Crisscross Pattern ...

Hi Everybody,

This is one of the newest  patterns from Spellbinders and it is the Crisscross Pattern.

It makes really neat backgrounds and I bought mine from Sunrise Crafts

This is a  UK company  but they have the most up to date Spellbinders and the delivery is quick.

Mine arrived this week and so I had to play and see what it looked like and this is the card I came up with ....

I have created the design as a Hinged Card  and used lots of layers.

The pattern  has been layered with Mirror card and created in the same way as the instructions in the Creating A Frame with Spellbinders.

The other dies I have used are listed below.

The sentiment is from Clarity Stamp and it has been heat embossed in silver

The single flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts

 The inside of the card has been decorated to match the front and the ribbon is from Reasonable Ribbon and is part of their ribbon club.

Now I know that the list of dies below says Pre Order ... but these dies are all available now .. and have been for some time.

So please shop around and find them at the best price in your part of the world.  

The list below is there simply to show you what I have used and what  the dies  look like so that you know what you are looking for should you wish to get them.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

The Jus Cutz

Hi Everybody,

No card today but I waned to tell you about the new Jus Cutz die cutting machine that I have bought from Once Upon A Stamp

It is relatively new to the market and the mechanics of it are made from all metal ... so not much to break on this one.

It makes a lot of claims and only time will tell if it lives up to those claims but I have been working with mine for a few weeks now and it is really good.

 It comes in a number of trendy colours and I chose this Retro look for mine

The white knob underneath turns clockwise to suction the machine to your work top

 The cutting is performed by pressure from the rollers and the pressure is set by the slider on the machine.

You will need to move the slider depending on what it is you want to do ... cut, emboss the die or use an embossing folder.

Because the pressure is evenly distributed along the roller it is claimed to cut evenly every time ... but a little bit of advice ... buy the separate Metal Plate 

It is not supplied in the box but you will need it to cut the more intricate dies that you may have.

It  has the A4 cutting platform and that means all the Grand dies can be used.

And because of the larger mouth it will also take the thicker dies that you may have.

It will sit comfortably on your work top and looks very neat when closed,  and it opens out easily when you need to use it.

If you have one and would like to leave your own comment then please do.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Medallions Seven

Hi Everybody,

The Medallions are one of the smaller dies from Spellbinders. There are several patterns in these dies and the ones I have used are the Medallions Seven.

This card is a 5" square that is created from the smallest of the Grand dies.

It is also the card that is featured in the video ...
Spellbinders Medallions Tutorial  which is not a long tutorial.

The beautiful embossing on the white layer is from the Regency Swirls from Crafters Companion and it leaves a lovely deep etched design in the card.

The pearls are self adhesive and they are from Want2Scrap.   .... and  were added at the suggestion of my "Film Crew" 

More  tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Spellbinders Card ...

Hi Everybody,

This lovely card is a 8" square card and it has been matted and layered with cream Centura Pearl from Crafters Companion

To create the centre panel I have used the same principle used in the Creating A Frame with Spellbinders  .... just different dies.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and are a beautiful mixture of cream Roses, Lilies, Tulips and Carnations.

The flowers have been sparkled with Glamour Dust and the pearl  flourish is from Want2Scrap to add the elegant touch

The inside of the card has been decorated to match the front.

All the panels have been embossed with an 8 x 8 folder from Crafters Companion called Elegance.

The folder adds two different patterns with a plain strip in between.  I have heat embossed the sentiment in silver  directly onto that strip...  which is not something I usually do.

I prefer to stamp and emboss on a tag and then add that to the card ... just in case I make a mess !!  And "YES" ... I do make mistakes ... but it is surprising what a flower can cover up ... if you know what I mean ... and I bet you do !!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

I did it .......

Hi Everybody,

Last night was the time for me to go to University  and talk to some of the students .... but only via Skype. (Sigh!)

I offered to just pop over to Kansas but they didn't take me up on it ... (Sigh again!!)   I met Melinda who had invited me to speak to her class,  and six of her young students.

The class went down very well and lasted for about 45 minutes and I think they all stayed interested ....  well no body fell asleep anyway

We covered  various aspects of creating a website/blog and the differences between the two.  One of the things they wanted to know was how to get your website/blog noticed so that people will visit.

My "Film Crew" was on hand with his trusty camera to film the event.  Although I have their permission to blog about the meeting .... the video will remain private.

I have had an email from Melinda this morning and she wrote ....

Christina, 

You did a fantastic job! 

My students loved getting the chance to talk to you. They thought you were really knowledgeable and were excited to put to use all of the good information you gave them.

You may need to consider going on the lecture circuit. :) You are a natural.

Thank you so much for taking the time to join us. And, of course, thank you to your film crew.

 I was greeted in a very friendly manner and once I got started the nerves just fell away. 

Thank you to all in the class for your welcome it was so nice to meet you ... Josiah keep that diary on hand ... and Rachel if you make a card then add it to the Gallery on Card Making Magic. 

Melinda .... well what can I say about Melinda except she is beautiful and that hair is to die for ....

More later .... and that Spellbinders Card 

Hugs xx