Retro Rubber Challenge #182 - Flower Power....

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a 'flower power' theme for you this time.

I love flower stamps and I am sure that I have way too many of them!

I dug out one of my all-time fave stamp sets by MFT - Large Desert Bouquet that I have had since 2016, it is my default set when I want impactful flowers. Weirdly there are no leaf dies, so I used a freebie die. The flowers were stamped with Altenew Inks.

The background was one from my stash, I like to make backgrounds and keep them for using when I need inspiration and don't know where to start. It is a Clearly Besotted stencil with Distress Stain used through it.

I love these little sentiments by Mama Elephant (Simple Sentiments), they come with their own dies and I cut this one in half so it worked better on my card.

I used this as a thank you card, it felt like a lovely way to say thanks!

Which of your many flower stamps will you use?  Also, pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends May 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

Floral Die-cut Birthday Thanks...

 

Hey,

Sorry for the lack of posts this week! It was supposed to be a fun week off following my 11th Wedding Anniversary. But sadly thanks to my pesky wisdom teeth it's going to be a bit different.

As an emergency, I had to have the remaining x3 wisdom teeth out on Tuesday. I was SUPER nervous, but my Oral Surgeon was amazing and so I am all good and recovering well.

With all this in mind, I thought it was a perfect time to show you the thank you set I made for my birthday. If you are a long time follower of mine, you will know that I love to make 'sets' to say thank you for the generous and thoughtful birthday and Christmas gifts I receive.

Here are a couple from previous years for you (Do you think I have a Monster stamp thing?!) - 

2017 Monster Tag Birthday Thanks

2018 Monster Rockstar Birthday Thanks

For this year's cards I used the Concord & 9th die from the 'Big Thanks' Bundle and cut it from the pretty Lawn Fawn 'Fall Fling' Papers. I really wanted to use these papers and they worked so well on the brown Paper Source card blanks, that were gifted to me by a friend!

I love making sets and I usually get carried away, so end up with a few for my stash and/or charity.

Cx

Welcome to 2020..

Hey,

Happy New Year from London!

Welcome to a brand new decade!

Hope you had a great NYE - I spent mine with my Parents and it was a fun day / night.

Today I am showing you the cards I made on Boxing Day - I had a bumper 10hr session at my desk and it was wonderful to just play and not have Christmas things to make.

I had an offcut of a smooshed piece of paper on my desk and it sparked an idea. I used the 'Flamingo Sunshine' stamp by Flora & Fauna - they have been my fave new to me stamp company of 2019..

I stamped the Flamingo onto the smooshed background and coloured the details in the few glitter gel pens I had - this was a new to me thing and I LOVE how much sparkle you get - cue me the next day in Blick with Cheiron buying more of them (Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust gel pens). I liked it so much, that smooshed x2 additional pieces of watercolour paper and cut x5 more squares from them so I could create x6 cards.

I die-cut the frame from patterned grey papers - the frame is by MFT stamps. I thought they looked a bit flat on the white cards, so I added a black piece of paper to make them pop.

I decided the sentiment's should be black and I used dies by Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions and Heffy Doodle. I was planning on them all being thank yous, but I needed a couple of birthday cards so switched it up a bit.

Love how they came out, I hope the recipients will too.

Cx

Botanical Borders..

Hey,

I bought a few new things in the Labor Day sales this year.

One of the things I bought is this awesome Botanical Borders set by Ink Blot Shop.

I love it, it is very versatile and I've made quite a few different things with it..

I liked the idea of leaving a border below the stamps, I had originally planned to put a strip of glittery washi tape along the bottom straight edge of the stamp, but I didn't like it when I tried it!

These cards were SO easy to make, I stamped and watercoloured the images and then I die-cut them using a stitched rectangle die and added the sentiments.

I used a new-ish watercolour block that I have - super cheap from Amazon, the colours are very vibrant.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #107.. Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge, I am currently in London, this is my second day in the office, it feels like it's been forever since I came home!

We have another Tic Tac Toe board for you, created by Jan..

Tic Tac Toe boards are so much fun. I went with the middle horizontal row - Thank You, Leaves, Repeat Stamping.

I dug into the archives for this card :)

The leaf  (Lace Leaf from 2016) is by Concord & 9th and I loved it SO much when I first got it, then it got a bit neglected.  I stamped the leaf first, then used the additional overlay panel to get the splatter. I didn't want to cover any of the leaf. So I hunted for the perfect sentiment stamp.

I remembered that I had this ancient (2014) Simon Says Stamp handwritten sentiment banners set and finally found it and it worked out perfectly here. Thank goodness for stamping platforms, meaning that I only had to move my paper not the stamp.

Fortunate that I happened to have a green card blank available, it helps that white panel pop a bit.

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

Challenge ends April 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 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Kitty Kat Thanks...

Hey,

I had to make a thank you card for a friend recently and she is a cat fan too.

I thought it would be a good excuse for using an older stamp I love by Your Next Stamp 'Happiness is You' (no longer available).

I kept it super simple and let the stamp shine. I added some gel pens details to her jumper.

I love making thank you cards, they are so rewarding, as I always feel you can personalise them so much.

Cx

Flowery Thanks...

Hey,

It's been a while since I played along with The Flower Challenge.

I liked the theme this month -

I have had this Christine Adolph flower stamp for a couple of months and it really hasn't had much use.

I coloured the orange one first, but got so excited I coloured another one!! I used distress inks and a paintbrush - I used to use aquabrushes, but I realised how much I prefer a good old fashioned paintbrush and so switched and now I watercolour with them all the time.

The Thank You stamp / die is from a shop call The Works in the UK.

Super simple cards to make and I now need more flower stamps by Christine Adolph, as it was a dream to colour.

Cx

Catch The Bug: Thursday Oldie But Goodie...

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..

Bugaboo Stamps were the first digital stamps I ever bought when I started crafting and Jodie's amazing Flower Jar stamps sparked a love of all 'flower jar' style stamps. I have TONS of them in digital and physical formats.

I love that on this one the label on the jar is blank, so I can add whatever sentiment.

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and die-cut out the panel using a small stitched rectangle die. I used a pink card blank and two scrap pieces of coordinating pink papers for my background layers.

A fun card, that has made me want to break out all the Flower Jar stamps..

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

Cx

Big Bear Thank You...

Hey,

Happy Monday!

So I made a whole bunch of Monster thank you's to say 'thank you' for my Christmas Gifts.

But I had ordered this awesome Holiday Thank You stamp set by Waffle Flower and so waited for it to arrive, so I could make thank you card for my NYC work colleagues.

He's pretty detailed, but was SO much fun to watercolour.

As the stamp is quite big, I had to make custom card blanks and envelopes.

I've seen all kinds of ideas on Pinterest using this set, so I think I'll be trying some of those next, using only part of the stamp.

Cx

Birthday Monster Thanks...

Hey,

I had a great birthday. It was a lot of fun and I got throughly spoily by my people.

As you probably know by now, I like to create themed thank you's for Christmas and Birthdays.

This year I kept it super simple (I always over complicate these..).

I created the sentiment on my computer and printed it out, then I die-cut it using the awesome second-hand scalloped die I have.

The singing monster made me smile and think of all the fun I had on Friday night with my peeps. She is by Your Next Stamp 'Silly Monster Rockstars'. I have loved their monsters since I first saw them about 4 years ago and have all the sets - there is one more I 'need'.

Tomorrow I leave for London for 11 days, looking forward to seeing my family, friends and work crazies AND Poppa and I are watching the Seahawks in London - awesome.

Cx

Toucan of My Thanks...

Hey,

Happy Friday.

I am pretty glad this week is over, it has been mentally and physically exhausting. 

My very sweet and well raised Godson Ben sent me a gift to say thank you for his 16th birthday trip (to visit Hubby and I in NYC for x5 days).

He obviously paid attention to who we are, as he sent us this amazing fridge magnet to go with the rest of the hideousness on our fridge - 

It fits perfectly!

Then he sent me a few crafty things, very well chosen and so thoughtful. The journal is lovely and he knows I love journals, we looked at a LOT of them when he was here LOL.

It was all accompanied by a thank you note, that made me a teeny bit emotional. It's all so very thoughtful and kind and personal. Love that a 16 year old boy can be so comfortable in his own skin, it bodes well for the future.

I obviously had to make him a thank you card, so I broke out the Toucan die that came in one of the gifts and went to work.

The background paper is from the massive stack we got given at Crop on The Cape. I love the Spellbinders Thank You die, it is one of the most used things in my craft room. It wasn't popping enough, so I added a piece of velum.

The Toucan was fun to put together and as I used my mini die-cutter to die-cut the 3 pieces to make him, I used a spotty embossing folder and if you look at Mr Toucan carefully, you will see the dots. Obvs, I added a googly eye. No creature is safe from my tin of googly eyes.

I hope Ben likes it and recognises 'his' Toucan.

Have a great weekend, Hubby and I are heading to Philly tomorrow for a friends 40th birthday.

Cx

p.s could not resist the punny title - Lauren Bergold would be proud x

Random Desk Pile: Pineapple Thank You...

Hey!

Happy Friday to you!

I can't believe how quickly this week has gone..not long now until its time for my Summer vacay.

Today's card is another one using the random pile on my desk.

I had used a diffuser plate with a pineapple embossing folder to create this background. When I first got the diffuser plates, I made tons and tons of backgrounds. I am a big fan of the smooth centre so you can use a big sentiment stamp.

The stamp I used here is super old by Woodware and I also have the big birthday set too, these are the most overused things in my craft room.

This is a perfect card for a friend who gave me a Pineapple bracelet whilst I was in London last week..

Have a great weekend, I am going drinking tonight with a friend, shopping with Lisette tomorrow and hanging with Mr G the rest of the weekend.

Cx

CAS on Friday...Thank You...

Hey,

I recently found the CAS on Friday challenge and my first entry made top 3 :)

The current challenge is a Tic-Tac-Toe and you know I love these...

I chose the first vertical row - Thank you / Circle / Pink.

I used a new fancy circle die - my Momma basically brought all the freebies from my craft magazine subscription with her and this was one of those.

I die-cut it in a plain pink cardstock. I die-cut the Thank You (by Spellbinders) using a scrap that came from the first ever 12x12 pad that JT owned, her sister bought it for her and she gave me a piece of this beautiful pink paper and this was the last piece of it (sob).

I added 2 tiny gems for a bit more interest.

I'm super happy with my super CAS card. Also there is not a single bit of stamping!! 

Cx

Thank You Hearts...

Hey,

I recently bought a new heart coverplate die (generic craft company on Amazon) and I haven't had a chance to play with it, so last weekend I got it out to have a play.

I blended Picked Raspberry distress oxide ink and then spritzed it with water to get some bleachy spots. Then I die-cut it. The hearts have been saved for shakers, etc.

I decided it was a bit flat, so splattered some black ink over it..much better.

After mounting it onto a black cardblank, I added the fun Thank You stamp/die from AC Moore..I only bought this last week and it's already been used several times. It feels like something that I was missing from my stash.

I love the fun, modern and simple end result.

Cx

CASology 292: Foil

Hey,

Last night I thought I'd look at the current CASology challenge.

I am so glad that I did..I love foiling.

As I don't have a laser printer, I use a really fun and simple method to add foil to my cards.

I use a Deco Foil adhesive pen and Deco Foil sheets.

For this card I drew some uneven stripes and added a bit more adhesive to the right side. You need to let the adhesive dry until it feels a bit tacky, then add the foil and press down. Run it through your manual die-cutter to ensure the foil is sticking. Then pull off the excess foil.

I love the grungy stripes I got here and they really pop on the black background. I used a new stamp and die set that I got at AC Moore.

The end result is yummy and I made a couple more in different colours.

Cx

Christmas Thank You...

Hey,

Happy New Year's Eve to you.

I've been a bit absent since Christmas Eve, deliberately so, as I felt the need for a little recharge, so no plans (bar seeing JT), no schedules, just breathe.

Because I have been off work since the 22nd December, I have had lots of time at my craft desk.

I've used the time to tidy, file, play with new stuff and get craft-organised for 2018.

I love to make sets of Thank You cards, but for our Christmas gift thank you's this year, I thought it would be fun to make different ones that follow an idea.

I love the MFT peek-a-boo circle dies, you get two in the set. One is a simple stitched circle and the other one has a scalloped edge inside the circle.

I opted to use these dies as my base for all my cards.

As you can see from my photo, they do look like a set, but are different.

I really got to flex my stamps here, I used TONS of sets (see below). Apart from the Bookish Bear cards, I used one paper set (by Recollections) for all of the cards and I made 10 cards in total, some are duplicates.

I am really pleased with this little set of cards, they are super cute and a fun way to say thanks for all the thoughtful things that Hubby and I received for Christmas.

Hope you have a wonderful time ringing in 2018..see you in the New Year.

Cx

Stamp sets used:
Mama Elephant (Limited edition Yeti in the City)
Simon Says Stamp - Summertime Animals (Pineapple/Flamingo), Hand Lettered Winter Wishes (Thanks)
Technique Tuesday - Favorite Human (Robot, Stars, Beep)
The Cat's Pajamas - This Could Be Vodka (Cat, Fish)
Avery Elle - Band Camp (Crocodile, Musical Notes)
Lil' Inkers - Cat Treats (Cat with Balloon)
Waffle Flower - Books and Coffee (Bear)
Stampin' Up - Another Thanks (Thanks)

PaperArtsy Thank You..

Hey,

So my parents gave me a bit of money for my birthday.

I used it wisely -

I got a bit of PaperArtsy envy when I saw Cara's haul from the stamp show she went to...so I invested my bday money in some new PaperArtsy stamps, along with some goodies from Avery Elle and Reverse Confetti.

I decided to use some of my new stamps to make a Thank You card for my parents.

I combined two of the Zini's, I had seen a similar idea and liked it, it's also a great way to get more out of your stamps.

Here is a in progress shot -

I masked the 'Dog' Zini off and stamped the flower. Ages ago I did an online card class about Masking and it has been one of the most useful classes I have ever done.

I coloured the stamps using Distress Inks and a paintbrush, I added a Simon Says Stamp sentiment and decided not to add anything else and let the image be the hero.

I made 4 of these, some without a sentiment, so that I can use them for other things.

Cx

Birthday Monster Thank You...

Hey,

I always like the thank you cards I send for my birthday to be a themed set - this year I decided I would use as many of my Monster sets as I could.

I stamped the monsters (from Jane's Doodles, Paper Smooches, Sweet Stamp Shop) onto tags and coloured them as part of the 30 day colouring challenge.

I cut the cardblanks using A7 cardstock from Paper Source and used a strip embossing folder on the front panel, then added a strip of paper and washi tape.

The sentiment is by MFT and is a second-hand purchase from Cheiron.

Majority of this batch went out just before I left NYC and I was so lucky and got so many gifts that I think I will need to make some more when I get home!

Excited today, as we are seeing the wife, she is coming and getting us from my parents and driving us to our 2 week home in Notting Hill.

Fun times ahead for the next two weeks, alongside a crap load of work!!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #68..Colour Me..

Hey,

This time with a card!!!

Yes, it is time for another fun Retro Rubber challenge - today is also my Ma's birthday - Happy Birthday Momma!

This time we have a colour / photo inspiration challenge for you -

I love Paper Smooches Best Buds set, I use it a lot, I have had it since January 2016.

I kept my whole card super simple, two stitched oval die-cut panels, one in red gingham to match the photo inspiration. I stamped and die-cut the banner from the Best Buds set, the sentiment is also from the set.

I coloured the banner using Promarkers and a clear Wink of Stella pen.

I am really happy with it's understated elegance, perfect for a thank you card.

Show us what the photo inspires you to make, but first pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things that the rest of the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 11th. Don't forget to use a stamp over a year old and tell us the age of it, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Happy Memorial Day...

Hey,

I think Memorial Day weekend is one of my fave 'holidays' in the US.

Partly because we always seem to spend it with the Nixon's (JT's parent's for those of you that don't know that) and they are an absolute hoot to spend time with.

My card today felt topical and will probably go to the Nixon's to thank them for their hospitality and for the fun times we undoubtedly had.

I love this stamp set, it is NBUS and called Flower Power by CAS-ual Friday's.

It is a bit of a labour intensive stamp to colour, but the end result is worth it.

As it so busy, I kept the card super dooper simple! Die is obvs one of my faves by MFT and the card blank is from my Target haul a few months back.

Hope you had a great long weekend, back to the grind tomorrow people..

Cx