I am so excited......

Hi Everybody,

As you know I have been busy adding colouring tutorials with the Spectrum Noir Pen system

The videos  have been  featured,  all of them,  on the Spectrum Noir Blog.

The link is to the latest addition to the series,  but the most exciting news was that it prompted this email.

I received  this last evening  from Jennie Black who is the director of education for Spectrum Noir and this is what she wrote .....

Christina,

I am totally thrilled with the video that is on the website today.  I would like to have you part of our teacher accreditation program, and approve you as Spectrum Noir Accredited Instructor,  as well as your Accredited Colorist Status. 

You have shown outstanding teaching skills, and we would be proud for you to hold this title.

In addition, I would be honored if you would allow me to show your video at our upcoming instructor meeting that we are holding next week.

I am thrilled with your work and so happy you are willing to share it with the world.

Jennie Black

Director of Education,  Spectrum Noir

Isn't that just the best compliment any body could get and I am absolutely thrilled.  I read it out to  Griff last night with laughter and tears at the same time.  I can't believe it ....I just wish I could be at their meeting but alas it is in America.   But what a buzz it gave me last night I can't tell you how I feel.

Now onto other things... if you are wanting to enter the draw for the Spellbinders then you have to go here ....Grand Decorative Circles   and add your name to the list .... but only once please as duplicates will be removed to keep it fair to everybody.
I believe that there have been some problems with adding your links .... well I have been onto InLinkz and they have told me how to sort it ...... so it's sorted.... I hope.

Please let me know if there are any further problems.... email me christina@card-making-magic.com ... and you don't need to have a Blog either, just leave the URL box blank

Another thing is that people think they can't enter if they live in Germany or America.  Please add your names ... you have as much chance as anybody else and I will be delighted to send you the dies wherever you live.

Coming Soon ...

My "Film Crew" is busy at the moment in the garage creating a wonderful surprise for all of you and it is something that I will be giving away to one lucky winner... and I know you will all want one when I do.  

Hugs xx

Don't forget to add our name to the Linky to win the   Grand Decorative Circles

Another "Freebie" for you...

Hi  Everybody,

This is the continuing saga of the wrong Spellbinders from Scrap-Mart.

They have given me an apology and offered me a voucher to spend in their shop.... and told me to keep the dies.

So because I now have two sets of the same dies I am offering you the chance this month to win the extra set.

The Grand Decorative Ovals   produce  quite a large oval ... which can be used to create the whole card shape or used to add matting and layering effects to your designs.

It is a set well worth having and the offer will run throughout January ... so if you would like to be the winner then add your name to the box.  The same rule applies as the last give away and that is no duplicate entries please.

If you add your name more than once it will be removed to keep it fair to everybody.  And if you are new to the Blog and wanted to become a follower then that would be very nice too.

Leave me a comment and let me know that you have entered or what you think of the blog itself.

If you don't have a blog it is not a problem  ... just leave the URL BOX BLANK  ... but please leave your name.

Good Luck 

Hugs

Another way to use ...

Hi Everybody...

I told you the story about the late Spellbinders I have only just got ...  and of course it is far too late to use the Holiday Tree on my Christmas cards.

Not to be outdone I have used it anyway.

I am always encouraging you to think outside the use for which a die is intended and this one is no different.

So I have cut it out .....

... and the turned it on it's side and added it to the corner of the card.

I then trimmed the edges to fit and glued it in place.

Click the photos .... it makes them bigger

I have added in a double layer of Gingham and some Organza ribbon and a  Gingham bow.

The tiny red rose in the centre is from
Wild Orchid Crafts.

My topper is a stamp from Crafters Companion
coloured with Spectrum Noir Pens.

Not bad eh ???

Hugs xx

Colouring with Green

Hi Everybody ...

Yesterday saw my "Film Crew" up his ladder filming the latest video in the Colour Class Series.

This fabulous Dragon is from the Just Inklined CD  "The Next Big Thing"

There are some really good images on the CD but if you click the link it will take you to their website where you can buy the  images individually.

For this tutorial I have used the six pen set and the Colour Class Greens will show you how I coloured him in.

The links to the others in the series are in the right hand column on the website,  and each will open a new window for you to view.

Once he is coloured you can decorate the card any way you wish.

The background on both cards is finished with Clouds ... and the short video will show you how to get the look for yourself.

I have added in  colour coordinated flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts

The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley

The branches are using the Spellbinders Cherry Blossom set.

And my beautiful "Bling" is from Want2Scrap

Hugs xx

Happy New Year ....

Welcome to 2013...

 

Hi Everybody

Here we are with the start of a brand new year and I hope that you all get what you want from life.  I wish you all happiness and health,  as they are the two most important things you can have.

 

I am starting the New Year with Thanks to all you lovely people who come onto my Blog pages and leave me comments on a regular basis. 
Do you know that the Blog will be ONE Year old in February? 

A big Thank You also to  the visitors to my website ... that means so much to me as the website is the thing that helped me to give up going out to work.
Card Making Magic  has been my baby now for almost four years and it just gets better and better.

 

It is all thanks to YOU ... you are what make it all worthwhile and I love it when you tell me that you are enjoying what I try to do.  There are many more things to come in this New Year .... in fact today my "Film Crew" and I are going to be doing another in the Spectrum Noir Colour Class Series.

 

This one will be with Greens so get your pens at the ready for the next tutorial.... and if you have the CD from Just Inklined "The Next Big Thing"  I will be using one of the digital Dragon Images for my project.

 

I am so glad that you liked the Dress forms and the Hats.  I love them and so do all the girls in my family ... they all want one!!  And a little note on the Dress Forms.... the SHAKER PEGS that I have used in the top of the form to hold the hat are from B&Q and you will find them in the Builders Department for building a staircase. There are 10 in a box for about £6 ... hope that helps you to find them.

 

Thanks also for ALL the support I have had ... both here on the Blog, and in emails, and on Facebook with regards my Rant yesterday. It would seem that many of you also have complaints about other big companies.

 

It has been suggested that I go direct to PayPal as that was my method of paying.   I did do that but because the order and payment were older than 45 days they could not help. So how does that leave many folks who have bought stuff online with a Pre-order.

How do you get your money back if you can't get your goods and PayPal can't help. It seems very unfair to me, and  people cannot afford to loose money in that way.

 

PayPal did suggest though that I took my complaint direct to my own bank and see if they could help.

But at the moment I will wait and see if they send me the correct Spellbinder.  Because I have now had all the dies .... ordered last July ... even though the last part of the delivery was wrong.

 

I will keep you posted.  I am always happy to tell you of companies I find that are good to deal with. But by the same token I will also tell you of those that are not.

 

 

 

Happy Crafting ...

 

Hugs xx



Rant No: 2

Hi Everybody,

Some time ago I had a rant on these pages over a credit card and you all sent me lots of sympathy.  Well ...  this is rant No. 2 and it starts in July 2012.   

Let me start at the beginning. 

In July I spent a lot of money,  paid by PayPal,  and ordered Spellbinders from an American company called
Scrap-Mart 

Because  they were  Pre-Orders I knew  I would have to wait a  few weeks for  them... and I was happy to do that.

I waited and waited and nothing arrived ...  I started to send them emails about where my order was.... and to cut a very long story short ... after a lot of emails from me trying to prove my order, and replies from them with a lot of excuses  ... I started to get the dies in dribs and drabs.

But by the end on November I was still several Spellbinders missing from my order.   Just to recap I ordered them in July....  but by October they were ignoring my emails ... and I was getting very very mad.

I wrote again stating my disappointment in their company  and asking them not to ignore my email, and of course where are my Spellbinders.  I stated repeatably which of the dies are missing from the order, and which of the dies they had already sent to me.

Well this morning I got a parcel from Scrap-Mart ..... and would you believe it with one set of dies completely  the wrong one.

I ordered and paid,  for among many others, the Holiday Tree to make some Christmas cards with for this year,  and the Grand Decorative Circles. 

I have the Holiday Tree ... far too late for this years cards ...  and instead of the Circles they have sent me the Ovals  ... which I already have ... from them as part of the original order.

I am so very disappointed that a company of this size, that I have dealt with many times in the past, can let me down  and treat their customers so badly in the service metered out that I would say to you do not buy your Spellbinders from Scrap-Mart if you live in the UK.

I have again today emailed them my annoyance and I will keep you posted as to the result.

Here endeth the Rant ....

Hugs xx

Beautiful Miniature Hats

Hi Everybody,

Yesterday I added the Video Tutorial to create the dress forms and today I am adding another to create the  Dress Form Hat 

This easy to make hat will compliment the mannequines and make them a far prettier gift for your friends and family.

To get the circles I have used Spellbinders but you can make them with any method that you have to hand.

The Dress Froms with the stand are from IndigoBlu

The instructions are all in the video and it is not a long one ... but I am sure that you will really love the end product.

 

 This pink one is my favorite and I have added it to the mannequin that I am keeping for my self.

But I have been inundated with requests for these ...  I could start a business just making them to sell.

Any way I hope you will enjoy making them for yourself and please add your photos to the
Card Making Magic
Gallery Page

That way you will create your own web page on my website that you can send your friends and family to visit

And the more you add the more pages you will create.

Share all your  beautiful creations with the world.

 

Hugs xx

 ...

Those Dress Forms ...

Hi Everybody ...

I have been inundated with email requests about the Dress Forms as they are such an on trend project at the moment... and people want to know how I did them.

And so I have got my "Film Crew" busy ... after his long Christmas break ... to do a short video tutorial on how I created this look.

The dress form itself and the stamp that I used are from IndigoBlu  and the only thing I have added in is a Shaker peg to carry the hat.... and  I bought those,  in a set of ten,  from B&Q

IndigoBlu are a UK company so you will need to check if they deliver to your part of the world.  But do check out their other products as they have a really good selection of items for you to choose from.

The picture is not very large but the video ... Decorating Dress Forms ... will show this particular one being made.

In the next video ...  planned for this week ...  I will show you how to make the  hat that fits the mannequin.

The ribbon is from my "Stash"   The Spellbinder is Les Papillion for the butterflies and the "Blng" as always is from Want2Scrap

And in  answer to the questions about yesterdays post with Henry the vacuum cleaner .... Yes he does work ... he is battery operated, very small and can be used to clean out your PC's keyboard.

He is from   Amazon  ....  click the link to go to the page and he is a DESKTOP Cleaner.


But choose carefully as all the prices are different and he was NOT expensive ... just over  a  tenner  Griff says.

Hugs xx

My Christmas Present...

Hi Everybody ...

I Hope you all had a good Christmas and that  Santa  brought you what you wanted....

I wanted to show you what my "Film Crew" added to my selection of goodies.

This is Henry the vacuum cleaner ... and with the big smile on his face is very cheerful.

Now you may be thinking that it is not a very romantic gift to buy for someone especially when they didn't ask for it ....

But this one give us all such a good laugh.

And just to put it all into context for you this is what it looks like in relation to everything else ....

Here he is sat on my worktop and he is ready now to pick up all the glitter and small stuff that is left behind.

The stuff that after a crafting session normally gets swept onto the floor for the big vacuum cleaner to pick up.   (Dirty girl)

Well now I can be super efficient and clean it up as I go along  and so no more excuses for having a messy worktop.

I did get some really good presents though and not just the Henry ... but he will come in useful.

Hugs xx

Elf Shoe Video...

Remember the little Elf Shoes?

Well just as a quick post I have done a short video on how I made them.

It is very short.... about six minutes so you will just have time to have a coffee while you watch it.

This is the Spellbinder that   I have used and it is  Labels Eight

 I have also used two circle dies for the shape of the shoe and the ankle area.

You can use punches to get the circle cut outs if you prefer.

But because I have them I like to make use of the dies  instead.

Let the video Creating Elf Shoes with Spellbinders  show you how...and make those Spellbinders work for you.

Hugs xx

Mannequin in Black...

 I have been busy with the other dress form and I decided to make this one a little more sophisticated.

I kept the colours to black and  silver and added in some "Bling" for good measure.

I have used Gilding flakes on her right shoulder and in areas along the bottom of the form ...  and in those areas I have added in the Diamante swirls from Want2Scrap

I also used them to decorate the base along with some black and white flowers  from Wild Orchid Crafts

There is a spotty bow along the base too for an extra touch.

Then I made a tulle underskirt and edged it with black lace.

I used some Velcro dots  to fasten it in place around the waist of the dress form.

But it needed more ... and in my stash I found some black material that would be perfect for what I wanted.

So over the top of the underskirt I made a black over-skirt.

I edged the waistband with black ribbon and added in the bow to one side, and put a Diamante in the centre to cover the knot.

This skirt was also held in place using the small Velcro dots.

I made it so that the lace to the underskirt would be showing as I thought that was a pretty touch.

 Now all ladies need a hat and so here is the one to go with this dress form.

For this I have used the same material as the skirt... the same flowers and spotted ribbon but on this I have added in some feathers.

And so here she is all dressed up  ... and this is another one that I am very pleased with.

I have already been asked how the hat was made and so that will be in a video ...  coming soon !!

Anyway now I need to concentrate on Christmas because believe it or not I still have NOT got a turkey.

I will be catering for my family that day and they all like turkey with all the trimmings.

So if I don't get the chance to post again before the big day I would like to wish you all a very

Merry Christmas  

Hugs xx

Mannequin Parade

The other day I bought some dress forms from Cardcraft Plus  and I posted a picture of the bare mannequins on my blog.

 They are gorgeous and although the store is well worth a visit the dress forms are all gone.  How do I know this ????? .... Because I went back to buy more without success.

(Sob Sob)

So I have now decorated one of them and it is gorgeous and it is a Christmas prezzie for ...... ME!!   'Coz now it's done I can't bear to part with it ... and it is much prettier in real life.

I had such a good time adding all the little touches to the form and I have paid great attention to the detail.

I have given her a tiny pearl necklace and the small roses on her lapel are from Wild Orchid Crafts

There are tiny bows and buttons on the back of the dress to hold her necklace and the lace in place.

The butterflies are the Spellbinders Les Papillion 

The dress is created from an Indigo Blu  stamp and was very easy to do .... but I will go through the process  in a video coming soon.

This company also has bare dress forms but they are not as big as this.   They come complete with a stand and so well worth your consideration.

The stamp is called "Bubbles"  and there are some really pretty stamps to choose from.

But once the dress form was covered I couldn't stop there ... Oh no!! she had to have a hat and so that was the next thing to make.

I  made it from pink felt and then dressed it with flowers, ribbons and pearls and added in some feathers for good measure.

And here is my completed project just in time for my Christmas present.

I shall give it to myself on Christmas morning and I shall be so surprised at this beautiful gift.

Then she will take pride of place on my dressing table so that I can see her everyday.

Hugs xx

Challenge No. 2

Debbie from  Paper Creators   has launched the second of her challenges and this time it has been set by yours truly.

I chose for my theme Black White and one other colour and this is the card that I made.

So my card is black, white and red and before you tell me ... I know I cheated a little because of the skin tones.

But what's a little cheat between friends ???

This is a pre coloured image called   "Noah's All Ears" and he is just one of many that you can choose from the really cute images that you will find.

I have added in some wide silk ribbon and the pearly swirl is from Want2Scrap

If you would like to enter a card or project into the challenge then pop over to   Paper Creators  and add your entry..

You could win £10 to spend in the shop and get some of the delightful images to use on your creations.

It will run until the 29th and then a winner will be picked at random.   Good Luck...

Hugs xx

Elf Shoes....

This little fun card is the last one I am adding for Christmas 2012 .....

 I am all Christmas-ed out.

I want to make some cards in summery colours with flowers, ribbons and pearls ... and as girly as I can make them.

I want to add lace and butterflies and get back in to the mood for some sunshine and warmth.

And I have my fingers crossed that this summer will be a good one for us in the UK.

Yesterday Griff and I went to  Cardcraft Plus   in Preston and I spotted these dress forms.

They are in the "End of Season Sale" and so I bagged myself a bargain.

Now you won't get much more girly than this shape.

All I have done so far is give them a coat of acrylic paint.

I am going to leave this to dry and then I shall work on what I want to do to dress them up.

Once they are completed I will add them to the blog ... and perhaps a video ... to show you what I did.

Hugs xx

Mini Album

 This is the first ever mini album that I have put together over the weekend,  and this is the front of the book.

It is 5 1/2 inches square and all the edges of the five pages are scalloped.

The album and all the   "Bling" are from Want2Scrap and I really enjoyed putting this project together.

I have weaved  the beautiful white Grosgrain ribbon  from The Ribbon Room  through the slots in the front cover and added a pearl to cover the knot

But I wanted more pages for the inside and so I created some acetate pockets. (Photo  slots)

 I lined the inside with paper so that a photograph could be added on either side of the pockets.


And then I add in a journalling page as well so that the details of each photo could be recorded.

So now there are ten pages to my mini album and lots of space for photos to be added in.

Everything in this album is hand made from
Making the Butterfly   (from left over flower petals) ... to the Decorated Hatpin on the front cover.

And both of those are shown in   Video Tutorials ... just click the links

Even  the beaded decoration on the back, and the one attached to the spine of the album are created by me.

I have added glitter to the edges of each page then glued some lace onto two of them.

There are Diamante and pearly swirls throughout the pages and the whole effect is very pretty and feminine.

I have made this for the recipient to  add in some baby photos for her to treasure in the coming years

Hugs xx.