Retro Rubber Challenge #120.. Anything Goes..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have everyone's fave this time - Anything Goes!!

Everyone loves Anything Goes! I especially love these challenges, I get to really root through my stamps and find something old and neglected that I can do anything I want to with it.

I chose a combo of stamp sets, that I have had since 2017. The giant sentiments are by Waffle Flower 'Eat Cake' and the cupcakes are by Hampton Arts 'Cupcake'.

I die-cut a white panel and then stamped and heat embossed the sentiment using my all-time fave embossing powder 'Liquid Platinum' by Ranger / Tim Holtz. I stamped and embossed the cupcake in the same powder and then die-cut it out.

I coloured the heart on the cupcake using a Spectrum Noir sparkle pen for a teeny bit of shimmer.

LOVE the outcome. I so rarely make cards with so little colour, so I am feeling pretty pleased about stepping out of my comfort zone.

It's my birthday on Saturday! And my Goddaughter arrives on Thurs from London to spend the weekend partying with me.. let's hope she can keep up ;)

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

Challenge ends October 4th.

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

Pinata Birthday..

Hey,

Happy Friday and welcome to March!

As I am heading to the Papercraft Clubhouse this weekend with Lisette to make Lawn Fawn cards (taught by Jenn Shurkus).

I thought it would be fitting to post a little Lawn Fawn card I made for my Nephew's birthday.

I love the Lawn Fawn Year Seven stamp set and thought I could make a fun card for Otis using it.

I die-cut an oval out of the centre of my white panel and then stamped all the fun pinata bits over the white panel and coloured them in. I used a mix of Promarkers and Spectrum Noir glitter pens.

I then stamped, coloured and cut the pinata and suspended it from my white panel using clear wire thread.

I mounted the whole panel onto a teal card blank and when you wiggle the card, the pinata moves, in my mind giving the illusion of the pinata bits falling out - no? Ok.

Anyway, have a great weekend, I know I am going to.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #548 The Paper Shelter..

Hey,

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

Our sponsor this week is The Paper Shelter and they are offering a prize of 3 digi's from their store.

Here's the sketch...

The image I used is called Glittery and Sparkling and it worked so well with the sketch.

I printed and coloured my image using Promarkers and Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens. Then I die-cut it using a stitched circle die.

I decided to add a sparkly border to match the sketch and chose a powder blue piece of sparkly powder to match the coloured image.

It took me a while to settle on a sentiment, but then I remembered I had some great chipboard phrases by Tim Holtz.

To match the sketch, I added some blue bling around the image.

Fun card, that is winging it's way to my Aunt.

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 Feb 1st 7pm GMT / 2pm EST.

Cx

Catch The Bug: Annual Birthday Bash..Freebie Friday...

Hey,

Happy Friday!

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

Today it's freebie Friday, so you get to use the awesome Birthday Monsters stamp...

I decided to stick to a limited palette for my card and I am really pleased with the end result. The great Kathy Rac always says sticking with 4 colours can give you great results.

I added a Hero Arts sentiment, some Spectrum glitter pens and voila! Final monster card!!

Today is the last day of the birthday bash, I hope you have had fun playing along.

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. 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

The Paper Players: You're So Berry Sweet...

Hey,

I love The Paper Players challenges.

And this week's one spoke to me immediately as it would mean I could use x2 pieces of NBUS - yay!

So I know Cherries are not strictly berries, but I think I artistic licence is allowed ;)

The large Cherry stamp and die are from Michael's and I got them a couple of months ago on super bargain sale. The sentiment is by Studio Calico and is a bit shameful as I have had it since Black Friday 2017 and haven't used it...

It is discontinued now, so here is a photo of the set -

As the theme asks for CAS cards, this was super easy to put together, I stamped, coloured and die-cut the Cherries (Mrs Cherry has a touch of Spectrum Noir sparkle pen on..).

I used this as a guide for where my sentiment should go and I stamped parts of it using red ink.

Super easy, super fun for a Monday night card.

Cx

CAS(E) This Sketch: Kinda Gross..

Hey,

So BIG day in my house / family today. My Godson Ben arrives for a 5 day visit - he is 16 and this was our 16th birthday gift to him. It's a big deal, first long haul flight (ALONE) and first time in the US..I am taking a half day today to get him from the airport and then we have 2 days off together and then we fly back to London on Monday.

The CAS(E) this Sketch, sketch is super fun this week. So easy, you could make a bejillion versions of it.

I decided it was time to break out the hilarious 'Kinda Gross' stamp by Impression Obsession..

I added heart stamps by Clearly Besotted and coloured them using spectrum noir sparkle pens.

See! Simple..

I love this card, I was totally cracking myself up as I was making it, which will amuse JT no doubt..as I am always laughing at my own jokes!

Cx

Catch The Bug GDT: Recipe Challenge Kraft + Colour Pop

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you!

Hubby and I will mainly be recovering today from our crazy night out last night..long overdue a night of dancing.

I'm still with the Catch The Bug team for their Saturday challenge. 

This week we have a fun recipe challenge for you - Make it Bright - use Kraft and a pop of colour.

I love the Valentine Jar image by Bugaboo, I overuse it for Anniversary cards.

For this challenge, I coloured it in hot pinks!! Using promarkers and a spectrum noir sparkle pen, then I fussy cut it..I hate fussy cutting but I do it a lot!

I added black ink splatters to a white card blank, die-cut the pink embossed tag and added that to my card blank. The kraft tag is shop bought..because I love tags. I mounted the kraft one using foam tape and did the same for my fussy cut image.

I think I nailed the brief as the colour certainly does pop!

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

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

Cx

The Paper Players: Critter Crew...

Hey,

Happy Friday!

I am looking forward to the weekend, I get to see most of the Craftgang this weekend, as we are helping Ava pack up her craft room, as she is moving out of NYC (sob). We are sad, but happy for her.

I was lucky enough to make cut above in last week's Paper Player's challenge.. How lovely is that!

I love the sketch for this week's challenge.

The minute I saw the sketch, I knew what I was going to make..

I used the Avery Elle Critter Crew stamp and die set for my shape. I coloured the Critters using Promarkers and added Spectrum Noir glitter pens and Nuvo drops for shimmer here and there.

The paper background paper is by Stampin' Up and was a gift from my Retro Rubber teamie Debbie Mageed.

I used a scrap for my border and added a sentiment from the Critter Crew set and the Happy Birthday is also by Avery Elle.

A pretty cheerful and fun kids card I feel.

Great way to end the week.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #85.. Vintage..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

Over the Christmas break, we had a bit of a theme overhaul and Debbie suggested this lovely one -

The minute I saw this cue-card I knew that I had the perfect stamp for it. It's called 'The Gorgeous Bride' and is by All Dressed Up. She feels so very Vintage with her nod to 1920's style.

I actually combined a digital stamp with a physical stamp here - it's allowed as long as they are both older than a year and there is some physical stamping too!

This card has a random story attached to it. I actually made the card and was a bit up in the air about which sentiment to use. Then a friend (male) who is getting married (secretly) asked if I could make him a card to give to his wife to be on their wedding day. He said 'give me something smooshy, with feeling' LOL..sure ok!

And then it came to me...I have this beautiful sentiment by Unity Stamp Co. that I got in 2016 and I thought it would work here and fit the brief of my friend and weirdly enough the lady on the card actually looks a teeny bit like the Bride.

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and Spectrum Noir sparkle pens and the background paper is ancient and is really pale pink, with subtle bits of text on it.

My friend loved the finished card and I was super pleased that my card went to a great home and could be a little gift for my friend.

Show us your interpretation of the sketch (and maybe even share a random story) and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends May 4th.

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 #83.. Anything Goes..

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have everyone's fave - Anything Goes..

I love the 'Skating By' set by Avery Elle, and I have had it since 2016, so I thought it would be fun to pull it out for this challenge.

I decided I'd go for bright neon-like colours for my card. I coloured all the stamps using Promarkers and touches of Spectrum Noir sparkle pens. I added some white gel pen dots to the girls skirt and bow.

I assembled the base of my card using some great Recollections papers - they are from a Christmas 2016 set that I got on sale and I love the brick and the sparkly pink together.

Once it was all assembled, I figured out where I wanted to stamp my sentiment and used a stamping platform to make sure it was in the right place.

I then added all the other elements to the card and a little flag with the rest of the sentiment.

I loved making this card, it was so much fun.

Over to you, to show us what you make and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends April 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

CASology: Fit

Hey,

Happy Friday!

I loved being back at work yesterday...weird right!!

Tonight Hubby and I are off out on the annual bonus dinner night, if Hubby gets a bonus, I get a fancy dinner and a night at a hotel - sweeeet!

I'm playing along with CASology today -

I love this cue card.  Fit means a lot to me, I have been on a getting Fit journey for 9 months now and it's totally changed my life.

So I decided to use an old Simon Says Stamp set 'Work Out' because the girl reminded me of me in the gym, but I might be a bit sweatier - lol!! I coloured her using Promarkers and Spectrum Noir sparkle pens. I decided to add a bit of detail to her top, because most of my work out clothes have a little bit of a pattern..I LOVE work out clothes

I wanted to anchor the girl, so I broke out a stamp by Studio Calico and Hello Forever, that I hadn't used yet.

I like how this little addition transformed my card.

Final step was adding the sentiment, I thought this one summed up how I feel about being Fit.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

Three Cheers!...

Hey,

So I have been spending most of my time off at my desk - tidying, organising, learning new things and finally playing with some of the enormous Black Friday haul.

I got these great Clearly Besotted Panda Cheerleaders then and they are long overdue for a play.

I chose 3 of the panda stamps and drew a line on my white panel, so I could line them up correctly. I do this a lot, it's super helpful.

I added a banner and a larger sentiment from the set.

At the last minute I decided that the dresses should be pink and used a Spectrum Noir sparkle pen to colour them and their little bows.

Very cute card..maybe too cute for me..I'll keep my eye out for other ways to use this set.

Cx

MFT Creative Olympics 2018: Event 2 Freestyle

Hey,

Happy Friday to you!

Following on from my post yesterday I am here playing along with Event 2 of the MFT creative olympics.

The theme is -

Any card you like, as long as it has a Winter theme.

I chose to use Polar Bear Pals again, I love the bears, I am still waiting for the dies, so I cut them out using my Silhouette. I die-cut the MFT stitched scalloped rectangle frame die using a piece of smooshed distress ink paper..I have a lot of these ready to go.

To add even more of a wintery feel, I stamped tiny trees from a set by In A Creative Mind. I love their collaborations with Studio Calico.

I used foam tape to pop up the central panel and the bear. Here is a closeup -

As I wanted to use the 'I come bearing gifts' sentiment from the Polar Bear set, I decided to add a little stack of presents from the 'Beary Special Birthday' set.

I love it, it makes a really nice winter birthday card.

Have a great weekend, I will be mainly at my desk and hanging with Hubby.

Cx

MFT Creative Olympics 2018: Event 1..stamping slalom..

Hey,

I saw on Instagram that MFT are celebrating the Winter Olympics with their own version -

I thought it would be fun to play along.

The first 'event' is called Stamping Slalom, this is 100% a creativity test, use x3 MFT sets on your card.

I misread that part initially, but I got there in the end!

First I created my background by smooshing my paper into distress inks that had been spritzed with water. I added some Glitter Snow paste through a stencil for the snowy effect. I repeated both of these steps with the bottom sentiment panel.

I cut the 'snowy hills' using a Lawn Fawn stitched hillside die. I added a white panel too, as the polar bear was getting a bit lost.

I am pretty pleased with my creativity here, I used Beast Friends (Yeti), Polar Bear Pals (Polar Bear) and Happy Hippos (Balloons). To me it feels like the Yeti is watching his Polar Bear buddy skate...but that's just my opinion..
I coloured all of these elements using Promarkers and Spectrum Noir glitter pens.

The sentiment is a mix of Simon Says Stamp and a freebie hand lettering alpha set I got. I didn't have a scripty 'fun' in my stash, so I created the one you can see on my card using the letters from the alpha set. It is so easy..I am now slightly reconsidering my desire to learn to hand letter..if I can cheat this well...

I'm super happy with my card. I'll be back with my Event 2 card tomorrow.

Cx

Polar Bear Hi...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

Hope you all had a nice weekend, I had a nice relaxed one with Hubby, following a rather epic drinking session on Friday...

Today's card uses some NBUS that I got over the Christmas break (naughty, naughty), it's called 'Polar Bear Pals' and is by MFT. Dies are on their way...

I stamped the bear onto white card and coloured him using Promarkers and Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens. I stamped the sentiment just under his feet/paws, so it looks like he is standing on it.

I love the tiny bucket of fish stamp and just had to add it here.

To give it a more wintery feel I added some dots using a Tim Holtz stencil and Distress Oxide Broken China ink.

Love the end result, feels very wintery.

Cx

Bugaboo Stamps Birthday Bash: Day 1

Hey,

I really love Bugaboo stamps, they were one of the first digital stamp companies I used when I discovered digi stamps.

Recently JT gifted me a few of their stamps and as I am still off work and have more time I thought it would be fun to play along with their birthday bash.

Today my card is for Day 1 -

Go bold & bright they said..so I did exactly that!

I used Mouse Balloons - this is such a versatile stamp. I coloured it using Promarkers and Spectrum Noir sparkle pens.

I die-cut the mouse and pink panels using MFT rounded dies - not stitched which is unusual for me. Don't worry I brought out my stitched die for the stripey green panel (paper by Lawn Fawn).

I dug through my newly sorted pre die-cut alphas and found the congrats in the right colour!! I ran these through my mini xyron sticker maker, so that they are easier to add to my card.

It felt a bit flat, so I popped up the pink and mouse layers with foam tape..much better.

See you tomorrow for Day 2, which also happens to be the first day of the new 30 Days of Colouring challenge - whoop whoop.

Cx

Catch The Bug: Bugaboo Sketch Challenge..

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you! A rare double post from me today..

I am having an awesome weekend.

I won the Bugaboo Anything Goes Challenge (10 digi stamp prize!!) AND I made 'The Cut Above' over at The Paper Players for my Punny Valentine.

How awesome is that! I had already made the card for Bugaboo's latest sketch challenge -

I decided to use one of my fave Bugaboo stamps (Party Pig Trio), I always have this stamp printed out at the correct size for my cards and it gets used A LOT.

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and Spectrum Noir sparkle markers, then die-cut it using a scalloped rectangle die.

I went with a glittery paper that I found on the floor in my craft room recently for the strip on the left and the 'happy' banner is an ancient print out from one of my fave digital companies Pink Petticoat. For a bit of interest I die-cut the banner using a die by Sizzix, kindly gifted to me by JT.

To finish my card I added the 'Birthday' sticker and some Nuvo crystal drops here and there.

You'll be seeing a lot more Bugaboo from me this week, as I am going to be playing along with their 8th birthday bash. I love their stamps and it's always fun to play with digi's.

Cx

Crazy in Love..

Hey,

Happy Monday.

Still no work permit, so I continue to be on a forced hiatus.

So far it's been pretty good because we had the epic Bomb Cyclone snow storm, so I've had no choice but to be on house arrest.

One of my work colleagues in NYC got engaged over the Christmas break and her and her boyf are firm friends of mine, so I wanted to make them a fun card.

I actually don't have a lot of 'engagement' stamps and so I had to improvise.

I thought that the "Crazy Awesome" set by Concord & 9th, could work as an Engagement card, but then my heart sank a bit, because there are no dies for this enormous stamp and fussy cutting it is a pain in the arse.

So I broke out my Silhouette Portrait..scan in the stamped image and die-cut a bunch of them - yay!

Because the stamp is so in your face I opted for a simple background (Paper by Lawn Fawn).

I love it and I hope they do too.

Cx

The Cats Pajamas....

Hey,

I have wanted this 'It could be Vodka..' set by The Cats Pajamas for ages.

I finally got a bit of a deal on it last week and it arrived quite quickly.

Because I was off on Tuesday I managed to have an extended playtime at my desk, so I broke out the set and rustled up two cards.

I stamped the main image for both cards in the same place, but for the main card I created a background using the mini Fish, Cat head and square stamp that come with the set. I coloured the images using distress inks and a paintbrush.

I created the sentiment by using 3 stamps sets and masked off parts I didn't want.

It's so bright and cheery. I like it, I really like the teeny square stamp and the Cat stamp is going to be very versatile.

To illustrate that point, here is card number two..

I stamped mini hearts onto the teacup and coloured them using Spectrum Noir sparkle pens and added a simple sentiment to it.

Adding some detail to the teacup gives a totally different look to the stamp..I can't wait to make a few more versions of this.

There are also a few more stamps in the set that I need to play with..hopefully before I leave for London (so tonight then?!)

Cx

Sketch Saturday #490 Crafty Sentiments...

Hey,

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

Our sponsor this week is Crafty Sentiments Design and they are offering a prize of 3 digis from their store.

Here's the sketch, which just happens to be by me!

I chose the Tess Summer Fun stamp, as I thought it would work really well in the oval shape, as I wanted to be true to my own sketch LOL.

The stamp was a dream to colour and I used Promarkers and Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens. The stitched oval die is by MFT and I need to use it more!! I kept the background simple, because the stamp is so detailed. The tiny pink heart is from my 'box of hearts' I have a box of punched, die-cut, gifted hearts, it comes in very handy.

Final touch was to add a sentiment and I decided to send the card to a friend, so chose a suitable sentiment for her.

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

Challenge ends 24th November 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx