Featured lavenderhousecreations

Celebrating Twins

Made for the ModSquad challenge to use patterned paper and also for a friend whose daughter has had twins. I cut out a large heart for the background and then using a Spellbinder die called Layered Happy Birthday, I cut out some balloons from other PP and added them to the heart. Using an unbranded double stitch rectangular die I cut the main panel and added a small scrap of marbled paper on top. I fussy cut two matching little bears from another small piece of PP, after stamping them and colouring in certain parts. I popped them up onto this and added a small fussy cut fairy above. Stamped the sentiment which I also fussy cut out. Added a few small gems here and there. Stamps and card stock all from Gina K. Designs my main go to place for ideas and purchases.

Featured lavenderhousecreations

Heart Bloom – My sentiments Exactly challenge.

Used another of my gifted stencils to create this one. First brushed colour in circles using distress oxides. Sprinkled a bit of water and let dry. Using Mowed lawn I sponged through stencil to get design. When dry I added nuvo glimmer paste through stencil. I used a versamark pen and ruler to draw a line around edge of card stock and then added an old glitter embossing powder on top. heat embossed to give the shine at edge. Added sentiment to a piece of vellum and heat embossed in black. Two black gems added to each end. added entire piece to turquoise sea card stock.

Featured lavenderhousecreations

A new beginning

I’ve been thinking about creating a blog for over a year now and am finally getting around to actually doing it. In order to showcase some of my cards I needed a place to upload them and display them for others to see so here is my first card for the year.

This card has been created for the monthly challenge at Gina K. Designs. We have to showcase a sentiment and cannot use others stamps on the card.

I stenciled Distress Oxides in several pinks using a lovely hand made heart stencil given to me by a great on line friend. I first masked off the area where the sentiment heart is. I stenciled the butterflies using another stencil from the same friend. I stamped the sentiment onto the die cut heart and traced over it with a gelly roll pen to add a bit of sparkle. I popped it up slightly offset over a black heart which I then glued in the masked off space. Added a few tiny bling gems in places. I added main panel to a black piece of card stock and then adhered it to the card front.

lavenderhousecreations

hinge fold get well card

under the hinge
inside the card

Welcome to another challenge here at Double Trouble. Our theme this time called Scrapper’s Guacamole and you should use 3 colours from the ROYG BIV colour wheel, 2 pattern papers and a dry or heat embossed element. To earn another chance to win you can enter TSOT with something that works for the sketch. Just be sure you are entering without accidentally back linking.

I chose to do a get well theme because I have a friend who is not well at the moment and this should cheer her up. My patterned papers are from SSS, my stamps and dies are from MFT with one from Catherine Pooler. I’ve had this MFT set since Covid and have only used one or two stamps from it until now. My colours are reflected in the card stock – yellow, PP has various colours, red, green and pink pencils and alcohol ink pens for colouring the images and my embossing style uses heat with gold flower centers and an embossed Get Well sentiment. To be honest, I almost forgot the embossed element and had to scramble to add it so I used a Wow embossing pen on the flower centers and heat embossed them as best I could considering the card was already assembled at that point. The get well sentiment was also a last minute addition.

For anyone wishing to make this style card, I used a tutorial found at Lisa Curcio. She gives several samples and her printed project sheet makes it easy to do.

Thanks for spending time with me today, I appreciate you and any comments you may leave.

We look forward to seeing your cards in our gallery, have fun and good luck.

lavenderhousecreations

Chocolates anyone

We are in need of a thank you card, and As You See It is asking for candy, so I decided to combine the need with the challenge.

I saw something briefly where a crafter was making paper chocolates and I thought what a good idea. Somehow I missed saving it, and of course when I went to look again, couldn’t find it. That said, my chocolates are roughly based on what I saw.

Using my Hero Arts Infinity dies and some scrap, chocolate coloured, CS I cut 6 hearts in 2 sizes. Using some foam tape I put those pieces together. Pulling out some very old embellishments that look like sprinkles I chose the colours I wanted and glued them on top.

I thought about making a heart chocolate box, but decided I preferred a square box so I used a window frame (no idea of the brand) to die cut my piece and added foam tape to the back for dimension. In retrospect, it would have been easier to die cut several layers and glue them together, but we live and learn and it is something to note for next time. After cutting a 5″x5″ card front I added the window piece to it and then I carefully added the chocolates, tucking them in as best I could. For my center and sentiment I die cut a gold piece that fit across the entire frame and added a smaller copper piece, it matches some of the sprinkle colours, and then cut another white piece for that. I stamped the words and using some copper coloured Recollections EB I heat set it. An unbranded bow die set was used to cut a bow in copper and to this I added a tiny StampinUp heart embellishment. The white piece was a bit too white so I used an inking sponge with Lost Shadow ink to soften it. All in all, I’m very pleased with the result and my hubby is thrilled as he is going to be giving it to our nurse practitioner when he sees her later this week. She deserves this thank you, as she was the one who did her due diligence and got him checked out. We feel that the outcome could have been an unwanted and serious heart attack as we had no idea that it was his heart giving him trouble.

We’ve had another dry day with a bit of sunshine, so were able to get outside and walk a little. It is good to be in the fresh air even if only for a short time. All of us, including the dog, need to lose some weight so once we are sure my hubby is completely stable, we will be concentrating on a diet plan.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you, your time and any comments you may leave.

lavenderhousecreations

silver and red CAS birthday

After several days of not being able to create because of life being too busy, I finally managed to finish a card. It fits the current challenge at Seize the Birthday #320- CAS with Dies so I am adding it there.

After cutting the red piece I dry embossed it and attached straight to the card front. Using an older heart die set from Memory Box I cut 2 hearts and punched small holes for the thread through the bigger one. Once I had the thread in place I added the 2nd heart using foam tape. The banner at the top is from a set by Scrapbook.com as are the letters. My sentiment was stamped and then I cut it angling the edges. I’ve temporarily misplaced which set it belongs in. The smaller sentiment was created on my computer.

After adding the banner and kisses at the top, I tried to hang the hearts from them, but couldn’t make them stay properly as the thread and my hands wouldn’t cooperate. My hands aren’t good today so I gave up and used some embellishments to hold the thread in place. Sometimes it isn’t worth the frustration and I have enough stress going on, that I’m not going to make it worse by looking for perfection.

For those of you longing for spring, I’m going to make you jealous when I tell you that we have daffodil shoots coming up in the garden already. It has been a very mild winter so far but it won’t surprise us if we do get some snow before spring is really here.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you and your time.

lavenderhousecreations

hugs & kisses

Lynda has chosen hugs and kisses as the theme for our latest challenge here at cardz4galz and I decided to use a Crafters Companion heart die and accompanying stamp. I die cut the shape from Holographic paper and attached them to some red CS ensuring the gap was wide enough to add the sentiment. Once the hearts bits were dry I carefully cut around the edge so it could be added as you see here. I stamped the sentiment in red ink and attached it into the space adding some StampinUP embellishment hearts at either side and a few at the bottom of the card. I had wanted to use some actual xoxox bits for this one but I didn’t have an alphabet die that cut small enough pieces, so instead it was more hearts.

It is such a shiny heart from using the holographic paper. My hubby is fascinated with this specific die and wants me to make another without the sentiment so he can photograph it and add whatever he wishes to the space between the shapes.

Thanks for spending time with me today. I’m suspect many of you will be looking forward to the end of winter, I know I sure am.

lavenderhousecreations

Ladybug, ladybug fly away home

As I was in need of a thank you card and wasn’t totally happy with yesterdays submission to Color Hues, Color Hues #126. I decided to have another go. Having recently taken part in a card making summit, free online, I saw Natasha Foote take a past technique to a new level by using shapes and some paper cutting. I can’t share the video because it isn’t public at the moment.

Anyway, I liked the idea and after choosing some PP from my stash, I die cut 3 circles, which when cut gives me 3 card backgrounds all a little different. Then I die cut a larger circle out of red CS and added my first set of cut shapes on top. I set it aside for a few moments while I had a think about what I might use for some additional impact. After a search, I couldn’t find my ladybug stamp set, but I came across a very old feather stamp set from Hot off the Press. I chose one feather and decided it was going to work so I proceeded to stamp it using a red and 2 different pink inks. I heat set this in clear and when cool I fussy cut it.

After placing it as you see, I fussy cut a couple of the ladybugs from the scraps and added them on top to tie things together. The sentiment stamp comes from Altenew. Apart from the fact that I think I should have used a smaller die for the red circle, I quite like the result and I still have two more circles to use later.

I think this fits better into the challenge than my previous card so I shall enter it there. Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it.

lavenderhousecreations

scribbled blocks

As a follower of Natasha Foote I had seen several examples of this style card and decided to try my own. I did look at her video just to be sure I understood how it was done, however, my brain had figured it out correctly.

I used a scrap piece of watercolour card stock and some TomBow markers. First I spritzed the paper with water and then I scribbled. My markers are truly ancient and I discovered they had dried out quite a bit, so I found some watercolour pencils and added them over the top. All my stamps are from Hampton Arts. The first piece I tried didn’t work because I accidentally added more water and one of the blocks travelled into another making a hot mess. I can probably turn it into a background later by adding more colours.

My card is intended for two challenges: Color Hues #126 and Sunday Stamps. I backed my layer with a black piece and then added it all to the card front. Although it looks decent, I can’t say I am enamored with it so if time allows I may have another go and design a 2nd entry.

My hubby isn’t 100% well at the moment so a lot of my time is going to helping him. I use my craft room to keep me from worrying constantly. He will undergo some surgery next Monday and hopefully that will fix the problem and we can go back to normal.

Thanks for stopping by, you, your time and any comments are appreciated.

lavenderhousecreations

thinking about you

Hello again from Double Trouble where challenge #209 awaits you. Our recipe this time is 3- layers, including the card base, 2 images excluding the sentiment and to use a CAS style. You can use any colour but I personally prefer CAS with white space so that is what I used. As always you are welcome to to use the sketch from TSOT, but be careful not to backlink.

For my card I used a regular card base and added a layer of patterned paper. On a separate piece I stamped my image using a stamp from Nellie Snellen, which is bigger stamp but I only used a small section of it when it was dry enough to cut. I used an unbranded rectangular die set to cut the aperture from a linen look CS and embossed the edges of the frame. I cut the piece diagonally added foam tape and then adhered it on top of the pattern piece. I inserted the stamped image into the frame and added a die cut bow which is my second image and gives me a total of 4 layers as well. One small embellishment on the bow and a sentiment strip finishes the card. The sentiment is from Creative Expressions I think. The label on the storage pocket is damaged so I’m not 100% sure.

I have a friend who is struggling a little at the moment so this card will go to her. Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate you, your time and any comments you leave for me. We look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery – Good Luck.

lavenderhousecreations

rainbow banners

I had almost forgotten about the challenge at https://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/ and it is all about rainbow colours. So this morning I decided I had better get to it and this is what I came up with.

As so often, initially, I was thinking something else, but realized that I may not have enough time to do it because life is extra busy just now. Late last year, I had created some backgrounds using the leftover strips of coloured card stock so I pulled one out and using a die from Scrapbook.com I cut three of the banner strips.

Playing around with placement a little, I decided on this layout and glued them down. In searching for a sentiment I found the circle die and wondered what would happen if I die cut it and then used the words alone. Taking another small background piece I cut it and then cut it in half. I did think about cutting each letter but after moving it around quite a lot, I liked the idea of keeping the curves so I added the words as you see.

To ensure I had enough of the rainbow colours I added a few gems from my stash and then called it finished.

It’s a bright cheerful card and my hubby really likes it. It turned out a lot better than I imagined it would when I began. Thanks for stopping by, your time and comments are appreciated.

lavenderhousecreations

Rhapsody in Red, not a valentine

partly open card
closed card

The challenge is all about using reds and I decided on this design and papers for the As You See It, Challenge #365 – Rhapsody in Red. There is a recipe included so I ensured I got all the ingredients as well.

Firstly I chose my papers using a small paper pad from a dollar store. Having seen something like this on Pinterest that also had measurements and a tutorial, I took a closer look to see how best to proceed. The demonstrator explained her process and I followed it mostly, except that I wanted borders around my papers so changed it up a little bit. Once I had my strips ready I chose a neutral matte old gold card front and added them as you see. I die cut 2 hearts, one in white CS and one in Vellum using a set from Memory Box. Actually before I cut the vellum one I used a stamp from a Crafters Companion set already on my desk. I then stamped the floral sprig in Barn Door Distress Oxide and then heat embossed it with a clear powder. Once I was happy with it, I die cut it and attached it to the white one. I hope the vellum can be seen. I did try several coloured pieces behind it, but the white looked best. In my bits and pieces box I found a gold heat embossed sentiment which I fussy cut and added to the heart. And I also added a small bow. The heart is popped up on foam tape. The inside panel was stamped using a Hampton Arts set with Aged Mahogany ink, and I also added more red floral sprigs in a couple of places. The embellishments are from my stash and I used the bigger gems so they would show up more.

Thanks for spending time with me today. I appreciate that you stop by and also any comments you may leave.


lavenderhousecreations

Little friends

After some sunny, although cold days, we are back to the milder temperatures and the rain so I’m in my craft room catching up on a few things and posting this card.

It is intended for the AAA Card Challenge #306: Follow Francesca’s Lead and this is my take on her card.

To make it, I used a stamp set from Crafters Companion that came in a kit, and some Gummiapan dies. I stamped the background using Lost Shadow Ink and the sentiment in Hickory Smoke. While the ink was drying I die cut the images and coloured them with watercolour pencils and a Sakura Glaze pen.

When everything was dry I glued the die cuts as you see them. I did debate whether anything else was needed, but CAS means lots of empty space, so I left it as is. Colouring such tiny images is challenging and I need more practice at it, but all in all, I’m happy with the end result.

Thanks for spending time with me today, I appreciate you and your time.