stampin-up

lavenderhousecreations

Another Year Flies By

Let’s make this Air-mazing is the latest challenge here at Double Trouble #214. Our recipe is as follows: 3 Patterned and/or special papers, 2 colours from colour wheel #1, 1 image. And our twisted Sister is suggesting an optional flying element. The double dare is to use the sketch TSOT#693 and enter it there. Be careful not to backlink when posting to TSOT.

As you can see, my flying element is a kite from a StampinUP collection, as is my sentiment. I used a sky paper layer from a very old paper pad (it still comes in handy at times) and some holographic paper. As I don’t have dies that will cut a cloud shape in a line I used some shaped scissors. I could have free handed it but felt the scissors were best. Once the kite and tail were stamped I used a combination of Sakura glitter pens and Prisma pencils to colour it and did the tail stars in silver glitter. Believe it or not I did fussy cut these elements and then added them to the, also fussy cut, kite. I backed all this with foam tape to lift it off the sky and did the same to the clouds on each edge. I stamped the sentiment and heat set it with a multi coloured powder then added a small black layer behind before adding to the clouds.

It was at this point that I realized I had missed part of the recipe as there were only had 2 patterned papers and I really didn’t want to have to begin again, so some thinking was required. I settled on adding another layer of paper over a portion of the holographic section. I found this piece in a paper pad and added it flat at the top. In a way it wasn’t a bad idea as it has toned down the glare that comes from the shiny section but it wasn’t quite the look I had in my mind.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look. I appreciate you and your time. We hope to see your creations in our gallery and that you have fun making them.

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

Up, Up and Away

Right now I seem to be on a creative roll after a few weeks of not being very motivated. Many reason’s for it, but I’m glad that my brain is once again coming up with ideas. I have quite a few PP scraps lying around and I wanted to use them. Having seen a card on Pinterest I thought it was a good idea and a way to use some of them.

Then I also noticed the challenge at Just Add Ink #781…Just Add Wings! and this card was born. I knew I had a stamp set with a plane, but had to do a bit of searching as I couldn’t remember which company it was. It is from CTMH which is now no more, but I do have a few sets from its early years. The sentiment, however, is from an old GKD set.

It took me a while to get the paper scraps the way I wanted them and I made a mistake at first when I tried to glue from the bottom to the top. Started over from the top down and glued the cut pieces as you see. They were cut using several dies, some from Spellbinders and some from Kokorosa. Once I had them together I added them to a white layer which I then cut down to fit on the card front. Before doing that I stamped the clouds and the sentiment. The little plane was done on a separate piece, coloured with a mix of Prisma pencils and Sakura gelli roll pens. After fussy cutting, I added dimension with foam and then went around the entire layer with a black pen after which I glued the panel to the card front. I was dismayed to realize that I had somehow gotten a large black smudge on the plane which would not come off. So more stamping, more colouring, more fussy cutting and then glued it over the original.

Another needed masculine style card ready and I’m quite pleased with myself and with it. LOL. My hubby was complimentary when he saw it. Many thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you and your time.

lavenderhousecreations

tent fold card

showing how it stands

Our artist friend has a birthday coming up soon and I really wanted to personalize a card for her. When I saw this style card on YouTube, I thought it would be perfect to make a painters easel and this is what I came up with. The tutorial is found HERE if you are interested. Our friend loves blue so my first thought was to use blue PP, then my second was realizing I don’t have any stamp sets with artist tools. She is also an award winning photographer so I thought about doing a card using that as a theme, but I’d done several of these for my hubby and wanted something different. In the end I looked online to see what I could find that would be useful and found a set by Globeland on Amazon. Cheap stamps but good enough for what I needed, but no matching dies so I fussy cut the images. And the order was delivered this morning which was perfect.

Making the card folds and decorating it wasn’t hard at all. I did, however, want something on the floating piece that would look as if someone was painting. It was then that I remembered some cards that came in my Weekender kit from last year. I found one that looked like a painting and cut it to size before adding to the panel. The sentiment is from Joy Clair and I’ve added a piece on the back for writing a personal note.

All in all I’m happy with how this one looks and of course I’ve learned a lot while making it, so the next one will be much simpler to do. I have two other artist friends and may do something similar for them when their birthdays are coming up.

I think this card works for the following challenge: V is for Volume (Dimension) at Alphabet challenge blog and it loosely follows the sketch challenge at Just Add Ink #779…Sketch even though it is a fun fold rather than a note card style.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Chocolates anyone

We are in need of a thank you card, and As You See It is asking for candy, so I decided to combine the need with the challenge.

I saw something briefly where a crafter was making paper chocolates and I thought what a good idea. Somehow I missed saving it, and of course when I went to look again, couldn’t find it. That said, my chocolates are roughly based on what I saw.

Using my Hero Arts Infinity dies and some scrap, chocolate coloured, CS I cut 6 hearts in 2 sizes. Using some foam tape I put those pieces together. Pulling out some very old embellishments that look like sprinkles I chose the colours I wanted and glued them on top.

I thought about making a heart chocolate box, but decided I preferred a square box so I used a window frame (no idea of the brand) to die cut my piece and added foam tape to the back for dimension. In retrospect, it would have been easier to die cut several layers and glue them together, but we live and learn and it is something to note for next time. After cutting a 5″x5″ card front I added the window piece to it and then I carefully added the chocolates, tucking them in as best I could. For my center and sentiment I die cut a gold piece that fit across the entire frame and added a smaller copper piece, it matches some of the sprinkle colours, and then cut another white piece for that. I stamped the words and using some copper coloured Recollections EB I heat set it. An unbranded bow die set was used to cut a bow in copper and to this I added a tiny StampinUp heart embellishment. The white piece was a bit too white so I used an inking sponge with Lost Shadow ink to soften it. All in all, I’m very pleased with the result and my hubby is thrilled as he is going to be giving it to our nurse practitioner when he sees her later this week. She deserves this thank you, as she was the one who did her due diligence and got him checked out. We feel that the outcome could have been an unwanted and serious heart attack as we had no idea that it was his heart giving him trouble.

We’ve had another dry day with a bit of sunshine, so were able to get outside and walk a little. It is good to be in the fresh air even if only for a short time. All of us, including the dog, need to lose some weight so once we are sure my hubby is completely stable, we will be concentrating on a diet plan.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Rhapsody in Red, not a valentine

partly open card
closed card

The challenge is all about using reds and I decided on this design and papers for the As You See It, Challenge #365 – Rhapsody in Red. There is a recipe included so I ensured I got all the ingredients as well.

Firstly I chose my papers using a small paper pad from a dollar store. Having seen something like this on Pinterest that also had measurements and a tutorial, I took a closer look to see how best to proceed. The demonstrator explained her process and I followed it mostly, except that I wanted borders around my papers so changed it up a little bit. Once I had my strips ready I chose a neutral matte old gold card front and added them as you see. I die cut 2 hearts, one in white CS and one in Vellum using a set from Memory Box. Actually before I cut the vellum one I used a stamp from a Crafters Companion set already on my desk. I then stamped the floral sprig in Barn Door Distress Oxide and then heat embossed it with a clear powder. Once I was happy with it, I die cut it and attached it to the white one. I hope the vellum can be seen. I did try several coloured pieces behind it, but the white looked best. In my bits and pieces box I found a gold heat embossed sentiment which I fussy cut and added to the heart. And I also added a small bow. The heart is popped up on foam tape. The inside panel was stamped using a Hampton Arts set with Aged Mahogany ink, and I also added more red floral sprigs in a couple of places. The embellishments are from my stash and I used the bigger gems so they would show up more.

Thanks for spending time with me today. I appreciate that you stop by and also any comments you may leave.


lavenderhousecreations

butterfly sympathy

As You See It – Challenge #362 – Bits and Pieces has a sketch challenge as the latest theme and unfortunately, we’ve had a recent death in our neighborhood, which affects two families. It is a close knit community so I decided to make a card today for the widow, and used the sketch as a guide to my design. I shall do the other one later.

My card uses StampinUP DSP and the butterfly is also from them. The sentiment is from GKD, The piece holding the butterfly is from an unbranded die set and the tiny gems are from Trinity Stamps.

Once I had the papers cut it was easy to put together and I like the monochromatic look that was the result. The photo doesn’t really do it justice.

It has been quite a week, I caught a cold, which settled into a bad cough, leaving me feeling a bit like a space cadet. Our friends were coming to help with the Christmas decor as they do each year, and I let them know that they might prefer not to come, just in case. They came anyway, and the house has been transformed into a magical wonderland. It always amazes me how Dale makes it come together, after seeing the mess of boxes and supplies everywhere for a few days. Before I realized I wasn’t 100% I had managed to put together several meals that would keep until they were here making it easier to handle the few days of their visit. I had also put the tree together with the exception of some beads which I had trouble with. Dale soon sorted that issue. The guys did the finishing touches to the outside, repairing a broken snowman and figuring out an issue we had with another set of lights. I helped as much as possible inside, but the bulk of it was done by Dale and her imagination.

Today is the party for my yoga group, and fortunately, I’m well enough and no longer contagious, to be able to host it. We’ve had a few cancellations due to others coming down with this cold. It is certainly going around at the moment. I finished the cake this morning and will put the table together soon so all will be ready and I can relax for a short time before.

Thanks for stopping by, you are appreciated, as are any comments you may leave.

lavenderhousecreations

uncluttered

After a week of not really being in the mood to create, I finally had a small break through and these cards are the result. As the challenge at https://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.com/ is asking for uncluttered and/or vertical I decided that my card would work for the challenge. In addition, it works for another Christmas challenge at https://12monthsofchristmaslinkup.blogspot.com/. This one is an anything goes challenge. I’ve not entered here before and haven’t entered often at ABC either.

To make my cards, I used a lamp die by YNS, and an unbranded die set that includes wavy dies to make hills etc. My wreaths are cut from a scrap piece of last years PP and by cutting out the center I was able to hang it from the lamp post. The sentiment is from a Woodware set. I used a gold glitter pen on the lamp light. The little houses were bacled with some gold paper and my tiny trees are cut from a scraps. Using a Sakura glitter pen I added some lines to the hill tops and snowman as well as to the berries on the wreath. I felt the snow needed more so using a glue pen and super fine StampinUp glitter I was able to make it sparkle. The other two cards were done in a similar fashion only one has been sprayed and the other uses the super fine glitter. I quite like the simplicity of these cards and they are still flat enough to mail easily, if and when the service goes back to work. I think the postal strike has been a factor in my lack of mojo.

It is Thanksgiving here in Canada, and we are expecting guests later on. I’ve been preparing food for their 2 day stay since Friday. No turkey though, instead I’ve prepared a stuffed Pork roll and for tomorrow a lasagna. It took a while to put the rooms together as there is 4 people coming, all members of my hubby’s former photo club. Fortunately I am able to split the king bed into twins and after adding a camp cot to the other room they should be fine. After a deluge of rain yesterday, today is cold, sunny and extremely windy which means a porch full of leaves to clean up again.

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

lavenderhousecreations

stacked banners

The challenge here at Double Trouble is to use Something, Anything and Everything. Hard to interpret you may say – no, actually easy as you will see from my process. The recipe says, 3 of something, 2 of anything and 1 of everything. My card can be considered in several ways using this formula. Firstly I used 3 X 3 layers of banners in a stacked design. This idea came from something I saw Natasha Foote do. As these were cut using a StampinUP die set my design says three die cuts too.

Secondly I have two layers, one of which is also a die cut and for this I used a Spellbinders border die. In addition I have 2 gem embellishments so I met the requirement in 2 ways.

And last but not least my sentiment layer is my everything, after all a card with no sentiment can look unfinished, but just in case I also added a sparkle glitter piece of tape. This served two purposes, it adds some glamour to the card but it also covers up the edge of that layer so it looks nicer. The PP is scraps from my stash although the middle set is actually from a photograph that didn’t print well. Waste not want not LOL. Sentiment is from a Hampton Arts set.

I did not follow the TSOT 680 sketch in my design, but I highly recommend that you try the dare as it gives you more chances to win. If you prefer to try an alternate challenge have a look at https://welove2create.blogspot.com/, and also at Sunday Stamps with their new challenge SSC370 Squared Away. Entering gives you another chance to win. We look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery, but above all we want you to have fun.

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

lavenderhousecreations

postcard christmas

Although when I started this card I was thinking it may work for the next Peace on Earth Challenge #96, at the time I hadn’t seen their mood board or the DT designs. However, one example features a postcard and here is mine.

I was thinking about my Woodware postage frame die the other day and wondering how I might use it for a Christmas card? As it happens, I had already pulled out the MFT village stamp set I’ve used here, so I inked up some CS to give the blue background and stamped the scene in the middle. I used the accompanying stencil only to assess where to add other images. I added the trees, some from GKD, another MFT, the tiny mouse is Hero Arts and the sentiment is StampinUP. Everything was clear embossed as I worked and I coloured everything before I used the die to add the postage holes. I did trim down the edges to ensure it fit onto my card front which is from Spellbinders. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked it, but after my hubby and our artist friend were complimentary about it, I’m more comfortable with it myself.

I’m really trying to keep my cards as flat as possible for this season, as postage has become more expensive and the rules about some items keep changing.

Thanks for spending time with me today, I appreciate you and any comments you may leave.