Card Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

Hope you are all having a good weekend so far. It's grey here today but at least it is fine. I went to my Slimming World weigh in this morning and I have lost another pound. Not a lot but at least it is better off than on.

To anybody thinking of joining Slimming World I would really encourage you to do it. It is a way of changing your life style and the weight will come off quite quickly if you stick to the eating plan.  I have lost 32lbs since I joined them last year and not once have I felt hungry or deprived.

Onto the card draw for the two rose cards from yesterday.  The name chosen this week is you. ...

Margaret Rogers 

please email me your postal address to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the cards will be on their way to you.

Please let me know when they arrive and I hope you will like them when they do.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie 110

Hi Everybody,

Two more cards on offer this week and these have a beautiful Rose added to the front. They both have the Brusho background and they are "Thank you" cards.  They are not finished on the inside so you will be able to customize them as you wish.

If you would like to win BOTH of these cards then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post.  The name will be announced in tomorrows blog post and then you have 48 hours in which to claim it before it is offered to someone else.

Please come back to check if it is your name that is shown

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Art Deco - Fairmont Collection

Hi Everybody,

This pretty in pink card is using another new die from Staceys Art Deco Collection and this one is named Fairmont.  There are some beautiful dies in this collection and it is well worth you taking a look as there is sure to be something that catches your eye. There are some really large dies that can create the whole card base and then you can decorate it from there.

There are three sets in the Fairmont dies that can be used as stand alone dies or they will all work together to give you a beautiful look.

Art Deco Fairmont Labels  is the plain label shape that has been used to create this base card in pink and it has been hinged together with the fold at the top.

The white layers have been cut with Art Deco Fairmont Decorative Accents  and added to the card with foam pads.

I haven't used the other set but it is  Art Deco Fairmont Decorative Element but it is just as stunning as the others and I love to work with these large and distinctive dies.

The flowers, pearl string and flower centre are all from Wild Orchid Crafts and they have been sparkled with Glitter Magic. I have added in some white enamel dots from Want2Scrap as an extra highlight

There is also a new video over on YouTube with more of the dies from the Art Deco Collections  ... and for the next two weeks there will be two videos each week on Monday and Thursday covering various techniques. I really hope you enjoy them

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Colour Wednesday - Bon Voyage !!

Hi Everybody,

For todays water coloured card I thought I would have a little fun and dress these birds up in ways other than their intended.

And so out came the black fine liner and I added swimwear to both of them

I have turned one into a tall lady in a bikini and the other her short chubby companion.

Both have been coloured with suntans and both of them are carrying  a rolled up beach towel under their wings. Each one is sporting sun glasses. I created the sea and sky scene behind them with Distress Inks and added a flowery hat onto her head.

This card isn't going anywhere it was simply a little bit of playtime for me and I thoroughly enjoyed myself making this imaginary scene.

The stamps are Bird Crazy from Tim Holtz and they are a whole lot of fun to play with.  I hope they made you smile

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Astoria Collection

Hi Everybody,

For todays tutorial I have moved to some of the newest dies from Spellbinders and these are from Stacey Caron Designs. They are part of her Art Deco Collection and these are Astoria  

Everyone of these dies is completely up my street as I simply love large and intricate dies that you can really get your imagination working with and I have enjoyed playing with them

Spellbinders Supplies:

• S5-250 Astoria Labels 
• S5-254 Astoria Decorative Elements
• PL-001 Platinum Die Cutting Machine
• T-001 Tool 'n one

Other Supplies:

• White/turquoise card Papermill Direct
• Flowers Wild Orchid Crafts
• Ribbon MeiFlower
• Glitter Glitter Magic

Instructions:

With die # 7 cut two white panels to make the base card

With #5 and #3 cut one of each in white

(Die #1 is always the smallest)

With the two largest panels score one of them along the long side about half an inch down

Keeping both pieces flat add glue along this scored part and attach the other card to the strip making sure that the shape of the card is level. Set aside as this is the base

With each of the dies to the Decorative Elements cut one of each in your chosen color.

Add the largest colored piece to the base card with foam tape in between, being careful to match the shapes together

Layer each of the colored panels onto the  corresponding white one with foam tape in between the layers

Wrap some white ribbon around the middle sized panel looping it through the fancy edges

Build up the layers now onto the base card and stamp and heat emboss your sentiment

Add in a small bow and glue a diamante embellishment over the knot.

Arrange the floral display in a pleasing way.

