Flowers are the Music of the Earth

Hello and welcome! It's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge. This week it's Lynn's turn to host and for her optional theme she selected "Flowers". We do love to see all your other crafty makes too (up to 3 per entrant) so please don't hesitate to link up your other crafty makes too for the Anything Goes option! 

We have prizes from  Highlight Crafts, AALL and Create and Stampendous  for the July challenge so hopefully you'll get a chance to join in! Speaking of prizes, just a heads up, the July winners announcement will come a bit later this time (usually the last Friday of the month) but this time keep an eye out for the winners announcement in August. Top 5 will be announced as usual.

For my card I decided to make a simple card using one of my new Aall and Create stamps. Not really new anymore (I had ordered it at the end of last year) but this is my first time inking it up. It's part of the set All That Jazz.

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I used Zig Clean Color markers for coloring and then a Wink of Stella clear glitter brush for some sparkle. It's a bit hard to see but on the background I used a stencil by Tim Holtz for some detail. The sentiment is from the Penny Black set Blooming Sentiments, of course I thought it was very fitting for this stamp. A few gems by Honeybee Stamps finish off the card front, then I mounted it onto blue textured cardstock and a white card base. 

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!

          >>>>>>>>>>>>On Sale this week at Scrapbook.com/Ad

I plan to share with these challenges:

• Beautiful Blossoms - Flowers
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils
• Passion For Markers Challenge - Pastels
• Simon Says Stamp - add sparkle
• Triple B - Blooms, Birds or Butterflies

I Spy With My Little Eye.... Summertime Vibes (Challenge No. 17)

Hello and welcome to a new "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'll join in the fun! We had some fabulous entries last month, thank you all so much for joining us! Be sure to scroll down to the end to see who made our top 2, both which will have the option to join us for our June challenge.

This month our theme, selected by Pauline is....................

I spy with my little eye...

Summertime Vibes

A fun theme with lots of options and so perfect for this time of the year. As always, the linky tool is at the end of the post.We can't wait to see what you'll share with us!

And here is what we made:

Ellie

(All info right below the card)

I went with mainly blues as I was inspired by the last Double D nautical mood board, but the challenge has since expired and I won't enter there.

The main image is a stamp by PSX G-2891 which I stamped on an inky background made with Faded Jeans and Salvaged Patina Distress inks. The shells are part of the retired set Balmy Breezes by Stampin Up stamped with Hickery Smoke ink. Sentiment and Anchor die are oldies from Whimsy stamps. I added some twine to finish it off. Oh, and the group of birds in the sky are from a retired stamp kit  by Hero Arts.

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 my card (above) with these challenges:

• Get Creative Challenges - Use Red, white or blue
• Shopping Our Stash - Summer
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies
• Try It On Tuesday - Things with Wings
• We Love Stamping - Sun, Sea Sand

Pauline

Absolutely love how realistic this looks and wish I was there!! You can find out how Pauline made the card by visiting her blog.

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We're so excited to have a guest designer joining us this month, that is Melanie H. Her beautiful card is below. 

Such a cute beach scene with these fun stamps and die cuts! You can find out how Melanie made this card by visiting her blog.

Top Picks for Challenge no. 16

Many thanks once again to everyone who joined us in the last challenge with your  fabulous floral makes. Our Top picks are below.

Remember, Top Picks are invited to join us in the next challenge if you like to. That would be for challenge no. 18 starting Wednesday August 21st! Of course it's not a requirement but we would love to have you both as guests!!

No. 18 Donna (Pauline's Pick)

No. 54 Jenn B. (Ellie's Pick)

You are both invited to join us as guest designers (optional of course!) for challenge no. 18 starting on Wednesday August 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.

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

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 Summertime Vibes".

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 (including AI generated projects).
• A short mention of products used whenever possible is expected.
• Please include a link back to this blog.
• Backlinking to a recent project is allowed 

Fun with Circles

Hello and welcome! 

It's Saturday again and that means it's the start of a new challenge at Allsorts. Lorraine is hosting this week and for her optional theme she selected "circles". It is just an option and as always there is the Anything Goes option so hopefully we'll see you joining us for your chance to win a prize. July prizes come from  Highlight Crafts, AALL and Create and Stampendous.

For my card today I selected the cute stamp ChitChat by Penny Black, which was one of my very first Penny Black stamps from many years ago. I was inspired to use this stamp as I noticed the challenge at Once Upon a Time is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" which was so well loved by both of my kids. 

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I stamped the image with Versafine Onyx and colored with Zig Clean Color markers and I used a Nestabilities circle die to cut it out, trimming off the bottom part of the circle. The sentiment is from the retired Stampin Up set Butterfly Basics stamped onto another die cut circle. I love this quote, I find it so inspiring! Butterfly patterned paper is from my stash (probably by DCWV) and I used a polka dot embossing folder on the background for more "circles". The little layered butterflies were done with Penny Black's die set Soaring. Black enamel dots finish off the card.

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!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Christmas in July Sale at Scrapbook.com/Ad

I plan to share with these challenges:

• Can you handle the pressure - Embossing Folders
• Craft Rocket Challenges - Summertime
• Crafty Catz - Make it Cute
• Creative Fingers - AG
• Creative Inspirations Challenge - AG
• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• Cutie Pie Challenge - Beginning with "B" (Butterflies)
• Double Trouble Challenge - Embossing or Stenciling
• Dream Valley Challenges - Summer Colors
• Little Red Wagon - Something I Love (Penny Black animal stamps, butterflies, the quote I used)
• Once Upon a Time  - The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - PB Stamps
• The Paper Funday - Critters
• Try It On Tuesday - Wings
• We Love Stamping - AG option
• Word Art Wednesdays - AG

As always, thanks so much for visiting!!
 

Romantic Occasions at Allsorts Challenge

Hello everyone, I am back from my blogging/crafting break (my last several posts had all been scheduled in advance) and today I am sharing the first card I made after about 4 weeks and it's for our new theme at Allsorts challenge. Liz is hosting this week and selected "Romantic Occasions" as her optional theme but as always we would love to see all your other new crafty makes just the same (up to 3) for the Anything Goes option. We have prizes from Highlight Crafts, AALL and Create and Stampendous for the July challenges and hopefully you'll join in the fun this week for your chance to win.

I decided to make a wedding card with these cute little "lovebirds" from the Penny Black set Woodland Friends. 

After several non-crafty weeks it was hard to get started but do like how this turned out. As mentioned the image is by Penny Black, I fussy cut it but then stamped it again on a scalloped circle then added the fussy cut image to the circle with foam tape.

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The simple background was done with a Lavinia stencil, in this case I inked the stencil using Picked Raspberry ink then spritzed with a little bit of water and pressed that onto the cardstock. The sentiment is from a long retired set by Whimsy Stamps. I didn't find the right shade of pink card stock so I inked a white piece using the same Picked Raspberry ink and layered the image panel onto it before adding to a white card base. Oh, and I used some natural jute twine to hang up the birdhouse. Maybe pure white twine would have been a better choice...

Another view:

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!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Christmas in July Sale at Scrapbook.com/Ad

I plan to share with these challenges:

• Addicted to Stamps and More - Use Markers (I used Copic markers)
• Crafty Animals - Animals
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils
• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Double Trouble Challenge - Stencils or Embossing
• Everybody-Art-Challenge - We Love Stamping
• Park Hopping My Happy Place - Embossing or Stencils
• Passion For Markers Challenge - Use a die
• Sisterhood of Crafters - In the Garden
• The Paper Funday  - Critter Crazy
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies

Dreaming of a Pink Sunset (Four Seasons July Challenge)

Hello everyone and happy July! 

We are in full summer mode at the Four Seasons challenge and have another fabulous mood board to inspire you this month. As always the mood board is optional and you do not have to be inspired by is as Anything Summer Goes!

My inspiration actually came from the Flamingo floaties but my birds are Herons and not in floatie form :)

This is a new to me stamp set by Aall and Create - Heron - and I made a pink sunset scene for these gorgeous birds. 

I used the negative of a circle die to inkup the pink sun, after removing I used my MFT cloud stencil for some fun pink clouds. 

Next I stamped the Herons and "grounded" them by using a torn paper mask with more pink ink. The bulrushes are part of the same stamp set as are the 3 small words. The quote is from Just for Fun Rubberstamps, a company I used to design for many years ago but unfortunately they appear to be no longer in business :(

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Before adhering to the black mat I inked the edges with pink ink and stamped the flying birds (from an older Hero Arts stamp kit). A little bit of sparkle was added around the sun.

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!

I plan to share with these challenges:

• A Gem of a Challenge - AG
• A Perfect Time To Craft - AG
• C.R.A.F.T. - AG
• Crafts Galore Encore - AG
• Crafty Animals - AG
• Creations in Pink - Mainly Pink
• Creative Fingers - AG
• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Do-Al(l) Kreatives - Animals
• Inkspirational - Stencils
• Just Us Girls  - Stencils
• Krafty Chicks - All Occasions
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - AG
• Simon Says Stamp - AG
• Stamping Sensations - AG option
• We Love Stamping- AG option

Way to Grow for Allsorts Challenge 787

Hello everyone, another Saturday is here and that means a new theme starts at Allsorts challenge. It's Gail's turn to host and she chose the fun theme of "Way to Grow". This could be gardens, plants or children so there are many options or you can choose "Anything Goes". 

We have prizes from Highlight Crafts,  AALL and Create and Stampendous for challenges 787, 788, 789 and 790. Winners will be announced on the last Friday of July.

I thougth this stamp by Aall and Create was a perfect choice for the Ways to Grow theme, it is called Seeds of Hope, a large (A4) set and I was lucky to get it while it was on a sale last year. 

I made a simple inky background using water and distress inks then stamped the image directly onto the background. The group of carrots was stamped again and used as a focal point. The sentiment is from the same set. I distressed the edges and added staples and green burlap string for some interest. 

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Thanks so much for visiting and hope you'll join us this week!!

Try it on Tuesday Guest Designer: Here Comes Summer

Hello and welcome! I don't usually post on Tuesdays but a couple of months ago I was invited to be a guest designer at the Try it on Tuesday challenge and today I get to show you my card made for their theme of "Here comes the Summer" which starts today and runs for 2 weeks.

This is another scheduled post so hopefully blogger behaves and posts as planned.

I thought this cute hedgie by Penny Black (Lazy Days) was a perfect choice as a focal point. It has been quite some time since I last used this stamp. He's been colored with Zig Clean Color markers and Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. His parasol was stamped again on patterned paper from my stash then fussy cut.

After coloring I added some sun rays using a stencil by Vicki Boutin then stamped the flowers from the Aall and Create set Hexapetalistic. The main sentiment is an oldie from Whimsy Stamps and the sentiment stamped in blue is from the set Foliage by Aall and create. Before adding the summer sentiment I adhered a banner (cut by hand so it's not perfect) using the same patterned paper I used for the flower parasol. To complete the card I added the butterflies (made with the Penny Black die Soaring). 

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 hope to get a chance to link up here:

• Penny Black Saturday - PB stamps

Thanks so much for visiting!

Bees, Blooms and Butterflies for Allsorts Challenge 786

Happy Saturday! It's time for another new theme at Allsorts challenge and Mervi's turn to host. She would like to see Bees, Blooms or Butterlies for her optional theme but there is always "Anything Goes" if  this theme isn't for you. Prizes come from Craft Stash, Highlight Crafts and AALL and Create so hopefully you'll get  a chance to join us for a chance to win!

This is another scheduled post and hopefully it will go live as planned.

I love bees and so I made a bee themed card using a new-ish to me stamp set by Visible Image Bee Happy. I did just recently use the set on this card along with another Visible Image stamp set. 

It was a pretty simple card to make. On the background I used a honeycomb stencil. Sorry I don't remember the brand. It was a prize I won and is possibly by Aall and Create but I could be wrong. Next I stamped the bees, honeycombs and bee happy in black ink which are all part of the same stamp set. 

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Stickles glitter was applied to be bees wings and then I decided something else is needed so I used my favorite script stamp (an oldie from Whimsy Stamps) for some encouraging words. Matted with black cardkstock and then added to a white card base.

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!

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I Spy With My Little Eye: Something Blooming Lovely (Challenge No. 16) - Partnering with Double Trouble Challenge (Optional)

Hello and welcome to a new "I spy with my little eye" challenge taking place right here on my blog! Pauline and I are back with a new theme a couple of  days earlier than usual and we are so excited to be partnering with the fun Double Trouble challenge once again for some Triple Fun - more details below.

Of course it is optional for our participants to join Double Trouble challenge so lets first get started with our theme here.

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

Something Blooming Lovely

Lots of inspiration currently found in nature as so much is blooming lovely right now so we hope you will take on the challenge and join us!

And now for the extra fun part, if you make your "blooming lovely" card a slimline or mini slimline card then you are invited to join the Double Trouble challenge as their main theme is "Long and Skinny Cards"with their optional twist of blooming flowers.

Double Trouble challenge runs for 2 weeks, so that option only applies for that time frame. Our challenge here will continue running until mid July. 

And here is what we came up with this time around to inspire you.

My Card (Ellie)

All info is right below the card.

Mini slimline cards are easier for me to make than the larger slimline so that is what I went with. The inky yellow splashes were made with Brusho powders, the old script stamped in yellow is a stamp from a company called Just for Fun Rubberstamps (no longer in business). The main stamps are by Visible Image (Daisy Grunge and Bee Happy). Words stamped in black are by Whimsy Stamps and the sentiment is a sticker from Tim Holtz's Small Talk booklet. I distressed the edges before adhering to the card base. I also applied clear Wink of Stella shimmer on the flower centers and bee's wings but it is not showing up in the photo.

Pauline's Card

Such wonderful stamping and inking on this fabulous card full of blossoms! Please visit  Pauline's blog to find out how she made this card.

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We're so excited to have Diane of Nellie's Nest joining us this month as our guest designer, her beautiful creation is below.

 

Such bright and cheerful blossoms on this gorgeous card! To find out how she made this be sure to visit her blog. 

Top Picks for Challenge no. 15

Many thanks once again to everyone who joined us in the last challenge with your  fabulous masculine makes. Our Top picks are below.

Remember, Top Picks are invited to join us in the next challenge if you like to. That would be for challenge no. 17 starting Wednesday July 17th! Of course it's not a requirement but we would love to have you both as guests!!

No. 17 Melanie H. (Ellie's Pick)

No. 36 Chris (Pauline's Pick)

You are both invited to join us as guest designers (optional of course!) for challenge no. 17 starting on Wednesday July 17th. 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.

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

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 Something Blooming Lovely". And remember, if you make a slimline or mini slimline card you may join us in partnering with Double Trouble challenge by linking up your card there too. Their challenge runs for 2 weeks so it does end at the end of the month.

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 (including AI generated projects).
• A short mention of products used whenever possible is expected.
• Please include a link back to this blog.
• Backlinking to a recent project is allowed for this challenge but please remember our challenge partner Double Trouble does not allow backlinking.

Something Masculine for Allsorts Challenge #785

Hello and welcome! It's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge. Brenda is hosting this week and her optional theme is "Masculine/Father's Day". Hope you'll join in with us for your chance to win! Prize come from Craft Stash, Highlight Crafts and AALL and Create for challenges 784, 785 and 786.

As mentioned last week, all June posts are pre-scheduled as I don't plan to be on the computer much  to spend time with family visiting, so hopefully the post will go live as scheduled.

For my card I got out my gelli plate and brayered some masculine colored inks (Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire and Peeled Pained) onto it, then I pressed a harlequin stencil onto the gel plate at random and flicked some water before taking the print. 

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The image is from the Aall and Create set Bird Song #393, stamped with Night of Navy Stampin Up ink. I stamped the image again on scrap paper and fussy cut the bird then added to the card with foam tape. For a little more interest I used another stamp from the same A&C stamp set on the top, side and bottom corner.  I added a sticker sentiment from Tim Holtz's Small Talk sticker quote book and some brads to the wheels to finish it off. 

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!!

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Flowers Galore for Allsorts Challenge #784

Hello everyone, a new challenge starts today at Allsorts and Lorraine's (Lolo's)   optional theme is "Flowers Galore". As always you may enter up to 3 times for more chances to win so hopefully you can join us with Flowers Galore or Anything Goes! Prizes come from Craft Stash, Highlight Crafts and AALL and Create for challenges 784, 785 and 786. 

Btw., all posts going forward until the end of the month are scheduled as I plan to spend quality time with family visiting us from overseas. There were several posts to do and hopefully I didn't mess up or forgot any of them! 

I thought this was the perfect time for me to ink up this beautiful stamp I purchased last year. It's an oldie from Penny Black (Scented Message 4239K) and it had been on my wish list for quite some time. When it finally showed up on eBay at a great price last year I had to get it. No idea why it took me this long to finally ink it up!! The stamp is not so easily found so I have no link, but does appear on eBay occasionally. 

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I made a CAS card with it. Simply stamped on the card front and colored with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. Then I added a die cut frame. "Happy Birthday" is from the MFT set Bitty Basics and the circle sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps button sentiments (long retired). It came with a matching button die which I also used here. I tied some black and white gingham ribbon to the button before adding to the card. Edges were lightly inked with blue ink and glitter was added to the flower centers.

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 try to link up with:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Penny Black Stamps


Thanks so much for visiting!

Ellibelle's Crafty Wedneday - June and July Challenge

Hello and welcome to the new Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday challenge which takes place right here on my blog. I'm so glad you stopped by and hope you'll link up too!

June is going to be a real busy month for me as I have family visiting until the end of the month so I won't be spending much time online. I am not taking a blogging break but all of my June posts are pre-scheduled. As I won't have time to visit all of your blogs before the July challenge would start I decided to combine June and July with one linky tool, so you have until the end of July to link up. July will be less busy so I will be visiting all your wonderful entries during that month and announce my top 6 (3 from each month) with the August post.

As most of you know, the theme is now always ....

Anything Goes

and instead of a challenge theme there will be a "Top Pick Twist", meaning I will select a twist from all of the entries for the Top 3. Nobody will know what the twist will be (not even me) until the end of the challenge. So do link up all of your crafty makes, your entry might be the one inspiring the Top Pick twist :)

And here is what I made:

Busy times right now so I made a simple card using stamps from Aall and Create. The Bird of Paradise stamp as well as focal sentiment are from the set Plant Your Dreams #320. After stamping I added some purple ink (Villianous Potion Distress Oxide) here and there. Next I stamped the Nature text randomly over the card from the set Miniatures #756 also by Aall and create. The ants are from the same set. The flowers were colored with Zig Clean Color markers. For some interrest I decided to distress the edges.

I hope to get a chance to link up here:

• Beautiful Blossoms - Flowers
• Make My Monday - B is for ... Bird of Paradise
• Stamping Sensations - AG
• The Flower Challenge - Color your flowers
• We Love Stamping - Fabulous Florals

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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Top Picks with a Twist 

There were so many FABULOUS entries last month and as always it wasn't easy to decide on the Twist but I finally managed and the top picks with a twist are below. The Twist is: In Full Bloom, meaning each one of the Top Picks is featuring blooms.

No. 25 Elaine P. 

No. 40 Judy V.

No. 60 Pauline

Congratulations to each one of you! Well deserved recognition! Your top pick logo is below, feel free to post it to 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. The linky tool closes on the last Wednesday of next month at midnight so you have until Wednesday July 31st to join in. 

>>>>>>>>>Clearance Sale at Scrapbook.com/Ad

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 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