You Are My Dream - Allsorts Embossing

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and this time our optional theme is Embossing (Heat or Dry) selected by Val. Prizes come from Lisa Horton and you have about two weeks to join us! If embossing isn't for you then there is always the "Anything Goes" option and we love to see those too!

Here is what I made very fitting for today's Valentine's Day :) 

I made a CAS card using Lavinia Stamps Swans along with a sentiment by Penny Black Dream.Love.Sentiments and a die cut heart also by Penny Black. For embossing I chose dry embossing using an old  Cuttlebug embossing folder. I used red cardstock from Stampin Up for the card base.

This post includes 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 your support!

Challenge I plan to share with:

• A Cut Above - Die Cut Challenge Blog - AG with die cuts (I used a circle die cut for focal point and small heart die cut)
• Aud Sentiments Blog Challenge - Dies and Love theme
• Can You Handle The Pressure? - Embossing Folders
• C.R.A.F.T. - Love
• Crafty Calendar - Love is in the air
• Cupcake Inspirations - Love is in the air
• Double Trouble Challenge - 3 layers, 2 images (the swans are 2 separate stamps), 1 CAS technique. Also followed option of one color (red - black and white are my neutrals) and option of include a heart.
• Heart's Quest Challenge - Include red or gold hearts
• Heart's Quest Celebration of Love - opt. Valentines
• Make My Monday  - include 2 dies (circle and heart)
• Simply Clean and Simple - CAS
• Stamping Sensations - Favorite Stamps (currently obsessed with swans and these by Lavinia are my favorite swan stamps because I love silhouette stamps)
• Tic Tac Toe Challenge - top row: hearts, die cut, red/pink
  
• TIME OUT Challenges - Pick Two from list (I chose red and heart)
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies
• We Love Stamping - Hearts

Thanks so much for visiting. Hope to see you at the Allsorts challenge blog. Here is our prize for the embossing/AG challenge - an embossing folder with matching layering stencil.

Garden Party No. 12 - Anything in (or from) a Garden

Hello everyone, it's time for a new Garden Party to start and all are invited to join in the fun!

As always, you may share anything in or from a garden. This can be crafts of any kind, garden photography or garden tips, weddings and tea parties taking place the garden... So many options!! As always the linky tool is at the end of the post along with my Top Picks from the last party, each one invited to join me as a special party guest :)

Here is my share this time:

I was asked if I could make a card featuring a robin and this stamp by Penny Black was the first one that came to mind, although I do have a couple more I could have chosen, but loved that this image also included the Snowdrops. We've had milder temperature for the last few days and I was excited to see some of my snowdrops peeking out from the ground. I even saw a robin a couple of weeks ago when it was still very cold, which surprised me because we don't seem them usually until it's a little bit warmer. The American Robin is considered a "harbinger of spring" and we are expecting almost 20 degrees Celsius next week which will be so nice after the cold January we've had. So, I much rather believe the robin in my garden than Groundhog Phil who saw his shadow in Pennsylvania, indicating 6 more weeks of winter  weather :)

I colored the image with Distress inks and used some of Tracy Evans stamps on the background. The sentiment is also part of a set by Tracy Evans as is the small robin stamped at the bottom right. This card was made for a male recipient, so I tried to keep it a bit masculine with striped paper and a navy card base (appears black in the photo). I decided the snowy parts needed glitter so I used Frosted Lace Stickles, my go-to for snow. I do wish I had added some twine but I tried to keep the card as flat as possible for easy mailing. 

This post includes 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 your support!

I plan to share my card with these challenges:

• Alphabet Challenge - U for Uplifting
• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - PB stamps
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies

I'm so excited to announce this month's Special Party Guest, that is Gerrina from Gerrina's Creatieve Wereld. So  happy you joined me this month, Gerrina. 

Gerrina

Such a wonderful scene with beautiful spring blossoms and how cute are the horses!! To find out how Gerrina made this card, please visit her blog. 

Top Picks for Garden Party No. 11

Now it's time to announce my Top Picks from the last Garden Party. Remember each top pick is invited to join me here as a special party guest for the next party if interested. 

No. 12 Donna Ellis

No. 29 Brenda

No. 62 Deb Horst

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 :)

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 March 12th). 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 the 12th Garden Party to start!

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 March 9th at 11:59pm CST

Snowdrops and Numbers

Hello everyone, I don't even want to say it out (in case it disappears again!!) but I feel like my mojo returned for the time being and I decided to make an Artist Trading card as I really missed making them and adding to my small but growing collection, so I decided to follow the theme at the Tag-Along challenge which is "include numbers". And since spring is currently on my mind, I chose Tracy Evans' beautiful stamp set Nature's Beauty TE031 for the focal point. I know it will still be a while before my snowdrops are blooming in the garden, but I'm hoping for a mild February so that they appear soon :) 

I started out with a piece of cardstock from my box of extra backgrounds where I had previously used the Grid Texture stamp by Darkroom Door and rust Distress ink along with some spatter of olive green Distress ink. I thought this was a great starting point for my ATC. 

On this backgorund I used Tracy Evans' for Aall and Create stamp Art Notes with Versafine Clair Avocado ink. Using the same Art Notes stamp I stamped some of the numbers uisng Versafine Onyx ink. On the left edge I used a stamp from Tracy Evans' set Berries. As mentioned, the Snowdrops are from the set Nature's Beauty along with the word "Snowdrop". I used the stapler for a simple "embellishment".

This post includes 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 your support!

I am entering this ATC here:

• Beautiful Blossoms - AG with Blossoms
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Moving along with the Times -Floral
• Tag-Along (and ATC's) - Add a Number
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Add some texture (staples)
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies

Thanks so much for visiting! 

Four Seasons February Challenge - Snowflake Kisses

Happy February everyone, I'm glad January is behind us as it's been such a bitterly cold month  for the most part here in the midwest and now it's just one more month before March!! I don't like how fast time flies but the older I get the more I dislike winter and I've been ready for spring about a month ago😄

Since it's the first of a new month, a new challenge starts at the Four Seasons challenge blog and it's our last month of "All things winter". We do have a fun mood board to inspire you but the use is optional and you may share anything seasonal, that includes any holidays  happening during the winter months. 

This is another simple card I made using a beautiful paper pack from Stamperia. This one is from the 8x8 Nutracker paper pack. Besides the Nutcracker and The Owl's House paper packs I have now purchased several other paper packs by Stamperia but not yet cut into them. Hope to do so soon but I haven't done much crafting yet this year. 

I'm currently loving kraft paper so I used it as a card base and layer and then used my sewing machine for some zig zag stitching. I even bought some kraft envelopes from Michaels which match the kraft cardstock also from Michaels. The sentiment is from the Penny Black set When Snow Falls. To finish it off I added some Stickles glitter onto the berries for a little sparkle. My favorite is "Stardust".

This post includes 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 your support!

I plant to share with these challenges:

• 613 Avenue Create - AG
• Ally's Angels - AG
• A Perfect Time To Craft - AG
• Crafts Galore Encore
• Creatalicious Challenges - AG
• Creative Fingers - AG
• Creative Moments - Love and Romance
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• FarmQuest General Store Challenge - AG outdoors
• FarmQuest Grocery Game Challenges Blog -Anything Food Goes (oranges and walnuts for the trim)
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - AG
• Sweet Stampin -All you need is love
• The Creative Crafters - AG

Btw. our optional February mood board is below. My card was inspired by the frosty berries.  

And that is all for today. To join in at the Four Seasons challenge please visit the challenge blog where you'll also see what the rest of the team made. Hope to see you there!

Handmade Backgrounds at Allsorts Challenge

Hello everyone, today is the start of a new Allsorts challenge and Donna is hosting. Her optional theme is "Make your Own Background" and our prize is a set of 4 background stamps from AALL and Create. There are lots of great ways to make your own background but if that's not a challenge for you then the Anything Goes option is always there too!

Here is what I made:

I decided to get out my gelli plate for today's card and brayered Chipped Sapphire ink onto it. Next I placed AALL & Create's Crisp Tulips stencil onto the gel plate and went over it again with the brayer (I have this one). Then I took the print. The stamps on the background are by Tracy Evans Magnolia TE43 (available here and here in the US or directlty from Tracy Evans' shop in the UK.) I used Chipped Sapphire and Saltwater Taffy Distress ink/Oxide ink. The birds are from another one of Tracy Evans sets Myriad of Designs. The script stamped onto the background is part of the same Magnolia set and I used Versafine Clair Twilight ink for stamping the words. I wanted to add stitching but didn't want to mess with the sewing machine so I chose a retired stitching stamp from Whimsy Stamps instead for some cross-stitching. 

I had a negative circle mask out on my desk and decided to use that too for an additional interest and finally flicked some diluted Chipped Sapphire ink onto the card before adding the coral layer and card base.

This post includes 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 your support!

I plan to share my card with these challenges:

• Cardz 4 Galz - Pink Flowers (I hope coral pink is ok?)
• Simon Says Stamp - AG
• TIME OUT Challenges - A Favorite Cardmaking Technique (Love adding script and splatter to backgrounds)
• Try It On Tuesday - Add Some Text
• We Love 2 Create - Anything Creative

Below is a peek at the prize. You have about 2 weeks to join us!

Krafty Penguins

Hello everyone, I actually ended up in my craft room working on design team cards and I ended up making an extra card so I decided to share it today. 

I started out with a square piece of kraft cardstock from Michaels. Love that it comes in heavy weight for card bases and lighter weight for card fronts. I used the negative of a circle mask and moonlight white Brilliance ink pad to ink up the circle and snowbanks for the scene. Stamps are all by Tracy Evans and they are all part of one set: Winter Delights available at Simon Says Stamp or Topflight Stamps  in the US, or directly from Tracy Evans shop if you live overseas. 

I used a white Posca pen for some "snow flurries" and added glitter to the trees and snow. Since the kraft card front was very CAS I decided to use my scoring tool around the edges.

This post includes 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 your support!

I would like to share my card with these challenges:

• Cardz 4 Guyz - Epic Adventure
• Little Red Wagon - Neutral Colors
• Simon Says Stamp - AG
• The Paper Funday - AG
• TIME OUT Challenges - Favorite Cardmaking Technique (stamping scenes)

 

Hope you stay warm! It's getting a bit better over here, finally not below -20 degrees (celsius). It's still below freezing but I'll take it :) 

I Spy With My Little Eye...........New Beginnings (Challenge No. 33)

Hello everyone and welcome to a new I spy with my little eye challenge, the first one of the New Year taking place right here on my blog. Pauline and I are back with a new theme and we hope you will join us! As most of you know, we took a little break from hosting the challenge during December and instead I decided to hold the yearly "Year in Review" in its place. Many thanks to those of you who also shared their own year in review, I'm always curious to see what your favorites were and enjoyed visiting your blogs! Speaking of favorites, our Top Two from the last challenge (the one that started way back at the end of November) are listed at the end of the post, both invited to join us in the next challenge, so be sure to scroll down.

This time it was Pauline's turn to selecte a theme and it is:

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

New Beginnings.

How about New Year, New Home, New Baby, New stash, New Techniques, a New Season…. There are lots of possibilities and you have plenty of time to join us! Maybe this challenge will help you along if you have a lack of mojo like some of us seem to have in this new year.

My card (Ellie)

(All details are right below the card.)

This post includes 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 your support!

A couple of months ago I purchased a box full of mixed stamps, I couldn't really tell what was all in the box but I did noticed a few Penny Black stamps and the price was right. While several of 

the stamps were donated I did keep quite a few of them too and this one by Art Impressions was one of them. My stamp is wood mounted but I found the unmounted cling version on Etsy. And apparantly there is a whole line of stamps by Art Impressions called "Windows to the World" that are just like this one and there is a shadow box window die to go with these stamps... maybe something I need?? Probably not...

I thought it would work well for a new couple and their new home. It's really those swans that make me love this stamp and the whole scene is just charming. I used Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for  coloring and added a touch of glitter to the flower centers. The kraft script paper came from a prize I won from DL.Art challenge some time ago, sentiment I think is by Whimsy Stamps, but a real oldie.

I plan to share the above card here:

• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Retro Rubber Challenge - AG (I don't know the exact age but I can image it's at least 10 years old!)
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Things with Wings (Swans)
• Sweet Stampin - Bright and Beautiful
• We Love Stamping - Something New (New Home, New to me stamp)

Pauline's Card

Such beautiful elements and gorgeous colors! Please visit Pauline's blog to find out how it's made.

We're so excited to have not one but two Guest Designers joining us this time and they are Helen B. and CarolG. Thanks for being our guest designers!! Their beautiful creations are below.

Carol

So very cute!! Please visit Carol's blog to find out how she made this card.

Helen

How sweet is this??!! Please visit Helen's blog to find out how she made this adorable card!

Top Picks from Challenge No. 32

Thank you all again for joining us in the last challenge where we were looking for something festive for Christmas. There were lots of beautiful creations and as always it wasn't easy to select favorites, but we finally managed.

No. 11 Crafticarrie (Ellie's Pick)

No. 50 Chris (Pauline'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 the next challenge starting February 18th. 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 not a requirement but would love to have you joining us if you like to :)

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, February 15th at 11:59pm CST

A Little Bird Told Me....

Hello everyone, it's my turn to host at Allsorts challenge this time around and my theme is For Boys or Men. Of course the Anything Goes option is there too and I hope you can join us. We have prizes from  Sweet Poppy. 

I came across this fun stamp with sentiment by Penny Black (40-327 "A little bird") on eBay a few months ago and the price was just right so I clicked the "Buy  It Now" button :) This is my first time using it. I think it's perfect for masculine cards and of course for any cat lover. I'm a bird lover too but do find this funny as long as this wouldn't happen in real life!!

I stamped on Bristol Vellum paper and colored with my Derwent Inktense pencils. On the background I used a "speckled" stencil from this Tim Holtz set. On the bottom portion I used a birthday background stamp from My Favorite Things (retired) and inked with gray ink. I did stamp the image onto a post it note to make a mask to use when I inked the floor. My sewing machine is still closeby so I stitched around the edges. 

This post includes 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 your support!

I plan to share with these challenges:

• Ally's Angels - AG
• C.R.A.F.T. - AG
• Crafty Animals - AG with Animals
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils and opt. Four Legged Friends (I used a "speckled" stencil on background)
• Creative Inspirations Challenge - AG
• Critter Crazy Challenges - AG with a Critter
• Double D - Birthday
• FarmQuest Home Challenge Blog - Anything Home Related (a cute lovable kitty being up to no good is part of many homes)
• Paper Rock Scissors - Papers and/or scissors. All layers are paper and I used scissors to cut out the image from a post it note to use as mask.
• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Use PB Stamps
• The Paper Funday - AG

Thanks so much for visiting!

Ellibelle's Garden Party No. 11 - Anything in or from a Garden

Hello everyone, it's time for a new Garden Party to start and all are invited to join in the fun!

As always, you may share anything in or from a garden. This can be crafts of any kind, garden photography or garden tips, weddings and tea parties taking place the garden... So many options!! As always the linky tool is at the end of the post along with my Top Picks from the last party.

I think my mojo left me way before Christmas and it's still nowhere to be found but at least I knew I wanted to use Tracy Evans stamps and this is what I came up with.

It turned out to be a bit "busier" than I intended. That is because I originally used only green, black and white, but then decided to add some yellow and this is the final result. A little mistake led me to add a little more yellow and not much I can do about it now :)

Stamps used are all by Tracy Evans: TE38 Silhouettes, TE14 The Wonder of Nature, TE33 Sunflower, TE32 Alpha Florals and Art Notes from Tracy's Aall and Create release. For inks I used Rustic Wilderness Distress Oxide, Mustard Seed Distress Ink, Versafine Onyx. I also used a black Posca pen for some spatter along with diluted Wilderness ink. Stamps are available directly from Tracy Evans in the UK or Topflight Stamps and Simon Say Stamp in the US. 

I plan to share my card with these challenges:

• Lost Coast Designs - Winged Things
• Stamping Sensations - Beginning with B (Birds, Bare Tree)
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies
• We Love Stamping - AG

Top Picks for Garden Party No. 10

There were lots of beautiful garden themed posts to choose from last month, thank you all so much for joining in! As always, selecting just 3 is never easy but I finally managed and here they are listed in the order of entry:

No. 6 Gerrina

No. 8 Karen L.

No. 14 Carrie Sheridan

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 :)

New this year:

I would like to invited each Top Pick to join me as a "Special Party Guest" in the next Garden Party. Simply 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 the 11th Garden Party to start!

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 January 5th at 11:59pm CST

I wanted to add a little reminder that the annual Crafty Year in Review is still open until January 18th and I would love for you to join in there as well to share you favorite creations of the last year. I think it's so nice to have a look back!