Scheduled Video

Hi Everybody,

A little while I shared with you that I was going to be adding video tutorials to YouTube on a regular basis on the first and third Thursday of every month.

The first one  Caught In Crystal  was added on the 4th Feb without a hitch and had a really good response.

In the space of one week I gained a lot of new subscribers to my channel since I added the Channel Trailer so if you are one of them then Thank You so much,

The next one New Baby Cards goes live today and is in response to several request I had about how I made the Baby Cards

But in between those two I have added yet another one called  Ink Smooshing  and I have more scheduled to go out each Thursday

You will find it on my YT Channel  if you click the link above, along with all the other videos I have made.

And if you have not already subscribed to my channel then please feel free to join me.

I hope you will enjoy the video and that it can give you some ideas on what to make in your crafting time.

The lace, flowers, white leaves and the bows centre piece are all from Wild Orchid Crafts  and the tiny pink pearls are self adhesive from Want2Scrap

The ribbon is from  Mei Flower  and of course the dies are from Spellbinders

And just in case you have missed it there is a new page here on the blog  listing all the places where I buy the supplies that I use on my cards. It is titled "Pretty Things I Use" and the link to it is in the side bar to your right

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Wednesday Water Colour - Best Birthday

Hi Everybody,

These cute little images are  from a stamp set called  Best Birthday and I bought mine from  Clearly Besotted  and I really enjoyed making this card.

There is a matching die set  that can be bought separately from the same company

You will find the link to them permanently listed on the Pretty Things...  page in the side bar to the right.

They have a wonderful selection of stamps and dies and they are a UK company.

I have bought many sets from them and they have lovely sentiments too

So back to the card.... I stamped and masked off the images in the arrangement I wanted

I sat and water coloured them with the Gansai Tambi paints.

Then once it was dry I added in Glossy Accents to create the shine.

I added it to the card front with craft foam underneath as this helps to flatten the water colored card and then I rounded the corners of panel and card base.  The flowery strip down the left is Washi Tape just to finish the look.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Tuesday Tutorial - Gilded Gate Two

Hi Everybody,

Lots of us have the small Die D-Lites dies from Spellbinders  and after using them as intended we run out of ideas with what to do with them. Well here is a new idea that you may like to try and this uses the Gilded Gate Two

 So when is a gate not a gate ?? When it becomes the background to your card !!

Spellbinders Supplies:

• S3-202 Gilded Gate Two
• S6-005 5x7 Elegant Labels Four
• S6-001 5x7 Matting Basics A
• S6-002 5x7 Matting Basics B
• SCD-026 All You

Other Supplies:

• Glitter from Glitter Magic
• Ribbon and slider from Mei Flower 
• White and coloured card from Papermill Direct

Instructions:

With #7 from Matting Basics A cut two pieces and  create a hinged card  for the base

With #7 from Matting Basics B cut another in white and hand cut another in turquoise to layer in between the base card and the layer leaving a really fine border around the edges 

(Please remember that die #1 is always the smallest)

With #3 from Elegant Label Four cut one piece in turquoise and layer this with foam tape to the white layer from the previous step

With the Gilded  Gate cut two of them and spray them with adhesive and then sprinkle with glitter

(Alternatively cut from glitter card)

From the sentiment dies I have cut Love You in black card and craft foam and glued the two together for dimension

Add the two gates to mirror each other onto the layered turquoise and white card leaving a gap in the centre of the card ...

... and this gap will be covered by some satin ribbon and a looped bow with the sparkly buckle for an added touch. Layer these onto the hand cut turquoise card from an earlier step

Add the words as you would like them and then add all these layers to your base card

You will need to add a little extra glue to the back of the words to make them stick to the glitter

Dress with flowers if you wish

International Ambassadors Informal Blog Hop

Hi Everybody,

It's that time of the month when some of the International Ambassadors like to invite you to Blog Hop so that you can see what each of us has to offer. We all have varying styles and we love to share with you our love of Spellbinders and all things crafty.

This month  the theme is butterflies and flowers and each one of us will have created something a little different.

For my card I have used a number of different Spellbinders dies ... starting with the base I have used the 5x7 Matting Basics A.

Topped that with Detailed Scallops and then added in the Floral Ovals ... all raised up with foam sheets to give dimension

The darker oval is the Classic Scalloped Oval and the sentiment is stamped and embossed onto the Classic Ovals.

The butterflies in the top right corner are Les Papillions Two and the flowers and tiny butterflies in the left corner are from Marisa's Bouquet.

Now it's time for you to visit the others. They are waiting for you so please pop along and see what these lovely and super talented ladies have to offer ...

Linda Lucas  - Australia
Yvonne van de Grijp  -  Netherlands
Christine Emberson  - UK
Christina Griffiths - You are here

Thank you for taking part and please leave a comment if you stop by. If you are new to my blog then welcome and I hope you will visit again as there are many new things to come in the future.

Thank you for all your support and the lovely messages that you leave for me ... enjoy your hop

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Labour of Love ...

Hi Everybody,

All these Baby Shower cards have been made for my Grand-Daughter Robyn  who is expecting her first baby in May 

I am going to be a Great Gran again and we know that this new baby is a boy.  Four year old Isabella is my first Great Grand-Daughter so one of each ... so far !!

I made forty of them for her to invite her friends to her baby shower and I will add them all to envelopes and box them as my gift to her. 

I have used the Wild Thing  stamp set from Clearly Besotted and I also have the matching die that I used to cut them all out.  

I have used the same white card from Papermill Direct for my top fold base card and the Blue spotty card from AnnaMarie Design

The  New Baby stamp is also from Clearly Besotted and there is a matching die to buy separately

All the images have been stamped and water coloured and then die cut to fit the oval shapes

There is variation in the lace added around the layers and I have dotted the pearls  from Want2Scrap differently on the cards too.

I only used three of the animals from the set and to each of the giraffes I have added googly eyes.  The lion and tigers have Glossy Accent noses.

I have to say I am really happy with the way these cards turned out and it was a labour of love indeed as it took me two full days to get them done

And I am pleased that Robyn was delighted with them as well ... Job done!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx