Friday Freebie - Away in a Manger

Hi Everybody,

As the name of the A4 stamp set suggests this is a collection of Christmas stamps.

But having said that it can be used all year round with a little careful snipping of the images.

 For example snip away the wreath from the top of the fireplace and it would make a lovely male birthday card

Time to get the imagination going with this set.

 The video will show you how I used it Away in a Manger  and you can come up with many more to suit your own style or recipient

Would you like this set ? Then all you need to do is leave me a comment and one name will be chosen from them.

Please leave your full name or you will be excluded from the draw. I cannot accept entries from people who only leave a single name, or anonymous or unknown.

You can simply add it at the end of the comment if that is easier for you. And don't forget to come back in the morning to see if it is your name that is listed.
You will have 72 hours in which to claim the gift

More tomorrow ...

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Competition for 6x6 Collection

Hi Everybody,

Tomorrow sees the launch of my brand new collection of 6x6 dies and embossing folders and I can't wait to show you what there is.

Craft Stash have set up a competition for one lucky person to win 

The Complete  New Collection 

Click the link to go to their page and see all the details on how to win and good luck to everybody. 

This is some of the collection but if you click the link you can see the rest of it and it is beautiful.

Did you notice the card stand !!! 

And if you join me tomorrow 4th May at 12.30 on the 

Craft Stash Facebook Live  

you will also have the chance to win a voucher for £15 to spend as you like.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Brand New 6x6 Collection ....

Hi Everybody,

At last I can tell you about the new collection coming this week to Craft Stash and I know that many of you have waited patiently for this 6x6 size.

There are some beautiful dies as well as the complete card and box die set in the squarer size.

I have introduced some words dies too and they are in two parts so that they can be layered onto your projects if you wish.

The video gives you  small glimpse of what is coming and I will be doing lots more over the coming weeks with this and the original 5x7 sets as they will play nicely together.

I am delighted with this set of dies and embossing folders and I will show them all  on Friday on the

  Craft Stash Facebook Live page.

Please join me at 12.30 pm 4th May 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Die Cutting Essentials 37 - Radiant Butterflies

Hi Everybody,

The free gift with this months Die Cutting Essentials is a fabulous die set from ....

drum roll please .... Card Making Magic !!

It is Radiant Butterflies and it is a lovely die set that will cut the pattern into your card.

I have really loved playing with this set and all the cards I made are shown at the end of the video.

I have stayed with the same colour scheme simply to show you that if you are new to card making that you don't need a vast amount of supplies to get lovely results.

 Each of my cards looks different with just the free gift and the odd piece from my supplies.

And I really love this colour blend and it is one I have used many times in the past.

For the card to the right I have used the Dinosaur from Pawfect Pets by Crafti Potential and that creates a fun card ideal for children 

The dies and stamps can be used all year round for male and female cards and so I hope you will look out for it tomorrow in your supermarkets and craft stores.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Follow Your Dreams ...

Hi Everybody,

Last week I was asked by a lady called Veronica if I  had any Birthday cards that I could donate to her charity.  She is part of   FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS  which is a group of people who help children with learning difficulties.

Many of these children never receive a Birthday card and it is the charities aim to make sure that each child will get some on their special day.

I was delighted to help out and I sent her a box of 125 cards for children of all ages ... boys and girls ... complete with envelopes to use as and when she likes. 

And I have more that I will send too.

I also offered to add their address to my blog post to see if any of you kind souls would like to do the same.

Many of you make cards and then they sit there never to be used. 

This is s way to put them to good use and give pleasure to children around the UK.

So if you are interested then either contact her or send your cards for the attention of 

Veronica Preece

 Fundraising Assistant.

 Follow Your Dreams, 

Gwynfa House, 

Main Road, 

Church Village,

 Pontypridd. 

CF38 1RN.

and tell her where you have read about her request

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Playing with Altenew ...

Hi Everybody,

I have been playing with new dies and stamps from Altenew and I love the big flowers that these dies produce.

They are layering dies and give you that 3-D look really easily just using different shades of card for the layers.

Everything on this card is from Altenew from the background to the flowers. 

And HELLO has been covered with Glossy Accents 

Both of these have used the same Peony Dream 3-D Die 

If you don't have the shades of card that you want .... but you have coloured markers .... then you can create them easily for your self by colouring white card

These dies and stamps are not cheap to buy but the cards that they make are really beautiful and I will be using them again quite a lot in the future

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tonic Craft Kit 09 - Art Deco Box

Hi Everybody,

The kit from Tonic this month is the Art Deco Box and it is quite a good size.

The video will show you how to put the pieces together and you can decorate it to suit your own style.

It's not difficult to make and there are lots of small dies that can easily be lost so you will need to store them carefully.

For my project I have done an inked pattern for the panels with Distress Oxides. The paper is so beautiful and I am saving it for another idea that I have.

These boxes are perfect for adding small gifts to and would make lovely party bags or wedding favours

You can subscribe to Tonic to get the kits delivered to you each month and that way you will be sure never to miss out on one.

