3-D Inspiration

 Hi Everybody,

Using a 3-D embossing folders gives you a really deep impression on the card and it is lovely when inked over to bring out the detail.

This folder from Crafters Companion is called Dahlias and it is beautiful, and it inspired me to make some Sympathy Cards ... of all things.

So I thought I would have a play with it and film it at the same time and that will be added tomorrow to show you what I have done.

They all have the addition of a handmade envelope with them, and that was also filmed and has already been added to the blog.

These are all 5x7 and they have all been inked over.

The left hand card has been inked over with gold and the right hand one has had a white ink pad swiped over it. 

The middle one has been swiped in white and then had the gold added to the top.

The card shown with the folder has been swiped with a silver ink pad and they are all really pretty cards. The sentiments say "Thinking of You" or "Sending Comfort" so I suppose they could be for other occasions too.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Marilyn Coombs - Winner

Hi Everybody,

Before I go on and announce the winner I would like to clarify my position in the coming months/ years.

The blog is not going anywhere it stays right here and I will add posts most days. the Friday Freebie will still be here each week  so I hope you will continue to participate,

My YouTube channel will remain the same and all the videos are still there for you to view. I will be adding new ones as I go along. YouTube Channel

 The only thing that is different is the website Card Making Magic, as that I am closing down, and that I will not be designing for Practical Publishing any more. The brand will continue but the design will no longer be mine.  

But I am still here and posting on the blog so nothing for you really changes. People have said that they will miss me ...  but I am not going anywhere. 

Now for the draw for the Spellbinders die set on offer and the winner is 

Marilyn Coombs

would you email me please with your postal address to 
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will get the pack in the post to you straight away.

I will also include a handmade Pokey tool for you to use in your craft room, and please let me know when you have them safely

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Spellbinders Die & Stamps Set 4

 Hi Everybody,

Thank you so much for your understanding of my decision to "Retire" .
Although I will still be doing the blog, and the Friday Freebies will continue,  I will be doing  more of what I want to do and in my own time. 

   The pretty offering for this Friday is from Spellbinders and is a three piece die set and a three pie stamp set to match it. 

These can create the whole background for you or simply be added in portions which ever you prefer. 

Vary the colours for another look and use the designs with other sentiments that you may already have.

Spellbinders offer absolute quality to all their products and although these sets are quite old they are still the very best.

You can bring them bang up to date with whatever you team them with.

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

You will still need to add your  

FULL NAME
to help me identify the winner when the draw is done. 

Be sure to come back over the weekend and see if it is your name that is listed as the winner and you then have 72 hours in which to claim it as yours

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Old Spellbinders Dies

Hi Everybody,

Staying with the challenge to myself,  to use only older dies to make my cards these are dies that I have had for a long time from Spellbinders.

It is fact two dies, one was called Lovely Lilac and the larger one is Rosy Summer Flowers. I have had them for so long they are probably no longer available.

But I am going with the mantra of  .... "use what you have" !!

For both of these flowers I inked some white card with Distress Oxides making the centres of  flowers a little darker. 

I also added a little clear glue to these centres and sprinkled them with glitter. 

The top layer has been cut in gold mirror cards and added to the top of the white panel which has been dry embossed in a folder.

I cut an orange frame from my own Torn Edges Nesting Dies and added it with foam tape around the edge, then dotted it with orange Nuvo Drops in two different shades.

The sentiment is from Tonic and is another that I have had for many years.

The finished card is 5x7 with the fold at the top.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Some Important News ...

 Hi Everybody,

This is a really difficult blog post to write and I have been putting it off for a long time but here goes and I hope you will understand my position. I have just had another birthday making me well into my seventies, and I need to do something with my time that doesn't involve  concepts, deadlines and schedules, and there by remove the pressure.
I have decided to retire and so my time will be more my own,  rather than concentrating on work and the stress involved. 

I am making some big changes in my life at present and they will also reflect in my work load as the months go on. I have started to make some of these changes to the blog already. I have removed a lot of old videos from both the blog and YouTube as they are out of date, and the items that they refer to are probably no longer available.

At the end of April I will no longer have the website Card Making Magic. and as a result of this my email address will change ... should you wish to contact me.
It takes a lot of time to keep it going and I have other things that I want to do. 
I will no longer be designing for Practical Publishing. 
The brand will be still around but I will no longer be a part of it. 

I will be continuing to write my BLOG and be adding new cards and inspiration every day so I hope you will continue to visit me.
I will still be doing the Friday Freebie on the blog as I have lots of things to give way.
I will add my new email address so that you can still claim your prize in the Friday Freebie draw.
I will still be adding videos to YOUTUBE and hopefully replacing the older videos that I have removed with newer stuff. And this will be stuff that I want to do.
I will be using all the Card Making Magic dies that I have in my collection and showing you the cards that I make with them, though as time goes on they will be changed by newer stuff. 
 I can also use other items/brands too.
I will still link to Craft Stash as this is one of the best places to get any of your crafting supplies at a good price and the links will be at the end of the posts.
I will still be filling my charity box and taking it to the shop as it fills up with cards.

and most importantly

I will need some time to sort all these changes out on the blog.
 The Friday Freebie is scheduled for the next few weeks already and that will stay as it is but the blog posts may be a bit hit and miss for while as I get everything sorted out to help me work smarter and not harder.

So as things stand you will probably not  notice much difference in the running of the blog.
I do hope that you will continue to visit the blog and participate in what ever I have going on. 
Thank you for all your support in the past and here's to new beginnings ...

Big Hugs

Christina xx

Altenew Magnolia Blooms

 Hi Everybody,

Todays card is created from another Altnew kit that I have collected a long time ago. This kit is the Magnolia Blooms kit from August 2022.

I have stamped and coloured the arrangement with the layered stencils and die cut it out using the matching die but then I have cut the flowers down even more to fit onto the front of my DL card.

It gives the display a totally different look and I am very happy with the finished card.

The sentiment is also from the stamp set and there are lots to choose from.

The flowers have been added to an embossed panel with foam pads underneath to give them height.

I have added some small black pearls to the front as a little extra embellishment,

These kits are beautiful but the cost of the postage has prevented me from continuing to collect them each month.

But I still have the ones I did collect to play with and I really enjoy them all very much.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Michele Coffey - Winner

 Hi  Everybody,

Another weekend is almost over with and they seem to come round very quickly.  They say it's a sign of age when time goes so quickly and at my age it fairly whizzes past.

 Still I got some gardening done yesterday, on my little postage stamp sized garden, and it didn't take me long. Most of my plants are in pots and that saves a lot of work ... no lawn to mow !!

The draw for the Spellbinders set has been done bright and early and the winner this week is 

Michele Coffey

So if you would like to email me please with your postal address to ...
christina@card-makig-magic.com
then I will get it in the post to you straight away..

I will also include a little Pokey tool for you in the hope that you will use it when you craft.

Please be sure to let me know that you have it safely.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Spellbinders Die & Stamp Set 3

Hi Everybody,

Today is the third set of dies and stamps that has been offered in the Friday Freebie and this maybe one that you would like to have.

This one has a lovely border stamp in it that can enhance your cards and the die to cut it out so that you can make it longer if you need to.

Perfect for any cards that you want to make sure your recipient knows that it is homemade.

You could also add the "homemade" portion to any of your projects and then give them, or sell them , with pride.

If this is something that you would like then all you need to do is leave me a comment with your FULL NAME 

You will need to come back and see if it is your name that is listed as the winner and you will have 72 hours in which to claim it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

  

 

Altenew Card with Envelope

 Hi Everybody,

I have been playing with my Altenew Kits again and this one was the Never Stop Dreaming from February2022.

I used the layering stencil to colour the stamped flowers and they are a soft delicate pink.

I added them to a white embossed panel and for that I used a really old Spellbinders embossing folder.

I am determined to use older items and make sure I get my monies worth from them.

I have also challenged myself to use up any paper packs that I have and with these I have been making my envelopes. 

The one shown here is a pretty floral one that compliments the card well and it is from a pack that Helen Griffin brought out a while ago.

It is a 12x12 pack and I used this for many of my envelopes. 

It has been really enjoyable going through drawers and cupboards and finding older stuff and making it work for me again 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Making Your Own Envelopes

Hi Everybody,

With all the cards that I have made recently I needed envelopes to put them in and buying them was an option.

But I needed lots of different sizes and it would have been an expensive shop around to get them all.

So I decided to make my own and this little gadget from Creative Craft Products at Craft Stash made life so much more simple.

This is the envelope and box maker and with this I used lots of  the pretty 12x12 papers I have in my cupboards. 

This little video will show you just how easy it is to use this inexpensive tool, and then you too can make your own envelopes of lots of different sizes, and use up any of the papers that you may have lying around.
 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Birthday Pink

Hi Everybody,

This pretty card was created with the Perfect Panels and Lovely Layers Circular die set, and the stamp set from the sentiment.

The flowers are made from the Filigree Flowers and I have used Distress Oxides to edge the flowers with colour.

The leaves have also been inked in different shades of green and I added in a Dragon Fly cut in gold, which makes a change from the butterflies I usually add in to my designs.

