Retro Rubber Challenge #279 - Theme - Anything Goes..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have everyone's fave anything goes for you!

I made these cards as a bit of therapy one night. I just felt the urge to watercolour and I pulled out this beautiful flower stamp by Altenew 'You Make Me Happy', I have had it since 2018. It watercolours beautifully and is so simple. I used a fave Clearly Besotted sentiment from 2019.

They were not popping off the card blanks, so I added a piece of vellum and I think they look much better now!

What will you choose to play with? Pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends September 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 5 challenges, including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #277 - Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

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

Tic tac toe is always a lot of fun!

I went with the diagonal row - Sparkle, Your Choice, Flowers. For your choice, I went with no markers!

Yep, my card was made with only inks. This ancient set by Concord & 9th 'Hello Lovely' that I have had since 2016 comes with a bunch of random shaped stamps that you can use to add colour to the stamped image.

My sparkle is a bit of bling dotted around and some wink of stella; sadly, I don't think you can see the shimmer and sparkle in my photo :(

Also my sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp and is from 2015!! 

Can't wait to see which row you chose, don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 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 #269 - Tic-tac-toe...

Hey,

Welcome to the latest fun Retro Rubber challenge.

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

I went with middle horizontal row - Ribbon - Your Choice (tag) - Holly.

The funky holly die-cut is part of a stencil/die set by Taylored Expressions 'Play on Words - Holiday' I got it in 2025. I stamped my tag using the fun Taylored Expressions 'Trendy Tree Farm' background stamp that I have had since 2023. The ribbon is from my scraps bag.

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

Challenge ends April 17th.

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 #267 - Colour challenge...

Hey,

Welcome to another fabulous Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a sweet colour challenge for you..

These are my kind of colours. I loved the image, so I wanted to incorporate rain or rainbows somehow, but I just couldn't get it to work! So I went back to the drawing board, scoured my stamp library, and stumbled upon this gorgeous stamp that I honestly don't think I have ever used!

I used all the colours from the palette to colour my stamped image. I used Altenew markers. I created a fun little border using the colours. All the papers are from the Spellbinders sampler pack. I love their cardstock.

Stamp by Unity Stamp co 'More Than Ice Cream', which I have had since 2022.

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

Challenge ends March 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

Retro Rubber Challenge #266 - Luck o' the Irish!..

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a fun theme for you this time..

I don't send St Patrick's Day cards, so my supplies for this theme are limited. But I have this awesome set by Lawn Fawn, and it sparked the idea for this card!

I found an already smooshed green panel in my desk crap pile and added the clover and star stamps from the Lawn Fawn set to it. I stamped, coloured and cut my Alligators from the Neat & Tangled set. Final step was to heat emboss the sentiment. I punched it using my fave label punch by Stampin' Up.

I love the end result, a super cute card for a friend and of course squeezing in a couple of 'gators made me very happy!

I used -

Lawn Fawn 'Lucky Charm' - 2015

Neat & Tangled 'Later Alligator' - 2019

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

Challenge ends March 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

p.s dates are when I purchased the stamp, not when it was released.

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 #264 - Sketch time!

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 needed a hello card for a friend, and I thought this awesome set by Avery Elle 'Stuck on You' would be perfect. I used a scalloped circle die to add a bit of interest and the sentiment is also by Avery Elle 'Speech Bubbles'. I love the little faces you can add to the cacti! I coloured them using Altenew Markers.

Supplies: Avery Elle 'Stuck on You' and 'Speech Bubbles' - I have had both since 2020. Scalloped die is by The Works.

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

Challenge ends February 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

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 #262 - Books books books...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a theme for you -

My Momma was a Librarian, so of course I love books. But these days, I am Kindle-based.

I love these two stamp sets by Avery Elle 'Feels like Home' and 'Feels Like Home Addition', I have had them both since 2022. How cute is that bunny with his/her carrot book :)

I stamped and die-cut all the stamps I wanted for my card. I used Big-sexy (Brother scan'n'cut) to cut the stamps. I CASEd a card I had seen, because I loved the blended background that anchors the whole thing.

I coloured the stamps using Altenew markers, and I played with the layout before I stamped my sentiment, which is from the stamp sets. I mounted everything with a skinnier foam tape to get a bit of dimension but not too much.

Love how this came out.

What book stamps do you have in your stash? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends September 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 5 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx 

Retro Rubber Challenge #259 - Colour challenge

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a fun colour challenge for you this time.

I have had this card pinned for a while. I love the green and yellow colour combo, with the navy and grey acting as great neutrals.

I had to use this Unity Stamp Co. 'Erica Girl' stamp from 2016 for this challenge. I really wanted to colour a green jacket lol! The background stamp is by Taylored Expressions 'Shiplap' from 2019.

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

Challenge ends July 25th.

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 #257 - Tic Tac Toe..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

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

I was spoilt for choice with this board. In the end, I went with the diagonal row, top left to bottom right - Sequins, Shaker Card and Die Cut.

I had cut this shaker card idea about a year or so ago, and it was just languishing on my desk! To create this card, I cut x2 panels of the pretty floral paper and affixed one of them to my card blank. I die-cut a circle from the other panel and added some acetate and foam tape to make it into a shaker panel. The sequin mix in my shaker is very cute, it has teeny tiny little butterflies in it too.

The sentiment is from one of my all-time fave stamp sets by Neat and Tangled 'Awesome' I have had it since 2016.

I stamped the sentiment in navy ink as I thought it would fit better with the colours of the paper.

Fun card, I so rarely make shakers, which I might need to correct :)

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

Challenge ends June 27.

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 #255 - Colour challenge..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a fun colour challenge for you. 

These are my kind of colours!

When I was digging through my stash, I found the amazing piece of patterned paper that you see on my card, it's like the colour palette for the challenge was built using this!

I stamped the sentiment (by Stampin' Up 'Best Butterflies' I've had it since 2022) onto a piece of coordinating solid cardstock using Altenew Lagoon ink. I dug out an ancient set of Happy dies by WPlus9 - I've had them since 2014 and they were my most overused dies for a while. I cut the Happy from lime green to coordinate with the palette.

Simple, easy card. That I tucked in my bestie's luggage before she left on Sunday :) She has been here for 3 weeks and it was lovely to have her here for so long!

How will you use the colours? Be sure to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends March 30th.

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 #253 - Tic Tac Toe

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

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

These are always so fun, as even if you chose the same row as someone else, your cards are totally different!

I went with the 1st vertical row - green/ribbon/thank you.

I love this stamp set by Taylored Expressions 'Cherry On Top' it was a gift from my friend Lisette in 2022, she knows I have a thing for cherry stamps, but dislike real cherries!

I added a small strip of green cardstock to my mini slim card blank. I wanted it to act as an anchor for the postage strip. I love using these blank postage strips, they are so impactful.

I created a little cluster at the bottom for my cherry stamp, sentiment and the cute little ribbon bow I found in my stash! I literally have not been in the drawer where the ribbon bows live in about a year!

Cute card, I can't wait to send it!

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 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 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 #250 - Under The Sea + giveaway

 

Hey,

Welcome to the 250th Retro Rubber challenge.

I can't believe that we are at our 250th challenge!! I have been here since the beginning and I am so thankful to consider Jane who runs the team a friend, she is a legend.

We have a fun under the sea theme for you this time.

I believe that I saw a similar version of my card somewhere, but I can't find it now, so this might technically be a CASE.

I loved the idea of an unusual take on under the sea and this set by Newton' Nook 'Shrimp Cocktails' (I've had it since 2019) was perfect for this silly card!

I drew x2 lines to mark off my light source, then I masked and blended the blue and the yellow panels. I spritzed it with water to add a bit of a sea feel.

I found the perfect table stamp from an Avery Elle 'Feels Like Home' set that I have had since 2021.

I added the sentiment from the set and some bling as the finishing touches.

Honestly, I couldn't love it more!

As we are at the 250 mark how about a giveaway?! Enter the challenge and leave me a comment here or on Instagram and I will pick a winner for a little prize :) Sadly due to high postage costs, giveaway is only open to US residents.


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

Challenge ends March 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 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 #247 - Colour Theme

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

I am super excited, my parents arrive on Thursday and we leave for our family cruise on Sunday!!

We have a colour challenge for you.

I decided these were the perfect colours for a monster card!

It was also an excuse to break out a favourite turnabout stamp for the background. I love using these stamps for colour challenges because you can use 4 different colours on them. I used Altenew inks for my background. I coloured the monster in similar colours. I love how the peachy colour breaks up the purples and adds interest.

Stamps used - Concord & 9th - Semi-circle Turnabout I have had it since 2020, Taylored Expressions - Candy Monster, I have had it since 2018.

Show us how you use the colours, pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends Feb 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 #246 - Winter Theme...

Hey,

Welcome to the 10th year Retro Rubber challenge and the first one for 2025!

We have a theme challenge for you this time.

Tampa is doing winter right now - which is annoying, but 4 weeks of cold I will take!

I forgot about this beautiful stamp by Stamping Bella - 'Oddball Mini Snowflake' it has been in my NBUS pile since 2022 (the shame), but I used it for a couple of Christmas cards and thought it was perfect for our theme! I kept it simple and just coloured her and added some stickles to the little snowy dots that are part of the stamp.

Which winter goodies will you use? pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends January 24th.

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 - a change for 2025 from 10 to 5!

Cx

2024 Hops: Fall Friends Part One...

Hey,

Happy Friday to you! 

Here is the 6th post in my blog hop series and part one of the fall friends hop.

Kelly Santi organises all of the hops. This year I have done 6 hops with Kelly and the gang -

• Ring in the New Year
• Spring Hop
• Sunshine Awareness mini hop
• Shark Week 2024 mini hop
• Summer Soiree
• Fall Friends

In this post I am showing the first 6 cards I made for the Fall Friends hop. We did 12 weeks with this one! I missed two weeks.

Themes for these cards are A Latte fall fun, mushrooms/leaves, fall hayrides, fall gnomes/wreaths and non-trad fall leaves. My cards are in the correct order, A latte fall fun is the main photo.

I was thrilled to finally use the fiddly coffee dies. I bought them because I saw this awesome card -

But honestly I hadn't realised how small they were! Cue 3hrs, tweezers and lots of small pieces of foam tape and I got the most beautiful card ever! Non-trad fall is a fave, as I got to use some new dies by Concord & 9th, so pretty - but again, super fiddly.

Hubby and I are heading off on our cruise this weekend, I am super excited and hope that he enjoys his first cruise experience!

Cx

2024 Hops: Summer Soiree Part One..

Hey,

Here is the 4th post in my blog hop series.

Kelly Santi organises all of the hops. This year I have done 6 hops with Kelly and the gang -

• Ring in the New Year
• Spring Hop
• Sunshine Awareness mini hop
• Shark Week 2024 mini hop
• Summer Soiree
• Fall Friends

In this post I am showing half the cards from the Summer Soiree hop. We did 12 weeks with this one! I missed one week.

Themes for the first 6 cards - Polka Dots, Great Outdoors, BBQ/4th July, Summer Beach Reads and Gardening (I made x2 cards for this one. My cards are shown in order, the main photo is Polka Dots.

These are so summery and I got to use some very old stamps from my stash for Great Outdoors, BBQ/4th July, Summer Beach Reads, and Gardening (Hello).

Cx