stamping

lavenderhousecreations

Seize the Birthday #326-Feature an Animal

I sure hope my sheep image is front and center enough for this challenge. The image and sentiment came from Art Impressions and I used watercolour pencils after heat embossing it. I did stamp the image on water colour paper in order to be able to use water colour pencils.

The oval aperture was cut using a CraftAddictions die set and I added some watercolour to the die cut oval, but then decided to add a rub on transfer from 49 and Market on top. All the leaves came from an older Hero Arts kit and were water coloured as well. I couldn’t find the die set I originally planned on using, which would have been more in keeping with the transfer, but in the end I quite like the quirkiness of having jungle leaves with a sheep and pine branch image. Its ridiculous but amuses me. And the sheep image is in itself quirky and fun.

Foam tape was used on the top layer to lift it from the oval shape below and to allow room for adding the jungle leaves. The stitched oval was added flat, but I did add dimension behind the sheep so the card has a 3D look and feel.

The card will be added to Seize the Birthday for their current challenge. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you, your time and any comments you may leave for me. Hope you all have a great weekend. It is Victoria Day here in Canada, with many families enjoying an additional day with family.

lavenderhousecreations

Beside the Sea Vacation Time

It seems a couple of challenge blogs have a water or beach type scene as their challenges at the moment. When I first created my post for the As You See It challenge, my original intention was to do something similar to this post, but my brain went in a totally different direction that day. In the meantime the Card Concept came up with a new challenge that was nautical in nature and my brain went back to this idea. I think my card fits into their Clean and Layered definition. And because I used a stamp set from GKD that I’ve had forever and not used in recent years, I dragged it out to use here and that qualifies the card for the challenge at The Neglected Stuff. Believe it or not, the sentiment stamp had never seen ink until today.

The small gold squares were leftover pieces from a post I did a while ago and my new Memory Box nested squares arrived the other day, so I chose one slightly smaller than these and using some scraps I die cut the next layer. I added them together and set aside while I did the next few steps. Taking a wave folder from StampinUp I embossed the white layer and cut it down so it was slightly smaller than the card front. Then I carefully added the squares doing my best to keep them centered and straight. Once ready I added it to the card front. Then using a few stamps from the set, I stamped the fish and star fish using Black Soot ink and heat embossed clear, doing the same with the sentiment. I coloured these images with Prisma pencils using an alcohol blending pen to smooth out the colours. Once fussy cut I added them as you see. I felt the fish needed a bit extra so I die cut some seaweed using another Memory Box die set. I matched the sentiment piece to the others using a scrap piece of the same gold CS. The tiny embellishments were added and the card was complete.

When taking the photograph I had some issues with how the light was on the card and I can see here that the embossing isn’t as visible in the picture as it is in reality. This 3D folder has quite a visual impact usually.

Thanks for spending time with me today, I appreciate that you take the time to look and comment.

lavenderhousecreations

3-2-1 Recipe

Welcome to the new challenge here at Double Trouble recipe #215. The recipe is as follows: 3-Layers and card base counts here, 2 shapes or images, 1 stenciled and/or embossed element. Thing 3 by twisted sister is to include flowers if you wish, and Thing 2 is the double dare for you to add your creation to the TSOT Sketch #694 challenge. When you do this, be aware of the backlinking rule.

My card has the 3 layers, one of which is also a stenciled layer. I used a Color Box stencil and some TCW Stardust butter in champagne for this. I bought 2 containers of these butters earlier this year and when I opened the rose gold one, I discovered it was as hard as rock. I no longer have the receipt for the purchase so cannot take it back to the art store. Anyone with any ideas of how to soften it please share.

The PP was on my desk as I had used it recently for something else so I decided to put the two together and then add them to the card base. The image is from Wild Rose Studio and I stamped it then coloured with Prisma pencils. This was then fussy cut. I did two of the flowers and shaped a bit when I put them together. As well I used an alcohol blending pen to smooth out the colouring. The Scrapbook.com sentiment was another stamp I still had on my desk and I quite like it so decided to add it to a Hero Arts die cut heart giving me my second shape. The heart was coloured with the same pencil I used on the flower. It was at this point that I realized I hadn’t quite gotten the edges accurate when I added the layers and it bothered me. To fix it, I used a border die (can’t remember which company) and using a scrap piece I cut the hearts. Instead of using the actual border, I used only the tiny hearts and glued them down the side.

All in all I’m quite pleased with the end result. It is loosely based on the sketch, but I cannot enter there due to the backlinking rule. We look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery and above all hope you have fun creating. Thanks for joining me today, I appreciate you and your time.

lavenderhousecreations

Primarily Pink

After I had posted yesterdays pink card, I realized that it may have worked for this one here at Seize the Birthday #325-Primarily PINK! The challenge with that would have been trying to say Happy Birthday with only one word. So this morning I set about making one specific to this challenge and this is what I came up with.

In my searching for items yesterday, I came across this stenciled background piece that was left over from a long ago project. I remember using an unbranded die to make the stencil from some cardboard which was then discarded after use. I took some glitter CS and cut a layer for the base and added the heart layer on top. Using a new die from Uniquely Creative and some scrap pink CS I die cut the postage stamp layer. I found a floral stamped piece of vellum that I had left over from a while back and cut the vellum to fit the top and bottom spaces. The florals are from Crafters Companion. Then I took a die set from Altenew called Sunlit Butterflies and cut the base butterfly in a darker pink and a vellum topper. I added them together in the middle space leaving the vellum loose in the wing section.

The sentiment is from Hampton Arts and was stamped in Picked Raspberry ink and then heat embossed. I cut the sentiment into two pieces and stacked them as you see.

I spent 30 minutes outside weeding in my garden, which is sadly a bit of a mess. To avoid getting stupidly overtired and sore I actually took a timer along and when it beeped I stopped. This worked quite well so I may do this again throughout this week. Even if I only get a tiny section done it will be better than nothing at all and it is rather nice to be outside at the moment. We have beautiful weather. We are going with friends for Sushi later so I don’t have to be in my kitchen at all, Yay!

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

lavenderhousecreations

Shades of Pink

I’m fortunate in that this card works for two challenges so it will be entered into the current As You See It and at CYHTP challenges. At AYSI, it is a kind of a recipe challenge where 5 elements have to be used but how you use them is your choice and at CYHTP it is the usual embossing but with a twist of flowers and my folder (unbranded) is all about roses.

I started with the embossing after testing the folder on some craft CS. I couldn’t remember which side was the debossed side and my initial thought was to ink the folder. However, my test piece looked quite nice (to be used later) and I decided to emboss a pink piece of CS and then used a darker ink from Hero Arts and swiped over the raised parts. Once this was dry I added this layer to the white card front. It took some thinking to decide how I would do the frame requirement and I played around for a bit before deciding on a StampinUP circle set. I found a darker pink paper and die cut the circle leaving me with this empty square frame. This was cut down a bit more to narrow the edges and then I added it to frame one of the roses. Using the same paper and an MFT word die I cut two layers of the word, glued them together and added it underneath.

Being completely truthful, I am not feeling very creative at the moment so I’m just pleased that I got something made that is decent if not inspired. We’ve been dealing with accountants and taxes, which I find emotionally draining, as messing with numbers is something that often upsets me. Our accountant is transitioning into retirement after more than 20 years of looking after us, and has passed our file to another person who doesn’t understand my number phobia at all. Once this tax season is over we shall be looking for someone closer to where we now live and whom we hopefully will like. As my hubby has had cataract surgery and the second eye isn’t settling well yet, it has been challenging for him to check the documents before they get officially filed. It meant I’ve been more involved than I normally would be. Stress levels for both of us were pretty high, but this morning we signed it all, and went to the bank to make the payments. I hate tax season, sigh!

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

lavenderhousecreations

APRIL SHOWERS or LOVE IN THE RAIN

Welcome to a new challenge here at cardz 4 galz, and the theme for this one is about April Showers. As you can see I have used a cover plate die that looks as if the rain is pouring down. It did have a cut out umbrella, but as I wanted to use this particular stamped image, I have covered up that section with the stencil/die word.

My image is from an old Inspired by Stamping set and I coloured this with pencils then fussy cut it. Before attaching this to the card front I turned it over and using a shaping tool made the umbrella look more dimensional. To ensure it wouldn’t collapse when being mailed I doubled up on some foam tape and added more to the bodies. After die cutting the word and stenciling in some colour I added it over the gap and then added the image below it. My stenciling skills need some work because my edges aren’t as crisp as they could be. It isn’t my go to technique, and I really ought to use it more than I do.

I’m not unhappy with the end result and I learn a lot during my process so it is time well spent.

Many thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you taking the time and any comments you may leave for me.

We look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery and of course wish you fun in the process.

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

Blossom Window Arch

This card has been created with 2 challenges in mind. The first being As You See It who want to know which occasion cards we make the most. In my case mostly birthdays. And the other is Seize the Birthday who ask us to create a Spring garden.

Having just acquired my second set of Craft Addiction Arched slatted dies, I decided to use the larger in the set to create my window. Once die cut, I used foam tape and added some sky paper in behind and an additional arch to give the piece more support. I pulled out a couple of Spellbinders die sets, La Dolce Vita and Citrus spritz, and proceeded to cut the leaves and flowers. I thought I might combine both sets on one card but quickly realized this wouldn’t work so there are only a few pieces here that are from the Citrus set and I have the rest ready for another card.

I used ink and brushes to add colour to the die cuts and then played with placement until satisfied. Once glued I used an off cut linen look yellow card for the background and then added it all to a white card front. The sentiment is part of the collection and this set has its own dies making it easy to use.

I’m quite happy with the end result and had fun putting it together. I won’t be around much this coming week as we have a guest here from tomorrow for 6 nights. It will be great to see her in person after several years of absence.

Sadly I have to make a sympathy card today as I’ve just learned that a cousin has passed away rather suddenly at age 68. It is a shock for everyone, but the diagnosis he received 2 weeks ago told him there was no hope and no treatment available. At least it wasn’t a long drawn out painful end, which doesn’t help his family, but from my own experience, is still a better outcome than watching someone suffer for weeks as happened with my youngest sister. I’ll get the card done now so I don’t have to think much about it during the visit with my friend.

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

lavenderhousecreations

Marching Along Wishes

Using stencils isn’t my go to technique most of the time, which is rather silly when I think about it. I don’t think I’m very good at it, but if I don’t practice I have no chance to improve. Anyway for a change I did decide to stencil this background for the April 2026 – Stencil Fun Challenge. I’m not sure which brand the stencil is but suspect it is from Sizzix/Tim Holtz.

The challenge twist is to use rainbow colours so I used different inks diagonally. Once dry I sprayed with some shimmer and then I cut it down to the size I required. The two rings were leftover bits and I added them so the little fussy cut fox had somewhere to be as he marched along. He comes from some old StampinUP paper and was a leftover from another project. I used a Joy Clair sentiment stamp on the banner and curved it slightly on the block before I stamped. Before adding him to the top I used some foam tape for dimension and I went around the layer with a black pen as well.

As the background is quite striking and busy I decided to leave the card as is rather than add any embellishments.

We have a lovely sunny, warm spring day but I chose to do house chores rather than work outside. My hands are sore from gardening over the weekend and I woke up with them being very swollen this morning. This card was mostly done yesterday afternoon and only needed to be added to the card front today so not too much work or fiddly stuff that my hands couldn’t deal with. It will likely be a few days more before they settle so I won’t be doing much creating until they do. I don’t mind aging, but I do mind the aches and pains that come with it.

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

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.