Retro Rubber Challenge #268 - Get your sketch on...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a sketch for you this time.

You know how much I love a sketch!

I went with mini slimline as I thought it worked well with the sketch. I used a Spellbinders embossing folder with kraft cardstock. The little floral papers are scraps from another project. The sentiment is by Hero Arts 'Mixed Sentiments' that I have had since 2013, and it is one of my faves.

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 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #249 - Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge for you.

These are always so fun and it's great to see what other people make using the same row that you chose!

I went with the diagonal row from bottom left to top right - Bold Sentiment/Your choice (hearts)/Die-Cut.

I got the Xoxo die last year and thought it would make fun vday cards. It's by Lawn Fawn. I added my fave Hero Arts Tiny Hearts Background stamp, I am surprised that this stamp is not worn out, as I got it in 2018 from a Jenn Shurkus destash! I used Altenew Pink Diamond ink. The cute little Love Cupids by Mama Elephant work so well here, I love this set I've had it since 2023 and it was NBUS!! The sentiment stamp is my fave vday sentiment stamp by Avery Elle from their Peacock set that I have had since 2019.

I made a bunch of these in time for Valentine's Day, as they were so fun and easy to make.

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

Challenge ends March 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 #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 #217 Anything Goes..

Hey,

I am back, after my birthday hiatus. My birthday was crazy fun and I'll write a post about it soon.

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

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

I love these 'Mod Birds' stamps by MFT and it has been a while since I got them out for a play! I have had them since 2018 and I love bird stamps! these stamps are super easy and fun to use, you stamp the main outline and then pick a colour and stamp the detail parts.

I mixed and matched the sentiments for these simple cards, they are 2 stamps, one by Hero Arts 'Take Note' from 2017 and the other by Simon Says Stamp from a 2016 cardkit (I think..).

Can't wait to see your anything goes cards, don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends October 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 #214 Let's Get Sketchy..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

If you are in the big bend area of Florida, like I am, please be safe and take care in the storm x

We have a sketch for you this time.

You know how much I love a sketch!

I decided to pull a couple of old faves from the archives for this card. The side panel is a Hero Arts background stamp 'Lines' that I have had since 2015! I used a scrap I found on my desk for the other part of the sketch LOL. The cute Monster is by Neat & Tangled 'Little Monster' and I have had it since 2018. I always love colouring the word, it always looks so fun. The rest of the sentiment came from a Avery Elle set 'Peek-a-boo Balloon' and that is from 2019. 

A great mix of older sets to create a fun card.

Now it's your turn! 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 8.

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.

I will be taking a short break to enjoy the multiple festivities around my 50th Birthday! But I will be back on October 10th.

Cx

A trio of fun makes...

 

Hi,

I had a fun week off between Christmas and New Year.

I played at my desk a lot and here are a few of my fave makes - using mainly new things.

The main photo uses Taylored Expressions layered star stencils, Lisette gifted them to me when I was in NYC. When she was still in the hospital with Matteo, I went on a rummage through her craft room (lol) and stamped a bunch of these super cute Unicorns, also by Taylored Expressions.

My local Tuesday Morning, gave me all the goodies on a little outing - the stamp is by Ranger Letter It - I love these stamp sets, they make it look like I hand-lettered things! The amazing Hero Arts cover plate die (shown below) is also from that trip and it makes SUPER quick cards.

A super quick post just showing that I am playing and making, I keep neglecting my blog!!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #189 - Gnarly...its the 80s...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

It's time for another fun colour challenge - this time 80s colours!

I love these colours!!

I used pink, mauve, blue and grey. I stepped out of my comfort zone with a little bit of paper piecing!! The background stamp is 'Looped Flower' by Hero Arts and I bought it second-hand from Jenn Shurkus around 2015!

I stamped the girl from the 'Jane Girl' set by Unity Stamps that I have had since 2018. I masked her off and added Altenew inks in my chosen colours to the background stamp and stamped it onto the white panel, over the masked girl. I then coloured her with copics and stamped her onto the grey chevron paper for my final colour choice. The chevron paper is 'Calm & Cozy Chevrons' by My Favorite Things.

The sentiment is one of my favourite go-to Taylored Expressions sentiment strips, I have a container of these and they are so handy.

How will you use the colours? Pop on over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends August 26th.

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 #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

Retro Rubber Challenge #175 - Love, Love, Love...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We are all about the love this time..

I bought these amazing Love wood die-cuts from Dollar Tree and I made a bunch of fun cards with them. This one is a shaker!

The background is stamped using my all-time fave Hero Arts Tiny Hearts background stamp that I have had since 2017, when I bought it second-hand from Jenn Shurkus!

I stamped the hearts onto white card and die-cut the heart aperture to create the shaker. The love die-cut is popped up on foam dots for a bit more dimension.

Looking forward to seeing the things that love inspires you to make and don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends February 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 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #172 - Get your sketch on...

Hey,

Welcome to 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 wanted to use the My Favorite Things 'Stitched Strip' dies, I got these earlier this year when I bought a fellow scrapbookers card stash. I stamped the Hero Arts 'Tiny Hearts background' stamp onto watercolour paper and spritzed it with water, so there is a teeny bit of movement. This is one of my fave stamps that I have had since 2017. I then used the MFT die to die-cut the strips.

I die-cut a heart in gold glittery paper and used a Love die-cut that my bestie sent me - she die-cut a bunch for me in all different colours. It's always nice to share kit. I stamped the sentiment using the same Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide that I had used for the hearts. The sentiment is a freebie that I have had since 2017, this set means a lot to me, as my bestie gave it to me when she came to visit me in NYC after the big operation complication..

Anyway, I love this card, I love making anniversary cards, celebrating love is always a nice thing to do.

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 December 3.

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.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Hubby and I are heading to Sarasota to spend it with friends.

Cx

Fusion Card Challenge - Blue Decor...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

We have a great 'Blue Decor' theme for you and as always a great sketch for you to use. Remember you can be inspired by the image or the sketch OR fuse them together.

Which will you try?

I loved both, so I fused them!

I decided that I would use all the blues and created a fun background using the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero April kit. You got a fun set of layering stamps that I used to create my background. I stamped flowers and a sentiment from the set and layered those onto a blue circle die-cut to mimic the sketch.

It came out so well! I love the abstract background with the pretty flowers.

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 20th

Cx

ATC Swap Fun...

 

Hey,

And welcome to June FINALLY.

It was a super busy May for me, work wise and personally. 

I have loved getting back out into NYC, as things open and my friends become accessible again!

My little Craftgang and I started doing a ATC swap this year.

The first theme was Beach.

And as I am heading to the beach this week and the ATC's have all arrived, I thought I would share the ones that I made.

I had such a fun time making them. 

I smooched a large piece of watercolour paper to create the background for the ATC and then cut them to size. I then blended in a bit of yellow for the 'sand'.

The stamps were perfect and are by Hero Arts 'Beach Please' I added a teeny tiny Lil Inker Sun die.

They came out so well.

Here they all are together. 

Clockwise top left, Lisette, Me, Cheiron, Tiffany

Love it when we get to make fun things for no reason.

Have a great weekend. Hubby is in the UK - WHOOP, finally we can go home, I am here with Clint Catwood, having a fun solo week off.

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

May The Forest Be With You...

Hey,

I have mentioned that at work we are doing these little organised fun projects.

The theme for this one was 'nature'.

And as we are all a bunch of geeky nerds, I thought the sentiment would resonate with them!

I got the MFT set 'Forest Friends' as part of the bumper haul I bought off a fellow digital scrapper!

I used a seriously old Hero Arts tree background stamp to create the background, I heat embossed it and then watercoloured over it, to create the resist. 

I was planning on colouring the Deer, but when I stamped him in brown ink, he looked so cute, I decided to leave him as he was.

I added some vellum leaves and voila! nature card.

Cx

 

Christmas Cards 2020: Concord & 9th Wreath...

 

Hey,

As we are only a couple of days away from Christmas, I thought I'd share a few more of my cards for 2020.

I love Concord & 9th turnabout stamp. I thought it would be fun to use their wreath turnabout with their new-ish inks.

For the left card I used - Cranberry, Sprout, Parsley, and Clover. The right card uses - Mushroom, Eggplant, Dove, and Wheat.

The sentiment die is by Hero Arts and the strips are by The Ton.

I love how elegant and pretty they are, and the inks worked so well. The non-traditional colours look lovely and Mushroom is my fave.

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

 

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

Beach Please...

Hey,

Welcome to September!

I can't believe it is my birthday month already, this year has flown by!

I thought I would share a card that I made a while back during a coloring challenge. 

I love the Hero Arts mini stamp and die set 'Beach Please' it makes me laugh every time I see it, with the dog on the towel! The umbrella and the pineapple cocktail are separate stamps and dies and there is also a suntan lotion bottle!

I used a fave Dutchdoobadoo stencil for the clouds, I added a little Lawn Fawn stitched hill for the sand and a Lil Inker sun.

I always love how these cards turn out.

It also seemed appropriate to share it now, as I just got back from x4 days at the beach with Hubby and Lisette.

We had a wonderful time and it was SO good to get out of NYC and our apartment, even for a short time.

Cx

4 from 1: Paper Smooches Space Cadet..

Hey,

During my period without the Big Shot, I decided to play with a smaller format.

I think the US size is 4bar - it's one I use mainly for my Christmas cards - smaller surface area is handy when you are making a ton of cards.

I created my own mask (see my Saturday 9th May post about this) and blended distress oxides through the aperture. I used Twisted Citron, Picked Raspberry, Carved Pumpkin and Peacock Feathers.

I haven't pulled out my Paper Smooches 'Space Cadet' set in a while, but it is one of my all-time faves and I have had it a very long time.

I used the little Alien from the set and I added sentiments from Unity Stamp Co, Hero Arts, Concord & 9th and Ellen Hutson. The little dots are by Simon Says Stamp and are a flower centre - way to stretch my stamps!

So simple and a lot of fun!

Cx

CAS(E) This Sketch: Age is Just a Number..

Hey,

I decided that I had to do a second post today, because the minute I saw the sketch for CAS(E) This Sketch, I knew I had to play along!

I used the long edge of the card for my version of the sketch, so my card would be landscape, as the stamp I wanted to use is rather long.

The number stamp us by Hero Arts w/Studio Calico from their 'Please Note' set and I only bought it because I had to have this number stamp, however the rest of it has been used!

I coloured my stamp using Copic markers in rainbow order - it's SO pretty, I don't know how I'm going to part with it..

I added a sentiment from the Concord & 9th 'Happy Day' set. To match the sketch, I stamped another '3' on some yellow cardstock and fussy cut it and popped it up. However, you can't really tell I did that in my main photo (sigh) so here is a close-up for you.

I also added a few enamel dots in coordinating colours as a final touch.

I love this super quick and easy make, I love sketches, so inspirational.

Cx