The Great Outdoors

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Brenda is hosting with the optional theme of "All Creatures Great and Small". Always a favorite one as I love working with creature (animal) stamps just as much as I love florals. This time our prize comes from Lavinia stamps so I took this opportunity to play with some of mine. Sadly I have to admit that they have been neglected recently.

I started with a die cut circle mask for a moon and used Lavinia's Feather Leaf stencil with Dried Marigold and Mowed Lawn Distress inks. Before removing the mask I used Marigold ink again just around the circle. Next I stamped the large fox from Lavinia's Fox Set 1, Pixie Lanterns and Field Grass. I colored the lanterns using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. Next I used a torn paper mask for some grassy hills. While looking for a sentiment to use I found this one from a set by Tracy Evans for Aall and Create (Blackbird - retired) and remembered the cute little foxes from a recent Tracy Evans set (Blossoms of Hope) so I stamped that right above the sentiment. I finished off the card with a few black Posca pen splatters and a Sakura clear sparkle pen over the lanterns and around the moon.

I am sharing this card with these challenges:

• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils
• Double Trouble Challenge - at least 3,2,1 Recipe (I used 3+ stamps, 2 colored ink pads, 1 stencil)
• Just Us Girls - Stencils
• Krafty Chicks - Masculine
• Simon Says Stamp - AG
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Try It On Tuesday - Inspired by a song (anyone remember "What does the fox say? "😊)
• We Love Stamping - Summer Blooms
• Word Art Wednesday - AG

As always, thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend. Supposed to be cloudy over here but we're expecting another heat wave next week!

I Spy With My Little Eye............. Sunflowers or Something Yellow (Challenge No. 40)

Hello everyone and welcome to the 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 will come join in the fun! And don't forget to scroll down to see who we selected as our top two, both invited as guest designers in the next challenge.

This time it's my turn (Ellie) to select a theme and it is:

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

Sunflowers or Something yellow

I'm always drawn to the color yellow this time of year and usually sunflowers are in full bloom, so I thought it was a great theme for the challenge. We can't wait to see your wonderful creations. As always, the linky tool is at the end of this post.

My Card (Ellie)

I have several sunflower stamps to choose from but thought it was time for me to ink up the beautiful sunflower by PSX (K025). An oldie that I purchased from eBay many years ago but I think I have only used it once before. This time I stamped with Memento Tuxedo ink on Copic Xpress it paper and colored with my Copic markers as I feel like they are being neglected and sadly some are even drying up 😞

At the bottom part I used a stamp from a retired Tracy Evans for Aall and Create stamp set (Plant Your Dreams), mounted this onto black cardstock and then onto an embossed kraft card. Embossing was done with a folder from Penny Black. A white card base completes the card.

Entering the above card here:

• Beautiful Blossoms - Blossoms
• Can You Handle The Pressure? - Embossing Folders
• FarmQuest General Store Challenge - AG Farm or Country (There are always sunflowers out in the countryside!)
• Inspiration Station - Photo challenge: Sunflower
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Triple B - Blooms, Birds or Butterflies

Pauline's Card

Absolutley stunning! Please visit Pauline's blog to find out how she made this card.

We have no guest designer for this challenge so lets get straight to our Top Picks from the last challenge.

Top Picks from Challenges No. 38

We had some wonderful entries for last month's "Things with Wings" challenge, thank you all so much for sharing your creativity with us! Selecting Top Picks is never easy but we finally managed and here they are in the order of entry:

No. 1 Kathy K. (Pauline's Pick)

No. 17 Diane H. (Ellie's Pick)

Congratulations to both of you on your well deserved recognition! Your Top Pick logo is below.

Remember, you are both invited to join us as guest designers for challenge no. 41 starting Wednesday September 16th. If you would like to be a guest designer please message me (Ellie) at ellibellescorner at gmail dot com so I can give you all the details. Of course this is totally optional as we all are busy in one way or another and it might just not work out for you but we thought it would be something fun to offer the top picks :) I'm always happy to offer an alternative date too, just ask :)

To play along in the new challenge please use the linky tool below.

A few things to remember:

(Complete list of guidelines and copyright info can be found here.)

• You may share up to 5 different projects 
• You may combine with as many other challenges as you like to.
• A short mention of products used whenever possible is expected, especially the focal point.
• New: While you are free to link up your creations using pre-colored digital art (AI generated, digital pre-colored toppers/images, digital papers etc.), they will be excluded from top picks. 
• Please include a link back to this blog.
• Back-linking to a recent project is allowed.
• Linkup closes on Sunday, September 13th at 11:59pm CST

Embossing (Heat or Dry) at Allsorts Challenge

Hello everyone, today is the start of a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Lynne is hosting this time. For her optional theme she chose "Embossing - Heat or Dry" and of course there is always the Anything Goes option too. Our prize is die, embossing folder and layering stencil bundle from Lisa Horton Crafts. As always, the challenge runs for 2 weeks.

I decided to use an embossing folder by The Paper Studio (from Hobby Lobby) in 2 color ways.

After embossing I was just going to ink the raised texture but it wasn't easy to keep the backbround white, so I decided to ink all of it, then use a darker shade of yellow on the flower centers with a small make-up applicator that attaches to your finger (something like this).  I saw a box of these at Marshall's and bought them specifically for the craft room. I flicked some black ink from a Posca pen onto the background. Sentiment is from the Tim Holtz Small Talk Quotations sticker booklet and added the die cut butterfly to finish it off. Inks used here are Distress Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed.

Sharing with these challenges:

• Ally's Angels - AG
• Can You Handle The Pressure? - Embossing Folders
• Classic Design Challenge - AG
• Crafty Gals Corner - Summer Vibes
• Cupcake Inspirations - in the Garden
• Cut It Up - Add a sentiment (plus a die cut)
• Triple B - Blooms, Birds or Butterflies

I made this one before I made the yellow card. I added ink before running it through the big shot machine but then added more later. I flicked some water onto the card for that "bleached" look reaction and glitter to the flower centers. Sentiment is from a Penny Black set and was stamped with Versafine Clair Very Peri ink. I thought this turned out a little darker than I wanted that's why I decided to try again with shades of yellow but thought this one was also nice enough to share :) I'm don't remember exactly which inks I used on this one besides Blueprint Sketch in the flower centers. I somehow ended up with another color on a blending tool too that wasn't supposed to be there.

Sharing this card with these challenges:

• A Perfect Time To Craft - AG
• Beautiful Blossoms - AG with Blossoms
• Crafts Galore Encore - AG
• The Creative Crafters - AG
• Word Power - Words in focus

Thanks so much for visiting. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! It looks like it'll be another rainy one here. We've had some heavy rain and thunderstorms over here for a few days now. It was needed but too much at once now!
 

PS: Yesterday I shared a non-crafty photography post for Kym's Photo challenge. You can click here if you'd like to see what photo promps we had this time and what I chose for my pictures.

Photography Challenge: Everyday Images

This is my second time I am joining Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee for her  Photography challenge as I do enjoy taking pictures of all kinds of things (usually things out in nature). I don't carry my DSLR camera around much anymore so these were all taken with an older iphone (11) so the pictures aren't the greatest quality.

These were the prompts for this challenge:

Dessert // Gradual // On the Road // Imperfect // Tangled // Selfie // Restful

And here is what I came up with. 

Dessert:

Mine was the Strawberry Kiwi ice cream treat, yummy!! This one was taken while on vacation in April.

Gradual

I struggled with this one, but while walking in a small botanical garden recently I thought this garden obelisk would work.

On the Road 

A country road at the edge of town.

I captured these beautiful cloud formations while on the road (I wasn't the one driving!)

Imperfect

This was so frustrating to see in my garden!! 

An imperfect, broken wing but still beautiful!

Tangled

Struggled a bit with this one but saw this recent picture on my camera roll from when the Japenese Beetles infestation was at its worse in mid-July. They all look tangled up on my beautiful yellow rose. Luckily they only seem to cause damage for about 2 weeks but sadly not everything will recover like roses.

Selfie

I'm not  fan of selfies but I somehow managed to take this one, though it appears like my cat took it :)

Restful

Her new favorite spot since purchasing this patio corner sofa.

The Everyday Images photo challenge is posted every other Thursday and the linky tool is open for about two weeks. 

I'm also entering this to Joanne's Talking About it Tuesday.

 

Ellibelle's Garden Party No. 18 - Anything in or from a Garden

Hello crafty friends, it's time for the new Garden Party which takes place right here on my blog and all are invited to join in. The theme is always "Anything in or from a Garden" this can be crafts of any kind, garden photography, garden tips and ideas, garden party posts etc. The only rule is that they need to be your own garden themed photos. The linky tool is at the end of this post.

And here is what I made for this month.

Some of the links included are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no extra cost to you.

This cute stamp is by Penny Black (Flying High), stamped with Versafine Onyx ink and colored with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. I stamped the bunny again on a post-it note and fussy cut tor a mask then did some stenciling using the Circle Explosion stencil, I think it's by MFT. Butterflies are made with a new-to-me die set also from Penny Black (Flight of Fancy) and the sentiment is part of the bunny stamp set.The "hill" was made with a die set by Whimsy Stamps (old and no longer available but there are other similar options available). To finish it off I added stickles glitter to the flower and butterfly bodies. Mounted onto a matching green cardstock (inked with Twisted Lime Distress Oxide ink) and then a simple white card base.

I am sharing my card with these challenges:

• Cardz 4 Galz - Blue Sky
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game!  - Stencils
• Cupcake Inspirations - In the Garden
• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Use PB Stamps
• We Love Stamping - Summer Blooms

There are no special party guests this time so I am sharing photos of 2 pretty blossoms from my garden.

Below is the beautiful Crown Princess Margareta rose I planted last fall in memory of my sweet orange tabby Thomas. It's a climbing rose as he loved to climb up on everything.

 

This is the same rose shrub different set of blooms. It was evening when I took the second photo so the blossoms look a little more peachy.

Below is a dwarf type of a sunflower. Lots of beautiful blooms on just one stem but unfortunately it is now faded. The birds love the seeds, I was lucky to see 2 goldfinches feasting on some seeds. 

Top Picks for Garden Party No. 17

And now it's time to see who made the Top 3 from the last Garden Party. It's never easy to choose but I finally managed and here they are listed in the order of entry:

No. 2 Nancy J. 

No. 26 Amy's Midsummer Vegetable Garden

(many more photos in her post)

No. 33 Papierelle

Congratulations to each one of you on your well deserved recognition! Your top Pick logo is below, you may post this to your own blogs if you like to :) Please read the info below if you'd like to join me as a special party guest.

New this year:

I would like to invited each Top Pick to join me as a "Special Party Guest" in the next Garden Party (starting Thursday, September 10th). Please message me at ellibellescorner at gmail dot com if you would like to be a special guest. Of course this is totally optional as I know we all are busy in one way or another just thought it would be something fun to offer the top picks :)

(Btw. Even if you are a special party guest for the month, you are still invited to share your other garden themed creations in the linky tool during the month!)

Now it's time for your share at the Garden Party No. 18!

Simply link a new or recently shared post (featuring something in or from a garden) using the linky tool below. To make it even more fun and maybe meet a new blogging friend I invite you to visit another entrant's blog post and leave them some love. This is just a suggestion and in no way do you have to :)

Below are the main guidelines at a glance:

• Your entry must feature something in or from a garden.
• You may combine with any other challenges/link parties.
• Please leave a link back to this blog.
• Up to 5 entries per blogger please.
• Backlinking to a recent post is allowed.
• The party ends on Monday September 7th at 11:59pm CST

Girl Power

Hello crafty friends, I wanted to join in at this month's Tag Along and ATCs challenge where the theme is Fashion (or Anything Goes) and I had lots of fun making this ATC and I combined it with some other challenges, all listed at the end of the post.

The main image is an old 2004 stamp by Stampin Up! It's part of a set but I only have this single stamp. If anyone knows the name of the set please comment as I'd love to update this post with the set name. 

Update: This is from the Stampin Up set Paris in Spring. Even though retired, several sets are available on eBay :) 

I stamped with Versafine Onxy ink and used my Faber Castell polychromos pencils for coloring. I recently purchased a new (to me) stencil duo from Visible Image (Seeing Stars) and that's what I used on the background with Kitch Flamingo Distress ink. The sentiment is another oldie, from Whimsy Stamps (The Fun Life Ticket sentiments). I cut around the ticket part and just used the words. Both "Being Fabulous..." and "Girl Power" are part of the same stamp. To finish it off I used a cross stitch stamp (also old from Whimsy Stamps) on the left side and added stickles glitter to the flowers.

I am sharing this ATC here:

• ATC Around the World - Summer, Sun and Beach (I think this would fit the Summer category)
• Craft Rocket Challenges - Transportation
• Creative Fingers - AG
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Moving along with the Times - Feminine
• Neglected Stuff Challenge - Neglected stuff (long neglected SU stamp)
• Simon Says Stamp - Monochrome
• Tag-Along (and ATC's) - Fashion 
• The Little Things - Little Things
• The Paper Funday - AG
• We Love Stamping - AG with Stamping

Thanks so much for visiting!

Everyday Images - A Newly Discovered Photography Challenge

I just discovered a new (to me) photography challenge happening twice a month at A Fresh Cup of Coffee blog and since I love to take pictures of all kinds of things I thought I'd try joining in when possible. 

This time the photo prompts are:

At Home (monthly)// In My Cup // Path // Tuesday Tranquility // Summer // Golden Hour // Out for a Walk (Quarterly)

At Home (monthly)

I found this beautiful trio of mini vases in crate at a local flower shop. It's perfect for flowers from my garden.

In my Cup

A glass in this case... Sparkling water with lemon and cucumber slices. So refreshing! And I love these pretty glasses I recently found at Marshall's 💛💛

Path

This is part of the path around Geneva Lake in Wisconsin we recently visited. 

Tuesday Tranquility

Another photo I took from Geneva Lake

Summer

Golden Hour and Out for a Walk (Quarterly)

(I combined these two promts)

A walk around our local lake during Golden Hour

I'm linking this up at A Fresh Cup of Coffee blog. 

Direct link to Everyday Images challenge No. 93 is here.

Summer Colors for Allsorts Challenge

For my second post of the day I'm sharing my card for the new Allsorts challenge where Sarah chose the optional theme of Summer Colors. We have a beautiful stamp set and stencil from Visible Image to give away to one lucky winner. 

This dragonfly stamp set (Dragonfly Dreams) from Visible Image is new to me and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to ink it up. The inky background in shades of lime green/yellow-ish was found in my box of extra background, I decided it was a good summer-y color to start with. I stamped the dragonfly image (the map themed stamping is part of the dragonfly stamp) directly onto the background and then again onto a scrap piece of Bristol Vellum paper to color and fussy cut the wings. I used Derwent Inktense colors. They were more of a hot summer pink (Fuchsia color) to start with but then I added a purple-ish color at the edges and used my waterbrush again so the wings turned more purple than I had intended.

The sentiment is from a set by Tracy Evans. I added glitter to the wings and a puple button with black twine onto the center of the dragonfly. Colored cardstock is by Stampin Up, probably a long retired color and then I used a white card base. 

I am linking up here:

•  Little Red Wagon - One Thing (one dragonfly or one button)
• Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
• TIME OUT Challenges - Mother Nature

If you'd like to see my first post of the day you can click here: Four Seasons August Challenge.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Four Seasons August Challenge - Never Stop Exploring

Hello everyone, today I am sharing 2 separate posts, they are due at different times so I didn't combine.  It's the first of August (how time flies!!!) and of course that means it's the start of a new Four Seasons challenge. This is our last month of summer for this year and hope you'll join us. As always it's Anything Summer Goes but we do have a wonderful mood board to inspire you if you need a starting point. 

And here is my card inspired by the sealife and colors. 

I still had the Silent Sea paper pad by Stamperia out on my desk and thought these small squares from one of the pages would work well with the moodboard in mind. They were glued onto a piece of smoky blue cardstock and then onto a stenciled background. I used Lavinia's Feather Leaf stencil, the pattern reminds me a little bit of water droplets. Inks for stenciling are Stormy Sky and Anique Linen (Distress inks/oxides) but it looks like the colors got mixed up a bit as it's hard to tell a difference. I found a perfect shade of red cardstock to coordinate with the crab and coral and I used my sewing machine along the edges. Card base is by Stampin Up but not sure which color. Probably retired as it's been a long time since I purchased colored cardstock and I no longer sort by color name. 

The small words are stamps from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Tiny Text Stamp set.

I am sharing the card with these challenges:

• A Perfect Time To Craft - AG
• Ally's Angels - AG
• Classic Design Challenge - AG
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils
• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Do-Al(l) Kreatives - AG
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Stitch It
• Simon Says Stamp - AG

Some of the links included are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no extra cost to you.

You can click here to see my second post of the day (will be live at 2am US central time/8am UK time).