Card & Magazine Winner

Hi Everybody,

Well here I am late as usual but time just seems to run away from me lately. 

Thank you if you joined me on Hochanda last week, we had some really good shows and I enjoyed working with Ruth. 

We stayed in a lovely place and we had fun. I don't think we stopped talking and giggling in the two days we had together. It was just what we both needed.

So a big thank you to Ruth for making it so enjoyable and another to you if you purchased from the shows.

But I have now done the draw for Fridays gift and the winner this week is ...

Elly Booij

would you send me your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and they will be on their way to you.

Please let me know that you have the gift safe and sound and I hope you enjoy playing with it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Winter Wonderland from Simply Cards& Papercraft 182

Hi Everybody,

A few weeks ago I gave away a gift called Winter Wonderland and although this one has the same title it is not the same gift.

This one has an A5 stamp plate and two dies to cut the birch trees out and there is also a stencil in the pack too.

I will also send you the magazine but there is no card to go with it this time. The video will show you how I used the set 

Winter Wonderland from SC&P 182

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

From those comments one name will be chosen at random and listed in a blog post over the weekend.

Be sure to come back and check if it is your name that is shown  and you have 72 hours to claim the gift.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Gift & Magazine Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

It's a beautiful Saturday morning and I still have lots to do to be ready for Monday and Tuesday when I will be on Hochanda with the One Day Special. I hope you will be able to join me at 6pm and 8pm on the Monday or 9am 1pm and 5pm on the Tuesday, it will be lovely to have you there.

I have lots to show you and my new "Design Team" of Kim and Joanna have been busy making things as well. It sounds really grand having a Design Team but they are friends who have offered to help me make samples to highlight the new dies and stamps in the new Christmas Collection

So onto the winner of yesterdays gift and the name this week is ...

Sue Williams 

would you email me please with your postal address to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the gift will be on its way to you.

I hope you will enjoy the set and be sure to let me know when it arrives with you.

I hope you can all understand why I ask for your FULL NAME because I have four Sue's who visit my blog and add comments and imagine the confusion if I just added Sue as the winner ... nobody would know which one it was.

 So FULL NAME please every time or your comment will not be added to the draw Thank You!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Ring of Roses

Hi Everybody,

A Summery kind of gift is being given this week and this one is from Joanna Sheen and the video was titled  Ring Of Roses

The link will take you to see some of my ideas with this stamp and die set but sadly there is no card to go with it this week.

There are however some of the downloadable papers with it and I am happy to send them to you wherever you live if you are the winner

To be in with that chance all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME and then be sure to come back and check over the weekend if it is your name that is shown.

One name will be chosen and you will have 72 hours in which to claim the gift

More tomorrow ..

Hugs xx

Card Making Magic Box Kit

Hi Everybody,

The next issue of the Card Making Magic box kit is now on Pre order with Craft Stash and once again there are some really pretty dies in the pack.

If you have been building up your collection of these kits then now is the time to make sure that you get this Issue Three as the others went very quickly

There will be lots of ideas inside the magazine that will hopefully inspire you to make a start on your Christmas cards if you haven't already.

I will be showing you this and much more on Monday and Tuesday of next week on Hochanda so I hope you will be able to join me then with the One Day Special

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Not Just for Christmas!!

Hi Everybody,

The Christmas Ornaments  is a 22 piece die set that is new for this season and it is available from Craft Stash.

You can have lot of fun making your cards for this year from this die set, but don't put it away at the end of the year 

This is a set that can be used all year round and the card to the right is just one of those ways.

All I have done is take the round ornament die and cut it three times, and turned it upside down to look like balloons.

Either colour them as I have done or use coloured card to make things easier

I have added hand drawn strings to two of them and the small bows to each string. But to the third one I have used a stamped sentiment as the string.

The inked clouds in the background have tiny birds flying in the sky and I added a little shading to the embellishments cut from the dies and added to each balloon.

This would be a good card for a fun type of man in your life and also one that children would love too. Add their age to the balloons and let them fly high in the sky

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Octagon Box

Hi Everybody,

This is the Octagon Box which is now back in stock at Craft Stash.

It will help you to make some beautiful boxes for Christmas and the rest of the year too.

Decorate them how you wish for whatever season or recipient you have made them for .

And don't forget the Tall Version of this box that I created in a video for you some time ago, that can hold lots of things for your gifts ... especially chocolate !!

The latest Magical Christmas Collection is really exciting and I will be bringing that to Hochanda in the not too distant future.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Bow Birthday Card

Hi Everybody,

We had a lovely day yesterday celebrating two birthdays within my family.  We went out to a restaurant for a Sunday lunch and I am always happy with a roast beef dinner Mmmmm !!

I made a really special card for my granddaughter Ashleigh and if you wanted to make the same kind of card you can, and although it looks intricate it is really quite easy to put together. 

I bought the template for the design online.

It is not expensive and I don't think you will be disappointed with your make either.

Once you have the template you can use it over and over again but please don't share it with any one else.  Point them in the direction to buy their own.

Wouldn't it make a beautiful Wedding card ??

It would certainly be one to treasure for a long time.

I have asked Sandra's permission to video the making of this card so it will be coming to the blog pages in the not too distant future

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card & Gift Winner

Hi Everybody,

I am so sorry for my absence his week but I have been really busy and left myself no time to blog.

But hopefully things will settle down a little more and I can get back to writing on a regular basis.

I have a lot to do today also but this is more on the pleasure side. 

My grandson's 32nd birthday is today and my granddaughter's 30th birthday is tomorrow and we are going out later to celebrate both of them  Happy Birthday to Jay and Ashleigh. Once I have given Ashleigh her card for her special 30th Birthday I will add some photos to show you what it looks like.

On to the draw for the magazine and gift from Friday and the winner today is ...

Marjorie Bates

would you email me your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and I will post them as soon as I can.

I hope you enjoy the magazine and the stamps as they are really lovely and will make some wonderful cards. Please let me know that you have them safely with you.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Winter Wonderland from Creative Stamping 62

Hi Everybody,

There are two gifts in the pack this week as well as the magazine so a bumper gift for someone to receive

The stamps set is a large A4 with several Christmas sentiment on it , but it can be used all year round with a Birthday greeting on there too.

I am also including the Birch Trees embossing folder for some lovely backgrounds to your designs.
Winter Wonderland from Creative Stamping 62

This is a good stamp set to practise your masking techniques with and build up some lovely winter scenes for your cards this year.

So if you would like this double gift in your own collection then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME please. From those comments one will be chosen as the winner

Be sure to come back over the weekend to see if it is your name shown . I also add the winners names to a special page and the link is in the side bar to your left.

More tomorrow ..

Hugs xx

Card & Gift Winner

Hi Everybody,

Thank you for joining me on Craft Stash Facebook Live and YouTube yesterday and if you won one of the five prizes I hope you will enjoy them. I also introduced my new Christmas Collection and I am so pleased with these new items. 

There are some lovely big dies in there and they will make fantastic cards for all year round.

And now here we are again with another weekend and I have all sorts planned to keep me busy for the next few days. And the weather is looking kind this morning so I hope it stays this way.

The draw for the winner has been done and the name this week is ...

Pippa Price

would you email me your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the gift will be on it's way to you.

I am sorry there is no card to go with this weeks gift but the magazine should keep you occupied for some time. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Tonic Peace Dove

Hi Everybody,

Back to a Christmas theme for this weeks give away and have the Tonic Peace Dove in this pack.

Sadly I have no cards to go with the next few "Give Aways" but that doesn't stop you enjoying the gift.

I will be giving away the magazine though so that should keep you busy for a while.

The video with this gift is Tonic Peace Dove and I have shown you several ways in which I have used it. Would you like this die in your collection ? Then all you have to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post, with your FULL NAME please.

You will need to come back and check if it is your name that is shown as the winner and I will be adding it to a blog post over the weekend.  Then you will have 72 hours in which to claim it.

Good Luck everybody.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Die Cutting Essentials 57- Memory Box Die Set

Hi Everybody,

I am adding a video today to tell you about this months edition of Die Cutting Essentials 57

The exclusive gift with the magazine is this lovely five piece die set from Memory Box

In the video I have shown you what all the individual dies will cut and there are lots of ways that they can be used.

The best thing to do is cut all the pieces out, from any new die that you get, and then play to see what looks good with what. Which die cut can be cut to give you another look ... what happens if you turn one round or even upside down.

There are many many ideas waiting for you to find them in all die cuts and at the end of the day it is only card and paper you are playing with. So enjoy the process and see what you can come up with.

Just to let you know that I will be on Craft Stash Facebook Live page this coming Friday at 1 pm so I hope you will pop along to visit and maybe leave a comment for me there too. 

I have some exciting new dies to share with you

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby - how she has grown ...

Hi Everyone,

It's me Ruby and I haven't been to talk to you all for a little while but a lot has happened in my life in the past year. 

I was born on the 17th August 2016 and this is me at nine weeks old ... now you must admit that I am rather cute and my dad decided to call me Ruby.