Sprinkle the flower with glitter for added sparkle

Thursdays YouTube Tutorial will feature another card made with this Art Deco Collection

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

International Ambassadors Informal Blog Hop

 Hi Everybody,

Here we are with another Informal Blog Hop and for this month we chose the  beautiful new Art Deco dies that have been designed by Stacey Caron. This is the Astoria Collection and I have linked to all three sets for you to view the shapes

The card shows the Astoria Decorative Accents  for the base card.  I have used  the Decorative Elements to go with it for the centre panel. The plain Astoria  creates the label for the sentiment and the mats underneath from gold mirror card. The tassel under the flowers is also cut from gold.

I have had emails asking for some ideas for the Art Deco Collection  dies and so tomorrows Tuesday Tutorial will feature them. They are also the subject of Thursdays YouTube video tutorial so I hope you will come back to see both of them

My flowers are as always from Wild Orchid Crafts and I have kept them all white to compliment the card.  They have been sprinkled with glitter from Glitter Magic and the tiny pearls are from  Want2Scrap 

We started these hops as a way for you to get to know our indivdual styles and to say "Thank You" to all our loyal supporters. so now it's time to pop over and visit the other ambassadors and see what they have to show you.

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

Click the links to go to the next one and have fun as you skim round the world.  Please leave us a comment to say that you have been and we will see you all again next month

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Lily & Rose from Craft Stash

Hi Everybody,

This pretty card is one that I made for Craft Stash and the die is from their Apple Blossom Collection. Click the link to see more cards from me with this pretty little dies set

I have been asked by Craft Stash to make two videos per month and this card is featured in one of them,  So far I have done five for them and once they have it all up and running I will add the link to their video section so that you can take a look at all the Design Teams work

In the meantime this card is using the  Lily and Rose  die and their are two flower dies in the pack. I have added the white flowers to an embossed a panel for more interest and you can use any that you already have in your "Stash"   The top flower has been water coloured and then glazed and added with foam pads

The video will show you what I did and some other ways that you can use this die and it is a useful one to keep on hand to create those floral toppers for your cards

The verse is from  Clarity Stamp   and it will need to be  mounted on an acrylic block to use

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card Winner is ...

Hi Everybody,

Bit of a change with the weather today and although not too cold it is dull.   We really need some sunshine now to brighten up the days and some warmth here in the UK.  Still I hope you all have a good weekend wherever you are in the world.

The draw for the card was done this morning and a name has been chosen to win both of the yellow cards from yesterday.  The winner is ...

Sue MacFall 

please would you email me

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the cards will be on their way to to you straight away.

Could you let me know when they arrive with you and I hope you will like them  both

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie 109

Hi Everybody,

Two more cards on offer today still with the Brusho Theme from the last few weeks.

These two are using the yellow crystals and I have used both negative and positive pieces for the cards.

The effect is quite vibrant but the cards can be used for any occasion.

If you would like to win BOTH of these then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the bottom of the page.

The winner will be given in tomorrows blog post so please come back and check if it is you if you add your name.

I have used the Classic Heart and Scalloped Classic Heart from Spellbinders for these cards as they are designed to play nicely together

More tomorrow...

Hugs xx

Creating A Stencil from die cuts ...

Hi Every body,

Over on my  YouTube  channel today you will find the latest video from me and this one shows you how to use your die cuts as stencils with some embossing paste

The card to the right is the one I go on and complete in the video and add in the lovely Wild Orchid Crafts flowers around the oval shape

I love to make cards like these and I enjoy adding in all the finery to make it truly feminine with ribbons and pearls

I bought the embossing paste from the Craft show a few weeks ago but you can buy it in most craft shops or even on line if you don't have shops close by

It was not expensive and a little goes a long way.

I also made a second background but did not complete the full card so I thought I would show it to you here so that you can see how it looks.

I used Distress Inks to colour the paste and it is really bright and shiny

I have wrapped white ribbon around the layers and then added my water colored topper onto a  Scalloped Oval  from Spellbinders

I like both of these cards but they are for completely different generations.

I had fun making them and I hope you like the results.

Please join my YouTube channel to be sure you never miss a video from me and if you enjoyed the tutorial then please give it the thumbs up to let YT know that you like this type of video

Just a Reminder of  new links to click  ...

• New Cards to Inspire  (Part 6)  video added ... top left of the page. 
• A new tutorial added to the Tuesday Tutorial page each week  
• A tutorial is added to Spellbinders Blog  - latest one yesterday - Emojis Hello Card 
• New Resource Page for you to access all the pretty things I use on my cards
• New video tutorial added every Thursday  to YouTube

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Color Wednesday - Splodge background

Hi Everybody,

Nothing could be more simple than this card which is just water splodges with paint added in and allowed to run

I used craft foam at the back which helped to flatten the card out again and then backed it onto some deep red card.

The stars are cut from the same card and added to the front with foam pads beneath.

I used two of the Pierced Stars  together to create the frame

The sentiment is from the   Many Words    stamp set from Spellbinders  and I finished it off with  the shiny chrome dots from Want2Scrap

Simple, easy and would suit the birthday of a young man ... just leave out the pink !!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Tuesday Tutorial - Fleur de Elegance with Diamond Essence

Hi Everybody,

Todays card uses several sets of dies that will all play well together and all are still available to purchase. To make this card a little different I have offset the main focal point and add in my floral display along the other side.

The sunny yellow color is there to remind us that spring is on the way and we can look forward to warmer days and being outside more.

 Spellbinders Supplies:

• S4-475 Fleur de Elegance
• S4-491 Diamond Essence
• S6-001 5x7 Matting Basics A
• S6-002 5x7 Matting Basics B 
• El-009 Flora
• SCD-026 All You
• PL-001 Platinum Die Cutting Machine

Other Supplies:

• Flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts
• Glitter from Glitter Magic
• White Yellow card from Papermill Direct
• Ribbon from Mei Flower
• Pearls from Want2Scrap
• Yellow craft foam
• Lace from my "Stash"

Instructions:

Using die #7 from Matting Baiscs A cut two panels and  create a hinged card  and lay to one side

Using die 7 from Matting Basics B cut another panel in yellow

With die #6 from Matting Basics A cut another white panel and emboss using one side of the folder.

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

Glue the white embossed panel flat onto the yellow one

With die  #3 from Fleur de Elegance cut one panel in yellow

With die #2 cut one panel in white 

Add foam tape to the back of each of these shapes

Place the yellow panel onto the embossed layer from the previous step

Offset them over to the left and then trim the left edge flush with the side of the card

Wrap the ribbon and lace around these layers

With die #4 from Diamond Essence cut one panel in white and emboss it with the other pattern in the folder and add foam tape to the back

Layer this onto the shapes and lace from the previous step

Cut the chosen words from yellow craft foam

Leave the top white shape in tact and add the words to the top of it

Dress the card with beautiful flowers and sprinkle them with glitter

Add little yellow pearls along the top and bottom right hand edges.

The foam tape raises the layers to add interest to the card

Pretty Card for any occasion

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Coloring colored card

Hi Everybody,

The card for today is  Neenah Desert Storm  and I was really happy with the way this one turned out and this was also a try to see what it would look like using colored card

The stamp I used is Peony Scrolls  from Altenew and there is a matching die   set that you can buy also.

I buy mine from Sevenhills Crafts  Leave your name on their website to be notified when the stamp is back in stock if it is out when you visit

The little sentiment is one of many on the sheet called Sentiments and Quotes  also from Sevenhills Crafts

The Spectrum Noir pencils are lovely to work with and I was really happy with the way they worked on this card and I will be trying more with different stamps in the future

This card was colored in the same way as I did the Black card from a few days ago that was featured in my YouTube video on the 3 rd March

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card Winner today ...

Hi Everybody,

Yesterday we had a little snow here in Blackpool but an hour later it was all gone and today the sun is shining.  It's cold but really quite pleasant.

The weekly trip to Slimming World has been done and this week I have maintained my weight loss.  I am quite happy with that when I think of the food we had while in a lovely hotel in Edinburgh. I thought I would have gained some ... so I consider myself lucky to have stayed the same.

I will try to stay on track again but tomorrow is Mothers Day here in the UK plus it is also my Birthday so who knows what may happen !!

The draw has been done for the cards on offer this week which is the two orange ones in the picture.   They are going to live with you

Anne Owens

===========================

The black Brusho cards from last week have not been claimed and I have been back to the comments and re drawn another name

They are yours 

Cathie Weary

=============================

please email me ladies

christina@card-making-magic.com 

with your postal addresses and the cards will be on their way to you

Friday Freebie 108

Hi Everybody,

Both of these cards are up for grabs to one winner and both are done with the Brusho Crystal Colours.

They are created from one coloured piece and added to black card with the feathers to decorate the front.

The orange is very bright and it makes for a really cheerful card that could be used for any occasion.

The vidoe on how they were created is here ... One Background - Two Cards

They can be on their way to you if you leave me a comment at the end of the post.  Then my "Film Crew" will draw a name from the hat and the winner announced in tomorrows blog post

You will need to come back and check if it you who has won and then oyu will have 48 hours in which to claim the card.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx