Sweater Story ...

Hello Everyone,

It's me Ruby and I just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year for 2020.

I am wearing my new Christmas sweater here and it keeps me really cozy when I go out.

My mum was mad at me the other day when we went for a walk because I decided to go for an unexpected swim in ... my new sweater.

The water wasn't the cleanest and I came out covered in mud and ... my new sweater

And I didn't smell the nicest either ... nor did ... my new sweater.

My mum was not best pleased with me but I, and my sweater, scrubbed up well, so nothing was lost in the end. She said the water was that dirty when she bathed me it was like  mud soup and it took ages to get me clean again.

But after  my mum had given me a nice warm bath,  dried me with the hair dryer and I had eaten my dinner I got the biggest cuddle while we sat on the sofa and I fell asleep on my mums lap.

So until my next adventure take care everyone and have a Good New Year

Much Love

Ruby xxx

Christmas Presents

Hi Everybody,

These are some more of my handmade presents and the recipients liked these too.

It is amazing what you can put together with some glass bought from the charity shops and it always surprises me what people discard.

This set has been spray painted silver and an upside down bell added to the top of the smallest dish. 

It looks like a pear and I have used flower wrap around all the pieces

Inside the bell interior, and to the wine glass on the tallest one, I have added crystals and sealed them in well onto a votive dish.

It is stood on a silver decorated tray with door knob feet on the bottom

And this one was the smallest one because of limited space on the dressing table.

I had to make the base myself from wooden blocks and spray it silver then decorate with mirrors and diamond wrap and door knob feet

I also added crystals to the empty cavities on the tallest and middle pieces

I am really pleased with all these items and I filled each one with cotton wool, ear buds and make up pads for my recipients to use.

And even if they don't use the contents the pieces will still make lovely ornaments

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

Here I am and the draw for the Friday Freebie Shaker Kit prize has been done ... at long last !!

So without keeping you waiting any longer the name this week is 

Donna Johnstone

would you please email me your postal address to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the gift will be on its way to you.

I hope you enjoy making up the kit and there are eight card blanks in there for you to make.

Please let me know that you have it safely and be sure to give it time to get to you until the Christmas post is back to normal.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Luxury Shaker Kit

Hi Everybody,

I hope you all had a lovely and relaxing Christmas Day and are ready for the New Year.

This weeks gift to see 2019 out is another bumper gift pack of a beautiful shaker kit from

Simply Made Crafts.

It is a kit that can be used all year round and you ill find some wonderful ideas in the magazine from Helen Griffin, the designer of the kit, herself.

So if this is a pack that you would like to have then you know the drill ... leave me a comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME.   

From those comments one name will be chosen and notified in a blog post over the weekend . 

No full name ... no entry into the draw !! Simples!

It doesn't matter if you have won before or where you live I am happy to send the gift to you and you will have 72 hours in which to claim it. Good Luck 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Christmas Gifts ...

Hi Everybody,

I hope you all had a good day over the Christmas Holiday and not feeling too full of food and drink. 

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my glass ware and as I promised I have more to show you now that the day has gone by and my recipients have been given their gifts.

Depending on the space they had available on dressing tables I made these lovely sets for each of my daughters and granddaughters

In them I added cotton wool balls, cleansing pads and  ear buds and I am really pleased with the way they turned out.

Each of these also has a candle holder with it and they have been sprayed silver

The glitter on them has been sealed with Mod Podge and extra bling added to all pieces.

I have added small feet to each one to raise them up and they really do sparkle in the sunshine

I just hope that my recipients do like them and didn't say they did just to be polite

This one is on a very large mirror base that I made from wooden blocks  and then glued 5" mirrors to the top.

It has been decorated on top and on the sides and the jars are covered with crushed glass which again was sealed with Mod Podge to stop it flaking off.

These are some and I will show you more next week.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

I am late as usual but I had a busy day yesterday and this morning has been a family get together for breakfast and a dog walk. But I am home again now and I can't wait to play with my brand new collection that arrived yesterday. And what's more I can't wait to bring it to you on Hochanda on the 16th and 17th January. I love it all and I think you will too.

For now though lets get to the prize winner from Friday and the name this week is ...

Annie Dunn

would you email me please with your postal address and the prize will be on it's way.

I hope you will like it when it arrives and please let me know that you have it safely.

Now before I go I will show you some of the glass pieces that I have made from items I picked up in the charity shop. 

This one has been decorated with crystals and diamante and it consists of an upside down dish on the bottom with a round vase on the top. 

Then I have added a glass saucer, dish, votive holder and crystal door knob for the lid which lifts off.

It has all been sprayed silver before decorating and then I added the flourish down the side

I have added string lights to the inside and it is really pretty. One or two in my family have their eye on this piece 

The next on is this hurricane vase that has been added to an upside down dish and decorated with tiny mirror tiles. 

On the top is another glass saucer with an upturned dish, a glass candle holder and then the red crystal knob with a silver bead end.

Inside this I have added a narrow cylinder vase and used diamond wrap around it.

I have stood it in some table crystals and this will hold an LED candle light

And then last but not least this set is a fluted vase with a glass bell on the top and this has yet to be decorated.

But I am really pleased with the way all my creations have turned out and I will show you more after Christmas ... as some of them are gifts.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Sending Christmas Wishes

 Hi Everybody,

I know this package is a little late for Christmas but it will be a good one to use for cards for next year and all the year through.

It is a bumper pack that consists of an embossing folder, stamps, dies and a big paper pack so well worth having

If you would like to have this one then all you need to do is leave me your comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME. And although I say this every week there are still folks who do not add their FULL NAME

The video to accompany this offer is here ... Papercraft Essentials 151 and it will show you some of my ideas.

It doesn't matter if you have won before and I am happy to send the pack to you wherever you are at my expense so get entering if you would like the huge pack

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Gluey fingers...

Hi Everybody,

I have done some videos lately and my hands look dreadful in them.  I have explained that my fingers have black paint and glue on them and it is very stubborn when I try to get it off.

 I have promised to show you why they have been in this state but it will be mostly after Christmas as I have been making my own gifts this year.

Some of the things I have already shown you, in the form of my wall art with mirrors, spoons and plates, and you can scroll back if you wanted another look at them 

But this vase is one of the things I have done, not for anyone but me and it is made from cardboard, paper mache and silver paint. 

Then I added mirror tiles to it. So I hope you like it

It is really glitzy and I love it and it is in my guest bedroom.

It's quite big but because it is cardboard it can't be used for real flowers.

Artificial flowers don't bother me as I think they look really pretty and so that is what this one will be having added to it.

Though I must say it looks good enough with nothing in it.

So there you have it from all angles and it may not be up your street but it is certainly an eye catcher especially when the sun shines in through the window

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Die Cutting Essentials 60 (DCE60)

Hi Everybody,

The offer with this months Die Cutting essentials is a die and stamp set to help you make Waterfall Cards.

There are lots of ways to make these designs but in the video I show you the way I do them the way that works for me.

But if you have a way that works better for you then use that and the end result will be the same.

You can also use the other elements in the set for other card ideas and I have created a shaker card using the same dies

You will find lots more ideas in the magazine and it will be on sale tomorrow the 19th December.

It is a die that you can have some fun with and children will love the way it works so make sure it is strong enough to withstand the pulling action from them

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Simply Cards & Papercraft 200 - Altenew Modern Anemone

Hi Everybody,

 This months copy of Simply Cards & Papercraft is a very special edition because it is the 200 copy since it came to the shops way back in November 2004. 

It has got better and better over the years and it is one of the magazines I first subscribed to at the start.

So this month you will get an Altenew Stamp and die set called Modern Anemone and the video will show you how I used it to make some really pretty cards.

You can also download some papers to go with the dies and stamps but I don't imagine this copy will last long on the shelves so you will need to be quick. Altenew is always a favourite and one that everybody wants to have.

I hope you enjoy the video and as I said in the film my hands have black acrylic on them and it won't wash off.  I will show you after Christmas what it is I have been doing with the glue and black paint and glitzy things I have been collecting as they are presents for my girls 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Floral A5 Card

Hi Everybody,

This pretty card is quite large and I have used the A5 Card & Box set to make it. 

I also used the Nesting Rectangles, that match the set, for the frame and water coloured the image inside.

I used the Arteza Water colours and highlighted areas with the pencils. I finished off the flower with a white gel pen.

It will of course fit perfectly inside the A5 box and I also added in the easel stand to display (Not shown)

There is a video about this die set and it can be found here ... A5 Complete Card & Box Collection 

and another one to show you the Nesting Rectangles.

All my collections are available at Craft Stash and should they be out of stock then leave your email address to be notified when they are back again. But it comes to a point sometimes that when they are out of stock they are not renewed because newer design are brought in as time moves on. 

So if your really like the look of something it is best to get it while it is there rather than wait and risk the chance of losing it altogether.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

I am glad that you are liking the prize on offer from Friday of the Paris in The Springtime die. It is very pretty and will make some lovely cards for you to use all year round.

  Griff and I went to Paris in the spring of 2000, We went on a coach tour and he asked me to marry him under the Eiffel Tower. Of course I said yes and we started organising our wedding as soon as we got home again. 

Apparently the whole coach full of people where in on it too because they asked him "Did you ask her"   and when he said he had and that I had said yes there was a loud cheer from the other passengers at the news. It was a very special trip.

So the draw for the die has been done and the name this week is ...

Mona Beverly

Would you email me your postal address please to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and it will be on its way.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Paris in the Springtime

Hi Everybody,

Sorry for my absence this week but I have had the decorators in and today they finished so it's been one big clean up ready for Christmas.

 I am very pleased with the way it looks now especially with my log burner that I had fitted earlier this year. 

I haven't forgotten the Friday Freebie though and this week is a lovely gift that is with Die Cutting Essentials.

It is a die that will cut you a scene of the Eiffel Tower along with an outside cutting edge to create your card. 

There are lots of ideas within the magazine and I will be sending that along with the die to give you some inspiration.

So if this is a gift that you would like then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME.  And although I say this every week there are still those who only use there nickname or one name.

So if you wonder why you are not winning then that could be the reason as I am not adding the comment to the draw without the FULL NAME. 

It is the only fair way I can be sure of the correct winner so please humour me and comply.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner ..

Hi Everybody,

I hope you are all having a goo weekend and doing the things that you like to do. I am going out walking with my family later this afternoon and there will be dogs with us as well. Then it will be a well earned hot chocolate before heading for home again. Fingers crossed the rain stays away.

The draw or Fridays prize has been done and the winner this week is ...

Christi Neal

would you email me your postal address please to ...

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the gift will be in the post to your straight away.

I hope you enjoy playing with the set and please let me know that you have received it safely.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Classic Christmas Kit

Hi Everybody,

I am happy to tell you that this weeks gift is from Card Making Magic and it has dies, stamps and an embossing folder to help you make some really pretty cards.

There is a lot of inspiration inside the magazine and so it will be time for a nice coffee break while you browse the pages for a little while

All you need to do to be in with the chance of winning this gift is to leave me a comment at the end of this post with your FULL NAME. From those comments one name will be chosen as the winner and announced in a blog post over the weekend, so be sure to come back and check if it is your name that is shown.

I also add the names to the "Winners" page,  which is always in the side bar to your left, so that you can check that too.

 But you only have 72 hours in which to claim the gift 

Good Luck everybody,

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Lucky Find ...

Hi Everybody,

I was out walking with Ruby the other day, and while she was busy barking and sniffing, I just happened to spy these objects tucked haphazardly in someones garden, obviously to be discarded.

So I knocked on the door  and apologised for my intrusion but I asked if I could take the two figures in her garden. She said "Yes of course you can " and so home they came.

They were dirty and dusty and rusty around the bottom but once I had cleaned them up they looked much better.

Here they are with a new paint spray job of silver and they are a lovely silver mesh that shines in the sunlight.

It's amazing what you can find when out with walking with a dog and I shall be keeping my eyes peeled for other lucky finds in future

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx