A Cute Card with a Puppy and a Rose

Hello and welcome!

I took a little blogging break while Allsorts challenge was having a two week theme (hubby was on vacation and we worked on some home repairs during this time) but I'm back today with a new card for our new theme at Allsorts challenge. It's another 2-week theme so plenty of time to join us for your chance to win one of the two prizes on offer this time. We have a beautiful flower stamp to give away and we also welcome a new sponsor, Ruth Hamilton Design where you can win a digi prize.

Our theme is "Roses" with an "Anything Goes" option, so do feel free to link up all your crafty makes for a chance to win!

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

The inky background with blue and green distress inks was done some time ago and  I found it in my box of "extras". Thought it would make a good background for the cute puppy from  the set Critter Party. It's been stamped using Memento ink and colored with Copic markers then fussy cut using my Cutterbee scissors.

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I wanted a little more interest on the background, so I got out my Penny Black Butterfly Suite stamp and stamped it onto the previously inked background using Stampin Up's retired Bashful Blue ink. 

Before adhering the dog, I added a strip of striped patterned paper to the card, then inked the edges. 

The sentiment is from Penny Black's set Sprinkles and Smiles (also on Amazon), stamped with Versafine Onyx ink onto the white card front. 

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While this is another 2 week challenge, I do have some more card posts scheduled for this coming week... and I am really hoping to finish my post of some Chicago pictures I took a few weeks ago. I've worked on it for a bit but with my husband on vacation, as well as some workers here at the house I just haven't gotten around to picking my favorite pictures out yet. Then on top of that I got sick a few days ago with a cold and spent any free time reading so definitely neglected blogging. I really need to get my act together though!!

I'm linking up here:

Penny Black Saturday - use PB stamps

Always Anything Goes & Link Parties

Taylor Made Cards 4 U // Crafter's Castle // 613 Avenue Create opt. twist watercolor // Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life

Feminine Card with a PSX Peacock Stamp and Distress Inks plus Stencils

Happy Sunday! It's the 18th of the month today (already!!) and that means the Stamping Sensations team is sharing some more inspiration with you for our "For a Lady" theme. There is still plenty of time to join us if you haven't already and as always you may join in up to 3 times for more chances to win! As a reminder there will be two prizes, one is a voucher from Crafty Individuals and the other will be 3 craft stencils. 

I played with the Splash Watercolor technique for the background then did some inking using the stencil from this Tim Holtz stamps and stencil set.

The peacock is an old PSX stamp, I'm pretty sure this was a thrift store find for just 50 cents a couple of years ago but this is my first time using it. He's been stamped directly onto the inked background and then colored with my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. These pencils not only color beautifully on white card stock, but over differently colored papers too, in this case inked papers.

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The sentiment is another thrifted stamp, one I found recently and also by PSX. This is a longer verse but I only used part of it. 

More stenciling along the bottom using this Altenew stencil and Blueprint Sketch ink. I'm sorry I don't exactly remember what other inks I used on the card, I was short on time and was rushing a bit. I know one of the inks is Picked Raspberry though. I remember trying to figure out a purple shade and now I don't remember which one I had chosen. 

For the sentiment and image I used my usual Versafine Onyx ink. 

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Thanks so much for visiting!!

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

Linking up here:

Beyond The Blue  - Stencil time // Colour Crazy Challenge - Coloring // Country View Crafts' Challenge - Stencils // Daisy Chain Challenges - Stencils or Dies // Cute Card Thursday - ATG //  We Love 2 Create - Creative Mixed Media // A Gem of a Challenge - ATG // Catch The Bug - ATG // Crafty Calendar - ATG // Sweet Stampin - Create Your Own Background

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:

Taylor Made Cards 4 U // Crafter's Castle // 613 Avenue Create opt. twist watercolor // Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life

Encouragement Card with a Butterfly on an Inky Background

Hello and welcome! 

It's vacation time for my hubby and since we aren't going anywhere we are doing some home updates. We did go to Chicago for an overnight stay last week and I wanted to share some pictures but I didn't get a chance to look through them all, hopefully once things slow down. 

We finally got our kitchen painted!! Many years ago I wanted a sort of lighter terracotta tone, but it turned out to be very orange-y (I have no idea if they had mixed it wrong or if it just showed up differently than it did on the sample card but we stuck with it for several years!) Now it's a pretty white-ish shade (Bohemian Lace by Sherwin Williams).  It needed several coats of primer but I am sooooo glad I don't have to see the orange paint any longer!! Now I just need to plan another day to re-paint the kitchen cabinets. Wish I could just replace them (because they are really old) but that's not possible. They are an antique white right now and I want them in a very light gray.  But before I do more painting, we'll have the bathroom re-tiling scheduled for next week (we had to hire someone for that job), something else that's way overdue!! And then some plumbing work done too. Fun times :) 

But I did take a break from most work yesterday because it was my birthday :-) Originally I wanted to be gone somewhere on a vacation during my birthday, but my son wanted to get a summer job before he starts college, and hubby and my daughter didn't really feel like going anyway. 

Well, I'm not here to talk about work, instead I'd like to show you my card for this week's Allsorts challenge. Brenda is hosting this week and she would like to see something Feminine. We have Pearlywinks  giving away a £15 voucher to their shop and then we have a second prize of 3 craft stencils. Hope you'll join us for your chance to win!

This card was made with some ink remnants when I made another card (I will share that one tomorrow). 

After the inky background was dry, I simply stamped the butterfly from this Tim Holtz set onto it using Blueprint Sketch Distress ink. The borders on both sides is from an older Stampin UP set called Butterfly Basics. (It's a truly beautiful set and anything but basic!) Sentiment and lacy butterfly on the bottom portion of the inked background are also part of this set. 

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I decided the card could use some embossing and this was done with an old Cuttlebug embossing folders, in fact it was already embossed in my box of folders, so I just had to adhere the image/sentiment panel onto it. This particular one is really old, probably one from when embossing folders were first introduced, but there are plenty of option available at Scrapbook.com and of course Amazon. They really are such a great tool especially for CAS style cards, I wish I'd use them more often, but somehow I always forget about them!

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A few sticky back pearls finish off the card. 

Thanks so much for visiting!!

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

I'm linking up here:

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes Option // Krafty Chicks - CAS // Paper Shelter - Girly // Simon Says Stamp - Embossing  // Sisterhood of Crafters - Embossing // The Three Muses - Butterfly // Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes // 

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:

Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life

Beach Themed Masculine Card with Summer by the Sea from Stampin Up

Hello and welcome! 

It's Saturday already and I'm am back today with a new card to share for the new theme at Allsorts challenge! Lorraine (Lolo) is hosting this week and she picked the theme of "Masculine". Our prize comes from Helping Hands Craft and hope you can join us for your chance to win!

I shared a Christmas card on Wednesday but my brain is definitely in Summer mode and I made a beach themed card today using an oldie from Stampin Up as my focal point and I build up the scene using stamps from more recent years by Hero Arts.

 

I started by stamping the boy on Bristol Vellum paper, then stamped again on a post it note, fussy cut this to use a a mask. As mentioned this set is long retired from Stampin Up, but it's usually found on eBay or Etsy, it's called Summer by the Sea.

Next I build the ocean scene (with the post it mask in place) using Color Layering Waves from Hero Arts. 

Next I stamped the boat silhouette from the Hero Arts set Color Layering Sea and Sky also from Hero Arts using Versafine Onyx ink, placed a small die cut circle over the boat and inked up the sky portion using Tumbled Glass Distress ink. 

The silhouette birds are also part of Hero Arts Color Layering Sea and Sky, and the "sandy feet" sentiment is part of the Color Layering Waves set. 

I stamped the boy once again, this time on some tropical themed patterned paper to paper piece his shirt. 

I also used a stamp from Stampin Up's set Itty Bitty Backgrounds (this is another oldie) on the sand for a sandy texture. 

Hero Arts Color Layering Waves

Color Layering Sea and Sky

A closer view below...

I colored the rest of the boy using Zig Clean Color markers with my Zig Detailer brush and a couple of Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for the hair. 

Thanks so much for visiting!!

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

You may also like:

• Summer Scene
• Summer by the Sea
• Season's - What's Your Favorite?

I'm linking up here:

Inspiration Station No.9 - Sun, Sea, Sand // A Gem of a Challenge  - AG // Catch The Bug - AG // Challenge Up Your Life - Beach Time // Crafter's Castle - AG // Crafty Calendar - AG // Craft Rocket Challenges - Summer // Cute Card Thursday - AG // Crafty Gals Corner  - For the Boys // Creative Moments - AG // Fab n Funky - AG // The Paper Funday - Summer Fun // Beyond The Blue - AG // Crafty Catz - AG // 

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:

Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - July Challenge: Christmas in July

Hello and welcome to Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday  - July challenge, right here on my blog! I'm so glad you stopped by to check out the new theme and hope you'll decide to join in too! There were some wonderful entries last month, so be sure to scroll down to see if your entry made my Top Picks!

For the month of July I selected the theme of...........

Christmas in July.

Remember, the given theme is for your inspiration only and you may link up any of your crafty makes. All entries will be considered for the top picks, whether you followed the optional theme or not.

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

I kept my card in a CAS style. The image (which includes the frame) is an oldie from PSX. I've only had it for a few years but it was probably released in the 90's, and can only be found on eBay or Etsy.

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It's been stamped using Chipped Sapphire ink then colored with my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. but this image didn't really require too much coloring.

I trimmed along the frame and then adhered it to a white card base using foam tape. No extra sentiment was needed here as "Let is snow" is already included. 

I added three die cut snowflakes and then some sticky rhinestones to finish off this card.

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PS: If you're looking to add some Christmas products to your stash to get a head start on your Christmas crafting, do check out Scrapbook.com's Christmas in July section. 

Christmas in July  at Scrapbook.com!

I'm linking up here:

Themes: Winter Wonderland  - Christmas Song (Frosty the Snowman and Let is Snow) // A Place To Start - Favorite Holiday (Christmas) // Christmas with the Cuties - Cute Christmas // Colouring in Scrapland - Coloring // Incy Wincy Designs - Christmas in July // Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenges - Anything Goes // Dare 2B Artzy Challenges - Christmas in July // Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas in July // International Art & Soul - Red White and Blue // Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes // A Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes // Catch The Bug - Anything Goes // Crafter's Castle - Anything Goes // Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Christmas // Taylor Made Cards 4 U - Anything Goes // Colour Crazy Challenge - Anything Goes // Crafty Catz - Anything Goes // My Time To Craft Christmas - CAS Christmas // Digi Doodle Studios Challenge Blog - Christmas in July // Happy Little Stampers Christmas - Anything Christmas // Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - Anything Christmas // The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up - Christmas // 

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties: Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life

Last Month Top Picks

I will continue to add my favorites to the dedicated Pinterest board, but going forward I will once again showcase the top pick's creations with links to their individual blogs, which will be removed at the start of each new month's challenge to remain in compliance with GDPR.

Selecting just three is never easy but something that needs to be done and here they are from last month's theme of Clean and Simple or Anything Goes. They are listed in the order of entry.

No. 19 Melanie H.

No. 23 Made by Mandy

No. 29 Maria

Congratulations! Well deserved recognition! Your top pick logo is below. Feel free to post it to your own blogs if you like to!

To play along this month simply use the linky tool below.

A few things to remember:

• You may follow the theme or anything crafty goes.

• Backlinking is allowed.

• You may combine with any other challenges.
• You may use any brand of stamps/digis/products (no company restriction).
• No more than 3 entries per person please - no worries if you end up with more.
• Please do include a link back here to my blog in your blog post.

Something For a Lady and Design Team News

Hello and Welcome! I have some exciting news to share today! I was invited to join the Stamping Sensations design team, and while I hadn't really thought of joining a new design team, I couldn't resist Brenda's invitation and am looking forward to being part of their wonderful team! 

This month our theme is "For a Lady" and you have until the end of the month to join in for a chance to win. The prize this month comes from Crafty Individuals who are giving away a gift certificate to their shop. 

I decided to make an easel card using Pinks and Grays along with the cute and very feminine stamp set Patisserie by Penny Black. 

Penny Black Patisserie

All images have been stamped using Versafine Onyx ink and colored using my Zig Clean Color markers on Bristol Vellum paper. I left her hair uncolored on purpose to keep it pink and gray only.

I added some coordinating papers from my stash. 

Another view below...

If you need info on how exactly an easel card is made, I personally love this tutorial from Splitcoast Stampers.

Thanks so much for visiting!

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

You may also like:

• Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - May Challenge
• Black and White Only
• Feminine in Pink and Mint

Ad: Christmas in July  at Scrapbook.com!

I'm linking up here:

Penny Black Saturday - Use PB stamps // Creative Creases - Fun Fold //  Crafter's Castle - Anything Goes // Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes // Colour Crazy Challenge - coloring // C.R.A.F.T. - Anything Goes // Krafty Chicks - Stamp Act // Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes // Colour Crazy Challenge - Coloring // Crafty Catz - Anything Goes //

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:

Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life