I have been so happy here and grown up into a really rather special dog. Well my mum tells me that I am.

I have a very special friend too called Dougal and he is only two weeks older than me and he is a Cockapoo.

We love playing together and we spend al lot of time with each other. He is bigger than me BUT I am the boss and he always lets me win whatever we do. 

Well nearly always !!

This is me in my new jacket getting ready to go for my first walk, after having all my injections. 

I was only 12 weeks old here and so excited to be going out into the big wide world.

There are a lot of scary things out there, but my mum and dad took care of me and I really enjoyed myself.

Now as I am older I love going for walks. and I sit and stare at my mum to make her feel guilty, so that she takes me out 

This is Dougal and me all dressed up and ready for our very first Christmas. I have wings on but you cant' see them in this photo.

Then after that came our fist birthday and we had doggy cake between us.It was lovely and we ate it all. 

I love Dougal and he is such good fun to be with whenever we go out. 

And each week we both go to Doggy Day Care and we love our "Aunty"  Sally who takes care of us while our mums are working.

Now this is me at One Year Old and haven't I grown up into a beautiful puppy.

This is the look I give my mum that makes her feel guilty to take me out. It never fails and she always gives in ... even if it's raining a little.

I haven't seen snow yet but I would like to, and then I can run around and roll in it and see how it feels.

So maybe this winter we will get a little bit and then I can tell you how it feels to me. 

This is Dougal and I at two years old. Isn't he such a handsome boy

We both go to the groomers regularly to have a bath and a haircut that keep us neat and tidy 

I like having a bath and I love going swimming and will take that chance whenever I can.

And that brings us up to present day, Here I am just turned three years old on the 17th August and I look so pretty.

I have lots of fun with my family and Dougal and I went on the walk up Snowdon with them all last weekend.

Today I am going for my first lesson at agility training, and that will be another adventure that I can share with you later.

My mum will have to run around with me as I am taught what to do. But when I went for trial run it was lovely and I enjoyed it very much.

I was tired and hungry when we had finished but I can't wait to go again

I will be back to tell you all about it 

See you soon

Love Ruby xxx

Card & Gift Winner

Hi Everybody,

This is a more relaxing way to spend a Saturday than last week climbing up Snowdon and it has taken me the best part of the week before my calf muscles stopped hurting. But everybody has felt the same way and they are all much younger than me ... so it's not just because I am a fossil !!

So the draw for yesterdays gift has been done and one name chosen as the winner and that is 

Maria  Alder

so if you could email me please with your postal address to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

I can send the gift to you.

I hope you will enjoy playing with it and please let me know when you have the gift safe and sound.

My apologies about the video not working properly. It was my fault entirely by not adding the link correctly but it is now working as it should if you would like to go and view it.

  Festive Foliage 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Festive Foliage

Hi Everybody,

Here we are again with another Friday Freebie and this one was done in a video only a few weeks ago

It is the Festive Foliage from Simply Made Crafts and created by Helen Griffin.

It will add some lovely adornments to your cards.

The video Festive Foliage will show you how I made the featured card and this card will be given away with the gift.

So if this is a gift that you would like to have then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post. Please use your FULL NAME and be sure to come back and check if it is your name that is shown in the blog post over the weekend. 

From those comments one name will be chosen as the winner and you will have 72 hours to notify me of your full address. 

Please can I also add that you leave your post post code and country. You may know where your town is but the post man doesn't so please add it to be sure of getting your prize.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Papercraft Society Full Reveal ...

Hi Everybody,

Craft Stash have decided to put out a video to tell you all what is in the Papercraft Society Box, and as you may already know I am the first designer to be featured in this monthly kit.

Janette has done a fantastic job showing it to you and if you ordered your subscription then I hope you wont be too upset that it is being shown early. But we have had so many enquiries about what is inside that the video was done. Some people you see don't like surprises !!

Now if you do like surprises then you don't have to view this so either way the choice is yours .... but whatever you decide I don't think you will be disappointed 

Have fun with your Papercraft Society Box when it arrives and don't forget to show us what you have done with it. And most of all thank you for buying it without knowing what was in it or who was the designer of the kit in the first place

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

A5 Rectangular Nesting Set

Hi Everybody,

These are just some of the boxes that you can create from the 14 piece Rectangular Nesting Set.

They are part of my new collection of A5 dies and they are available at Craft Stash

In the video I have tried to show the different ways that this set can be used to create layers and frames for all your projects.

But you can also make some pretty boxes complete with lids which are especially useful with Christmas on the way.

  A5 Rectangular Nested Set   

The video will show you how I got all three of these boxes from the one set of dies and they are perfect for adding any kind of gift too.

The smaller dies can make personalised messages, verses or names to add to the box and you can decorate them however you would like to suit your recipient

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card & Gift Winner

Hi Everybody,

After a really lovely weekend I am back at home and as soon as I can get the photos off my phone I will share them with you. I am sad to say that I didn't make it to the summit. I got just over half way and then I had to admit defeat. It was really tough going and my ankles and back where so sore. 

But it was a lovely day and the weather was very kind to us.

But now that I am back at home I have added all the comments to the page and a winner has now been selected to be the new owner of the Piece by Piece Jigsaw Die

The winner is ...

Connie Griffin

would you email me your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the gift will be in the post to you

Please let me know that you have it safely and I hope you have fun with it

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Piece by Piece

Hi Everybody,

Today's gift is this fun little Jig Saw Die Set called Piece by Piece.  It's not a big jigsaw but it is cute to add to your cards.

I store mine on a small piece of magnetic sheet so that I don't lose any of the pieces that are in the set.

The video Piece by Piece will show you some of the fun ways that I have used it to make bright and cheerful cards 

If you would like to have this set then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post with your FULL NAME please.

One name will be chosen from those comments so be sure to come back and check

Please Note

If you have followed my blog for some time then you will know that my husband Griff was a very proud Welshman and one of the things that he wanted to do this summer was walk up Snowdon with Ruby our Cocker Spaniel

Sadly he died last November but this weekend, as a family we are all going to Wales to attempt that walk in his memory. There will be the combined families and five dogs so wish us luck. 

The draw won't  be done now until next week and I won't be contactable for a few days. No mobile phone connection and no WiFi. Please don't worry if your comments are not showing as I cannot moderate them and add them. 

But they will be done fully before the draw is done ... giving you a little extra time to enter if you wanted this gift and giving everybody a fair chance 

 PLEASE DO NOT add your comment more than once just because it hasn't shown up

Hugs xx

Papercraft Society 3-D Projects

Hi Everybody,

This monthly box subscription will bring you all kinds of ideas that you may like to try and in this the first one you will find these lovely 3-D Projects inside the magazine. Each project ... and there are 15 of them, will take you step by step on how to re-create them for yourself

I hope you will enjoy making things for Christmas and beyond with the items that you will find inside. And don't forget that this is the first one next month you will have another designer to collect.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Papercraft Society Sneaky Peak ...

Hi Everybody,

This new Papercraft Society box needs to be a surprise for those who have subscribed and so I can't tell you or show you the exact contents. But I can give you a sneaky peak as long as you don't tell anybody else !!

Here is a little look at a card created with some of the stamps that are on the sheet and there are many more for you to play with. There are dies and papers to help you even more and some lovely foiled sentiments too.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Griffs Birthday

Hi Everybody,

Today is a very sad one for me as this would have been Griffs 72 birthday. 

And the first one we have had since he died last November

This is the wonderful and funny gentleman that I was married to,  with Ruby,  the Cocker Spaniel that he adored. 

He gave her the name and he loved her so much.

This photograph was taken last year when we went on holiday with Vickie and of course both dogs.

Ruby went swimming in this lake and Griff went "Water Skiing" on a stone at the side of water.

 It was often hard to get photos of Griff as he was the one that did all the pictures and videos wherever we went.

Here he is, with Ruby waiting patiently, as he cut up a big bone into smaller pieces for her to gnaw on. And this one kept her busy for hours.

Griff took her walking every morning at 9.45am, while I got some work done, and she looked for him for days when he was no longer there.

How can you explain to a little dog that her human is not coming back anymore.

 Now she follows me everywhere making sure that I don't leave her as well, and she has been a blessing to me.

So tonight Griffs daughters and my daughters with their husbands & partners, grand children and myself are all going out for a meal to celebrate his birthday.

And have a drink to remember the kind and generous person that he was and who never knew how to say "No" to anybody 

We ALL love you and miss you very much Griff

Hugs xx

Papercraft Society Papers

Hi Everybody,

This week is sharing with you what you can expect from the new monthly subscription box from the Papercraft Society. And at the risk of giving it all away I will be sharing so many sneaky peaks yu will get most of the information.

 And of course from me you can expect nothing less than flowers and pearls to decorate your creation with.. The papers and gold foiled toppers are lovely additions too and they are suitable for other occasions and not just Christmas.

So I hope you will take a look and see if it is for you, and next month another designer will be along to share their ideas with you.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx