cardmaking

lavenderhousecreations

A Penguin Tree

My version
Where the idea came from.

At Christmas last year, we received the displayed Santa card from a friend in Japan. Japan often has amazing mass produced 3D style cards. I often keep cards like this and put them on display each year, but I kept this one to hand as I knew I wanted to try to make one.

The challenge for me was I had to stamp, colour and die cut 19 penguins to build a card, whereas the original was printed and then laser cut one section at a time making it easy to build. I had to figure out how to attach them together and be strong enough to stand up, as well as getting the box size and scoring correct. As anything to do with arithmetic or math is always an issue, it took 3 tries and help from my hubby before I got the box size and scoring right. I deliberately went with a larger base as I knew my penguins would be heavier than the original card is. I added a center piece to the box ready for the middle layer to be attached. The penguin and die come from a Divinity Design set. I stamped with VersaMark and heat set in black. Each were coloured with pencils, then die cut, then I divided them into the stacks required for each section. During the colouring process I had been thinking of how I could attach them knowing that the tallest stack would need some support. I ended up using some fairly stiff packaging plastic cut into strips, long enough to attach inside the back part of the box and provide support for the next row of penguins. The image was chosen for the light string they are holding and I glued each light string to the next one in rows while also adding some glue to the feet. Each layer was built the same way, although I only needed the stiff plastic strips for the back layer. When I looked a the back of each layer it looked messy so I cut another lot of shapes to glue behind each one making it look tidy and clean. My gluing ended up slightly crooked, but the basic shape was there and no real tree is uniform, and I decided it didn’t matter. The box base was covered in some scrap PP before I attached any of the layers and it all folds flat quite easily. My sentiment is also a Divinity Design stamp but from a different set.

Making this box card was a long process, but I enjoyed the experience and actually making it from scratch without any tutorials to follow helps me realize just how far I have come since I started making cards all those year ago. I probably won’t make another, due to how time consuming it was, but it was fun to try.

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

The card will be entered into the following three challenges all relating to Christmas:

https://lilredwagon.blogspot.com

Peace on Earth Challenge #116

MLCCB #69 Anything Christmas Goes

lavenderhousecreations

My Heart is Full

Not having spent a lot of time in my craft room recently, I am pleased in that I have managed to make a card that fits two challenges. The first one is – Challenge #377 – Recipe for Happy Yellow Flowers and the second – Seize the Birthday #331-Square Card & Non White Base.

The recipe at AYSI required a set of ingredients which I’ve achieved here and because I made it square with a yellow card base it works for Seize the Birthday quite easily. After cutting my base at 5.5″ square, I then cut a white piece at 4.5″ square and built the other coloured layers around it. The die cut used a Hero Arts infinity die and the actual sentiment is a circle freebie from Natasha Foote. I added some gold to the tiny hearts and used a thin foam tape behind.

For my main piece I used a homemade stencil, gifted to me by a stamping friend and added some yellow polka dots in two corners. While it was drying I searched for a floral piece that I liked and found a stamp set by GKD. I’m sure this is long discontinued and it was also before die cutting became popular so I had to resort to hand cutting, however I used a self healing board and a knife to do it after I had heat set and coloured it. I used pencils to colour and even chose a yellow green to add to the leaves. Using a thicker foam and before adhering the flowers, I played with it until I liked the placement. I added some enamel dots from YNS and from Waffle Flower in a few places.

As in many locations it has been quite hot and although we can keep our home fairly cool without an A/C it has been slightly uncomfortable at times. Today it is cooler although still nice and sunny. So far, Vancouver Island is coping with wildfires although there are several burning at the moment. The terrain in many places makes it almost impossible to get crews into and lightening has been the cause of at least four of them. My dragon boat team had a festival last weekend and although I didn’t take part in the racing, I was very involved in making the decor to follow the wild west theme of the festival. Without my hubby and our artist friend things wouldn’t have gone as well as they did so the decor worked well. My hubby even came to help with the set up. Because of this and also due to some small day trips we’ve done, crafting, except for the essentials, was ignored. I made sure to keep up with my DT commenting and also to create the next round of cards for the upcoming challenges, but anything else had to wait. I try hard to stay at least a month in advance creating sample cards for the challenges, but they are scheduled posts and only show up as the dates arrive.

I appreciate you stopping by. Stay cool if you can.

lavenderhousecreations

Full of Colour

The new challenge here at Cardz4galz, has been chosen by Pamela and she uses word inspiration RAINBOW as her theme. She will also choose the winners.

I had been playing with a scrap piece of water colour card stock and inked it with most of the colours from the rainbow. It was set aside for several days before I decided how I wanted to use it. My initial thoughts were to make an actual rainbow from it, but I wanted something slightly different and this is what I came up with. I used a border curved die from Spellbinders and cut the piece up. Then I put it back together by gluing it onto the white layer but dropping down as a portrait style. My edges were a bit challenging to match perfectly so I used a gold pen to cover up any tiny gaps.

I’ve had a new Lavinia stamp sitting in a box of new, but as yet unused items and decided that it would be good to have at the bottom. I stamped it several times to get good coverage particularly in the gap created by the rainbow layer and then heat set it black. The gap was bothering me a bit so I added a little extra ink with a brush and heat set a second time which worked well. Then I took the Lavinia rabbit stamp, added it to a scrap piece, heat embossed him a few times and fussy cut. Before adding the fussy cut layer I also stamped him onto the rainbow layer, which meant I could keep the wispy hair along his shape. They would have been impossible to fussy cut. The sentiment is from a CYNS stamp and die set I’ve had for a while.

In the end, I am happy with how this turned out and I am looking forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. Have fun with your designs. Thanks for stopping by, your time is appreciated as are any comments you may leave.

lavenderhousecreations

More Christmas in July

Welcome to another Double Trouble challenge. The recipe this time is: 3 colours of choice (neutrals not included) 2-layers (card base doesn’t count) 1 holiday image. Thing 3 Twisted Sister has the option of using non-traditional colours and thing 2 Double Dare is choose TSOT #699 and/or #700 Jingle Belles Unicorn color challenge.

My card fits the sketch at TSOT but cannot be entered due to the backlinking rule. To create it I used a Crafters Companion Rays of Light die set and using scraps I die cut all the coloured pieces first and then attached them to the other pieces before paper piecing them into the frame I had already glued to the card front. This die set gives me 3 layers, but with the addition of the StampinUP die cut circle I now have 4. I used scrap pieces to cut the tree, deer and rabbit adding a bit of colour around edges and some gold sparkle to the deer. I used the star and snowflake dies with some gold CS to add some embellishments. These dies come from an unbranded set. The sentiment is from a Divinity Designs set.

My workspace looks as if a bomb has gone off, so my next task is to clean up and put everything away so I can find it again easily. I was outside this morning working in the garden, and now I’m tired so I guess the tidy up will be tomorrow.

We look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery and of course hope you have fun creating. Thanks a lot for stopping by, I appreciate you and your time.

lavenderhousecreations

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.

lavenderhousecreations

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

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.

lavenderhousecreations

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

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.