Ellibelle's Corner

Mar 5, 2025

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - March Challenge (and Exciting News!!)

Hello and welcome to the March Edition of Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday challenge taking place right here on my blog. I'm so glad you stopped by today and hope you'll decide to share your crafty makes too. There were lots of fabulous entries last month, thank you all!! Be sure to scroll down to see if your entry was a Top Pick.

Exciting News!!

Last week an idea for a new challenge popped into my head 😀 and I decided to make it happen. It will be all about "Gardens" and I am calling it Ellibelle's Garden Party. It will be for papercrafts of any kind, and you may also share garden photography and other garden related posts. I don't know about you but being out in a garden is one of my most favorite things to do and has been my whole life. So mark your calendars and come join the first party starting Thursday March 13th!!

Ok, back to the reason of today's post..

As most of you know, the theme at Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday is now always ....

Anything Goes

and instead of a challenge theme there will be a "Top Pick Twist", meaning I will select a twist from all of the entries for the Top 3. Nobody will know what the twist will be (not even me) until the end of the challenge. So do link up all of your crafty makes, your entry might be the one inspiring the Top Pick twist :) The linky tool is at the end of this post.

Here is what I made:

I'm still playing with my new Tracy Evans Boutique Designs stamps and recently actually managed to watch a video tutorial of one of her recent makes and this is my version of it. I used similar colors and similar techniques but chose different stamps/stencil and a bit different design.

The large cat stencil is Snippet Stencil Black Cat by Tracy Evans Boutique Designs, stamps are Numerical Cats, Abstract Trees (both by TE Boutique Designs), Miniatures - the background text stamping (Aall and Create by Tracy Evans) and Night Stalker - part of the sentiment in black (Aall and Create by Dominic Phillips).

Inks are Salvaged Patina, Wilted Violet, Cracked Pistachio and Hickory Smoke along with Versafine Onyx for the black ink. A white Posca pen was used to add splatter to the background.

Related Products:

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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 link up with these challenges:

Crafty Animals - Animals
Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Favorite Technique (I love the acrylic block inking technique)
Stamping Sensations - AG
We Love Stamping - AG
We Love 2 Create - AG Mixed Media style

February Top Picks with a Twist:

Now it's time to announce the Top Picks with a twist from the February entries. Thank you all again for joining in the fun, I really enjoyed visiting your entries and selecting a "twist". This time the twist is.... Anything But a Card.

And here they are listed in the order of entry:

No. 10 Debbie M.

who made this fabulous explosion box.

No. 13 Fiona Whitehead

who made this beautiful mini book (more gorgeous pages on her blog).

No. 20 Adry Concep

who made this beautifully crochet Tulip Surprise.

Congratulations to each one of you for your well deserved recognition. The Top Pick logo is below, you may post this to your own blogs if you like to :)

I will continue to pin the top picks to the dedicated Pinterest board, but will also include photo and link back to the original blogs/sites here. These will be removed at the start of the new challenge to stay in compliance with GDPR.

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To join in this month's challenge please use the linky tool below. You have until the last Wednesday of March to join in (March 26th 11:59pm CST).

If the linky tool is missing (it happend last year in March during renewal of my linky tools subscription), please simply leave your blog post link in a comment below.

A few things to remember:

You may combine with any other challenges.
You may use any brand of stamps/digis/dies/papers (no company restriction as long as copyright laws are followed).
Please note: entries using pre-colored digital images will no longer be selected as top picks.
A short description of products used is expected, most importantly the source of focal point.
This linkup is for sharing handmade projects of any kind not limited to papercrafts.
Please try to limit to 3 entries per month - it's ok if you end up with more than 3 but I may not be able to visit your entries after the 3rd.
Please do include a link back here to my blog in your blog post.
Backlinking to a recent post IS allowed.

You can read more about the Guidelines/Copyright info here.

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Mar 1, 2025

CAS Hugs and Kisses

Hello again, this is my second post for today as it's time for another new Allsorts challenge and for the next two weeks our theme is "Clean and Simple" selected by Helen. Of course there is always the option of Anything Goes so please do share any of your new crafty makes with us (up to 5 per entrant). We'd love to see what you are working on :) We have prizes by Oakwood Direct and a chance to be selected for the Top 7!

Here is w hat I made:

I still had my new stamps by Tracy Evans Boutique Designs on my desk and really love all the cats included in the Numerical Cats set so I made a very CAS style card. The frame was done with an oldie Spellbinders rectangle die set and I used Tracy Evans' Bubble Background stamp from the same release to add a pattern. I used the same bubble background stamp to add a pattern to the card base on the sides. "Meow" is part of the Numerical Cats set and "Hugs and Kisses" is part of another new release TE set Flower Power. I used Abandoned Coral Distress Oxide and Versafine Onyx inks.

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Thanks so much for visiting!

I plan to share my card with these challenges:

Simon Says Stamps - AG
Sisterhood of Crafters - Red or Pink

Always Anything Goes Challenges/Link Parties

You may also like:

Four Seasons March Challenge

Spring has Sprung at Four Seasons Challenge

The cold winter months are (mostly) over and we are switching seasons at the Four Seasons challenge blog. It's time for all things Spring!! As always we have a fabulous mood board to inspire you but it is optional to use as Anything Spring Goes.

March Mood Board:

And here is what I made:

I was inspired by the bottom left image which was the reason I chose this cute digi stamp. This is another image from LOTV stamps which came as part of their Christmas Sale last December.

I first colored with Copic markers then decided to add some shading using a colored pencil. That turned into me using even more colored pencils and took quite some time to finish too and I could have easily spent at least another hour adding more pencil coloring but it was getting late and I was getting tired. I really love the look of pencils over copics but it can be so time consuming!

Related Products:

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Around the bottom part of the image I used my most used stencil Feather Leaf by Lavinia. I cut the image panel out using an old die from Sizzix, framed with some dotted patterned paper and then mounted this onto green SU cardstock. The sentiment is part of a retired SU set and I used a retired Whimsy Stamps label die to cut it out but I trimmed the die cut on top and bottom to make it fit into that space. Jute twine is by May Arts. Butterflies die cuts are by Penny Black. It's hard to see but I added Stickles glitter to all the flower centers.

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I plan to share with these challenges:

Alphabet Challenge - W for Wings
Digi Choosday - AG
Just Us Girls - AG with a Stencil

Always Anything Goes Challenges/Link Parties

Thanks so much for visiting and hope to see you joining us at Four Seasons!

Feb 22, 2025

More Silhouette Cats

While I was working on this recently made card I wasn't happy with my first attempt but didn't want to throw away everything, so I decided to use part of the card and turn it into a CAS- ish style card. This is the result of that.

For that card I had planned on making a watercolored card and then add the silhouette cats to that. The original card itself didn't live up to my expectations so I trimmed off just the part with the little kittens and sentiment box, used a black inkpad around the edges and then mounted this onto a white card base. I used the Bubble Background stamp behind the image panel for some interrest using Broken China Distress ink. The image panel was done with mostly the same Distress ink and I stamped the leaves with the same ink. The line that appears brown-ish was originally part of a tree I had stamped. These stamps are all by Tracy Evans Boutique Designs (Numerical Cats, Bubble Background, Silhouettes, Alpha Florals).

Related Products:

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I plan to share with these challenges:

613 Avenue Create - AG
C.R.A.F.T. - AG
Crafty Catz - AG
Creative Fingers - AG
Dragonfly Dreams - CAS
Heart's Quest Celebration of Love - Love/Anniversary
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - AG
Krafty Chicks - CAS
My Time to Craft - 3,2,1 Recipe (mine are: 3 Layers, 2 Cats, 1 Sentiment)
Paper Rock Scissors - Papers and/or Scissors
Simon Says Stamps - Cute and Cuddly
Simply Clean and Simple - CAS
Sweet Stampin - masculine
The Male Room - Monochrome

Feb 19, 2025

I Spy With My Little Eye..........No Designer Paper (Challenge No. 23)

Happy Wednesday 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 last month so be sure to scroll down to see who made the Top 2, both invited to join our challenge as a guest designer next month.

This time around it's Pauline's turn to select a theme and it is................

I Spy With My Little Eye...............

No Designer Papers.

This could be a CAS style card or use stamps/inks to make your backgrounds but we do NOT want to spy any pre-made designer/patterned papers. We can't wait to see what you'll share with us, as always the linky tool is at the end of this post.

And here is what we came up with for your inspiration:

Ellie

(All details are right below the card)

I've been wanting to purchase some of Tracy Evans Boutique Designs stamps since their launch but have so many stamps in my stash from her time with Aall and Create (some not yet used!) that I talked myself out of them...until very recently when she released the fabulous Numerical Cats set. Still talked myself out of it for about a week or so but in the end I just couldn't resist :) Shipping from the UK was high and it wasn't available anywhere in the US yet so I placed a large enough order to make it worthwile. All stamps used on today's card are by Tracy Evans Boutique Designs (TE012, TE034, TE035, TE036, TE032).

The background was made with simple Acrylic Block stamping. I used Salvaged Patina and Broken China Distress inks directly on the block, spritzed with some water and stamped onto Bristol Vellum paper. I made sure this was dry before continuing. The trees, little hearts and rectangular box were stamped using Broken China ink and I used Versafine Onyx for the words, cats and bird. I cut around the image panel and added black ink for a border around the edges then adhered onto a white background where I used TE034 in the corners.

Related Products:

I plan to share the above card with these challenges:

Crafty Animals - Animals
Crafty Calendar - Hearts
Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
Paper Rock Scissors - Paper and/or Scissors (I used all white card stock but no scissors this time)
Pearly Sparkles Challenge - Love is in the air
Sparkles Forum Challenges - for anyone you love (this was for my husband)
Sweet Stampin - Masculine Makes

Pauline

Another FABULOUS calendar page by Pauline, please visit her blog to find out how she made this page.

We're so excited to have a guest designer joining us this month and that is Lynda of Loopyloo's Cards. Thanks so much for being our guest designer, Lynda!!

Lynda

Isn't this totally adorable!! Please visit Lynda's blog to find out how she made this cute card.

Top Picks for Challenge no. 22

Many thanks to everyone who joined us in the last challenge of "Feathers and/or Fur" 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. 45 Rosi (Pauline's Pick)

No. 47 Gerrina (Ellie's Pick)

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. 24 starting Wednesday March 19th. 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.

Should the linky tool be missing please leave a comment with your entry link and I will get it straightened ASAP. (I am posting this because in the past the linky wouldn't automatically update when my linky tool membership was renewing - and it will be renewed beginning of March - so it may happen again and I just wanted you to be aware.)

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Feb 15, 2025

Wands and Wishes

Hello and welcome! It's time already for a new Allsorts challenge theme and for the next two weeks Liz is our host. She chose the theme of "Shades of Blue", of course the Anything Goes option is there too. We have prizes from Lavinia Stamps and hope you'll be able to join us!

I struggled a bit with this cards as I really wanted to use the Fairy Shops 1 stamp (so I could combine with the February Lavinia challenge where the theme is Abode), a stamp I've neglected for several years and this is my first time using it. So this was (at least) my 3rd attempt for today's card but I am still not really happy with it. However it was time for me to be done at that point.

I started by using a hand cut mask to ink up the bottom half corner in the form of a sort of hill. Next I stamped the image (both shops are part of just one stamp) on to a snippet of cardstock then fussy cut to layer one shop in front of the other. I used my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for coloring. Before I added the shops I used Lavinia's Feather Leaf stencil for some interest on the background but as I added a little bit of shading some of the stenciling disappeared. After I decided on placement of the shops I stamped 2 of the Three Dancing Fairies images. I thought the card needed some words so I used part of the Spiral of Spells stamps at the bottom. And for a little more interest I chose the mini star stamp to stamp around the edges and along the hill using the same BlueprintSketch ink. To tie it all together with the way I colored the shops I decided to stamp a few stars using Seedless Preserves ink.

Related Products:

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Another view below. As you can see I added glitter to some of the stars, the shops and the fairy wings for a little bit of magical sparkle.

Thanks so much for visiting!!

I plan to share my card with these challenges:

Neglected Stuff challenge - AG with something neglected (Fairy Shops stamp has been long neglected and this is my first time using it!)
Stamping Sensations - Following Anything Goes Option
The Paper Funday - AG
We Love Stamping - Following Anything Goes Option

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Feb 5, 2025

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - February Challenge

Hello and welcome to the February editition of Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday challenge taking place right here on my blog. I'm so glad you stopped by today and hope you'll join the fun too! There were some fabulous entries last month - thank you everyone for joining in - so be sure to scroll down to see the Top Picks.

As most of you know, the theme is now always ....

Anything Goes

As there is a new challenge blog in ~~town~~ blogland (Neglected Stuff Challenge) I thought why not look through my stash to see what I can find that's been neglected. And I found plenty of items, most included on this card are neglected.

Related Products:

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While I didn't have this Penny Black stamp - Sweet Love 2292K - for many years, I did purchase it over a year ago from eBay, absolutely love it but somehow I just haven't reached for it until now. I stamped with Memento ink and colored with Copic markers. Then I also found the Heart Embossing Folder by Cuttlebug which I've had in my stash for many MANY years and I've last used it in April 2020. That doesn't really sound too long ago to me but it was almost 5 years ago. Time flies!! The Ticket Sentiment set is an absolutely neglected item from my design team time at Whimsy Stamps - The Fun Life Ticket sentiments and Ticket Die. The last time I used this particular sentiment set was 2015, the die a few years ago with another ticket sentiment set. I actually don't think I have ever used this particular quote from the set!! also found some very neglected ribbon in my stash, the lilac grosgrain ribbon. I'm not sure I've ever used this! Oh, and not to forget the fancy die -Curved Stitch, this was a "had to have" Penny Black item when newly released several years ago but I only used it once in 2018 (I did a search on my blog to find out :)

Well, I'm really happy how this turned out using mostly neglected items.

I plan to share with these challenges:

Can You Handle The Pressure? - Embossing Folders
Colourful Options - Mood Board (below)
Crafty Calendar - Hearts
Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
Daisy Chain Challenges - Layer it up
Dream Valley Challenges - Pink or Red
If You Give a Crafter a Cookie - Hearts Galore
Neglected Stuff Challenge - AG using neglected stuff (I wrote about my neglected stuff above)
Paper Rocks Scissors (also a Brand NEW challenge blog!) - Must Use Paper and/or Scissors (I used cardstock from Stampin Up and Neenah, and scissors for cutting ribbon and twine)
Penny Black Saturday Challenge - PB stamps and option of hearts
Stamping Sensations - AG option Valentines, Romance, Weddings
Talking About it Tuesdays - Anything Goes
The Crafting Challenge - Love is Red
We Love Stamping - AG option CAS

Colourful Options If you give a crafter a cookie

January Top Picks with a Twist:

Now it's time to announce the Top Picks with a twist from the January entries. Thank you all again for joining in the fun, I really enjoyed visiting your entries and selecting a "twist". The twist I went with is "Furry Friends" meaning all three Top Picks have featured a furry friend :)

No. 20 Carol Gill

No. 50 Helen F.

No. 66 Mary Marsh

Congratulations to each one of you for your well deserved recognition. The Top Pick logo is below, you may post this to your own blogs if you like to :)

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To join in this month's challenge please use the linky tool below. You have until the last Wednesday of February to join in (February 26th 11:59pm CST).

A few things to remember:

You may combine with any other challenges.
You may use any brand of stamps/digis/dies/papers (no company restriction as long as copyright laws are followed).
Please note: entries using pre-colored digital images will no longer be selected as top picks.
A short description of products used is expected, most importantly the source of focal point.
This linkup is for sharing handmade projects of any kind not limited to papercrafts.
Please try to limit to 3 entries per month - it's ok if you end up with more than 3 but I may not be able to visit your entries after the 3rd.
Please do include a link back here to my blog in your blog post.
Backlinking to a recent post IS allowed.