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 Challenge #229 Tic-Tac-Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a tic-tac-toe board, everyone's fave!

I went with the middle vertical row. Stencil-Summer-Green.

I used the fun palm tree stencil by Carta Bella that I have had since 2017 to create my background (sorry it was hard to photograph!). The cute little flip-flop stamp / scalloped piece is by Pretty Pink Posh and was part of Ellen Hutson's 'Summer of Stamping' in 2021. I love this set, it is so fun to colour. I used green to colour the towel and the flip-flops and I added a little smudge of yellow ink to the edge of the scallop. Final touch was the fun sentiment, by Simon Says Stamp from their 'Flip Flop Season' set that I have had since 2015.

I love this summery card, it is too cute!

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

Challenge ends June 28.

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 #227 - Colour Challenge..

 

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a fun colour challenge for you.

I loved working with these colours.

I saw an idea by Susie Moore using the set by Pink Fresh Studio 'Birds & Bows' that I have had since 2018. So I thought I would CASE it. Mine is a bit different as I stuck to the colour palette for the challenge and I used less bows!

I added a cake from Ellen Hutson's 'Wish Big' set - another one from 2018. The sentiment is by Mama Elephant from 'Mixed Birthday Sentiments'.

I love how it came out and it was fun to CASE a card.

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 April 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 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 #213 - Colours of the Rainbow..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we are all about the colours of the rainbow.

If you look at my card carefully, you will see I used every single colour of the rainbow LOL.

I love the 3 Ellen Hutson sets I used (Over It, Unicorns & Rainbows, Pure Magic) - I have had them since 2019 and I am really sad that Ellen is closing her doors, but I get it.. retirement looms.

I created the background using a fave MFT Cloud stencil and distress oxides. I stamped the rainbow over the top and coloured that using Sakura Gelly Roll Starburst pens.. these pens give all the shimmer.

A fun easy card with the perfect sentiment.

How will you use your stash and the colours? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 25.

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 - Gingerbread..

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Gingerbread' 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 love gingerbread, so gingerbread men are my faves!! I love the 'Tis The Season set by Ellen Hutson. I bought it second-hand and used it a lot this year for my Christmas cards.

To match the sketch, I stamped a row of gingerbread men, I used Rocky Shore ink by Altenew, I thought it was a good gingerbread colour. I kept it super simple and stamped the sentiment over the row and then coloured the bows using a Sakura glitter gelly roll pen.

So fun and easy.

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 22nd.

Cx

Retro Rubber Blog Challenge #188 - Anything Goes..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time it's everyone's fave 'Anything Goes'.

The amazing animal print die on my card, is new and I found it in a local Tuesday Morning for $2! It is by Momenta. The minute I saw it, I knew it would play nicely with one of my fave stamps by Ellen Hutson 'Brave Hearted' that I have had since 2020.

Super easy card to make, just die cut the background, stamp, colour and cut the lion and his crown. And then I stamped and fussy cut the sentiment, so it looks like it is coming out of his mouth.

What golden oldies will you use for your Anything goes? Be sure to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 12th.

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 - Colour Palette - Flowers..

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Colour Palette - Flowers' 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 loved the colours and it was fun to colour my leaves using blue instead of green.

I used a fave stamp by Ellen Hutson 'Mondo Wildflowers' and I watercoloured it and then die-cut it.

I decided to heat emboss the sentiment, which is from the Avery Elle 'Orchid' set. 

Such an easy and fun card to make :)

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!).

Excited to see what you make

Challenge ends on July 5th.

Cx

Retro Rubber #185 - Mod Circles..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time is all about circles!

Circles are one of my most overused shapes! I love the way they can make a card!

I went in a different direction here and created a smooshed distress ink background and stamped a bunch of the circles from the Ellen Hutson 'Bokeh Dots' set - I have had this since 2018 and it's SO inky lol. 

The robot was a last-minute decision as it looked a bit sparse! This is one of my fave sets and is by Kelly Purkey for Hero Arts 'Kelly's Super Cool' - a very old set as I have had it since 2016.

Weirdly the sentiment was stamped already and on my desk!

It has already left my desk and is on it's way to a dude!

How will the circles inspire you? Don't forget to stop by Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends July 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

Fusion Card Challenge - Rainbow Plates..

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

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

Which will you try?

Back to my old ways, I fused them!

I love colour, so I love this inspiration image. I decide to use some old fave stamps by Ellen Hutson - 'Unicorns & Rainbows' and 'Pure Magic'.

I stamped, coloured, and die-cut the unicorn, rainbow and clouds. I used a scrap of fun rainbow coloured paper by Studio Calico to mimic the sketch and then I stamped my sentiment on a circle. Putting it all together to recreate the sketch was fun, as it came out just like I had imagined! Don't you love it when that happens?!

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 June 7th.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #162 - Sketch Time....

Hey,

Hope you had a great 4th of July Holiday if you celebrate it. Hubby and I had lots of fun, our last weekend together for a while, as I am heading to London to see our families!

It's time for 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 have a weakness for Whale stamps and decided that I would use one for this card, the curve of the circle made me think of Whales!

I used a piece of paper that has a watercolour fade to it for my background. I printed out a piece of ancient Pink Petticoat digital paper - it is my fave fish paper, which I die-cut using an Ellen Hutson Snow scene die - which how I got the water like bubbles!

My Whale is one of my faves, by Spellbinders from their 'Sunshiny Day' set that I have had since 2019. The spotty paper is a scrap and I stamped the sentiment in two colours using stamps from the Recollections 'Whale Hello There' set (from 2018).

So happy with this fun card.

Show us your interpretation of the sketch and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made -their use of the sketch has been nothing short of amazing!

Challenge ends July 16th.

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 #155 Somewhere over the Rainbow...

Hey,

Welcome to a colourful Retro Rubber challenge.

Love the inspiration photo - this time we have use Rainbow colours or images.

I remember when I first saw the blog post about these stamps by Julie Ebersole for Ellen Hutson and I knew I had to have them. They are SO versatile and not neglected at all, they live out on my desk and get used over and over and over. I probably should buy a 'spare' set. The sets are 'Unicorns & Rainbows' 'Over It' and 'Pure Magic' and I have had them since 2019.

I stamped and coloured the rainbow and added the hilarious sentiment, I then stamped, cut and coloured the Unicorn and clouds. Before popping them up with foam tape, I die-cut the panel using a The Works stitched, scalloped, dotted die.

Really simple, but so fun.

Can't wait to see your rainbow makes. Pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends April 9th.

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

Christmas Comes Early...

 

Hey,

Most people that know me, know I start making my Christmas cards on 1st of August (my Momma's bday) and they have to be mailed by 5th December (my Poppa's birthday). 

I LOVE sending Christmas cards, but I really hate making them... So I devised this system several years ago and it really works for me.

Because I start so early I miss all the fabulous Christmas / Holiday releases. BUT it does mean that I can get things in post-Christmas / New Year sales.

This year I ended up with a HUGE pile of Christmas sale goodies. So in January, I made at least one card with each of them.

The main card uses a set by Avery Elle 'Santa Jaws' - this was a must-have for me, I love Sharks and all things nautical. And the punny sentiment - just too much!

This set is by MFT 'Happy Llama Days' and I bought it second-hand because I loved it so much! How fun are these festive Llamas.

My friend and amazing teacher Jenn Shurkus, sent me a Christmas card using this set 'The Man, The Myth, The Legend' by Simon Says Stamp and I was like WTAF?! I have to have that. Isn't it amazing?!

The last two photos are of the cards I made using the Dino-Mite Christmas set by Ellen Hutson. I LOVE Dinos and they played so nicely with a bunch of scraps I had!

I actually made multiples of all of these cards and a few more, that I will show you at some point ;) and ended up with 40 cards - LOL. Yes, I am insane.

Cx

Halloween becomes Valentine's...

 

Hey,

I am not a big 'Valentine's Day' fan - I can tell Hubby that I love him every day!

BUT I do love all the pretty VDay cards that I receive and can make. It's actually one of my fave occasions because it's just all so pretty.

I made quite a lot of cards this year (33 for work + personal ones) but the ones in this post were all made using non-Valentine or Love supplies!

The first two cards use a great Halloween stamp set by Hero Arts called 'Pure Magic' I got it on sale because I thought it would make great backgrounds, but it also made super cute VDay cards.

The background is an MFT stamp, that is new to me from a BIG second-hand haul I got recently, more about that soon.

Sadly the next card is a bit blurry! But I wanted to share it anyway, as the fun Dino is actually another Halloween stamp! This time by Ellen Hutson 'Dino-mite Halloween'. The cute Dino's paws/claws/hands? actually have little slits to hold the smaller stamps that come with the set, but I added a heart instead.

