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:

• Ally's Angels - AG
• Alphabet Challenge - A for Any letter from teh Alphabet (I chose B for Bird, Black, letter B)
• Creative Inspirations Challenge - AG
• Just Us Girls - Stencils
• Make My Monday - Things with Wings
• Paper Rock Scissors - Paper and/or Scissors (I used both - scissors for distressing and all layers are paper)
• Pearly Sparkles Challenge - Monochrome
• Stamping Sensations - Nature/Animals/Birds
• Stamps & Fun = Creativity - Things with Wings
• The Paper Funday - AG with twist of "B" 
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies

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 :(

I Spy With My Little Eye................ April Showers and/or May Flowers (Challenge No. 25)

Hello 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 too! We had lots of fabulous entries last month so be sure to scroll down to see if you are in the Top 2, both invited to join us as Guest Designers in May if wanted :)

It's Pauline's turn to select a theme this time and it is:

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

April Showers and/or May Flowers.

Lots of great options whether you choose showers or flowers or maybe both! We can't wait to see what you'll share with us. As always, the linky tool is at the end of this post.

My Card (Ellie)

All details are right below the card.

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!

For my card I decided to use the newly released Penny Black set Hydrangreas along with the matching die for a CAS-ish card. I also used the previously released (but new to me) Posted set along with the Posted die set. I colored the flower using Zig Clean Color markers. The background was embossed with Penny Black's embossing folder Texture. I inked the edges on both the embossed piece as well as the postage die cut and stamped the hydrangea directly on to the postage die cut using Tumbled Glass ink for a little bit of interest on the background. I finished off by adding stickles glitter to the center of each blossom but it isn't showing up well. The sentiment is from MFT itty bitty basics.

I plan to share my card with these challenges:

• Addicted to Stamps and More - Die Cuts and Stencils
• Aud Sentiments Blog Challenge - Embossing and Flowers
• Beautiful Blossoms - Flowers
• Can You Handle The Pressure? - Embossing Folders
• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - use PB stamps
• Triple B - Blooms, Birds or Butterflies

Pauline's Card

So beautifully created with a great mix of stamps! Please visit Pauline's blog to find out how she made this card.

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We're excited to have two guest designers joining us this month, that is Carrianne and Lia. Thank you both for being our guests!!

Carrianne's Card

Such a fun and cheerful garden scene! Please visit Carrianne's blog to find out how she made this card.

Lia's Card

Isn't this most adorable and beautifully created! Please visit Lia's blog to find out how she made this card.

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Top Picks for Challenge no. 24

Many thanks to everyone who joined us in the last challenge of "The Dawn of Spring".  It was great to see so many of you joining us! Selecting Top Picks is never easy but we finally managed and here they are: 

No. 14 Silke

No. 26 Helen

Congratulations to both of you!!

Remember, Top Picks are invited to join us in the next challenge if you like to. That would be for challenge no. 26, starting Wednesday May 21st . Of course it's not a requirement but we would love to have you both as guests!!  

If you are interested in taking part, please message me (Ellie) at ellibellescorner at gmail dot com so I can give you all the details for our upcoming theme.

Below is your top pick logo, you may place it on your own blogs if you like to :)

To play along in the current 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 May 18th at 11:59pm CST

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:

• Alphabet Challenge - Z for Zoom (something fast)
• Classic Design Challenge - Bunnies, Blooms or Butterflies
• Crafty Animals - Animals
• Crafty Catz - AG
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! -Stencils and opt. Patterns
• Creative Fingers - AG
• Double D - Easter Mood Board
• Fab n' Funky - Think Spring
• Shopping Our Stash - Hippety Hop
• Stamping Sensations - Animals or Anything Nature Themed
• The Paper Funday - Beginning with B (Bunny, Blooms, Butterfly, Bowtie)
• Unicorn Challenge - Use Dies
• Word Art Wednesday - AG

Thanks so much for visiting!

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Ellibelle's Garden Party No. 2

Join in the fun with all things "Garden". 

Ellibelle's Garden Party No. 2 - Anything in or from a Garden

Hello and welcome to another Garden Party!! So glad you are here! The first party was a great success, thank you all for joining in the fun, it has been wonderful to see all things "Garden" on your blogs and the linky tool gallery full of garden things. Be sure to scroll to the end to see the Top Picks which btw was extremely hard to choose!

Remember, the theme here is always anything Garden related, from or in a garden, this can be cards, scrapbook pages and crafts of any kind along with hobby photography from a garden, garden weddings, garden tea parties, garden tips etc. 

And  here is what I made for this month - Tulips from the Garden.

This cute image is by Penny Black - Tulips for You. I finally purchased a new pack of Xpress it blending card (in my experience the best paper for Copics) so I colored her with Copic markers after stamping with Memento Tuxedo ink. It's a pretty large stamp so I went with a CAS-ish design by adding just a few patterned papers from my scrap box. I mounted the image panel onto matching pink cardstock then another piece of patterned paper. The button sentiment is an oldie from Whimsy Stamps, and I cut it out with the matching die, unfortunately both the sentiment and die are no longer available. I used some jute twine with the button sentiment and added this to the card with foam tape. 

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!

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I plan to share with these challenges:

• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Flowers Goes
• Classic Design Challenge - Bunnies, Blooms or Butterflies
• Crafty Calendar - Feminine
• Creatalicious Challenges - Easter or Spring
• Die Cut Divas - Die Cuts and Flowers
• Fab n' Funky - Think Spring
• Girlz Creative Crafts - Birthday Girls
• Heart's Quest Celebration of Love - Birthday etc. and Spring Season
• Let's Craft & Create Challenge - Add Flowers
• Neglected Stuff Challenge - Neglected Stuff (patterned papers and button sentiment)
• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Penny Black Stamps
• Stamping Sensations - Flowers, Animals, Nature
• Sweet Stampin - Female Cards
• The Paper Funday - Anything with "B" (birthday, blooms, button sentiment)
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies

Several clusters of purple crocus made a surprise appearance in my garden this year. Last year I only had one single purple bloom along with a white one. Squirrels like to dig up the bulbs so I definitely didn't expect them. Sadly they never bloom for very long and are faded now. 

Top Picks from Garden Party No. 1

There was such a great variety in garden themed posts and as you can imagine it was extremely hard to make this selection. But finally I settled on these 3 listed in the order of entry:

No. 10 Karen L.

who shared this beautiful butterfly themed card.

No. 15 Joanne 

who shared a wonderful display of Orchids from her visit to a Botanical Garden.

No. 47 Carol Gill

who shared this gorgeous art journal page.

Congratulations to each one of you! Your top pick logo is below, you may post this to your own blogs if you like to :)

Now it's time for the second 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 :)

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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 May 5th at 11:59pm CST