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Please click HERE to join in "Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday" challenge.


Please click HERE to join in "I Spy With My Little Eye" challenge.


Jan 27, 2024

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

It's Saturday again and that means a new theme starts today at Allsorts challenge. It's Lolo's turn to host and she wants to see "Anything but Square". Then of course there is still the Anything Goes option if anything but square isn't for you. The prizes for this week and next (challenges 765 and 766) come from from Stampendous so don't miss your chance to win! 

For my project I decided to make a tall card but it's smaller scale so I will give it to my husband to use as a bookmark. He loves to read fantasy novels  so "Pan" from Lavinia will be the perfect featured image. 



I started out by inking up a scene using some torn copy paper and a circle mask for the sun. I had also just received another Aall and Create order which included a stencil so I used that stencil for some rays. After the inking was complete I used the following stamps from Lavinia: 

Pan, Brodwyn and Maylin, Fern Leaf, , Quirky Mushrooms, Miniature Castle, Miniature Meadow  Mushroom, Minitiature Stars

I finished off with some sparkles around the sun and fairy wings using a Sakura Stardust gel pen and added the sticker sentiment from a Tim Holtz book of sticky quotes.

 

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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 plan to share with:

Jan 20, 2024

January Blues

Happy Saturday, it's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge. Sarah is our host and she selected the optional theme of "January Blues". Prizes come from  Polkadoodles and Oakwood, they are for challenges 763 and 764. Be sure to look for the winner's post on the last Friday of the month.

We're in the midst of another round of arctic temperatures around here so you'd think I had enough of winter already (and that is so true!!) but I still decided to make a snowman card although the thought of going "floral" had crossed my mind too. 

Here is what I came up with:

This cute snowman is part of the Penny Black set Holly Jolly. He's been stamped on a scrap piece of cardstock, colored with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils then fussy cut.

On the background I started out with the Bokeh technique and some snowbanks. After stamping the snowflakes (by Lavinia Stamps) and adding die cut snowflakes (Penny Black die set)  not much of the bokeh is visible any longer. The trees were done with Penny Black's die set Beneath the Birches. Winter sentiment is by Lavinia Stamps (Winter Magic) and "Frosty Fun" is from a retired set by Whimsy Stamps. I embellished with some Stickles glitter on the smaller die cut snowflakes and the snowman's hat, and a little rhinestone in the center of the large snowflake.


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Here is a closeup....

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 plan to share with these challenges:


Jan 17, 2024

I Spy With My Little Eye...............Hearts and/or Roses (Challenge No. 11)

Happy Wednesday and welcome to another "I spy with my little eye" challenge taking place right here on my blog. Pauline and I are back with a new theme and we hope you will join us too for a chance to be selected as a top pick which comes with an invitation to be our guest designer(s). You can scroll down to see who the top picks from our last challenge were.

It's my turn (Ellie) this time to select a theme and it is...........

I spy with my little eye............

Hearts and/or Roses.

They don't need to be the focal point but do need to be found somewhere on your projects. You can choose either hearts, or roses, or a combination of the two. We can't wait to see what you will create! 

Here is what we came up with:

My Card (Ellie)

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 used the beautiful stamp set Sent with Love from Aall and Create. My colors were inspired by the current Triple B mood board here. I used Icy Spruce Distress Oxide ink for the background. The rose was stamped on a snippet of cardstock, colored with Zig Clean Color markers and then fussy cut. The tiny row of hearts stamped over the word "Rose" is from the set Define Love also by Aall and Create. The "Happy Birthday" words are from a retired set by MFT (Label Sentiments) stamped on more snippets, cut out and adhered with foam tape. I used stickles glitter on the rose and around the word "rose" for some sparkle. 

I am entering my card (above) to these challenges:


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Pauline's Card

So loving this design and how cute is this little puppy presenting a rose??!! Please visit Pauline's blog to find out how she made this card.


We're so excited to have not one but two guest designers this time around - Helen of Helen's Crafty Haven and Rosi of Daeny's Creations. Thank you both for joining us!!

Helen

Such a beautiful creation using both - hearts and roses. Absolutely adorable! Please visit Helen's blog to find out how she made this card.

Rosi

An equally beautiful card by Rosi. You may only see the gorgeous roses at first but if you look closely you might spy a heart tucked in there too :) I did!!! Please visit Rosi's blog to find out how she made this card.

Top 2 from Challenge No. 10 - Something Old and/or Something New

Many thanks to all of you who played "I spy" with us last month. We had many fabulous entries and as always selecting our top picks wasn't easy but something that needed done so here they are in the order of entry. 

*To be in compliance with GDPR, Top Pick photos and links will be removed after the start of the new challenge. 

Remember, both Top Picks are invited to join us in the next challenge if you like to. That would be for challenge no. 12 starting February 21st ! Of course it's not a requirement but we would love to have you as guests!!

No. 23 Pia (Ellie's Pick)



No. 44 Jennifer H. (Pauline's Pick)


Congratulations to both of you!! Your top pick logo is below to display on your own blogs if you like to.

You are both invited to join us as guest designers (optional of course!) for challenge no. 12 starting on Wednesday February 21st. If you are interested in taking part, please message me (Ellie) at ellibellescorner at gmail dot com so I can give you all the details for our upcoming theme.


Now it's time to link up YOUR creations for the new theme! Anyone is invited to join us with your crafty makes following our theme - I Spy Hearts and/or Roses.

A few things to remember:
  • You may share up to 5 different projects.
  • You may combine with as many other challenges as you like to.
  • No fully digital projects please.
  • Please include a link back to this blog.
  • Challenge ends Sunday February 18th.
  • Backlinking to a recent project is allowed.

Jan 13, 2024

Winter Branches

Happy Saturday, it's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and this week it's my turn to host. For my optional theme I selected "Make Your Own Background". So many options here using inks and stencils, stamps, embossing folders... maybe there is a new technique you've been hoping to try... but there is always the "anything goes" option if my theme isn't for you. We'd love to see all your crafty makes up to 3 entries per person. 

Prizes come from Polkadoodles and Oakwood, they will be for challenges 763 and 764 and all weekly winners will be announced on the last Friday of the month. 

Here is what I came up with using one of my favorite and super easy technique - DIY Shiplap.

This card was totally inspired by the current Four Seasons challenge mood board where I am a DT member so won't be linking it up there :) But I did want to show you the mood board. 


To make the shiplap paper all I had to do is score at 3/4 inch intervals (nice deep scores) then using an ink pad I wiped it over the score lines. My favorite ink pads for this are Pumice Stone or Weathered Wood. 

I used a mix of dies on the card front. The vases are from an old Hero Arts stamp kit (I think this is sold out on their website), pine branch is from Penny Black's die set Beautified Baubles, plain branches are from the die set Blustery and snow flakes from the set Dancing Snowflakes, both also by Penny Black. The sentiment is a real oldie from Whimsy Stamps. I used some Crystal Glimmer sticky dots from Honeybee Stamps on the snowflake centers for some sparkle. Oh, and another quick DIY background made with a Lavinia stencil (feather leaf) for the bottom border of the card.


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One of the vase dies left a small indentation on the bottom of the vase which I hated and then I saw the little diamond shaped scrap pieces from the large snowflake die cut laying on my desk so I decided they'd make a nice design on the vase. Got this idea from my blogging friend and Allsorts team mate Lynn :) 

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!




Thanks so much for visiting today. Be sure to visit the challenge blog to see what fabulous ideas the rest of the team came up with for their DIY backgrounds. 

Hope you stay warm! We're expecting up to -25 degrees (Celsius) this weekend after lots of snow this past week. Winter really showed up over here!!!


I plan to link with these blogs:


Jan 6, 2024

Make Each New Day a Celebration of Life

Hello and welcome! It's the first challenge of 2024 at Allsorts and I am here to share my card. It's Lynn turn to host and she has a fun Mood Board for inspiration and as always you can go with the "Anything Goes" option if you can't find anything to inspire you on her mood board although there are so many options. I'm also announcing the winner of my prize giveaway from the Year in Review post at the end of this post, so be sure to scroll down if you left a comment on that post. 

The prizes come from AALL and Create and Craft Stash, for Allsorts challenges 760, 761 and 762 and all winners will be announced on the last Friday of the month.

Optional mood board below:


There were a mix of winter and early spring images on the mood board so I decided to make a late winter/early spring themed card with some snowdrops and a bird who got caught in a snow storm but he doesn't seem to mind as he knows spring is just around the corner :)  Speaking of snow, we're expected to get several inches on Tuesday but unfortunately it's not around the corner in real life :(

The image is by Penny Black (Pretty Perch) stamped with Versafine ink and colored with Distress inks. I added some grid paste (snowfall) from Tim Holtz on the bottom portion then I flicked some white paint from a Posca pen onto the background for some snow flurries.


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While I looked through my sentiments I thought this one was a great choice to go with the image. It's from the Penny Black set Big Love which has lots of wonderful inspirationals sentiments.

A closeup of the image below. I've had this for a while but this is only my second time using it. 

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 plan to share with these challenges:




Year in Review Winner of Whimsy Stamps $10 gift certificate:

Many thanks to all of you who visited the post and left a comment, and a big thank you also to the co-hosts who joined me this year!!

The winner was selected from the comments left on the post using Random.org.

Congratulations ScrappyHorses, you were the 19th commenter!

To claim your prize please message me by Friday January 12th at ellibellescorner at gmail dot com. (As mentioned, this prize is not sponsored by Whimsy Stamps, it is provided by me.)



Jan 3, 2024

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - January Challenge

Hello and welcome to Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - January challenge taking place right here on my blog! I'm so glad you stopped by today and I would love for you to link up your crafty makes too. There were lots of wonderful entries in December, thank you all so much for joining! My Top Picks with a twist are at the end of the post.

As a reminder, the Papercrafters Year in Review hop is going on now for a couple more days, if you would like to share your own favorites of 2023 you can still link up with us, or you can simply hop along. I'm having a small giveaway on my own blog but it does end on January 5th.


I'm sure most of you know by now, the theme is now always............

Anything Goes


and instead of a challenge theme there will be a top pick twist, meaning the top picks will each have something in common. But nobody knows what the twist will be (not even me) and will be inspired by YOUR creations. So do link up all your new or recently created crafty makes (any type of craft) for your chance to have your project featured the next month! The linky tool is at the end of the post.

Here is my share:


The background was done using Distress Oxide inks using the smooshing technique and then I used a torn paper mask to make some snowy hills. Pine tree is Lavinia's Fairy Fir Tree (small) and I also used part of Lavinia's quote Snow Falls on the bottom. The Pheasants are part of the Aall and Create set Pheasant. A white Posca pen was used for falling snow and I also used a small Penny Black snowflake stamped onto the background. Sorry I don't remember anymore which set Let is Snow is from. I finished off by adding a few die cut snowflakes (Penny Black Dancing Snowflake dies) and a Sakura Stardust pen was used for some frosty accents.

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!


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I plan to link up my card above with these challenges:



December Top Picks with a Twist

Many thanks to everyone who joined in last month. There were so many fabulous entries and as always it's not easy to select a theme but I do enjoy that part of the challenge and the Top Pick twist from the December entries is..........."Winter Wonders".

And here are my Top Picks with a Twist posted in the order of entry:


No. 29 Pauline

No. 57 Aimeslee

No. 68 Elaine P.


Congratulations everyone! Well deserved recongnition! Your top pick logo is below, you may place it on your own blogs if you like to :)


I will continue to pin the top picks to the dedicated Pinterest board, but will also include photo and link back to the original blogs/sites here. These will be removed at the start of the new challenge to stay in compliance with GDPR.

To join in this month's challenge please use the linky tool below. You have until Wednesday January 31st to play along! 


A few things to remember:
  • You may combine with any other challenges.
  • You may use any brand of stamps/digis/products (no company restriction).
  • Please try to limit your linked up cards to 3 entries per month - it's ok if you end up with more than 3 but I may not be able to visit your entries after the 3rd.
  • Please do include a link back here to my blog in your blog post.
  • Backlinking to a recent post IS allowed.
  • Digital products are allowed and very welcome but the final piece has to be a physical handmade creation, not just digital

Jan 2, 2024

December Card Chain Challenge Reveal Day

Please click here for the Year in Review Blog Hop. I am having a little prize giveaway in that post, so hope you'll check it out if you haven't already!

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Hello everyone, it's time for the December Card Chain Challenge reveal and I am here to share the card I sent to Linda in MN. 

For the December challenge we were playing Tic Tac Tic Tac Toe with this fun board. I had to study the board a bit before deciding to join in as I was stumped at first but then chose the diagonal top right to bottom left line. And I think I managed really well :)



Blue (I chose a "denim" blue because I thought it was a good match for burgundy) - Bauble (they were part of the die) - Buddy (I'm sure these two birds are buddies) - Bling (some glitter on the berries) - Burgundy (berries and birds). 

The wreath was done with a Penny Black die (Bird on a wreath). I cut it out using Bristol Vellum paper and used diluted Distress inks for watercoloring. I also used Distress inks for the background. I wanted to add some golden splatter for some interest but the only golden medium I had was a golden gelato by Faber Castell, so that's what I used.  

Before adhering the wreath I used Penny Black's Christmas Story background stamp on the very bottom portion. "Hope", "Peace" and "Love" are from the Penny Black set Holiday Snippets and the "let heaven and nature sing" is from the set "Nature Sings".


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Below is the wonderful card I received from Viv in UK. Such a beautiful and cute Christmas scene!! I just love it! Thank you, Viv!!
 

There are still a few days left to sign up for the January Card Chain Challenge if you'd like to join in. You do need to be willing to create and send a card to one other participant to be received by the end of the month and you will receive one card in return. All details can be found here

I'd like to share my wreath card with these challenges:


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!

Jan 1, 2024

A Wish for Happiness in the New Year

Please click here for the Year in Review Blog Hop. I am having a little prize giveaway in that post, so hope you'll check it out if you haven't already!

_______________________________________________________________


Hello and Happy 2024!!! I would like to start by wishing all of my blog followers and readers a 

                                                  Happy and Healthy New Year!!


It's the first of January so we're in the midst of Winter at the Four Seasons challenge blog and it's time for a new winter challenge. As always there is a fantastic mood board to inspire you, but it is optional and we would love to see all of your wonderful winter creations in the Four Seasons gallery, up to 3 entries per participant. 


Our January 2024 Mood Board:


Here is what I made inspired by the bottom left image on the mood board.

I started by creating a winter background using a mix Distress Oxides (Speckled Egg, Stormy Sky and Wilted Violet). A piece of torn paper was used on the bottom for some snow. I used Tim Holtz snowfall paste on the hill and trees but not sure it shows up in the picture. Maybe I just don't know how to properly use it, it's a new to me product.

The image is a stamp from Tim Holtz' set Winterscape by Stampers Anonymous. The sentiment is from the Penny Black set Festive Cheer. I added a die cut berry branch and die cut snowflakes and also used my white Posca pen for some splatter. 


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I plan to share the final card with these challenges:

Before I sign off for today, I wanted to let you know that there is a brand new challenge blog in town blogland! Our team leaders from the Four Seasons challenge (Darlene and Diane) have created a brand new challenge blog called Word Power where the focus is on words/sentiments. Hope you'll check it out. The first challenge is set to start on January 4th!




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!