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.

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Three Wishes

It always interests me to see where inspiration, especially my own, comes from. We were getting coffee at a local coffee shop and they had some thank you cards from customers displayed. One of them made me look twice and this is my idea based on that design. Seize the Birthday #330-One or More Numbers is the challenge it is intended for.

I have several new and unused products laying around and the trees on this card was one of them. It is an MFT die set that I got on sale. The cloud die is from a new unbranded set and the faces on the trees are from a MayMay Made It set, which I’ve had for ages and only used once or twice. I tried several ways to stamp a sentiment using a combination of different stamps and disliked them all. In the end I created it on my computer. All the paper and card stock is from my stash and I tried to keep the same colour tones in the shaded part of the trees as is on the gingham paper. I added two Waffle Flower, similar in tone green, enamel dots to the sentiment.

While searching for ideas on the Internet regarding wishes and trees I came across a book, intended for children, and it is a Traditional Folklore story about three trees. I tried to incorporate this into my sentiment but it would have been too long and too big, so I opted for what you see here. There are times when I wonder how we managed without the Internet?

Considering that I figured this design out without resorting to tutorials, I’m quite pleased with myself and I also like the end result. Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate you, your time and your comments.

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Friendship Card

folded front of card
opened card

Welcome to another challenge, #280 chosen by Debbie here at cardz4galz. This week we would like to see cards relating to friends/friendship and I used a pre-folder card that I have had forever and only used one or two of.

I’m not sure of the name for this fold but think it is a swing fold. Normally it would be usual to add pretty paper using the template that came with the cards, but I opted to something different. I had these gold squares already cut as they were left over from another project and I decided to lay them out in this design. I did play around with the placement a lot before deciding on this. Using two stamps from a Hampton Arts set I stamped the sentiments and heat set them, one in gold and one clear. The using a flower from the same set I stamped the rose on the front part and coloured it and the one on the inside with Prisma pencils. I had the thin paper strips leftover as well so I added them as you see. Then taking the paper that matched the strips I turned it to the 2nd side and hand cut the roses and the butterflies from it. These were then popped up with some foam tape. I used a Sakura glitter pen to make tiny hearts and to add a bit of sparkle to the roses. Then I added the pearl embellishments.

I didn’t have a specific plan when I began this card, but it evolved as I worked. In the end I’m happy with the result. It wasn’t too challenging to make, which is a good thing as my hands are not great today.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Christmas in July #1

The 3-2-1 recipe for Double Trouble’s challenge is to make it Christmas in July. Your goal is the following:

Thing 1 – 3 colours of choice, 2 layers (card base doesn’t count), 1 holiday image. Thing 3 is an optional twist of Stars and/or stripes, and thing 2 is the usual double dare to use the TSOT sketch and enter your card there as well. Note: be careful not to upload a card too early to TSOT as it will be considered back linking.

As you can see I have more than 2 layers with my card and I also followed the sketch pretty well too. I used a Kokorosa die to create my sideways flap and backed it with some pretty PP from last year. On the inside I added the striped layer along with a white piece (hidden) for a personal message. My image is from the same paper underneath the maple leaf and was fussy cut, foam tape added for dimension and then added on top. I used a couple of Sakura glitter pens and a homemade stencil to add the little stars and with the addition of pink I met the 3 colour requirements. Most of my colours are red and green, but I did use two different shades of red in my stars. My sentiment is from Open Studio but I did shorten it a little with angled cuts. Using just a sparkle pen I added a little to both the image and background paper.

I kind of like my effort, which is a bonus, because so often I’m not really keen on my own work. We hope to see you in our gallery and hope too that you have fun with your own creations. It is always a joy to see what you come up with.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Blooming

The current challenge at As You See It is a fill in the blank on embossing folders and although I use them and like them, they also frustrate me due to never having exactly the right sandwich to go through my machine easily. It takes me forever to figure out the right amount of pressure to get the impression without hurting myself or the machine. Because of this I don’t use them anywhere near as much as I ought to.

My fill in the blank favourite is a 3D StampinUp folder called Soft Waves and I have actually used this one quite a lot. However the folder I’ve actually used for this card is a new 3D folder from Spellbinders and I backed it with some black CS to give a border before adding it to the card front. The arched die cuts are from Craft Addiction UK and I used some scrap CS to cut a medium size one and a smaller one. They were added with some foam tape and I turned the yellow piece upside down before attaching. The floral image is from Inkadinkadoo. I coloured it with watercolour pencils, then fussy cut before attaching on top of the yellow arch. The sentiment is from GKD which I inked using Dusty Concord and then heat set clear before fussy cutting around it. A few small gems finished the card. I thought I had some purple twine or very thin ribbon, but I don’t and what I do have on hand doesn’t look right on this design so the gems have to be enough.

My camera seems to have changed the lighting somehow as the photo looks cream instead of the actual bright white card stock I’ve used. The challenge at CYHTP has an optional twist of using purple. I have already added a card here but it doesn’t use the twist, which surprised my stamping buddies, who know its my favourite colour in any shade. So here is a second card for this challenge using the colour purple.

Thanks for stopping by, your time and of course you are appreciated.

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Blue, Pink and Yellow

The current challenge at Seize the Birthday is #329-Blue, Pink and Yellow and this is my entry into the challenge.

We have been so busy with different things in recent weeks that I haven’t spent much time in my craft room, except to comment on cards in the two blogs on which I am a DT and to complete a couple of examples for those specific blogs. Yesterday I had time for this particular card but no time to post and today I’ve managed another which I shall be posting after this one.

I wanted to use a linen look card stock and found this mainly neutral piece that I thought would look nice under the colours. In the photo this CS looks beige, in natural light it has a faint pink tone to it. I searched for a stamp set that is all fern leaves (no idea where I got it or the brand), selected one to use and stamped the leaf in the different colours. The sentiment is from a GKD set and I used small ink cubes to colour the stamp in sections. I added the embellishments using Pops of Color, by Scrapbook.com.

This is a simple design but one that I think looks quite pleasing to the eye. Thanks so much for stopping by to take a peek, I appreciate you and your time. A stamping friend told me to enter this card into the challenge at Double D so I’m also adding it to Double D Potpourri Challenge 2026

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Hang in There

Our lovely, but aged neighbors are having some challenging times lately and the news from the hospital wasn’t very good for the husband. He has been unwell for a while and everyone hoped for a good outcome, but unfortunately it isn’t to be. They love getting cards from me as well as fresh baked scones from my hubby, so I made this one for them.

As a bonus it fits 3 challenges, so I shall be entering it at: Krafty Chicks Challenge #826 {Masculine}, (6/2026) Anything Goes with a Twist of PURPLE (twist not taken) and Challenge # 864 – Feather, Fur & Fin.

The dry embossed piece was a leftover from a previous project so I mounted it onto a scrap layer to give it a thin border. The card front was stamped with a new set from Hero Arts and was coloured with pencils. The monkey, bananas and branch are from a StampinUP set. I made the sentiment on the computer and die cut it with a Hero Arts infinity circle. All these were also coloured with pencils. The branch and monkey were popped up on foam tape and I used the curl in his tail to hang him from the branch. I also used some ink and a sponge to go around the circle edges.

It was a fun card to make and I shall deliver it tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you, your time and any comments you may leave.

lavenderhousecreations

CAS – You’re a Classic

Challenge #279 here at cardz 4 galz, as chosen by Helen is to make your card Clean and Simple.

Having seen a tutorial a while back on Splitcoast Stampers, Faux Cyanotypes – SCS Weekly Inkling #1008, I had long been wanting to try this particular style card. You can’t get more CAS than the way this one is done in my opinion.

My biggest challenge was that I don’t have any square die sets, and the odd square dies I do have weren’t the right size. The punch I have wouldn’t cut properly so it is now in the trash. I chose and adapted a die that wasn’t right and fixed it so that it was okay. It was a bit fiddly but I made it work and I was only cutting the mask so not wasting card stock in the process. I did try it on scrap paper first though.

Once the mask was on the rest was very easy and fairly quick too. I used Blueprint Sketch ink and a brush to get the background, inking only lightly until I deemed it enough. Then using and old rubber stamp set by Darkroom Door I stamped one of the smaller bikes using the same ink but more coverage so it stamped darker. Using another stamp from the set I stamped the sentiment. You can imagine my annoyance when I realized that the stamp edge had created a nice blue line that was totally unintentional. Serves me right for not checking the stamp as I normally do.

What to do about it was my next question, particularly as this is a CAS design. I created another sentiment on a scrap piece and tried adding it, but it didn’t look right. I also considered adding a frame over the entire card, but without the right dies this was even more problematic and didn’t look good either. I actually set it aside overnight because my brain wasn’t giving me good solutions, other than starting again on a new card front. During the night I decided to try some bling to cover it up and this seemed to work and looks okay. Had it not been okay I would have made another one. Even though adding bling isn’t generally done with a CAS design, I don’t think it detracts from the design here. You’ll be pleased to know that I have now purchased a square die set and it is on its way to me as I type.

Now it is your turn to create and we look forward to seeing what you do. Have fun while you play. Thanks for joining me today, you and your time are appreciated.

lavenderhousecreations

3-2-1 Recipe – “Its going to be a long day”

It is once again time for our Double Trouble Challenge #219 and your challenge is to make a slimline card, regular or mini. Recipe is: 3 – layers and the card base can be included, 2 images and 1 slimline. Thing 3, twisted sister is to add some sparkle or glitter and thing 2 is for you to use the sketch and enter it at TSOT #698. Be careful not to back link.

Quite some time ago and I can’t quite remember where, I saw an artist colour some images just using brush strokes with different colours. I decided I would give this a go myself and I created the cup panel where it languished on my desk as I couldn’t decide, first whether I liked it, and second how I might use it. The cup stamp is from Joy Clair. My effort isn’t terrible, but I now realize that the artist was using a special shaped brush which I don’t have. Funnily enough my hubby saw this and said he liked it, which helped me to use it.

Anyway because this panel was already done, I decided it would make a decent slimline card. After cutting my card base I took some glitter CS and cut a piece for the front. Then I added the cup panel on top. Right there that gave me 3 layers plus the sparkle requirement. Then I cut another piece of white CS to the size I required for the bottom and stamped the sentiment heat embossing it for a bit more definition. Stamp set is from a dollar store brand Forever in Time and the cake image is from the same set. I stamped it, coloured with pencils and some Sakura glitter pens and then fussy cut, giving me my second image. If I don’t count the card front there are three layers but with the card front I now have four. Once this was added to the card front I called the card finished.

In the end I quite like the result, but without this challenge, I’m not sure I would have used the cup layer at all. Now it is your turn and we look forward to seeing your ideas and cards in our gallery. Have fun creating.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Standing Out

One of my favourite challenge sites is As You See It, and this card is intended for Challenge #375 – Jungle Colour.

When I purchased this ephemera set a while back, I set it aside and then couldn’t find it. I found it the other day languishing in a drawer and cannot think how it got there. I also didn’t realize until going through the entire package that each envelope held parts of the same image as it was designed to be decoupaged together. I chose one of the hummingbirds that best used the colours in this challenge and built him using foam pieces between the layers. The sentiment is from the Weekender kit and I heat set it clear before using the matching die to cut it. The shaped pieces are a very old and hardly used set by either Sizzix or Spellbinders and my card stock is from StampinUp. It was recently found in a cupboard in my hubby’s studio. A friend had given me this CS before we moved to the island and I guess this was packed with some of his items and although I wondered what had happened to it, finding it 5 years later is funny.

I realized recently, that when I first began making cards, dies and clear stamps didn’t exist and I fussy cut everything, used clip art that I could alter on the computer and created other things to get what I wanted. I never did do well with the wooden block stamps although I used a few once in a while. Having family in The Netherlands and being able to visit them, I found a lot of crafty things at local markets and decoupage pages were among what I purchased. In those days I had to fussy cut each piece. Then dies started to become popular and I had no money for them or the machines necessary to use them. When I got my first machine I had no idea of what to do with much of it and although I purchased a few dies here and there I wasn’t skilled enough to figure out the best way to use what I had. As the Internet became more popular and more accessible I discovered a world I didn’t know existed and here we are today using it as a source for education, creative ideas and tutorials along with other stuff. I also have to give a shout out to Gina K. By accident I found StampTV and I learned so much from her and made a few stamping buddies along the way too. This creative community is amazing and I’m happy to be part of it.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Yellow and Black

It isn’t often that I really like a card I make, but this one I am truly happy with. So how did it come about and why I had to get really creative to make it?

Firstly it has been made for the latest challenge at Color Hues Challenge #135 – Yellow and Black. It uses dies from a StampinUp set, along with a larger die that I’ve had forever and think is from either Spellbinders or Sizzix. Acquired in the days when I didn’t think to keep the information. And it uses a sentiment from a Hero Arts set that was an included set in my latest Weekender kit.

I wanted to create a butterfly border, but didn’t have the right dies to do what I saw in my head. So instead I die cut the butterflies separately and added them as you see to the narrow yellow strips. To make them look as if they were die cut into the strip I coloured in the pattern attaching them to it. The hanging off piece picks up the black card front underneath. I used some black 1mm foam underneath and once they were attached to the card front, I started on the larger more ornate butterfly. Reversing the two colours I cut the background piece out of the yellow and the open frame piece from the black and attached them together. Taking the body die and some glossy gold CS I die cut the body and attached as you see. It was also popped up on a double up piece of foam so it floats above the others. The black embellishments are really old and from my stash. Once I had stamped the sentiment I embossed and heat set clear then I cut it into two so I could add it between the strips.

Yellow and black look pretty good together and I have to remember to use the combination more often. I guess using a strong yellow helps the visual impact a lot. Thanks so much for stopping by to take a look, I appreciate you and your time.