Elzybells Blog

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please read: If you have a reward card which was issued before we moved premises, please make sure you send it to our current address, not the address on the back of the card, or we won't receive it.  Thanks!

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free shipping...

It's the final day of our free shipping offer today - it ends at midnight TONIGHT!!! Get in on the action before it's too late!

Elizabeth x

Challenge 32

It's time for another fun challenge! This fortnight's challenge has been set by Jeanne and is called "Seeing Stars".
You can interpret this as you wish!

Here's my card, I kept it pretty simple with only one layer, if you don't count the embellishment and I'm really pleased with how it turned out :)

The tree is from our Christmas Tags set, stamped onto kraft card and coloured with chalks.
I used the tiny star from the Seasonal Sentiments set to create the star trails and added a few random dots with a black pen.

I used a yellow sakura gel pen to colour the stars and it gives a beautiful shimmer.

For the star embellishment I punched a star from the kraft card and coloured over with the sakura pen (I actually punched the star from white card first, colouring over with the sakura pen, but it just seemed too bright in contrast to the rest of the card).

For more inspiration, be sure to check out the design team's blogs for their challenge creations:

Charlene
Frances
Michelle
Steph

To play along, please type the full url to your creation in the comments section of this post. I will choose my favourite creation in two week's time and you could be in with a chance to win an elzybells voucher to spend online! As with all our challenges, the only rule is that you use elzybells stamps.
I look forward to seeing your creations!

Supplies used:
20-055 Christmas Tags 
20-052 Seasonal Sentiments
20-053 Mini Messages - winter (sentiment)
Kraft cardstock

The winner for last fortnight's Tempting Textures challenge is Kim with this creation. Well done Kim! Please email me for your voucher code.
I also have to point you in the direction of Jocelyn's beautiful creation here! :)

Elizabeth x

Christmas ordering info + A SPECIAL OFFER!!!

December will soon be upon us, so I thought I'd fill you in on what'll be happening and give you a heads up on ordering times for Christmas....

 

If you'd like to place an order and you need it to reach you in time for Christmas, you'll need to keep the following dates in mind:

 

Friday 18th Dec
Last order date for orders within the UK

Wednesday 9th Dec

Last order date for orders within
USA, Canada, Japan, Europe

Thursday 3rd Dec
Last order date for orders within
South & Central America, Caribbean

Africa, Middle East, Far East, Asia

New Zealand, Australia

 

If orders are placed before the dates above we can ensure they are despatched before Royal Mail's cut off dates to ensure you receive them before Christmas.

You can still place orders after these dates, but there will be no guarantee of receiving them before Christmas.



Elzybells HQ will be closed for the holidays from 21st Dec - 3rd Jan. You are welcome to place orders during this time as the website will be functioning as normal, however, orders will not be processed until 4th Jan.

I will try to attend to emails as regularly as possible while we are closed, however, it is unlikely that they will be answered within our usual 24 hour time frame. If you send an email, I ask for your patience and I will get back to you as quickly as possible. For urgent issues, please email elzybells1@aol.com.

 

I will be taking a break from blogging throughout December. I won't be relaxing, oh no - I will be spending this time finalizing some fantastic new products we have coming in the new year :)

But I don't want to neglect you during this time so we will have our annual



You will have a chance to win some different elzybells goodies everyday between 1st and 25th December - that's 25 chances to win!! Details will follow at the end of this month.
Please note, there will be no Sunday showcase throughout December.



For those of you who don't want to wait until December for some elzybells goodness, we don't usually run a promo at this time of year but I'm feeling generous - and after all it is the season for giving, so my early Christmas present to you is...

 

Yep, we'll be offering free shipping on all orders placed between Sat 21st - Tues 24th November - that's a whopping four days to decide which stamps to treat yourselves to or how about some Christmas stocking fillers in the form of rubber goodness.

You won't need to do anything to qualify, the free shipping will be automatically applied to all orders placed on these dates. Be sure to spread the word!!

...aren't I good to you?! ;)

Elizabeth x

Showcase Sunday

Sorry for not blogging much this past week. I've been a little busy behind the scenes as well as going through all the DT applications - boy you guys have really given me a tough job...!

For this week's showcase Jane Millard has two very sweet Christmas cards to share.

I just love the simplicity of the first card ( - and I must get myself some embossing folders!)

 
adorable! :)

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!
Elizabeth xx

chalks!

Just a really quick post to let you know that we now have the decorating chalks which work so well with our kraft cardstock, available in the online shop (at a very competitive price!).

Elizabeth xx

Showcase Sunday

I have some beautiful creations to share for this week's showcase.
First up is this gorgeous card by Inge Groot - the colouring is just amazing! And I thought I'd quote what Inge said about our white ink:
"the white pigment ink…I’m flabbergasted of how white this turned out on my cards!!!!

:)

Next up is a beautifully bright card by Cookie Groover.

I love the vintage feel of this card by Jane Millard

Jane paperpieced the winter couple beautifully 

And lastly, here is a lovely winter card by Wilma Kwakernaat.

Many thanks to Inge, Cookie, Jane and Wilma for sharing your lovely creations with us.

Have a great Sunday!
Elizabeth x

Challenge 31

YAY, It's challenge time!
This fortnight's challenge has been set by Steph and is called "Tempting Textures". You are to use various textures, materials, ribbons etc on your creation - basically anything goes and you have a fantastic excuse to get completely carried away and over the top!

This is a fabulous challenge and I've been so looking forward to having a play. I'd been thinking about it all week and I had grand plans to use a whole array of luscious textures, ready to go completely over the top! I set out lots of supplies, textures, fabric, papers and various ribbons, but in the end, I didn't use much of the stash I had set aside and I kept it very simple!
In fact, most of the 'texture' effect has actually been created using my white inkpads rather than any real texture.

I LOVE the height of this card! It's just under a whopping 11 inches high so makes a great statement!
The angel image isn't actually as long as you would think from this card, it's a very versatile size. However, I extended the panel by stamping the verse directly underneath leaving some space for some ribbon too. 

I had some lacey ribbon I wanted to use, but not being quite happy with wherever I placed it, I paperpieced the angel trio with a fabulous patterned paper instead - it's packaging tape by Making Memories.
I wish I had some white flock! I would have filled in the pattern with it :)

I used both our hybrid and pigment white inks for this card. The reason being is that the hybrid doesn't stamp quite as vibrantly on cardstock as the pigment, so I started with this for a softer distressed look.
I used a distressing tool along the edges of the main panel and then just dabbed the very edges into the white pigment ink for crisper white edges.
The cream corrugated card also keeps the overall feel of the card quite soft rather than using white cardstock.

I used chalk to colour around the angels and used the white opaque pen on the wings. For those interested in the decorating chalks I use (see post below) we have some stock on order so they'll be available in the online store very soon!


Supplies used:
10-049 Angel trio
03-204 Angels on high
20-045 Surf's up (swirly border)
Whipped cream (hybrid ink)
Sugar candy (pigment ink)


You can play along with this challenge for a chance to win a £5 voucher to spend online! All you have to do is add a direct link to your creation in the comments section on this post within the next two weeks (please be sure to type the full url). The only rule for our challenges is that you use Elzybells stamps.

Be sure to visit the design team's blogs to see their tempting texture creations!!

Elizabeth x


The winner for the last fortnight's 'glitter, sparkle & shine' challenge is Petra with this creation! I also have to say the this creation by Chris has come a close second!

Petra, please get in touch and I will email you your coupon code :)

Winter lantern

Following from last week's krafty creations, I have one more kraft card to share. Although not a single layer card, it has a similar feel to last week's cards.

I coloured with chalks and also shaded with koh-i-noors for extra depth. I used my white gel pen for the snow to really make it stand out, as well as for drawing the borders.
A little trick when colouring the lamp is to smudge a tiny amount of chalk in short straight lines just to subtly give a reflective feel to the glass. I also smudged some green chalk to give the effect of some blurred foliage behind the lamp. 

I've had a few questions about which chalk I use on kraft and whether it needs to be fixed so that it doesn't smudge.

 
I use this set of decorating chalks.
Don't waste your money on those foam applicators though as they don't last long at all and the chalk transfer isn't the greatest. The trick to getting the best coverage is to use blending stumps to colour with. It doesn't matter if they've been used with OMS before, so long as they're dry they work brilliantly.
Our kraft cardstock really lends itself well to chalks as it has a slight grainy texture to it making it the perfect surface!
I haven't really found a problem with the chalk smudging but if you want to be sure, simply spray your coloured image with a light mist of hairspray. It's a cheap and effective alternative to the fixative spray you can find it art shops.

Elizabeth x


Stamps used:
10-019 Holly lamp
20-055 (holly background & sentiment)

Showcase Sunday

It's a busy showcase this week! First up is this amazing, spookylicious lollipop tree made by Laura O'shea. Laura has step by step instructions on her blog so be sure to check it out, such a great idea!

Here are some sweet creations by Jane Millard.

 I love the height of this card!

and I love the spooky eyes on this ATC!!

This sweet baby card is by Leonie. I love the paper piecing :)

This wonderful wedding creation is made by Julie Coe. You can find more information on Julie's blog!

And last but by no means least, are two birthday cards for twins by Claire!

 

Thanks so much to Laura, Jane, Leonie, Julie and Claire for sharing your wonderful creations with us!!

Have a great Sunday,
Elizabeth x

Winter fun

It's a little late in the day, but here is my final krafty single layer card of the week!
It's a very simple but sweet note card :)

I used copics again for this card and I love how it turned out, especially how striking her winter coat is.
The skin colour was a little tricky as with even the lightest colour on kraft, it'll look like she has a deep tan in the middle of winter! So what I did was use a very pale yellow for a warm tone and then once it dried I went over lightly with some white chalk to lighten it. 

You know, I can always have a play with kraft cardstock and never be disappointed with what I come up with no matter how simple or intricate I decide to go... I hope that a little of my affection for kraft has rubbed off on you this week!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone - I hope it's a krafty one! ;)
Hugs,
Elizabeth xx


Stamps used:
10-080 Ice skater
20-052 Seasonal Sentiments (little snowflake)
20-005 Tags - Christmas (sentiment)