Showing posts with label allsorts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label allsorts. Show all posts

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.



Take an extra 15% off with code!



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!

Aug 30, 2025

A Masculine Birthday Card

Hello everyone. It's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Donna's turn to host. For her theme she selected "Birthdays" and of course we have the "Anything Goes" option as always. There are 2 prizes for this challenge of 2 stamp sets each and you have two weeks to join us.

As I have more masculine than feminine birthdays coming up later this year I decided to make a masculine birthday card using an old PSX stamp I purchased from eBay many years ago. I think it was part of a mixed lot I purchased as this is my first time using it. 


It is PSX K2777, as with all PSX stamps now only available through second hand markets such as eBay or Etsy. I used Distress inks for inking and coloring along with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for the smaller parts such as the flowers, stones and ramp.


The background was embossed using Spellbinders 3D embossing folder Cast Away and the sentiment is part of the Penny Black set Let's Play. I like the simple font for male cards. 

Linking up here:


Thanks so much for visiting!


Aug 16, 2025

B is For............Bird, Blue Bloom and Butterfly

Hello and welcome! It's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and this time around it's my turn to host. For my optional theme I selected "I Spy Something Beginning with B". Lots of favorites beginning with a "B" so I hope you will join us and there is always the "Anything Goes" option. We have 2 prizes of coordinating stamps and dies to give away.

I have two projects to share today:

A couple of weeks ago I made this card using a new to me stamp set by Stampin Up and today I am sharing an Artist Trading Card (ATC) I made using the same products but a bit differently. 


B is for Bird on a Branch

I used a mix of red, orange, yellow and brown Distress inks for this card. A white pencil was used on the bird's and dragonfly's wings. I used the Direct to Paper technique around the edges of the ATC but a couple words got lost from the ink so I cut those out from white cardstock. The background was stenciled using Aall and Create's stencil Tulips (the same one I used on the card I made previously).


Related Products: 


  

I am entering this ATC here:


B is for Blue, Blossom and Butterfly


For the above card I used washi tape to mask off the edges then using the "smooshing technique inked up the background with Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide ink. Stamping on the background was done with Aall and Create's set Foliage #496 (retired) and Sent with Love #831 (retired). The rose (also from set #831) was stamped on a separate piece of cardstock which was also inked using the smooshing technique, and then fussy cut. The butterfly is part of the Aall and Create set Spread Your Wings #729 (retired).

For a little more interest I added a piece of cheesecloth behind the rose and used a Wink of Stella clear glitter brush all over the rose but it's not showing in the picture. 


Related Products:




I am sharing the rose card with these challengese:




If you like this post then I invite you to subscribe to receive post updates sent directly to your inbox. Simply add your email address below to be added to the list. 

Aug 2, 2025

Cats, Books and an Abstract Background

Hello everyone. Today is the start of a new challenge at Allsorts and Helen is hosting. For her optional theme she chose "Animals". Lots of options there but you can also go with the "Anything Goes" option to be entered into the prize drawing or to be selected in the Top 7. We have prizes from Lavinia Stamps.

Last month for my birthday I treated myself to a few new Lavinia stamps and thought this challenge was the perfect reason to ink some of them up. 


I've loved these cats - Hocus and Pocus - from when they were first released last year. I also knew I needed this book stamp - Wizardry - when I first saw it on someone's card a few months ago. Then on the background I used the stencil called Abstract also by Lavinia. You can purchase these stamps directly from Lavinia if you are in the UK and there are several stockists here in the US as well, I love ASC Supplies as they offer free shipping. Not sure how they can do it with the constant rise in postage fees but free shipping is so appreciated these days!!

I first started by stamping the books and cats onto my card front and stamped the books onto a post it note and fussy cut to make a mask. With washi tape and the mask in place I inked up the bottom portion using a Lawn Fawn stencil and Tea Dye Distress ink. After removing the washi tape I inked up the rest of the card using Lavinia's Abstract stencil and Mustard Seed Distress ink. 

I thought the card needed something more so I decided to stamp  Field Grass also by Lavinia around the books with the book mask in place. 

For the sentiment I chose "Have a Purr-fect Day" from the set Fun Felines by Penny Black.  I added a few black enamel dots as embellishments, matted it onto light brown card and then a white card base. 

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:

Thanks so much for visiting!


If you like this post then I invite you to subscribe to receive post updates sent directly to your inbox. Simply add your email address below to be added to the list. 


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:



If you like this post then I invite you to subscribe to receive post updates sent directly to your inbox. Simply add your email address below to be added to the list. 


Thanks so much for visiting!

Jul 5, 2025

Hooray... It's Your Special Day

Hello everyone, this is another scheduled post so hopefully it posted as planned. 

It's the start of a new challenge at Allsorts and Liz is hosting this time. Her theme is one I really enjoyed... For  a Child as I simply love all things cute and cute stamps are the reason why I discovered this hobby in the first place. Of course I discovered lots of different styles of stamps over the many years which I really enjoy working with just the same, but I will never not like making cute cards :)


This stamp is by Penny Black - Furry Flight. I colored with my Derwent Inktense pencils. For the sun I used a rays stencil by Vicki Bouton which at one time was a freebie from scrapbook.com. I used Antique Linen ink for stenciling. 


Related Products:


The patterened paper I've had in my stash for a long time from a 12x12 paper pack by DCWV (I think). Sentiment is also by Penny Black from the set "Sweet Wishes". I stamped "It's Your Special Day" from the same set inside the card but unfortinately didn't take a picture of the inside.

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 hope to get a chance to link up with these challenges:

Thanks so much for visiting!


If you like this post then I invite you to subscribe to my blog per email to receive email notifications when I post something new. Simply enter your email address below and click subscribe.

Jun 7, 2025

Flowers Make Me Happy

Hello everyone and happy Saturday! Today is the start of a new challenge at Allsorts and Gail is hosting. Her theme for the next two weeks is.......What makes you happy. A fun and easy theme but as always there is the Anything Goes option if you prefer. We have prizes from Buddly Crafts

There are a lots of things that make me happy and I decided to go with Flowers. 



I didn't always love Geraniums, somehow it seems to me like a very "old-fashioned" flower with not the most pleasant scent, but in the recent years it's become one I purchase every year. Love that it's available in a variety of colors, they are very heat tolerant and last three seasons long into late fall with minimal upkeep. So for my card I selected this beautiful Penny Black stamp Light Touch which features a beautiful brushstroke Geranium. 

Brushstroke stamps need a stamp positioning tool (in my opinion) and that is what I used along with Distress inks/oxides (Picked Raspberries, Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch, Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron). When the ink was dry (I used my heating tool to help it along) I stenciled a mini tile design on the background (Tim Holtz stencil). Then I randomly stamped a Nature verse on the background which is part of a Tracy Evans set (Miniatures by Aall and Create). This set is retired but possibly still available through some retailers).


Related Products:



For the sentiment I chose Especially for You from the Penny Black set Blooming sentiments. I added this with a couple of staples along with a piece of crimped paper. I've had my paper crimper tool for many years since my early cardmaking days and when I recently decluttered it almost had to go because I simply never use it. Well, here we are, it still has a place in my craft room and it was time to put it to work :) Anyone else having such a hard time parting with tools even though used so rarely?

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!


>>>>>>>>>>Spring Into Summer Die Cutting Sale at Scrapbook.com Plus Free Gifts!/Ad




I plan to share with these challenges:

Speaking of challenges, I wanted to remind you about my Garden Party where anything in or from a garden goes. Just a few more days remain for you to join in the current challenge and I hope to see you there :)


If you like this post then I invite you to subscribe to my blog to receive email notifications when I post something new. Simply enter your email address below and click subscribe.

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.


Related Products:


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. 


Related Products:


I plan to share this card with these challenges:



If you like this post then I invite you to subscribe to my blog per email to receive email notifications when I post something new. Simply enter your email address below and click subscribe.


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

 




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. 


Related Products:



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.


If you liked this post then I invite you to subscribe to receive post updates sent directly to your inbox. Simply add your email address below to be added to the list. 

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. 


Related Products:





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 :(

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.


Related Products:



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!



Take an extra 12% off your order with code!


You may also like:

Join in the fun with all things "Garden". 

Pinned Post


Please click HERE to join in "Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday" challenge.


Please click HERE to join in "I Spy With My Little Eye" challenge.


Please click HERE to join in "Ellibelle's Garden Party" challenge.