stampin-up

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

Orange and Black

In general I make very few Halloween cards, but the challenge at Color Hues #143 – Orange and Black seems to lend itself to Halloween. As my card fits into the challenge at https://twooldbatshalloweenchallenge.blogspot.com/, I’m adding it there as well.

Why the colour changes when I do a photograph is beyond me, as here is looks more yellow than orange, although in reality is is a very bright orange.

My card is a CASE from something viewed on Pinterest. I used 2 different EF’s, one from Craft Concepts and one from Lifestyle Crafts. Both are ancient and not 3D. After embossing the background piece, I figured out the head section for my owl cut it and then embossed that piece too. We recently received a box of handmade chocolates as a gift and the box had this amazing orange belly band so I cut it into pieces to be used. A couple of the pieces had a silvery pattern on them. Fortunately I also had some card stock that was close in colour, which I used as the card base.

Using Hero Arts infinity circle dies I cut circles in different sizes to make the eyes. Once they were glued together I added them as you see and then added the head/beak section on top. I also added an orange piece to make the beak stand out. The layers were then added to the card base. An old Halloween set had the sentiment from GKD and I stamped in Versamark and then heat set black. A few gems were added on this piece after I had adhered it to the black layer.

I’m happy with how this turned out which is always a bonus for me, as so often I don’t like a card immediately it is finished. Thanks for spending time with me today, it is appreciated.

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

From me to You

Double D’s latest challenge mood board is all about pink and a stamping friend of mine mentioned a brand new challenge blog called Heart’s Quest and they too have a mostly pink challenge happening. I decided that my card fits both so I managed a twofer.

I wanted to play with my newest stamp/die set from Craft Addition UK as I had only used one of the stamps so far. I really liked the floral heart and decided to start with that and see how my thinking evolved. I chose a Distress Oxide ink Victorian Velvet and stamped it after which I used clear embossing and heat set it. When it was fully dry I used the matching die and cut it. Setting it aside I decided to use another of the Quacker stamps, stamped, heat set and die cut. Using pencils I added some colour keeping to the pink theme. It’s art, so who says a duck has to be white? I knew I would be popping up the duck so I added foam tape and set it aside for a few minutes more.

My card front is a pink from GKD and I remembered I still had some StampinUP DSP that looked marbled in different colours and this piece was one of them. I used the less marbled effect to keep the soft look as a background. The other side is lovely too but a but too busy for this card. Once I had glued the DSP to the card front I played a moment with placement before adding the other elements. It needed a sentiment and I thought this one was perfect and it helps to ground my quacker too. A few pink Pops of Color and the card was done. I guess you could say this card is an almost CAS style. I quite like how this one has turned out, although perhaps adding a bit more than just pink may have given it a little more Oomph as my hubby likes to say.

Thanks a lot for stopping by, I appreciate that you take the time to look.

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

A Little Bird …

Welcome to the latest Double Trouble recipe challenge #224. Thing 1 – 3 Patterned papers, 2 colours of choice (neutrals do not count, but can be used in addition) 1 image. Thing 3 – Twisted Sister Opt: Include Stitches on Project and Thing 2 is a double dare to use the sketch from TSOT and enter into TSOT #703 challenge. Note the backlinking rule.

My card uses patterned paper from a HunkyDory Duo Design paper pad and some patterned vellum. My colours are blue, yellow and green along with the neutrals in the paper. The little bird is from Gummiapan and was coloured using pencils. The tiny butterflies are also Gummiapan. I used a GKD stamp to add the branch for the bird to perch on. The circle dies and the stitched sentiment dies are from StampinUP. The actual gold embossed sentiment is from Joy Clair and my die cut flowers are from Memory Box.

When I began this card I didn’t really have a firm idea of what I wanted to create, but as so often happens it evolved by itself. I quite like the result, which is always a bonus for me.

Now it is your turn and we look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. Above all, have fun! Thanks for stopping by, you, your time and your comments are 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

Blue Sky

shows fold and closed
open showing swing panel pop up

Welcome to the latest challenge at Cardz4galz, where Lynda has chosen blue sky as the challenge theme. It can be anything you choose within the theme. She will also be choosing the winners.

As you can see I went quite literal with the challenge and chose some paper showing a blue sky with clouds. Having seen a Swing card on Pinterest, I followed the link to Frenchie Stamps and then basically followed her tutorial. I had done one in a circle some time ago, but had forgotten some of the steps and I find that this demonstrator explains things very well. She used a plane in her tutorial but I chose to use a dragonfly for mine.

My dragonfly was cut three times with a Paper Rose die using scrap paper that was different colours on both sides. By gluing 2 at the body only, I was able to offset slightly so both colours show up as well as adding a bit more strength to the die cut. The third one I only used the body. As you can see I added a few gems along the body, as well as a bit of sparkle pen here and there. The seagulls and small clouds are from an unbranded set, and my sentiment stamps are from Spellbinders.

I did find my mechanism isn’t 100% perfect and I think it is because I need a stronger card stock for it – I’ve made notes for the next one I may do. As well, I somehow managed to get glue along the side of the dragonfly tail and I couldn’t remove it properly without destroying the card. I used a silver and a sparkle pen along the sides that I hope denotes movement rather than a mess. Other than this, I am reasonably happy with the card.

We look forward to seeing your interpretations of the challenge in our gallery and hope that you have fun creating. Many thanks for stopping by, it is appreciated.

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