UK & Europe ... http://www.toniccraftkit.co.uk

US & North Amercia ... https://www.tonic-studios.com/pages/kit

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card & Gift Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

What a lovely day it is here and today we are going to look for tiles for the new kitchen so that we can get the walls and floor finished and it's going to look lovely

I have my dining room back to normal again. The carpets have been shampooed and it looks like home 

So the room has gone from this .....

Back to this ... 

It seems to have been a long haul but I know it will be worth it in the end.

Tomorrow I will be taking Ruby for her long Sunday morning walk.

This is not the only exercise she gets .... she is out twice everyday with Griff and he takes her to the park to play with her friends.

Then every Wednesday she goes to Doggy Day care

But Sunday morning is my special time with her and we go out for a few hours with Vickie and Dougal.

Enough of my ramblings ... let me tell you who has won yesterdays draw for the card and gift on offer.

Today's winner is

Brenda Hopkins ( Littlelamb)

please email me your postal address to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and they will be on their way to you straight away.

Next week I will have some exciting news to share with you so be sure to come back and see what it is ..

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Mandala Stencil & Stamp Set

Hi Everybody,

Today's gift is a stencil and stamp set and I really enjoyed playing with this set.

I really like stencils to give you a beautiful background to your designs but for this card I made the pattern the star of the show with clear embossing powder.

The video Mandala Stencil & Stamp Set will give you other ideas too and if you win this then I hope it pleases you as much as it did me

Now if you would like to win this set then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post.  From those comments one name will be drawn as the winner and it announced in tomorrows blog post.

Please leave your full name or you will be excluded from the draw. I cant accept entries from people who only leave a single name, or anonymous or unknown.

You can simply add it at the end of the comment if that is easier for you. And don't forget to come back in the morning to see if it is your name that is listed.
You will have 72 hours in which to claim the gift

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Rainbow Shaker Card

Hi Everybody,

This cute little Unicorn is part of the Sweet Treats set of stamps from Crafti Potential.

I really enjoyed turning her into a shaker card and this is sure to delight the younger members of your family.

If you are new to card making please don't be daunted because shaker cards are really easy to do.

The video will show you how I made this card and once you have done one you will want to do more.

The stamps are lovely and there are some cute images throughout the whole collection.  Well worth a visit to Craft Stash to see what is on offer and the links are all at the bottom for the items that I have used

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Papercraft essentials 159 - Man of the Moment

Hi Everybody,

This is the perfect stamp and die set for anybody who has brain freeze when it comes to male cards.

I had so much fun playing with this and creating cards that I struggle with from time to time.

The gift is free with Papercraft Essentials this month and if you want it then look in the shops tomorrow.

I will be offering this as a free give away later in the year so keep a look out for that too.

The stamps will help you to make these cards for men but it can be altered to make female cards too. 

On this one I added Googly eyes and drew in some eyelashes 

 I am sure that you will enjoy playing with it once you get them home 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Alphabet Aperture ...

Hi Everybody,

For today's card I have used the Horse from Pawfect Pets by Crafti Potential to create a fun effect with Alphabets

I have the large letters from the Donna Salazar Alphabet from Spellbinders

My card is 5x7 so they take up a good bit of space but you could make your card larger or smaller 

The video will show you how to get the effect for your self  and it is not difficult to do whatever size alphabet you use.  But I don't think a smaller one would have the same effect on the card

The stamp set is available from Craft Stash and is one of several new ones from Crafti Potential

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Safari Squad by Crafti Potential

Hi Everybody

Once again I have been having fun with the new character stamps by Crafti Potential and this time I have used the Safari Squad and the Messy Water Colour Background

There are several animals for you to choose and these are the ones I used.

In retrospect I wish I had added more stripes to the zebra whilst doing the video as I think he looks a little unfinished.

So later I went back to the card and added some extra stripes and now he looks dressed and I am much happier with the card

The video will show you how I created the jungle and the stamps did all the work  with just a little colouring from me.

So make a cuppa and enjoy the film ... it's not long

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

2 Cards from 1 die ... really pretty !!

Hi Everybody,

Today I am using an old die that some of you may already have too.

These where very popular a few years ago and created beautiful weaving backgrounds for you.

There are two dies to get the weaved look but for today's card I am using just one the
 Classic Weaving Die.

The Distress Oxide background is one we have done before but I really like the soft look that comes with Broken China, Shaded Lilac and Cracked Pistachio

Using what would be the waste is an economical way to get the two cards and can be done with lots of dies that you may have.

If you have these dies sat at the back of a cupboard then it is time to get them out again to give his a try. That way you get your monies worth from what is not a cheap investment

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card & Gift Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

Hello on this beautiful Saturday morning and I hope you all have good things planned in the lovely sunshine.

One little Spaniel has had some fun playing in the sea and here is Ruby running in the waves 

The draw for the card and gift has been done and the winner  is ...

Sue Pollock

please email me with your postal address to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and they will be on their way to you straight away.

On another note ... my kitchen is in and working but not finished yet. 

There are all the new tiles to add to walls and floor and the decorating to be done. And once it is done I will show you the complete change.

It is looking really modern and I am very pleased with it.

The hold up has been pieces missing from the order and Griff has had to keep chasing them up. 

But it is a credit to him and all the hard work he has done fitting this alone

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx