Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Rubeena’s Crafting Anniversary 2-Day Blog Hop! This hop is epic with more than 70 guests and over $1,000 in sponsored prizes! Not only are we celebrating four years since Rubeena first discovered cardmaking but also crafting in general. This industry is made up of wonderful individuals who are creative, inspirational, kind, and incredibly supportive! Hop along so you can learn about why we create and how much joy it brings us!
You should have arrived from the amazing Erum Tasneem’s blog. The full blog hop list is at the bottom of my post.
GIVEAWAYS
In celebration of this anniversary, we have several amazing sponsors. Let’s thank them for their generosity! Winners will be randomly selected from comments left on all the blogs. The winners will be announced by Wednesday, September 5 on this page. Winners will have up to 2 weeks to contact Rubeena at ararerubycrafts@gmail.com to claim their prize before another winner is selected.
- Studio Katia – $50 gift card
- Hello Bluebird – $50 gift card
- Altenew – $50 Gift card
- Pinkfresh Studio – $30 gift card
- Gina K. Designs – $50 gift card
- Clearly Besotted – £25 gift card
- Simon Says Stamp – $25 gift card
- Spellbinders Card Kit ($55 value)
- Jennifer McGuire – $50 Simon Says Stamp gift card
- Winnie & Walter, LLC – $40 gift card
- Mama Elephant – $25 gift card
- Hero Arts – $25 gift card
- Nichol Spohr LLC – Custom-sewn rainbow pencil case filled with brand new Spellbinders dies
- Danielle Flynn – $25 Simon Says Stamp gift card
- Picket Fence Studios – four $25 gift cards
- Ellen Hutson – two $25 gift cards
- Pretty Pink Posh – two $30 gift cards
- The Stamp Market – July 2018 Release (estimated $100 value)
- Indigojade Art Shop – $50 gift card to Art Prints & Gifts Shop
- Flora & Fauna – a 4×6 stamp set
- Waffle Flower – $25 gift card
- Power Poppy – $50 gift card
THANK YOU
A little thank you to Rubeena. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your celebration, Rubeena. Thank you for being you! I feel you are genuine / real and that is important. I am grateful to have known you through the Internet for almost all of your four amazing years. We will meet one day! It has been pure joy watching you grow. I admire you for your courage to share both your strengths and your struggles and I wish you nothing but the best!
I will always think of Rubeena as Ruby. My Sister’s nickname is Ruby, so that struck a soft spot instantly. I also felt a connection with Rubeena because Dearborn, MI was my home for 10 years.

My card was inspired by Rubeena’s love for watercolor. Of course I had to use a floral set from Altenew. It is the Build-A-Flower: Cattleya and is colored with the Altenew watercolors (cotton candy / coral berry / crimson, citrus burst / warm sunshine / autumn blaze, frayed leaf / bamboo / forest glades, industrial diamond). I am definitely a beginner when it comes to watercolor, but it was fun.

The sentiment is the Altenew Thank You Die. It is die-cut three times with black cardstock, adhered together with liquid adhesive and then clear heat embossed. A strip of vellum was added to the card and then the sentiment was adhered to it. A couple of sequins with white blizzard Nuvo crystal drops were then added for the final touch.

BONUS GIVEAWAY
I am giving away a non-sponsored $25 Gift Card to Altenew. Leave a comment on my blog post to be entered in the giveaway. The lucky winner will be announced on my blog by Wednesday, September 5.
DAY ONE BLOG HOP LIST
- Rubeena Ianigro
- Altenew Blog
- Pinkfresh Studio Blog
- Flora & Fauna Blog
- Power Poppy Blog
- Winnie & Walter Blog
- Clearly Besotted Blog
- Jennifer McGuire
- Debby Hughes
- Cynde Whitlow
- Lydia Fielder
- Mayra Duran-Hernandez
- Keeway Tsao
- Yana Smakula
- Kymona Tracey
- Butterfly Reflections Ink Blog
- Darnell Knauss
- Wanda Guess
- Tiffany Au
- Libby Hickson
- Leigh Houston
- Laura Bassen
- Alex Syberia
- Danielle Flynn
- Zsoka Marko
- Lea Lawson
- Kelly Latevola
- Natalia Valkoyskaya
- Svitlana Shayevich
- Rosali Bartz
- Dana Gong
- Amy Kolling
- Lisa Tilson
- Michelle Short
- Erum Tasneem – Arrived from
- Tracie Pond – You are here
- Isha Gupta – Next stop
- Maria Peters (Instagram)
Thank you for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of the hop and have a beautiful day =)
SUPPLIES
(For your convenience, I am happy to provide links to the products I used. Compensated affiliate links are used when available. There is no cost to you when you use the provided links to shop. Kind thanks for shopping through my links and supporting my journey. You can find my affiliate disclosure here.)
So pretty–I like the grey background.
Beautiful card Tracie. 🙂
~ Priyanka Kantak
This is a lovely card. I like the vellum panel, it adds a little subtleness in one area. I’m going to try this.
Love the delicate colouring on this pretty card. Thanks for sharing your creativity.
So beautiful! Love how the colorful flowers pop on that black background… elegant!
Love your card.
Beautifully put Tracie! We all know of each other through this fabulous social network out there but not all are so genuine nor revealing as Ruby has been. I am yours and hers avid fan, and hope you know that I support you in your endeavors creativity wise. Love your beautiful Cattleya watercolor! Gorgeous!
A very striking card – love it 🙂
Sweet card! Thanks for the give away!
I love how the smoky background sets off those lovely flowers!
Congrats to Rubeena!
Wow that’s gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!
Very pretty and love your use of vellum to offset the sentiment.
SQUEAL!! Just BEAUTIFUL!! THANKS for sharing and have a FABULOUS WEEK!! =)
I like the vellum panel over your lovely flowers.
I just adore your card xo
This card is gorgeous!
wait! Dearborn???? I grew up between Ontario, Canada and the west side of Detroit!!! NEIGHBORS!! 😀
Beautiful card! I love the vellum strip!
A beautiful card, Tracie, and your watercolouring turned out great. It goes to prove we can do more than we think if we stop procrastinating.
Marianne x
Such a lovely card!! I really like the dark background and the flowers are so pretty.
Beautiful! What a wonderful color palette! I love the vellum strip. Such a perfect way to feature the fabulous sentiment.
Beautiful card! Love the colors you used Tracy!
Beautiful card! Thank you for sharing.
Soft yet bright! Love it!
I love how this background makes those gorgeous flowers pop. Lovely card. Thanks for sharing and helping celebrate.
I had to laugh when you said “Of course I had to use a floral set from Altenew”. Sometimes I have to remind myself there are floral stamps from other companies LOL however no other company does them quite as well. Your card is beautiful and I think your watercoloring looks great, not at all like a beginner (I’m still trying to get to the beginner stage lol). Thanks for sharing.
I like that color combo you used won’t think it would work but it turned out great
Gray and pink is one of my favorite color combinations so this really speaks to me. Lovely watercoloring.
Beautiful design!! Love that colored background!
Beautiful card! I just love that glossy black sentiment. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful job celebrating our creative sister Ruby !
Love it thanks for sharing
Wow! Your watercoloring doesn’t look like a beginner to me! It’s beautiful and quite inspiring. I really love this card with the die cut & embossed sentiment and that lovely strip of vellum (probably one of the most underused elements in my stash! ) TFS and being a part of Ruby’s anniversary!
What a beautiful card! I really like the color of the flowers against the gray background. Love Altenew’s flower stamps, they are all so pretty. Thanks for sharing.
Such a elegant card! I really love how you used some grey in with the other colors! it really looks very pretty and unique too!
Wow Tracie, this is a really stunning card. I would never think of you as a beginner at watercolour at all with this card. Love the big bold sentiment and choice of colours too. It’s a very special card ❤️
Beautiful!!!
Such a beautiful card! Love the design and color combo.
I love your watercolored card! It is perfect!! I think the sentiment is awesome all shiny and popped up on the velum to stand out!!
Tracie, the gray background makes your flower stand out. Stunning card. Thank you for sharing.
Beginner no more….your card is stunning! Thank you for sharing and inspiring us!
Beautiful card
Beautiful card! I like the vellum, it bring attention to the thank you sentiment!
Your card is beautiful ! I love also “playing” with vellum, I think it always so much to a card. Thank you for sharing.
You did a beautiful job watercoloring this card! I love the colors and your choice to place the vellum on the card really makes the sentiment pop!
I love those colors together. It is so unexpected but beautiful!!! Thanks for sponsoring a gift card in Rubeena’s honor. You are a very nice friend.
What a beautiful card! Love gray and pink combination! So pretty.
I’ve gotta try that subtle dark grey background with vellum under the sentiment.
Gorgeous card! Simply beautiful!
Gorgeous card! I love the gray background – it makes everything stand out beautifully! Thanks for the inspiration!
Your card is gorgeous, a wonderful tribute to Rubeena!
I love the colouring you did on this card, thank you for sharing your inspiration with uw!
Wow! Gorgeous card!!! Beautiful colouring!!!
Love your card. What a neat idea to put nuvo on the sequins. Love blog hops, so many great ideas.
I beg to differ with you but with results like that you are not a beginner at watercolor… either that or you have some crazy, natural talent!!! I sure didn’t produce anything that beautiful “in the beginning”. Shoot… I still can’t get results like that! Your card is gorgeous 🙂
Lovely card. Great pops of color.
That heat-embossed sentiment makes me scratch my head wondering how you go versamark in every nook, cranny, and sides. Well done.
Beautiful card, love the colors 😍
What a wonderful card–great water coloring, large sentiment and a bit of vellum. It’s terrific.
Lovely card! IT’s so nice to see the community coming together to celebrate this anniversary! Well done!
Such a beautiful card! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful! Can’t wait to try these wonderful watercolors.
Such a great card. Thank you for sharing it.
I think your watercoloring is beautiful! Pretty colors.
This is so pretty! I really love the gray background it’s got a wonderful texture that really adds to the card!
A picture to frame! Love the vellum on it.
Thank you for this, and for the process for making the card. I really like the flowers against the darker background. 🙂
A truly beautiful card! So elegant! Thanks so much for sharing!
I LOVE watercolor and this set is so on my wishlist! thanks for the inspiration great job!
Your card design is lovely. Love how the vellum softens the background so that the sentiment stands out. Thanks for sharing your time and talent with us.
Gorgeous
Lovely card. Thanks for your support of Rubeena in her crafty celebration
Really pretty card – Great inspiration!
Oooh, stunning card.
Such a beautiful card!
Thanks so much for sharing…
What a beautiful card!
Thank you sponsors for this super-hop. And thank you for the info and inspiration here! Love your use of vellum…
Nice “thank you” card.
Beautiful card, would never think of you as a beginning water color artist! I love the vellum panel under the sentiment die cut, brilliant!
I love the addition of the piece of vellum under the sentiment. It’s great having you participate in this hop. Thanks so much for joining in the fun.
Blessings,
Karen Letchworth
http://www.karen-mycuprunnethover.blogspot.com
Love your card! I love the colors you chose.
Wonderful card–those blooms just pop off the page!
Tracie, this is soooooo gorgeous. I LOVE it!
What a beautiful card!! 🙂
Such a beautiful card ,love the colours and design! Great hop, full of inspiration .
Lovely design. Such a beautiful color combination.
Nice to see you here Tracie. Love your card. The dark background really looks great. Yeah for Ruby. She does great things and I hope she makes cards forever. Thanks also for your generous heart….
I love vellum on cards! Tfs
Beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing!
Gorgeous card design!
the vellum over the darker watercolouring is so effective, Tracie – beautiful card!
This is an elegant card. Thank you for sharing.
Such a lovely card! The color combinations are lovely and your coloring techniques are amazing! I hope to aspire to your coloring level some day 😊 Thank you for such wonderful inspiration!
Loved the look and design of the card. Very nice work.
that card is beautiful. the flowers are perfect and i love the vellum. i’m just discovering and playing with vellum on my cards, actually.
Gorgeous card! Love the pretty colors.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Absolutely fabulous card! I really love how you layered and clear embossed the sentiment. It makes it look like it’s an epoxy piece and adds great dimension to your card.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful card! It is very inspiring!
Such a delicate card with a very soft “feel”. Very nice! Thanks for sharing it!
Love the pretty pink & gray colorcomboc & the darker background really makes them pop. Beautiful card!
Beautiful card – love the gray with vellum!
I really like the colors pink and grey together! Very pretty card. Thanks for sharing!
Such a beautiful card! I love the grey background!
I love pink and gray together! I think I’ll try it out! Thanks!
Such a gorgeous card, Tracie, you did a fabulous job! Thanks so much for inspiring!
really nice work- I love using gray too
gorgeous card – love he color of the flowers 🙂
Beautiful card!!
Gorgeous card and love your watercoloring!! 🙂
Congratulations to Rubeena! Love her work. And what an amazing group this crafting world is to sponsor such wonderful prizes. Love your card inspiration too! It’s beautiful!
Awesome card! I love the layout with the added vellum interest. Congrats to Rubeena!
Your card is delightful. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful card and coloring!
So beautiful! I love the vellum overlay to house the sentiment!!!
WHOA Tracie….YOU’RE “NEW” at water colouring? THAT is gorgeous! (I am new at it and mine doesn’t look like that! LOL)
An amazing card, my dear!
Thank you for your generosity in also giving away a gift certificate, that is so sweet of you!
Your “beginner” water colouring is absolutely wonderful!! I love watercolour but haven’t come close to using it as well as you do. I so like the dark grey card base with those saturated colours on top. The vellum adds softness on top, but doesn’t take away from the beauty of the flowers.
This is gorgeous!!! Love your coloring.
Beautiful card!
I’m so impressed with your water coloring. Beautiful card.
Beautiful card. I love the style and your coloring is gorgeous.
Lovely card.
This is beautiful, Tracie. I just got that stamp set and stamped it but I love your watercoloring. The dark background really makes the Cattleya stand out.
Gorgeous card, Tracie! Love the colors you used!
As expressed by someone else, you’re a beginner with watercolor. We will expect greater things in the future.
I love the idea of adding the vellum. It still allows the artwork to show but gives the sentiment a location.
Very nice.
Thanks,
Erica
What a beautiful card. The colors are just gorgeous. Thank you for sharing.
I finally made it to your blog! Hehe. Fatima will have to wait! I am so so honored to have you as part of my hop, and we sure have come a long way. Thank you for the shoutout and for celebrating with me. I LOVE YOUR CARD! Watercoloring is just so relaxing (when you let go of the expectation of how it should look). I just love the colors, too! You are amazing and important, thank you again and big hugs to you 🙂
Beautiful card, I’m not an expert but I think it’s lovely and whoever receives it will love it.
Love the colors in that grey background. Really pretty.
Thanks for sharing
What a beautiful card. Very nice!
So pretty! Love those beautiful flowers! Thanks for celebrating Rubeena’s crafting anniversary with this awesome hop! So many inspiring projects along the way!
Live the design and watercolouring. Lovely card.
Wow, I would not consider you a beginner water colorist – absolutely gorgeous! I love the pink and gray combo, so soft and sweet.
Gorgeous floral card. Love the added vellum piece behind your sentiment and touch of embossing.
Wonderful card. Love the beautiful flowers on the dark background.
This is a lovely card.
What a darling CARD!!!
Your color combinations are so beautiful. They really enhance the beauty of the stamped images.
Love the look of this card! 🙂
Such a beautiful card!
A beginner?!? Looks like you’ve been doing watercolor forever!!! Your floral card is GORGEOUS!!! I love the soft color of the flowers and the background really highlights the flowers. Keep watercoloring–you have a natural talent for it. TFS–have a blessed evening.
Beautiful card and the color selection is wonderful!
Beautiful floral card!
The vibrant florals are stunning, and the softening effect of the vellum is gorgeous!
You have created a gorgeous floral thank you card and I think your colouring is just so perfect, thanks for the inspiration.
Diane Lousie xx
I love everything Altenew & your card is stunning!
Your card is beautiful and your water coloring looks professional to me. i love the Altenew watercolor pan set for it’s vivid colors.
This card is so beautiful! And, your watercoloring looks like a pro!!
What a lovely card. Love the colors, love the design. So pretty.
Love the vellum overlaid on your beautifully colored background. Gorgeous card!!
<3 J
jwoolbright at gmail dot com
HerPeacefulGarden.blogspot.com
For a beginner at water coloring, you sure do amazing!! This is so pretty.
I love the pink with the gray. And also the sentiment over vellum.
Gorgeous card! I love the added vellum.
Such a very pretty Thank you card…..I love using Vellum on my cards….I love that see through look….thank you so much for submitting this great card…and participating in this great blog hop…hugs
Stunning card. I love how you water colored this card. TFS 🙂
Beautiful. Love the colored background with the flowers in front.
You look like an expert watercolorist to me. 😊. Love the color choices.
Your flowers are incredible. They deserve to be framed.
Holy moly – you are a beginning watercolor artist? Wish my beginning efforts had looked so beautiful. That is one gorgeous card – I love the pink and grey! AND…a bonus give-away, so generous of you! TFS!
Loved your card color combo is so pretty. Pink and Gray used to be my go-to colors.
Lovely card, thanks for sharing.
I love the combination of pinks and greys on your card, they really make the flowers stand out.
Awesome Card!
Such unique coloring! I really love how you did the vellum and popped the Thank You up!
Gorgeous card! The coloring is fantastic! Thank you for sharing and for being a part of this blog hop!
Very pretty card, love the gray background!
Great card, love the colors.
Beautiful card!!
Great card
very nice!
Beautiful card. Love the dark background.
The flowers really pop. Putting the
sentiment on the vellum tones down some
of the color and is a great idea. thanks
for sharing. txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com
Wow! What an amazing card! Absolutely adore it!
Beautiful card! Love the color choices!
What a gorgeous water-colored card! It is gorgeous!! You would never know that you were a beginner!
Love the grays and pinks! awesome
Pretty beautiful. Love the colours you chose to play with. ❤️💕❤️
Really pretty thank you card. And thank you for making the Comments section so easy to find. Some sites I have to scroll all over to find and some I couldn’t find it at all.
That background makes your flowers POP!
WAY TO GO!!
Beautiful card!!! Love your coloring!
Love love your card. The water color background, the die cut word, the embossing and the vellum and the sequins. All the layers added up make is so beautiful!
Gorgeous card!!! I love your watercoloring!!!
Absolutely Gorgeous card! I love your watercoloring!!
Beautiful and so original!
Wow! Your water coloring is amazing! Sure hope that one day I can do that! TFS!
You are such a talented artist! Thank you to all for inspiring me to create.
Wow what a stunner!!! Love love love! X
Love the vellum to pop the sentiment and the colors are very pretty.
Your card is beautiful! I love the colors!
Love the color combo on your card. Very pretty