tape. I mixed a couple of sentiments to get what I wanted.

How will you use the colours? I can't wait to see! Don't forget to 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

NND IPC #251 - Bold Colour...

 

Hi!

Happy Sunday from me! I hope you are having a fabulous weekend!

A rare blog post from me, because I saw the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge this month and HAD to enter - 

I love bold colours.

One of my all-time fave NND sets is 'Newton Dreams of London', not just because I am from London, but because I love the cute little English/London stamps. I overuse the Big Ben and bus stamps.

I used a Taylored Expressions square windows stencil to create my colourful blocks. If you look carefully you will see it is wonky, the stencil is so old it has warped with extensive use.

I used Altenew inks and their matching markers for my colours - Coral Berry, Turquoise, Ultraviolet and Citrus Burst. I think they are a perfect match. I coloured and die-cut the cute little buses and used foam tape to pop them up. Final touch was a birthday sentiment from my stash.

Fun card. I have had a lot of fun at my desk this weekend, mainly making DT things, so it was fun to play with no agenda, other than fitting the challenge.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #263 - Anything Goes...

Hey,

Happy 2026!! 

The Retro Rubber team are back with a new blog! Jane our amazing leader has done such a great job getting the new blog up and running.

We had a few glitches this week, but we will be back to publishing a new challenge every other Tuesday starting January 27th.

Welcome to our first Retro Rubber challenge of 2026.

This time we have everyone's fave challenge Anything Goes!

In 2025 one of my new work colleagues got married. She also lives in Tampa, so I wanted to send her a card. 

She is a fan of animal print, so I thought the embossing folder was perfect, but in white to make it more wedding. I dug out my all-time fave wedding stamp set 'Married' by Simon Says Stamp, and I have had it since 2014!!!

I should have stamped the sentiment before I embossed, but I made it work. I love the delicate flower spray, it is one of my fave elements of this set.

The card was well received and my colleague and her husband have now been married for 5 months!

What will you find in your stash that needs an outing? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends January 23rd.

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 #262 - Books books books...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a theme for you -

My Momma was a Librarian, so of course I love books. But these days, I am Kindle-based.

I love these two stamp sets by Avery Elle 'Feels like Home' and 'Feels Like Home Addition', I have had them both since 2022. How cute is that bunny with his/her carrot book :)

I stamped and die-cut all the stamps I wanted for my card. I used Big-sexy (Brother scan'n'cut) to cut the stamps. I CASEd a card I had seen, because I loved the blended background that anchors the whole thing.

I coloured the stamps using Altenew markers, and I played with the layout before I stamped my sentiment, which is from the stamp sets. I mounted everything with a skinnier foam tape to get a bit of dimension but not too much.

Love how this came out.

What book stamps do you have in your stash? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends September 5th.

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 #259 - Colour challenge

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a fun colour challenge for you this time.

I have had this card pinned for a while. I love the green and yellow colour combo, with the navy and grey acting as great neutrals.

I had to use this Unity Stamp Co. 'Erica Girl' stamp from 2016 for this challenge. I really wanted to colour a green jacket lol! The background stamp is by Taylored Expressions 'Shiplap' from 2019.

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

Challenge ends July 25th.

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 #258 - Happy Birthday!

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

It's time for a Birthday theme -

I came across this stamp set while looking for something else, and I thought it would make a unique birthday card. 

The set is 'Stick with Me' by Jillibean Soup and I've had it since 2017. I cannot get over how cute the cactus is with googly eyes! I decided to draw an outline on the card blank and I am loving that as a detail.

I can't wait to see how you play with the theme. Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends July 11th.

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

Newton's Nook Summer Challenge - June Week 3 - Floaty Goat

 

Hi,

I have been trying to play along with the Newton's Nook challenge this year and have failed miserably!

I finally found some space to join the June challenge - yay!

I love the water and I knew I wanted my card to be water-focused. I had totally forgotten about the amazing Floaty Goat stamp and it was perfect for this challenge.

I added some smooshed ink for water and clouds using a cloud stencil. The little water splashes are also from the stamp set, but my sentiment is from a different set.

I love this card, can't wait to send it to my BFF.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #257 - Tic Tac Toe..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

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

I was spoilt for choice with this board. In the end, I went with the diagonal row, top left to bottom right - Sequins, Shaker Card and Die Cut.

I had cut this shaker card idea about a year or so ago, and it was just languishing on my desk! To create this card, I cut x2 panels of the pretty floral paper and affixed one of them to my card blank. I die-cut a circle from the other panel and added some acetate and foam tape to make it into a shaker panel. The sequin mix in my shaker is very cute, it has teeny tiny little butterflies in it too.

The sentiment is from one of my all-time fave stamp sets by Neat and Tangled 'Awesome' I have had it since 2016.

I stamped the sentiment in navy ink as I thought it would fit better with the colours of the paper.

Fun card, I so rarely make shakers, which I might need to correct :)

Which row will you choose? Pop on over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends June 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #256 - Time to get sketchy...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a sketch for you this time.

You know how much I love a sketch!

I decided to make my card a mini slim. I love Taylored Expressions cut-to-size Kraft card stock panels. I used one here and a Tim Holtz heart stencil with Festive Berries Distress Oxide ink. I splattered a bit of water over the stenciled hearts for a bit of interest. 

I knew when I saw the sketch that I would dig out the awesome Vertical Greetings set by Stampin' Up, which I've had since 2016. I cut my panel to fit the sketch and added the fun sentiment. 

