Let's Play Tic Tac Tow with Retro Rubber!!

 Hello everyone: As always, I pray and hope you and your families are doing well, taking care of each other and staying healthy and safe.

The RETRO RUBBER CHALLENGE has a new Tic Tac Toe grid for you to play with.

I chose the first row going vertical, Masculine, Embossing and Stripes.

Here's my card, which I created for my hubby for his 67th. Birthday💕

coming up in August.

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This is the INSIDE.

And this is what I used.

The image is from Art Impressions, I got it on eBay about a month ago but I think it came out back in 2013 according to some research on Pinterest.

I used a diagonal stripe embossing folder for my background panel.

The sentiment in the front is from Concord & 9th., "Happy Day (2016)

I stamped the cute golfer image on a piece of white card stock and colored it with Prismacolor pencils, then fussy cut it.  I placed a piece of painter's tape behind the golf club to make it a bit more sturdy as I cut it.

The sentiment inside is from Power Poppy's "Short Stacks" (2015)

I punched the "golf ball" with a 1.25 circle punch and embossed it with a dot embossing folder, I'm very happy it looks so real, 👍

My teammates and I over at RETRO RUBBER CHALLENGE hope you will come and play along with us in our gallery. Don't forget to stop by the challenge to get more inspiration from my awesome teammates.

Thank you for visiting me today, I appreciate and read every single comment you leave on my posts.

Stay healthy and safe.

XO
Maria.

I apologize for the comment section being so far below, I just don't know why this happened, I've tried to fix it but I can't.

Feather Finnery.

Hello everyone: I hope and pray you and your families are doing well dealing with these very worrisome and disconcerting times.

Stay healthy, safe and please, wear your masks.

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It's time for another challenge over at RETRO RUBBER, this one is a very popular one, you can create anything you want provided that the stamps you use are older than one year, we can't wait to see you in our gallery.

This is the card I made to inspire you to come and play along.

This is a gorgeous stamp set from Papertray Ink and it's called "Feather Finery", I bought it just about 3 years ago on Ebay for a song, I love all of the feathers in the set and it's very versatile, you can really create all kinds of cards, this one goes to my youngest daughter's Pastor, his birthday was on Sunday.

I stamped the feathers with Versamark ink and heat embossed them, one in gold, the other one in black, the specks are also gold embossed.

The green panel is sponged with a very old pad of Color Box Copper ink, it's a bit dry so I just sprayed a little water on it, waited a few minutes and then added the color with a sponge dauber, I really like how the ink shines.

I think the sentiment is from Penny Black but I'm not sure, it's old and with no packaging.

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This is the INSIDE 

The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called "Party Time".

I hope you come and play along with us at the RETRO RUBBER CHALLENGE, please remember to use stamps that are older than a year.

Thank you for visiting me today.

Stay healthy, safe and please wear your masks.

XO
Maria.

You Rock!!!!!!!

Hello everyone: My wish, as always, is that all of you are well, we still have a long way to go before thigs go back to even a resemblance of normality, this pandemic still upon us so, keep wearing your masks and insist that your children and grandchildren wear them too.

Now, the disturbing scenes of abuse we've all witnessed just add to the uncertainty and worry we all feel when we witness such atrocities, there's no excuse for it, no reason what so ever to impart fear and pain to another human being just because of our differences or the place where we were born. 

We've experienced such fears and worries ourselves when my husband and I traveled to Mexico to see our families, being separated at O'Hare airport 3 times, our suitcases searched, just because we had bought some toys for our grandchildren on two occasions and "because our names were very common".  The officers there just told us that there were a lot of Marios and Marias and that "stood up" for them.  It didn't matter that both of us are Naturalized American Citizens, that we had our passports, driver's licenses, credit cards, etc., as valid ID's. The last time this happened to me was when I went to Mexico for my mom's funeral services, this time I was really scared because I was alone, one hour passes by really slow when you don't know why you are being detained. My poor husband was so worried that I might have missed my flight, and even after I finally walked out, we were afraid to say anything and we just left, when I was safely in our car, I broke down in tears. 

Anyway, all I'm hoping and praying is for the wounds that have been open for hundreds of years finally start to heal and that the best reparation for all of the pain is the understanding and acceptance by all of us that, after all,  we are all God's Children.

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I have a fun card I made as a request from my youngest daughter for her 14-year-old nephew. I don't know about you but I hardly ever make masculine cards, which is a mistake because I have several men, young and old, in my life.

These types of cards are a bit hard for me to make, especially for teen boys so, I was so happy I own this fun Power Poppy set called "Well Played" (I think it's discontinued).

  

The stripped blue pattern paper was in my stash drawer, the musical notes are die-cut, the sentiment is from this set.

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This is the INSIDE of my card. 

The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called Party Time, which happens to be on sale right now. The little candle is from a Hero Arts set called "Be Happy Today".

Thank you for visiting me today.

Stay safe and healthy.

Sending hugs.

Maria.

At the Zoo.........

Hello everyone: I hope all of you and your families are doing well, staying home and following the safety guidelines, I know it's hard to be indoors, not being able to see family and friends and live our social life like before this pandemic, but this is the reality we're living now so we need to stay put and endure and find something fun to do indoors, like creating cards.

These fabulous wild animals are from the retired SU set called "Zoo Review" (2011-2012), this set is perfect for making masculine cards. 

I realized the other day when I was organizing all the cards I've been making, that my masculine stash has 4 cards only and that is not acceptable so, this one is happily going to that stash.

I stamped the images with Stazon black ink on Strathmore Bristol paper, I created a mask for the lion and the zebra, and colored it with Prismacolor pencils, I found the card base in my "save for later" stash, came in real handy.  I needed a vertical sentiment and sadly, I don't have any so I improvised using the word "Celebrate" was stamped using the MISTI  on a tag die cut.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is the other half of the one in the front of the card, the animals are from the Zoo Review set.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

The Paper Players

Seize the Birthday

Going with both, Birthday and Toppings.

Country View Challenges

April 2020 "Animal Magic"

Alphabet Challenge Blog

"Z is for Zoo Animals"

Thank you for stopping by.

Stay healthy and safe.

XO

Maria.

Wild Mallard.....

Hello everyone: With Father's Day approaching I decided to create a Dad's Day card to add to my little stash of Masculine cards to send out to my family and friends near and far.

The image is from "The Wilderness Awaits" stamp set, (2015-2016 Stampin' Up! catalog, retired), one of my most favorite sets for Masculine cards, all the images are beautifully detailed, I love them.

I stamped this one on a piece of watercolor paper with Stazon black ink and colored it with Stampin' Up! markers and Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is from the set.  The pattern paper is from my stash and so is the ribbon detail. I sponged the sky and water with distress inks.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from my stash and can't recall where I got it😕, the image on the corner is from SU "Wetlands" (2013-2014 catalog, retired).

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Stampin' Up! Only Challenges

#224 "Masculine"

Addicted to Stamps Challenge

#175 "For a Boy or a Man"

Dragonfly Dreams Challenge

"For a Man or a Boy"

2 Crafty Critter Crazies
Anything Goes with a Critter


2 Sisters on the Blog
Challenge #28 "Things with Wings"

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.
Hugs.
Maria.

Lighthouse for SOS.....

Hello everyone: Well, Father's Day is almost here and the SHOPPING OUR STASH challenge blog is having a challenge with a "Masculine" theme so, as I often do when I need to make this types of cards, I reached for my very small stash of masculine stamps where I found this handsome "Lighthouse" stamp from Impression Obsession called Ocracoke Island Lighthouse that's perfect for the guys so, here is my card that I hope will inspire you to join my teammates and I in our gallery.

I don't know about you but for me, it's hard to make masculine cards.  When I buy stamp sets, I navigate towards the flowers and cute little critters and it's rare to find out there beautiful images for men so, every time I see something like this image, I buy it immediately.

Masculine cards can't have a lot of embellishments so, all I did is create a "Sailor's Knot" following THIS TUTORIAL, you can use any type of string, I used a piece of Jute twine, I took two pieces instead of one. You just have to practice a bit, it took me a few tries to get it right but I think it adds a really rustic and beautiful touch to this card.

The image was stamped onto a piece of water color paper with Stazon black ink an colored with Prismacolors, I made a mask for the Lighthouse to sponge the sun and the sky.

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Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

Keeping with the Nautical/Masculine theme, I stamped a couple of images from the retired SU set called "The Open Sea", which is another awesome masculine set.

I hope you are inspired to play along with us at SHOPPING OUR STASH, please visit my teammates' blogs to see their awesome creations and join in.

I'm linking this card to the following challenges.

Cards in Envy "You're the Man"

Simon Says Stamp "Simon Says Masculine"

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #190 "For a Special Man/Boy or Father's Day"

Unicorn Challenge Blog Challenge #22 "For the Guys"

Crafting by Design Challenge #162 "Always Anything Goes"

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.