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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.


Mar 19, 2025

I Spy With My Little Eye..........The Dawn of Spring (Challenge No. 24)

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 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 April if wanted :)

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


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

the dawn of spring.


Tomorrow is the first official day of spring and we would like to see all things spring. We cannot wait to see what you'll share with us! The linky tool is at the end of this post.


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


My Card (Ellie)

All info is 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!

I used stamps by Tracy Evans to make this card. The boots are from Tracy Evans for Aall and Create (The Great Outdoors #370) this is retired but you might still find it at some retailers. The Primulas are from Tracy Evans Boutique Designs (TE31 Nature's Beauty) and can be found directly at her website. I made an inky background using Mowed Lawn and Twisted Citron Distress inks. Sentiment box was stamped directly onto the background (it's from the set TE32 Alpha Florals by Tracy Evans) and "Primula" is part of the same floral set. When I had this all assembled I thought it needed a little bit of interest at the top so I used part of another stamp from The Great Outdoors set and word "spring" from TE31 at the top left corner and decided to stamp something similar to the bottom right. Green SU cardstock was used for a mat and white Neenah for the card base. Oh, and the little black bird is Tracy Evans TE12 Shadowed Elements. 

I plan to share the above card with these challenges:



Pauline's Card:

Such great layers and textures and you can never go wrong with Daffodils in the spring - my favorite spring scent! 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 Gerrina and Rosi. Thank you both for being our guests!!



A wonderful watercolor look with that darling bunny and pretty grape hyacinth- another spring favorite of mine!  Please visit Gerrina's blog to find out how she made this card.


Such a bright and cheerful ATC by Rosi, please visit her blog to find out how she made this artist trading card.




Life Handmade Podcast


Top Picks for Challenge no. 23

Many thanks to everyone who joined us in the last challenge of "No Designer Papers".  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. 3 Carrianne (Pauline's Pick)

No. 66 Lia (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. 25, starting Wednesday April 16th . 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 April 13th at 11:59pm CST



You are next... Click here to enter
This list will close in 16 days, 4 hrs, 9 min (4/13/2025 11:59 PM North America - Central Standard Time)
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Mar 15, 2025

Espresso Break

Happy Saturday, today is the start of a new Allsorts challenge. Lynn is hosting and her theme for the next two weeks is "Feminine". Of course the Anything Goes option is there too so come join us with all your new crafty makes. We have prizes from  Stamp Addicts and a chance to be featured in the Top 7!

Here is what I made:


I used 2 old stamps by Penny Black (Espresso Break and Twirls) but they are newer to me, purchased last fall when a Penny Black retailer retired and I snagged them at a great price. This is my first time using them and it was about time as I think the main image is so beautiful! They both have been on my wishlist forever but somehow never actually made it into my shopping cart before. The script on the bottom is Stampin Up's "French Script" a real oldie but one I tend to reach for often. 

I colored the image using my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils.The ink is Pale Plum by Stampin Up, probably retired now. It was the closest ink I had that matched the pinkish purple Faber Castell pencils I used. I matted the image panel onto white cardstock which I first applied the same ink to using the "direct to paper" technique - this inkpad is so dry as you can tell by the faint ink application. Then I found the patterned paper in my stash which seemed to match the ink perfectly (it is also from Stampin Up) and I decided to add it as another mat. Finally a white card base to finish it off. I also used a little bit of Stickles glitter for some sparkle on the berets and chair cushions. 


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Another view below:

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!


Did you hear the news yet?? I just started a brand new challenge/link party here on my blog called Ellibelle's Garden Party where anything garden themed goes - Flowers, Bugs, Leaves, Garden Critters, Garden Gnomes and Fairies, Garden Parties etc. . You can read all about it here and I'd love for you to join in too :) 


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I plan to share the above card with these challenges:



Thanks so much for visiting!

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Mar 13, 2025

Ellibelle's Garden Party No. 1 - Anything in or from a Garden


Surprise! 

A week or so ago I decided to start a fun new monthly "party" (challenge) here on my blog - 

Ellibelle's Garden Party 

where the theme will always be: Anything "in or from a Garden" and today is the start of Garden Party No.1!  I hope you will join in the fun. The linky tool is at the end of the post.

The party is open to handmade cards, ATC's, journal/scrapbook pages and crafts of any kind, hobby photography, even garden weddings and garden tips are welcome. As long as the post features something in or from a garden you are welcome to share. From each month I will select 3 posts to feature in the following month. 

Each monthly party will start on the 2nd Thursday of each month and will end on the Monday before the next party starts. 


Above is what I'm sharing this month using brand new products from Penny Black, from the Flower of the Month release. I used Tulips in Bloom and matching dies as well as Rain or Shine and matching die. 

I colored with my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils before using the dies. Embossed background was done with an old embossing folder by Cuttlebug and the sentiment is from the set Friendship also by Penny Black. I finished off the card with tiny butterflies from the PB set Soaring. The faint pattern on the card front was done using a background stamp that was included with the Tulips in Bloom set.

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 my card with these challenges:


This week we had some beautiful weather and I found some pretty things in my garden/backyard 😀
This is my cat Fussy. She used to sleep all day long and be up at night but in the recent years she started venturing outside a bit in the daytime. Not sure she likes the brightness of the sun much but she sure did enjoy the warmth yesterday.


And my Snowdrops are finally blooming!! I saw the first bee of 2025 too, it's a bit blurry as it was buzzing around while I took the picture. There is something so special about snowdrops I think. 


Now let's get the garden party started!

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 April 7th at 11:59pm CST



You are next... Click here to enter
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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. 


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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:


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.




This linky list is now closed.
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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:

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 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:

Always Anything Goes Challenges/Link Parties



You may also like:

Four Seasons March Challenge


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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!


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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.


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!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>>>>>>Crafty Sale at Scrapbook.com/Ad

Use code CREATE for 10% off your order!

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I plan to share with these challenges:

Always Anything Goes Challenges/Link Parties
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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). 


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I plan to share with these challenges:


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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