Friday Freebie - Fancy Foliage

Hi Everybody,

Today the offering is a beautiful eight peice die set that spells out the word birthday and gives you lots of small leaves and flower shapes.

The magazine is Simply Cards & Papercraft which will give you lots of ideas and is a really good read.

So grab your favourite brew and relax as you browse the pages for some "ME" time

Would you like to have this in your home ??

Then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME 

You will need to come back over the weekend to see if you are listed as the winner and you will have 72 hours in whcih to claim it.

I am sure that this is something you will enjoy playing with and adding to your cards.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Butterfly Easel Card

Hi Everybody,

Going back to the Easel Card theme for this card and this is created with pre shaped cards that I brought out some time ago.

The top and base layers of the detailed card have been done with teal and copper embossing powders and then dotted with the large pearls.

This gives a really pretty effect to the Card.

These are the items that where in the packs.
White base shapes, coloured base shapes and filigree tops in white and colours to add to them

You cam get these at Craft Stash and I will add the links below. If you order through the links I could get a small commission at no extra cost to you

There are several layers to this butterfly and one of them was in parchment, using the basic shape as a template to cut around.

I did some videos with these when they first launched using the shape in many different ways on my cards, and I was very happy with the look they produced. Here is the intro to the set

Butterfly Blossoms

If you got some of these then maybe now is the time to get them out again and finish the packs to give you some really creations

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Beyond the Stars - by Victoria Green

Hi Everybody,

Today I am showing you the first ever book written by my youngest daughter. (Dougal's mum)

Beyond The Stars by Victoria Green   
She has been doing a lot of studying for the past couple of years and has become an accredited NLP  practitioner 

 She is also a life coach with a speciality in menopausal women and has helped women from as far away as Brazil

This is her first book and it will be published on Amazon, and I am sure she will go on to do great things in the future.

Acetate Front Floral Card

Hi Everybody,

I first added this card to YouTube 12 years ago and I loved the comments that it got. 

So I am de-doing the video and this time I have made it a little different.

It is just as beautiful this time around though so I am hoping that you will still like it too.

I am using older dies to create the look and I still have not bought anything new, which is part of my challenge to my self.

You can use any flower, leaf, butterfly or sentiment dies that you already own.

You can make it any colour you like and so use up any older card stock or paper that you have.

Acetate Front 5x7 Card & Box

I have used a heavier weight acetate for the font  of the card and to line the lid of the box, as this will hold the shape a little better.

The card that I have used has also got some stamina in it at 300 gsm as this makes everything much more stable

This photograph just shows the bevel in the acetate once it is added to the panel.

You don't really want it any deeper as it will not fit into the box if you do. 

The items under the acetate can have some dimension to the though as they are protected by the acetate.

Hope you enjoy 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Marie Alder - Winner

Hi Everybody,

I hope you are all managing to weather this storm. We have been snuggled up in a warm house and watched the wind and the rain lash down. I have no plans to go anywhere until it is passed by and it is safe to go out again.  Ruby will sulk but she will have to grin and bear it until at least the wind and rain has stopped.

In the meantime I have done the draw for the lovely Rose die that was on offer with Die Cutting Essentials, and the name this week is ...

Maria Alder.

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

Be sure to let me know when you have it safely and I hope you enjoy playing with it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Crafters Companion Roses

 Hi Everybody,

Beautiful Roses  from Crafters Companion are the gift on offer today and they will  add such grace to your cards. 

Flowers are always  a very special way to decorate a card and they can hide a multitude is sins.

The die comes with the magazine Die Cutting Essentials and in the pages you will find lots of tips and information to help you create.

If you would like this large die set then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post  using your FULL NAME

From those comments one name will be chosen at random as the winner and announced in a bog post over the weekend so be sure to come back and check if it your name that is shown.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Beautiful Butterflies

Hi Everybody,

While searching through some old self adhesive "bling" I found these diamante butterflies that  have had for years. 

They are originally from Want2Scrap but they are a US company and the postage costs stopped me from using them 

Never the less I decided to use the diamante on my cards to add extra sparkle to the silver butterflies that I had already cut.

I also found some flourishes that I could use as butterfly trails and I added them to the bottom of each butterfly  

I splattered this card with some silver paint and it is just visible on the card base

Even thought the diamante doesn't fit each butterfly perfectly it is a close enough match to make them look really pretty.

I used a brick wall die to cut out of Kraft Card my background and that gave me a  two for one die cut.

I added the Kraft card to some double sided sticky sheet and then used each little brick on the top card and the complete frame on the bottom one.

I used some oval dies to cut a frame and and then a panel die to cut out the centre portion and added it to the oval with parchment behind.

Both are pretty cards and look much better in the hand, and this close up gives you a rough idea of how the diamante looks on the card.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs x

Christmas Ideas

 Hi Everybody,

I made a card with red candy canes on it for my Great Grandson Bobby to give to his friends at school for Christmas, but while the die was out I decided to elaborate a little more with the canes.

And this us where the rainbow canes card came from.

Rainbow Candy Canes Card

This card could be kept as a Christmas card or used as a birthday card and children would love it with their name on it too.

The idea to video it was a last minute decision as well and it is not long, but the card is quite pretty once completed

It could be used as an adult card too and not just for children. 

It could be dressed u with real ribbons and flowers if you wanted to and adding glitter would make it sparkle 

The ideas care endless once your imagination is working and you could make this card as fancy as you liked.

Have a look through all your old dies that haven't had an airing for some time and I bet you will be pleasantly surprised with what you find.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Sharon Brand - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Counting down the weeks now to Christmas and if you haven't made a start on your cards by now then you need to get a move on. This beautiful  layered stencil will help you to do just that. 

You could use them as a background, or make the large snowflake the main focal point to your design.
Whatever you do your are sure to have some lovely cards made very easily that will please both you and the recipient.

A name has been chosen from the comments that where left and this week it is 
Sharon Brand

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

Be sure to let me know that you have it safely and I hope you enjoy playing with it

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Stunning Snowflakes

 Hi Everybody, 

Today the offering is on a Christmas theme and it features snowflakes which are always useful for the season.

The set features a layering stencil and a small stencil brush to add the colours and also sentiments to complete your designs. 

The magazine is Simply Cards & papercrafts and it is full of excellent ideas and tips for you to get the most from the gift and of course other ideas too. 

Would you like to have tis in your crafting stash ????

Then all you need to do is 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 see if t is you.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Christmas Cards for Bobby

 Hi Everybody,

Sometime ago I added some
Birthday Cards
that my great grandson Bobby, asked me to make for him to give to his friends for birthdays.

Well here are some more only this time these are for him to give out at  Christmas.

I need to make many more yet but this is the start of what I intend to do for him.

Some of these are really old stamps from Crafti Potential, and some where free with magazines.

Some of the dies are those I have had for years from Spellbinders.

The reindeers are from Tonic and again very old now,  the cracker die was free with a magazine and they have all have been put to good use.

I have also used items that are left over from other projects like the Poinsettia and the Christmas lights in the deer's antlers

I spent  a morning making these and I have other stamps and dies that are suitable for children that I am going to use. 

Hopefully I can build up a good supply of cards for him to give to his friends and I hope that he likes them

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Still Available at Craft Stash

Hi Everybody,

There is no new video today but I do have a list of older ones that are using dies that are still available at Craft Stash. 

 These are the Elegant Nestables Collection and they are some of my favourite sets to wok with and they all work with each other to make you some beautiful cards.

Elegant Nestables DL & Slimline

I have been asked what does the DL stand for and it simply means Double Length ... so the card is 4" wide by 8" length

Each card is created with two different sets to showcase the versatility of them and the videos show you the possibilities of how you can mix and match them which are limitless

Elegant Nestables 5x7 + Circles

This beautiful pink card is a 6x6 size and  has been teamed with cream and some mulberry flowers.

You can add any stamped or die cut sentiment to the card to suit the occasion and your recipient.

It will certainly be playtime in your craft room with these lovely dies to work with and if you got them when they were first released then you will be aware of what they can do.

If you didn't  then here is your chance while they are still available . 

I have used a matt silver card for this base and added the Octagons to the top. 

Elegant Nestables 5x7 + Octagon 

  

I hope you enjoy these older videos and die sets and if you have them in your collections then maybe it is time to get them out again for another airing. 

I am on a mission to buy nothing new and so I am also looking at what I already have and making it work for me

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Christmas Easel Card

Hi Everybody,     

I made this card many years ago and I though that with Christmas coming round soon that now would be a good idea to add it again;

It also stays within the Easel Card theme that I gave been covering for the past few weeks.

 I have no photo to show you but because it is an old video at least I have been able to add the complete video from YouTube, and you can see the end result there. .

It is a lovely card created in red and gold and yet it was easy to make.

 It will be a real show stopper card for the special people you send cards to and one I am sure you will be very proud of.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Quad Easel Card

Hi Everybody,  

Today I am creating a Quad Easel Card and this is a style I added to YouTube about 13years ago.

 It has been covered many times since by other people but I thought it was time for me to do an updated version of this card.

The video will show you how I got this look and it is a 6x6" card which will fit into an envelope or why not make a box for it to make it even more special.

Quad Easel Card

The top photo is the card with all the easels open but it will fold up neatly for you to send.

I have made some of my own paper to go with it and I have all sorts of bits of inked papers left over so maybe I will do a video on how to use up all these scraps.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Sue Pollock - Winner

Hi Everybody,

Today it is dull damp and windy, and not the weather to go walking but if it brightens up later then Ruby will be in for a treat.  I am a fair weather walker and would much rather stay in by the log burner and keep warm, just toasting my toes.

Can I ask you all please to leave me comments when you visit the blog and check if you are still subscribed. And also check to see if you are subscribed on YouTube as YT seems to be unsubscribing people without their knowledge.

I am not the only one noticing this as other publishers have noticed that their numbers are falling even though they are adding regular content to their channel. It is very worrying and really disheartening too to see numbers going down.

 Please help wherever you can by giving the video a thumbs up, leaving a comment and subscribing ... or checking that you are still subscribed.
 Every little helps to grow the channel . Thank you xxx

In the meantime the draw has been done and the name this week is

Sue Pollock

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

I hope you enoy the gift and please be sure to let me know that you have it safely.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Winter Wonderland

Hi Everybody, 

Todays offering is some lovely skating boots  from Spellbinders and they come with the Die Cutting Essentials magazine.

The pages are full of inspiration and ideas for you to try and there is also the chance for you to download some papers and toppers to go with the die set

 

This gift is also in time for Christmas so if you have not made all your cards yet then here are some more ideas you may like to try.

This magazine has not been out long so if you would like to win it then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post with your

FULL NAME

It is always worth having a try to win these gifts as they are always good quality and will fill out your own crafting stash, but you need to be in it to win it !!!

You will need to come back and check if your name is shown as the winner in a blog post over the weekend. You have 72 hours in whcih to claim it and if it is not claimed then it will be offered again at a later date.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx  

Easel Card Dies

Hi Everybody.

I have been covering how to make and alter easel cards in the last few videos and  hopefully shown you ways in which you can personalise it to suit you.

There are lots of dies around that can make this style of card with just a pass through your die cutting machine.

I brought out several of these type of dies while I was with Craft Stash ... but I do not know if there are any available.

I also made a video on using these dies and how you can adapt them to suit your needs. and this Snowflake die was one of my favourites.

Snowflake Easel Card

It is a lovely die to work with and the end results are quite pretty and different., and here you can see just how different it can be,

 Did you get this die set ???

Or maybe you got one of the other styles that I brought out at the time as there where quite a few to choose from.

More tomorrow 

Hugs xx

I'm still Playing

Hi Everybody,

Going through my worktop I have found papers that I have created and never used.

The same goes for other die cuts that have been sitting waiting to be picked up again.

Well now is the time to use them and these have all been made from one session. 

I have cut the paper up into various shapes and used gold mirror card to add the decoration.

They all look different and I have used some old Card Making Magic sentiments on them all.

 

The dies I have used for these cards are all from CMM but there is no point in me adding the links as a lot of my designs are now not being stocked by Craft Stash.

If you have them all well and good but if you don't then just use any butterfly, flower, leaf or sentiment dies that you do have. 

Your card will look just as good simply because you have made it. 

The colours I have used have been Distress Oxides in Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feathers and a touch of Spun Sugar and they have been Smooshed onto the paper. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Playtime Cards

 Hi Everybody,

These cards have been made from one sheet of handmade inked paper and the same die using both the negatives and positive pieces from the die cut.

I have got two for one and nothing is wasted and they all look different. Each of the square pieces have been added with a foam pad underneath

I have used gold and silver mirror card on them to make the sentiments stand out and other little die cuts for decoration.

But they have all been leftovers from other projects and I think they have created some really pretty cards.

I always cut extras when I am die cutting for the times when I have no inspiration.

I go through the extras and see what can be produced to make cards, and once I get going the inspiration comes back.

It saves me money, there is no waste and it helps to fill my charity box at the same time. So nothing is lost.

Here are two more, with different colours for the paper but the same die and silver mirror card for the sentiment.

I have more that I won't add just yet but here there are six cards to go to the charity shop and make the manageress happy in the process

Hope you like them too

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

YouTube Collaboration

 Hi Everybody,

Today I am so excited to be doing a collaboration with another YouTuber and I am sure that many of you will already know about her channel. We got together and decided to do our individual ideas on a Christmas card.

We have completely different styles, in fact at total opposite ends to each other. I am a more is more type of crafter and I love to add flowers, ribbons and pearls to my designs. 

Whereas Christine is a Clean & Simple style and she makes some beautiful cards .
I am adding the links here to both our channels for you to view each video and we would be delighted if you would  "Like" comment and subscribe to each of us.

Christina's Video ...  https://youtu.be/6idnJlRbKuk
Christine's Video ...   https://youtu.be/VgFRjELSm2U?si=DTjSDtRPQjkB5uGY

Enjoy

Christina Griffiths

Christine Stokes

  &

Anne Owens - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Another week closer to Christmas and I am fed up of making Christmas Cards already. It is not my favourite time of year and it seems to go on for ever.
 I went to the supermarket a week ago and in one aisle there was Halloween stuff and as soon as I turned the corner there was Christmas and it was still only October      

Christmas is fine for children but it comes in December not September, October or November.

I had a lovely email from Kathy Olsen.  She is a lady who lost her home a couple of years ago in Hurricane Ian She has since suffered through two more hurricanes and after two years she is still not back in her home. She lost everything and all her craft stuff was looted.

She contacted me via her smart phone but she no longer has a computer.
She explained that this is why she cannot leave me a comment any more. 
I asked you all to pray for her two years ago and I am asking you again.

Keep Kathy in your thoughts as she struggle on to get her home back

I have done the draw for the lovely butterflies  and this week the name is

Anne Owens

Please email me your postal address Anne to
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will get it in the post to you straight away.

Be sure t et me know that you have it safely.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

           

Friday Freebie - Mariposa

Hi Everybody,

We all make mistakes on our cards and we all know the blessing of a suitably placed butterfly or flower to hide that fingerprint or ink  splodge !!.

But butterflies also make beautiful card focal points in their own right and this die set is no exception, and it comes with the magazine Die Cutting Essentials, so you will never be short of ideas.

There is also the opportunity for you to down load papers and toppers, and they will work really well with the die set for you to create some lovely cards for any occasion.

If you would like this die set then all you ned to do is leaves me a comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME

Then you will need to come back and check if your name as show as the winner and then contact 
me within 72 hours to claim the prize. If it is not claimed then it will be offered again at a later date.

You can enter wherever you live,  and it doesn't matter if you have won before

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx