Friday Freebie - Altenew

HI Everybody,

Todays offering is a real treat from Altenew and it creates a beautiful flower for the front of your design.

There is a 6 peice stamp set to go with it and that has sentiments as well as the flowers.

You will also get two layering stencils in the pack and they can help you to create lovely backgrounds for the flowers.

It comes with the Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine that is full of tips and ideas for you  to try for yourself 

Altogether a prize worth winning and it is from Altenew which makes it even more special.

So if you would like to have this in your collection then all you need to do is leave me a comment with your FULL NAME  

I have no way to identify you, or contact you especially if your comment comes through as Unknown or Anonymous. So if there is no full name your comment will not be added to the draw.

Please oblige if you want to win.

I am happy to send the pack to you and it doesn't matter if you have won before.

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx 

Inked Card

 Hi Everybody,

On Monday I showed you some papers that I had coloured myself for an original look to my cards, and I said I would show you what I  was doing with them. 

The first paper was shown with the actual blog post but the second paper was one I created using my home made texture paste and I did that vidoe over a year ago.

It is really easy to do using cheap talcum powder and if you add it to an air tight container it will last you for a long time, and it costs pennies. 

I make up what I think I will need and store the rest for another time, and I have come back to that six months later and it is still ok,

Here is the video for making your own paste ...

The photo shows the second paper I created and over the top of the paste 

I sprinkled some teal embossing powder and heated it.

The paste will bubble a little but it all adds to the texture and gives a lovely finish. 

I used circle nesting dies to cut out the frames and then I fussy cut one of the butterflies out of the paper.

I coloured it with alcohol markers and curled the wings round a pencil and then added it into one of the circle frames.

Small pearls have been added to the body line and I found a pearl flourish in my bit box and cut that to fit as a butterfly trail. I used some tiny bits that are left over form the flourish and used them as antennae on the butterfly itself. 

Hope you like 

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

See Through Panels

Hi Everybody,

Many years ago I did this design and it got me a lot of views. 

But I used a Heartfelt Creations die to make it and sadly that company is not longer around and so it may be difficult to get the die.

These are the videos I made to showcase the card ...

Heartfelt Creations Corner Die
Decorative Blossoms Corner

But now for this video I have used more recent dies and I have tried to make it more simple to make and I am very happy with the result.

I have added the links to products below but my advice would be to look carefully at the dies you already have and see if they will do the job.

Lots of companies made dies that would simply cut the pattern into the card with a separate die to cut it out completely if needed, 

Spellbinders, Tonic, Crafters Companion and

 Creative Expressions, but sadly they have gene now as well.

For these cards I have used my own brand of Card Making Magic and I am adding the links at the bottom as a reminder of what they look like. 

They may no longer be available to purchase but you could already have them in your own collections 

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Shaker Card

 Hi Everybody,

I have been asked to show how I make Shaker cards and here are some videos that I did a while ago.

I will do a more up to date one but these will keep you going for some time hopefully, and this one uses parchment for the shaker pocket.

This second on is another variation of how to create the look and I hope it helps you to see the different materials that can be used for shaker cards.

Don't worry about not having the same dies as me just use what you have, and you can use a cellophane bag or a CD case as well as acetate or parchment to create the pocket. 

And you can fill it with a variety if things to make the shaker portion, even the bits that fall out of other die cuts as waste. 

Enjoy as these are such fun cards to make and especially for a child's birthday.

There are more ideas in the Shaker Card Playlist on YouTube 

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Playtime with inks

 Hi Everybody,

It has been playtime again in my craft room and I have made some more papers to be backgrounds for my cards.

I did one in blues and purples with text on it in black ink.

The other is brown and turquoise and

I have stencilled some home made texture paste on the top.

 I have sprinkled this with some glittery embossing powder and heated.it.

That one has butterflies stamped on to it.

The card has been created with the first paper and I cut two large butterflies from it .
 Each butterfly has a diamante shape added to the top of it and the wings shaped with a pencil to give them some curve.

I used the same stencil to add ink to the background and added both the butterflies to the front.
The sentiment says A Big Thank You and I dotted the rest of the panel with black pearls.
It looks very pretty in the hand and making your own background papers is so satisfying.

I will show you what I make with the second peice of paper when it is used. 
Hope you like ...

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Denise Bryant - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Ruby and I set off the other day to go for a walk to St Annes, while it was dry and fine. 
We dropped some stuff off at the charity shop on the way there and by the time we got to St Annes it was that very fine drizzle.
Still  undeterred we set off for our walk along the sea front and onto the beach, and by the time we got half way round it poured down and we both got soaked.

Neither of us was having a good time so we came back to the car and then home again.
We looked like drowned rats the pair of us. 

We had the game with the towel as I tried to dry her off, she likes to steal it and run away with it, but eventually she was dry.
Then I had to go and get changed out of my wet clothes before we could settle down for the rest of the day. I lit the log burner and that always makes me feel cozy. 
So much for our nice walk !!!

The draw has been done for the beautiful paper pack that was on offer and this time the name is
Denise Bryant

Would you send me your postal address please to 
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will post if off to you straight away.

I hope you enjoy playing with it as it really is a lovely pack, and please be sure to let me know that you have it safely.

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebies - Opulent Ornaments

 Hi Everybody,

This beautiful paper pack is full of bright jewel colours and some of them are foiled.

There are foiled toppers sheets and sentiments to compliment your designs.

It may be designed with Christmas in mind but I am sue that this would work all year round for various occasions

It comes with Simply Cards & Papercraft  and the pages are always inspiring for this gift and other techniques to help you on your crafting journey.

So would you like this in your crafting stash ??

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

  FULL NAME

Be sure to come back and check if your name is shown as the winner over the weekend as I have no way to contact you if your are.

Good luck 

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Cards from the Videos

 Hi Everybody,

I am so happy to read the comments that the videos have gone down quite well and that some of the ideas have been taken on board and used for your own designs

These are some of the cards that are in the videos and it is good to know that some of you have the dies too.

I have so many Spellbinders from my time on their DT and many more that I designed for Craft Stash and it is time they got an airing again.

The card to the right is from the rectangles video and the one below is from the squares and I still have lots of ideas on how to use just one set of dies to make different cards.

I have incorporated all the videos into one playlist on YouTube and titled it

  Using Older Dies

and it has other vidoes in the list that you may find useful, plus I will be adding more to it as I go along.

I have some really old sets of matching Spellbinders that I would like to video and you may have them as well.

Plus I am open to suggestions if there is something you would like to see and if I have the dies, or something similar, then I will oblige

Thank you for the comments that you have left for me it gives me a lot of pleasure to read them.

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Time for Rectangles

 Hi Everybody,

I have worked my way through some Squares and Circles and the last video was with Ovals but for todays video I thought I would use some Rectangles.

I was going to name the video 5x7's but rectangles come in many sizes from A5 down to the smaller A6 and you can of course cut these down to any size you want.

In todays video I am using a really old set from my own range of Card Making Magic but they are no longer available to purchase

So as I always advise you,  look at what you have and make them work for you and maybe you already have this set

These two cards are both 5x7 but one has the die cut added to the card base front and the other has used the shape die cut to create the full card.

I hope you have enjoyed the little series and have now started to use the dies that you have more in your card making.

I make seven cards and hopefully they have given you some ideas of your own to build on.

Using Rectangles for Stunning Effects

I have added the links at the top of the page to all the videos in this series just in case you missed them and by clicking the link you will open a new window to view them.

I would love it if you would give me the "Thumbs Up" leave me a comment as that really does help my YouTube Channel to grow, and then YouTube will recommend my videos to other like minded crafters.

And it you became a subscriber both here and on YouTube that would be fantastic.

The flowers I have used are from Wild Orchid Crafts and they no longer ship to the UK , 

but you can get the same flowers at a similar price from Carroway Cottage the the link is below if you need to get some more

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Winifred Kennedy - Winner

 Hi Everybody,

This has been a traumatic weekend as my eldest daughter's dog has been very sick and needed an emergency operation last night to find out what was wrong.  Today she ... Lottie is back at home and recovering from her ordeal. Lottie is  a two year old, little French Bulldog and understandably my daughter has been worried sick about her.  Hopefully we have turned the corner now.

I have done the draw for the pretty Spring Birds pack and the name this week ...

Winifred Kennedy

would you please send me your postal address to
christina@card-making-magic.com
and it will be on it's way to you..

Would you let me know that you have it safely and I hope you get lots of fun out of the pack. 

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Spring Birds

Hi Everybody,

Todays offering comes with the Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine and it is a full kit of papers, sentiments and lots of lovely topper sheets

They will all help you to make some pretty cards with the theme or spring birds.

The papers are floral designs and on quality paper in lots of different colours so you can vary the look.

The magazine will give you even more ideas on how to use this kit as well as other tips for inspiration.

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

For those new to the blog, the reason for your full name is so that I can get the gift to the correct winner,

I have a few people with the same first name oy you may come through as unknown or anonymous.

Without a name there is no way I can identify you and so you will miss out on becoming the winner.

Plus I always ask for you postal address because I do not store addresses any where and so even if you have won before I will not have your postal address.

I am not asking much and you will get a good prize if your are the winner.

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

 

Oval Variations

Shaped card

 Hi Everybody,

Today I am using oval dies that I have in my collections and I have chosen some dies from Spellbinders that are at the very least ten years old

It was a set that I very much loved and used loads when it was first introduced but like everything else it got pushed to one side as new items came on to the market.

I am sure that lots of other people have the same dies and have neglected them for so long.

But now I am on a revival kick and digging out all my old dies again and breathing new life into them 

Shaker card

Here are three of the cards from the video and you can do the same styles with any of the die shapes I have covered so far.

Oval Variations

Once you start to play and experiment with the shapes I know you will be able to come up with so many more and have fun in the process.

This shaker card is lovely and I have linked to the parchment and mirror card that I have used below.

They are easy to make and the results are stunning

DL Card base

The card to the right is a DL and I often get asked

what is a DL card. 

All it means is that the card is double the length of its width so for example my card is a 8 x 4" base.

But it could be a 6 x 3" card or any size you choose.

In the next video I will be covering my favourite size which is the 5x7 and showing you several ways in which I have used mine. I hope you will join me for that.

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Circle Pink & Gold gatefold

Hi Everybody,

This is a card that was made with the same circle dies that I used in the video but this one didn't make it into the film.

It is 6" Gatefold and the inside and the side panels have all been lined with pink layers and white embossed layers

The circle motif fits nicely onto the front of the card and has tiny pearls dotted all around the outside edge.

The gold embossed flowers have been added to one side and the sentiment is raised up with foam and nestled into the display

I hope these videos are giving you some fresh ideas on what to do with your dies and making the most of any items that you already have in your stash,

I hope you will join me tomorrow for another video and  as promised I will be using Ovals to make seven beautiful cards that would suit any occasion.

If there is anything that you would particularly like to see then let me know and if I have the dies to oblige then I will do that straight away.

Another point before I go is about the flowers I use that I got from Wild Orchid Crafts. WOC stopped trading some time ago now and sold the company to buyers from abroad. They will not ship to the Uk and so we couldn't get he beautiful blooms we all so enjoyed.

Well one of my readers found another company that sell the same kind of flowers and at more or less the same price and they are based in the UK.

I am adding the link for you to take a look at them and it will also be in the box underneath future videos on YouTube.

Carroway Cottage

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx

Using your Square Dies

 Hi Everybody,

Today we are moving on to using square dies to create several beautiful cards. and the dies I am using are really old ones from Spellbinders that will no longer be available to buy.

I have used gold and silver mirror card to enhance the look and the flowers are mulberry flowers that I got from Wild Orchid Crafts many years ago

This pretty card has used the square dies as they are but in the video I show you how to increase or decrease the size to fit your designs.

Square Dies

This card has had the size of the die cut increased to fit a 5x7 and the result is really pretty.

I have used the same leaf and butterfly dies for all the cards, including the circle ones from last week.

You don't need to buy more you just  need to use any leaf,  flowers, heart or butterfly dies that you already have and make them work for you.

The sentiment is from  my bit box and so are may of the other die cuts that I could find on my desk and they  are left over from other projects.

This video is a little longer but it gives you eight ideas on how to create the look for your self.

I hope you will join me next time and see what we can do with Oval shapes.

Bye For Now ...

Hugs xx

Embossing Powders ...

Hi Everybody,

The technique on both of these cards is created with embossing powder and a sheet of parchment but I don't think it turned out quite right for me.

It was something that I watched Marion Emberson  doing on YouTube and her cards turned out lovely.

So as you do I thought "Oh I will have a go at that" but this is my result.

I am adding the link here to Marion's video and if you try it then let me know how it goes for you

Pouncing Technique

Marion has some lovely ideas on how to get he best from any embossing powders that you have and how to mix the colours to create your own, and they are well worth a watch.

I hope you cards turn out better than mine did here but I will give it another go and maybe make the powders a little thicker on my sheet.

Good Luck with it

Bye for now ...

Hugs xx