Valentines Card with Stencils and a Cute Stamp

Hello and welcome! 

It's Saturday again and it's time for my weekly Allsorts challenge card share. This week Brenda is hosting and our theme is Anything goes with an option to use a stencil. Stencils have become one of my favorite tools over the last couple of years, they are so quick and easy to use to make your own backgrounds and I really enjoyed this challenge. We have two wonderful prizes this week, a cute Woodware stamp set and a stencil by Aall and Create. Hope you will join us for your chance to win!

And here is what I made using 2 stencils and a cute mouse from Penny Black's set Loads of Love.

Using Penny Black's Hypnotic stencil I started inking with Speckled Egg Distress Oxide ink, then added a bit of Picked Raspberry ink. I used my new craft blending brushes for blending the ink. 

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On the bottom portion I used Altenew's stencil Classy Stripes and once again Speckled Egg ink. As mentioned, the cute image from the Penny Black set Loads of Love, stamped on a separate piece of Bristol Vellum paper and colored using Zig Clean Color markers, then fussy cut using my Cutterbee scissors. I didn't bother cutting around the tail and simply cut it off instead, then re-stamped the image on the card front. The fussy cut image was adhered over the other stamped image using foam tape. 

Before adhering the image, I used a circle mask and inked around the edges with Picked Raspberry ink. Then I added some ink splatter with a white Posca pen and diluted Wilted Violet ink. The sentiment is an oldie from a Stampin Up set, but I'm not sure which one as it's been separated from the rest of the set. 

Stickles glitter glue (Stardust) was applied to the heart and cupcake frosting. 

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 will link up here:

Penny Black Saturday - AG with PB Stamps // Colour Crazy Challenge - Coloring // Pattie's Creations - AG // C.R.A.F.T. - AG // DL ART Thankful Thursday Challenge - Valentine // Krafty Chicks - All Occasions // Moving along with the Times - For Girl or Lady // Mod Squad  - Valentines Day // Simon Says Stamp - AG // Ike's World - AG // Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Furry Friends // Crafty Catz - AG

Always Anything Goes:

Taylor Made Cards 4 U // 613 Avenue Create opt. twist watercolor // Creative Moments // 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 // Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 

Link Parties:

Dare to Share // Sunday Showcase - First Sunday with Ada and Mireille  //  Inspire Me Monday //  Link Up Potpourri //  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 // Spread the Kindness Linkup @ Shelbee on the Edge //  Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life // 

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, and Re-do of my Gelli Print Fail

Hello and welcome! 

It's Saturday again and that means it's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge! This week it's Lorraine's turn to host and she would like to see something "For a Child". We have some great prizes to give away - a digi prize by  Ruth Hamilton Design and some Wizard of Oz stamps. Hope you'll join in for your chance to win!

And here is what I made:

I decided to ink up this cute Mimi stamp from the Penny Black set Big Wish. Stamped with Versafine Onyx on Bristol Vellum paper and I first gave the image a light coloring with distress inks then got my Faber Castell Polychromos out to add more color and some shading. Cutterbee scissors were used for fussy cutting.

Before adding the image, I inked a stencil design to the background using Tumbled Glass Distress ink. The stencil is part of this Stampers Anonymous set. 

As you can see, I didn't fussy cut the balloon string, instead I stamped the image again on my card front. Then layered the Avery Elle heart frame die cut over and finally added the image and balloon with foam tape. 

The stamps and dies I used can all be found on Amazon (US):

The beautiful large sentiment is from the Penny Black set Happy Wishes. Thought it was a perfect match for this cute girl that looks like she is making a birthday wish. The small happy birthday sentiment is part of a sentiment from my new Colorado Craft stamp set Big Love.

After all was assembled, I decided I wanted to add some spatter to the card, so I covered my image to avoid any spatter on it and flicked some Dusty Concord ink onto the card. Something I would have preferred to think of before the card was finished, but sometimes I don't think of things until the end. 

As mentioned in the post title, I am also sharing the re-make of my "gelli print fail" card. But first I wanted to say a huge thank you for the wonderful tips I received on that post. I really appreciate all your input!

There's not too much of  a change, all I did was cut down the gelli print panel to a smaller size, then I  stamp the birds again on a separate piece of Bristol Vellum, colored with distress inks and then fussy cut. Finally I stamped the sentiment again on white card stock and used a circle die to cut it out. Then adhered to a white card base. No ink smudges on it this time around so it stayed white :)

Even though there isn't a lot of change here (after all I used the same exact card front) I do like this take on the card a lot more. It's just a little bit "cleaner" I suppose and I do tend to make more CAS- ish cards. 

I am entering my Gelli Print card to 

Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers - G is for Gel Printing (although I am not so sure it qualifies as being snarky). // Sweet Stampin - Anniversaries

For comparison, below is what my first take looked like and I've talked about it more in this recent post.

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you're having a good weekend! 

      Storage Sale Going Now At Scrapbook.com

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!

Challenges I'd like to share with:

Gelli Print card:

Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers - G is for Gel Printing // Sweet Stampin - Anniversaries

Birthday Girl Card:

Penny Black Saturday - AG with PB Stamps //  River of Creativity - AG // 

and these Link Parties:

Dare to Share // Sunday Showcase - First Sunday with Ada and Mireille  //  Inspire Me Monday //  Link Up Potpourri //  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 // Spread the Kindness Linkup @ Shelbee on the Edge //  Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life // 

Squirrel Hugs, Pinecones and Winter

Hello and welcome!

It's time for some midmonth inspiration at Stamping Sensations challenge, still plenty of time left to join us if you haven't already and we always welcome up to 3 entries so hope you'll share your creativity with us! Our theme for January is "Stamping with option of Use a Die". As a reminder our winner will receive a prize package from  Oakwood Archer. 

And here is what I made:

For my card I've taken inspiration from a challenge blog I recently discovered, the Four Season's challenge where there is always a pretty mood board given as an optional inspiration and my card was inspired by one of the pictures. I'm sure you can guess which one :-)

Aren't these all wonderful! I actually thought about using the bottom right and then bottom left first, but then decided that my cute squirrel stamp needed an outing :-)

 

I started out by stamping Penny Black's Brush Pines using Distress Oxide inks Gathered Twigs and Iced Spruce. My stamp platform (options) always comes in handy with these brushstroke stamps.

Next I stamped the squirrels from Penny Black set Share a Hug. Using Walnut Stain ink for stamping and colored using Vintage Photo ink, then fussy cut. 

I wasn't really "thinking" when I added some vintage photo ink spatters, but then decided the card could use some snowflakes so I added more ink spatters using my new Posca pen.  But I do like how the mix of white and brown spatter turned out. 

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For the sentiment I used a "love" die, an oldie which I think is from Whimsy Stamps  and the snowflake die cuts were done with Penny Black's Dancing Snowflakes die set, which I just purchased at the end of last year. 

Before adhering the card front to the base, I inked the edges with Iced Spruce Oxide ink using my new blending brushes for a soft look.

 

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!

My card also fits these challenges so linking up:

613 Avenue Create - AG // Crafty Calendar - AG // Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Use PB Stamps // Craft Rocket Challenges - Dies // A Place To Start - AG // Crafting Happiness Challenges - AG // Get Creative Challenges - AG // Make My Monday - Snowflakes // Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenges - AG // Path of Positivity - AG // Stamps & Fun = Creativity - AG // 

And these are Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:

Taylor Made Cards 4 U // 613 Avenue Create opt. twist watercolor // Creative Moments // 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 // Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 

Dare to Share // Sunday Showcase - First Sunday with Ada and Mireille  //  Inspire Me Monday //  Link Up Potpourri //  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 // Spread the Kindness Linkup @ Shelbee on the Edge //  Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life // 

Lovebirds with a Heart and a Gelli Print Fail

Happy Saturday! It's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Mervi's turn to host! Her chosen theme this week is "Add a Heart". We have a wonderful prize from Pearlywinks who kindly donated a £15 store voucher and there is a second prize of a pretty Bee Crafty stamp.

Love the theme but struggled with my card as I wanted to give my Gelli Plate another chance so I am sharing two cards, the second one being the "Gelli Print Fail". 

Both cards using similar products.

I started out by inking Bristol Vellum card front using Dusty Concord and Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide inks then I stamped the Penny Black image - So Tweet, which is one of my newly acquired PB stamps when it was on sale  - using Versafine Onyx ink. I also stamped this again on a post it note then fussy cut to use as a mask. 

Next I used two stencils, Penny Black Hypnotic and Tim Holtz's Checkerboard from this set. The birds were then colored with some Distress inks, but I decided to use some colored pencils too which I kind of regret now as I liked it more before I added the pencil coloring. 

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The music note stamp is an oldie from a Whiff of Joy stamp kit (no longer available) and the sentiment is another oldie from Whimsy Stamps (no longer available). 

The larger heart was done with a die from the Avery Elle Hearts Frame die set and I thought it needed something else on the top left so I added Penny Black's String of Hearts die cut. 

Below is my Gelli Print fail. I've had my gelli plate for many years now, in fact I went to search my blog for gelli plate and it looks like I've had the plate since 2014. Sad to say it's been sitting mostly unused on my shelf :-( But I did find this card on my blog that I actually liked made with a gelli print background. On that card I had used acrylic paints and I remember it was a pretty messy project.

I think you can see for yourself what is wrong with the card/ background. I just CANNOT get a nice smooth brayer inking. I've always struggled using a brayer, even before using the gelli plate.

In any event, I brayered Dusty Concord and Tumbled Glass ink first, then decided to add some Blueprint sketch ink too. 

I used the same stencils as I did on the card above, this time directly on the gelli plate instead of inking. Wasn't too thrilled with the outcome but thought I'd continue on. I used the same bird stamp So Tweet and colored with Distress inks and Zig markers. And I used the retired French Script background stamp and same music note stamp I used above. A different sentiment here, this one is from the PB set So Very Much, and the hearts are from the same Avery Elle set I used on the first card.  

I actually was going to stamp and color just the birds again, fussy cut and then add to the card, but as my luck was on this day, I got an ink smudge from the purple stamped music note onto the (what should have been) white card base, then decided to ink the card base using the same purple ink to hide the smudge. At this point I decided I wasn't a fan of the now purple base and there was just too much I didn't like and so I had started the card at the very top. LOL. Do you have any crafting days like this?

If you have any gelli plate tips to share, please do so in the comments or leave me the names/channels of your favorite gelli plate artists below. I'm not yet ready to give on this tool!  

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:

Penny Black Saturday - PB Stamps and opt. Something New  // A Gem of a Challenge - AG // Crafty Calendar - AG // Cut It Up - AG // Aud Sentiments Challenge - AG // Craft Rocket Challenges - Dies // Cardz 4 Galz - New Stash (birds stamp is new to me) // C.R.A.F.T. - New (new to me PB Stamp) // Moving along with the Times - Feminine // TIME OUT Challenges  - In Love // Simon Says Stamp - Stencils // Ike's World - AG with Sentiment // Everybody-Art-Challenge - AG // A Place To Start - AG // Crafting Happiness Challenges // Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenges - AG // 

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties

Taylor Made Cards 4 U // 613 Avenue Create opt. twist watercolor // Creative Moments // 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 // Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 

Dare to Share // Sunday Showcase - First Sunday with Ada and Mireille  //  Inspire Me Monday //  Link Up Potpourri //  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 // Spread the Kindness Linkup @ Shelbee on the Edge //  Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life // 

I Found The One.....

Hello and welcome!

Hope you are staying warm wherever you are! We've had a frigid week here which included high winds too and prompted some school cancelations, but it's typical for our area here in the Midwest to get this type of weather during January and February, and that always makes me look forward to spring even more!! Still at least 2 months to go though....but we all know how time flies!

Speaking of time, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and as promised the winner of my Year in Review post is also revealed today towards the of the post. At Allsorts Pauline is hosting this week and she picked the theme of "Use Something New" but with an "Anything Goes" option too, so feel free to link up all your new crafty makes for a chance to win. This week our prize comes from Helping Hands Craft who kindly donated a £15 store voucher.

Before I get to the card, I do want to mention that we are having a Design Team call at Allsorts. So if you like to join our wonderful little team, do read the details on the challenge blog's side bar!

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!

And here is what I made:

More new goodies I've recently purchased, these are all by Penny Black and I couldn't resist. The image is from the set Love and Happiness, the sentiment from the set Dream Love Sentiments and finally the die named Berries. 

Both the image set and sentiment set are marked down and part of the Clearance Sale at Scrapbook.com and still available as I type this.

You can check out more of their sale here or click on the logo below. 

I colored with Zig Clean Color markers and a Zig Detailer watercolor brush, then fussy cut with my Cutterbee scissors. 

The dotted papers are from my stash, very old from Stampin Up. I used two of the die cuts here, I cut them apart  before adding to the card to make them more versatile.

The sentiment from the set Dream Love Sentiments has been stamped using Versafine Onyx ink. I used my old Stampin Up paper piercing tool for some more interest. 

Penny Black Love and Happiness //  Penny Black Dream Love Sentiments // Penny Black Berries die // Zig Clean Color markers // Zig Detailer brush // Cutterbee scissors

Time to announce the winner of the Gift Code for 2 digital stamps from  Rachelle Anne Miller (*not sponsored by RAM). 

Although the post received plenty of views, there weren't too many comments, but thank you all for visiting the Year in Review post and a huge thank you to those of you joining me as co-hosts! It's always so nice to see what others' favorite creations were and I truly enjoyed visiting your blogs!  I do plan on having a similar hop again next year, so be on the look out next November for a sign up if you'd like to take part as a co-host :-)

The winner is.................

No. 4 - Marjeta

Congratulations! Please leave a comment on this post and email me (ellibellescorner at gmail dot com) by Friday January 14th to claim your prize!

Thank you so much for visiting and hope to see you joining in at Allsorts challenge too!

I will also link up here:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Something New // River of Creativity - AG //  Colour Crazy Challenge - Coloring // Crafty Catz - CAS // C.R.A.F.T. - New // Craft Rocket Challenges - use dies // Creative Knockouts - Celebrations (I chose Valentines) // Krafty Chicks - Stamp Act // TIME OUT Challenges - New // Simon Says Stamp - Something New // Paper Minutes - Cheers // Passion For Markers Challenge - January Blues // A Place To Start - AG // Crafting Happiness Challenges - AG // Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Something New

 Always AG and Link Parties:

Taylor Made Cards 4 U // 613 Avenue Create opt. twist watercolor // Creative Moments // 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 // Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 

Dare to Share // Sunday Showcase - First Sunday with Ada and Mireille  //  Inspire Me Monday //  Link Up Potpourri //  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 // Spread the Kindness Linkup @ Shelbee on the Edge //  Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life // 

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - January Challenge

Hello and welcome to the January Crafty Wednesday challenge taking place right here on my blog! I'm so glad you stopped by today and hoping you will join in this month too! There were some fabulous entries in December, so be sure to scroll down to see if you were one of my top picks! 

This Month's Theme

Something New

As always, the theme is optional for your inspiration, but do feel free to share any of your crafty makes (any type of craft is welcome) and all entries will be considered as a Top Pick. You will find the linky tool at the end of the post. 

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!

And here is what I made:

For my "Something New" I went with a new (to me) product, this cute Conga Line stamp set from Colorado Craft Company. I got mine from Amazon but it's also available at Scrapbook.com and of course directly from Colorado Craft Company as well as other retailers. 

I've only just discovered this stamp set from a recent Allsorts challenge entrant and fell in love with these cute hamsters (or maybe they are guinea pigs?) Stamped using Versafine Onyx ink and simple watercoloring was done using my Zig Clean Color markers and a Zig Detailer watercolor brush. 

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Party hats and crown were paper pieced using patterned paper scraps and I used the same papers for the banners. 

The sentiment is part of the same set and I decided to use a star stencil on the background. I've had this stencil for several years and don't remember what brand it is, but this stencil is a good alternative, otherwise stamped or die cut stars would also work well. Some green jute twine from May Arts finishes off the card. 

Stamp Set Used: 

Colorado Craft Conga Line

I'm linking up here:

A Place To Start - AG // Colouring in Scrapland - Coloring // Crafting Happiness Challenges - AG // Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Something New // 613 Avenue Create - AG // Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters // Clever Dexter Challenge - Something New // Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Patterned Papers // Creatalicious Challenges - Something New // The Crafting Challenge - AG // Sweet Stampin - Something New // 
 Always AG 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 // Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 

Dare to Share // Sunday Showcase (First Sunday) with Ada and Mireille // Inspire Me Monday //  Link Up Potpourri //  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  Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life

Last Month's 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 Baby, It's Cold Outside or Anything Goes. They are listed in order of entry.

No. 27 Auntie Sue

No. 34 Pauline

No. 47 Jill

Congratulations!! Well deserved recognition. Your Top Pick logo is below, feel free to post it to your own blogs if you like to :)

Can't wait to see what you will share this month!

A few things to remember:

• You may follow the theme or anything crafty goes.

• 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.
• Backlinking IS allowed.