Oldie but goodie ...

Hi Everybody,

This was a technique that I shared way back in 2016  when I was using Spellbinders and it was how to create a stencil from any dies that you have. I will be updating this technique using my own brand of dies coming soon.

 I cannot find the photo of the finished card to show you so instead I am adding the whole video as a refresher or should you be new to this idea. It is a good way to stretch out your dies and get as much from them as you possibly can 

It is an easy to do technique and the hardest part is waiting for the embossing paste to dry.

You can colour your paste to whatever colour of inks that you have and that way it will match the colour scheme of the design you are making. 

I hope you enjoy this old video and will also watch the new one when I have added it to the blog

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Altenew Craft Your Life Kit

Hi Everybody,

This beautiful flower is Elegant Motifs from Altenew and is part of their Craft Your Life Kit for last November.

There are so many lovely arrangements in this stamp set that can be used all together or apart as I have done here. 

The background is an embossing folder from my own Card Making Magic  and I have Letterpressed this using Distress Oxide Inks. 

I also went direct to paper with the ink pad to give me the fuller look and then cut it out with a circle die.

The flowers have been coloured with the stencil in the kit and then added to the card front with foam pads.

Altogether a quick and easy card to make and the sentiment can be added later when I have an occasion to use it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Butterfly Trails Collection

Hi Everybody,

Today card is a 5x7 with the fold at the side, which is not my usual style. But there is a reason for this change.

The front of the card has been decorated with the lovely papers from this collection and I specifically positioned the flowers.

The small butterflies have been cut from the pink paper in the pack and double layered onto white card for added strength.

The sentiment has been added to parchment for the same reason and added to the front of the card.

I have dotted it with sequins and added pearls to the body line of the butterflies.

But it is the inside where I have made the most of this card.

I have again used the papers from the pack to line the inside and from some plain white card I have used Picked Raspberry to ink the card.

I have used the large butterfly die to cut out the design and then I have added a little glue to the  centre edge of the wings.

 Positioning it on the middle of the card I have closed it up and pressed it till the glue was set  and then once you open it up the wings spread across the centre as a pop up.

It looks very effective. 

The centre of the butterfly is decorated once again with the flowers and it all folds flat to go into an ordinary envelope.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby Update

 Hi Everybody,

Thank you so much for all your emails and concern over my beautiful Ruby. 

She is on medication to help her with the diagnosis of Cushing Disease and she seems to be responding to the treatment at the moment. 

The vet tells me it will take a while for her to completely respond but at least we are making progress in the right direction.

Here she is lying on her cool mat with Ella at her side but she is not taking any notice of the kitten and walks away when she has had enough.

She seems to like being left alone when she isn't feeling well and so that is what I do until she comes to me for a cuddle 

I hope she continues to get better as the weeks go by but it is incurable and so she will be on medication for the rest of her life now.

I will of course let you all know how she is progressing

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Here I am bright and early this week because later on this morning I am going out with Ruby for the day.

The weather is fine and dry and I hope it stays that way and we wont be back till afternoon.
So I thought it would be better to get this done early so that you are not all waiting for the name to show up as the winner.

The draw has been done at random and this week it is the turn of ...

Marie Quick
so would you please email me your postal address  to

christina@card-making-magic.com

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

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

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Fabulous Foliage

Hi Everybody,

Here is another chance to win the Fabulous Foliage that comes with Die Cutting Essentials.

The magazine is full of hints and ideas for you to try, along with interesting articles for you to browse at your leisure.

The set consists of eight different dies for you to cut laves and flowers for your projects and it can be used at any time of the year to fill out your displays.

You will find lots of ideas on how to get the most from this die set in the pages of the magazine

So if this is something that you think you would like to have than all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post with your full name. 

It must be your FULL NAME so that I can identify the correct winner and add it to a blog post over the weekend .

So if you do enter then be sure to come back and check to see if your name is listed as the winner.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Spiral Rose

 Hi Everybody,

It is no secret that I like to add flowers to my cards and this Spiral Rose  is one of the easiest ways to create them. At the moment it is half price on the Craft Stash website. 

You can make them as small or as large as you like by simply adding more spirals to the flower.

This top picture has used the spiral rose with the plain edges and the bottom one has used the scalloped edge die for a fancier look. 

Clicking the affiliate link in this post will take you to the special offer from Craft Stash that is half price at present from the 20 Sept 22

I also have a video on how to make these flowers for your self and they can be made from some of your patterned papers for unusual designs.  Spiral Rose Maker Die set 

These deals with Craft Stash won't be around for long so take a look at what there is and maybe you will see something that you would like.

And by using my affiliate links means I will get a small commission if you buy through them and it is at no extra cost to you. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Layered Florals

Hi Everybody,

I am adding these two cards today because these dies and stamps are on special offer with Craft Stash at present.

They are the Layered Florals  Dies and the Layered Florals Stamps and both are currently half price.

I have had so much fun playing with these, with water colours and alcohol markers as well as coloured pencil.

 In fact whichever is your favourite medium to work with you are sure to get a good result.

These two cards have both been water coloured and  cut out using the matching dies.

I added them to the blog a long time ago, but they both remain two of my favourite cards. 

I am not a good artist but I do enjoy playing around with water colours and of course stamping out the images to be coloured makes it so much easier. 

Both of these cards have had the stamped image done in Versamark and then heat embossed in white powder. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Bargains to be had ....

Hi Everybody,

There is a special deal going on at Craft Stash and many of my Card Making Magic Collections are going for half price. So now is the time to take a look and there just might be something that catches your eye.

Here are some of my favourite cards from some of these die sets that are going cheap ...

This is an Easel Card created from the slimline set and it has its own matching box with it. 

 This one is the Layered Florals and I have used this die set so much and it has matching stamps.

The sentiment is from an A5 stamp set

This is the Oval box and my video shows you how I made this for any gift you are giving.

Another special box was the Circular one   and this also has a video to go with it. 

 All my videos can be found on my YouTube Channel and all my collections are available at Craft Stash

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby Update ...

Hi Everybody,

This has been a very stressful week for me and Ruby who has been very poorly for most of it. I took her to the vets as I was very worried when she was being sick, and they kept her in to run some tests.

 

Yesterday I got the results back from blood tests and her scan. The blood test shows that her thyroid is working correctly but the scan has shown that she has Cushing Disease

I had never heard of this complaint but I sure have done some research since. It is a condition where her body cannot regulate the amount of Cortisol it produces. 

Some of the symptoms are lethargy, vomiting, excessive panting, muscle weakness, extended belly, eye/ear/skin infections  and skin problems too.

Over the last few months she has had her fair share of them and been treated for them, and I added it to the blog post when she was having problems with her eye just a few months ago.

But it wasn't until this week that we have had a definite diagnosis. She has been really poorly, and sadly the disease is incurable. She is not in danger but she will be on medication for the rest of her life.

 I am hoping that the medication will give her some quality of life back again and give her the strength to run around and bark at everything again with her pal Dougal.  Please keep your fingers crossed for a good recovery for her and I will of course keep you posted as to her progress.

Thank you all so much for the personal messages that have come to me and for your comments on the blog.

Hugs xx