Look at this ...

Hi Everybody,

I just have to share this with you as it was delivered, very sneakily I might add,  to my craft room yesterday morning and left on my desk.

It is handmade by my "Film Crew" to celebrate the websites 4th birthday.

He has used bits and pieces from cards that have been sent to me for my own birthday and Mothers Day and recycled this for me.

He was so pleased with it and I think it is wonderful.

The white border across the top of the card is ..... kitchen roll and he pinched the bows off his birthday card to me last week.

You have to give him 10 out of 10 for his efforts ... and he even added an "A" frame to the back so it would stand.

Awwww Bless him ......  So we went out out to have a meal for the birthday celebration  ... .and would you believe I left my money and cards at home by mistake  ....  Oooops!  so Griff had to pay.

Still I am taking him to a craft show this weekend ...  what more could he want ????

Hugs xx

Card Making Magic is 4 today.....

Hi Everybody,

Click to Enlarge

Card  Making Magic has been my baby for quite some time now and the 12th of March means it is four years old today.

There have been many exciting things happen for me since I started this adventure and  this year has been brilliant .... and it's only March..

One of them was being made an Accredited Instructor for the Spectrum Noir Pens.

I am so happy ...  because to help me celebrate Spectrum Noir  have offered me the most fantastic prize to "Give Away"  to one lucky winner....

 This is the WHOLE collection of the six pens sets ....

 What an awesome Give Away and it will run for one week until the 19th.

The draw will as always  be done by random selection by  InLinkz and the  winner will get  all  72 pens.  That is all the colours in the collections.   And the prize is not shared it is all yours. 

So to be in with a chance of winning you will need to be a follower ... if you aren't already   (or have bought from "My Shop")    and leave me a comment.

Click the blue box and add your name and email to the list, but only once please as duplicate entries will be removed.   If you don't have a Blog then leave the URL Box BLANK...... 

Good luck to everyone and I know LOTS of you will want this amazing prize.

Hugs xx

Gilding Flakes

Hi Everybody,

First I would like to thank all of you who popped over to the website and clicked the Pink Ribbon logo for Breast cancer ... I am sure that a lot of women will be very glad  of your support.

 And I would  like to share with you a  short video that  I have added  on using     Gilding Flakes.

 I have had several emails telling me that you had  bought some  too and then didn't know what to do with them.

So this is just one way to use them and I will be adding in more videos on other ways to get the best from this product.

These are many colours in small pots and the effect is real luxury on your cards.

I used Flakes on a card a while ago and the video for that is Mosiac Card Tutorial

This is the effect using silver flakes and the video shows you how to get the birdcage look for your self.

This weekend sees me off to the GNPE show in Harogate and I am really looking forward to it.

We are going down on the Friday and staying at the Holiday Inn.

So if you happen to be staying in the same place please let me know ... it would be lovely to meet up on Friday.

The show is Saturday and then  home .... full of goodies I hope.

 Got my list all ready written and clutched in my hot little hand... along with all my pennies.

NEWS FLASH !!!!

Card Making Magic is four years old tomorrow .... and there is going to be a fantastic
 Birthday  "Give Away" for you.

Please pop back in the morning and see what the prize is and then enter your name in the blue box.  Leave your name and email address and leave me a comment too.....

If you don't have a blog leave the URL box BLANK and it doesn't matter where in the world you live you can still enter for the chance to win.

No duplicate entries please as they will be removed ... and the red cross at the side of your entry just means that you can delete it if you wish ... so if you accidently add your name twice then please remove one of them.

Hugs xx

Going, going ...

Hi Everybody,

Over the year I try out many products, techniques, materials and styles of cardmaking for Card Making Magic and as  result I end up with lots and lots of cards.... and I mean lots of cards.

I am sent some of the products by companies for me to try out,  and to see what I think of them,  and then to tell you about it if the product is a good one.

And I may need to make 6/10/12 cards from that one thing to give a valued opinion ... so you can see why I end up with so many.

I use many of my cards to send out to relatives and friends over the year and then at Christmas time I make decorated boxes,  and fill them with cards.

Each of our four girls is given one,  and then they have cards to send to their own friends through the next year.

Now yesterday was a dull and wet sort of a day and so I had a grand clear out of my craft room and sorted out all the cards.

 There are almost 200 hundred cards here.

60 of them in boxes, and the rest, complete with envelopes are in cellophane packets and they are all  going ... going ... gone to a local charity that I support.

They then sell them to raise money for their own charity which is
 Donnas' Dream House  in Blackpool
 and this gives a holiday to a sick child and their family.    

And Card Making Magic is proud to be a sponsor of this wonderful house and the work they do. 

Hugs xx

Breast Cancer Care...

 Hi Everybody,

I am very fortunate to be blessed with good health and my heart goes out to any body that is stricken with illness or disability.

I know that many people that visit the Website or here on the Blog are housebound for one reason or another ... and I am so happy to provide tutorials and instructions to help you with your cardmaking.

On lady wrote to me and told me that her doctor said that I should be prescribed on the National Health as I had helped her with her depression.

I had visions of me in little bottles or blister packs that could be pressed out as needed. .... oh my goodness!!

 Any way todays character is the free Boobie Love from Saturated Canary   ... and I hope you managed to get your copy of this delightful  image.

I have coloured  this in two different ways...but both highlight the pink ribbon that is the Breast Cancer Logo.

The first one is coloured with just ordinary everyday pencils with a tiny touch of pink on the ribbon on her T-shirt... and kept to the black and white theme.

The second one has been coloured in with Spectrum Noir  and added to a pink background.

But it just highlights the fact that you don't need a lot of pens or pencils to create a really pretty look.

And if you can spare the time please pop over to This Page   and scroll towards the bottom and click the Pink Ribbon Logo to give a FREE mammogram to another woman who may be facing this dreadful illness.

That's all you have to do ... click the ribbon and it will provide help for someone else ... and if you can do it whenever you have the time just think what can be achieved.

Hugs xx

Book Card Kit

Hi Everybody,

When I added this beautiful   Book card      tutorial it was very well received.

Then when I added the Die Cut Shapes to "My Shop" a few days ago they where also well received.

But the one thing that I have had quite a few emails about is this card ... and what many of you want are the die cuts to make this card for your self.

My card was made up with four of the pages and of course the corsage (in My Shop) added to one side.

Because of the requests I have put together a little kit that you can use to make your own.

I have kept it white so that it can be adapted to suit your recipient ... but to change the look just add inks, glitters, other paper or other shapes.

The kit will consist of all of the six pages of the Grand Labels 4 that can be added to your book.

Some of the pages I have embossed ready for you to add colour... and I have added in the two smaller panels from the Floral Ovals.

You can add flowers or a sentiment to these as I have done.

I have also thrown in the Card Stand so that the finished card can be displayed and it is all cut from good quality card

I have priced this for all nine elements  at £3.25 + P&P and if you click the photograph you will be able to see more clearly what is in the kit.

And if you buy one of these kits then use it to trace out templates and that way you can create your book from other card that you have in your "Stash"

And if you keep  the template safe you will always have it on hand if you want to make another book card in the future..... Just talked myself out of some repeat orders there ....

Hope it is what you want

Hugs xx

Thank you so much ...

Hi Everybody,

Thank you for all your lovely Birthday wishes yesterday.

I had a really good day... mainly working  on the new PC and trying to get it to play nicely.... which was not easy.

But today I am using it and everything seems to be OK ... for now.... Windows 8 is a whole new ball game.

I got the usual gifts of chocolates and I ended up with three bottles of red wine .... do you think that my family think I am a "lush" ???

And as well as the flowers from Griff I also had a gorgeous white Orchid from my eldest daughter.

 This is the gift that my youngest daughter bought for me and it is a beautiful silver name tag.

The meal out was delicious and all in all a very pleasant day ... and so now I am officially a "Fossil"

This is the latest photo of Isabella and it was taken on Sunday when her Nanny (my youngest daughter) and I  (great gran) took her to the park for a few hours.

We had a lovely time and Isabellas' squeals of delight where a joy to hear ... she certainly knows what a park is for.

This is her concentrating on keeping an empty yogurt pot on her head ... and it was clean I hasten to add.

So thank you again for all your thoughts, comments and best wishes.

The next major milestone for me  is  Card Making Magic will be four years old on the 12th March and I have a fantastic Give Away for you.... 

Hugs xx

It's my Birthday ....

Hi Everybody,

No post yesterday as I spent most of the day trying to get the new PC up and running.  The longest part was transfereing everything from the old one to the new one.,,,, and things did not want to play correctly with each other.

Eventually it was sorted ... but it was so late last night that I just switched it all off and went for some sleep. 

This is the bouquet that Griff gave to me for my birthday and this evening we are going to our favorite restaurant.

I will be having a delicious steak and some red wine to go with it ..... Mmmm Mmmm!!

So yesterday while things were whirring in the background I made a card for no apparant reason and this is it.

The Spellbinders I used are the Curved Matting Basics A and B and the Fleur Di Lis Squares

They have been layered up with turquoise card and then added with foam pads to a white base card

The butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch and the bycycle is a  Memory Box die that I bought at the last craft show

The background panel to this has been created with a really cheap Shaving Foam and Alcohol Inks

I have then  stamped over the panel  and some  added some glitter and the effect is very pretty.

The  Shaving Foam Tehnique is  a short tutorial on this messy but fun idea and you can vary the look with different inks that match your colour scheme... or even paint.

Click the photo for a closer look and it is much better in real life.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts

 I hope you like the finished card.

Hugs xx



 

Quick Post today ...

Hi Everybody,

This is just a very quick post today as I have a million things to do.

The main excitement for me today is a new PC that is being delivered this afternoon.

It will enable me to work so much quicker than on a laptop ...  which is how I currently build my website.

Let's just say this is my birthday present to me ... and I am going to be so happy when I present it to me ....I just won't know how to thank me for this wonderful gift.

Today's card is one for the boys  and features one of the lovely  stamped image  from   Lili of the Valley

Their images are so delightful that you will have  hard time choosing some.

This one has been coloured with Distress Inks which give a lovely water colour effect to your cards... and there are tutorials on the website about ... Colouring with Distress Inks. 

I have broken it down into three parts that will cover Hair, Skin and Clothes.

The background for this card is from the new M-Bossabilities folder from Spellbinders and this is the Letters and Numbers.  I have inked over the folder with Broken China Distress Ink  and then added in a banner panel and some Bakers twine.

So now I need to go and clear a space on my desktop for a birthday present that is coming today .... wonder what it can be ???

Hugs xx

Die Cut Shapes

Hi Everybody,

In  a recent conversation with my very good friend Christine in Nottingham ...  she suggested an item for" My Shop"

As she explained  she does not have a die cutting machine,  and does not make that many cards to warrant the buying of one.

And so she buys packets of die cut shapes ...  but they are never big enough for her to add sentiments or images too.

So what she wants are shapes that she can mat and layer her cards with  ... and  she suggested that if she needs them so might others.

She also likes the look of the Spellbinders ... but as she has no die cutter she also doesn't have them either.

This is what I am adding to "My Shop"

I have put together some packs of large shapes in various styles  and the picture shows you  the size in relation to an A4 card.

I have chosen the largest die from each set.

I have cut them in white from a 350 gsm card so that they can be distressed or coloured to suit your own projects.

Some will be embossed and others left plain.

They will be large enough for a sentiment or an image, or the embossing  can be enhanced with inks.

There will be  15 large  die cuts in  each pack and they will sell for  £3.75  and that works out at  25 pence  per shape.

Use them as focal point to your cards or as a base for your flowers.

Hugs xx

Blonde v Brunette

Click to Enlarge

Hi Everybody,

Well I went back to Saturated Canary and bought some more of the beautiful images ...  and this one is called   "Bubbles"

I just love these characters and they are so easy to colour.

I printed them off in draft so that they can be coloured with Spectrum Noir ... and I added two to each sheet of  smooth white  A4 160 gsm paper ... and that will leave me enough space for me to cut them out with Spellbinders.

Although the image is the same I have coloured them  completely different.

One I have kept to Blonde hair and blue eyes and in pale colours ....

I have added sparkle to the dress and the ribbon is from my "stash" and the pearls have been created with Cosmic Shimmer Glue and the tutorial    Creating Your Own Pearls  will show you what I did.

The other I have done in more vibrant colours ... and goodness me there are the flowers again..... Wonder how they got there ????

This one I have given brown hair and eyes and I asked my film crew which he preferred and he said the Blonde one as he was a sucker for blondes ..... I prefer the brown haired one.

This one has been added to some paper that I designed myself and I have been asked to show you the papers before I add all the embellishments....

 Here it is and the watermark is there for obvious reasons ... and it is the swirl that I picked out with a glue pen and sprinkled it with glitter.

Once I get enough to make a collection then I will add them to the website.

Hugs xx

Beautiful Image ...

Click to Enlarge

 Hi Everybody,

This beautiful image is a "Freebie"  from   Saturated Canary   and I think she is simply gorgeous.

She is called "Boobie Love"  and if you add that name to the search box it will take you to the download.

The style of the artist ...  Krista Smith ...  is wonderful and all her characters  are oh! so pretty and they all have big eyes.

They are so easy to colour and both of these have been coloured by me with Prisma  Colour Pencils.

The pencils are such an easy medium to work with and give beautiful results once they are blended.

I have done one in pink and the character has green eyes ... and the other in blue  which has blue eyes.

I have coloured the hair to each one slightly different.

On the pink one I have added a small flower to the hair where the artist has drawn one ... just  for a little added embellishment.

But apart from the few Wild Orchid Flowers  there is not a lot else to adorn either card ... which is very unusual for me. (Shock)

In fact it is so unusual that I will need to go and lie down in a darkened room to recuperate ... but only after I have been back to Saturated Canary to buy some more of these lovely images.

Now I am sure you realise that today is the 1st March and I have two celebrations this month.

The first one is my own Birthday on the 6th.... but the important one is that Card Making Magic will be four years old on the 12th March ..

And that is the date you need to watch out for as there is going to be a ... BIG ... Big Give Away that you really will not want to miss ... 12th March

Hugs xx

Bird in a Gilded Cage...

Click to Enlarge

Hi Everybody,

This card has been created using Gilding flakes for the birdcage and once again it looks much better in real life.

I like using this colour for my cards as it is one of my favorites... and of course pink is the best.

The backing paper is some that I have designed myself.

I have used a glue pen and some Glamour Dust to pick out the large Flourish along the left hand side and wrapped the   ribbon around before adding it all to the main base card.

The panels have been layered  onto  turquoise card.

I have used the middle size die from Spellbinders Grand Decorative Ovals  and cut a turquoise oval.

I added Gilding Flakes to a Scalloped Oval then added a  white Classic Oval ...  and on the top I have added the Birdcage.

I have used Gilding Flakes from  IndigoBlu  and they have some really stunning mixes of flakes.

This one is called  "Gin and Tonic" and it is a lovely combination of silver and pale green, with a tiny hint of gold.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts  and I have added in the "A" frame to the back to display the card.

Hugs xx 

Pretty in Green...

Click to Enlarge

 Hi Everybody,

This is a little bit different for me as I am not a great lover of greens ... but now that it is finished I am quite pleased with it.

The backing papers are some that I have designed myself and I have matted and layered them onto some white card.

The Romantic Rectangles base has been layered with Fluer Di Lis Rectangles.

The  Floral Ovals is layered with a Scalloped Oval  and all have been separated with foam pads.

Labels 20  is on the top with the sentiment that I have heat embossed in silver and  I have added in the matching "Bling" from Want2Scrap   as for me this is finishing touch.

And my flowers are as always from Wild Orchid Crafts  I have used a mixture of different sized Roses, Cherry Blossoms and the leaves are from a punch that I bought at a craft fair.

The Braided Ribbon  is in a video tutorial and I have used green and white satin ribbon.  The whole thing looks much nicer in real life....

Hugs xx

Pink Rose...

Hi Everybody,

Click to Enlarge

Remember the flower that I thought was a  "Cabbage"   well here it is coloured again as a Rose.

The image is from "The Next Big Thing" CD from Just Inklined   which has some fabulous images for you to colour.

For this I have used Prisma Colour Pencils and they give a beautiful water coloured effect which is very pretty.

I added in a square white doily to the background and the backing paper is from the Cherry Blossom Lane CD  from PolkaDoodles

The stamp was one of  a set that I bought form the Event City craft show that I went to a few weeks ago... and the ribbon is Grosgrain in a beautiful shade of pink.

The next big craft fair for me is the GNPE in Harogate and that is my favorite one.  I will be there list and pennies in hand on the 17th March.

And can I just tell you that now that the winner of the  last "Give Away" has been chosen that you ALL  need to watch out for the next one in March.  

There is going to be an amazing prize that will go to ONE lucky winner and you won't believe your eyes...      'nuff said for now !!    

 Hugs xx