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 #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

2024 Hops: Mini Hops

Hey,

This is the 3rd post in my 2024 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 the cards from the 2 mini hops we did. 

My main card is from the Sunshine Awareness hop in May - basically highlighting the risks of being in the sun without protection. Skin cancer from sun damage is sadly on the rise. I used an all-time fave stamp by Unity Stamp Co and wrote my own sentiment.

The next card, probably doesn't need explaining, but it was for the Shark Week hop, as a fan of Sharks, I love Shark Week in the cardmaking world, as I get to use all my fave Shark stamps! This one is 'Seaprise' by Avery Elle.

Both fun cards and it's always nice to do a hop that raises awareness about something.

Cx

The Library Challenge #81 - Drink, Read & Be Happy..

Hi,

Happy Wednesday to you!

I haven't played along with a card challenge in quite a while, but I saw that The Library Challenge had restarted and I loved the inspiration image.. so I made a card for it :)

Here is the challenge inspiration.

I was inspired by the diagonal design, the colours and just the idea of reading.

I have had these new-to-me Avery Elle stamps (Feels Like Home & Feels Like Home addition) on my desk for a while and aren't they just perfect for this challenge!

I stamped the chair first, so I would know where to add my blue diagonal paper piece. After I had finished colouring my little scene, I decided to add the bottom blue strip to anchor the chair and the table.

The sentiment is by Unity Stamp Co and from the 'Chapter One' set and sums up how I feel after work each night, when I sit in the lanai with a drink and my book!

Fab challenge, so happy it's back and that I carved out time for a play.

Cx

Retro Rubber Blog Challenge - #197 - Merry Christmas - photo inspiration...

Hey,

Welcome to the last Retro Rubber challenge of 2022!

Where has the year gone?! I just got back from 17 days in London and it feels like boom Christmas is nearly here. 

I hope you have had fun playing along with us this year.

We have a Merry Christmas photo-inspired challenge for you this time.

I love mugs and cups in any form, so I was always going to be inspired by the mug in the photo.

I used a NBUS Unity Stamp Co stamp 'Warm Fall Hugs' that I got in September 2021! I think with the move last year it just got forgotten about! I decided to heat emboss it onto black watercolour paper, so I could use the amazing Iulie watercolours. If you have never used them, get a set on sale you will not regret it, the shimmer is amazing!

I then painted in all the details using the watercolours and then fussy cut it out. I wasn't sure what to do for a background and then I remembered the awesome Spellbinders wreath die that I had, it always elevates everything! I added a little bit of red bling and a tiny sentiment (die by MFT, sentiment by Clearly Besotted).

It is so pretty, it made me super happy when it was finished.

Here is a close-up, because I just loved all the little details.

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

Challenge ends December 16th and then we will be on our Christmas break returning in January with more fun challenges for you.

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 #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

Fusion Card Challenge - Cheese & Wine...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Cheese & Wine 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 was inspired by the wine bottles. I have this amazing set of stamps by Creative Expressions that my bestie gave me. They are all sentiments and they are hilarious. I thought the one I chose to use paired really well with the lady by Unity Stamp Co.

The paper is another digital paper by Little Butterfly Wings and I printed it off and cut it down to suit the sketch.

This is going to make a hilarious birthday card for a friend!

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 August 16th.

Cx

Fusion Card Challenge - Cloth Bunnies...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Cloth Bunnies' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

You know I love to 'fuse'!

I love Bunnies! This 'Bunny Hugs' set by Unity Stamp Co is my FAVE of all my Bunny stamps. I think she is so elegant! I haven't been using her much, as I hate fussy cutting, but with the arrival last year of Big Sexy (my Brother ScanNCut) I have been able to cut her out a lot!

I love the white space in the sketch and tried to remain as true as I could to that. I stenciled a circle using a Tim Holtz heart stencil and cut it in half. The glittery strips are scraps from my desk (winning) and the sentiment is another all-time fave by Simon Says Stamp 'Square Sayings', so over used it has to be swiped with water to stick to the block!

Such a cute card and I loved it so much, I made two, well I did have the other half of the circle after all!

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 April 12.

Cx

Fusion Card Challenge - Valentine Cupcake...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

Such a fantastic gallery for our last challenge, I look forward to seeing what you do with this one 'Valentine Cupcake'. As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

I loved both, so I fused them!

I love cake, so I was totally going to use a cake stamp on my card! But which one?! 

