Monday, December 22, 2025

Merry Christmas

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!




Well here we are, almost Christmas.
Darlene here with my final make of the year
and in the 'anthing goes' challenge

Thought I would end the year with a Christmas card I made
using the Corner Swirl and Party words stamps


embossed white onto vellum with the corner swirl stamp.

dry embossed the side panels, layered onto shiny craft paper

add the snowflakes and a bit of silver thread
The saying is embossed in silver too.

Want to wish everyone a great holiday season !

And be sure to enter your make to try and win some new stamps


Saturday, December 20, 2025

December "Anything Goes" Challenge - Another New Year's Card

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Greetings! You've got Kathi here to share a New Year's Card created for December Anything Goes Challenge 204 that was created with the Flying Pig 2 Rubber Stamp by Lost Coast Designs.


Use Tuxedo Black Memento Ink to stamp the Flying Pig 2 Rubber Stamp twice —once a white cardstock panel and once onto repositionable sticker paper. 

Use Copic markers to color the Flying Pig 2. Fussy-cut the sticker paper version of the Flying Pig 2 and place it over its counterpart on the image panel as a mask.

Sponge or brush Paris Dusk, Danube Blue, and Lulu Lavender Memento Dye Inks over the image panel, blending as you go. 

Pounce an anti-static pouch over the image panel. Sponge VersaMark (or other embossing ink) over a star stencil onto the masked and inked image panel. Remove the stencil.

Pour white detail embossing powder onto the wet ink, dump the excess powder back into its container, and heat set the embossing powder. 

Use a white paint marker to add additional white dots to extend the star theme.

Trim the image panel to 5.25" x 4" and edge with Paris Dusk Memento Ink.

Adhere the image panel to a white A2 card. Add the sticker sentiments as shown to complete the card.

~ ~ ~

There's still more than a week left to join our December challenge for the chance to win Lo$t Coa$t Ca$h!



Tuesday, December 16, 2025

#204 Anything goes. Giftbox for chocolates.

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hi there, Riet here.
I made a gift box to fill with chocolates.
I love the LCD Pokey animals, and I enjoyed decorating the box with them.
What I used,

Distress oxide,
Twisted citron
Lucky clover
Cracked pistachio
Derwent inktense for the coloring
Black waterresistent inkpad
Stencil Craft emotions
We r makers, giftbox punch board

How to make this box.
Make a box on the punch board
or a score board.
I stained the paper with twisted citron and cracked pistachio.
I used an ink blender and lucky clover to transfer the stencil pattern.
Stamp the animals and butterfly on thin paper
 and color them in with pencil or markers.
Now take the smallest text stamp from the Pieces of calligraphy set. 
Stamp here and there with twisted citron.
Now we take the Brush strokes set and grab the stamp with the small dots.
Stamp a narrow strip of this in black.
Rotate the stamp in different directions.

To finish it off, stamp a butterfly, color it, and cut it out.
Fill the box and close it. 
Glue the butterfly to the top tab of the closure.

That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed it.
Please join the anything goes challenge, which runs until the end of the month. 
You have a chance to win stamps, which is really cool.




Monday, December 15, 2025

CHALLENGE #204 REMINDER - ANYTHING GOES

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!
 
Hello Portal Peeps.  
 
We hope your December is going well.  It's a busy month so this month we are playing 

CHALLENGE #204

ANYTHING GOES


You have all month to share your stamped anythings with any theme.  Real rubber or clear stamping and the theme must be the focus of your project.  A small stamped sentiment in a sea of die cuts or digi images will not qualify to win the prize and you may be deleted!!!!  Bwahahhaaahaha.

Please read the updated Challenge Rules to ensure your entries qualify to win this month's prize!

You are welcome to play in our Challenges using rubber stamp images from any company but if you use any of our Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda stamps...we love it when you do...then you could win a bigger prize in our random prize drawing.  All winners get our snazzy Challenge Winner's Badge to proudly display on their blogs!

If you don't have a blog then no prob, you can still play in our challenges by sharing your projects from public photo sharing sites which includes our Facebook Company Pages for Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda.  Please include our Challenge info and the link back to our challenge in your photo's description!  As long as the privacy setting for your photo is public you're good to go.  See, it's so easy to join the fun!  FYI, you can't link up projects shared in closed Facebook groups! 

Here's some awesome inspiration from the team.  ENJOY! 
 
Aimee used Lost Coast Designs Cartoon Kids with Carmen's Veranda Be Weird Confuse People sentiment

Kathi used Lost Coast Designs Man with Cane

Darlene used Lost Coast Designs Corner Swirl and Carmen's Veranda Never Too Late sentiment

Now it's your turn.  Are you up for the challenge?  We can't wait to see your projects!  
Submit your entries in the linky party by 23.59 PST on the 31st and don't forget to follow us so you don't miss anything!  The team will be posting more inspiration throughout the month so check back and join the fun.

Happy Stamping!
Gail
Challenge Host 

Sunday, December 14, 2025

Quick and To The Point

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!
 
Hello Portal Peeps!!   December is a busy month so it's  Anything Goes with stamping.  I've gone really simple and another bottle tag, cos it's a well received gift and looks properly dressed with a fun label.
I cut the bottle tag using an Avery Elle die and smeared the edges with tumbled glass distress ink.  I stamped the lady face from Lost Coast Designs Up Close and Personal and cut it out with a circle die.  The Carmen's Veranda sentiment was stamped directly on the tag and I added the face in the middle.
 
Thanks for dropping by.  Hope you get some time to stamp and link up.  Share your stamped anythings with any theme for a chance to win.  We need at least 20 entries to award the prize, so get stamping and join the fun.
Hugz

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Elephant card

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Good morning, Cathy here with a fun elephant card for you today.


Stamps Used:


I stamped the elephant on a Kraft tag and edged it with some brown ink. 
Next, I stamped the Cheesecloth background with the same brown ink on a blue card base. I edged the card base with the brown ink. 
I then added some ephemera around the card.


 

Monday, December 8, 2025

Handle With Care

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!
 
Hello Portal Peeps!!   Gail here today with some inspiration for the Anything Goes challenge.   Share your stamped anythings with any theme for a chance to win.  We need at least 20 entries to award the prize, so get stamping and join the fun.
I've made a bottle tag using Lost Coast Designs Sleeping Gnome with Sign and Pondscum Background for added texture.  I cut the bottle tag using an Avery Elle die and blended various green distress inks.  Then I stamped the Pondscum Background using one of the darker greens.  I stamped the gnome on white card, coloured with markers and fussy cut.  
Thanks for dropping by.  Hope you get some time to stamp and link up.  Hugz

Saturday, December 6, 2025

Dance Like A Toddler

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hello all, Aimee here! My two toddler granddaughters are learning the joy that comes from moving their bodies to music. Their faces just radiate joy, and they don't care AT ALL what they look like while they dance to the beat. I hope they stay fearless in doing what brings them happiness. 
These funny kid images are from the Cartoon Kids stamp set found at Lost Coast Designs. The Dance Like A Toddler sentiment is from Carmen's Veranda. It's a super simple card to make:
Visit the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity and submit your own "Anything Goes" creation for November's Challenge. You might win a prize!




Thursday, December 4, 2025

Same stamp - 2 ways

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!




Hi Darlene here with some 'anything goes' for the month of December.
So thought I would step away from Christmas cards for something completely different.

Using the Mini fish Collage I did two different cards.



First Both cards are 5 1/2 square.
The first one I radomly stamped the card with random stamps.
inked the edges a bit in blue, layered the coloured cheesecloth on top.
The Image I coloured, added a bit of stickles then clear embossed the whole image.
Layered on top of the cheesecloth.  Added some green threads and some blings.


the next card, is a nice clean simple card

I stamped the image onto Vellum with staz on ink.

three layers of cardstock then wrapped the vellum around and secured on backside.

Layered onto card - added a couple of blings and saying from party words



So be sure to enter your 'anything goes' into the challenge !!


Monday, December 1, 2025

CHALLENGE #204 - ANYTHING GOES

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!
 
Hello Portal Peeps.  
 
It's time for our new Challenge.
Our challenges are now monthly!  A new challenge starting the 1st every month, with chances to win Lost Coast dollars. We will be announcing winners on the 5th of the month, so do pop back and see who wowed the team and gets our snazzy blog badge and the coveted Lost Coast dollars.

Now for our new Challenge!

CHALLENGE #204

ANYTHING GOES


We are rounding off the year with Anything Goes.  You have all month to share your stamped anythings with any theme.  Real rubber or clear stamping and the theme must be the focus of your project.  A small stamped sentiment in a sea of die cuts or digi images will not qualify to win the prize and you may be deleted!!!!  Bwahahhaaahaha.

Please read the updated Challenge Rules to ensure your entries qualify to win this month's prize!

You are welcome to play in our Challenges using rubber stamp images from any company but if you use any of our Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda stamps...we love it when you do...then you could win a bigger prize in our random prize drawing.  All winners get our snazzy Challenge Winner's Badge to proudly display on their blogs!

If you don't have a blog then no prob, you can still play in our challenges by sharing your projects from public photo sharing sites which includes our Facebook Company Pages for Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda.  Please include our Challenge info and the link back to our challenge in your photo's description!  As long as the privacy setting for your photo is public you're good to go.  See, it's so easy to join the fun!  FYI, you can't link up projects shared in closed Facebook groups! 

Here's some inspiration from the team to get us started.  ENJOY!

 

Now it's your turn.  Are you up for the challenge?  We can't wait to see your projects!  
Submit your entries in the linky party below by 23.59 PST on the 31st and don't forget to follow us so you don't miss anything!  The team will be posting more inspiration throughout the month so check back and join the fun.

Happy Stamping!
Gail
Challenge Host

Challenge #204 - Anything Goes
December 1st - 31st Please read over out RULES to be sure your entries qualify you to win!
ALL rubber stamp companies are welcome.
Linky closes Wednesday, December 31st 23.59 PST.
All entries must be entered in our link up but your don't need a blog to win.  See our RULES page for more info

 
 

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Festive Fun Challenge 203 - meowy CHRISTMAS

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Greetings! It's Kathi here with a holiday shaker card created for Lost Coast Portal to Creativity's November Festive Fun Challenge 203 with the Fat Cat Rubber Stamp by Lost Coast Designs.

Here it is!


Use Tuxedo Black Memento ink to stamp the Fat Cat Rubber Stamp by Lost Coast Designs onto white Copic-friendly cardstock.

Fussy-cut the image, color him with Copic markers, and edge him with a black pen. Set him aside while you construct the rest of the card.

Position a square frame die as shown onto a piece of holiday-themed patterned paper, secure with low-tack tape, and die-cut. Trim the patterned paper to 5.75" square and edge with a BG marker. 

Use the same frame die to cut a piece of green cardstock and set aside.

Flip the square cardstock over. Adhere a piece of clear acetate over the aperture cut by the square frame die. Place double-sided foam tape around the aperture to create a well. Fill the well with sequins, clay pieces, etc. As you can see, I chose to use peppermint candy clay pieces, two colors of clay snowflakes, and clear snowflake discs. Carefully remove the backing from the foam tape and place patterned paper over the well to seal the shaker contents inside. 

Flip the patterned paper/shaker over and adhere the green cardstock frame.

Place a piece of 2" wide two-sided tape onto the back of a piece of vellum. Use a Speech Bubble Die to cut the vellum.

Place another piece of 2" wide two-sided tape onto the back of a piece of green textured cardstock. Use Christmas Sentiment die and Alphabet dies to cut the cardstock. Adhere "meowy" using the Alphabet die-cuts and the "Christmas" sentiment" to the Speech Bubble die-cut. Set the speech bubble sentiment die-cut aside.

Use a Santa Hat die to cut white cardstock and color with Copic markers. Adhere the Santa Hat to the Fat Cat's head.

Add a piece of torn blue glitter washi tape to the patterned paper panel. Adhere the Santa Fat Cat so that he's standing on the glittery washi tape and the right side of his body is overlapping the frame and the shaker element.

Remove the backing from the vellum sentiment Speech Bubble die-cut and adhere it over his head as shown.

Adhere the card front to a 6" green card.

~ ~ ~

You've still got today to play along with us for November's Festive Fun Challenge 203 for the chance to win Lo$t Coa$t Cash.



Friday, November 28, 2025

Feliz Navidad

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

It is getting so close to Christmas.  Darlene here with another make for 
Lost Coast Festive Fun

For this card I chose one of the (several) images of Frida Kahlo.
I masked off the sayings that were on the stamp so that I just had the image of Frida
She was stamped onto an off white cardstock.


Used one of my stencils for the background and some distress ink for the edges.
As this looks like an old photograph I tried to vintage it up a bit.

I had some lovely blue lace that I used as the banner on top
Layered the saying and placed on top of the lace.

I think this is one of my fav Christmas cards this year.  

You still have a few days left to join the challenge.  Upload your Festive Fun make
and maybe win some new stamps !

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

#203 Festive fun challenge.

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!


   Hello everyone, Riet here.
I'm so crazy about those cute Pokey animals from Lost Coast Designs.
They're so funny and cute.
Take the Pokey Mouse, for example, 
just look at that silly expression on his face, hahahaha so funny.
I also love how easy it is to change the stamp.
Here, for example, as Santa.
By drawing a line and buttons with a waterproof fineliner, 
you can easily give him a jacket.
Santa's toy bag is from a gnome stamp, Gnome Santa with Toys. 
This one is from the Mini Gnomes 2 sheet. 
The holly leaves and berries are from a stencil, 
CraftEmotions Mask Stencil X-mas Florals.
The background is made with Distress Oxide Broken China, Mowed Lawn, 
and Rustic Wilderness for the holly. 
I sprinkled the text and the berries with glitter.
I colored the mouse with Derwent Inktense.
Made the fur on the santa coat with Posca pen white.
This turned it into a lovely Christmas card.
The LCD/CV team would love it if you participated in the challenge. 
You could also win new rubber stamps of your choice.
Please read the rules first to avoid disappointment.



Sunday, November 23, 2025

Gnome for the Holidays

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hi all, Aimee here! When you have friends from all over the world, and not all of them celebrate Christmas, it's nice to have an all-occasion holiday card on hand. Well, this gnome's for you!
I made this card with the Pompom Gnome and Grunge Border Stamps from Lost Coast Designs. Follow along with this pictorial to see how I made it:
We invite you to participate in November's "Festive Fun" Challenge on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity! Create a fun holiday card and upload it to the blog for your chance to win this month's prize.






Saturday, November 22, 2025

Festive Fun Challenge 203 - a Merry & Bright Gnome Card

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Greetings! You've got Kathi here to share a card created for November's Festive Fun Challenge 203 with three of the adorable gnomes from the Mini Gnomes 2 Rubber Stamp Sheet!


Using a stamping platform and Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, the gnomes were stamped onto a white cardstock panel and onto repositionable sticker paper. 

The sticker paper versions were fussy-cut and placed over their counterparts on the image panel as masks.

Removable Scotch Tape was placed horizontally across the image panel. Two colors of Distress Ink were sponged over the tape and the masked images to add color to the background.

Grey dye ink was sponged over a music stencil, the tape, and the masked gnomes to add visual and thematic interest to the background.

The removable tape was removed and a piece of acetate was placed over the top part of the image panel to protect it. The grey dye ink was sponged over the tape to ground the gnomes. 

The masks were removed from the gnomes which were then colored with Copic markers. I was not happy with the color of the ground, so I used Copic markers over the dye ink to change the color and to add shadows.

The image panel was trimmed and edged with a grey Copic marker. It was then matted with red cardstock cut .25" larger.

Patterned paper was trimmed to 5.25" x 4", edged with a grey marker, and adhered to a red A2 card.

Red cardstock was cut a sentiment banner cutting die and adhered as shown. White cardstock was colored with green Copic markers then cut with a tiny bow cutting die. The green bows were adhered to the card as a finishing touch.

You still have more than a week to play along with us for November's Festive Fun Challenge 203 for the chance to win Lo$t Coa$t Cash.


Thursday, November 20, 2025

'Tis the season

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Good afternoon, Cathy here a bit late for the blog post.


Stamps Used.


I started out stamping the Art Doll in black ink and then I made a tag from it. I then stamped a snowflake in red in from the Small snowflake set .around the tag. I then edged it in brown and I found a pattern paper that had red snowflakes on it to layer the tag.
Then< I added some tape and Christmas ephemera around. I then added it to a red plaid card base.

Come join the fun and show us your festive fun.

 

Sunday, November 16, 2025

#203 Festive fun. I made a little Christmas lantern.

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hi there, Riet here with a christmas lantern.
Recently, I was in a store in the Netherlands that's comparable to a dollar store.
There I saw this lantern and immediately thought of the Mary and Angels triptych stamp.
I stamped the stamp on vellum with black Stazon ink.
I let it dry thoroughly.
I closed the back of the lantern with black cardstock.
I made the pionsettia from red paper and light green paper for the leaves. 
The pionsettias were sprayed with gold glitter mist.
I sponged the edges of the large leaves and pionsettias with Distress Oxide Rustic Wilderness.
The holly branches are made from darker green paper, and the berries are glitter stones.
I covered the lantern itself with gold Inca Gold from Viva Decor.



I think the lantern looks lovely, and it creates a cozy atmosphere.
Are you making something with stamps thats festive?
It doesn't matter which brand, everything is allowed.
Then join the challenge. Don't forget to read the rules.
You could be the next winner and win stamps of your choice.

Here's another possibility with this stamp.