Blue Background

 HI Everybody,  

This is another background that has been ink smooshed and this time I have used shades of blue to give a mottled effect to the card.

The cut out on the front is from another older die that I have in my collection and the heart is a frame that I found on my desktop.

The other hearts are cut from silver mirror card and dotted around the front and the leaves and flowers are old Spellbinders die sets that I have had for years.

I am enjoying going through my stuff and seeing what I have.

 I am making two piles  .... of stuff that I will use and stuff that I won't ever use and there is quite an accumulation of things.

Plus once it is all sorted I will have a lot more space in my craft room, not to gather more items but to give me some space in which to work.  

I also find it easier to get started if I don't have as much to choose from.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Make Your Own Stencils

 Hi Everybody,

Do you enjoy stencilling and sometimes wish that one of the dies you have also had a stencil to go with it ???

Well now you can make your own stencils from that die. 

You could simply make it out of card stock but that wouldn't last long if you used it a lot. 

You could also use laminating pouches that have been fused together and that would last you quite sometime.

But the stencils that you buy are made from Mylar and that is really inexpensive to buy.

I got mine from Amazon and I have made quite a few of my own stencils to add the decoration to my designs.

This Video is not long but will show you how I got the look for my cards. The one at the top is created with circles and the second one in the video is from octagons.

The overall look is very modern and would be perfect for a teenagers birthday, and you can of course use your favourite colours to produce it. You can also try other mediums too to get the the look.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Jacqueline Koendering - Winner

Hi Everybody,

Thanks for all your enquiries about Ruby  and I am happy to say she is progressing slowly. She still can't go for long walks but we have had little trips to the park before she gets tired. 
We will get there in the long run ... hopefully.

I have done the draw for the lovely bundle that is on offer and I am hoping that this time it goes.

And the winner this week is 

Jacqueline Koendering
would you send your postal address please to me at 
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will get it sent off to your straight away.

I hope you enjoy all the goodies in the bundle and I will also include a handmade Pokey Tool for you to use whenever you craft.
Please be sure to let me know that you have everything safely.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Mixed Bundle

 Hi Everybody,

Today I am re offering the complete bundle from a few weeks ago that was unclaimed.

 So if you entered to win it and didn't come back to check for your name, then this is what you are missing.

There are six items in this bundle including stencils, dies and stamps and are sure to help swell out your own collection/

So if this is something that you think you would like then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post with your FULL NAME

Then please be sure to come back and check if you are the winner. I have no way to contact you if you are and if it is not claimed again then it will be re offered at a later date.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

.

Inlaid Die Technique

 Hi Everybody,

I like the look of these inlaid dies but I didn't have any in my stash, and so I took another look at the dies that I have and picked out all the small ones that I never use.

Once I thought about it I decided to give this idea a try and see what I came up with, and I have to say that I quite like the end result.

For this card I used all the tiny butterflies I could find and arranged them on my panel to die cut.

Adding in the pierced dots was an extra step that blended them all together. You can add as many of these pierce  lines as you would like and if you keep the pencil lines feint then they can be erased afterwards.

For this one I picked out all the tiny hearts and arranged them on a landscape card base.

The card in the video is done with stars but look carefully at any dies that you have and see what would suit the idea.

Try leaves or small flowers, tiny envelopes, banners or tags, or any of the basic shapes like circles and ovals. 

There is just time for a relaxing cuppa as you watch the video and the be sure to let me know if you give this idea a try for your self.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ink Smooshed Flowers

 Hi Everybody,

Todays card is another ink smooshed one with the background and flowers created with Distress Oxides.

For this I have used really old dies and they have made the coffee rings in gold, the butterfly in white and gold and the flowers and leaves in various sizes.

For the flowers I inked a while panel and then placed the cover die of flowers on too. It cuts out lots of flowers all in one pass through the machine and saves a whole lot of time.

I have had this die for years and used it many times and these have been layered with the different sizes to create the flowers for my card. 

Each one has a gold pearl added to the centre. These started off as white but I coloured them  with a gold alcohol marker pen.

If I where to make this card again I would tone down the background with some parchment over the top and that would allow the flowers to show up more ..... but it is what it is !!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Flower Cards

 Hi Everybody,

Todays card is full of flowers and pearls ...no ribbons on this one though.

I have used the cut out flourish die in top and bottom corners to give the design and the top layer has been ink smooshed in blues and purples then splattered with clean water.

It gives a very pretty mottled effect to the layer.

I added tiny foam pads to the back to raise it up from the white base card and thus castes a little shadow.

The Rose flourish die set is the leaves and  I have inked these with green, blue and purple. The sprigs have just been cut in white.

I have also added some grass like embellishment tucked under the flowers and glued it in place with hot glue.

I found some silver leaves on my desk to and they have been tucked into the display at random.

The flowers are roses in various shades of blue and purple and they have been  sprinkled with glitter.

I have used dark blue pearls and they have been dotted around the front.

This is a really pretty eye catching card and could be for any occasion.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Handmade Sentiments

 Hi Everybody,   

When we make card we mostly add a sentiment to the front of it as this conveys to the recipient what occasion is being celebrated.

I have a lot of word dies and also many dies of different shapes that will create a frame for me. So why not combine the two to make a sentiment that will stand out on your card.

For this card I have used silver mirror card to make the frame from a patterned circle and a plain one to cut the inner portion of the frame.

Then to this cetnre I have added the words I chose to make the while sentiment look like one.

You could also add parchment behind the word die cut.

It doesn't have to be silver or gold. Why not try a colour that blends with your creation. And alter the shape too.

The gold one that is shown here is created with a really old Seth Apter die  and I used it in black on one of my cards with a birthday greeting on the top.

The video is not long but will give you the basic idea of what I did to get the toppers I needed for my creations

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Kim Cranson - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

I hope you are al well and enjoying the weekend.  We are doing Ok here but a but disappointed with the weather.  What has happened to our summer it is actually very windy and chilly here today.

Ruby is still not allowed to go walking yet but she is recovering slowly. She has had such a very painful and serious illness that it is bound to have taken its toll . She is back to envying her food again but is not allowed any treats.

I have done the draw for the latest pack to be given away and the winner this week is 

Kim Cranson

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

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 - Pack 3

 Hi Everybody,

Here is another opportunity for you to have one of these super bundles filled with crafting goodies to swell your stash.

Each one has been different but there are six items that will give you a mixture of things to do. 

This is the last of these packs and so I will have to think of more to offer next week, and find some really special things to go in it.

Would you like t have this pack ????

Then leave me a comment at the end of this post with your FULL NAME

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

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Half Circle Panel

 Hi Everybody, 

For this card I have used a really old embossing folder and a half circle die that is part of the Perfect Panels Collection that is no longer available.

I cut the pattern into the card and added it over the top of an ink smooshed background that has has a stamped image added to it.

The pattern is more visible in the hand and looks very pretty showing through the die cut.

I have cut a label in parchment and added some white and parchment leaves to the top of it.

The butterfly has been cut in silver and added to a parchment base and then layered onto the leaves and label.

I already had the sentiment in my bits jar and so I used that to add to the 5x7 sized card and then dotted the panel with some pearls 

I think the embossing on the panel adds something extra to what would otherwise be a plain piece of card

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Bee Card

Hi Everybody,
 

This card has used an old die that was free with a magazine many years ago. I still have the set of dies, stamps and a folder and I have used elements from that.

The background has been ink smooshed  I added a light stamped circle pattern to the top. The pink flower was cut from the same splattered card.

The little bee die was in the set and I cut them in yellow and then added them to some brown card and fussy cut around the image.

The other flowers for this card are  cut in white and silver mirror card and cut with older Spellbinders dies.

The honey comb pattern is a die that cuts the pattern out of the card and for this I have simply stuck it back in place.

I have no idea where it is from as I have had it years.

Another pretty background that enhances the card itself and the finished size is a 5x7

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Thank You Cards

 Hi Everybody,

Ruby and I have sent these cards to the people who cared for her while she was very sick last weekend .

One will go to the emergency A&E Vet Hospital in Bispham who took her in straight away for treatment when I rushed her there .

 Without them my Ruby would have died of that I have no doubt.

Their quick treatment saved her life so that we will be able to go walking again together once she is fully recovered. 

The other is to the "Vets Now Hospital" in Manchester who took her in for specialised procedures and treated her for four days for severe pancreatitis.

To both of these I am eternally grateful for what they did and because of their intervention I still have my beautiful dog.

The butterflies signify new life and new beginnings and Ruby has a second chance now to enjoy her time.

She will never be a healthy dog due to the Cushing's Disease that she already was diagnosed with two years ago now.

But at least she can sniff about and bark at the postman and snore on my videos as she lies in her bed. 

Thanks to everybody for all your messages and your concern and I will be sure to keep you updated on her progress.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Smooshed Backgrounds

 Hi Everybody,   

For these two cards I took one sheet of A4 card and Ink Smooshed over the background. I tried to keep each side of it a little different .

I cut it into two separate pieces and and on  this one I splattered it with silver ink and cut a large die cut shape to fit over the top.

It is a really old Spellbinders die and probably not available any more but keeps in with me using up all the older stuff that I have in my craft room. 

The flowers are cut from the same piece of card and the leaves are from my Rose Flourish die set and cut in pale blue mirror card. Each flower has a pearl in the centre

The sentiment is from one of my own older stamp and die sets.

This card has been splattered with black and white and has some black text stamped over it also.

There is a die cut in the card from an old magazine freebie and I used silver mirror card to cut the other elements.

The butterfly is cut in parchment and splattered card and layered together. 

I cut the sentiment from mirror card, parchment and the white Happy Birthday and layered them all together, and dotted pearls around as a finishing touch.

Both are very pretty, vibrant  Birthday cards done with ink smooshing to produce a different kind of  look, and I hope you like them both.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Carole Eaton - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

It is a gorgeous day here. Ruby is out in the garden with Ella (the cat) sunning them selves while they can. We cant go walking so I will potter in the garden too later, though I only have a postage size garden to work in. Most of my plants are in pots and getting really large after being re potted earlier this year.

The draw has been done for the bundle on offer and the name this week is 

Carole Eaton

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

Be sure to let me know that you have it safely and I will include one of my Pokey Tools in the pack.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx