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Jul 30, 2022

Brushos, Butterflies and Hiking to Black Elk Peak

Hello and welcome! It's time for my weekly Allsorts card share and as menioned last week I am sharing more photos from my recent vacation in the second part of the post. Simply scroll down if you're not interest in the papercraft but would like to see my hiking photos.

This week's Allsorts challenge is hosted by Mervi and she would like to see "Butterflies or Bugs". There are 2 prizes from Craft Stash to win this week so hope you can join us for your chance to win!

I am finally seeing more butterflies around my garden as my seed Zinnias are finally in bloom and Butterflies do love those! 

Here is my card:


Hard to believe I used more dies than stamping today, but I was inspired by my newer  Penny Black die set  Soaring as I totally love these butterflies. 

I started out by creating an inky background with my new Brusho Powders. It's just my second card using them but so far I really like them. It appears that I used more than one color but I only used orange. Each powder includes different colored pigments so you can see some yellows and even pinks mixed in here. This time I sprinked them on dry card stock then spritzed with water. On my last card I first spritzed with water and then sprinkled the powder.

Related Products:


The butterflies were inked with Peacock Feathers ink and I used my Whimsy Stamps script background  stamp (retired) to add the words. I wanted to add some of the smaller butterflies too (the die set includes 4 different sized butterflies) but the card started to look too "busy" so I left those off. 


The die cut on the bottom portion is part of Penny Black's Diamond Borders die set. I added some tiny rhinestones between each diamond. 

The sentiment is part of Penny Black's set Snippet stamped using Versafine Onyx ink. 

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 sharing my card  here:
Penny Black Saturday - PB products // Creative Fingers - AG // Aud Sentiments Challenge - Add a Sentiment // Fab n Funky -AG //Paper Shelter - AG // Simon Says Stamp - AG // The Paper Funday - AG 


Hiking to Black Elk Peak Trail

As mentioned last week, here are more photos from our trip to the Black Hills. If you missed my photos from last week and would like to see them, simply visit this post

My blogging friend Amy inspired me to hike up to Black Elk Peak which is the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the Pyrenees. It definitely was the longest and most exhausting hike I have ever done and it took us around 6 hours to complete this loop trail.

The trail was pretty wide and well marked, and not too close to any drop offs (as long as you stayed on the trail) so the hardest part was the steep inclines at times and much of the trail was exposed to the sun on the way up, and some times it did seem like the trail went on forever. So we did frequently run out of breath a bit and somewhere about a mile or so still to the peak I was questioning my decision to do this hike LOL. That last mile up to the peak was also the hardest. But we all managed with plenty of breaks, plenty of water and snacks. 

By the way, this trail is located in Custer State Park and there is a small entry fee to the park per car. It is not a National Park so you cannot use the "America the Beautiful" park pass here. The park entry fee is good for one week so you will have plenty of time to enjoy all the beauty of this park.


I've done lots of research before going as there is more than one way to hike up to this peak. We decided to take trail no. 4 up and trail no. 9 down. You can do it vice versa or you can simply use trail no. 9 both ways which is easier but you won't get a chance to hike the short 1 mile spur trail to see the Cathedral Spires close up. And I really wanted to do that too! Most reviewers said the views on trail 4 are better and I have to agree.

Trail 4 is steeper than 9 and while going uphill seems harder than going downhill, it is actually easier on your joints this way. Yes you run out of breath easier climbing up hill but you're less prone to injuring your knees. There is also more sun exposure on trail no. 4 than trail no. 9 so it made more sense to use this trail in the morning when the sun wasn't at its hottest. 



Seeing wild flowers is always so nice when hiking. There were also lots of wild raspberry bushes but sadly they weren't even close to being ripe! I would have loved to eat a few!




If you look closely in between the trees below, you can see Black Elk Peak where we were heading. There is what used to be a Fire outlook at the top. It's a long way to go still!

We're getting closer to the Cathedral Spires. This was a spur trail off the main trail which added an extra mile to the round trip, but I really wanted to get a closer look.


My husband and son both got pretty sunburned on the back of their legs hiking in the Badlands the day before so they decided to wear long pants. Blue jeans are not really a good choice for hiking but my husband managed. Hiking shoes or trail running shoes of course are a must!


More beautiful views as we continued on.







I'm wearing the same style of hiking shorts that I've worn in the Badlands (by Athleta - the Dipper style) this time in dark olive color. As mentioned last week this style is only available on resale sites like poshmark or eBay. Their new style is the Trekkie made of the same perfect hiking material. 


A group of hikers  took these horses down as they were passing us on the way back down on trail no. 9. 

A beautiful view from one of the fire tower windows.

And here we are with these spectacular views. 

I'm afraid of heights so I didn't really venture out onto these rocks below. It even made me nervous to see some people getting way too close to the edge. If you look closely towards the middle of the photo below you can see someone standing there. When I see that I get so nervous and almost dizzy.



What goes up must come down!

Can you spy the chipmunk? 

Here he is - I cropped the photo! We found a few of these cuties on the way down but forgot the peanuts at the hotel so couldn't feed them. (Which is not really allowed here anyways!)

Some areas were full of broken/ damaged trees from the forest fire here a few years ago. 


And when you finally get to the end of the trail you will see the pretty view of Sylvan Lake. You may recognize this beautiful lake from the Nicholas Cage movie National Treasure - Book of Secrets. 

It took us about 6 hours from the start of the trail until we got back down. It is totally doable as long as you don't have any mobility issues but definitely bring plenty of water (better too much than not enough!!) and snacks, and just take breaks whenever needed. You will also want to start this hike as soon as possible in the morning. We were so sore after this hike but it was so worth  it!


Next week I will share more photos including our more leisurely hike around this beautiful lake. 

Thanks so much for visiting!

I am linking the travel portion of this post up here:

Dare to Share //  Sunday Showcase - First Sunday with Ada and Mireille  //  Inspire Me Monday //  Link Up Potpourri //  Random-osity Good, Random, Fun //  Travel Tuesday. // 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 //  Wonderful Wednesday // My Corner Of The World //Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life //  Funtastic Friday //   Link Up On The Edge // Friday Favorites

25 comments:

Linby said...

A great combination of elements and techniques for a striking card. Love the photos and the chipmunk especially.

Anonymous said...

Lovely card with butterflies in circle, great colours.
Oh what a hike, great views;-))m

brenda said...

A real bumper post Ellie, looks like a fabulous trip. Zinnias take me right back to childhood as my Dada always grew them, nice the Butterflies are about and inspired your card.

B x

Rainey's Craft Room said...

The die cut elements create a beautiful design Ellie and I love that the butterflies have text on them. Text and script in a design is something that always appeals to me.
Fabulous pictures, it looks such a lovely location, I can't wait to see the next ones.
Lorraine

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Beautiful card and how cute little butterflies!!!
Your photos are really amazing, such stunning places!! Loved seeing them, you has been so lucky visiting those locations!!

HilaryJane said...

I am loving your use of brushos, haven't used mine for ages so I must change that. Thanks for sharing pictures of your hike. Looks like 6 hours was a pretty good time, well done xx

Anonymous said...

Beautiful card and dies-love the Brusho background.Fabulous hiking pictures amazing scenery
Carol x

Thank you for joining us at TTCRD
Carol DT x

Amy Johnson said...

Such a beautiful butterfly card. And I'm so glad I inspired you to do the Black Elk Peak hike! Isn't it amazing? I didn't know know there were two different trails. We started at Sylvan Lake and went back the same way..and we did the Cathedral Spires detour too. After we finished, I realized we could have shaved some time off the hike by parking closer...oh well, lesson learned.

kiwimeskreations said...

A beautiful card Ellie - that is gorgeous. Playing with brushos is such fun as you never know what you are going to get!
Thanks for your tramp photos - your Cathedral Rocks remind me of Castle Hill here in the South Is of New Zealand. i grew up in an area where there are many huge limestone escarpments and I always find them both fascinating and dramatic.
Blessings
Maxine

Anonymous said...


Beautiful card Ellie … more fab brusho work and love the script stamped die cut butterflies. Also May I ask what is the circle die you used? I was thinking only yesterday I would like one that kind of style, but didn’t know what to search for online.

Stunning photos of your hiking trip … looks like that walk was a lot of effort but really worth it. I generally find I start getting v tired from walking after about 2 hours !!

Pauline xx (don’t know why blogger still thinks I’m anonymous !!)

Sarn said...

Love your pretty butterfly card with lots of die cutting going on as well as the brusho powders.
Thanks for sharing more pictures of your hiking holiday xxx

Anonymous said...

Such a cute card, I love the butterflies, thank you for sharing at TTCRD. Jane.

On a personal note I loved seeing and reading about your hike. As a hiking/geocaching family it is always good to see what beauty is available around the world.

Alka said...

This is such a beautiful card. Thank you for joining us, your participation is highly appreciated. This is DT Alka from The Creative Crafters Challenge.

Joanne said...

What beautiful views! We did a hike around the lake but I think that was the only hike of our trip (it was pre-surgery and I wasn't feeling well).

Creaine said...

Love this!! Thanks for joining us at The Creative Crafters Challenge. Hope to see you again next time.
DT Ine http://creaine-cards.blogspot.nl/
owner: http://mixedmedialovers.blogspot.com

csuhpat1 said...

What a beautiful place to hike. So lovely.

Dee said...

Oh that long hike was worth it, eh! Lovely views from the peak and those rocks are great sights, too. :)
Custer State Park is also known for its buffaloes, is it not?

Veronica Lee said...

Such an amazing place to hike!
Love the beautiful card and photos.

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Beautiful pics of the trail. We have visited Custer State Park a few years ago.

Helen said...

Beautiful card - love the combination of the blue with that fab orange!
Thanks for playing at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge!
Helen x

Elizabeth Hart said...

Love the look you created with the color and the pretty butterflies. Thanks so much for joining us this time at the Creative fingers Challenge

Chana Malkah said...

Very nicely composed! Thanks for sharing with us at 613 Avenue Create!
Hugz,
Chana Malkah, Owner

Elaine aka Ellapu said...

Wow your butterfly card is stunning great work, wow this is stunning work, Thank you for sharing your creation with us over at Love to craft and we would love to see you in our future challenges
Elaine DT

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Loose Stitches said...

Beautiful creation! Thank you for sharing with us over at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge. I enjoyed looking at your photos, beautiful scenery!
~ Sherry DT/Admin/Coordinator xx

Wendy Ann Batchen said...

Great card Ellie. Thank you for sharing with us over at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge.
Wendy DT