The background is one of my all-time fave stencils by MFT.

I love it when I get to stretch my stamps and it's always good to remind myself that things don't have to be used for their intended purpose.

Cx

Faux Watercolouring...

Hey,

Sorry I have been a stranger.

I went back to work and things got hectic.

But in happy news I have had a few days off with Hubby this week and it was nice, I know it was right after the Christmas break, but it felt great.

Last year I came across this faux watercolouring technique and it is AMAZING.

Ink up your stamp with a water reactive ink (I used distress inks) and then spritz with water before laying down your paper. You get a kind of watercolour feel to the stamping and you can use a brush to make the effect stand-out more. Let it dry and stamp over it in a darker ink - I used Navy ink for all 3 cards.

Looks great right?!

I chose to use one of my fave Ellen Hutson flower stamps 'Mondo Sakura', by my all-time fave crafter Julie Ebersole. 

I have used this technique a lot, it's fun and easy.

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

Rainbow, Unicorn, Sprinkles...

 

Hey,

Can you go ever go wrong with a card that has rainbows, a unicorn and a sweet sentiment?

I don't think so!!

I love this card and it went to my Goddaughter for her birthday.

I love the Rainbow stamp and stencil by Taylored Expressions and it plays so nicely with the Unicorn and sentiment from Ellen Hutson, I am a HUGE fan of Julie Ebersole critters.

I blended distress oxides through the stencil and stamped over it using x2 of the provided fancy rainbow arch stamps.

The Unicorn is an old fave and I think I could colour him blindfolded!!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #135 Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have another wonderful Tic Tac Toe board for you -

I love tic-tac-toe boards, so much possibility.

I chose the top row - Watercolour/Circles/Die-cut or Punch.

I stamped my little succulent first (by AALL & Create and only 6months old) and watercoloured it. then added dots around it from the awesome Bokeh Dots set by Julie Ebersole for Ellen Hutson (I've had this since 2018). I die-cut this panel using a stitched circle and found a nice big scrap of spotty paper so I could add another circle.

The scripty thanks die by Lawn Fawn is probably the most overused thing in my craft room, I've had it since 2014 and it gets used at least once a week! I love making thank you cards.

I thought it would be fun to mix my circles with a scalloped square card blank and I like how it turned out.

Which row will you choose? 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 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Unicorns and Rainbows...

Hey,

Hello from London!

Last weekend, I decided I would have a fun playtime with x3 sets by Ellen Hutson and Julie Ebersole.

I LOVE how Julie draws Unicorn, they have a really feminine feel to them.

I used these x3 sets - Over it, Unicorns 'n Rainbows and Pure Magic.

First I stamped, coloured and cut all the unicorns I wanted to use, then I used them to decide where my sentiments would go. I should mention that right now I am obsessed with Sakura Gelly Roll glitter pens, they are AMAZING..so much shimmer.

For two of the cards I added clouds / rainbow behind the unicorn and I stamped and coloured these, before adding my unicorns, that I mounted with foam tape.

I love how simple these cards are and how much they POP on the hot pink card blanks.

Cx

Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel: Magical Unicorn Birthday..

Hey,

During my recent trip to London, we visited Hubby's bestie so we could a) catch-up b) see her daughters and c) hand over the pun card project.

We had a fun afternoon with Polly and her Daughters.

One of them Maggie is 3 (soon to be 4) and took a shine to me - I do love kids, despite not ever wanting to have any I like to hang out with kids.

I thought to honor our little bonding moment I would make Maggie a special 4th Birthday card and I am also entering it into the current Seize the Birthday challenge - this a no toppings entry, I am going to play along later in the week with a toppings entry!

Obviously, I immediately reached for my reveal wheel kit. I have so many of the add-ons now, it is super fun to make cards with and EASY for an interactive card.

I decided to pair it with x2 Ellen Hutson sets 'Unicorns 'N Rainbows' and 'Over It' - I chose a wide arched aperture for the wheel and stamped the rainbow from Over it, over the top of the arch and then coloured that using glitter gel pens to get some serious sparkle.

I stamped, coloured and die-cut 3 of the images from the Unicorns set and after assembling the reveal wheel and mounting it onto the card blank, I affixed them to the front. I added some hearts from the sets all over the card and went over a few of them with a glitter gel pen to add some sparkle.

Because I chose the large aperture, you only get to reveal two sentiments and I went with magical and awesome.

Perfect for a 4 year old girl!

Cx