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

Challenge ends June 13th.

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 #253 - Tic Tac Toe

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

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

These are always so fun, as even if you chose the same row as someone else, your cards are totally different!

I went with the 1st vertical row - green/ribbon/thank you.

I love this stamp set by Taylored Expressions 'Cherry On Top' it was a gift from my friend Lisette in 2022, she knows I have a thing for cherry stamps, but dislike real cherries!

I added a small strip of green cardstock to my mini slim card blank. I wanted it to act as an anchor for the postage strip. I love using these blank postage strips, they are so impactful.

I created a little cluster at the bottom for my cherry stamp, sentiment and the cute little ribbon bow I found in my stash! I literally have not been in the drawer where the ribbon bows live in about a year!

Cute card, I can't wait to send it!

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 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 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 #247 - Colour Theme

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

I am super excited, my parents arrive on Thursday and we leave for our family cruise on Sunday!!

We have a colour challenge for you.

I decided these were the perfect colours for a monster card!

It was also an excuse to break out a favourite turnabout stamp for the background. I love using these stamps for colour challenges because you can use 4 different colours on them. I used Altenew inks for my background. I coloured the monster in similar colours. I love how the peachy colour breaks up the purples and adds interest.

Stamps used - Concord & 9th - Semi-circle Turnabout I have had it since 2020, Taylored Expressions - Candy Monster, I have had it since 2018.

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

Challenge ends Feb 7th.

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 #246 - Winter Theme...

Hey,

Welcome to the 10th year Retro Rubber challenge and the first one for 2025!

We have a theme challenge for you this time.

Tampa is doing winter right now - which is annoying, but 4 weeks of cold I will take!

I forgot about this beautiful stamp by Stamping Bella - 'Oddball Mini Snowflake' it has been in my NBUS pile since 2022 (the shame), but I used it for a couple of Christmas cards and thought it was perfect for our theme! I kept it simple and just coloured her and added some stickles to the little snowy dots that are part of the stamp.

Which winter goodies will you use? pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends January 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber - a change for 2025 from 10 to 5!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #245 - Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to the final Retro Rubber challenge of 2024! How quickly did this year go?

So much has happened to me this year personally and professionally, but it is ending on a high. I have a new job, that so far is more than I had hoped for. Hubby and I will be heading on our FIRST cruise together (this is my 5th cruise) in 2 weeks. 

I would like to say a big thanks to Jane who runs our Retro Rubber team for just being an amazing human and keeping us together and on point.

For our last challenge we have a Tic-Tac-Toe board for you - 

I wanted to play with all of the rows on this board! But I went with centre vertical - Texture, Greenery, Tag.

I love this tag die by MFT 'Trendy Tag' it is quite large, but it makes such pretty tags and it also comes with a scalloped piece that you can add to the front. I stamped Santa and the sentiment before I die cut the tag - the stamps are by Ellen Hutson 'tis the season' set that I have had since 2021.

I decided that I wanted to just colour Santa's hat, as it adds a nice pop of colour. I cut the second tag from an embossed piece of red card for the texture part of my tic-tac-toe choices. I have a big box of embossed pieces ready to go. Basically if my mojo is blah, I emboss cardstock :)

I was a bit stumped about the greenery part and then I realised that I have these beautiful scrapbook.com papers that I got as part of SCT this year so I used one of those for the background. My final touch was a little bit of ribbon that I tied into a surprisingly neat bow - my bows are always a bit of a hot mess.

Such a fun card, I think I might have to remember this idea for 2025 Christmas cards!

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

Challenge ends December 13th.

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.

Happy Holidays to you and yours, we will be back on 14th January for our 11th year!!!

Cx

Retro Rubber #244 Challenge - Sketch time...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a sketch for you this time.

You know how much I love a sketch and I knew the minute I saw it that I had the perfect stamp set for it!

Tiny Terranium by Waffle Flower (I've had it since 2019) is a gorgeous stamp set. I love watercolouring it, which is exactly what I did here. I tend to use Distress Inks to watercolour with, I find them easy to blend and shade with.
The sentiment 'holder' on the stamp is super small, so I punched my own banner and added the sentiment. 

The papers are by Scrapbook.com and I got them as part of Crop and Create this year, they are beautiful. I added some bling to match the sketch.

I love this card, it took forever to colour, but so worth it.

Show us your interpretation of the sketch, 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.

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and friends. Hubby and I are spending the day with our wonderful friends and their family. We will see you after the Holiday for the last RR challenge of 2024.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #243.. Colour Challenge

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

Hubby and I had a totally awesome anniversary week in Mexico, and I am thrilled to have returned to a new job!

This time we want you to use all the colours on your project.

I thought these colours would look really good smooshed together to create a background. So that is exactly what I did, I used Distress Oxides and it's so pretty. I added the sentiment by Neat & Tangled from their 'Awesome' set that I have had since 2016.

I can't wait to see how you use the colours, don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends November 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 #241 - Tic-Tac-Toe..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

I am in the midst of Hurricane Milton prep, we are about 30mins east of Tampa Bay, fortunately not in a flood or evac zone, but still needing to prep. We have our hurricane shutters up and we have all the supplies we need. I am thinking of you if you are in an area that is affected. 

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

I went with Pumpkin - Your Choice - Patterned Paper.

My choice was solid paper. I love the stamp by Taylored Expressions 'Bubble Greetings: Halloween' I have had it since 2019 and it is a firm fave, such a great stamp for quick and easy Halloween cards.

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 October 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 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 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