ink-blending

lavenderhousecreations

Get Well Blues

Welcome to our latest challenge here at cardz4galz and Sue is asking us to create a card using any Kraft card stock and any shade of blue. She will also be choosing the winners.

My card ended up being something entirely different that what I had originally thought about, but I like how it evolved. The EF I’ve used is a Sizzix 4 pattern 3D folder. Using a scrap piece of blue CS I ran it through to get the impression and initially went over the raised parts with some white pigment ink. I did like it, but decided that it would look better with a dark blue and liked it more. Then I took a Spellbinders emboss and cut folder and cut the arch out of more Kraft CS. The sentiment was created on my computer and added to the back before I popped it onto some foam tape and adhered as you see. Taking a Memory box layered floral die I cut the flowers and leaves out of two blues and layered them. A few tiny blue gems and some larger ones for the flower centers and my card was done.

It always interests me how an idea changes into something else and yet the end result is usually pretty. So now it is your turn and we look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. Have fun while creating.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Garnish Your Margarita

It took a while for me to settle on the right images and ideas for this card challenge, but once I did everything went smoothly. The current challenge at Seize the Birthday #332-Funny/Pun-ny requires funny/pun-ny and fortunately I have a few stamps sets in my stash that fit the bill. My images come from a YNS set that had matching dies and the pun sentiment is from that set. The Cheers sentiment is from Joy Clair and the Happy Birthday is from SSS. My EF is from Spellbinders but my ink pad was very juicy which meant the ink stayed wet. Because I’m impatient, I decided to heat emboss it clear. I cut it down slightly and added more ink around the edges before adding it to the card front. The oval is from a CraftAddiction UK set and I cut two to stack them for dimension. I did the same with the images so they have both strength and dimension.

Using a VersaMark pen I went around the edge of the oval and heat embossed it in gold and the sentiments were all heat embossed in gold too. The images were coloured with water colour pencils and to ensure they wouldn’t run I heat embossed the outlines after stamping.

I like the cuteness of the images in this stamp set and had fun putting the card together. This particular stamp had the 3 images close together, but I didn’t realize that each part had an individual die. Cutting that tiny heart was a challenge due to its size. The rest was much easier.

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

lavenderhousecreations

A Winter Scene

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge #223. Your 3-2-1 recipe is as follows, “Something, Anything, Everything”

3 of something from your stash, 2 of anything from your stash and 1 of everything from your stash. Thing 3 Twisted Sister has the option of using foam tape or multilayering of item to add dimension and Thing 2 is the double dare of using the sketch and adding to TSOT #702 challenge. Remember the backlinking rule please.

I began my card by stamping a Penny Black scene and heat setting it so I could add colour. Using some inks and sponges I added the various colours working my way down the image. Taking an unbranded die set I cut one of the small deer and 3 rabbits to which I added a little colour before using thin foam tape to pop them on the front. My two fussy cut little birds are from a GKD set and I added some colour to these as well. The sentiment is from a YNS set and I used a Sakura glitter pen here and there for a little fun.

I had fun putting the scene together and hope that those of you participating also enjoy the process. We look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery. Many thanks for stopping by, you, your time and your comments are appreciated.

lavenderhousecreations

Leaf Wishes

The challenge at Color Hues is #138-Navy and Teal and I wasn’t sure if I had any ideas for it. However, a book I’ve been reading, had a very interesting and pretty cover and it set off an idea for something with stripes. This is what I ended up with.

My first step was to create the stripes and this is my second attempt as the first one was not what I wanted. I used Gina’s masking magic strips and my glass mat for getting them onto the card stock straight. Then I used Chipped Sapphire and a sponge to do the navy stripes. When they were done and dry I moved the masks so I could add the Peacock Feathers ink. While this was drying I looked through my stamps and found this set by SSS that includes dies as I wasn’t in the mood to fussy cut anything. I stamped them using Chipped Sapphire and then used clear heat embossing to set it. Using a several water colour pencils, I added colour using a darker teal and a lighter one, along with navy. While they were drying I added VersaMark ink using a fine tip brush and the liquid and doing 2 stripes at a time added clear heat embossing to give it the shine I wanted. This took enough time that the stamped pieces dried well so I die cut them and then added VersaMark onto a few leaves and clear heat embossed those as well. The teal stripes have a subtle shine as I used some Perfect Pearls powder on those. The sentiment is from Open Studio.

In thinking about the process I took to get this result, I’ve realized that I could have added VersaMark using the ink pad before I moved the masking strips, but as with so many things hind sight is always 20/20.

We’ve actually had some rain earlier today which is a relief because it is scary to see how dry things are. The fires in the Okanagan are very bad and so many communities are affected. In my thoughts I tried to send the rain to them, but we don’t have control over the weather unfortunately. It is depressing to see how many people have lost everything, but there are also stories of hope and heroes too. Other countries have sent crews to help which allows some of ours to get some rest and recharge their batteries.

My I-phone is giving me some issues since a recent update and the photo is way darker than the card looks in real life. It is a very strong card, but I like it and my hubby liked it too.

I’m off to finish some laundry now that the painters have moved to another section of the house. We are having some areas redone with the hallway to the laundry room being one section. It looks nice but I couldn’t get to my machines easily. Many thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it.

lavenderhousecreations

Sympathy Blooms

Sadly, I was in need of a sympathy card as a sick friend passed away on Friday. She was a part of my yoga group and will be sorely missed. I figured that if I must make one why not add it to a challenge while I was at it. It will be entered into the Triple B TB August 2026 Challenge.

I took an A2 panel and die cut a label aperture through it. Before doing anything else I ensured where to adhere the sentiment so it shows through because I knew I was going to use foam tape to lift it up from the main card. The actual sentiment comes from a book of essential inserts by HunkyDory Crafts and I used a larger label die to glue it behind. Dies are by Spellbinders Nestabilities. Once the layer was added to the main card front I proceeded with the rest.

Using an older die set from GKD, I die cut 9 flowers, placed them on a sticky mat, pounced colour, then using a Sakura gel pen I made the lines darker for more definition. With a paper styler and some foam I added a curve to all of them and then added the silver flat backs to their centers. These were then glued to the layer as you see in the photo.

I made an envelope for this card to ensure the flowers would have more space as the regular envelopes don’t allow for this much dimension. I will, however, be delivering this in person sometime later this week. We don’t have yoga for a few weeks as our teacher is on vacation, but we shall be having a coffee together on Thursday in Fern’s honour. A couple of us will miss her for more than just her personality as she also took care of our dogs once in a while.

Thanks for joining me today, you and your time is appreciated.

lavenderhousecreations

Pinecone Bough

In my testing out some new dies, I ended up with extra pieces that were good enough to use elsewhere so I created this card for CYHTP. Their challenge is: Anything Goes With A Twist of Tie It Up. The die set used is from Karen Burniston and is called Pine cone. It also fits with the theme at The Card Concept too. The Card Concept #228a {Summer By The Sea} or #228b {Christmas in July}

My embossed background is from a folder by SSS and was a test piece made some time ago. While it wasn’t bad, I did set it aside for future use and used another one for the card I was making at that time. This one works perfectly here and I played around with the foliage and pinecones until I liked the placement before finally gluing it all. The sentiment strip is from an MFT stamp set and I edged it with the same ink used in the embossed layer. Taking two colours and lengths of twine I folded them together and in half before tying the bow and placing it as you see.

After adding the layers to the teal card front and a couple of extra berries to the sentiment I called the card complete. I’m trying to do a few Christmas cards a month to ensure I am not panicking later.

We are back in a hot dry spell and with what is happening in the Okanagan, everyone is slightly nervous. Things are tinder dry and one mistake would be a costly one. Everyone is sad for those in Summerland who are evacuating due to the wildfires nearby. It is awful to see how bad it is. I pray for them as I also pray we don’t get a fire here. The only upside for us, is that the wind has changed direction so any smoke is moving out and to the east. We were getting smoke from several places including the USA.

Thanks for stopping to take a look. I appreciate that you do and thanks in advance for any comments you may leave.

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

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.