Apologies ...

Hi Everybody,

Sorry for my absence this week but I have been busy kitten playing. And she is a lot of fun.

Even Ruby is trying to play with her now and she hasn't been here a week yet.

 It's so lovely to watch them getting to know one another and I really hope they will be friends.

So on to todays card ... this is created with the Altenew Craft Your Life Kit for May 22 and it is called Silk Art 

I have coloured these flowers with just the Layered stencil and I love the delicate look  The sentiment is also from the same kit and there are quite a few to choose from.

The finished card is A2 and the corners have been rounded with a punch. I have done several cards with this set and I will show them to your over the coming days.

On Saturday I am going to have my Cataract done and because in the past I have had Laser eye treatment they will do one eye at a time. So the right eye is being done first and the left in a couple of months time. 

Thank you for all the reassurance about the coming surgery from ladies who have already had this treatment. It is very welcoming and puts me at ease a lot. 

More tomorrow ...

Hug xx

Ruby Update

Hi Everybody,

It's me Ruby and I am really well and going out into the sunshine later with my mum for a lovely walk. Maybe we will go to the beach or even the woods. I love sniffing about in the woods and looking for squirrels. 

Today I wanted to introduce you to my new sister and this is Ella.  She is a tortoiseshell kitten and she is eight weeks old.

She is very tiny, not quite as big as my head,  but she is weaned and house trained. 

I have tried to steal her food several times but my mum won't let me.

Ella is a bit strange to me and I am not ready to play with her yet. But I have had a good sniff of her and she smells ok so I suppose I will get used to her. 

I must admit though that she is nearly as pretty as me .... nearly !!

I barked at her when she first came and she spit at me and then ran away. She may be tiny but I am frightened of her to tell the truth.

My mum told me to be quiet and not to frighten her. So when I am nice to her I get a treat for being a good girl. I suppose being nice to her will be lovely in the long run.

I will let you know how we get along and my mum is hoping that we will be good friends as we get used to each other.

See you soon

Love Ruby XX

 

Winner

Hi Everybody,

What a beautiful day it is here today and Ruby and I will be out walking later.  I went to the Eye Clinic on Friday and the surgeon is gong to do my cataracts later this month. He is planning on doing both eyes at the same time and has told me I will be out of action for roughly two weeks until my blurred vision clears.

I am apprehensive about it all but excited at the same time and it will be good to be able to see things close up again. At present it is a real struggle to use the computer or make cards .... but not for much longer !!

The draw for the lovely Tropical Frame has been done and the name this week is 

Ali Patchett

would you email me your postal address please to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and it will be on its way  to your straight away.

Please let me know that you have it safely and I really hope you enjoy playing with it all.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Tropical Frame

Hi Everybody,

Today I have a really pretty set called Tropical Frame on offer, and this is an eight piece die set that will make lovely flowers for your designs.

You can add the frame also and dress the flowers around the edge,  but you will find lots of ideas inside the magazine Die Cutting Essentials that also comes with it.

There is also the opportunity for you to down load some papers that will match the cards, and it will tell you how to do that in the magazine.

So if you would like this set to join your collections than all you have to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post with your FULL NAME

One comment will be chosen as the winner and added to a blog post over the weekend. You don't need to have a blog or be in the UK to enter, and I am happy to send the package to you wherever you are.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Flower Cards & Brushos

 Hi Everybody,

I know that not everybody likes to colour in their images and so this is a really easy option to get bright and vibrant colours in your designs ... especially your flowers.

I have used the Brusho Crystals that I have had for years, and such a little amount is needed to get a beautiful look, that they are going to last me for many more years yet.

In the video I share how to get the look for these flowers and leaves and I am not disappointed in any of the cards I made.

The one to the right is using flowers of a red and purple colour scheme and they are added to an embossed background

The card to the left is a DL size and uses the other colour scheme of orange and yellow 

Again added to an embossed panel for the background as this makes such a difference.

I have added some of the flowers on foam pads to give depth and dotted it with sequins.

You can make lots for flowers and leaves and save for another project those that you don't use. 

I have loads left over and I will use them at a a later date and probably mixed in with other flowers too.

The dies are the Perfect Christmas Rose and the matching stamps but these flowers can be used all year round as you can see.  

This last card uses both colour ways together

And so there are lots of ways to mix and match your flowers and each one will give you a different look.

I hope you enjoy the video

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Layered Florals & Creative Cuts

Hi Everybody,

I am enjoying playing with these lovely dies from Made To Surprise.

They are the Creative Cuts from Sam Calcott and the die that I have used as a border is called the Circles and Tall Arrows Set.

I have teamed it with my Layered Florals Die & Stamp Set which has been water coloured, and extra leaves from the Rose Flourish Die Set added to the display.

The Arrows Die has been used to create the border and I have added that at an angle to the card front, with the flowers arranged around it. 

The whole lot has been splattered lightly and I am really happy with this slimline card result.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Creative Cuts

Hi Everybody,

Today I am using dies from Creative Cuts by Made to Surprise and teaming it with the Butterfly Trails Die and Stamp set from Card Making Magic.

Sam has some wonderful videos on her Blog to show you how she has used these fabulous Creative Cuts die sets,  but for mine I have used the Square set in a different way.

I have made mine into a central panel from white card and backed it onto some blue. 

Then as the squares are tucked under, the bottom colour will show through. These dies are slim enough to go through any of the smaller die cutting machines 

I added some splatters to this card panel and then stamped, die cut and coloured my butterflies to coordinate with the rest of the design. I added them with foam pads to give height

A very quick and easy card to make but with quite an impact using the Creative Cuts panel.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Winner

Hi Everybody,

I hope you are enjoying the Jubilee weekend. I watched the Party at the Palace last night and what a fantastic show that was. The artists, the settings, the light show and the atmosphere. But the Queen herself stole the show having tea with Paddington Bear.

He is well known for having his marmalade sandwiches in his hat ... but I bet you didn't know that the Queen keeps hers in her handbag ... for later. What a star she is 

Now for the winner of that fabulous Birdcage Collection that is on offer this week. 
The draw has ben done and the name is ....

Jacqueline Koendering

Please can you email me your postal address to
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will get the pack in the post to you straight away.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Special Set

Hi Everybody,

I hope you are enjoying this long Bank Holiday here in the UK and that the weather is being kind to you.

Have you got something planned or are you just chilling and taking advantage of the time off work.

I have a really special offering this week to celebrate the Queens anniversary. I can remember the actual coronation in 1953 too so that shows how old I am ...

So for today I have the set from the Birdcage Collections which is Dies, stamps and the Birdcage. 

It is a lovely large set and the birdcage can be decorated with the birds that are in the dies or flowers, stamped or paper ones as you like. The Birdcage makes a beautiful shaped wedding card when dressed with flowers.

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

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

I am happy to send this wherever you live, even if you have won before.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Little Pink Cards

Hi Everybody,

Both of todays cards are created in my favourite colour which is pink and both cards are A6 in size.

They are both using flower stamps that are from  a really old stamp set from the original Christina Collection.

This one has a background of stripes from an Altenew kit and the silver die cut is from another really old Spellbinders die that is no longer available. 

The For You sentiment that I have used on both cards is another I have had for years and I don't remember where that is from.

The background to this card is embossed in an old Spellbinders folder and the leaves are a mix from several sets and used as fillers for the flowers.

I am trying to use things that I have had for a long time and make them work for me again as I make my cards.

To keep buying new stuff instead of using what we already have is such an expense and one I can't keep up with.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Don't Like This .....

Hi Everybody,

Here is a card that I made using an Altenew stamp and I water coloured the flowers and I liked the look of them once they were done.

 I added them to a splattered background and I thought it would be different to add some black penned lines to the background, just to see what that would look like.

But once it was done I thought "What have I done "

I didn't like this look at all but I wasn't about to start over again and so out came the trusty scissors and I set about fussy cutting the image out.

It wasn't so much the flowers, but it was definitely the rest of the card that I didn't take too but once it was cut out I had to think of something else to add it to

The answer was a 6x6 plain white card with a slightly smaller Simply Dots embossed panel.

I raised the flowers up with foam tape and I liked this card much better. 

Now the moral to this story is that there is always something you can do to fix the mistakes that happen, especially of you don't like the end result.

And if this hadn't worked the whole lot would have gone in the bin so I was quite pleased with myself

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner

Hi Everybody,

The weather is gorgeous here today and this afternoon I am getting dressed up to go to a wedding. Ruby will be staying overnight with her doggy day care lady Sally along with Dougal, and so Sally will have her hands full especially with her own two dogs as well.  We will pick our dogs up tomorrow and bring them home.

So in the meantime the draw has been done and the name this week for that lovely Secret Garden Kit is

Margaret Wilkie

Please can you email me your postal address to
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will get the pack in the post to your straight away.

Please let me know that you have it safely and I hope you will enjoy playing with it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Secret Garden

Hi Everybody,

Today I have a really large kit to give away and this is the Secret Garden from Card Making Magic.

There are 108 pieces in this kit and there are many styles of card that you can create.

Add in any of your own embellishments to make it different and create it in any size that you prefer.

There are several large words in the kit that you can use any way you like to decorate your designs, either on the inside or the outside as I have done here. 

The card  on on the left is a DL card used sideways.

This card is an Easel Style and you will find many more ideas, from myself and the Design Team,  inside the pages of
 Papercraft Essentials magazine
that comes with the kit.

So if you would like this Secret Garden 108 piece kit 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 and check over the weekend if it is your name that is shown as the winner.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Altenew Cards

 Hi Everybody,

I have been enjoying playing with the water colours and so I thought I would combine these with the Altenew kits that I have collected over the past year.

This one was the one for February this year and it is Never Stop Dreaming. I love that the dies are so big and will cut out the image to cover the whole front of a card.

The water colours I have used are the Arteza 36 half pan set and I have used Arteza water colour card too.

he finished card is an A6 size and so will fit into a standard sized envelope. The splatters on the background are created with a fine brush and I have done them in black and then gold.

This card is created with this months kit and this is named Silk Art for May 22

I have water coloured and splattered the background but the flowers have been done using the layering stencil in the kit and ink blending.

Using the stencils is a really easy way to get the look without the fuss of colouring your self.

The Altenew Project Life kits are good value as you get the stamps, dies, embossing folder and the stencils. 

So you can play around and see what your favourite way to use them is and experiment in the process.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Easy Water Coloured Flowers

Hi Everybody,

Over the past few days I have shown you some of the cards that I have made using the Layered Florals die and stamp set.

It was a set that was part of the original collection and many many people bought it. 

But like everything else as new things come onto the market the older stuff gets pushed to the back and often forgotten about.

 

So it was time to revisit the set and for this video I have shown you a really easy way to water colour the flowers ... even if you think you can't paint.

What could be easier then throwing a bit of paint around some card and seeing what you get ??? 

These are my offerings and I am not unhappy with any of them, though I must admit that this blue one is my favourite.

So I hope you enjoy the video and maybe you will be trying this easy technique for yourself.

Grab a cuppa and a biscuit or three and relax as you watch the video.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Perfect Rose Stencil

Hi Everybody,

Today I have brought out an older stencil to use as my background for this card. I have still used one of the Layered Florals and I have teamed it again with the Rose Flourish leaves.

The card is an A6 size and I have used blending brushes and Distress Inks to colour the stencil onto a separate panel and then added it to my card base.

The flowers and leaves have been added with with foam tape to give some height and the little balk hearts have been hand drawn with a fine liner pen. 

A quick and easy way to produce a card with a little character and you can add any sentiment that you need to this card.

I will definitely be making more use of the Layered Florals on my designs in the future.

And this is another using the same items but also the Simply Dots embossing folder as a Letterpress effect.

The large "Friend" is from one of the Altenew kits that I have and again I have used the black fine liner pen to outline the word.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Layered Florals

Hi Everybody,

I promised my self to start using older dies and stamps that I have in my "stash"  and that is particularly the case with my own collections .

 So for these cards I have used the Layered Florals die and stamps that I brought out in the original Christina Collection that started this whole adventure

I have mixed the dies with an older embossing folder and some leaves from the Rose Flurries die set and turned them into this slimline card.

I water coloured the stamped images and used the matching dies to cut them out and then added them to my card with foam pads to give some depth.

For this one I used the A2 size and added these flowers to an embossed panel and then hand drew a border around the edge of the panel with a fine liner pen.

The leaves have been tucked in behind the flowers and the finished result is a very petty card

Altogether a good play time and I am really happy with all the cards I made. These are just two of them.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner

 Hi Everybody,

Late start today but still got lots done and bathed Ruby in the process. She is now a nice clean, shiny girl again and she smells lovely too. She doesn't mind being bathed and she loves going under the hairdryer while I blow the warm air over her. Then once I say "OK you can go now" she runs around like a crazy dog going up and down the stairs.

But the draw has now been done for yesterdays offering and the name this week is 

Sue Pollock

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

I hope you will enjoy playing with it and please be sure to let me know that you have it safely.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Beautiful Bouquets

Hi Everybody,

Todays offering is from Simply Cards & Papercraft and it is a lovely stamp set that will give you some lovely flowers.

Colour them with your favourite medium for a beautiful display and add one of the sentiments from the stamp set to complete the look.

There is also a plastic template with the set that you can use to create Mason Jars to add your flowers too. 

This template will create a card that will stand alone or can be added to the front of an ordinary card base. But inside the pages of the magazine you are sure to find lots of ideas on what to do with the complete set.

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

From those comments one name will be chosen and announced in a blog post over the weekend so be sure to come back and see if it is you

I am happy to send this to you wherever you live but you will need to add your full name to enter.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

 

Spiral Rose Maker

 Hi Everybody,   

Todays cards is using the Card Making Magic Spiral Rose Die Set and for this I have used some flower paper that is not too thick 

The background has been embossed in the Perfect Rose folder and I have added a gold frame to the top.

The fame has been cut several times in white and layered together with the gold layer on the top. This creates a lovely enhancement for the flowers.

Any sentiment could be added to this design and you could use a butterfly from any die set that you have in your own collections.

The card size is  5x7 and this is my favourite size to make as I can get lots onto the front or inside of my card and not feel restricted by space. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Pretty Card

Hi Everybody,

Well today it is pouring down and it is such a change from the weekend. The only butterflies around today are on this card and this is one I made some time ago using the Varied Butterfly Border Die

I added it to an A2 sized card and used lots of layers to build up the design, and I cut some of the butterflies from the border strip to add extras to the card front.

The coloured strip is created with ink blending and the white butterflies are added to the top. 

It makes a pretty card for any occasion and you can alter the sentiment to suit your recipient.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Winner

Hi Everybody,

It is a beautiful day here and Ruby and I have had a walk to the beach already. We went early as it is supposed to be hotter later and not good to take a dog out in the heat. But it was lovely down there and still cool this morning. We will go out again later this afternoon when it cools down again.

In the meantime the draw has been done and the name this week is 

Stacey Kowbel 

please can yo email me your postal address to
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will get it sent off to you straight away.

Please let me know that you have it safely and I hope you enjoy playing with it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Peach Perfection

 Hi Everybody,

This matching die and stamp set is called Peach Perfection and it is a nine piece stamp set and two dies that will make really lovely fruity cards for you.

Colour the stamped images in your favourite medium and there is the opportunity for you to down loads some bright and colourful papers to go with the set.

There will be lots of ideas and inspiration inside the pages of Simply Cards & Papercraft for you to try out using this set as well as other projects you may like to try.

If you would like this set to join your collection then all you need to do is leave me a comment t the end of this post with your FULLNAME and one name will be chosen as the winner.

You will need to come back over the weekend to see if it is your name that is shown and it doesn't matter if you have won before you are still welcome to enter.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Butterfly Gatefold Card

 Hi Everybody,

This very pretty card is created with the 5x7 Butterfly Trails die set and shows you yet another way that you can create the gatefold design for your cards.

I have combined mine with some lovely paper from the Daisy Mae paper pack and I am very happy with the finished look.

The "Bling" that I have added to the bodyline is some that I have had for years and it is in my stash just waiting to be used.

These butterflies are the perfect opportunity 

Gatefold cards always look more complicated than they are and so I hope this doesn't put you off if you are new to card making, 

The video will show you what to do to make this style of gatefold and there is another way in another video that is in my YouTube Playlist for Butterfly Trails 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Lovely in Lace

Hi Everybody,

Today I am sharing a card created from a collection that was released six months ago and is the
Lovely In Lace Collection

I also did a video for Craft Stash using this die set and so I am including that here also

It is a lovely collection that allows you to thread ribbon through the die sets for an added touch to your designs.

There are four sets in the collection for you to choose from and I hope you enjoy the video

This card uses one of the flowers dies and it is really pretty, but there are lots of other things that can be done with these dies.

Once you start to play and the old imagination gets to work I am sure that you will come up with lots for your self. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Charity Shop Cards

H Everybody,

I have been making cards to refill my Charity box and once it is full it will go to the RSPCA which is near where I live. 

I send them all my cards so that they can sell them to raise money and they are always very happy to receive them.

I made twelve altogether and these are some of them.

They have different techniques on them and I have also used up some of my left over die cuts to fill them up. 

For this card I have used an ink smooshed background and both die cuts are rom Tonic

The sentiment on this card is from my own range and the flowers are cut from what was a free gift with a magazine.

On this inked background I have added some script with a Spellbinders stamp that I have had for years. 

This is always a good way to use up scraps and it benefits the charity shop at the same time ....

 win win !!

And I always feel better once I have taken them to the shop.

For this card I have used the left over piece of script background from the previous card and added this at an angle.

The flowers are from a really old Altenew stamp set that I have also had for years and they look really delicate on this card.

Another thing I have decided to challenge myself to, and that is to use up older stamps, dies, stencils and embossing folders that have been forgotten for  long time.

Apart from bringing out new collections in my own range, I am not going to buy any new goodies for the rest of the year, though I must admit to having the weakness of subscribing to the Altenew Craft Your Life kit each month.

So all these cards will be added to cellophane bags, along with envelopes, and taken to my local charity shop and I now have over 100 in my box ready to go.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Winner

Hi Everybody,

Sorry for the delay in posting the winner but I have had a busy weekend Spring Cleaning. I have all sorts of gadgets to work with and this weekend I have had them all out and got stuck in. From shampooing carpets to window vaccing and everywhere is now sparkling,  and I am happy with it all.

In between all that I have taken Ruby out to the park and Witch Wood for her walks and I have done all my shopping  and washing too. So it's been non stop 

But at long last the draw has been done and the name this week is ....

Anne Owens 

Please would you email your postal address to
christina@card-making-magic.com
and I will get the pack in the post to you.

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

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Scents of Spring

 Hi Everybody,

Today I have a lovely stamp set with a little embossing folder plus a separate stamp set to create a perfume bottle.

They will come with the magazine Simply Cards & Papercraft which is always a good read and full of ideas for you to try.

There is a lovely floral bouquet for you to add to your designs and some milestone birth dates to add to the scent bottle

Once you start to play with this set I am sure that you will come up with lot of ideas for yourself and have fun in the process of creating your own designs.

So if you would like this set then all you have to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post with your full name and from those names one will be chosen at random as the winner.

Be sure to come back over the weekend to see if it is you.

I am happy to send the pack to you wherever you live and I know you are going to love it

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Shaped Cards

 Hi Everybody,

Todays is another video with the Butterfly Trials Collection. These are also shaped cards but these have the join at the top of the wings and not the side fold pones from last week.

They are also the ones that where created on the Facebook Live earlier this month and I have added this video here so that you don't miss out in case you missed that show.

I hope you enjoy the video with another way to use the dies 

There are still lots more ideas on how to get the most from this beautiful and versatile die set and if you purchased it then I hope you have enjoyed playing with it as much as I have

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx