Beautiful Card Designs Made Easy

October 27, 2018

Card and Gift Winners ...

Hi Everybody,

Lovely day here this morning ... cold but sunny, and as usual lots to do. 

It is Formula One weekend and so Griff will be attached to the TV and I will be up in the craft room with all my bits and pieces.

Ruby will be out for her long Sunday morning walk and maybe a roast beef dinner. 

Now onto the winners of the set that was on offer yesterday which is the
 Best Of Card Making Magic.

This really is a full gift of an A4 stamp set and four matching dies and there are lots of ways to put this to good use.

So the two names chosen today are ...

Sheila Price
and 
Jenny Hurley
Pleas email me your postal address to 
christina@card-making-magic.com
and the gifts will be on their way to you.

You have 72 hours in which to claim them and please let me know that you have them safely

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 26, 2018

Friday Freebie - The Best Of Card Making Magic

Hi Everybody,

So to round off October I am giving away two more prizes  from Card Making Magic 
This is the gift that was with my favourite magazine Simply Cards & Papercraft and it is a huge set.
It consists of a large A4 stamp set and four matching dies and I did a video to show you some of the cards that I made with them all


Now if you would like to win one of these gifts and one of the cards that I made, then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the bog post, and add your FULL NAME, to be entered into the draw. 

From those comments two names will be chosen at random and added to the blog post tomorrow.
So you will need to come back and check if it is your name that is shown.
You will have 72 hours in which to claim the prize.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 24, 2018

Die Cutting Essentials 44 - O Christmas Tree

Hi Everybody,

This lovely Christmas tree is the exclusive gift that is with Die Cutting Essentials this month and it will be on sale tomorrow the 25th October

The featured card is just one way in which I have used the die and there are lots more that you can try.

The video will show you how I got two cards from one die cut by using the positive and negative pieces.

So there is no waste with this and you can achieve this with almost any die cut shape that you can create


Keep a look out for this pack on the shelves if this is a die that you would like to have and make some really pretty cards for the holiday season to send to family and friends

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 23, 2018

Floral Easel card & Box

Hi Everybody,

It's many years ago that I last did a video for an
Easel card and so I have decided to up date the process in a new video.

It has been requested by some YouTube followers and I was happy to oblige.

I am very happy with the result and the matching box that I created to go with it.

I used my 6x6 Collection  and added embellishments from the new Decorative Collection


So here is the video for you to view and if you have never tried an Easel Card then give it a go ... it's easy I promise you.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 22, 2018

Enjoy Your Day ...

Hi Everybody,

Butterflies are always a firm favourite with card makers and I love to add them to my projects too.

This cards is created with items from my own collections  and they are listed at the bottom of the page

All are available from Craft Stash and the butterflies them selves are stamped with Distress Ink onto Vellum in a soft Shaded Lilac

The Distress Ink stays wet for some time on the Vellum to give you the chance to add the embossing powder and heat set it. 

Make sure that you get the heat tool really hot and bring it to the Vellum in short bursts so as not to burn or warp it in the process

With the pearl flourishes cut them into smaller pieces so that you can add them without getting tangled up ... and you only need small swirls for the butterfly trails any way

The result is a very delicate card and I was happy with the result at the end, and it made a very pretty birthday card for a friend

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 20, 2018

Card &Gift Winners ...

Hi Everybody,

Late start for me today but I have had a really good week. And next week is set to be even busier with videos, cards and some new designs that will be with you soon. I really enjoyed the workshop that I did last Wednesday and Steven has left me a message on the blog post to say he enjoyed the day too despite being called Pete .... and I even spelled his name wrong in the process !!

I will try not to spell these names wrong for today's winners that have been drawn from the hat this morning. You are going to get the really pretty die set from
Card Making Magic 

The names to day are ....
Anniek Dunn
and 
Isabel Guntar
please can you email me your postal address and the gifts will be on their way to you.
I hope you will enjoy them and please let me know that you have them safely.
You have 72 hours to claim the prize.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 19, 2018

Friday Freebie - Radiant Butterflies

Hi Everybody,

The card and gift this week are the free gift from Card Making Magic 

This was given away with Die Cutting Essentials earlier this year and it is a lovely die set
The video to accompany this set is 
Radiant Butterflies and I have two of these to give away.

So if you would like to win one of them then all you need to do is leave me a comment with your FULL NAME to be in with the chance.

From those comments two names will be drawn and the winners announced in tomorrows blog post so be sure to come back and check if it is your name that is listed

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 18, 2018

Workshop Day ...

Hi Everybody,

So yesterday was a fun day spent in Stockport with the winners of the competition to have a creative workshop day with me.
They came from all over the country and some of them travelled a good distance to get there. We where eight ladies and one man and I think Stephen was very brave with all these women !!
 But we had a lovely day and Practical Publishing provided a buffet lunch for us all with tea and coffee flowing all day.



All went away happy with their makes and the "Goodie" bag that PP had given to them as well as some Decorative Hatpins as my gift to them also. 
The little film was part of the day crafting, chatting and having fun and I have to say a big
 THANK YOU 
to all who came.

Especially to Debra for her bow tutorial and to Stephen who tolerated me really well when for some inexplicable reason I repeatedly called him Pete ... Pete where did I get that from ???

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 17, 2018

Papercraft Essentials 166 - Winter Wonderland

Hi Everybody,

Using the exclusive gift with this months Papercraft Essentials I have created this Shaker card.

I used Vellum for the window instead of the usual Acetate to give a frosty appearance and the sequins I filled it with are white and silver

The background is Letter-Pressed and in the video I show you how I did this with clear powder to give a Tone on Tone look

The magazine will be on sale on the 18th October, so keep a look out if you would like this gift to help you make some of your cards this Christmas

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 16, 2018

Tonic Craft Kit 15 - Momento Book Maker

Hi Everybody,

This is not a card but a really pretty book that would make a perfect Christmas present, and you can add as many pages as the rings will hold.

There are dies to produce the covers and the pages for the book and corners for you to decorate them.

There is a tiny piece that will enable you to cut photo holders and layers that you may want to add to create extra pockets inside the covers.

Everything you need to decorate the book is in the kit and I have used a really inexpensive Copier paper to get the pages 


You can make this for any member of your family, male of female just use the colours that are more appropriate for your recipient 

I have used die from previous kits ( 5 and 10 ) in the project but you can use any dies that you have.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 15, 2018

Sunny Yellow Colour Scheme

Hi Everybody,

This is a card that I really liked the look of once it was finished. It was a magazine gift that I covered earlier this year and another that I enjoyed playing with

The colour scheme of yellow and blue was fresh and bright and I think they work well together.

If you think of the colours in nature then you can see examples everywhere of those that will work together ... and that is where I take a lot of my inspiration from.

Then go home and try to replicate that scheme on a card. If you like it then you will use it again and if you don't nothing is lost ... just start over. But there are not many colours in nature that will not work together

Use shades from the same family of either cool colours or warm ones on the one design, trying not to mix them together. Cool colours have tones of blue in them and warm colours have tones of red. 

So look carefully at your paints, pens, inks, sprays, pencils or whatever medium you like to use and decide ... is it cool or is it warm ? Is it pastel or bold ? 
Use a colour wheel to help you as that will show you where the colours sit in relation to each other. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx


October 14, 2018

Brusho Die Cut

Hi Everybody,

This card was made some time ago when I was playing with the Brusho Crystal Colours.

They are such a lovely way to play and can be used in a variety of ways. For this card I have simply spritzed the card with water and then added the crystals.

But you can mix a small amount of the powder with water onto your craft mat and use them as water colours.

But be warned a little goes a long long way so use sparingly and the colours are very vibrant too.

I used a die that I bought many years ago and I can't remember the name of the die or where I got it from,  but I have teamed it with the sentiment from my 6x6 Box and Card die set

Quick and easy card and with maybe a change of colour ideal for a male one

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 13, 2018

Card & Gift Winner

Hi Everybody,

Hope you are all going to have a good weekend and lots of relaxation ...  if that is your choice. I know that some of you have crafting weekends and that is what I will be doing today ... filming as I go along.

I am also preparing for the winners of the "Workshop with Christina" which takes place on the 17th October.  If you entered then "Thank You" for taking part and if you are one of the winners then I shall be delighted to meet you all this coming Wednesday in Stockport.

Back to today , the draw for the two Peacock dies that I have has been done and the two names are ...

Linda Batson
and
Denise Bryant
So would you both please email me your postal address to 
christina@card-making-magic.com
and the gifts will be on the way to you straight away
You have 72 hours to claim them and if not claimed they will be offered again at a later date.

Two more gifts on offer next week

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 12, 2018

Friday Freebie - Pretty Quick Stained Glass Peacock

Hi Everybody,

These Pretty Quick dies are the gift that was free with Die Cutting Essentials 38 and they are one way of making a card with just the one die.

There are lots of things that can be done with it ... like paper piecing, colouring, acetate etc.

The video that featured this die is here

I have two of these to Give Away this week  but each card is different and I don't know which one you will get, but if you would like one of them then all you need to do is leave me a comment with your full name to be in with the chance

Don't forget to come back in the morning to see if your name is shown as one of the winners as you have 72 hours in which to claim it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

October 11, 2018

Card Making Magic - Christmas Poinsettia

Hi Everybody,

Today's card is on the Christmas theme and it's not that far away now.  The card shown is much better in the hand and would need to go into a box because of the depth to the flowers.

I decided to film it and let you see the process I went through to create it and in particular how to get the thin border around the centre piece.

For this I used the Fancy Nesting Circles  and all my collection is available only at Craft Stash

I am being asked a lot about the tape that I am using at present and it is from Amazon.
It is Scotch 3M Double Coated Urethane and although it is very good and lasts me quite a long time it is not cheap. 

Shop around and if you find it cheaper please let me know too ...

More tomorrow 

Hugs xx