die-cutting

lavenderhousecreations

Through the Window

Being in need of a masculine birthday card for a special friend, I set about creating this one. First I created the die cut window, using an older Art Impressions die set. I like that the window can be folded open. To give it some strength and dimension I cut several and glued them together.

Setting the window aside I took a small piece of watercolour paper and inked it using speckled egg Distress Oxide ink. When it was fully dry I stamped the image using two stamps from an Inspired by Stamping set that I won years ago. I used weathered wood ink for this as I wanted a softer impression than black ink would have given. I placed this piece behind the window gluing it and then cutting around the edges so it fit perfectly. I wanted a weathered look to the card so I took some wood grain CS and swiped the same ink so the grain stands out. I found the striped scrap of paper in my stash and cut that to the same size adding both to the card front. Using a white scrap I added it so the join was covered, after which I added the window.

As I didn’t have the right size stamp for an anchor, I searched online and found the one I’ve used here as it was a free download. This I then fussy cut and punched a hole at the top so the cord could be pushed through. I had the piece of net in my stash so I cut it to the size I wanted and added it. Then I added the anchor and twisted the cord gluing it here and there so it would stay attached. My sentiment is from Open Studio and I used the tiny fallout heart from the window underneath it.

I quite like how this card looks and am pretty sure our sailing friend will love it. He is always fascinated with my card designs. Although I wasn’t creating this card for any specific challenge it seems to work for the one at Sunday Stamps #SSC397 and it also works for the Anything Goes at: Ally’s Angels #111 Anything Goes theme + #110 brags for 15 Oct 2026 – a first time entry into this challenge for me.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Celebrate Loud

As I needed a congratulations card for our surrogate daughter, I decided to create this pocket style card using a tutorial at Stamptastic Designs. Of course now I need the actual link I can’t find it so I apologize. I’ve been a bit tired lately and I guess I forgot to save it.

I searched my stash of StampinUP DSP and found this one that I really like both sides of and used it along with a CS from GKD that integrates the colour tones. Cutting the paper gave me some additional pieces that will be used on other designs soon. When the cutting and folding were done I added adhesive to close it properly. Using some cream lightly textured paper I stamped the sentiment from Spellbinders and heat set it clear, then the flower stamp is from Crafters Companion and this too was heat set clear. I filled in the flowers using a fine gold pen. This piece was cut so it would fit onto the precut wine coloured background and then I cut a hole for the ribbon to fit through. With the insert done I cut an oval from the same CS and a shaped piece from the cream and added them together. The shaped die cut is a very old die and I have no idea of the brand. The sentiment here was die cut from sparkle CS and uses another very old word set from Sizzix. A few small gem embellishments and the card was finished.

The card seems to fit two challenges, October 2026 – Fall Challenge at Sisterhood of Crafters and the other TB October 2026 Challenge at Triple B. The paper seems to be very fall like even if the colours are less so and the addition of the floral sprig certainly fits in the Triple B challenge.

Thanks for spending time with me, I really appreciate it and also any comments you may leave. Now it is posted here, I can mail the card so it will be waiting for our girl when she and her hubby return from there trip to Japan. She told us that she feels as if she is out of prison now that the studying is done, and yes she did pass and has her new designation for her job.

lavenderhousecreations

Trumpeting Birthday Wishes

Welcome to our latest challenge here at cardz4galz. Billie has chosen a theme asking you to add an animal and this gives you lots of choice in designing your own cards.

My little raccoon is fussy cut from some older StampinUP DSP and I popped him up using foam tape. I purchased a new paper pad and the background here uses a piece from the pad. The arch frame is a leftover piece from a something cut a while back and I added another arch that I had stenciled with gold paste hearts. I also added some tiny fallout hearts that came from an unbranded border die set.

The foiled sentiment is from Open Studio. This has been a very simple, easy and quick card to make. Now it is your turn and we look forward to seeing your designs in our gallery. Have fun creating.

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

lavenderhousecreations

“Leafin’ It Up To You”

Welcome to another 3-2-1 challenge recipe. You need 3 colours using Combo Colour Wheel #3, 2 Autumn images, 1 metallic or glitter element. Thing 3 by Twisted Sister is to have the option to add pumpkins, gourds, harvest fruits, vegetables and/or Halloween images. Thing 2 is a Double Dare to use and enter the sketch challenge #706 at TSOT. One caveat here is to watch for back linking. My card cannot be entered due to that rule.

The large die cut leaf is from an unbranded die and I’ve had it on my desk since it wasn’t used in a different project. Too meet the glitter element I back it with some glitter which allows the deer image to show up. The other leaves are also left over and I believe are from an Altenew die. The sentiment is from Spellbinders and it was stamped and then heat set. As a member of the design team for Double Trouble, I’m required to use all the optional parts of the recipe and occasionally I forget. Fortunately, I remembered but only after I had completed the card. I had the pumpkins die cut and coloured as they weren’t used on a previous card to I tucked them in under the leaves in order to fulfill the recipe properly.

My card base is a textured CS to which I added a strip of glitter CS and some metallic gold bits. I then added the larger leaf using some foam tape and the smaller leaf underneath without any dimension.

Now it is your turn and we look forward to seeing your interpretation of the challenge in the gallery. Above all, have fun!

Many thanks for stopping by, you are appreciated in a big way.

lavenderhousecreations

Recipe For Fall

Once in a while I manage a card that works for more than one challenge and this card fits two. First is Challenge #383 – Recipe for Fall Ambience at As You See It and the second is at Seize the Birthday #336-Double Frame.

I decided on the die cuts first and used the tree dies from MFT adding the gingham as the shading. Then I decided on how to display them and use double framing to do so. The dies used for this are from an unbranded Amazon set and I used some scraps from my stash. These met the double frame part of Seize the Birthday. I added the trees, using foam tape, to the glitter layer and then added twine finishing it with a little bow. This was then added to the other die cut layer and in turn onto the card front. The little embellishments are something I purchased recently, when in Michaels waiting for my hubby. He was buying framing board leaving me to wander. A dangerous thing because I also bought a small wheeled cart for my craft room, but he paid without complaint, lol.

As per the recipe, I needed a pumpkin and I knew I had a perfect button so went searching, which took some time. Too many buttons to go through but I found it eventually. I cut the loop from the back so it would be flat and added it in the corner. And as per the requirement for Seize the Birthday I made sure to have a Happy Birthday sentiment.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Cozy Cabin Days

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to purchase some 49th and Market products and this card features some of my purchase. With the seasons obviously changing many of us are starting to think of cozy things especially with the cooler mornings and early evenings. The challenge at Double D Windows Challenge 2026 is all about windows so I used one of the laser cut rustic images along with some transfers for my card.

I backed my window image with foam tape to lift it up from the page and in behind it I used a transfer depicting a fall bouquet. I added a few pinecones and berries to the top of the window. Taking the plaid transfer I added it to the bottom of the cream layer. And then added the sentiment transfer on top. After adhering the window where I wanted it to be, I then adhered the layer to the metallic copper note card. Some Nuvo Crystal dots finished the card. Although the dots look okay, I wish now that I hadn’t added them along the sides but I can pretend it is fall wallpaper I guess.

It is Thanksgiving for us in Canada, and I am looking forward to getting together with some much loved friends tomorrow. Since moving to the island we don’t see them so often these days. For those celebrating in Canada have a lovely Thanksgiving and for everyone else have a great weekend.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Shake it Up!

In general, making a shaker card isn’t something I do very often as I find them difficult. However, I had some pretty digital images given to me and I wanted to find a use for them. What I did was print them onto some CS that my printer can handle and fussy cut them. The heart aperture I already had because I had die cut a stamped image for another card. The image behind the aperture is from the same gifted digital images and I cut it to a size that fit behind the aperture. To add the shaker elements I used some packaging and made it smaller so I could fill it with the rest.

I backed the layer with foam tape after I had added the shaker pouch. The fussy cut pieces were added at 2 corners, and I stamped the sentiment on an angle. I’m sorry but I’ve forgotten which stamp set it came from as I put it away after using it. The tiny hearts are from Altenew. Once the top layer was put together I added it to a white note card.

The card was made a few days ago, but I didn’t have time to post it until now. I looked at a few challenges and think it fits at The Sisterhood of Crafters – September 2026 – Frame It and also it is a 2nd entry into Double D – pretty in pink.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Masculine Card

I’m not sure where my mojo is, but it definitely isn’t around at the moment. It took me forever to decide on a card for the challenge at As You See It and as many of you know, it is one of my favourite challenge sites. The current one is about colour, Challenge #381 – High Tech Handsomeness and here is my effort. And because I’ve used a folder I am entering it as a second card at CYHYP Anything Goes With A Twist of Cloudy Day . Twist not taken.

Even though I like the colours and the image that was part of the inspiration it took me some time to decide what to do. I started with the folder which is by Sizzix called Mechanics Texture Fades. I chose the slate gray CS and embossed it then went over the raised parts with a blue ink cube. My card base is basic gray so the layer was cut down to allow the darker gray to show up as a frame. I actually got this layer on straight for a change. I remembered that I had a stamp/die set that is an unbranded set. After stamping the truck I stamped the packages, heat embossed them, then die cutting after they were coloured. Prisma pencils were used to colour. These unbranded sets are useful but not fantastic and in the one I have there is a fault in the die for the parcels. As well the stamps are so soft that one has to be careful to get a decent impression.

Once I had everything coloured and put together I added foam tape behind for dimension, looked for some PP that allowed me to ground the truck and added it to the 3D layer. I wasn’t sure about a sentiment but in looking for the PP I also found some sentiment strips from Idea-ology so I chose one of those and added it at the bottom.

We had a massive and violent lightning storm right overhead a few weekends ago. It lasted 6 hours and hit one of the transformers on a pole that brought power to 5 houses. It was an almighty bang and almost made us fall out of bed with shock at the noise. Of course everything went dark and we waited for our generator to kick in. Sadly it didn’t, because the lightning also took out the control panel on the generator. Fortunately we have surge protectors on our panel and we had turned off the computers and other electronics as a precaution. We’ve been dealing with the aftermath ever since as so many little things no longer work. I have two kitchen appliances not working, our ventilation system control panel has to be replaced, a roof exhaust fan is also broken and many LED light bulbs just gave out. Now that we have quotes on most of it we’ve started an insurance claim. Just the generator alone is a $2,000 repair. We would have preferred not to claim but we are now way over the deductible and after speaking with the company the adjuster agrees that it is necessary and likely to be covered. We consider ourselves lucky as it could have been so much worse. One of our neighbors had a power bar start to smoke and burn and it freaked me out because if she hadn’t been awake to find it her house might have burned down. I guess this saga is the reason my mojo is a bit lacking. Anyone denying climate change needs to start rethinking in my humble opinion.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Sweet Surprise

Welcome to challenge #225 with the 3-2-1 recipe “Sweet Surprise” here at Double Trouble. You need 3 layers (card base does not count), 2 images (stamps, dies or Ephemera) 1 aperture any shape. Thing 3 from our Twisted Sister opt is to fill in the aperture with an image and/or make a shaker filled with sprinkled bits. Thing s2 is a Double Dare opt to use the TSOT sketch #704 and enter at TSOT. Beware of the backlinking rules.

My card is 5.25′ square, the Patterned layer is 4.25″ square and I used a new Craft Addiction UK die set to cut this piece giving me the scalloped edge aperture in the middle. I added a white embossed piece behind. The EF is from StampinUP. My cake is from a die set by Memory Box and I used paper scraps for this. The floral sprig is made from felt and was something I forgot I had but found when looking for something else. The patterned paper is from a pad by Crafter’s Companion. I wanted candles on the cake but didn’t have anything small enough so I used some sprinkles and added a pop of color dot at the top for a flame. I’m not big on making shaker cards and didn’t feel up to doing one for this challenge.

For now I am not adding a sentiment and my card isn’t a true reflection of the sketch but comes close. With the PP, embossed layer and the cake stack I have 4 layers, the cake and the floral sprig make 2 images and the aperture is evident so the recipe is complete. Now it is your turn and I’m sure you will do some very creative work using this recipe. Above all have fun creating.

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

lavenderhousecreations

A Fall Retirement

Our neighbor is retiring soon and as he loves his garden and very generously shares some of his produce with us, I decided to make him a retirement card. We harvested a bunch of his apples yesterday. The Card Concept #229 {Sunflower Delight} has a delightful image to use as inspiration and I was intrigued by the mix of sunflowers and other items as part of the mantle. As my card uses an embossing folder I am also entering it into Anything Goes With A Twist of Cloudy Day at CYHTP but no twist taken.

The other day I pulled out some stencils as some of my pastes were going very hard and I thought perhaps I could use them up before throwing them away. I finished off a Brutus Munroe glitter paste using a brick wall stencil and I used some gold butter paste on another scrap card stock with the same stencil. I tried mixing some colour into an old white paste but it had gone too far to be successful so I ditched it almost right away. Anyway these pieces were sitting on my desk where I had left them to dry.

I remembered that I had an EF that was also a brick wall – this one by Tim Holtz if I remember correctly. I ran it through and used some lost Shadow ink over the raised sections so the embossing showed better. As you can see the Inspo image became my focus and I built my card to look somewhat similar. With all that has been going on for a week or so, I hadn’t felt much like creating, so having a photo to follow helped a lot in my creativity. In my stash I have some laser cut florals by 49th and Market so I took some of them to add to my fireplace. Using the glitter piece I cut it down leaving enough on each side to become a flap so when added it would stand up. I also cut the space for the fire. Then I added the black mantle top and glued it all to the embossed background. Taking the laser cuts I played until I had something I liked and then glued or added foam tape to make it stand out. The two sunflowers are from a forgotten bunch of florals I’ve had for a long time. I cut off the stems and made them as flat as possible on the back before using them here. They are a little bigger than I would have preferred but sadly, I don’t have any sunflower stamps or dies, so using something already made was the best way for me today.

The sentiment was created on my computer, cut to size and added as you see. I’m not sure of my style for this card, but after looking at the definitions on the website I believe it is a combination of Mixed Media, and Freestyle collage. Hopefully my mojo will be back properly after working on this card. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you and your time.