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

Sketch Saturday #470 Beautiful Self...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is AMB. Here is the sketch - 

I used the Seahorse from the Mermaid set...I am fascinated by Seahorses!

I love the sketch, it was so much fun to work with. I went with all blues for my background and supporting elements, really helped to make the Seahorse pop!

I die-cut the Seahorse panel using an MFT stitched oval die and the corrugated blue card was cut with a scalloped oval die by Sizzix.

I went for blue sparkly washi tape for my stripes and I am glad I did as it makes the card all twinkly. You can also see how shimmery the Seahorse is as I went over him with a Wink of Stella pen. The sentiment sticker is by Tim Holtz. 

Again a very simple but fun card.

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 7 July 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Sweeter than Fiction...

Hey,

Hope you are having a good weekend.

Recently I bought a big batch of goodies by My Favorite Things and so I thought it would be fun to play along with their current sketch challenge -

I combined the very cute Pure Innocence Cupcake Day stamps and dies with the papers and stickers from the April Simon Says stamp cardkit.

This sketch was great to play with and I got to break out the new-ish Stampin' Up banner punch..

I coloured the girl and the balloon using Promarkers and Wink of Stella.

I think the sticker sentiment works really well here, breaks up the cuteness a bit :)

Cx

Moving Along With The Times...New Baby

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Moving Along With The Times Challenge..

This time our hostess is Beckie and her theme is New Baby...

Now you know I LOVE New Baby cards...

Friends of mine recently had a baby girl, they are a bit hipster cool (unlike me) so I wanted to make a card that was a bit out there and not very traditionally New Baby.

I made a bunch of distress ink backgrounds and thought this purpley / pinky one would be perfect for a New Baby card.

I have to confess I cut, coloured and stamped at least 20 critters until I got the sentiment looking how I wanted it too..LOL OCD time..

The critter stamps are by Mama Elephant and I love them, they are totally overused and they come a with a wide range of sentiments - except new baby!

The sentiment stamps are a mix of Studio Calico and Simon Says Stamp.

I added a few sequins and a bit of wink of stella here and there to finish off my card.

Your turn to show us your New Baby creations,  but first go over to MAWTT and see what fabulous things my teammates have made.

Challenge ends on July 6th.

Cx

Hello Gorgeous Friend...

Hey,

I can't believe how fast this week in London is going ..Thursday already?!

Today I am showing you a card I made using a fun stamp set that I bought off of Jenn when I was in Providence. She was selling some of her older stamp sets.

I really liked the Hello Sunshine stamp set by Studio Calico, it was part of a cardkit I believe..

I decided to be adventurous and mask off the speech bubbles and then stamp the flower in 3 shades of purple around the bubbles.

I really like how it came out and the white space that is still left on the card. I used a wink of stella pen on the flowers, so close-up its all twinkly.

Sometimes it's fun to randomly play with one stamp set and see what you get.

Cx

Being with you is so much fun...

Hey,

I have recently been going through my digital stamps and printing out the ones that I haven't used in a while..

They have been fun to colour whilst I have been traveling.

Today's card is a Tiddly Inks stamp - I am a sucker for the Wryn and friends range. This one is called Scooting by and it comes with a dog and a cat version.

I have a friend Denise, who like me has furbabies instead of real babies..She is a lot of fun and this image made me think of her scooting around in the San Diego sunshine :)

So I mounted the die-cut panel onto the beautiful heart card blank - by American Crafts..they come in several colours.

I added a great sentiment from a Hero Arts set and then went over the image using a wink of stella clear brush pen.

Cute card for my fun loving friend.

Cx

Sparkly ballerina shaker...

Hey,

So I have a friend...she has a Daughter who loves to dance...so that made it easy to make her a card, as I have a ballerina stamp...

It's her birthday today - Happy Birthday Olive!

I hope she likes her card, it was fun to make.

I stamped the ballerina and masked her off, so I could add the patchy lilac distress ink. Then I coloured her with Promarkers and a wink of stella pen. I made a fun fuse shaker pouch and filled it with things that I thought Olive might like.

It all came together very easily - the papers are by My Minds Eye and the sentiment is Mama Elephant for SSS Stamptember.

I need more little girls in my life, they are fun to make for!

Cx

Boo!

Hey,

Happy Friday.

I am off to London tonight, be back just before my birthday..its going to be a busy week.

As you know I played along with the MFT contest yesterday.

I recently bought a few new MFT items - the Mummy stamp and die were part of that little haul..

I wanted to make a Halloween card for a friend's Son, he hasn't been very well and despite his age (he's 5) he loves getting cards :)

To make it a bit different and not too spooky, I die cut the black card with a SSS stitched die, then I used a Tim Holtz stencil and white distress paint to create the background. I love the effect that I ended up with. I went over some of the lines with a silver wink of stella brush pen, to add some sparkle.

I stamped, coloured and die-cut the mummy and affixed him/her to my card with foam tape.

The stamp set comes with some really fun sentiments, but I decided to stamp Boo in random places in white on the background.

I am very happy with it, it fits my mental brief and I think Reuben will like it too.

Have a great weekend, my posts will be scheduled next week, so I won't be AWOL.

Cx

Retro Rubber #19..Colour Inspiration Time...

Hey,

It's time for another awesome challenge from the Retro Rubber team.

But before I tell you all about the challenge, I wanted to wish my Hubby a very Happy Birthday (as I am still in London) - I was a good wife though and left him gifts ;)

I love the colours in the photo and colour inspiration is always a fave theme for me.

I was inspired by the photo to use a fave digital stamp set I have by Pink Petticoat - I love Liz's work, it always feels so fresh and the stamps are always fun to colour. I've had this set since it was realised in 2013..

I used Promarkers to colour the stamps and added a Wink of Stella here and there. The sentiments, came with the stamps. The papers behind the main image are scraps that were kicking around on my desk..

I thought these would work best as 3x3 mini cards and so made an entire set!

Now it's your turn to get inspired and show us your makes..but first pop over to Retro Rubber and view the awesome creations by my talented teammates..

As always don't forget to use a stamp that is over a year and the challenge ends on the 31st of July, so you have plenty of time to join in the fun.

Cx

Retro Rubber #17...4th of July...

Hey,

It is time for another awesome Retro Rubber challenge..

This time we have a great theme for you -

Yes, 4th of July is just around the corner, so let's get in the mood for the holiday and make something fab. I am super excited about the holiday, as Hubby and I will be dancing the night away on a boat party with one of our fave dj's - foot permitting...

Don't forget to use a stamp older than a year and tell us how long you have had it..it's a big part of the fun..

I went with an old digital stamp from Bugaboo - I've had it at least 3 years..

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and Wink of Stella brush pens, then I fussy cut her out. 

So that there was a bit of a halo around the girl, I drew a pencil line around her and only stenciled the parts outside of the line. The stencil is a grid by SSS.

The sentiment is a mix of stamps and glittery stickers.

Makes me smile and has already left in the post on its way to a friend..

Pop over to Retro Rubber to see the fantastic creations by my teammates and link up to show us what you come up with.

Challenge ends on July 3rd. 

Cx

P.s whilst writing this I realised my card matches the challenge image, how funny is that!

Moving Along With The Times...sketch time...

Hey everyone,

It's almost Christmas, time to relax and hang out with your loved ones. I for one cannot wait!

Before that we have one last challenge from Team B over at Moving Along With The Times.. our wonderful Hostess this week, is our leader Hazel, she has chosen a sketch theme.

At the time that the DT calendar was released I had just bought the gorgeous Pink Petticoat Flamingoes. I was inspired to create a really girly, but not too busy take on the sketch.

I went with a very busy floral backing paper, so all the other elements had to be simple and pared back. The circles were die-cut from a pink houndstooth embossed paper that JT sent me. I added a simple pink border around the image and some pink candi to finish off.

It's way more pink than I normally use, but I love that the sketch took me to a different place, which is great - stepping out of my comfort zone is healthy!

To see more wonderful creations by Team B and to join in the sketchy fun pop on over to MAWTT.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and thanks for playing with us at MAWTT throughout 2014.

Cx

Simon Says...Watercolour..

Hey,

Hope you all had a great weekend. I had fun out and about in NYC with various friends. It was great to see my friend Steph and hang out with her.

I have some exciting news to share, but can't do it until Wednesday..

Talking of Wednesday, this weeks SSS Wednesday challenge is 'Watercolours'

I decided to use a Silhouette cut file and settled on the fun 'Happy Bird-Day' - its actually the front of a card file, that I modified.

I used a Prang watercolour palette (red and purple) and a flat 1/2inch brush. I went over the background with a wink of stella brush for a bit of shimmer. I added a bit of bling for some extra sparkle.

It was only after I photographed my card that I realised it was quite similar to a card by Jo on the DT - great minds think alike! The funny part is, I actually cut the file in black, but couldn't get it to pop against the watercolour background.

I am really pleased with my card - I''m happy that I left the raw edges of the background and didn't tidy it up.

Cx

Friday Challenge...

Hey!

All in all it has been a challenging week (sigh).

We did have a high point at the start of the week, as our friends were in town for a couple of days, oh and I discovered Cardio Box (LOVE)..which made it all a bit better.

To make it even better I made this entry for Retro Sketches #132 on Wednesday night -

I am quite pleased with my card - 2 pieces of NBUS!! The brand new digital stamp from Pink Petticoat and the little staples (like a Tim Holtz tiny attacher, only not!). The paper is a scrap by American Crafts. I added a sparkly sticker and embossed part of the card base for a bit of fun! The stamp is coloured using Promarkers and a Wink of Stella clear brush pen.

Great way to end the week..tomorrow I am off to the Spa for half a day, it is a birthday present from last year that one of my besties gave me and I haven't used it yet!

So now I have a big smile on my face and maybe the week wasn't that bad after all?

Cx