Well, I decided to go with this super cute mini cupcake stamp by Unity Stamp Co, I think I got it fwp, which is always nice. I stamped the lines using Creative Expressions 'Build a Background' set - which is a very versatile set and was a gift from my best friend JT. I decided to watercolour the cupcake and added a little bit of bling to it. I am a big fan of corrugated card stock and it was fun to use a piece of it here, to add some texture. The sentiment is by Mama Elephant 'Birthday Messages' I didn't even realise I had this until I went looking for a cake sentiment!

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 February 15th.

Cx

Fusion Card Challenge - Poppies

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Poppies' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

I was inspired by the Poppies in the photo. I love Poppies, Hubby bought me white ones last year in my Anniversary bouquet and they were gorgeous.

This stamp by Unity Stamp Co 'Poppy Girl' is one of the most overused things in my craft room. She is so much fun to watercolour (which I did here) and is just so impactful, I use her all the time.

I added a simple sentiment (Avery Elle) and used a fancy die to add interest.

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 April 27th.

Cx

Fusion Card Challenge - Rainbow Dress

Hey,

Welcome to another great Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Rainbow Dress' for you! How cute is the image?!

What will you choose to do? I was really inspired by the photo, but you know me, I can't resist a sketch.. So fuse time.

I am a big fan of Angie Blom's Angie Girl stamps from Unity Stamp Co and immediately knew that 'Addison Girl' would be perfect here.

I stamped her onto watercolour paper and created a rainbow dress for her. It came out SO well. I was really pleased and I used real watercolour paints and not my usual distress inks. I fussy cut her out, as she has some sprinkles around her.

My papers are all scraps and the sentiment just matched the cheeriness of the card and is by Scrapbook.com.

I felt it was a teeny bit flat, so I added some soft dots using a Concord & 9th 'Bitty Burst Turnabout' stamp.

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 2nd.

Cx

Together is the best place to be...

 

Hey!

I am starting to wonder if I am ever going to be able to show 2021 makes here, as I made SO much in 2020 LOL.

This cute card was for my Goddaughter Amy's first wedding anniversary. She is a big fan of Dogs and I thought she would like this.

Also, her plans for her future had to shuffle a considerable amount in 2020 because of Covid and I wanted the card to be a reminder to them, so early in their married life, that together is all that matters, the what and where is irrelevant.

I used my fave MFT cloud edger stencil to create the background, the dog and bird are Gus and Gertie by Taylored Expressions, the together sentiment is by Unity Stamp Co.

I love creating these cloud background it is addictive!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #148 Birthday...

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge - can you believe it is nearly Thanksgiving?!

This time we have a birthday challenge for you - 

I think we all love making birthday cards, they can be so very personal. And if you know me, you know I love Monster stamps and they generally find their way onto my birthday cards!

This one is a fave of mine (his teeny tiny hands are just amazing) and is by Ink Blot Shop 'Party Monster' he was released in August 2019 and I have had him since the minute he came out, I have a built-in Monster stamp radar!!

First I stamped the sentiment, as I wanted my Monster to look like he was sitting on top of it. After stamping him, he was coloured with Copics and a teeny bit of Sakura gelly roll starburst glitter pen. 

The sentiment is by Unity Stamp Co, from their 'Frankly Said' set that I have had since 2018 and it comes with the most amazing choice of sentiments. I bought another one of it and I gift the individual sentiments to my crafty friends.

The white panel was die-cut with my fave Tim Holtz + Sizzix deckle edge rectangle dies.

Have you got a fave style of birthday card? Can't wait to see what you make. Be sure to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends November 27th

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 #146 Colour me scary....

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

It's almost that time, so we have a little scary colour theme for you...

I love working with a limited colour palette, so this was definitely the challenge for me!

I hand painted the background using Brea Reese orange glitter ink - here is a close-up because IRL it is SO sparkly..

Then I heat embossed the crazy bats and the sentiment in white onto a black panel. The stamps are 'Little Batty' by Unity Stamp Co AND shame on me, I have had them since 2018 and they are NBUS. So I was very happy to use them here.

I popped that panel up onto my background and added black enamel dots here and there to finish my card.

It was the first one of MANY Halloween cards that I made this year!

What will you use the colours to make? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends October 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 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

CASology: Fart Glitter...

Hey,

Happy Friday!!

So WHOOP! I got an honorable mention in the last CASology challenge.

I thought I would play along with the current challenge -

However, my wonderful friend and CASology DT member Jen has already used my first choice of stamp!

So I had to go on a rummage. I remembered a stamp I bought a while ago by Rubbernecker Stamps and obviously I can't find it anywhere, so I looked it up and recreated the text - blurgh..

I love the Unity Stamp Co 'Damn Girl' set and I thought the lady in it, looked like she might say this to her friend ;)

I created the border and the text in PSE and printed it out and stamped the lady. I was going to colour her, but I think she looks so much better in black and white, I added a teeny tiny bit of glitter gel pen to her hat for impact.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

Color Throwdown: Hey Girl!

Hey,

So my friend Jen shared her card for Color Throwdown and I loved the colours so decided to play along too!

It also seemed like the perfect time to have a play with the 'Daily Wear' set by Concord & 9th - I bought it in their big blowout sale earlier this year. It comes with all different things that you can put the girl above / in to. I chose to use the letterboard.

I stamped the letterboard and the girl. I coloured them both with Copics and then I heat embossed a sentiment from the set onto the letterboard. I love this WOW! Embossing powder in Primary Yellow, it is so bright.

I pulled out a fave sentiment by Unity Stamp Co from their 'Kinda Sorta Miss You' set and heat embossed that onto grey paper using the same powder.

I decided to go with offset layers and the yellow spotty paper is by Stampin' Up.

To add a bit of shimmer, I went around the edge of the letterboard using a Sakura gelly roll glitter gel pen.

I'm pretty pleased with how this card came out, not bad for an impulse make!

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

Retro Rubber Challenge #131.. Tic Tac Toe..

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

I hope you are all safe and well. My company is WFH across the globe for at least another couple of weeks.

I do hope everyone is finding ways to keep sane, during this period of enforced isolation, in one sense it is very hard and odd, but in another it means we have to find other ways to be social. The RR team are going to have an online date next weekend, it is the first time in our history that we will have seen each other 'face to face' - how awesome is that. Trying to find a silver lining is very important right now.

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

These boards are always such fun, because you get such different interpretations of each line.

I chose the bottom row - Easter / Pastel Colours / Pattern Paper.

I decided that I wanted to use the cute bunny from the Unity Stamp Co 'Bunny Hugs' set (I've had it since 2016) and built my card around her! I stamped, coloured and fussy cut my bunny. I used all soft pastel colours to colour her - including a super pale lilac (BV0000) for her fur.

I stamped, coloured and die-cut some Easter eggs from the Neat & Tangled 'All the Bunnies' set (now retired) - one of my fave Easter sets from last year.

I wanted to layer up some papers to create the background, so I chose x3 papers from a random 6x6 pad that I have, the soft pink worked really well as a backdrop for my bunny and the little eggs.

The sentiment is also from the Neat & Tangled set.

Love how it all came together pretty much as I had envisioned and now I have another card for my little pile of Easter cards. I like to send Easter cards, I am not sure why maybe it's because I get to use all my bunny stamps!!

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

Challenge ends April 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.

Cx

Shifter Stencil..

Hey,

Potty mouth alert!

I don't ever apologise for using swear words on my cards, I have a potty mouth, my friends know this and it's my blog.

I have a great collection of the Unity Stamp Co 'after dark' stamps. The one on today's cards is one of my faves.

I wanted to have a proper play with some of my shifter stencils - by Tim Holtz. These stencils are pretty clever, you get the normal open part of a stencil, but you also get a closed shape too, so you can shift your stencil over and use a different colour or medium without the risk of getting it onto your first colour. Watch this video for a better explanation!

I decided that I would stencil over the great sentiment, first I used distress oxides and then instead of another colour I used x2 different mediums. For the purple card, I used Indian Gold Nuvo Mousse and for the green card I used Gina K Glitter Gel.

They both came out really well and I am head over heels in love with the shifter stencils.

Cx

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers: H is for Headache..

Hey,

Happy Friday!

I got my very first Princess of Snark in December last year and I was very happy about it.

I really wanted to play along with The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - X Rated Christmas, but I ran out of time.

So I am joining in the current challenge -

I obviously have the same Tim Holtz snarky chit chat stickers as everyone else, but that is cool - great minds think alike.

I found a piece of older smooshed paper in my stash - loved the colours and as they are quite muted I think they soften the punch of the sentiment!

I die-cut the panel as a tag - using a Sizzix + Tim Holtz die, I love this die, as it cuts the larger sized tags that are perfect for mixed media projects.

It was a great opportunity to use my slightly neglected 'Damn Girl' stamp set by Unity Stamp Co. I used the main image of the 1920's woman and the 'Damn Girl' sentiment, which I masked off to work with the rest of my sentiment.

I'm so pleased with this and it is going to a friend who has a rude work colleague, this needs to be on her desk to ward off that person!

It's a long weekend here in the US, whoop! Have a great weekend everyone.

Cx