Showing posts with label aall and create. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aall and create. Show all posts

Jul 4, 2026

A Crafty Cat and an Artist Trading Card for America's 250th Birthday

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Donna is hosting this time. Her optional theme is "Stencils" which are my favorite tools (besides stamps) to use. We have a selection of stencils from the Allsorts prize box for 2 lucky winners. 

And here is what I made:

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.

I colored this cute cat at the end of last month when I tried to join the We Love Stamping challenge where the theme was "hobbies and sports". Who can resist this cute crafty kitty working on a handmade card? As it so often happens to me, I didn't get a chance to finish the card for that challenge but it was a perfect starting point for this Allsorts challenge theme. 

The image which is part of the Penny Black stamp set Furry Affection has been stamped with Versafine Onyx ink and colored with Derwent Inktense pencils. For the wall I used a stencil by Tracy Evans for Aall and Create (Crisp Tulips)  and I drew lines for the floor after lightly coloring with the pencils. I added a strip of patterned paper to the top edge and die cuts made with Penny Black's die set Doodles of Love. I've had this die set for a few years now but this was my first time ever using it. 

The card above fits these challenges:


I have another project to share today which also fits Allsorts' Stencils theme.

As we are celebrating America's 250th Birthday today, I decided to make an Artist Trading Card for this special Independence Day.

I love this eagle stamp from Tracy Evans set Fully Fledged (from her Aall and Create release) and thought it would be a perfect choice as the Bald Eagle is the national bird of the US. Then I used the star stencil Lotsa Stars also from Aall and Create on the background. Also used are Tracy Evans Boutique Design sets Alpha Florals (USA and little squares) and Numerical Cats for the number 250. I used a small circle punch to punch out the numbers then added to the fussy cut squares with glue dots. Inking and stenciling was done with Distress inks Fired Brick, Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans. I also used a stripes stencil but it's hard to see. 

The photo below was taken at the end of January at a dam on the Mississippi River about an hour from where I live. They gather at this dam to hunt for fish in winter when most of the river is frozen and it's always fun to see many of them. Perfect winter activity!


I am linking this ATC up here:

Thanks so much for visiting and Happy Independence Day to my readers in the United States. 
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Mar 14, 2026

Green Butterflies

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Lynne is our host. Her optional theme is Things with Wings and we have a $30 voucher from Taylored Expressions  along with an A4 stamp set to give away. As always the challenge runs for two week so there is plenty of time to join us. The "Anything Goes" option is also there if you prefer to go that route.

Lots of "wings" to choose from in my craft room and I decided on a beautiful older set by Tracy Evans.


I was inspired by the current Triple B challenge (linked below) where the option is to use shades of green for their March challenge. I made an inky smooshed background using Twisted Citron Distress Oxide ink. The stamp set is by Tracy Evans for Aall and Create called Spread Your Wings. It's been retired but still found at various retailers such as Frantic Stamper if you are in the US.

This card was easy to make. After the background dried, I stamped part of the image at the bottom of the card, then another part at the top part using Versafine Onyx ink. 


I used Zig Clean Color brush pens to color the butterflies. Two of the butterflies have been fussy cut and added with a glue dot. I then stamped part of the image again at the top right using Mowed Lawn Distress ink (second generation for a fainter "background" look). The sentiment which is also part of the set was stamped on a scrap piece of cardstock. I used my Twisted Citron ink pad to make a colored mat for the image panel then adhered this to a white card base.






The large butterfly is covered in Wink of Stella sparkle but it was practically impossible for me to capture the sparkle on camera. I did try...
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!


Below is the list of challenges I'd like to share my card with:


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Sep 13, 2025

Trees, Leaves and Plants at Allsorts Challenge

Hello everyone, time is flying by so fast and it's already time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge which I almost missed out on as I thought I'd have a few more days to make my card. I do really love the bi-weekly challenges but somehow it was easier to stay organized when the challenges were weekly :)

Anyway, this time Val is hosting and her theme is "Trees, Leaves and Plants", perfect for this time of the year. And of course the Anything Goes option is there too!


As I was in  a bit of a hurry I thought I'd check at Paper Playful for a simple sketch and  I found one at Try an Sketch on Tuesday (linked below) which inspired my use of the leaf and sunflower. The leaf is from the retired set #496 Foliage by Aall and Create. If you are in the US then it can still be purchased from Frantic Stamper. The sunflower is from Tracy Evans Boutique Designs set TE33 Sunflower. 




I flipped the sketch and as any shapes are allowed I chose a leaf and flower. For the background I decided on a stencil duo from Tim Holtz, this stamps and stencil" combo set and the script stamp from Tracy Evans set TE43 Magnolia. I then decided to add a "frame" around the leaf using a rectangle stencil from MFT and more distress inks in autumnal colors (MFT closed its doors and I'm not sure if the stencil is available anywhere else but you can also mask the edges or make your own stencil using dies). The word "Foliage" is from the same set #496 Foliage and I decided to add a little squirrel from Tracy Evans set TE32 Alpha Florals. Distress inks used are: Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, Aged Mahogany, Villainous Potion and Walnut Stain.



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Planning to share with these challenges:


I also decided to make an Artist Trading Card as I had stamped the leaf twice using just a little bit of a different color variation on each leaf. I used some of the same products as above to make the ATC - same stencil set, same Aall and Create set Foliage and same Tracy Evans set Magnolia. 

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 the ATC here:


At Allsorts we have 2 prizes from the Allsorts prizes box for this challenge and you have two weeks to join us for your chance to win!


Thanks so much for visiting!

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Jul 19, 2025

Overgrown Wonder

Hello everyone, it's the start of a new challenge at Allsorts and Lynn is hosting with her optional theme of "Flowers". We'd love to see all your floral creation and of course the option of Anything Goes is there too. Prizes are from Aall and Create and you have 2 weeks to join in.

A few months ago I won this beautiful stamp by Aall and Create - Overgrown Wonder, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to ink it up. It's such a detailed stamp and instead of coloring all the fine details I decided to use a homemade circles stencil (made out of an acetate sheet and a variety of circle punches) and various colors of ink on the background, then I stamped the image directly onto the colorful background. After mounting this onto a black mat I used a simple but matching background paper I've had in my stash for a long time. On this background I used stamps from the set Fly Free (also by Aall and Create but retired). The sentiment "Fly Free" is part of this set and the cut out sentiment is from Tim Holtz' Tiny Text stamp set. A white card base and some stickyback enamel dots on the butterfly body finish off the card.

This post does 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 your support!


Related Products:

I plan to share with these challenges:



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Thanks so much for visiting!
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May 24, 2025

Presents, Prizes and a Bouquet of Roses

Happy Saturday and welcome! It's time for a special celebration at the Allsorts challenge blog where we are celebrating Allsorts' 16th Birthday with lots of prizes and a super easy theme!!!  Lots of challenge blogs have come and gone since then and it's so great to be part of this long-running challenge blog for "all sorts" of crafts. I've been a part of this team for 8 out of the 16 years. How time flies!!

To celebrate this special occasion, we have  several prizes to give away: Four prizes of products from AALL and Create, a $25 store voucher from Lawn Fawn, three stamps from Colorado Craft Company and a $25 store voucher from Gina K Designs. Our theme is simply Anything Goes! 


I have two cards to share this time... first up is a card I made using this darling stamp by Colorado Craft Company - Big Love. 

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 stamped on Copic Xpress It card with Memento Tuxedo ink then colored with Copic markers. Next I added washi tape along the edges for a mask and inked inside the mask using Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink. A polka dot stencil was used for a little more interest on this otherwise CAS card. Sentiment is part of the same stamp set. I embellished with a little button and some white twine.


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I plan to enter this card with these challenges:


For my second card I used a stamp by Aall and Create which I was lucky enough to win a couple of months ago - Roses in Bloom.

The embossed background was done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder I've had for a long time. To add more interest to it I wiped a rose red ink pad over the raised texture. The image was stamped with Versafine Onyx ink and colored with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. The "script" stamp I used on the background is part of a retired roses set by Aall and Create (Sent with Love #831), I thought it would be a perfect fit for this bouquet of roses. The sentiment stamped in black is part of the same retired stamp set.

Finally I added a small layered butterfly (Penny Black die Soaring) to finish off the card. 


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I plan to share this card with these challenges:



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Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you have a great weekend and maybe you'll find some crafty time too :) 

 

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May 10, 2025

A Floral Artist Trading Card

Today is the start of a new challenge at Allsorts and it's Lynne's turn to host. She chose "paper piecing" for her optional theme and of course the "anything goes" option is there too if you prefer. Our prize for this challenge is a £25 store voucher from Personal Impressions. You have two weeks to join us.

To switch it up a bit I decided to make an ATC instead of a traditional card for today's challenge. I've only made one ATC before and it's been years ago. It was fun to make but I won't be joining any ATC swaps anytime soon as I really don't like duplicating my projects. Luckily there are no rules and I can just keep it for myself and hopefully add more to my personal collection :)  

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!

The flower is part of a large stamp by Aall and Create (In the Wild - Retired). It was stamped on a handmade background using a previously inked paper and some other parts of the same stamp. After fussy cutting, I decided it was a little too pale so I inked the edges using a darker purple ink - Villainous Potion. For the background I used a Gelli Arts gel plate. I used Wilted Violet and Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide inks which I applied to the gel plate using a brayer. Next I pressed a Tim Holtz stencil onto the plate before taking the print. And as this ATC was made when I worked on re-organizing and decluttering my craft room I found my jar of texture paste, not used in some years but still perfectly fine so I decided this little ATC would be a good background for some mixed media. I used my Circle Explosion stencil with the texture paste. 


