Retro Rubber Challenge #265 - Tic-tac-toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a fun tic-tac-toe board created by me!

I do love tic-tac-toe boards! I went with the middle horizontal row - kraft paper, your choice, embossing.

I had a lot of fun making this card! I paired very old with very new! The embossing folder is new to me, and I got it at a second-hand craft store called Bottom of the Bin - x2 3D folders for $3!! I embossed a piece of kraft paper using it, and it really pops! I dug out a fun set by Stampin Up 'Zany Zoo' (2024) I especially love the gator, but there are quite a few other fun critters in the set. I coloured him with Altenew Markers. I paired it with a sentiment from a freebie set that I have had since 2017!!

I loved this card so much that I made 2 :)

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

Challenge ends February 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

p.s The year in brackets indicates when I got the stamp, not when it was released.

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 #252 - Get your sketch on...

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 thought I would turn this one into a Christmas card! I love the Woodware 'Scratched Background' Stamp that I have had since 2023; it looks great when stamped in festive colours. Here I decided to use black ink, as I thought it would be a nice contrast for my green and red layering. The embossing folder is a giant one by Spellbinders 'Scattered Christmas' and this was its first use! I replaced the circle in the sketch with one of my fave Cardinal stickers and opted for no sentiment, since the background stamp is all Christmas words.

I might make a few more of these in different colours..

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

Challenge ends April 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #237 - Tic Tac Toe

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

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

I went with the diagonal row from top left - Rectangles - Heat/Dry Emboss - Your Choice

My choice was the fun mermaid stamp - 'Bubbly Birthday' by MFT and I have had it since 2022. I do not have the dies, so it was cut using my Brother scan n cut aka Big Sexy. I chose all my papers for a kind of ocean vibe! I die cut them all using rectangle dies and stacked them up.  I used a fave big spot embossing folder for the top rectangle.

It is so cute and I love all the layers.

I realised that I also fit the bottom row, as my base paper has gold flecks throughout it! A rare twofer!

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

Challenge ends August 23.

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 #232 Get your sketch on!

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 love the lighthouse stamp by Pink & Main, it is from their 'love the shore' cardkit from 2022 and a friend gave me the set last year, the sentiment is also from the set. I added just plain blue squares to fit the sketch and embossed the background using an ancient anchor embossing folder.

I feel like this is the perfect card for a guy!

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 June 14th.

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 #233 Tic Tac Toe..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a tic-tac-toe board for you.

I went with the middle vertical row - Gems/Sequins-Embossing Folder-Stitching.

It's 50th birthday central in my life right now. As I was born in September, the school system opted to make me wait a year before I went to Secondary School (High School) and so most of my friends are a year younger than me!

I love these number dies, I have no idea who they are by, I bought them second-hand from Cheiron. I use them SO much. The embossing folder is ancient, I think I bought it on my very first trip to Joann's when we moved to the US back in 20213.

I love using the sentiment stamp for milestone birthday cards, it's pretty much how I feel about getting older. It is from a set by The Ink Road 'Just a Number' I have had it since 2018. I added a little bit of bling to each side of the sentiment - didn't want to overdo it, as this card is for a dude!

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 May 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 #228 - Sketch Time..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time, we have a sketch to inspire your creativity.

Personally, I'm a big fan of sketches, and I had already planned out the central portion of my card based on this particular one. 

However, I hadn't given much thought to the rest of the card, so I decided to create an embossed panel for the background, and added a sparkly paper stripe for some extra fun. For my flower spray, I used the 'Simplest Gestures' stamp set by Pink Fresh Studio, which I've had since attending Crop and Create in 2021. This stamp set is particularly enjoyable to use, as you have to stencil in the coloured parts of the flowers.

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 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 - #192 - Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

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

I went with the first vertical row - nautical-embossing-stars.

I love this set by Stampabilities 'Sail Away' all the stamps are SO cute. I have had it since Jan 2021 and it hasn't been used as much as I would have liked. I stamped and fussy cut it and coloured it using Copics.

I recently got this amazing dimensional stars embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp, so it was perfect for using here!

The sentiment is one of my faves, by Jillibean Soup from their 'Whale Done' set that I have had since 2018.

The whole card came together really easily and it's so cute!

Which row will you choose? I always find it fun when you use the same row as me, but the cards/makes are so unique to each of us and our supplies.  Be sure to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends October 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 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

p.s If you are in Florida and under the hurricane alert like me, please be safe and follow all the guidance being issued.

Retro Rubber Challenge #187 - Tic Tac Toe..

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a tic-tac-toe board for you.

I went with the central vertical row - Birds-Green-Embossing.

I love this set by Vicki Boutin 'All the Good Things 2' it was a gift from my friend in 2018 because she saw it and knew I was looking for it :).

