Our challenge this week for Sweet Stampin is Pirates/Nautical theme. I don't have any pirate type stamps and didn't really fancy doing a punch art card so went with the nautical theme. I decided to try the Retiform Technique as I haven't done that in a while and used two retired Stampin Up sets - High Tide and Wetlands.
For my inks I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Salty Ocean and SU Night of Navy. The retiform technique is quite fun as it can be different everytime you try it. There is a touch of glimmer on the water as I added some Glossy Accents to it to make it shimmer.
Don't you find it amazing how the internet works? How everything is connected and you can start somewhere and end up somewhere completely different! It never ceases to amaze me how time consuming it can be also - surfing - no wonder I'm tired lol! So what am I on about? Well I started having a look at Retro Rubber today to see what goodies challenge wise they had for us and I ended up on YouTube discovering a new technique I'd never heard of which in turn led me to someone's blog which in turn led me to a new challenge blog I'd not come across before. A bit like Snakes and Ladders! Retro Rubber Challenge #93 has a tic tac toe - I love these. I chose to go with the bottom layer for my card.
The new technique I came across is called Retiform. I've been crafting for over 20 years and have never come across this idea and I had a lot of fun with it.
My retro stamps are very old sets from Stampin Up - one called Autumn Days, where that majestic pheasant is from, and the other is A Touch Of Nature offering up all those lovely leaves.
My choice of inks for this technique were Tim Holtz Bundles Sage Distress Ink, SU More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie and Early Espresso. The twine is from my stash and the sentiment is non SU. I've also coloured in the pheasant with some SU marker pens adding a touch of green, red and cold for his plumage.
So, as I said on my travels I found The Male Room - a challenge I'm guessing all about cards for men. They are celebrating their 5th Anniversary and I've just found them. As I'm reusing an old technique which I'm sure goes back further than 5 years I'm all about the Retro.
