card-making

lavenderhousecreations

“It’s a Wheelie Cool Day”

Welcome to challenge #216 here at Double Trouble and the recipe this time is as follows: Thing 1, 3-layers, 2 shapes and 1 image. Thing 3 is to include at least one wheel, Cam and/or gears. Thing 2 is a double dare to use the sketch at TSOT and to enter your card there. If you are entering into the TSOT challenge be careful not to back link.

To make my card, I pulled out a Spellbinders set that came in the Weekender kit last year and using various coloured bits of scrap card stock I die cut everything. Once the pieces were cut I assembled my sun. To give my sun some eyelids I cut the image twice and turned the other piece upside down and glued it behind. Then I added all the other pieces. It is fiddly work and needs tweezers but is fun nevertheless. I set my sun to the side and stenciled my background using an older stencil (can’t remember the brand) using 3 different inks. Initially I wasn’t sure what to pair it all with and then I remembered that I had some golfing images shared with me, from a stamping buddy. The golf cart and the sentiment seemed to fit the bill so these are the ones I chose. The sun is big and detailed so I didn’t want to add anything too much as I felt it would be way too busy to look at. The sentiment appeals to my weird sense of humour.

Due to the timing of our challenge my card cannot be entered at TSOT. We look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery and trust you have fun creating. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate that you do as I know how busy people can get.

lavenderhousecreations

Fun Fold – Looks like an M Shape when Upright

closed and flat

Earlier in the week I was testing out a 3D folder to ensure which was the raised side versus the debossed side before I used the coloured card stock for the specific card I was working on. As the embossing was quite pretty on the test piece I decide I would use it in a project and this is what I came up with. I had seen a card like this on Pinterest and I followed it to Suestampfield.com where I could see her create it. I figured out the measurements, because paying for a tutorial in US dollars makes no sense to me, and this is my version of one of her examples. The folder is an unbranded one, the papers are all StampinUP as is the circle die cut. The sentiment die was a gift and I don’t know the brand, and the florals are decoupage that came in a kit by Crafters Companion. I had them put together for a while and decided this card would be a good way to use them.

These cards look complicated but they are actually much easier than we imagine and I enjoyed making this one. The back of the card is okay for writing a personal sentiment, but one could enhance it with some stamping if desired. This card fits into the current challenge at CYHTP and includes the twist of flowers.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Primarily Pink

After I had posted yesterdays pink card, I realized that it may have worked for this one here at Seize the Birthday #325-Primarily PINK! The challenge with that would have been trying to say Happy Birthday with only one word. So this morning I set about making one specific to this challenge and this is what I came up with.

In my searching for items yesterday, I came across this stenciled background piece that was left over from a long ago project. I remember using an unbranded die to make the stencil from some cardboard which was then discarded after use. I took some glitter CS and cut a layer for the base and added the heart layer on top. Using a new die from Uniquely Creative and some scrap pink CS I die cut the postage stamp layer. I found a floral stamped piece of vellum that I had left over from a while back and cut the vellum to fit the top and bottom spaces. The florals are from Crafters Companion. Then I took a die set from Altenew called Sunlit Butterflies and cut the base butterfly in a darker pink and a vellum topper. I added them together in the middle space leaving the vellum loose in the wing section.

The sentiment is from Hampton Arts and was stamped in Picked Raspberry ink and then heat embossed. I cut the sentiment into two pieces and stacked them as you see.

I spent 30 minutes outside weeding in my garden, which is sadly a bit of a mess. To avoid getting stupidly overtired and sore I actually took a timer along and when it beeped I stopped. This worked quite well so I may do this again throughout this week. Even if I only get a tiny section done it will be better than nothing at all and it is rather nice to be outside at the moment. We have beautiful weather. We are going with friends for Sushi later so I don’t have to be in my kitchen at all, Yay!

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

lavenderhousecreations

Shades of Pink

I’m fortunate in that this card works for two challenges so it will be entered into the current As You See It and at CYHTP challenges. At AYSI, it is a kind of a recipe challenge where 5 elements have to be used but how you use them is your choice and at CYHTP it is the usual embossing but with a twist of flowers and my folder (unbranded) is all about roses.

I started with the embossing after testing the folder on some craft CS. I couldn’t remember which side was the debossed side and my initial thought was to ink the folder. However, my test piece looked quite nice (to be used later) and I decided to emboss a pink piece of CS and then used a darker ink from Hero Arts and swiped over the raised parts. Once this was dry I added this layer to the white card front. It took some thinking to decide how I would do the frame requirement and I played around for a bit before deciding on a StampinUP circle set. I found a darker pink paper and die cut the circle leaving me with this empty square frame. This was cut down a bit more to narrow the edges and then I added it to frame one of the roses. Using the same paper and an MFT word die I cut two layers of the word, glued them together and added it underneath.

Being completely truthful, I am not feeling very creative at the moment so I’m just pleased that I got something made that is decent if not inspired. We’ve been dealing with accountants and taxes, which I find emotionally draining, as messing with numbers is something that often upsets me. Our accountant is transitioning into retirement after more than 20 years of looking after us, and has passed our file to another person who doesn’t understand my number phobia at all. Once this tax season is over we shall be looking for someone closer to where we now live and whom we hopefully will like. As my hubby has had cataract surgery and the second eye isn’t settling well yet, it has been challenging for him to check the documents before they get officially filed. It meant I’ve been more involved than I normally would be. Stress levels for both of us were pretty high, but this morning we signed it all, and went to the bank to make the payments. I hate tax season, sigh!

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

lavenderhousecreations

APRIL SHOWERS or LOVE IN THE RAIN

Welcome to a new challenge here at cardz 4 galz, and the theme for this one is about April Showers. As you can see I have used a cover plate die that looks as if the rain is pouring down. It did have a cut out umbrella, but as I wanted to use this particular stamped image, I have covered up that section with the stencil/die word.

My image is from an old Inspired by Stamping set and I coloured this with pencils then fussy cut it. Before attaching this to the card front I turned it over and using a shaping tool made the umbrella look more dimensional. To ensure it wouldn’t collapse when being mailed I doubled up on some foam tape and added more to the bodies. After die cutting the word and stenciling in some colour I added it over the gap and then added the image below it. My stenciling skills need some work because my edges aren’t as crisp as they could be. It isn’t my go to technique, and I really ought to use it more than I do.

I’m not unhappy with the end result and I learn a lot during my process so it is time well spent.

Many thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you taking the time and any comments you may leave for me.

We look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery and of course wish you fun in the process.

lavenderhousecreations

Marching Along Wishes

Using stencils isn’t my go to technique most of the time, which is rather silly when I think about it. I don’t think I’m very good at it, but if I don’t practice I have no chance to improve. Anyway for a change I did decide to stencil this background for the April 2026 – Stencil Fun Challenge. I’m not sure which brand the stencil is but suspect it is from Sizzix/Tim Holtz.

The challenge twist is to use rainbow colours so I used different inks diagonally. Once dry I sprayed with some shimmer and then I cut it down to the size I required. The two rings were leftover bits and I added them so the little fussy cut fox had somewhere to be as he marched along. He comes from some old StampinUP paper and was a leftover from another project. I used a Joy Clair sentiment stamp on the banner and curved it slightly on the block before I stamped. Before adding him to the top I used some foam tape for dimension and I went around the layer with a black pen as well.

As the background is quite striking and busy I decided to leave the card as is rather than add any embellishments.

We have a lovely sunny, warm spring day but I chose to do house chores rather than work outside. My hands are sore from gardening over the weekend and I woke up with them being very swollen this morning. This card was mostly done yesterday afternoon and only needed to be added to the card front today so not too much work or fiddly stuff that my hands couldn’t deal with. It will likely be a few days more before they settle so I won’t be doing much creating until they do. I don’t mind aging, but I do mind the aches and pains that come with it.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Micky & Minnie Hello

Remember yesterday when I mentioned I tried 3 times with a design. I did come up with something I liked eventually but had the other 2 pieces sitting looking sad on my desk. As you know I hate wasting anything and knew I could redeem them somehow, and this is what I did.

The poorly stenciled piece was cut down to fit behind this embossed and die cut frame which redeemed most of it. The stamped image on the other card was ruined because I tried to add a frame around the card front after the image was there and it looked awful. What I did in the end was cut the image off – kept the scrap card left over to use somewhere eventually and then fussy cut around the Disney characters. I did another stamp and fussy cut of the mice, added them on top of the original pieces for more dimension. Then I took another stamp from the set and added the stars above their heads and the Hello at the corner.

Supplies used are: Spellbinders EF Postage Stamps with dies, Simple Stories Hello Magic stamps and a gifted homemade graphic style stencil. I scored the card front diagonally before adding the framed piece on top. In the end I think this turned out well and perhaps better than what I was originally thinking yesterday.

I am entering it into the CYHTP challenge and I believe Disney characters fits the optional twist of Kids. As well I shall enter it into the Stencil Fun March 2026 Challenge. Twist not taken.

We’ve gone from really cold wind and a lot of rain, to a balmy spring day where we didn’t even need a jacket to take the dog for a walk. Its supposed to heat up a lot for the next few days so I shall have to get into the garden before it becomes unmanageable. That will likely mean no crafting as I have to choose how I use my hands and gardening usually means pain for a few days.

Thanks for stopping by.

lavenderhousecreations

Soft Spring Colours

As You See It – Challenge #369 – Soft Spring Colours is a colour challenge this time and I’ve done my best to match them.

I started with the embossed layer using a Catherine Pooler/Sizzix folder. When done I went over the panel with Tumbled Glass ink and cut it down to the size I required. After some searching I located this stiped piece and added it as you see. Then I cut a square white piece and a smaller piece to go on top so that there would be a border showing. This piece I inked green and added them together. While it was drying I inked up another strip of white card in the blue and cut 2 small squares which I then added as you can see. With a small piece of the striped section I added that to join the 2 pieces together. With a stamp set from Inkadinkado I took a small floral, stamped it and heat set then fussy cut it. When that was done I added colour using Prisma pencils and a little bit of the green ink. This was popped up on the center striped square.

My sentiment was from some vellum sentiments I’ve had for a while and this one was beginning to curl so I decided I had better use it before it was too damaged to use at all.

I find it annoying when a photograph seems to change the colours on a card as appears to have happened here. The striped piece is actually a lot lighter in colour than it shows, but it looks much darker now. In fact the entire photo looks darker than it does in real life. I also think I should have used a different folder as this one is quite busy and I’m not sure about the card now. Oh well, it isn’t a disaster, just not quite what I imagined.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate that you do and also any comments you may leave for me.

lavenderhousecreations

3-2-1 Recipe

Welcome to a new Something, Anything and Everything challenge #213 here at Double Trouble and the recipe is as follows: 3 of something, 2 of anything, and 1 of everything else, all from your stash. Twisted sister double dares you to add an Easter element, but using the sketch is optional.

As I’m someone who often uses up bits and pieces left over from other projects using a recipe such as this is fun. My main circle piece was created using a technique shared by Natasha Foote and the different paper scraps were cut into 3 before adding them to the left over silver die cut. I used another scrap piece to die cut the banner which I then added behind the circle. The little nest and bird are from Gummiapan and I paper pieced the red breast on the bird before adding it to the nest. Both of these were added to a vellum oval before placing on the circle. I should mention that the circles were cut with Hero Arts infinity dies but the doily is from a Gina Kay set as is the sentiment. The embellishments are ancient and are from my stash. The mirror card background is the last bit I have in this colour and I thought it worked for that layer.

I rotated the card to landscape before adding everything to the base and although it isn’t an exact rendition of the sketch at TSOT #692 it is a loose interpretation of it. Due to backlinking I cannot enter the card into this challenge, but you can if you are careful of the backlinking rule. My card has 3 circles and 3 gems, 2 images, 1 banner and 1 sentiment which includes the Easter element.

Please have fun creating and we look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by, you, your time and any comments are always appreciated.

lavenderhousecreations

First Grandchild Congrats

The current challenge at Shopping Our Stash is to make a card without white. My challenge was to make a new baby card for a dragon boat team member and hubby, who have the joyful experience of becoming a grandparents for the first time. Being able to combine what I needed with the challenge was a bonus.

Its funny how one can own a die for quite a number of years and not really use it, then in one week suddenly find uses for it. I had this MFT die set on my desk and the idea came to try to make a shaker card. (I’m generally not good at these, so rarely do them). As the baby is a boy I went with some blue DSP and cut the panel. I then backed it with some packaging plastic and adhered some of the letters that were sticking up a little too much. Using 3 of the confetti dies and some scrap glitter CS I die cut the confetti. After going around the congrats layer with some foam tape strips I added the confetti bits inside and used a scrap piece of silver CS to cover it all. This layer was then added to the card front. Taking a very old wooden block stamp, I scribbled some flesh coloured alcohol ink, let it dry, then stamped the baby on top, after which I fussy cut it. The safety pin and rocking horse are from a set made by a company called Little B. Don’t think they exist anymore as this is another set I’ve had for a very long time. I coloured the rocking horse with some Sakura gelly roll pens. Unfortunately the glitter CS confetti tends to clump together and it doesn’t shake freely so another lesson learned here. Told you making these isn’t one of my talents. The inside words were generated on my computer – Between the earth and the sky above, Nothing can match a Grandparent’s
LOVE.

I guess you could say, I truly shopped my stash to make this card. It is now in the mail and I hope they like it. Many thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you and your time.