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 Challenge Blog - #190 - Tag, you're it...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

Our long-time teamie LeAnne is stepping down, we really will miss her and her beautiful creations. Best wishes to you LeAnne, I am sure I'll see you around in blogland.

This time we have a 'use a tag' challenge.

I love tags, shop-bought, handmade, or any kind. I have a big bin full of them, so I was super excited to use one of my faves here.

I chose the tag first - it is from Michael's and has a great holographic effect, so when it catches the light, it feels a bit like the ocean to me! Hence my stamp choice 'Mermaid's Crossing' by Newton's Nook, I have had it since I took a class using it in 2016!

I never bought the dies, but this is where my awesome Brother Scan n Cut aka Big Sexy comes in handy!

The image below shows how I stamped and cut a bunch of things all at once. I even cut out the sentiments, just draw a pencil line around them and erase after.

I coloured my mermaid using copics, I am pretty pleased with her pink hair. After mounting the tag onto the card, I placed the mermaid and the sentiment and then added some of my all-time fave Pretty Pink Posh clear droplets.

I love it so much, that I am not sure I want to send it to anyone LOL.

How will you use a tag on your card? Make sure that you pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends September 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

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

Fusion Card Challenge - Colour Palette Bird...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Colour Palette Bird' 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 birds, I have become a bird nerd since moving to Florida! I have tons of bird stamps, but decided to use one of my faves by Pretty Pink Posh 'Hummingbird Thanks'. I love Hummingbirds and have a couple in my new garden!

I stamped and watercoloured the birds using distress inks, I got as close as I could to the colour palette. Then I used a couple of different colours to create the background clouds, which I created using my fave MFT 'Cloud Edger' stencil. The sentiment is actually from a Woodware set 'Paper Birds' that I got as a gift from a friend, perfect for this card.

I am so happy with it and it will be leaving soon to accompany a gift.

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 March 1st.

Cx

Did Somebody say Cake?..

Hey,

Happy Monday.

I hope you had a good weekend? I spent mine having a Zoom call with the craftgang, doing more of the Spring Card Camp over at Online Card Classes and doing a ton of digital scrapping. Busy! I also managed to watch a few films with Hubby and Clint.

I made today's cheery card a few weeks ago, partly because I wanted to play with the great 'Swell' background stamp by Avery Elle that I got from a AE grab bag last year.

I thought it would pair well with the shark from their 'Sea-prise' set.

I stamped the background and cut a circle out of the centre, so I could house the shark. I went backwards and forwards on what background should go in the centre. ugh. Eventually I settled on the scrap of Lawn Fawn spotty paper.

Because my whole life is about cake during this lockdown, I thought my shark would be popping up looking for a piece of cake!

It all came together really well and I believe the recipient loved it!

Dotty Whale CASE...

Hey,

Happy Saturday!

I'm super excited today, as tonight Hubby and I are off to the Opera, which was my Christmas gift from Hubby..I will be finally hearing Placido Domingo sing..

I have become obsessed with Alex Syberia's method of dot colouring..

I have been practicing, but essentially my versions look crap LOL!

Then I saw a post of Alex's where she used a Whale for her dotty colouring and I love Whale stamps and have a few, so I thought I'd give it a go and FINALLY it all clicked.

Mine are by NO means as awesome as Alex's, but it's a start and I am super happy with the end results.

You really have to try it and even if you don't, do check out Alex's work.

I used a ton of supplies..
Whale stamp/die by Recollections
Birthday Fishes sentiment by Waffle Flower
Fintastic Sentiment by Newtons Nook
Mini fish shoal by Kaisercraft
Single fish by MFT
Clear droplets by Pretty Pink Posh
Stencil by Andy Skinner

Cx

Pretty Pink Posh: Hummingbird Cards

Hey,

Do you ever get a new stamp set, but are at a bit of a loss as to how to use it?

I fell in love with Hummingbird Thanks by Pretty Pink Posh, but I struggled a bit with ideas. So I did a google search and came up with the idea for my main card, which is a CASE of a card by Umichka (Anna).

I love masking and I thought her card was gorgeous and it inspired me.

I stamped all the Hummingbirds first, then using die-cuts, I masked them off and blended over the panel using Distress Oxide inks. I coloured the Hummingbirds using Promarkers and added some white gel pen like Anna to their wings.

I added a piece of tracing paper, a die-cut word and a sentiment banner to finish my card off.

LOVE the end result.

I made three more cards, using a simple formula - masked circle, Hummingbird die-cut or stamp and a large sentiment (all from a Freebie set that was a gift from JT)

A great 4 cards from 1 set solo playdate and has given me food for thought with some other stamp sets.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

The Paper Players..Magical..

Hey,

Happy Monday to you!

I had a fun weekend, I hope you did too.

I liked The Paper Players theme this week -

I love Unicorns and I especially love the large sentiment stamp I used here by Unity Stamp Co. It always makes me smile and I love making random cards with it to send to friends.

I masked off a small area, so I could blend some oxide ink to create an anchor for my sentiment and the Unicorn, but also to add a bit of interest whilst keeping my card CAS.

Sadly you can't see all the gold shimmer on my card, as I spritzed it with a gold shimmer spritz before adding the unicorn (Mama Elephant at Michaels).

To finish my card, I added a few clear droplets by Pretty Pink Posh..

Fun card, love it when a challenge make comes out this well!

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Critters for my Niece

Hey,

Today is the Holiday Card Extravaganza with Cheiron and the Inkpad, super excited to be in class all day and with my craftgang. We haven't crafted together in a while, so it's going to be a hoot.

Following on from yesterday's special Christmas card post, I thought I would show you the beautiful card I made for my Niece.

My Niece is such a character, she attracts your attention and I have this vision of her ending up with a random posse of peeps eventually, so this stamp really made me think of her.

It's by Avery Elle and is called Sledding Critters, I bought it because I loved their Birthday Bus stamp so much and this is the same 'gang'.

Because the stamp is so detailed I wanted to keep the background simple.. Doesn't look it at first glance right?

It is just one easy cut, as it is a die by Simon Says Stamp 'Birch Tree Window' and I love it, I waited AGES for it to come back in stock.

I went with a more child friendly sentiment and I like it. As a final touch I added a couple of clear droplets by Pretty Pink Posh and voila! Christmas card.

I love it, it's going to be hard parting with it, but I know that Florence is going to love it, so that makes it easier LOL.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #476..I miss that face..

Hey,

Welcome to the latest sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is Star Stampz and they are offering a prize of 3 digi stamps from their store.

This week, the sketch was drawn by me - YAY!! Hope you love it too..

I loved the My Sweet Sunflower image and toned all my elements to match the Sunflower.

The stamp was so much fun to colour! All the papers are actually super old scraps, that I made excellent use of here. The hilarious sentiment is by Hero Arts and I added clear droplets by Pretty Pink Posh to spice it up a bit!

I love it and I know exactly who it will be going to :)

Your turn to show us what you make with the sketch, but first check out what the rest of the DT have made over at Sketch Saturday.

Challenge ends 18 August 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Happy Bird-Day...

Hey,

Happy Friday!

It's been a fun week here in NYC, one of the owners of the company I work for was here along with x2 other colleagues, so there has been much eating, drinking and gossiping.

I am excited as Cheiron is teaching two cool classes at Westbeth this Sunday and I am going to both.

I have a super early PT session tomorrow - ugh, but I am feeling better, stronger and smug, so totally worth it.

I made today's card for my colleague and friend Natasha, I adore her, she is my kinda people.

I thought some smooshing would be a fun backdrop for the birdie, but once I put it together I felt like it needed something else.

So I created a 'flower' using a scalloped circle die and a stitched circle die, I am much happier about how it looks!

The birdie and the stamped sentiment are by Wplus9  - this set is still out on my desk for a four from one playtime and the giant happy die is by Simon Says Stamp.

I am so happy with this card and it arrived safely and Natasha told me she loves it!

Have a great weekend.

Cx

April Craftgang Playdate...

Hey,

Happy Friday.

Tonight will be my second Personal Training session - I have been going to the gym without my trainer too, so I am pretty tired this week! But it seems to be working, I feel stronger and can see results already.

As Sunday is the May Craftgang playdate, I thought I would FINALLY show you my April playdate makes!

All the image stamps (except the Waffle Flower Bear) came from Jamey's stash. The main card and the WF Bear card, I actually finished on the day at Jamey's - along with something I can't show you yet.

The rest of the cards I finished last weekend - I spent last Saturday finishing all the half done projects on my desk!!

I love the variety of the cards. The main card is obvs my fave, because I LOVE background stamps and Jamey's collection makes me so happy. The stamp I used is by Simon Says Stamp and I roughly coloured the 'flowers' with Zigs and then used an aquabrush to get the smudgy watercolour feel.

The card below makes me smile - I finally got my hands on the Waffle Flower Bird and Bear stamp set..I should have bought it when it came out, I procrastinated and had to wait 2 months!

I used one of Jamey's background stamps and I like that the bear looks like he is passing a wall on his travels.

The next 3 cards are the ones I finished last weekend.

Loved the dog and heart stamp. I used Lil Inkers wonky dies and Hero Arts sentiment, coloured with Distress Inks and an aquabrush  

I love Pigs!! My Hubby is from the home of Pigs LOL. I kept this one simple and close-up you can see the glittery bubbles.

Same dog set as above, but I used the sentiments from something else. Die I bought in London. Kraft blank from JT. Added clear Pretty Pink Posh droplets (of course)

Fun makes, I love the Craftgang playdates, they make me so happy.

The gym does not. But that is where I will be tonight and tomorrow morning - I swear I better look like Naomi freaking Campbell in my bikini this year!

Cx

Hello You....

Hey,

Recently I wanted to make a quick card for my Goddaughter, as she sent us a save the date for her wedding (2019!) and wrote me a letter.

I always think a handwritten letter deserves a similar response.

Obviously I have a large stash of ready made cards, but I wanted this one to be special.

I pulled out the Neat & Tangled 'Hello You' stamp set, I like the large sentiment and the star and the heart stamps fit what I wanted to make.

I stamped the star and heart using Broken China Oxide Distress Ink, then I spritzed it and patted it dry with a paper towel. I like the slightly bleached, smudged effect.

I die-cut the panel using a MFT stitched rounded rectangle die, then stamped the sentiment before affixing it to the card blank.

I am OBSESSED with the Pretty Pink Posh droplets right now, they seem to be making their way onto everything I make LOL.

Super quick and simple card, I love this set, it needs to be used more.

Cx

CASE Laura Fadora...

Hey,

It is Good Friday today, I am still in London, heading up to my in-laws in MM today to reunite with Hubby and hang with his family for a couple of days.

I love Laura Fadora, she is totally one of my craft crushes, I love how she uses colour. She is very inspiring.

I loved this card she made -

I have the Give Thanks stamp set by Concord & 9th, that Laura used on her card and it has been a bit neglected, so I decided to have a play.

I made mine into a colourful birthday card. The Happy die is by Wplus9 and this is my first time using adhesive foam for dimension. I really like the effect you get and I am super happy with my card, I love the different shades of colour.

I use Tsukineko inks, I have nearly all of the memento dewdrop colours, they are easy to store as they are small and I love the colours. I do have the odd inkpad by other colours, but these and distress inks are my default. One day when I have more space I would love a set of Lawn Fawn inks..

Here is a variation using Amazeballs stamp set by CAS-ual Fridays.

Slightly different as the stamp is not solid, gives a more subtle effect..

Cx

Just Add Ink: Colours..

Hey,

Happy Monday.

Today I am playing along with the Just Add Ink colour challenge -

I thought the colours would be great for a baby card.

I am a little bit addicted right now to using the Neat and Tangled Skunk for baby cards..

I stenciled some Turquoise ink onto my white panel using a Tim Holtz grid stencil and then added the pink spotty washi tape and a scrap of grey paper. Then I ran the whole piece through the Big Shot using a Simon Says Stamp stitched rectangle die.

I coloured (Zigs) and cut the Skunk out, as always using artistic license with the colour...

The Skunk is popped up using foam tape and the sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp.

I am loving the Pretty Pink Posh clear droplets right now and so added a few here for a bit of interest.

I am really happy, such a sweet card, I love making baby cards.

Cx

Happy Mother's Day..

Hey,

In the UK it is Mother's Day today.

I thought it would be nice to make my Ma and my MIL Mother's Day cards.

My Momma was a rockstar when I was having my op and the week after. My MIL was great following the complication with her daily updates.

Making their cards using a mix and match of my MFT flower sets. I love these stamps and I have four of the sets..for now..

The main card is for my Ma, I used Flashy Florals and Tropical Flowers. I stamped and die-cut the flowers first, then die-cut the white panel and set that up in my MISTI. I positioned the flowers and worked out how to stamp the leaves. The sentiment is an old wood stamp and I added clear droplets by Pretty Pink Posh as a finishing touch.

A new thing for me, I only popped up one flower and I think it really works.

Here is the card for my MIL, different for me as it is one layer..

I used Bold Blooms  for all the flowers and leaves on this card and I added the sentiment and the hearts by Lawn Fawn. For a finishing touch I added Nuvo Crystal drops.

I am really pleased with both the cards..I love playing with these stamp sets.

Cx

1st Day of School....

Hey,

I am heading home tomorrow, in time for my bday on Monday :) So this weekend I am hanging with my family.

I wanted to show you the 1st day of school card I made for our Nephew Otis..funnily enough, today just happens to be my SIL's wedding anniversary.

I cannot believe Otis is big enough to start school - it seems like only yesterday he was this teeny tiny little thing!

Now he is cheeky, funny and gorgeous!

I kept the card simple and fun. He loves a Dinosaur - but quite frankly who doesn't!

My card ingredients are:
- Pretty Pink Posh frame die
- Recollections spotty paper, stickers and bling
- Paper Smooches 'Zoo Crew' Dino stamp
- Simon Says Stamp Happy and Day stamps (from x2 different sets and Day is actually Birthday that I masked off)
- Promarkers, MFT ink

It is times like these that I am glad I am not a parent, I feel quite overwhelmed by Otis starting school - I can only imagine what that must feel like as a parent!

Happy Weekend.

Cx

Still time to play along...

Hey,

There is still time for you to play along with the latest Moving Along With The Times challenge.

We have changed the format of the challenge - each team will now be doing a 2 week challenge - giving you more time to play along.

That means that this challenge runs until 15th September (closes at 6pm GMT)

The theme this time is Use an Animal and our hostess is Susan.

I'm showing you a couple of cards that feature animals :)

I recently bought myself the Mama Elephant three amigos stamp and die set..I love the ton of fun sayings you can stamp onto the amigos.

I made 2 different cards - flexing more new stash muscle LOL

The main card, I used my new Pretty Pink Posh filmstrip die - love this die, can't wait to use it more.

The card below uses one of my many shaker pouches and a new chipboard embellishment that was on sale at Michaels.

Really I love making these shaker pouches. It was fun making my own mixes to fill them with - Candi's and sequins are great, but it's nice to add extra bits. I used these great Tim Holtz dies to create teeny tiny little die cuts for using as 'shaker mix'

Yay!

Cx

Pretty Pink Posh..Watercolour Blog Hop..

Hey,

Happy Friday!

I have been super excited to join in the Pretty Pink Posh watercolour blog hop - despite the foot woes (2 more broken bones found by the MRI)..

The image from the PPP blog, made me giddy with excitement -

I kept my card nice and simple.

I used a piece of Tim Holtz watercolour paper, Distress inks in Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers to create my watercolour background. I use a fave technique, wet my brush in clean water and paint across the paper, then dab ink onto my craft mat and using a very wet brush I apply it to the paper.

The sentiment is by Paper Smooches and you can see some little stars and dots scattered around, those stamps are by Simon Says Stamp.

I then mounted it to a card blank - voila! Finished card.

I love watercolouring, its one of my fave mediums. I find it very therapeutic.

Hope you all have a great weekend, I will be resting my foot, whilst playing at my desk.

Cx