With Love in Pink ...

Hi Everybody,

These pretty papers are from the Blissful Paper Pads from AnnaMarie Designs 

This is obviously the pink but there are other colours for you to choose from and sentiment tags to match also

I have used Circular dies to create an aperture and then filled the gap with Floral Trellis

Each of the petal shapes has been dotted with tiny pink pearl from Want2Scrap

The flowers are a mixture of stamped images, die cut flowers and leaves from the  Quite Contrary stamp and die set  by Spellbinders with paper flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

Mild but dull and cloudy here today and I have lots to do. There are some really pretty magazine freebies coming up in November and I am in the process of preparing the cards and videos to share them with you. There is sure to be something that you will like.

So before I really get down to some work the draw fro the card has been done and the name this week is yours ....

Kricket ...

so I need you to send me your postal address please to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the card will be on its way to you

Please let me know when it arrives with you and I really hope you will like it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie 141

Hi Everybody,

This pretty card  was made earlier this year and it is Letterpressed in Lilac and is a 5x7 size.

The flowers compliment the scheme

I have added in one of my hatpins to the display after the photo was taken so you won't see it here.

I have added lace and ribbon to the bottom of the card and lace leaves in with the flowers.

The inside is finished on this one

So if you would like to have this card then all you need to do is leave me a comment.

From those comments a name will be chosen as the winner.

I will add that name to tomorrows blog post so you need to come back and check if it is yours that is listed.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Autumn Colours

Hi Everybody,

I used to be a real sun fan at one time but as I got older the heat bothers me more and I can no longer sit in it for long.

So these cards are reflecting my love of  Autumn and the beuatiful colours that go with this season

The leaves turning to golds and browns and there seems to be a softness about everything before the winter takes hold.

The first two cards are using the Woodland Leaves and the Acorns  both of which are from the Woodland Collection from Spellbinders

For the top card I have used the Brick pattern and the card to the left I have used the Bark and both these patterns are in one folder.

They both make for an unusual type of backdrop and are especially useful for male cards.

Then with a more feminine touch I have created the card base with Cascading Grace and layered up with some portions of the die cut with foam pads

The flowers and leaves on this card are from Wild Orchid Crafts and there is a hatpin pushed into the display.

The petals have been sparkled with glitter. Then either pearls or enamel dots finish off the cards

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Colour Wednesday-Counting Sheep !

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is a mixture of Distress ink used in two different ways.

I have used smooth stamping card and blended the ink on to the centre of it with an ink blender.

I started for lightly in the middle with Tumbled Glass and then worked my way out going lighter and lighter as I went towards the edges.

The stamp set is from Clearly Besotted but until the New Year they are taking a break and so the stamp set is not available at present.

I used Mowed Lawn  as a watercolour to create the grass along the bottom and some Hickory Smoke to add shading to the sheep

If you are going to use your Distress inks as water colours then dab the ink from the pad onto a glass mat or tile and then add the water with your brush.

Don't add the wet brush direct to the ink pad or you will dilute the ink in the pad and spoil it

I used the matching die to cut the sheep out and added them to my card with foam pads underneath for dimension.

Cute eh ??

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Labels 56 Decorative Accents

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is a really easy simple layered card and I have used some white cream and red spotty card for mine. I have separated the layers with foam pads and for those of you who are asking where I get my foam tape and pads from they are £££ shop buys and I buy loads for them every time I go in to the shop

Spellbinders Supplies:

• S4-658 Labels 56 Decorative Accents
• S6-001 5x7 matting Basics A
• S6-002 5x7 Matting Basics B
• PL-001 Platinum Die Cutting Machine

Other Supplies:

• Flowers and dazzler from Wild Orchid Crafts
• Pearls from Want2Scrap
• Glitter from Glitter Magic
• Dotty Card from AnnaMarie Designs
• White/Cream card from Papermill Direct
• Ribbon from my stash

Instructions:

With Matting Basic A die #7 cut two panels in white and create a hinged card

With #7 from Matting Basics B cut another panel in cream

With #6 from Matting Basics A cut a patterned panel

From Labels 56 cut each piece in cream and add foam pads to the back of them

Stamp and emboss your sentiment and layer it on to some matching cream card and add the foam pads to this also

Add the red dotty card to the cream layer and wrap with red ribbon

Layer all the Labels 56 together  and add on top of the other layers

Glue a bow in place and add the bows cetnre piece

Decorate with flowers and pearls as you like and sprinkle the petals with fine glitter.

More tomorrow ....

Hugs xx

5x7 Matting Basics A	5x7 Matting Basics B	Nestabilities Stacey Caron Renaissance Jubilee Label 56 Decorative Accent Etched Dies	Wild Orchid Crafts
Chameleon Glitter	Flat Backed Embellishments	PICK & MIX	36 Sheets A4 - Dottie Card - SET 1 & 2 & 3 - Anna Marie Designs
Frilly Flourish Swirl - White Pearl

InLinkz.com

Ruby Update ...

Hello Everybody,

It's me  Ruby again and I am settling into my new home really well.

I am a nine week old English Cocker Spaniel and my colouring is Blue Roan Sable.

Now I might look like butter wouldn't melt but I can be very loud when I want to.

Here my new mum is trying to take some  close up pictures of me but the strap looks really inviting to chew

I went up to the craft room and helped my mum pick out some things that she wanted to work with

I am too little to climb the stairs on my own yet so I was carried up but there are lots of new things up here to sniff

Then when she was busy I took myself off to chill in my comfy bed

OoooooH !! this is the life

See you again soon.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Todays Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

So on Thursday I went to collect the lovely Ruby and she is settling in quite well. She loved her new bed and play area and she is doing really well with the house training. She is adorable and she loves being out in the garden too.

I will add more photos as I take them but for today we are gong to announce the winner of the pretty pink card from yesterday.  The draw has been done and it is you ...

 Joanie

could you email me your postal address please to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the card will be on it's way to you.

I hope you will like it when you get it and please let me know when it arrives with you

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie 140

Hi Everybody,

This pretty in pink card is on offer this weeks as the give away card and it was featured in a Tuesday Tutorial way back in January 2015

It has an embossed background and some really pretty patterned card and lots of layers to give it depth.

The Lotus die that I have used under the bunting was one of the very first Spellbinders I ever bought and it remains one of my favorites still

Sadly it is now retired so you would have to search for it.

But the card is yours if  you would like it and all you need to do is leave me  a comment at the end of the post.

From those comments a name will be chosen and the winner announced tomorrow.

If you add your name to the list then  PLEASE PLEASE come back and check if it is your name that is there as you have 72 hours in whcih to claim it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Geo Shapes from Spellbinders

Hi Everybody,

Some exciting new shapes have been brought to Spellbinders and this is the one called Tri-Hex

There are ten new shapes in this Geo collection and they are exclusive to Create and Craft so you wont be able to get these from anywhere else.

They are unusual and once you start to play with them more shapes come to mind.

And if you change the orientation of them that also alters things too

For this one I have cut the shape three times and glued them together.

Then coloured all the centre pieces with Spectrum Noir pens.

But you could just as easily use watercolours or even  Pebeo Fantasy paints

This card is not one of the collection although it is a Geo Shape

This is the  Hello Geo Heart  by Debi Adams  and I have cut it three times and glued them together then added them to a Brusho background

Really different types of ideas for you to try and the more you play the more you will come up with.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Colour Wednesday - Botanical Flutters

Hi Everybody,

This card is created with a beautiful die from Spellbinders called  Botanical Flutters 

I have simply cut the die twice in white card and layered them together for extra thickness.

I then water coloured the different parts to it with Gansai Tambi making the butterflies in pastel shades to stand out. 

They have been lightly brushed over with Wink Of Stella to give them a sparkly look.

I mounted the panel onto some lilac card and then added it to a larger base with an embossed panel behind.

The pretty pink sequins just tie everything together. The sentiment has been stamped and embossed and added to the same lilac card

The finished card has a soft and delicate feel to it and I am happy with the way it looks.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Lavish Vine

Hi Everybody,

For todays card I am using one of the new dies from Spellbinders and this is called Lavish Vine. It is quite a long strip die and it can be added to your cards in lots of different ways. This is a quick short tutorial to make cards that you can keep on hand for those emergency moments.

Spellbinders Supplies:

• S6-001 5x7 Matting Basics A
• S6-002 5x7 Matting Basics B
• S4-638 Lavish Vine
• PL-001 Platinum Machine

Other Supplies:

• Gold card
• Blissful Paper pads from AnnaMarie Designs 
• Flowers and leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts
• Glitter from Glitter Magic
• Card from Papermill Direct

Instructions:

With die #7 from Matting Basics A cut two pieces in white to Create a Hinged Card

With die #7 from Matting Basics B cut a layer in gold card

With die #6 from Matting Basics A cut another layer from the Blissful Paper Pad

(Please remember that die #1 is always the smallest)

Cut the Lavish Vine three times from the Gold Card and glue them together 

Stamp and emboss the sentiment in Gold and cut to fit in between the holding parts of the die cut

Layer all the panels onto the base card and add the Lavish Vine with foam pads place in the solid parts so that they cannot be seen from the front

Add the sentiment so that it is held in place with the vine leaves and add a touch of glue if you prefer.

Dress the card with the flowers and pearls of your choice

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Snow Baby Videos

Hi Everybody,

A little while ago I showed you some cards that I had made using the Apple Blossom Snowflake Babies dies from Craft Stash.  

Today I have added all those cards in video format to YouTube and they are there waiting for you to view. 

I am adding in the link to each of the die sets and each of the videos to make things easier for you to see what I have used.

The first one is the  

Apple Blossom - Polar Cub 

and this is quite a large die. Use it as a single bear or do what I did and mirror them

The video  Polar Cub   will show you how to do this very easily

This is the Apple Blossom - Penguins  and you can add as many of these as you wish

In this card I have added in a whole family of them and again mirrored one of them to make things interesting

The Penguins  video will show you how I used this die set

This pretty little 

Apple Blossom - Doe 

is so sweet and can be used all year round

Here is the video for the Doe

I have colour mine with Spectrum Noir 

Then last but not least here is the 

Apple Blossom - Deer

The video will show you how I did this one using the  Deer 

There are many ways that you can use these dies and here I have once again mirrored them and hand drawn in some  Christmas lights to their antlers

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Here I am ...Ruby

Hi Everybody,

My name is Ruby and I am coming to live with Christina and Griff in their home near the beach

I am a Blue Roan Sable English Cocker Spaniel and I am nearly nine weeks old and even if I do say so my self  ... I am rather beautiful

Some of my brothers and sisters are also going to new homes and so I chose to sit with Christina when she came to visit

I gave her a big puppy kiss not that I wanted to influence her at all .... but a girl has to do what a girl has to do !!

My doggie mum and dad where there also and my mum was really excited for me but my dad is so calm he just took it all in his stride.

My new owners have bought me a lovely padded den that will be my very own space and once it is all ready for me they are coming to collect me..

I will be a little bit scared but I am only small and I am sure that I will be fine and much loved.

I will be back to see you once I get settled and there will be lots of new photos to share with you

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

It is 4.30 am and I am too excited to sleep. I feel like a child at Christmas waiting for Santa to visit. And the reason for this excitement .... Today I am going to see six puppies and one of them will end up as mine when they are old enough to leave mum.

One of my favorite dogs is a Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel  and these were offered for sale yesterday. I think the ladies fingers must still have been hot from typing her advert when I rang her. It's going to be a long day and drive but I don't mind. I will take pictures and keep you posted as to how I go on.

So because I can't sleep I thought I would do the draw for yesterdays card. And the name this week is

Pattyb

So if you would email me your ppetal address to

christina@card-making-magic.com

the card will be on its way to you and I hope you will like it.

Please let me know when it arrives with you.

The  card from last week has not been claimed and so I will offer it again soon.

And now I will try to get som sleep ... though I doubt it very much

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie 140

Hi Everybody,

Todays FF card was featured the Tuesday Tutorial Floral card way back in May

All the instructions to make the card where given in that  post and today I am offering it as a gift to one lucky winner.

So if this is a card that you would like to have then all you need to do is leave me a comment

A name will be chosen from them and the winner announced in tomorrows blog post.

But you need to come back and check if it is you as the card will be offered to someone else at a later date if you don't claim it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Festive Elegance ...

Hi Everybody,

There is a new video today on YouTube that you may like to view and it features Festive Elegance that comes free with Papercraft Essentials 139

For this card I have used both the outline and the solid parts to the stamped Poinsettia and this is the one that is shown in the video.

I make two cards from one stamped and inked panel which has to be a time saver in the run up to the holiday

The video is Festive Elegance




Although this is primarily a Christmas themed gift you can make it work for you all year round

Here I have used the same stamp set but in brighter colours for a more summer themed look

In the gift pack there will be the stamps and an embossing folder as well as a stencil for you to use with your inks or embossing paste

On this card I have used the EF and then coloured and cut out the flowers to add to another card.

You can just make out the embossing paste used with the stencil in the top left corner

A really useful gift and an excellent magazine full of ideas and inspiration to go with it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Colour Wednesday - Robins !!

Hi Everybody,

These three cards are really easy to do and I have used Distress Inks to colour them all.

I have simply sponged the background on to the card making the circle wider as I worked my way out from the centre.

Spritz it with water to get the mottled look and then with a darker shade of ink stamp the snowflakes 

I added in the sentiment in black ink and embossed it with clear powder then with a black pen I added in two lines above it.

The robins have been stamped in Tea Dye and Festive Berries and cut out with the matching die and both were from Clearly Besotted.


The third card is done in the same way for the background but I have added in the Musical Border from Craft Stash to the top.

I cut it three times and I glued them together.

I have sprinkled them with glitter and added them at an angle on my card.

Really easy to do especially if you make lots of cards for charity

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Ravenna

Hi Everybody,

Kraft Card takes centre stage for todays tutorial and I have teamed this with cream for a really easy card. Touches of soft yellow bring it to life and the flowers are always that little bit extra. Kraft card is really inexpensive and very under used but if you use a pretty die you can turn it into some thing you can be pleased with.

Spellbinders Supplies:

• S6-001 5x7 Matting Basics A
• S6-002 5x7 Matting Basics B
• S6-095 Ravenna
• PL-001 Platinum Die Cutting Machine

Other Supplies:

• Flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts
• Card from Papermill Direct
• Glitter from Glitter Magic
• Pearls from Want2Scrap
• Ribbon from my stash

Instructions:

With die #7 from Matting Basics A cut two pieces in Kraft Card and Create A Hinged Card

With die #7 Matting Basics B cut another panel in cream

From  the largest die #3 Ravenna cut in Kraft Card and layer onto the cream panel

With #2 cut a layer in cream and layer onto a hand cut Kraft panel

With #1 cut this in cream and layer onto a hand cut Kraft panel

Add them altogether with foam pads between the layers and wrap with the ribbon before adding it to the base card

Stamp the sentiment and layer it onto more Kraft card and place across the centre panel

Arrange the flowers on the centre panel also and sprinkle with glitter

Change the colour scheme, flowers  and the sentiment  for another look to your design.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Botanical Medallion

Hi Everybody,

This pretty die is a large one from Spellbinders and is the  Botanical Medallion  

For this one I have used just the central part to the die and cut it four times with card from 

Papermill Direct

I inked the card before removing it from the die to leave the darker pattern in each corner. 

The four panels have been added to an embossed background with the  Blistered EF

The sentiment is stamped in Versamark and white embossed. 

I cut the end into an angle to add to the card with foam pads underneath for dimension.

My flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and are a mixture of the new  Pretti Flori - Pastel Guems   with Carnations, Roses, Gypsophila and Rosebuds

They have been sparkled wit glitter from Glitter Magic

I have added a diamante flourish around them for extra glamour and that is from Want2Scrap

The leaves have been cut in green and I have added in some twine tucked behind the display.  The finished card is a 6" square.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Apple Blossom - Snow Babies

Hi Everybody,

These delightful dies are available with Craft Stash and they are so much fun to play with. I have added them with a Christmas theme but they could be used all year round and are sure to be a hit with children

First is the Polar Bear  and for my card I have cut the shape twice and simply reversed one of the images

Keep all the tiny pieces that come out of the die so that you can add them to the cut shapes.

This Penguins is a real favorite and I really enjoyed making this into a card

I distressed the background with a circle mask and added the die cuts to the top of it with foam pads underneath to raise the critters up

I used Spectrum Noir pens on all the die cuts to add shadow and dimension to them all

This one is the  Doe  and for this I have stamped my sentiment into the centre and surrounded it with the branches

I added a bow to the does neck and the wreath which have been coloured with SN

I have added a Googly eye to this critter and shading underneath to ground her

This  Deer  I have die cut twice and coloured them in different shades

I trimmed off the baubles that are in the antlers and threaded a hand drawn string of lights through them instead.



I coloured each light in a different colour and added glossy accents to them

Both deer are mounted onto a die cut heart shape and a little sentiment stamped at the bottom

All these dies are now on the Craft Stash website and I love every one of them ... and I am sure you will too

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx