Another Playtime Card

 Hi Everybody,

Todays card has been created from left over bits and pieces on my desktop.

 I found the hearts cut in the blue satin card and also some blue inky paper made a while ago for another project.

I embossed a small piece of parchment and added them all together on my card base,

I used my score board to give me the three lines at the bottom of the panel as a  little added extra interest. 

The dots have been punched from the same blue card and using my hole punch.

I added in some leaves also to the frame and parchment and the sentiment cut in white card. 

It was a quick and easy card to do and could be described as a clean and simple card .... which is a million miles aways for what I usually do.

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Making Flowers

 Hi Everybody,

Now that Christmas is over and we have the new year and some spring warmth to look forward to and I thought it would be a good time to add some flowers to our cards.

So  today I am adding a video that shows how I make some of the flowers that I like to add to my deigns.

For me they make a card look so pretty and they ca save money on the mulberry paper flowers that are for sale, and they are so satisfying to make.

Here I have used up the left over pieces from the inky panels I did for the cards I made before Christmas 

Again this was very rewarding and each finished panel was different from the others.

 It used up the Distress Inks that I already had and so I saved my money there too.

The video is here ...
Making Flowers from Handmade Papers

Click the link and it will take you to another page where you can watch the video ... and please leave me a comment to say you have visited.

I hope you enjoy

Bye for now ..

Hugs xx

Bejay Roles - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Thank you to those people who sent me a Christmas card it was very kind of you and they where displayed on top of my tv cabinet for all to see
 And now it's all over and done with for another year and I am ready to move on.
I hope you enjoyed your Christmas, if only for the break.
 I know it is not everybody's best time of the year but hopefully you are now ready to craft forward into the new year.

The draw has been done and this week and the winner is

Bejay Roles

Thank you Bejay for making the effort to leave me your comments and I hope that Ben is ok after his feast with the sea moss gummies.

My family and I went out for our Christmas dinner and took Ruby and Dougal with us and they were as good as gold. The meal was awful but the dogs were good. That is two Christmases on the run now that have been ruined by bad hotels and bad service, and this one cost us £85 per head.

Anyway if you would send me your postal address please to
christina@card-making-magic.com
I will get it posted to you straight away. 

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Wild Meadows

Hi Everybody,

I am back with a fabulous offering today and that is the Wild Meadows set complete with the

Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine.

This consists of eight stamps and two lovely stencils for you to create some really special cards for all occasions. 

You can also download some papers and toppers  to compliment your designs.

The magazine is full of information and tips on how to get the best from the set as well as other ideas that you may like to try. 

So if this is something that you would like then all you need to do is leave me a comment with your 

FULL NAME

I need your full name to identify the correct winner so if it is not there then you will not enter into the draw, especially if your comment shows up as anonymous.

You will need to come back and check over the weekend to see if you are shown as the winner

.Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Doris Shawcross -Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Well are you ready for Christmas ???  The weather is certainly not enticing me to go out and do shopping so hopefully I will have everything in that I will need. I am never ready for it and always glad when it is done with and I cam get back to normal. 

I will nto be doing any more blogs posts now until my Friday Freebie so I would like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a truly Happy New Year xxx

The winner of this weeks prize is

Doris Shawcross 

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

I hope you get lots of good use from it and enjoy what you do.

Much love everybody

Bye for Now 

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Winter Wishes

Hi Everybody,

This beautiful  eight piece die set is in offer this week and will create some really pretty cards with a winter theme,  and not just for Christmas 

 

For cordmakers Christmas is an all year round time and so this will come in handy whenever you make your cards.

If this Winter Wishes from Memory Box 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

Then be sure to come back over the weekend to see if your name is listed as the winner. You will have 72 hours in which to claim the gift.

You will also get the magazine that comes with it and this one is Die Cutting Essentials. The pages are full of information and tips that you may like to try as well as ideas on using the die set.

Good Luck  

Bye for now ...

Foamiran Flowers

 Hi Everybody,

During the clean up of the craft room I came across a lot of foamiran in  many colours that I have not used up.

And so I thought I would make some flowers for my playtime cards and incorporate them with the other bits and pieces I have found on my desktop.

These two cards are the results of my find and for these I have used a very pale pink foam to die cut the flowers.

I have then inked over the edges of each petal with Worn Lipstick and used my heat tool to curl them into shape.

The leaves are also cut from foamiran and  inked with dark green. I have used any dies that I came across first in my stash. 

For the top card I have added an oval die cut to the panel that cut out a lovely bird and that has been added to an inked background panel. 

The flowers and leaves have been arranged around the oval and the panel then dotted with pearls.

I lightly rubbed gilding wax over the flowers and the bird

For this next card I have used an aperture flourish die and that has also been added to an inked panel

The flowers are arranged at the top right of the card with the leaves trailing down the card.

The sentiment is from an old CMM set and I have dotted this panel with diamante. 

I am quite pleased with both cards.

Bye For Now ...

More playtime cards

 Hi Everybody,

Here are some more cards created using up the scraps and left over bits and pieces that I have lying around my craft room.

You may recognise some of the papers as they were hand made on videos to highlight  a particular technique.

I keep all the bits that are left as even some of the small pieces can be die cut into some kind of shape that can be added to a card.

I will do another video using some of the those little shapes so that you can see how I have put them to good use.

These have also been added to an embossed panel and then decorated with mirror or pearl card for the strips around the coloured shapes.

Once again I have used the Nuvo Drops, but I must admit I am not a fan.

 I prefer the flat backed self adhesive pearls that can be added, or sequins.

But I am determined to use up the items that I  already have and not buy anything new.

Bye for now ...

Playtime Cards

Hi Everybody,

It has been craft room tidying time again and these are some of the die cuts that I have found on my desk top that I decided to turn into cards rather than add them

 to the trash can.

These have used some of the hand made inky backgrounds that I have done over the last few weeks, and they have been added to an embossed panel.

I have used up any sentiments that I had lying around too and then dotted the fronts with Nuvo Drops.

They will go to fill up my charity shop box and will please somebody for the occasion named on the card. 

It is such a good way to use up leftovers and it is amazing what you find once you start.

These two are from the blue paper that I created and they have silver heat embossed text on them. 

On this bottom card I blobbed the Nuvo Drops a little to hard and it made a mess on the panel. 

But once they are fully dry I will remedy the mistake by making the mirror strip, that edges the panel, wider to cover the mark in the middle of the card.

There are always ways to hide the mistake ....  try adding a flower, leaf, heart or butterfly. ... but there is no way I am going to throw it away

Bye for now xx

 

Snowflake Card

 Hi Everybody,

These cards have been created in the same way just in different colours and  I have used any snowflake dies that I had from lots if different sets, and they are very pretty. 

They can be used as winter birthday cards as well as for Christmas, and each A6 card will fit into a normal sized envelope.

I made them in one batch and the result was very quick. And even thought they are the same pattern they will be going to different houses.

So nobody is going to know that there are several the same as theirs 

Here is the video 

Sparkly Christmas Snowflakes

The centre panels are done with ink smooshing  and the results are always unique

.Have fun and experiment with your colours.

I have used up some of the speciality card that I have in my craft room.

I just made sure that the glitter, mirror and pearlised card all blended togehter to give the overall look i wanted for my snowflakes.

And if you wanted another idea for using snowflakes take a look at this video using glitter or gilding flakes

Flake & Glitter Snowflakes 

Hope you enjoy them both 

Hugs xx

Anne Owens - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Thank you to those who have left me a comment this week both here on the blog and on YouTube.

It is very much appreciated and I look forward to reading them everyday,

It is cold and damp here but we will be going out later for a short walk. 

But fir now the draw for Fridays freebie ahs been done and the name today is

Anne Owens

so would you send me your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and I will ger it sent off to you straight away.

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

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - CMM Festive Lights

Hi Everybody,
 

The magazine this week is Die Cutting Essentials and the gift is from Card Making Magic.

The larger version if this die set was released earlier this year with the Christmas in July launch,

You also have the chance to download papers and toppers to compliment the die

Inside the pages of the magazine you will find lots of tips and tricks on using the die and other things that you may want to try

So if this is some thing that you think you would like to have in your collection  then all you have to do is leave me a comment with your FULL NAME at the end of this post . 

You will  need to come back and see if you are named as the winner over the weekend and you will have  72 hours to claim the prize.

Good Luck

 More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ella Up Her Tree !!!!!!

Hi Everybody,

My eldest daughter has bought Ella a new cat tree as she loves to be up high and away from Ruby ... and Dougal when he visits.

Ella can feel safe up there while she surveys all that is going on around her.

I was pleasantly surprised that she took to it as well as she did and now she sits up there every day.

She can sit at different levels to look through the window and watch the birds and people as they pass by and it keep her entertained for ages.

Then when she has had enough she curls up n one of the centre parts that are enclosed and goes to sleep. 

It is quite a large tree but it fits into the bay window and doesn't block out too much light, and it keeps her happy which was my main objective.

It was a  bargain too as the lady who sold it found that her cats wouldn't use it and so she needed to get rid of it. Ella loves it 

Bye for now xx

Ann Topp - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

I am trying really hard to bring the numbers of subscribers up on both my blog and YouTube as for some reason the numbers are not rising.

 I have admitted in the past that it us very disheartening for all those publishers who work hard to add videos or posts and they do not get any response. And I am not the only one who mentions this fact.

On my Blog I have noticed, for quite some time now, that people are only leaving a comment when it is the Friday Freebie and at no other time and I feel that that is a little unfair on those that  do visit  on a regular basis. and leave me me a comment 

This is why I have said that I will give up blogging.

 But for now  I am going to try something different and that is that I will check back through the comments for the previous weeks and see what names are there and also for the Friday post,  and I am only going to add those names to the draw for the free gift.

This means that those who leave me a regular comment on my posts will see their names appearing more often as the winners on a Friday.

And this is another reason why you should leave your FULL NAME with your comment,  as some that show up are anonymous

My first one is named today and I am so grateful to these regular visitors and commenters. 

 Ann Topp

This week is for you Ann for all your support, and this is my way of saying a big thanks to you.

Please send me your postal address and I will get the pack in the post to you straight away.

Hugs.

Friday Freebie - Dragonfly Delights

 Hi Everybody,

This beautiful set is from John Next Door and it comes with the magazine Simply Cards & Papercraft

It consists of an embossing folder, some Dragonfly stamps and sentiments, as well as the Dragonfly die set 

It is sure to help you make some lovely creations for you to give to your friends and family in the coming months.

So if you would like to have this in your crafty stash then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the ed of this post with tour FULL NAME

You will need to come back and check if your name is shown as the winner and you will have 72 hours in whcih to claim it.  In the event that it is not claimed it will be offered again at a later date.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Altenew Flowers

HI Everybody,

Todays cards are all created from the same stamp set and it is one of the Create Your Life bundles that I bought ages ago.

I need to use these more to get my monies worth from what turned out to be an expensive purchase.

 It was the postage costs that pushed then over the top and so I stopped my subscription

This is the Feathered Lilies  and for the first  5x7" card I stamped it in full, coloured it with alcohol markers and then cut it out with the matching die.

Once it was cut out I added to the embossing folder and ran it through the machine to get the raised areas on the flowers.

The backgrounds panels are also embossed and the sentiments are some that I already had on my desk.

For the next two card this is the same stamp coloured again with markers  but this time  after the flowers have been embossed I have cut them in half and trimmed them down to fit an  A6 and a DL

This gives me a twofer and both look really pretty when completed , and you can see the original configuration when you look at them side by side. 

But this is a good way to make large stamps go a little further as well as vary the look for your designs, which helps to break the sameness that can sometimes happen 

I have splattered both with gold paint but on the DL one, because I was impatient, I managed to smudge the splats at the bottom of the card.

But I am not unhappy with any of the looks that I get for these cards and .they would suit many occasions if I swapped out the sentiments. 

Hope you like 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Outline Dies

Hi Everybody,

A couple of weeks ago I gave away the Rose outline die from Crafters Companion and that was quite a large die.

The card shown us also using an outline die though not the same one.

 This one us a really old die that I have from Spellbinders, but it gives the same result

It has been cut from white card and added to a handmade inky background

The sentiment is cut from silver mirror card and added with small portions of foam pad underneath to raise it up.

This is the same idea with the outline die on an inky background  but the centre is cut into an oval 

I have added silver dots cut from card around the edge and it is all added to a wall patterned die cut.

The sentiments have been stamped in black and clear embossed

The top card s a 5x7 and the middle ad bottom ones are an A6, but all have used parts of the outline die cut to their panels 

The result is very pretty and you could colour into the centre of the flowers if you wished and that would make them stand out even more.

This card has used a smaller panel to add the outline shape to and placed over to the left side of the card front, and again has used some handmade paper.

So there you have three very different looking cards from one outline die and some inky papers.

You could use any dies that are in your stash that give a similar outline look so look with fresh eyes at what you already have

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Everyday Items

 Hi Everybody,

This simple idea can give you some unusual patterns for your cards and it is using some cheap washing up liquid to create the background.

It is another item that we all have in our kitchens that can be used  in a different way,

 I have named the video

  Everyday Items - Washing Up Liquid 

and it has been added to the  Everyday Items playlist and all the suggestions there  can give you some pretty results.

You can use the panel just as a background piece or die cut from it for shapes, flowers. leaves, hearts or even stars.

Dress the card up as much as you would like and always be sure that you have papers that will go with your creations whatever your plan.

And making your own backgrounds is far more fun and satisfying than a shop bought paper.

Give it a go I know you will enjoy playing

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Carole Eaton - Winner

Hi Everybody,

Well it is sunny here but cold and damp and we will be going out later as long as the rain stays away.
Not long to Christmas no but at least this Birthday die takes away some of the ideas around that time.
I am sure that the winner will enjoy playing with this one when it arrives with them.

There are lots of idea inside the magazine for you to try and the draw has ow been done.

The winner thus week is ...

Carole Eaton

and so if you could send me your postal address I will get it posted to you straight away.

Be sure to let me know that you have it safely

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx