Charlotte Visits the Retro Rubber Challenge

Okay, friends... I had something made with all new supplies I was going to share today, but decided instead to play along in the Retro Rubber Challenge with all old supplies.  I'm partial to this challenge because it encourages us to love on the oldies, plus it runs for two weeks which gives me more time to get a card made.  The current challenge is "Anything Goes" -- with stamps that are a year or more old.  Before I bend your ears (eyes) further I'll show you the card:

The stamps are years old.  Not sure how many years, but a lot.  The lovely Charlotte is a Loralie stamp, all of which went out of production not long after I fell in love with them.  You can still search and find a few online.  My 7 sets will have to suffice.  They've survived multiple stamp room purges as I enjoy looking at them even when I'm not stamping with them.

Charlotte was colored with Copic markers on Neenah 110 lb white.  I left all white in the background because Charlotte is such a colorful character and this card could easily get too busy.  She's so fun to dress!  Makes me feel like stepping up my wardrobe.  I don't color people stamps very often, but just look how pretty and fun she is!  I gave her red hair in honor of the late Lucille Ball whose quote I used.  There are a few details I added, such as eyelashes on Charlotte and her cat, claws on the cat, polka dots on Charlotte's blouse.

She's standing on a wood floor courtesy of Penny Black Wood Floors die.  It's not so old, but it's a first time use, so hooray for that!

Thank you, Retro Rubber, for prompting me to blow the dust off an old favorite, and thank you, my stamping friends, for stopping in and for always indulging these whims that take hold of me.  Have a beautiful day!

Goldens and Garden

Wally McDreamy on Goldens and Garden today.

Thank you!

Remakes and Use it Ups

Welcome back!

I've had some very industrious mornings in my stamp room.  While organizing my card stash I came across two cards I made quite a while ago, but never mailed because I was put off by their lumpiness.  I like dimension and texture, but I also like to avoid the lumps that can cause a card to get damaged in the mail.  Save that for square cards which are always hand cancelled here in the US.  Anyway... I decided to go ahead and remake them right then and there.

First up is a card with so much sparkle it's almost blinding.  The original had a big, unattractive butterfly with a row of large pearls for the body.  Trust me, a butterfly can be unattractive.  Nature would not make an unattractive butterfly, but I did.  I replaced the lumpy-bodied, unattractive butterfly with flowers and foliage.

(Poppy Stamps Sending Scribbles, Verve Amazing Adjectives, oval lattice die (I think Marianne... it was a friend share), Die-namites Leafy Flourish.  Glitter paper for the leaves and punched flowers.  Diamond Stickles on the stamped flowers.  Iridescent embossing powder on the die cut word.  Stardust Stickles elsewhere.  Small pearls.)

I'll keep my eyes and ears open for an opportunity to mail it.  It's very occasion-specific.  I had a need for it at the time, but I sent a whole different card instead.  See inside sentiment below:

The next card is a thank you.  The original had a length of 3/4" black organdy ribbon wrapped around its middle and tied in a bulky bow at the side.  This was an easy fix; I replaced the bow with glitter hearts.

(Spellbinders Elegant Ovals, Verve Amazing Adjectives, SU punched hearts, old heart stamp which I believe I put in the purge pile after this)

The green ink is SU's retired Glorious Green which I seldom use, but find I like it more now than I did in the past.

None of the above was very time consuming, so I made some "use it ups", too.  I felt it was time to use up the last of my Prima Fairy Flora paper which I bought when it was brand new in 2010.  I've loved it well and still do.  I prepared 11 card fronts for future use with enough scraps left over for decorating the insides or die cutting small things.  I could have gotten more cards out of those scraps, but 11 is enough.

It's been beautiful weather this week and I've been out in the garden a lot, but I'm so far ahead with my stamping I'll probably be back again before you notice I was gone.  Have a happy day!

Elves

Hey there!  I hope you can bear another Christmas card post.  Time's running out to play along in the CAS Christmas Card Challenge as the current "Elf" challenge ends on the 24th.  I honestly was thinking I didn't have any elf stamps.  Suddenly I remembered one digi stamp, and just as I finished coloring it I remembered the elves in an old Stampin' Up set.  Now I have two elf cards -- oh, happy day!

Pictured below is the card I did first.  It's an old Sassy Cheryl's digital stamp which is no longer on the site, so apparently discontinued.  It's called Delivery Boy Santa, meaning, I suppose, "Santa's Delivery Boy" because this sure looks like an elf to me.  I watercolored with Tombow markers.  Very clean and simple with just an image and a sentiment from my stash.

Next are the elves from the retired Stampin' Up Holiday Line Up.  Quickly colored with Copics on X-Press It Blending Card.  It's probably evident that I didn't put much effort into the coloring, but they still look pretty cute.  I added some designer paper trim to this one.  Another sentiment from my stash, not part of the SU set.

I'm thrilled to say... Total Christmas cards so far this year:  17

Many thanks to the CAS Christmas Card Challenge crew for the inspiration!  Have a happy day!

Goldens and Garden

A little something on Goldens and Garden today.  Thank you!

Cottage Cutz Christmas Cards

Well, hello again my friends!  Catching up a little, staying focused...  I spent a rainy afternoon making Christmas cards with the Cottage Cutz dies I purchased in December 2018.  All but one were in the retired section and really quite a bargain.  These particular dies were very easy to work with (no small parts), plus I used some Distress Oxide inky backgrounds I'd made another day, and some die cut designer paper remnants from other projects.  The cards came together very quickly.

The first card is ultra-CAS.  I'll have to send it to one of my CAS stamping friends because a non-stamping friend would think I'm off my rocker.  Nevertheless, I like it a lot.  In fact, it's my favorite of the bunch.  I thought about doing more to it, but it's so peaceful as is.  Just quiet and gentle.

(Wintry Trees, Power Poppy sentiment)

Two with this next die:

(Season's Greetings w/Banner,  Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers, Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Our Daily Bread Designs Beautiful Blooms designer paper)

The next card uses the only die that was not in the retired section at the time of purchase.  I knew I had to have this one because of the dogs.  It looks like Wally and LuLu and maybe one of their friends.  Easy with the sentiment and frame built in.  I need to make more with this.

(Santa's Best Friends, DCWV Foiled Elegance paper)

Two more with inky backgrounds, very simple and white:

(Santa's Best Friends, Deer Family Border, Power Poppy sentiment)

Finally, the last card is actually the first card I made.  It has been waiting a month or more for me to finish the rest of the batch.  A little more detail and layering on this one:

(Cottage Cutz Deer & Forest Border, Greetings, Double-Stitched Square Set, Taylored Expressions Starry Night Cutting Plate, Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers)

That's all, folks!

Total Christmas cards so far this year:  15

Oh, happy day!  See you again soon!

Double D Challenge: Black and White Only

Hello!  It's time to usher in a new Double D challenge.  You won't see much color here today as our challenge theme is Black and White.  No other color allowed.  That was a hard one for me in some ways, easy in others.  Hard because I like color, easy because it narrows down the choices and, therefore, decisions.  My card:

Our inspiration board:

A prize:

I relied on texture to make the card more interesting.  First time use of the Darice Butterfly Swirls embossing folder which I've had for quite a while.  No idea why I waited so long, sheesh.  In the end I like this card a lot, but my favorite part is the cute little black and white flowers.

Come along to Double D and see the team's brilliant use of black and white.  Read up on the easy challenge rules and benefits, and then play along.  It'll be fun!  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Fiskars Maka a Wish Quotes  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, black  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Accessories:  Darice Butterfly Swirls embossing folder, pearls, flower punch  Dies:  Spellbinders Elegant Ovals, Impression Butterfly Set, Impression Obsession Leaf Cluster

Ranunculus on Faux Weathered Wood

Hi there!  I've had a little bit of a stamping dry spell, which is completely opposite of the weather we've been having.  Perfect stamping weather, but I've been doing everything else instead.  Ah, well, it has to be done sometime.  When I did sit down to stamp I ended up with something completely different than my original idea.  Well... here's the card:

Power Poppy's Ranunculus digital stamp printed on Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White card stock, colored with Prismacolor pencils.

It was meant to be a white card with the coloring very light and delicate as a muted background for the sentiment.  I printed the flowers so faintly that I could barely see where I was going, so I probably made up some of it, but in the end it's fine.  Certainly no line showing.  At some point I decided to turn it into faux wood.

Scored every half inch then colored with pencils to make it resemble weathered wood.  You think?  One step further... coated the colored panel with Ranger Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint.  Just a thin coat and it added a nice bit of crackle to it.

After all that I didn't want to cover it up, so I did minimal framing of the sentiment -- Spellbinders Elegant Ovals and Classic Ovals.  Decorative, but minimal.  The sentiment is from Power Poppy's In Praise of Sunflowers clear stamp set.  Tiny punched flowers with die cut leaves and pearl centers for window dressing.  You can probably see that the frame is a shimmery silver.  I used brads, too!

One last picture because I just love that crackly finish:

It's frilly and feminine and it's going to be mailed for a May birthday.

I'll be back on Wednesday for Double D.  I'm currently stamping ahead for next month's DT posts, but I'll probably manage a few additional things in the meantime.  See you Wednesday, I hope!  Have a happy day!

Twofer Challenge #15: Zoo Animals

It's Twofer Card Challenge time, friends!  We're doing Zoo Animals this time around and I have a feeling we're going to see some fun cards for this one.  I love critters!

I could have gone with a dozen different stamps for this challenge, most of them cute stamps that would have made very cute cards.  However, I went with the oldest of the oldies for my two cards and made them both masculine.  Similar colors, but completely different designs.  The animals are from the Stampin' Up! set called In the Wild.  Remember that set?  I know... I really should update some of my stamps.

The first one is a birthday card for a guy friend.  Some miscellaneous dies and stamps helped out with the design.  I added a fence so it would resemble a zoo scene, not that all these animals would be in the same enclosure, but we can pretend.  The cheetah has already escaped and the zebra is on its way out as it jumps over the fence.  They're going wild per the sentiment.

Next is a card that can be a simple love card, but I think it will be my husband's 2020 Valentine, or maybe anniversary.  Either way, it's a different occasion and a different layout per the challenge rules.  I really wanted to use this designer paper that I've had forever and have only used once.  I love it a lot, but just don't have the stamps for it.  Again, I should update some of my stamps.  The main background on this card is the retired SU! On Safari background stamp, and the "wild" is retired SU! Headline Alphabet set, stamped and hand cut.

Designer paper is Bo Bunny Zoology (probably retired, too), and the leaf dies are MFT Die-namics Wild Greenery.

That's enough talk from me.  Hop over to the Twofer Blog to see some samples, including from our Guest Designer, Susan.  Have a happy day!

Easter Bunny Chick

Hi, friends!  I believe I've colored my last Easter card of the year.  They're going in the mail soon.  I don't have any new Easter stamps, but this older Stamping Bella Easter Bunny Chick is still a cutie.  Actually, it's new to me -- a gift from a friend, along with all the other Stamping Bellas I've been coloring lately.  Thanks, friend!

I colored with Copics and sponged a Salty Ocean Distress Oxide ink background, splattered with turquoise ink.  Hand cut the sentiment flag and used bunches of dies in the card design.  Oh, my word, I didn't realize how many dies until I wrote up the list.  Well, hey, use 'em if you've got 'em!

The eggs are decorated with Stickles Stardust glitter glue, with the top two eggs also having white gel pen applied first.  Simply fun!

I hope to see you again soon.  Take care and have a happy day!

Stamps:  Stamping Bella Easter Bunny Chick  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, watercolor, Bo Bunny Soft Shades Double Dot designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring, Distress Oxide Salty Ocean, SU Tempting Turquoise  Accessories:  Signo Uniball white gel pen, Stickles Stardust glitter glue  Dies:  Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Scalloped Rectangle Stackables, Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Memory Box Wrapped Stitched Frames, MFT Die-namics Fresh Cut Grass, Impression Obsession Grass Border, Impression Obsession Grass (tall)

A Wreath from my Heart

Hi there!  I have a very bright and whimsical card today as I colored one of my new Bugaboo digi stamps.  It's let your hair down kind of stamping -- color it up and then have all kinds of fun with the card design.  The digi stamp is called Floral Wreath 01.

Bright, isn't it?  I popped the color all the more by matting the wreath on black and then bright yellow.  Added a doubled up die cut bow and some hearts and an oldie-but-cutie CTMH sentiment which had just the perfect fun font for the wreath.  Then I figured since I used bumble bee colors for the card I might as well add a bumble bee.  See him there with his vellum wings?

Some cards are just too much fun!

Supplies are listed below my signature.  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Bugaboo Floral Wreath 01, CTMH sentiment  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, Bazzill black and amythest, Stampin' Up! Polka Dot Parade designer paper  Ink:  Printer, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Copic Spica black glitter pen (which doesn't show in the photo), Scotch brand foam mounting tape to pop up bee  Dies:  Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers, Impression Obsession Large Bow (tails cut off), Tutti Designs Stitched Nesting Hearts, Frantic Stamper Ladybug & Bee