I stamped, cut, and coloured the bird using a minty green Copic and a green Sakura starburst glitter gel pen. I used MFT 'Bold Greenery' dies for the foliage and a spotty green paper. The background I stenciled with a stencil from The Range in the UK and Mowed Lawn distress oxides.

For my embossing, I used a very old Cuttlebug star embossing folder - hands up who has a Cuttlebug still? I die cut it using a stitched circle die from The Works in the UK.

The final touch is the sentiment strip from Taylored Expressions.

Such a sweet card, I am so happy with the outcome.

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

Challenge ends July 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

Fusion Card Challenge - Hello Hat..

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Hello Hat' 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 hat and I was going to go with a hello sentiment, but after I decided to use the super cute Budgie from Clearly Besotted 'Making Budgie Plans' I went summer-themed.

I used a fun pineapple embossing folder for the yellow panel and after I had stamped my sentiment on the white panel, I added a bunch of stars just for fun. The sentiments are both from Simon Says Stamp 'Warm Weather Animals' - this is one of my all-time fave sets.

I love how fun and summery this card is!

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 19th.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #181 - Tic Tac Toe....

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

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

I love tic-tac-toe challenges, as even if we all choose the same row, our makes are so different.

I went with the left diagonal row - watercolour-dry embossing-twine or ribbon.

I watercoloured the sweet Hummingbird stamp - I love this stamp set 'Hummingbird Thanks' by Pretty Pink Posh and I have had it since 2018. I decided to add an unexpected pop of colour and used the Sizzix 'Basketweave' embossing folder with a scrap of neon pink paper! I wrapped some twine around my embossed circle and popped on a foiled sentiment - I am loving foiling right now, especially as I finally understand how to use my mini minc!

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 6.

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

Pun Card Project..

Hey,

Back to normal now with Christmas and my trip to London done, I go back to work tomorrow..

I had a fun trip, it was great to spend so much QT with my folks and I got to hand over my pun card project to our friend Polly.

Polly is a big fan of my cards, which is lovely. Last year she made a comment about one of the cards I sent to her and it sparked an idea.

What if I made a pun card from every single pun set I have?! 

Well, 5 months (Aug to Dec) and 48 stamp sets later, I ended up with 55 pun cards and to be honest there are probably about 10-15 more sets I could have used, but I just ran out of time.

I used all the techniques for these cards - stencils, heat embossing, dry embossing, smooshing, watercolouring, gelli plate backgrounds, die-cutting, masking and marker colouring.

It was so much fun to do though and here are the majority of the cards!

Fun right?!

I might consider a similar project later this year - like all birds or something?

Cx

Watercooler Wednesday: Halloween

Hey,

Happy Friday!

I wanted to play along with a new to me challenge - Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I love the theme - I am ALL about Occasions.

My wedding anniversary is actually Halloween! And this year we celebrate 10 years of marriage, so I really wanted to send a bunch of Halloween cards to our friends.

I loved this great set 'Mr Bones' by Tim Holtz that I bought from Michaels (you get stamps, dies, embossing folder) - it's a bit scarier than I would normally go, but I just fell in love.

I made a TON of these.. I used the embossing folder that came with the set with both black and orange papers to mix it up a bit. The awesome 'jagged edge' came from the Tim Holtz speckled edge dies.

I stamped 'Mr Bones' and used clear embossing powder over him to add that shine you can see, it wasn't necessary, but it felt like a nice touch to add.

I kept the sentiment simple, I punched a bunch of the little sentiment banners in orange and black and added an ancient Clearly Besotted 'Happy Halloween' to the banners.

I only realised whilst I was writing this post HOW many techniques I used - go me!

I am super pleased with how they came out. I figure this set will now be a fave.

Hope you have a great weekend, I am off to an all-day class tomorrow - super excited, I will be carving my own stamps - whoop!

Cx

Unleash the Kraken!

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a fun weekend.

I unexpectedly went to see Billy Idol and Bryan Adams in concert, which was surprisingly awesome!

I am a big fan of the Kraken myth and when I saw the great Legendary stamp set by Avery Elle, I knew it had to be mine.

I stamped the Kraken and then masked him off so I could add the clouds, using my fave Dutchdoobadoo stencil.

Sadly as I started colouring him, one of my Copic's belched and did this -

Ugh..I mean ugh. There was no way that I was going to redo this entire thing... So I decided that my Kraken was bringing a cake to celebrate 'your' birthday. Nice save, even if I do say so myself!

To finish my card, I mounted it onto a white card blank, then I used a Lawn Fawn wave die to die-cut the top of my embossed 'sea' panel and added the cake and the sentiment.

Fun card, much more Kraken based cards to come.

Cx

Happy Easter..

Hey,

Happy Monday to you.

In my land (England) today is a holiday.

So I thought I would share the Easter cards I made for some of my friends and family.

I had to have the 'All The Bunnies' stamp and die set by Neat & Tangled, the bear as a bunny was just too cute to resist.

The background papers are all from the awesome Lil Inker Easter bundle that I bought. And I used the easter egg stamp and die from that set to create the cards below. I combined the egg with a freebie basket that I had (I embossed the basketweave on).

I don't normally send Easter cards, but these were fun to make and I only sent 12.

If you are in Europe and have had a long weekend,  I hope it was fun and you ate lots of Easter treats.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #554 Fabrika Fantasy...

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you and welcome to the latest sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is Fabrika Fantasy and they are offering a prize of x3 digis from their store.

Here's the sketch...

I rotated the sketch to work better with the fun image I chose to use 'Happy Doggy'.

I decided to make my card a bit off the wall and coloured the image in non-traditional Dog colours.

I used an ancient piece of lime green star paper for the backing and I added an embossed star teal piece of paper to fit the sketch. The strips across the middle are so old I can't remember how long I have had them, but they came in a pack with plain and glittery ones. I added a sentiment to the balloon.

I can't wait to see what you do with the sketch, but first check out what the rest of the DT have made over at Sketch Saturday.

Challenge ends Friday 15th March 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Catch the Bug: Oldie But Goodie.. Clyde...

Hey,

Happy Thursday to you..

I am with the Catch The Bug team today.. Thursdays are when we encourage you to go back through your older Bugaboo Stamps and give a neglected oldie some love..

I love all the Clyde stamps, but Clyde Birthday is the one I have had the longest!

I decided to use the version without the birthday sentiment, as my Aunt loves Dragons and I owe her a piece of Happy Mail, so thought this would be a great opportunity to make her a card.

I printed, coloured and fussy cut Clyde out. I then embossed a coordinating piece of cardstock, using a fave Craft Concepts Star embossing folder. I left the bottom panel hanging out of the folder, so I could heat emboss the sentiment on it.

Such a simple make, which reminded me about my Clyde stamps.

Upload your makes at the Catch The Bug blog and check out the rest of the DT makes.

Cx

Catch The Bug: Sunday Sketch Challenge..

Hey,

Happy Sunday to you!

Hubby and I are currently sunning ourselves in Tampa!

Today I am with the Catch The Bug team for the Stella Says Sketch challenge

I decided to rotate the sketch and use a fave stamp of mine - Margaret Morning People - I feel her pain..

I coloured the image, using Promarkers and trimmed it out, so it had a border. I used a fun chevron embossing folder, for the bottom half of my background and in my blue scrap box, I found the blue glittery strip and the scalloped piece.

It reminds me of one of my bestie's so it will be winging its way to her soon!

Hope you will be playing along too. Can't wait to see which image you choose to use.

Upload your makes at the Catch The Bug blog and check out the rest of the DT makes.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #104... Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a Tic Tac Toe board from Jan -

I went with the top row, Butterflies/Green/Textured Embossing.

First I used a diffuser plate to create the circle of embossing you can see on my card, the big spot folder is ancient and my fave ever embossing folder by Sizzix, then I stamped the sentiment (by Newton's Nook from 2017).

I dug through my stash and found x2 butterfly embellishments (top and bottom). The middle one, I die-cut myself from a ink smooshed piece of paper using a Clearly Besotted die from 2016, I had planned to stamp this butterfly, but it just didn't work!

I love all the different tones on my card - earthy but with that bright green to liven it up.

Which row will you choose? Be sure to stop over at Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends March 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

Catch The Bug: Annual Birthday Bash.. Tuesday Bingo...

Hey,

I am back again today playing along with the Catch The Bug Annual Birthday Bash.

Today we have a great bingo challenge for you..

I decided to use the Monster 3 stamp on my card and I chose the top row - Die Cut/Sentiment/Texture.

I have some Sizzix embossing diffusers, essentially it means when you emboss you can mask of parts of your paper and only emboss certain areas. Cool right?

I used a circle diffuser and a Sizzix large dots embossing folder and got that great focused texture you can see on my card.

I die-cut the teal embossed panel with a stitched rectangle panel and I added my fussy cut monster to it.

The sentiment made me smile and I thought it was perfect for a 3 headed monster.

Love the simplicity of this card and the bright colours.

Pop over to Catch The Bug to see what the rest of the DT have made.

Want play along?
HOW TO PLAY: Enter up to 3 times using a project made with the bingo grid. If you use a Bugaboo Image, you could WIN 10, 7 or 4 Bugaboo Images of your choice. We LOVE to see what you do with your Bugaboos! If you NEED a Bugaboo Stamp to use, head on over to the store and get the Friday Freebie! If you have a wonderful NON-Bugaboo Image you'd like to use, you’ll be eligible for 7 or 4 Bugaboo Stamps Images of your choice if you’re one of our winners! All entries must be new and follow the sketch.
You have until 6 am Sunday, January 20, 2019 to join the sketchy fun go over to Catch The Bug to link up your project.

Cx