A Sweet Smelling Christmas.....

Hello everyone: With the Holidays upon us it's a great time to make a few more Christmas cards, you can never have too many, that's what I always say.

So the RETRO RUBBER CHALLENGE has a new one for you and has this beautiful image to inspire you to come and play along.

I know it's a busy time of the year but still, we hope you all come and join us in our gallery.

Here is my card for this challenge.

This pretty image is from a Power Poppy set called Spice it Up which was released back in 2015 and that's how long I've owned this gorgeous set.

I stamped the image with Versafine black ink, clear heat embossed it and colored it with SU markers.

The sentiment is from a retired Stampin' Up! set called "Joy to the World", it came out back in the 2013-2014 Holiday Mini Catalog, I heat embossed it in gold.

I grabbed a Snowfall embossing folder for the front panel and wrapped a golden ribbon for a bit of sparkle.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from the same set and the little mug from another Power Poppy set called "Merry Littles, this set is perfect for embellishing the inside of your Holiday cards.

So I hope you go and dig out your OLDER THAN ONE YEAR stamp sets and come to join us in the gallery, we can't wait to see what you create.

Don't forget to stop by my teammates' blogs for more fabulous inspiration.

Ok, before I leave you I want to thank you for your comments on my RETRO RUBBER 100 CHALLENGE CELEBRATION POST so, here is the lucky winner of an OLDER THAN A YEAR BUT NEVER USED stamp set, and that winner is:

CAROL L.

Congratulations Carol, please email me with your home address at

grandmamaria5@gmail.com

and I will have your goodies fast on their way to you, please write WINNER OF 100 CHALLENGE POST on the subject line.

This is my last post for this year as my teammates and I take a little break to enjoy the Holidays with family and friends.

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and may 2019 bring Health, Peace, Joy, Love, and Prosperity to you and yours.

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.

The Wilderness Awaits.....

Hello everyone: It's time for another fabulous challenge over at SHOPPING OUR STASH, our theme is MASCULINE CARDS.  Some people, me included, have a hard time creating these types of cards mainly because they must be simple but still appealing, not to busy but still, with a little fan fare so, here is my rendition to this challenge and I hope you come and play along.

Most of my stamp sets are of flowers and little cute critters so, when I see a set that is spectacularly masculine, I immediately get it, like this one from Stampin' Up! called "The Wilderness Awaits" from the 2015-2016 catalog, all four images are beautifully detailed and perfectly masculine.

I stamped my fox on a die cut piece of watercolor paper with Stazon black ink and colored it with SU re-inkers, I added a bit of white Prismacolor pencil to his handsome face and the tip of his tail.

I die cut a bigger piece of Copper glimmer paper to frame this image.  I embossed a panel of green card stock and rubbed it with copper ink, added a couple of copper brads, ribbon and the sentiment.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

Again, nothing fancy, just a bit of decoration at the top done with the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and a sentiment from a Power Poppy set called "Everything's Even Rosier".

So, I hope you come and join my teammates and I in our SHOPPING OUR STASH gallery, please stop by the blog and visit their blogs 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.

A Washi Birthday with the Mice.....

Hello everyone: I hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous, full of good food, drinks and family.

This new challenge over at SHOPPING OUR STASH is all about Washi Tape, I confess I had a hard time finding some in my craft room, I thought I had a couple of rolls but then I remember I gave them to my granddaughter, she really liked them and I really don't use washi tape all that much, anyway, I had to really look hard to find this two designs for my card.

Hope you go look at your stash of Washi Tape and come join us in the gallery.

 

As you all know, I adore the House Mouse siblings so here they are again, doing what they do best, getting in trouble, LOL!! 

I stamped this image on white card stock with Stazon black ink and colored it with Prismacolor pencils, the Washi Tape was a lucky find, I now realize I better go get me some.

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Here is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

I added the last of the festive washi tape to the top of this inside panel, the sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called Short Stacks 

I hope you have some Washi Tape somewhere in your craft room so you can come and join us in our gallery.

I would like to play with the following challenges.

Pattie's Creations Challenge #152 BIRTHDAYS

Color Crazy Challenge Week 47 Anything Goes coloring.

Just Us Girls

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

Two Wreaths for Twofer Challenge #11.....

Hello everyone: Well, I'm coming in a bit late but still with 3 days to go to share my cards at the TWOFER CHALLENGE #11, this time, the theme is WREATHS, so we need to create two different cards for two different occasions using the same stamp, die or stencil.

Here are my Twofer Cards, first together and then, I'll share a picture of them, explaining how I created them.

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For this wreath I used this very old W Plus 9 stamp and die set called Woodland Wreaths, it has a coordinating die that you can find HERE, I heat embossed this wreath in gold.  The Jingle Bells I think are from Memory Box, but I'm not to sure about that, they are also very old.

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This is how the INSIDE of this card looks like.

The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called "Poinsettia" and the flower from "Merry Littles".

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For my Twofer card I created a baby wreath, I saw this awesome baby wreaths for baby showers where people put all of the baby stuff on them, they look super cute so I decided to create one.

The wreath is heat embossed with SU Crushed Curry embossing powder and all of the baby items are from a 2010-2011 SU set called "Baby Bundle", they were the perfect size for this wreath.  

I stamped them, colored them and then, fussy cut them, cute eh?

The sentiment is from an old Flourishes set called "Baby Love".

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

Both the sentiment and the baby rattle are from the "Baby Love" set.

So there you have them, my twofer cards for the awesome Twofer Challenge #11 "WREATHS"

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Hand Stamped Sentiments

Crafting from the Heart

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #222 "Lots of Layers"

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.

Shock Top Cheers!!!!!

Hello everyone: There is a new challenge over at SHOPPING OUR STASH and this time we want to see cards that are inspired by a food or beverage label so you can take your inspiration from the colors, the images, the food or beverage itself, etc. 

So here is my card that was created using one of the labels of these delicious beers.

Isn't this illustration just super cool?  I love the colors, the image and all the awesome details of it, like the hair made of wheat straws and the face made with an orange segment and those sunglasses, WOW!! But anyway, since I don't have a beer mug stamp, I decided to sketch this mug from one of ours, LOL!!  The other time I made a card with a beer mug in it was THIS ONE in which I traced the mug on a SU catalog. 

The pattern paper is from my stash, the sentiment is from a retired SU set called "Happy Hour" from the 2012-2013 catalog.

This card is for one of my hubby's friends from work who's celebrating his 63rd. Birthday next week.

I'm sure he'll get a kick out of this card, tee hee!!

Here is a peek at the collection where this label came from.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

A simple sentiment from Hero Arts for the inside, guys don't like to much fuss.

So I hope you come and play along with us at SHOPPING OUR STASH, we can't wait to see what you create. 

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.

It's a CELEBRATION!!!!!

Hello everyone:  The new RETRO RUBBER CHALLENGE is a celebration of our 100th. Challenge and for that, we have our first ever BLOG HOP, with prizes for everyone who leaves a comment on the Designer Team's blogs.  Each one of us has a prize which is a brand new but older than a year stamp plus a little something extra so, we all hope you come along and play.
Here is the card I made to celebrate this super fabulous occasion.

I picked the diagonal line, BALLOONS, CONFETTI AND CAKE.  

These balloons were cut out of glitter paper with the retired SU die set called "Balloon Pop Up", the confetti embossing folder is also from SU and the cupcakes are from a Penny Black 2013 stamp set called "Cupcakes", colored them with Prismacolor pencils and glitter pens. 

The sentiment is from a retired 2010-2011 SU set called "Curly Cute".

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from Inkadinka Do, the lines from retired SU set called "Gorgeous Grunge" the balloon from Penny Black.

Here are the links to my teammates' posts, please stop by and leave them your comments for a chance to win. 

Claire Grantham

Neva Cole

Donna Idlet

Maria Rodriguez (you are here)

Jan Clothier

LeAnne Pugliese

Jane Knudsen

I'm sure you'll find tons of inspiration along the way stopping by my awesome teammate's blogs,  leave them a comment for a chance to win.

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 and good luck.

Hugs from Maria.

A Little Reminder.....

Hello everyone: Well, here I am with a little reminder for our November Challenge which is a SPECIAL OCCASION so any celebration would be fabulous.
My card is to celebrate a birthday, 

I love the look of Vellum, especially when its heat embossed so I did just that with my flowers using the Altenew stamp set called "BEAUTIFUL DAY and WOW Pearlescent embossing powder.

I then colored the flowers and leaves with SU markers, fussy cut them and arranged them on my panel with glue dots, the sentiment is from the set. 

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called "Farmers Market", the border on top from a retired

SU set called "Delicate Borders"

There is still time to play along with us over at THE FLOWER CHALLENGE, we can't wait to see your creations on our gallery.

Please remember to add our challenge banner to your blog post when you add your card.

Make sure flowers are the main focus of it.

Only new work please, no back linking.

You can enter up to 6 challenges including ours.

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.