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I thought a little more was needed so I stamped the numbers from the same Aall and Create set Wild and Free on the top left and used a stamp from the Aall and Create set Follow Your Own Path on the bottom right. For whatever reason I ended up with a smudge on the bottom left and another craft item I found while decluttering came to the rescue, Tim Holtz' Botanical collage paper. I had purchased this several years ago but never used it before. The script on the bottom left and top right are part of this collage paper. I love that it's almost translucent and mainly just shows off the black print. I definitely want to use more of this paper. It has such beautiful botanical prints on it along with some vintage text. To finish it off I used a white Posca pen to flick some ink onto the card and added the word Nature stamped on a scrap piece of paper. 




In two weeks we are celebrating Allsorts' 16th birthday and we will have some special prizes for the occasion. Hope you will join us then too and we would love it if you shared our logo on your own blogs to help us spread the word.


I plan to share with these challenges:


Thanks so much for visiting and hope you're having a wonderful weekend. Lots of sunshine in our forecast which makes me happy.


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Apr 26, 2025

Blackbird

Today is the start of a new theme at Allsorts challenge. It's Sarah's turn to host and her optional theme for the next two weeks is: Inspired by a Song. As always there is the Anything Goes option if this theme isn't for you. We have prizes from In2Craft. 

Well, I struggled with this challenge more than I should have. I had several song ideas in my head but I couldn't decide on one, so overthinking took over until I finally settled on "Blackbird" by the Beatles. 
And here is my card:



I used a stamp set from Aall and Create with the same name (Blackbird). It has been retired but may still be available from a few retailers such as Frantic Stamper in the US. I started by first stamping the large bird using Versafine Onyx ink. Then I used a Lavinia stencil on the background with Twisted Citron Distress Oxide ink. I wanted to stick with just green and black so I used Mowed Lawn Distress ink with the star stamp. Wording and small blackbirds were stamped with the same black ink. As you may have guessed I messed up stamping the birds on the top left and in order to save the card I had to come up with a way to do that so I stamped them again on a snippet of cardstock which I then tore along the edges. This step led me to distress the cardfront as well. Before adhering to the card base I inked the edges with Mowed Lawn ink. 


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This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!




I plan to share with these challenges:

Thanks so much for visiting and hope you're having a good weekend. I will be working a bit more in my garden. I started weeding and clearing out my small vegetable garden patch but I am not even sure if I will plant any veggies this year. I've not had much luck in the recent years so I may just throw some Zinnia seeds in that spot and hope for lots of butterflies instead. And I need to figure out what is wrong with my raspberry bushes. Most of the canes that are supposed to carry fruit this year seem to have split at the bottom and are dead. So frustrating! I definitely don't have a green thumb :(
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Apr 12, 2025

The Wonderful Gifts of Spring

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Val is hosting with her optional theme of Stencils or Masks, or Anything Goes.  Prizes are from  Lisa Horton Crafts and some stencils. The challenge is open for two weeks so plenty of time to join us :)

I decided to use this beautiful rabbit stamp from Aall and Create (No.529 In the Wild). I love this stamp but only used it once before and I thought this was the perfect time for inking him up along with a stencil (new to me) also from Aall and Create (Crisp Tulips No. 178). These are probably both retired from Aall and Create but can still found at some retailers.


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The image was stamped onto Neenah cardstock using Versafine Onyx ink  then colored with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. I used Twisted Citron Distress Oxide ink for the stencil pattern. Sentiments are from another retired Aall and Create set (left) and a retired Stampin Up set (quote on the right side). A few die cut butterflies (Penny Black die Soaring) along with a few enamel dots finish off the card front which I then layered onto a green mat and white for the base. I did use a black inkpad along the edges of the image panel for some interest. 

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!




I plan to share with these challenges:



Thanks so much for visiting!



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Join in the fun with all things "Garden". 
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Mar 29, 2025

Spring Flowers

Hello and welcome! It's time for another new Allsorts challenge and this time around it's my turn to host. Fitting for this time of year I chose the theme of Spring Flowers. I love springtime when nature awakens after a long winter and pretty blossom are starting to appear everywhere. As always, the Anything Goes option is there too and you may enter up to 5 times. We have prizes by Aall and Create and a chance to be featured in my Top 7. 

I made a CAS style card using stamps from Aall and Create. The beautiful magnolia (I think that's what this blossom is) is part of the set Friendship Florals. The set has been retired by Aall and Create, but probably still available at some retailers. (If you are in the US then Frantic Stamper has a few sets available.) After stamping and coloring (I used Zig Clean Color brush markers), I masked the border around the image off with painter's tape then added Distress Oxide ink. I used Abandond Coral ink but wish I had used Tattered Rose instead for a better match to the Zig marker I used. Before removing the masking tape I stamped some wording (from another retired  Aall and Create set - Daisy Elegance) at the bottom using black ink. I was going for a CAS style card but still decided to do some paper piercing along the inked rectangle, then used blush pink cardstock for the base. A little bit of Stickles glitter was applied to the flower center. 


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This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!



I plan to share my card with these challenges:

 

Thanks so much for visiting!

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