For the card I have used a 5x7 top folded base and the pink layer has been embossed in a folder and then ink swiped over the top with a white ink pad.

This again is another attempt at re visiting all my collections and using a really old die set

Some of these dies are no longer available but as I already have them I need to use them more whenever I come to make a card.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Ella's Birthday

 HI Everybody,   

Today is the second birthday of this beautiful creature that is sat on my desk while I work.

This is Ella and she has appeared in some of my videos in the past.

She is a very small Tortoiseshell and at two years old she is not likely to grow any bigger. 

Although she is beautiful she is not very accepting of strangers and if any one visits me she makes a dash for the upstairs.

She loves to sit in the wardrobe and heads for that space whenever the door is open. And if she is missing then  that is always the first place to look for her.

She has free access to my back garden and it has high walls, but she has never made any attempt to get out and explore the world. So I don't worry about her going into the garden as I know she is safe.

Ruby tolerates her and they get along quite well unless Ella wants to get close and then Ruby will growl at her and chase her off. But they do sit on the settee togehter, even if there is a big space between them.

They both sleep on my bed at night, in their own areas and that is fine as they don't bother each other.

I tried to get Ella used to wearing a harness so that I could take her out with us but all she does is collapse onto her side when I put it on and she will not move. It's quite funny really and as soon as I take it off she is fine again.

Oh well it was worth a try !!!!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Bejay Roles - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

It has been a lovely weekend so far and I have got a lot done. I had a lot of help though from daughters and their husbands who came to help me clear out the garage on Saturday. It was full of stuff that is no longer used and it needed to go. So now it is clear and tidy again with lots of room in there for me to move about in, and I may just start my painting again in the warmer weather. 

I also took Ruby to the park yesterday for her favourite pastime ... a good sniff about ... and she had a good time playing with some of her pals that where also in the park.

But now the draw has been done for the second of the Spellbinders die and stamp sets and the winner today is 

Bejay Roles

so could you let me have your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and I will get it in the post to your straight away.

Please be sure to let me know that you have it safely and I hope you will enjoy playing with it. 
I will also include a handmade Pokey Tool for you to use and I hope you will make good use of it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Spellbinders Die & Stamp Set 2

HI Everybody, 

Todays offering is another die and stamp set from Spellbinders. The sets that are being offered are very old as I have had them in my collection for years.

But the chance to win one is now open to you and all you need to do is leave me your comment with your 

FULL NAME

at the end of this post. 

There are different designs each week and one of them may just be what you are looking for. 

So why not give it a try and you may be the lucky winner and be sure to come back and see if it is your name that is listed as the winner over the weekend. 

The one offered this week is a beautiful feather that could be used to create the whole background

The sentiment can be added to the top or used separately as suits you.

Please leave your full name as it easier to identify the correct winner if you do, and you will have 72 hours in which to claim it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

CD Paper

Hi Everybody,

The papers for the card shown today are from a CD that I had years  ago when that style of crafting was popular., and now I no longer use it

I prefer to make my own backing papers from ideas that have been around for a long time, and most of them are using inks or paints

They are unique and different every time I make them plus it makes me use items that I have had for a long time and will forget about if I don't get them out regularly.

I am sure you are the same and have lots of things at the back of a cupboard that you have forgotten that you have.

Its like Christmas when you find them all again.

This paper was printed off so long ago that I don't remember which CD it was from., or even what I have done with it. It probably went to the Charity Shop

But there where some very pretty paper on it and I did use it quite a lot back then.

The flowers on this card are Mulberry ones and I have added a dot of white paint around the edges of them.

The card is a 5x7 with the fold at the top and this is my preferred size and orientation for card making.

What is your favourite size ???

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Parchment Pocket Card

Hi Everybody,   

Todays card is a shaker card that is created from a parchment pocket .

 I have shown this idea in a video before and I have added it in below in  case you missed it.

The shaker pocket has been filled with green sequins and enough room left for them to shake around.

The purple background has been done with ink smooshing and then dies used to cut out the frame, the flowers and the sentiment.

The white base panel has been embossed and the aperture removed using square dies.

The same nesting dies have been used to produce the frame

The leaves, sprigs and flowers have been added with a mixture of glue and foam pads.

I have used Glossy Accents to pick out the flower centres.

The berries on the sprigs have been coloured red and then covered in the Glossy Accents also  and then I have left them to dry thoroughly

The finished card is a 5x7 with the fold at the top and the sentiment is added to the bottom of the card.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Panel Card

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is crated from the Fleur card by Anna Marie Designs and this is one I have used a lot. 

It comes in many different colours and is really good quality and thick so makes an excellent card base.

For this card I have cut it into panels and added them to some white card 

. They have then been added to the base with foam tape to raise them up.

 It was part of a video I did a while agon now that mixed up patterns from the same colour family to create many cards 

And in case you missed it , or you are new to card making, I will add it here again. 

                

If you are purchasing any of the items that are listed then please consider going through the links at the end of this post, or on YouTube,  as this means I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

This means that I can bring you more articles , videos and blog posts.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Playtime Cards

 Hi Everybody,

This card is created with a die that must be at least 15 years old . And it is one I used a lot in the past.

It is the Tied Together die and it has an embossing folder to go with it. Every time it came into stock it sold out almost immediately.

I was fortunate to get both die and folder but as I say it was many, many years ago and I don't know if it is still available.  

For this card I have used the embossing folder on the white background and cut the top die cut in black and layered them together.

The layers have been wrapped with parchment and stamped in black then clear embossed.

 The YOU has been cut from the same  matt gold card I have used to mount the layers onto. 

The butterfly has been cut in black and then gold wax applied through the actual die to bring out the pattern. 

It has been added to the card with glue just along the bodyline which allows the wings to flutter free.

 Tiny diamante have been added to the bodyline and the finished card is a 4x6" with the fold at the top. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Doris Shawcross - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of the lovely Spellbinders die and stamp set. I took advantage of the weather and went out with Ruby before the rain started. It was very windy though and we were glad to get home again.

So now the draw has ben done and the name this week is ...

Doris Shawcross

Would you email me your postal address please to 
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will get this lovely gift in the post to you straight away.

There will another set on offer next week so be sure to come back and se what it is.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Spellbinders Die & Stamp Set 1

 Hi Everybody,

I have been giving away the magazines with the attached gifts as my Friday Freebie for years now but at the moment I have run out of them.

And so instead I am offering you the chance to have something else that you can add to your crafting collection. 

Over the next few weeks I am giving away a Spellbinders Die & Stamp Set that is brand new and unopened. 

Each one consists of  a stamp, which is sometimes a sentiment and others floral or a border, but there is always a matching die to go with it.

This week it is sentiments and there are six dies in this collection, and they wild make a lovely addition to your cards. 

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 the post with your FULL NAME.

Then be sure to come back and check if it is your name that is shown over the weekend as the winner.
You will have 72 hours in which to claim the pack.
Good Luck 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

More Everyday Items

Hi Everybody,

Items that we often discard in our homes can be repurposed to create backgrounds for our cards.  .

Over the last few videos I have tried to share some of the ways in which I make these work for me and they are ideas that you may have tried for yourself.

I have used tin foil and kitchen towel as well as shaving foam and baby wipes for all different kinds of textures and features on my designs

If you are new to card making then maybe they will give you some inspiration to try these out and see what you come up with.

Using different shapes to add to the design can also make a difference. Both these cards are featured in the video

I have created a playlist on YouTube that has all my ideas in one place and it is well worth browsing if you are stuck for ideas,  or at times when cash is low but you have some of these things already in the home.

This time I am featuring Bubble Wrap for another addition to your Everyday Items.

So grab a cuppa and sit back to relax as you view the video using this idea.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Playtime ...

Hi Everybody,

While browsing through YouTube the other night I spotted a video that showed me how to create a card with this look and I was very impressed,

The card was beautiful and the demonstrator made it look so easy to do. So of course I had to go to the craft room and give it a try from myself.

I had to search for all the small Christmas themed stamps that I had and I cut the bauble from some Mylar to make the stencil for the design. 

It is no where near as impressive as the one I saw made and I am adding the video here in case you wanted to give it a try too.

 

There are bits I have omitted from making my card but I will be doing this again with other bauble shapes and I will get better in the process, but I have to say I enjoyed making it even if it is  not perfect,

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Easy Peasy Sponging

 Hi Everybody,

When I have got out my crafting supplies out it is always easier for me to make more than one card. 

That way I always have some on hand, and they may only need a sentiment on them, or they go to fill up my charity shop box.

And these two cards shown are already in that box, complete with a matching envelope in a cellophane bag.

These have both used the sponging effect from the other day and are really easy and quick to do and yet make really pretty cards.

The video was another one to add to the 

Everyday Items Playlist 

on YouTube that is full of simple ideas using things you probably already have.

I have several more videos to add to this section and they are not difficult to re-create. but can help you to expand your repertoire. 

Non of the techniques are new and they have all been done many times by others over the years. 

But if you are new to cardmaking then they may be something that you had not thought about and may like to try for your self.

Click the link above to look at the playlist as there maybe something there that takes your fancy.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx