Friday Freebie Clearly Besotted Snowdrop

Hi Everybody,

Another double whammy this week in the shape of the beautiful Snowdrop Die, Stamp and mini Embossing Folder from Clearly Besotted.

Each of the two gifts includes the magazine and a beautiful card that I created with them

There is also a video to you show you what I did and it is

Clearly Besotted Snowdrop

So if would like one of these sets to grace your own collection than all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post with your FULL NAME

You don't need your own blog and I am happy to send the gift to you wherever you live, and it doesn't matter if you have won before you can still enter each week but don't forget to come back and check over the weekend if you are the winner

Good Luck everybody

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Yupo Paper

Hi Everybody,

It's quite some time ago now that I discovered the wonderful substance called Yupo Paper and the wonderful things you can do with it and Alcohol Ink Refills.

It is called paper but it doesn't tear or warp. It die cuts easily into any shape and if you don't like what you have done you can clean it all off and start again

I made lots of cards with the paper and I actually did two videos using it. 

So in case you are new to my blog pages I will add them again here for you to view.

Alcohol Inks and Yupo Paper  & 

Yupo Paper and Dark Alcohol Inks

Both are interesting to watch and the process is easy to do but very effective, and Yupo Paper is not expensive. Alcohol Inks come in wide variety of colours and the ones I used are Spectrum Noir

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Birthday Dates

Hi Everybody,

This is a card I showed on Hochanda earlier this month and Lou and I had a laugh over it.

I said it as a good way to personalise someones birth date and then I told her that this one was mine.

Then when we went "Live" she showed the card to everybody and told them what it was.

But even so it is a pretty way to make a card personal and I think children would love it with their date on the card.

Once again I am using the Landmark Collection and this really is a useful set of dies to have for all year round.

There's lots more to come this year and so please stay with me so that you will be the first to know

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Landmark Collection

Hi Everybody,

Today I wanted to show you the new Landmark Collection that is available with Craft Stash, and there are a lot dies in this set.

There are the new numbers which are a really good size to grace your cards, with the ordinals, and flowers that you can intertwine with the numbers

Add these to any project for Birthdays, Special Dates, Anniversaries and anything else that you want to acknowledge, and don't worry if you can't remember what the anniversaries  are ... they are listed on the back of the pack to help you.

There are also the months in the year as well as the special anniversary dates that we like to recognise, and the month dies can also be used for female names too and really personalise a card for some one special.

Then there is also the big Heart and a really big flourish in there for added beautiful decoration.

The flourish can be seen in the background of the 21st card above, and to fit this 5x7 card I trimmed it down.

Never be stuck for a birthday date again, and don't forget they can be used for other things also, like table numbers for seating arrangements.

Room numbers, labelling your journal pages, scrapbook dates or pages.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winners ...

Hi Everybody,

On Friday I offered two copies of the magazine with the gift "Sent with Love"  and the two winners have been chosen at random 

It is a lovely gift and will make good sized tags for you that you can add to any of your projects.

There is also a stamp set with it and other dies for you to decorate it.

So the two winners of the original gift are ...

Dawn Rogers

& 

Michelle Coffey

would you email me your postal address please to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and both gifts will be on there way to you.

Now the things is,  I have since found a third gift in my craft room but this one does not have the magazine with it. Never the less it is still worth having and so another name has been pulled from the hat and it is ...

Kaye Charles

so if you could email me at the same address then I will send the gift to you also.

I hope that little surprise has brightened your wet Sunday morning.

It is pouring down here so no walkies for Ruby this morning

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Sent With Love

Hi Everybody,

This week I have two gifts to give away to two lucky winners, and each one has the magazine with it.

You will find lots of ideas in the pages of the mag so it will be time for a cuppa as you have a browse.

The gift is a die and stamp set that will create lovely tags for you to use on gifts or cards that you make.

Now if this is something that you would like to have then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post with your FULL NAME and two winners will be chosen at random and notified in a blog post over the weekend ... so be sure to come back and check 

It doesn't matter if you have won before and I am happy to send the gift to you wherever you live

Good Luck everybody

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

#1 Paint Pour with Arteza

Hi Everybody,

So this is my first attempt at paint pouring with acrylic paints where I have actually filmed all the steps I took

I have had little practises before with small canvases but for this one I took my courage by the hand and filmed it.

It is such a lovely and easy way to paint and you don't need to be able to draw.

Arteza offered me the paints and canvases and a discount code for all you lovely people who may also want to give this a try.

In the video I show what extras I bought mostly to keep things as clean as possible but I have to warn you that it is a messy process

There are lots of different ways to do the pours ... flip cup, pour and drag, colander pours, swipe pours but if you try the Dutch Pour with a hairdryer then one of the things I must tell you about is test the force of your own hairdryer first.

With my own it was so strong that I ended up with paint all over the craft room wall as I blew the paint out.

 It took me ages to get it all off again and I ended up buying a smaller, cheaper hairdryer and it is much better for this technique

So here is the video of my very first public attempt at Paint Pouring

My inspiration has come from these Artists on YouTube namely ...

                       Rinske Douna   my favourite 

Tammy Anderson

Ann Osborne

Kanella Ciraco

Gilly Kube

Lori McDonald

Molly

And if you like Abstract Art then check out ... 

Elsa Weiss

Oliver Maass

And if you want to purchase Arteza with 10% off

 add the code ChristinaGriffiths2 valid until the 14th February

Arteza UK

Arteza USA

Card Making Magic Oval Box

Hi Everybody,

With the great success of the Oval Box I thought it would be right to add a video to show people how to make really pretty boxes.

And so as not to make the video too long I have just concentrated on the box.

The beauty of video is that you can pause and rewind whenever you need to to and stop when you have had enough.

 I am someone who learns by watching and doing so to me it is the best way to get the technique over.

So here we have another beautiful box to add to you repertoire and they are far better than buying them in the shops.
These can be any colour you wish and personalised to the greatest detail without it costing you a fortune

More tomorrow  ...

Hugs xx

Oval Card & Box Die Set

Hi Everybody,

This is the beautiful box that is made from the Oval Card & Box Die Set  and you sure get a lot of dies in this set for your money.

You can also create a card to go inside the box and decorate it to suit any occasion with beautiful results.

The numbers and sentiment on the front of the card are from the 

Landmark Collection

and that too was shown on Hochanda

This is the set that sold out on Hochanda in 25 minutes so congratulations if you got your set early.

But if the set is out of stock at Craft Stash then leave your email address and you will be notified once it is back in and on the Craft Stash website again.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

Thank you so much if you watched Hochanda and double thanks if you bought from the show. 

The One Day Special which was the Oval Box and the Extravagant Egg didn't last one day , in fact it sold out in the first 25 minutes. I was so happy and I hope that the people who purchased are as happy as me when they get their dies.

So after a good weekend I am here with the winning name for last Fridays FF and it is ...

Mags Wilkie

would you email me your postal address please to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the gift will be on its way to you

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Christmas Florals

Hi Everybody,

Christmas in the craft world is never ending,

 and so this won't be a surprise to you that the gift on offer this week is .... Yep!

 An A4 Christmas Florals Stamp set 

The individual stamps on this sheet are quite big and can be used all year round with very pleasing results.

So if this is a set that you would like to have to swell your own collection then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post.

Please add your FULL NAME as this helps me immensely and avoids confusion if two people have the same first name

From those comments one name will be chosen as the winner and announced in a blog post over the weekend. So don't forget to come back and check if it is you

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Die Cutting Essentials 61 - Tonic Studios Die

 Hi Everybody,

This months Die Cutting essentials will be on the shelves tomorrow the 16th January and this pretty die will be with it.

I have several cards featured in the magazine and so in the video I show you how I made this card.

Tonic Studios Die is the video in case you wanted to view and it is not too long.

At some point in the future weeks I will be giving this die away as the Friday Freebie,  along with the magazine, but don't take the risk of waiting to see if you are the winner.

Grab it now while you can if it is something that you would like to have.

Don't forget to make a note in your diary for this Thursday and Friday to join me on Hochanda.

I will be with the amazing Lou Collins so please join us.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Paint Pouring ...

Hi Everybody,

Amongst other things that I have been trying lately, such as the decorated glass and altering bottles, I have also tried my hand at Acrylic Paint Pouring.

 I know it has been around along long time but I have been a bit slow on the uptake. 

This was the first piece I did and it's not very good or very big and I did it on some thick A4 card as a practice run.

But then I decided to cut it up and make cards with it and see how they turned out.

This one is created from the right hand side of the painting and I cut it down to a 5x7"

I used some of the words from the new

  Landmark Collection

 for the greeting because some of them are female names as well as the month, April, May, June or the anniversary Pearl, Ruby. Coral.

The left hand side of the painting I cut out with the Heart from the  Spectacular Swirl   die set and again used the words.

I can't say I am unhappy with either of them and I have now progressed to a bigger canvas to paint on.

I will show you my progress over the coming weeks and I will be videoing them too.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

Hope you are having a good weekend. Ruby and I went for a walk down to the seafront this morning but it was so cold we didn't stay too long. It's amazing how many people stop and talk to me when I have Ruby with me and she of course loves all the attention especially in her Christmas  Sweater.

Once back home and nice hot cup of coffee was made for me I set to and did the draw and the winner today is ...

Donna Rinckel

please can you email me with your postal address to

christina@card-making-magic.com

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

Now that Christmas is over with the post should be back to normal, so I hope there is nothing missing from past winning weeks. Some of my FF go to places like Florida, California, Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand and oh how I would love to be able to hand deliver them to you myself,

Wouldn't that be lovely ???? (Sigh)

Thank you if you joined me on Facebook Live last Friday, and especially to Sue Pollock who leaves me lovely comments there as well as here on the blog. It sure is good to know that you are there and thank you all of you for your support.

A date for your diary is this coming Thursday and Friday when I will be on the 

Hochanda One Day Special 

Please join me there if you can

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Friday Freebie - Exquisite Edges

Hi Everybody,

This weeks gift is from Die Cutting essentials and it is the beautiful two piece die set 

The video of this was Exquisite Edges and it will show you some of the ways in which I have used this die set

There isn't a card to go with this one but I will send you the magazine.

So if this is one that you would like to have to extend your own personal collection then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME.

From those comments one name will be chosen and announced in a blog post over the weekend so be sure to come back and check if you enter the draw.

Don't forget to join me on Craft Stash Facebook Live at 1 pm today.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Black Fingers ....

Hi Everybody,

In several videos lately I have had to apologise for black fingers, and this is why they where black.

I have been creating some painted bottles and the base layer was black paint and it would not wash off.

It was just an ordinary matt black wall paint that I used and it as not expensive.

I made some of these for my daughter as she really loved the look of them and three of them now sit on her shelves in her lounge.

I get my unusual shaped empty bottle from my grandsons restaurant  and then once they are washed and any label soaked off them I start.

I cover them with items of old clothing and glue and leave them to dry. So these are covered in old tights that is ruched around the bottle in random areas

Then I add the bits and pieces to them, anything I have in my stash, and once the glue is dry again I paint them black all over.

These have pearls, keys, gemstones, glass pebbles and metal pieces all stuck in place

Then comes the fun part and I have used

  Arteza Metallic Acrylic Paint 

and a dry brush to add the iridescent look

This is my favourite one and I have kept this one for myself.

I used a mould to create the faces for this and surrounded them with flowers.

It has been painted in Arteza Metallic Pearl Green,

Pearl Electric Blue, Pearl White for the highlights and Gold to catch the tops of the beads

The flowers have been skimmed with Pearl Royal Purple and a little glitter and then I dotted gemstones around the bottle.

They look super effective and are an inexpensive way to decorate your home and recycle at the same time.

If you would like me to do some videos of some of my new projects then let me know.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

New Oval Box

Hi Everybody,

I wanted to show you the new Oval Box shape which is very pretty and quite a good size.

I have used the Landmark Collection with it for the flowers. 

The numbers and sentiment have been added to the card and it is all in a lovely shade of yellow and white.

Altogether a pleasing way to send some one a greeting whatever the occasion throughout the year.

Never be without dates and anniversaries to mark those special times again. 

And don't forget that some of those months in the set are actually people names too .... June, May, April and July.

This is a set that you can have fun with for any gender and add a gift to the box to make it even more special.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Landmark Collection

Hi Everybody,

On Friday I will be showing you my latest collection on Craft Stash Facebook Live and I hope you will join me at 1pm

The dies are named the Landmark Collection and in the particular set you will get these beautiful numbers with all the months of the year.

Also are the special anniversaries that you may want to make cards for and the featured card shows you the Sapphire wedding anniversary for 45 years 

I have added them to another part of the new collection and that is the new shaped
Oval Card and Box Set.

This is such a pretty shaped box and can be used for any number of gifts that you may wish to add to it and I will show you more about it on Friday.

So don't forget to join me on the Craft Stash page at 1-o-clock ... See you then 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

So the first Friday Freebie has been done successfully and 72 of you want the box kit. And believe me if I had 72 of them I would happily send them out to you. But I only have two. 

Thank you for obliging me by adding your full name as that makes it much easier, especially if there are two, three or even four people with the same first name.

The draw has been done for the two prizes that I have and the names are ...

Gilly Hubbard

Sheila Price

Would you both email me your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the prize will be on its way to you.

If you could let me know when you have it safety that would be great

Enjoy

More tomorrow...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - CMM Box Kit 3

Hi Everybody,

Happy New Year and Welcome to my blog.

If you are new then I hope you will come back and visit again and don't forget to leave your comments please so that I know you have been. 

If you are a regular visitor then it's good to have you here today and I hope that you too will be back to visit again.

To start the New Year off I have, not one but TWO copies of the box kit from 

Card Making Magic and this is Issue 3. 

 Inside you will find the magazine with lots of ideas for you to try. 

There are stamps, dies, embossing folder and a lovely paper pack for you to get crafting straight away.

You don't need to have a blog of your own.

It doesn't matter where you live I am happy to send the prize to you at my expense.

Even if you have won one before you can still enter every week.

If you want to participate in trying to win one of these packs then the rules are quite simple ...

1. Leave me your comment  and add your FULL NAME

2. Come back and check if your name is shown as the winner

From those comments one will be chosen as the winner and it will be added to a blog post over the weekend. You need to leave your full name because there maybe several people with the same first name and the full name is the only way to get the correct winner. 

Those are the only rules so no full name, then no entry, and if you don't come back and check for your name then after 72 hours the prize is gone.

Please don't add your personal details to the blog as anyone can see them. if you are the winner then you will need to email me christina@card-making-magic.com.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Boring Cream Lamp ...

Hi Everybody,

This is a lamp that sits in my hall way and it was one that I have had for years. 

It was just a plain cream one with gold calligraphy on a cream shade. 

So I decided to give it a new lease of life with a can of gold spray paint, some glitter and a little bit of  gold flower wrap.

I was very pleased that the gold writing showed up on the shade and it makes for a very pleasing result.

I sprayed the gold flowers wrap with the same can and that just blended all the shades of gold together and looked much better.

It now sits back in the hall and it is on a timer so that it lights up the room and I don't come in to a dark house ... which I hate doing.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Happy New Year 2020

Hi Everybody,

I wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year and my you get all the things you want for yourself and your family, and those dear to you.  

Time is going by so quickly for all of us and we need to make the most of what we have, so be happy and Laugh, Live and Love as much as you can. 

I also wanted to thank you for your continuing support over the past year and I know that some of you have been with me a long time.

I really am grateful that you stay with me and I hope you will be with me next year and the one after.

I couldn't do what I do without all of you.

I will be continuing with the Friday Freebie each week so I hope you will add your comments to that page each week.

I am going to be back on the Craft Stash Facebook Live channel,  and Hochanda, in the not to distant future and I have some beautiful die designs to share with you all

Thanks again for everything

Big big hugs xx