Amy Jo's Birthday Blog Hop

Welcome to Amy Jo's Birthday Bash and Blog Hop! We are so excited you could join us today to help celebrate Amy's birthday!

This is a very special unique hop and we don't have to just stick with one particular subject or theme, and we can use any of Amys' favorite things to create a card or project with that in mind.

Some examples of Amy's favorite things are the colors black, white, and hot pink, along with anything Alice in Wonderland.  Here is my card (inspired by Sue Wilson) to wish a Happy Birthday Amy Jo

If you arrived here from   Anita   then you are in the right place!

If you just happened upon my blog today, please start at the beginning with Amy Jo at Scrapping, Card Making and Living with Fibro  because you don't want to miss out on the fabulous prizes that are being sponsored!

This is a two-day hop,  however, we are only making one project. That should give you two full days to go through the entire hop and leave comments and become followers of each blog, if you are not already, to be entered to win some of our sponsored prizes!

Some of the blogs may be offering blog candy as well so this is a hop you're going to want to finish.

I am offering three sets of clear stamps to followers of my Blog so to be in with a chance to win join the gang and  leave me a comment.   The winner will be chosen at random on the 1st March.

Thank you so much for joining us and helping us celebrate along with Amy! Your next stop is the talented Naomi and I hope you are enjoying the hop.


Hugs Christina xx

Watercolouring ...

Watercolouring with Distress Inks was a series of videos I made in response to questions on how to make them work for you, as most of us have some of these ink pads in our "stash"  

I made them in three parts to cover each of the different apects such as    Skin, hair and clothes   and this link will take you to the first part.    You can access the other links from that page.

The stamp used is Day Dream Believer from the SWALK collection from Crafters Companion and the flowers are from  Wild Orchid Crafts

The whole process of water colouring with Distress Inks is so relaxing and once you get into it you will enjoy it.

I used a good water colour card from the same company, it was not expensive... and it will go through my printer too so I can work on digital images.



This image has the hair accentuated a little more and I prefer this project more. But it makes up into a very pretty card and would suit any occasion for a girl of any age.

Give it a try and don't forget to add your photos to the websites Gallery   page for us all to share in.

Hugs Christina xx

My First Challenge ...

The world is full of firsts and new things to do.  This was my first time at Blogging and  it was  a first when I decided to start my Website  and that is almost three yeras old now.

So the other day I tried my first Blog Hop, and this is the first card I have entered into a Blog Challenge. 

The challenge is with   Just Us Girls Challenge Blogspot  and it is challenge  #125  to create a project that features flowers, ribbons and buttons. 

So how close to the title of my Blog is that ....so I just had to try it didn't I????

I have entered a card and it is another one of the  Tag Cards  featured a few days ago.  The green one on that page also has the same ingredients but this one is in my favorite colours pink, pink, pink!!

And it suits my style of cardmaking with all the "Bling" it can take

The flowers on this card are from  Wild Orchid Crafts  The ribbon is Oraganza and the button is added to the bow with Bakers Twine.

 The papers are all from my "Stash" as is the doily in the background and of course the Hatpin sneaked it's way in to complete the look .

So wish me luck on my first trip into challenges.

Hugs Christina xx

Another Felt Flower ...

I am really enjoying making these felt flowers and I think they make the card just that little bit different.

I have today made a video to feature another card made with the Spellbinders and it includes these flowers as part of the title. It should be available tomorrow so I hope you will give it a viewing.

The background to this card is made using the Impressabilites onto some Parchment ... and the effect was very subtle. I  lightly ran over it with some distress inks and then attached it to the card base with some small white brads.

The flowers and leaves are felt and I used the Spiral Blossom 1 die and the Foliage leaf set.  The ribbon is a pale blue gingham and I havae used a pearl buckle as added decoration to the top.

The butterflies are from another Spellbinder and I have dotted Cosmic Shimmer Pearl PVA onto the body line of each one.

Now I know it's a bit early for butterflies ... but in my world there are always beautiful butterflies.

Hugs Christina  xx

Decorative Hatpins

Adding embellishments to my cards is one of the things that I really enjoy doing and I openly admit to being a "More is More" kind of cardmaker.  I just love all the pretty things that go to making a truly feminine card .... not much good with male cards!!

Yesterday I covered felt flowers created with Spellbinders and today I would like to show you some beautiful Hatpins.

These are always a luxury touch and they are not hard to do.  There is a video on the website about   Decorating Hatpins

The Hatpins that I use are 3" long and come complete with end protectors as a safety feature ... and that way the recipient cannot hurt herself on the sharp point.

I buy mine from the Sparkles Group and they are offering you a  5% discount  on your purchases.

Make your choice ... and at the checkout add the code CGDIS5 and the discount will be automatically applied. 

You will find the pins in gold and silver and in different lengths in "Specialist Findings"

Add the pins to the card ... threaded through ribbons or flowers ... but don't forget to tell the recipient that the pins can be removed and used as a lapel pin for her jacket. 

Maybe another idea for Mothers Days eh??

Hugs Christina xx