A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

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.  


 

ALL THINGS WILD

A few cards from me today for a number of challenges.  The first are Butterflies Stampin on Tuesday challenge has a sketch challenge with the option of Butterflies  


I've gone for purple - not a colour I usually use - I've also used some old SU DSP for the background.  I've used Kinda Eclectic, Jar of Love and Beautiful You and some butterfly punches.

My next card is for a Facebook Goup called Colour Inkspiration #C132 - they gave us the following image and colours for our inspiration.

I've gone with Kinda Eclectic again but a completely different style.  I've added some of the sequins to the butterfly also - I find those sequins quite tricky to use so any chance to get them on there and I'll have a go.

My final card is for Time Out challenge and their word for this week is WILD.  I'm also including this in Try It On Tuesday for their challenge Nature's Beauty.

I went back to an old SU set - Autumn Days and the pheasant which I have inked up a lot over its life time.  It's always a great go to for male cards too.  I've used Watercolour Paper here and colour washed it with Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake and Always Artichoke.  

The pheasant was embossed in Gold Embossing powder and coloured in with SU marker pens.  The grasses are from the same set.  The sun is from Kinda Eclectic.  The Love sentiment is an old SU script stamp and was embossed in old SU Maize embossing powder.  Some ribbon and some coloured enamel dots finish off this card.

Thanks for stopping by and do please leave me a comment -I love to hear from you.  Happy Crafting.


 

AUTUMN DAYS

Well, it should be spring here in the UK but it feels more like Autumn -and not a good Autumn at that! Dull, wet, miserable, the dark days of winter are hanging around far too much. Maybe that's what drew me to doing a more autumnal feel to my card today.


This is the challenge over at As You See It  #173 for this week - a wealth of possibility.




I decided to use a very old SU set - Autumn Days.  I started with inking the background with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Old Paper, then added some SU Pear Pizzazz and Crushed Curry.  The sentiment stamp is a very old one from Laura Ashley of all people.  It's a word stamps which says - 

"Find your inspiration anywhere, roaming the English countryside, gathering wildflowers, reading a cherished gardening book, watching birds flutter in the sky, following their trail that leads through the woods, sipping tea and watching the sun rise, strolling through the garden amongst the roses, sitting on a swing built for two and watching the world around you."

How idyllic is that imagery.  And just as I was reading it our local Cockerel Pheasant made himself known with that raucous cry they have and there he was in the garden.  The dogs, being gundogs, go mad when they hear him cry but they don't scare him - not one bit.  So there really was no other alternative than to put him on this card for today.

After stamping the word stamp in Tranquil Tide I heat embossed the pheasant with SU brown embossing powder.  He was then coloured in with SU Markers in golds, greens and reds.  I stamped some of the grasses from the set in stamped off SU Crumb Cake and added some Burlap Ribbon and enamel dots.  The sentiment is from Thankful Thoughts and is cut out with Banners Framelits.


Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate reading your comments.