EUNICE!!!!!

Hello blogging friends: I have a fun card to share today made with one of the most hilarious images I've ever seen from Art Impressions called "Santa's Helper Eunice", I mean, just look at her, from the top of her Santa's hat to the tip of her Elf shoes, she is a vision, love her.

I saw a card on Pinterest with this image so, I went looking for the stamp at the Art Impressions online store only to find out this fun image is discontinued, Arghh!! 😢, I don't know why something this fabulous is just gone.  But, I was determined to find it and so I went hunting for it and, as in most cases when I'm looking for discontinued or retired stamps, I went to Ebay and, well.....there she is, Ms. Eunice, looking simply fabulous.

I stamped the image on a piece of watercolor paper and colored it with SU markers, but the hat and the pants were stamped on red cardstock and fussy cut, I was not too happy about how the Real Red marker was behaving on her pants, but I did color her mittens and her shoes with it. The green stripes on her blouse and stockings are done with the Garden Green SU marker, her earrings, the bells on her shoes and mittens were colored with a gold gel pen.  Her face was colored with a "Peach" Crayola Marker that was part of a pack of 24 markers that belonged to my grandchildren when they were little.   The pattern paper is from my stash and so is the ribbon.

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Here is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from a retired SU set called "Beautiful Season", the little Poinsettia is from a Power Poppy set called Merry Littles 

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

The Paper Players

Christmas at Sweet Stamping "Anything Christmas Goes"

The Merry Christmas Challenge #9 "Anything Christmas Goes"

Hiding in My Craft Room Challenge #341 "Any Holiday"

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.

Ahh!! Summer Afternoon.....

Hello blogging friends: The RETRO RUBBER challenge has a new one for you to play with, this time is a great sketch by Claire Grantham that has tons of possibilities. So here is my card that I hope you like and find inspiration with to come join us in the gallery.

This image is from a retired stamp set by Stampin' Up! called "Summer Afternoon", it was released back in the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalog.  Love, love all the images on this set.

I stamped this one on some watercolor paper with Stazon black ink and colored it with SU markers and Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is from the same set and the pattern paper is from a retired line by Lili of the Valley.

Here is Claire's fun sketch.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The decorative image on the top is from a set by SU called "Delicate Details" which was in the 2017 SAB catty, the sentiment is from a retired Flourishes set called "Around the Arbor" and the little basket of flowers on the corner is from another retired Flourishes set called "Zinnias".

I hope you feel inspired to come and play with us at RETRO RUBBER and for more inspiration, stop by the blog and check out my teammates creations.

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.

A Honey of a Day!!

Hello dear blogging friends: It's time for another fun challenge over at SHOPPING OUR STASH and the theme is STENCILS. This fun tools are not often used, at least by me, I have a few now and I used one of them to create this card. I hope it inspires you to come and play along.

This images are from a retired SU set called "Just Buzzin' By" that came out in the Spring-Summer catty in 2009 and it's one of my most favorites, this little bees are adorable and super cute.

I stamped the images on watercolor paper with Stazon black ink and colored with Prismacolor pencils and then, I sponged Hello Honey ink using a honey comb stencil.  I also sponged a bit of Peel Paint distress ink for the grass and stamped a few sprigs with a little stamp from Art Impressions.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment and the little bee are also from the set.

So I hope you go to your Stencil Stash and come and join us at the SHOPPING OUR STASH challenge blog. Don't forget to stop by my teammates blogs to check out their awesome creations.

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.

Made With Love.....

Hello everyone: I have a late card to share with you today, I was busy all morning and I didn't have time to finish this post but, here it is and I hope you like it. I will play along with a few challenges and the end of this post. 

This image is from an old Flourishes set called "Stitched for You".  I stamped the image with Stazon Black ink on a die cut oval from the Spellbinders "Oval Regalia" die set and colored it with SU markers, I love the Real Red Stampin' Up! color, it's so intense and rich. The little pair of scissors are from a Power Poppy set called SAGE ADVISE, stamped on watercolor paper, colored and fussy cut, the pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from the same set.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

The Paper Players

Card Mania Challenge #101 "Red and Hearts"

Craft-Dee Bowz February Challenge "Anything Goes plus a handmade bow"

Hope you can see the little red Gingham bow tied to the scissors.

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. 

Love is in the Air.....

Hello dear blogging friends: There is a new and fabulous challenge out there in Blogland called TWOFER CARD CHALLENGE, this is the second one and I'm playing along.

The theme this time is HEARTS and the purpose of this fun challenge is to make 2 TOTALLY DIFFERENT cards using the SAME STAMP IMAGE.

I'm telling you, Darnell who is the one who thought about creating this challenge, really want us to stretch our imagination and creativity and believe me, she has done just that!!

So, here is my TWOFER cards, hope you like them.

I used one of the images on the retired Stampin' Up! set called "Valentine Refined" to create both front panels on my cards.  On the one on the left, I die cut a wheel barrel with an Elizabeth Craft Design die set and sponged it with Baked Brown Sugar ink, then I stamped the little hearts image and placed the wheel barrel in front. The grass was stamped using an Art Impressions stamp.

I sponged the sky and grass with Distress Inks, the sentiment is from the set and it's stamped on a left over die cut cloud.

The card on the right was done using one of the dies from a retired SU set called "Ornament Keepsakes", I cut the ornament and then stamped the image, the "Peace" word is die cut using the Penny Black "Love and Joy" set. Pattern paper is from a retired line from Lili of the Valley.

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This is how the INSIDE of my cards looks like.

The sentiment on the left is from a discontinues Flourishes set called "From the Garden", the string of hearts on top is from the "Valentine Defined" set, the bucket and gardening tools are also from the Elizabeth Craft Design die set.

The sentiment on the right is die cut with a die set from Penny Black set called "Peace and Joy", the stamped sentiment underneath is from a Power Poppy set called SPICE IT UP, I just used the top.

I would like to play along with the following challenges.

Twofer Card Challenge

Stinkin' Inkers Challenge "Love is in the Air"

Tiddly Inks Challenge #210 "Give Love"

Unicorn Challenge #29 "Love/Valentines"

Crafty Sentiments Designs "Spring Challenge"

I had fun creating this cards, I love this challenge because it really helps you increase your stash of cards that are so ready to mail so, thank you so much Darnell, this challenge is awesome.

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.

Home is where the HEART is.....

Hello everyone: The SHOPPING OUR STASH challenge have a new theme for you to play with this week and I hope you come and join my teammates and me in our gallery.

The theme is "HOME SWEET HOME", so we want to see some houses, any houses in your cards. 

People's house, doggie and kitty houses, bird houses, etc. you get the picture, right?

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

This image is from a Stampin' Up! set called "Mediterranean Moments", I love the sketchy look of all of this beautiful images.  I stamped this one on a piece of watercolor paper that I die cut with a Cross Stitch die to give it that home feel. I colored it with some Sakura Koi watercolors and an aqua painter, the Pattern Paper is from my small stash and the sweet little key from a bag of about 30 keys I bought some 2 years ago from a second hand store in town. The whole bunch cost me only $5.00, woo hoo!!

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The row of sweet little bird houses was stamped with a stamp set I bought on Ebay some time ago, the stamp is longer than the image you see here, the houses on the bottom corner are from this same stamp.  The sentiment is from my old and fabulous stash of Flourishes sets.

So I hope you get inspired and come and play along, don't forget to go to the SHOPPING OUR STASH blog to check out my teammates creations for more inspiration.

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.

Welcome Spring.....

Hello everyone: As one of the Guest Designers at the HOUSE MOUSE AND FRIENDS MONDAY CHALLENGE with a theme of "Anything Goes or Spring Colors". I have a card to share today that will make you wish Spring was already here.

Here is my card and I hope you stop by the House Mouse challenge blog to check out the rest of the members beautiful creations.

This image is from a stamp called "FLOWER ARRANGING" and it's stamped on a piece of watercolor paper with Stazon black ink and colored with Sakura Koi watercolors. I just wanted this sweet image to be on it's own so I just framed it with the retired SU "Tulip Frame" embossing folder and I added a little banner I made with the SU "Flower Builder" punch, I stamped the word "Spring" with an old Alphabet set. I punched a little hole on the top of this leaves and ran a piece of twine to create the banner.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from Elizabeth Craft Designs, the bottom image was purchased on Ebay but I don't know what company it belongs to, I apologize for this.

I hope you get inspired to share any of your House Mouse, Happy Hoppers and Gruffies creations, for more inspiration, hop over the HOUSE MOUSE AND FRIENDS MONDAY CHALLENGE 

I want to play along with this challenges.

A Gem of a Challenge #213 "Spring Flowers"

Challenge Up Your Life Challenge #85 "Spring Flowers.

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.