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Sep 26, 2026

Autumn Time at Allsorts Challenge

Hello everyone, it's already time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and this time Christine is hosting. Her optional theme is "Anything Autumn" and there is always the Anything Goes option too. We have Penny Black prizes for 2 winners coming from Buddly Crafts who are the UK's largest supplier of Penny Black stamps and of course lots of other great brands.

For my card I used Hedgy Truffles 4255J, unfortunately it appears to be sold out at Buddly Crafts. I stamped with Memento Tuxedo ink so I could use my copic markers for a first layer of coloring. Then I used my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for additional coloring.

The image panel was cut out with Penny Black's Posted Die then I used Faded Jeans Distress ink and a blending tool along the edges and sky. Patterned paper is from my stash. I used Penny Black's Burlap Edge die behind the image panel. The sentiment (from an old Stampin Up set) was cut out using a tiny tag die from Whimsy Stamps (old). Attached to the burlap die cut with jute twine and I added a die cut butterfly (using Penny Black's Flight of Fancy die set) with a glue dot. Foam dots were used to adhere the image panel to the card front.

Another view:


Linking up with these challenges:

The challenge is open for 2 weeks so plenty of time to join us! 

Thanks so much for visiting and hope you're having a wonderful weekend! It's cloudy here but no rain so that means I need to tackle the job of re-painting the front door! I'd rather be crafting or gardening but this project is overdue!!

at 21 comments:

Sep 16, 2026

I Spy With My Little Eye ..................... Added Text (Background Text or Sentiment) Challenge No. 41

Hello everyone 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 wonderful entries for the last challenge so be sure to scroll down to see who made the Top 2, both invited to join us in the next challenge.

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

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

Added Text (Background Text or Sentiment)


Lot of options here, could be as simple as a short sentiment, large quote or text stamping on the background. We can't wait to see what you'll share with us! The linky tool is at the end of this post!

My card (Ellie)


I purchased this stamp by Crafty Individuals from eBay almost a year ago, really love it but somehow there were always other stamps to reach for so this is my first time ever using it. This particular stamp is called Fowl Collage. 

I stamped with Versafine Clair brown ink and used my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for coloring. The background paper is from my stash, had it for a long time and would have no idea what brand it is. I added some jute twine and a bow and a die cut flower as an embellishment. The edges were distressed for a vintage/rustic feel. 
 
I plan to share the above card here:

Such a beautiful design! Please visit Pauline's blog to find out how she made this card.


We're so excited to have a guest designer joining us for this challenge and that is Diane of Nellie's Nest. Thanks so much, Diane!!



Such a fun card with that adorable owl! Please visit Diane's blog to find out how she made this card.


Top Picks from Challenges No. 40


We had some wonderful entries for last month's "Sunflower or the Color Yellow" 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. 5 Majda  (Ellie's Pick)

No. 35 Rosi (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 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 :) 



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.
  • It is the creator's responsibility to follow copyright laws.
  • Please include a link back to this blog.
  • Back-linking to a recent project is allowed.
  • Linkup closes on Sunday, October 18th at 11:59pm CST



at 6 comments:

Sep 12, 2026

Across the Miles

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Gail is hosting. Her optional theme for the next two weeks is Sympathy, Thinking of You or Get Well. And as always, the Anything Goes option is there too. The prize comes from Highlight Crafts, three die sets plus reflections and paper.


I used another new to me 8x8 paper pad by Stamperia for the focal point, this one is called Sunflower Art. I actually purchased it at the end of last year so it took me a while to actually use it. Lots of pretty papers and it always hurts to cut into them so I used a large portion of one for my card front. I did add some splatter using a black Posca pen, some glitter to the flower centers, distressed the edges and then used my sewing machine around the edges. I layered the card front onto matching cardstock from SU (I'm not sure about the name of the color and it's probaby long retired). The card front is a heavy weight kraft card.

Sentiment is from the Penny Black clear set Eloquence. 




I plan to share the card with these challenges:

As always, thanks so much for visiting and hope you're having wonderful sunny weekend!


Edited to add: Still no updates on the reading list through blogger. 
If you'd like to receive updates when I post something new then I'd love for you to become an email subscriber. 

 

Please use the form above to be added to my  email subscriber list via substack. Simply enter your email address and click subscribe. Subscribers, please add ellibellescorner at substack dot com to your address book so ensure post delivery.
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Sep 10, 2026

Ellibelle's Garden Party No. 19 - Anything in or from a Garden

Hello everyone and welcome to the September Garden Party taking place right here on my blog. I'm so glad you stopped by and hope you will share something in the linkup too! As always, it's Anything in or from a Garden. This can be crafts of any kind, garden photography, garden tips and advice, garden weddings, tea parties in the garden etc. The only rule is that the crafts/photos have to be your own. 

It's beginning to look a little bit autumnal in the garden so I made a fall themed card for my project. The stamp is Penny Black's wood mounted stamp Chitchat which I believe was my very first PB stamp I ever purchased 😊 I colored with Derwent Inktense water soluble pencils and then added some shading with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. the patterned papers are from my stash, I think both are from a DCWV Fall paper pack. Sentiment is from a clear stamp set also by Penny Black. I finished off the card with a button and jute twine bow and die cut butterflies using Penny Black's die set Soaring and some glitter on the butterflies' bodies.


There are still ongoing issues with blogger's reading list, if you don't want to miss a post then I'd love for you to subscribe via email.

 

Please use the form above to be added to my new email subscriber list via substack. Simply enter your email address and click subscribe. Subscribers, please add ellibellescorner at substack dot com to your address book so ensure post delivery.


Sharing the above card with these challenges:


There are no special party guests this time so let's get straight to the Top Picks from the last challenge.


Top Picks for Garden Party No. 18


It's never easy to choose but I finally managed and here they are listed in the order of entry:

(fun fact, Donna's card inspired me to use the image I used on today's card 😀)


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, October 8th). 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. 19!

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.
  • A short mention of products used whenever possible is expected, especially the focal point.
  • It is the creator's responsibility to follow copyright laws.
  • The party ends on Monday October 5th at 11:59pm CST
at 8 comments:

Sep 5, 2026

Halloween ATC

Earlier this year the official Penny Black shop marked down several of their stamp sets (I think they are being retired)  and this fun Halloween set Spooktacular was one of those. (I just checked and it's marked down to $3.95!!) I'm not usually so much into Halloween but do like some cute stuff whether it's stamps or decorations and I just couldn't resist this CUTE cat!


When I read the new theme at the Tag Along challenge was circles I immedately had this idea in my head. It's not often where something turns out the way I imaged it, but I actually liked it so much that I made a similar card at full size (A2) which I will share at a later time.

I started with a small circle for a moon mask then inked the background using Carved Pumpkin Distress Oxide ink. Some water was splashed onto the background for that fun reaction but it's hard to see. Next I stamped the cat (part of it anyway), removed the mask and stamped the spider. While the stamp set with the cat includes a spider, this particular one is a bit more creepy and it's from a wood mounted Halloween stamp (Creepy Crawly Halloween K4018) also ordered from that Penny Black sale. This one is no longer available through Penny Black. The small dots at the very top and the sentiment are all part of the "spider" stamp. I do not like spider at all but do find them fascinating at the same time. 

I inked the edges with Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink and ran a black inkpad just along the edge. The sentiment all comes in one line along with that spider (PB K4018) but I cut each word apart to fit onto the ATC. Oh, and I also used a Tim Holz mini tiles stencil on the background for some more interest.

I am entering this ATC here:

As always, thanks so much for visiting! Have a wonderful weekend. 

at 13 comments:

Sep 2, 2026

August Card Chain Challenge Reveal Day

It's been quite some time since I last joined in at the Card Chain Challenge but came across their fun optional August themes just a day before the linky tool was closing and immediately had an idea in my mind for the card. So I signed up :) My card went to Tina in Slovenia this time and I was happy to hear that it arrived safely.

As always there were several challenge options to choose such as a sketch, themes, colors, product or a technique. I chose the color options, mice and baking plus the design was inspired by the sketch although it's not an exact match.

Ok, so these mice look  more like they are getting ready to eat these baked treats and not actually bake them 😊 They are from the set Sweet Treats by Colorado Craft Company. Stamped with Memento on Xpress it card and colored with copic markers. One of the little mice has been fussy cut because I wanted to use a smaller circle for it to follow the sketch idea somewhat.


Background paper is old from Tim Holtz (Idea-ology). I added a few die cut flowers and sentiment is also from Tim Holtz (Tiny Text stamp set). The card base is kraft cardstock where I used a polka dot stencil on the front side. Some glitter was added to the flower centers and cake decor. 

I am sharing my card with these challenges:

It was a joy to receive some happy mail from Greta in OR. Thank you so much! Love these colors and the flowers are layered so beautifully!


There is still time to sign up for the next Card Chain Challenge where everyone sends and received a physical card. So nice these days when most things in our mail boxes are ads or bills. You can find out all the details here. 


at 14 comments:

Sep 1, 2026

Little Squirrel Amongst the Sunflowers

It's hard to believe but September has arrived!! I'm always sad when summer comes to an end but luckily here in Illinois we usually still have summer-like temperatures throughout September (in fact we are currently having a heatwave) and the weather stays mild until mid October (usually). And my Dahlias and Zinnas are still blooming happily with lots of butterflies around them. 

I do love working with autumn colors and themes so really enjoyed making today's card for the new Four Seasons challenge where we've now switched seasons and it's now All Things Fall/Autumn. As always we have a wonderful moodboard if you need a starting point.

I am actually sharing 2 cards today, they are similar but not exactly the same. First one is the one for the Four Seasons design team.

Card No.1:

 

The moodboard (see below) inspired me to reach for this beautiful sunflower PSX stamp (G-2003). A real oldie released 2006 that I purchased from eBay several years ago along with a few others. After stamping I used my Zig Clean Color brush pens for coloring and "smooshed" some distress ink color onto the background using a small acetate sheet. Then I stamped the script from Tracy Evans stamp set Magnolia and the little squirrel is also from a Tracy Evans set, Alpha Florals. Sentiment is from a Hero Arts autumn stamp kit from several years ago. I added gingham ribbon and a couple of staples, and used my black Posca pen for splatter.

Our moodboard is below, isn't is wonderful? As you can see my inspiration came from the bottom right image of sunflowers and black gingham ribbon, and then just had to add a squirrel!

You have until September 25th evening to join us and hope to see you there!


I am entering my card with these challenges:
Card No. 2:
While I had the sunflower stamp out I decided to make a second card, this time a birthday card. It's just slightly different the the card above so I thought I'd include it in the same blog post.


Here I used the My Favorite Things Birthday background stamp (part of it) instead of Tracy Evans script stamp and the gingham ribbon was placed above background stamping. Instead of a squirrel I used a little blackbird from one of Tracy Evans sets Amongst the Flowers. Love her little critters!! Sentiment came from a Stampin Up set with lots of small sentiments (found at a thrift store so it's most likely retired). On this card I used Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for coloring instead of the Zig Brush pens I used on the first card.

I am sharing the second card with these challenges:

Here they are side by side. Not sure which one I prefer :) But probably the birthday card as it's just a little bit more CAS.




at 13 comments:

Aug 29, 2026

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:


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!

at 30 comments:

Aug 19, 2026

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:


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


at 10 comments:

Aug 15, 2026

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:



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:

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.
at 22 comments:

Aug 14, 2026

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.

 








at 6 comments: