Retro Rubber #92..Summer Theme...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge, as this posts, I will have landed in London!

This time we have a great theme for you - Summer..

Make a summer themed card and you can use the photo as inspiration too.

I opted for an old fave of mine, 'Little Umbrella' by Stamping Bella (I've had her since 2016). I love this sassy lady, having a drink and chilling at the beach - it's so very me!

I was super happy to discover the awesome and appropriate sentiment in a set by Sweet Stamp Shop that I bought last year. The sentiment is quite large and I tried A LOT of dies before settling for the star. I'm glad I did, it works so well here.

I kept the card simple and used a card blank and some paper from a Simon Says Stamp cardkit from last year.

Fun card and I have a recipient in mind.

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

Challenge ends August 10th.

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

Stencil CASE...

Hey,

I thought I would welcome you to June with a CASE.. a stencil CASE..cracking myself up.

I had pinned this card AGES ago and when I got home on Monday I wanted to make something but didn't know what and I saw this and thought CASE time -

The card is by Kay Miller and she made it to showcase a 2015 MFT release.

I didn't use the same MFT stencil, I used a similar one by Clear Scraps and used distress inks and a finger dauber through the stencil. I then splattered the inks around the card and die-cut the stenciled panel out using my fave Simon Says Stamp stitched die.

The monster is by Your Next Stamps and I added new balloon stamps from Mama Elephant & Hampton Arts, I bought these collaboration stamps and dies at the weekend..can't wait to have a proper play..

I was a bit ugh, about the sentiment and then decided to break out ancient Xcut tag dies and coloured them with distress markers and removed some of the colour with a baby wipe. The sentiment is by Lawn Fawn.

It's a pretty straight CASE..it gave me the chance to use a random mix of things together.

Cx

OCC: Watercolouring for Card Makers Day 2..part 1

Hey,

Hope you had a lovely Christmas..

I did and I am looking forward to a very relaxing week off.

Over the Thanksgiving break I FINALLY got to go and have a play with Day 2 of the Watercolouring class I bought forever ago over at OCC.

This part of Day 2 was all about using background stamps with watercolour and was taught by Debby Hughes.

This is already one of my fave techniques. Ink up the stamp, spritz with water, lay the paper on top..hope you get a decent impression!!

I made x4 backgrounds, using the same stamp (Hero Arts CG504), here is what I got..

The blue background got contaminated by the red ink, because I didn't clean my stamp properly, but I like it..

I decided to make x4 cards and make them a thank you set for a friend.

The first x2 use the entire background, as seen in the main card and this card -

Supplies for these 2 cards - Paper Source glitter heart stickers, Simon Says Stamp thanks on a line die, American Crafts glitter paper, EK Success mini heart punch, Tim Holtz Thank You word dies and glittery star and papers are from my stash.

The next x2 cards had a shape die-cut out of the background I created. I went for stars and hearts.

Supplies for these 2 cards - Lawn Fawn Scripty Thanks die, Sizzix Heart dies, xCut Star dies, Nuvo drops, Tim Holtz Distress Markers.

They were fun to make and it was good to start with the backgrounds giving me some food for thought.

Part 2 tomorrow...

Cx

Cheeky Christmas Tags...

Hey,

So I recently bought this great set by Unity Stamp Co, I saw a post on their blog and I loved the cheeky sentiments.

I love tags, so thought it would be fun to use these to whip up a batch of tags to take to JT's Mom when I visited her last weekend.

I used a large sheet of water colour paper cut into three, so I could smoosh it in distress ink.

Here's an in progress shot -

Once I finished the backgrounds, I die-cut them using xCut tag dies, kindly gifted to me by JT.

There are x4 sentiments in the set, so I stamped two of each and chose stamps that would work for what I had in mind.

Lawn Fawn Winter Critter stamp for three of them (Penguin, Bunny and Owl) and the Reindeer is by Clearly Besotted.

Because I didn't want to lose the beauty of the backgrounds I only coloured a couple of areas of the critters - works well I think, you get to see the backgrounds.

I die-cut the holes (the tag dies comes with x2 sizes of hole dies) and added navy blue ribbon - which I stupidly did not photograph.

Super easy to make and fun and cheeky too.

Cx

Tag You're It..

Hey,

Happy Monday and Happy Bank Holiday to my English peeps..

It's been a long time since I played along with Tag You're It and I saw the current challenge and really wanted to join in.

I loved the featured artist tag..I love the technique that Michelle used.

I opted for a different technique, I blended my background using 3 different distress inks (Peacock Blue, Stormy Sky and Tumbled Glass) and then laid a stencil down over the background and sponged water onto it, you get the impression of the stencil..it's a cool technique.

Once it was dry, I die-cut it using Xcut Tag dies (a gift from JT).

I used a Stampin' Up bird builder punch for the leaf and their Petite Petals stamps and punch for the flowers. The centres were made using my new Nuvo drops.

The sentiment is by Hero Arts and the ribbon is American Crafts.

Super simple tag, I love the background, I made a few more of them whilst making this card, so easy to do.

Cx

Dragon, Love, Happiness and Joy...

Hey,

So when I was home last JT bought us this crazy die set by X-cut -

We love a lucky waving cat, so there is going to be a lot of sending each other random cards with this set..I have already received my first one from JT!

I have an Aunt who loves Dragons and when I saw the set had a Dragon die, I thought it would make an awesome card for for her.

I dug out some Chinese word stamps that I got as part of a freebie set last year and created my own background.

I die-cut it using a Simon Says Stamp stitched square and mounted it using foam tape onto one of the mini kraft blanks that JT gave me - LOVE these..

I die-cut the Dragon from a scrap of red paper and mounted him onto the word background.

Pretty damn cool..even if I do say so myself!!

LOL.

Cx

Reworking Vikings..

Hey,

Happy Friday!

This week has whizzed by and tomorrow I'll be returning home to Hubby and my Furbabies.

I thought I'd join in the MarkerPOP challenge - #89 Anything goes.

I made my cards using the colouring I did during The Daily Marker colouring challenge.

I love the Viking stamp and die set by Avery Elle, I wanted it for so LONG.

I got it just in time for Valentine's Day and used it to make a whole bunch of Valentine's cards.

But I didn't want this really fun stamp to be limited to love related crafts.

I masked off the sentiment that is built into the stamp to create two blank stamps..

I made two cards, but the main photo today is my entry. I created a fun heat embossed background using a Hero Arts background stamp. I coloured the Viking with Promarkers and added a fun sentiment by Paper Smooches.

It came out so well I can't wait to send it to someone.

The second card was super simple -

I really wanted to put the Viking onto a star, but it looked a bit bland, so I used a distress stain through a stencil to brighten things up a bit. The sentiment stamps are by Hero Arts and they make me smile every time.

So glad that I had a go at masking off the stamp, I can't wait to try out more sentiments in his beard :)

Have a great weekend.

Cx

Moving Along With The Times..Spots and Dots...

Hey,

It's time for the first 2016 Moving Along With The Times Challenge..

This time around we are hosted by my good friend Jessie - she is asking us to use spots and dots...

Around the time JT posted her theme I got a big batch of new Unity Stamp Co stamps and the 'Sweet Sixteen' stamp was in that batch and I thought would be perfect for this challenge.

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and used a white chalk marker to add the spots to the girl's dress.

I die cut the whole piece using a Xcut die - I hardly ever use these dies...

The sentiment is by Clearly Besotted and I love that I can mix and match all of the sentiments.

I mounted the image panel onto a spotty American Crafts card blank.

Very simple but fun card to make (I've got a thing about balloons on cards..)

Now it's your turn to join in the fun and show us your creations, but first pop over to MAWTT and see the fab creations by my talented teammates.

Challenge ends Wednesday 20th of January.

Cx

NYC Playdate Part 1...

Hey,

So here I am in London, finally posting some of the cards that JT and I made LAST Sunday on our NYC playdate.

What a hoot that was - so much fun to have JT and her hubby here with us and for JT to finally get a proper play with my stash - how I miss the playdates we used to have when we were both in London.

The headline card is my fave out of this batch...

I used a fun technique of inking a stamp with Distress Ink and spritzing it with water and then you lay the paper ontop..

I then die-cut this using butterfly dies by Xcut. The sentiment is a freebie from Quick Cards that my Ma bought me - isn't it gorgeous!

The next card uses my new fave pineapple background stamp. I thought it went well with my new Avocado Arts Flamingo. The sentiment is by WPlus9. 

This card feels really Summery to me.

I bought the great new stamp and die set by Simon Says Stamp & Mama Elephant - Skater Kids. It is part of the special Stamptember releases and I wanted it so badly, I bought it online from Mexico!!

I love the fact that all the animals and shorts are interchangeable. The little skid marks are fun too. All the sentiments I used are from the set.

I kept the card simple to showcase the skating dog!

Final card in this epic post - using a great Simon Says Stamp die. I die cut it using 4 sheets of patterned paper by My Mind's Eye and a brown outline piece. JT and I got a set each and we pieced them together. 

I added another one of the great freebie stamps from Quick Cards and this card really does make me smile and feel happy.

I am so happy with all of these cards, can't wait to show you part 2.

You can see JT's cards here and here.

Cx

Retro Rubber #18 Get Your Sketch On!!

Hey,

It is time for another fantastic Retro Rubber challenge..

Who doesn't love a sketch challenge?!

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 used old and new stamps. The balloon is from an old Teresa Collins stamp set that I have had since 2013. The sentiment is from a new SSS stamp set - Square Sayings.

I have a little void on one of the balloons, but that's handmade for you :)

I like the teeny tiny little blue scalloped edge poking out..it's a bit shorter than I wanted, but I still like it.

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

Challenge ends on July 17th

Cx

Retro Rubber #9..Tag You're It...

Hey,

Time for another great Retro Rubber challenge.

This week, we have a fun theme -

Right now, I am a bit obsessed with tags..so this is perfect for me :)

I used nesting xCut tag dies and I cut the 3 largest ones in contrasting papers by American Crafts (bargain 60 paper stack from Michael's for $5).

I embossed a piece of red cardstock using a Sizzix spotty embossing folder and adhered that to a kraft card blank. I fanned the tags out and secured them together with a mini staple, I added foam tape and placed them in the centre of my card.

I used an ancient Fiskar's set (approx 4 years old) for the sentiment and the heart. 

For the final touch I added the giant piece of bling, I have a strip of these, that I bought on sale for 50cents last year!

Tags are such fun, either as a card or as actual tags. 

It's your turn now, don't forget to use a stamp over a year old on your project.

Hop over to Retro Rubber and check out all the fab tags from my teammates.

Cx

Retro Rubber #9..Tag You're it!

Hey,

Yes it is time for Retro Rubber#9 and Team B are up this week. 

Our challenge this time involves one of my 'new' faves - Tags...

For some reason I decided when I sat down to make this card that I wanted to feature multiple tags..

I used the papers from my SSS Feb Card Kit and die-cut them in different sizes using my Xcut tag dies. I layered them together, so you can see the pretty papers and secured them together with glue and a mini staple.

I then used an ancient (at least 3 years old) Fiskars stamp set for the sentiment and the heart.

To make my card I embossed a piece of red paper across the middle using a spotty embossing folder an adhered this to my card base. I added my tags to the card using foam tape for a bit of dimension.

Finishing touch is the giant blingy stick on brad thingy...

I love that this feels very 'love' but is actually a Thank You card.

Check out the fab makes by my teammates over at Retro Rubber and join in the fun.

Remember to use stamps over a year old and the challenge closes on March 13th.

Cx

Layered Christmas Card...

Hi,

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I most certainly did.

I am making the most of the break by entering a few challenges - as I have plenty of time to spend at my desk and very few commitments - let playtime commence!

I loved the Color Throwdown palette this week -

It feels really Christmassy and all the DT makes, made me really want to have a play.

As I have just finished making my personal Christmas cards, there are a few nesting die sets on my desk.. so I decided to use the Xcut square parenthesis dies as my focal point.

I settled on a square silver card base, as it fit the colour scheme and added a bit of shimmer to my card. I cut 2 different sizes and one keyhole version using the dies - in white, red and white spots and pale blue. I mounted the 2 smaller ones using foam tape. I stamped my sentiment onto a light grey EK Success label punch out that I found in my box of ''already punched'' things..

Leftover from my Christmas cards I had the pale blue stars and the kraft star (still on my desk), so I added these and put teeny tiny little red bling in the centre of the blue stars.

Love this card and I have a recipient in mind..

Once again, all the papers were scraps - I am making some serious headway now - organising them really helped.

Cx

NBUS Challenge...

Hey!

No WOYWW for me this week, not sure if Julia will be doing it anyways..she has been unwell whilst away..sending her big warm wishes for a speedy recovery.

The wonderful Darnell (who I met via WOYWW) is running this little challenge -

As I have been on a major spending spree...I am going to use some of my shiny new, never before used schtuff, alongside some older NBUS

The theme this time is 'Anything Goes - friendship'

Darnell mentioned that I treat her like a celebrity and just casually mention her in my posts without a link..Darnell the reason for this is simple. Every time I find a new crafter and their blog..Ms Darnell is there already, friends with them, making schtuff with them - it's AMAZING how sociable she is :) I love her for this and for the fact that because of this I have been encouraged to venture further and further into the crafty blog world.

Anyway...back to the challenge!

I made this little card using some serious NBUS...Brand new Pink Petticoat fox digi stamp and sentiment. The bow on the fox was coloured using a shiny new Pine Promarker that my Ma bought me when I was home in March. Papers by Pebbles, that I bought about a year ago....The dies that I used are not new, they are old faithful Xcut nesting dies.

My card is already in the post winging it's way to my foxy friend :)

Cx

Happy Birthday Grandma...

Hi,

It's my Grandma's birthday today.

Now that I am in NYC, she writes to me every month, which is nice esp as we don't always see eye to eye :)

I write back with a pretty card - usually made especially for her.

As I now have the scoring board, I thought I'd up the ante a bit and match her card to her envelope.

I've had the floral papers since I first started crafting!! It is Rose Garden by Papermania and they are so fussy, that they are hard to work with, but suit my Grandma perfectly! I cut a piece of pale blue card stock to size and embossed the front using a free folder that I got with a magazine Lemon brought with her.

The label die cuts were made using my Xcut dies and I added grey adhesive pearls.

It's a bit fussy, but my Grandma is going to love it.

Cx

Freestyling butterflies..

Hi,

I am very happy it is Friday, it has been a hard week :(

To celebrate I am entering Card Concept #7 - Use a Butterfly theme -

I decided to give 'Freestyle Collage' another go - once again I hope I have interpreted it right, because I have only attempted this a couple of times..

The main photo today is my entry - I know I always say how pleased I am with things, but this little beauty really put a smile on my face!

I used the colours of the butterfly in the inspiration photo as my starting point. I decided to use a hexagon Silhouette file I have and because I wanted the hexagons that sit inside the frame to be different colours I cut 3 of the hexagon file - meaning I have 2 to play with another day - YAY!

I rooted through almost all of my paper searching for the right backing paper, the piece I have finally settled on is by Studio Calico. The butterfly was trial and error - I tried different sizes before settling on what you see now and they were cut with a xCut die. I added bling and a peel-off sentiment.

Here's an angled view for a better look at the butterflies.

Angled view

I love it - it's fun, it's bold and it's a bit different - freestyle I hope :)

Happy Friday everyone.

Cx

WOYWW #252 - Loving my desk...

Hi,

It is indeed that time of the week...WOYWW time!! WOYWW is when we pop along to join Julia at her blog Stamping Ground and have a nose at all the lovely desks on show.

I have spent a lot of QT at my desk over the last 7 days and that makes me really happy..I am aiming to spend April glued to my desk, as Lemon will be here the first week in May and that will be crazy party town time!

So what can you see on my desk this week..the tall black thing is my new portable OttLite, he is AMAZING and was a bargain, my glasses, too the left is a pile of stuff being worked on, partly covered by my notebook, a tin of washi tape with dress forms on it, a card for Ma that I am working on with a new shed stamp (I am trying to decide what papers to use and the forty is for word placement only) the card in the front is an experiment..love the cherry die cut, but can't seem to get the use of it right! My mouse is there, 2 punches and a bottle of the good stuff :)

My card for you this week uses a new Sunbonnet Girl stamp by Bugaboo..I love these stamps..

Sunbonnet Girl Birthday

I used Pink Petticoat papers, Promarkers, glitter glue, a peel-off, a bow and an xCut die. She is now safely in my card book waiting to be dispatched!

I'll be nosing at your desks after work today. Oh you will be happy to hear the weather has improved a lot in NYC this week!

Cx

Balloon Dog...

Hello!

Where has this week gone?! Thursday already!

WOYWW was very enjoyable yesterday, so many cool desks out there...I wish I had time to visit all the entries.

Today's card is for my Godson, he is 12 so I wanted to make him a fun card..I think this nails it with the text..he might feel the balloon dog is a bit young...

The dog and the sentiments are from a set called..'Party Animal' by Lawn Fawn.

The backing paper is by Recollections and I die cut the star using an xCut die.

I punched 2 of the corners with a photo corner punch, as it looked a bit boring all squared off.

I'm going to have a further play with this stamp set and see what I come up with.

Cx

Missed the boat...

Hello!

Hope you all had a nice weekend..I had a very relaxed one. I made lots of fun things. Including the beautiful card you see in the main photo for The Shabby Tea Room challenge this week..

Challenge #199 - Colour Challenge

It was a colour challenge, using black, kraft, cream/white.

I didn't read the details properly and my card had to be posted before the end of the day Sunday, so I missed that deadline. But because my card is so gorgeous, I thought I'd post it anyway.

I am super pleased with my card, the idea popped in to my head on Saturday night and once I had finished making Hubby's pig apron (more about that later in the week), I got cracking.

I broke out some new and some old stash items for this card and it was fun rooting around the craft room looking for all the things I wanted....I happened upon some items I'd forgotten about :) I also broke out the Big Shot because whilst I love the new Silhouette, some things just need to be done by hand!

So my ingredients are -
Kraft Graph Paper - Recollections by Michaels (a gift from JT)
Doily - eBay
White Paper Roses - The Range
Tag Die - Spellbinders (sentiment printed on white card stock)
Butterfly Dies - xCut
Bling - AC Moore
Black and white card stock - from my stash

I stumbled across the Shabby Tea Rooms blog when I was reviewing some of the entries for MAWTT this week and I am so glad that I did..I'll be back again..but on time next time!

Cx

Challenging cutouts...

Hello!

Hope you had a nice weekend, ours was quiet after last week's extreme partying...

I have been making a few cards for sale (a local shop wants to stock my stuff) based on this idea - which I have modified to suit my tools.

It came to me that the ones I have been making would work perfectly for the CAS-ual Friday challenge this week - #111 Buttons and if I chose the sentiment carefully it would work as a card for a good friend.

So the main photo is my entry. I am really pleased with the end result and hope my friend will be too.

I used scrap paper for both the patterned paper (My Minds Eye) and the white spotty embossed paper. The butterfly is the teeniest die from an Xcut set I have. The sentiment was punched using my shiny new word window punch by Stampin' Up. The button and the twine are from my stash.

Here are the cards I had made before, which sparked the idea, you can see I switched out the Candi for a button -

Here is one on it's own, so you can see it in detail.

Cutout Heart - With Love

I love these cards - not just because they are super simple. but because I can use all the scraps I have kicking around.

Cx