Thank You Card ...

Hi Everybody,

This is another card that has been created with digital papers from the Floriography CD 

There are some really pretty papers on this double CD and you are sure to find something that catches your eye.

The base card is created with Kraft Card  that I buy from AnnaMarie Designs and it is a really inexpensive one to use

The "Thank You" sentiment from  Spellbinders Phrase Two  has been cut with Kraft Card and inked through the die before removing it to accentuate the word

Along the bottom edge I have added in some lace and ribbon and then tied more lace into a bow with a little pearl and Diamanté centre from Wild Orchid crafts

The finished card size is 5x7" and this is the size that I like to work with the most.

It is created in the  Hinged Card  style and I have added the other pieces onto the card with foam pads to give dimension

Another card that is prettier in real life than the photo shows.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

Another week gone by so quickly and it has been a really busy week for me. I hope you have all had a good week and managed to get done all the things you wanted to do

The winner has been drawn from the hat for the oval peach card and the name this week is you ...

Tami Grant

can you email me please with your postal address to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

please do not leave your personal details here in the comments .. email me and then you know  they are private. 

The card will be on it's way to you straight away

You have 48 hours in which to claim the card and please let me know when it arrives with you.

I hope you will like it.

There will be no post from me on Sunday as I am going to have that day off completely to simply do as I please so I will be back bright and early Monday morning with another new card to start the week .

There is a really pretty Tuesday Tutorial this coming week and I hope you will try it for yourself

More on Monday ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie 091

Hi Everybody,

Another pretty peach card is on offer this week and it is is a free standing oval shape.

The dies I have used for this card are Heirloom Oval from Spellbinders

This is a shape that can be used in many different ways and I have added in Butterflies from Les Papillions two  set

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and they have been sparkled with Glitter Magic and the lovely pearl flourish is from Want2Scrap and is the Finesse Swirls

If this is a card that you would like to own then all you need to do is leave me a comment. From those comments a name will be drawn in the morning and the winner announced in that days Blog post.

Please come back and check if it is your name as you will only have 48 hours in which to claim it.

You will need to email me ...   christina@card-making-magic.com  ... with your postal address, and NOT here on the blog.

That is the way to contact me for anything you may wish to know as any comments on the Blog are all "No Follow" which simply means that I cannot email you back if you ask me a question.

Plus I moderate each comment so that no personal information from you is added to the pages ...  to keep you safe.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Floriography CD

Hi Everybody,

I am often asked where I get the pretty papers that I use on my  cards and many of them are digital papers that I simply print off from my PC whenever I need them.

The papers on this card are from the  Floriography Twin CD  available from My Craft Studio.

It is a CD that I have had for a few years now so although it is still around it may not be for much longer.

There are some lovely backing papers on the disc as well as lots of other items ... such as envelopes, stationery boxes, matting and layering panels etc. etc.

The black and gold papers here are from the elements section and this has given me an A5 panel, the topper, some ribbon borders, and a sentiment.

The A5 will give you a complete backing sheet for a 5x7" card  and I have used the 160 GSM smooth white paper for Text and Graphics from Staples

I used gold card to may and layer and gold card for the sentiment which is a die from Spellbinders and is Phrase set Two 

It has several interesting and useful phrases on both of the sets and they are some that I will use time and time again.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Dreamer ...

Hi Everybody,

The sentiment on this card has been stamped onto parchment and embossed in white ... and then curved around the panel to raise it from the base

The verse is from Sheena Douglass and is one of several on her  Little Bit Sketchy  range

The background has been done in Purple, Emerald Green and Ultra marine Brusho Crystal Colours.

These Crystals are so much fun to play with and no two panels will ever be the same.

Over the top of the background I have stamped with Versamark and heat embossed the butterflies with white powder

I have added in some of my baked Ikea dots and layered the coloured panel with lilac card onto a white base.

The finished effect is very vibrant and I am quite pleased with the way this card has turned out.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Contemporary Diamonds

Hi Everybody,

This is a card that is a little different and it uses the Contemporary Diamonds from Spellbinders.
There are three other shapes in this new style ... one is squares and the other is circles 

 I chose the Diamonds as it is a lovely shape.

So follow the steps and make this design for yourself with the pretty card colours that you have in your own "Stash" 

Spellbinders Supplies:

• S5-131 A2 Matting Basics A
• S5-132 A2 Matting Basics B 
• A2 Modern Stationery
• S4-499 Contemporary Diamonds
• S4-563 Phrases One
• GC-200 Grand Calibur Die Cutting and Embossing Machine

Other Supplies:

• AnnaMarie Designs striped card

Instructions:

With die #9 from  A2 Matting Basics A cut two pieces in blue and  hinge together  to form your base card

I have placed mine at the top of the card to use in Landscape

With die #9 from A2 Matting Basics B cut one layer in white and emboss to add texture to the card

(Please remember that die number one #1 is always the smallest)

With #7 from A2 Modern Stationery cut one layer in a patterned card

With the Contemporary Diamonds cut the shape four times from card of blending colours. 

I chose white, lilac, turquoise and pink for mine

Decide where on the card you would like the shape to go and paper piece the other colours into the frame

I paper piece from the back and then tape them in place so that they can't fall out again but make sure you get them the correct way with all the "right" sides facing down

I have added foam pads to the back of mine to keep the paper pieces in place and to raise the shape up from my card

Cut the word of your choice in black card and black craft foam and glue the two together.

Assemble the card by adding all the layers together with foam tape between for dimension.

Add to the base card and trim the edges of the Diamond shape that my overhang neatly
Add in some enamel dots, or gemstones if you prefer,  as the finishing touch and there you have a card for any occasion if you swap out the sentiment

Keep the other pieces that you cut to make another card with different combinations of paper piecing

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Brusho and embossing ...

Hi Everybody,

This bright and cheerful card has used several techniques in its making.

The first thing I did was to create my background with the Brusho Crystal Colours and I used Orange and Red

Then I added in the flourish with Versamark and white embossing powder and heated it till it was raised

The gold dots are created with a mask and some embossing paste that was sprinkled while wet with gold glitter

I left that on one side for a few hours to dry completely and then I shaped the card with a corner rounder

It has been matted onto gold mirror card and layered onto the card base with foam tape to give dimension

Spellbinders have lots of word sentiments and this is Hello from Phrases Set Two

It was cut in black card several times and layered together to make it stand out from the card.

There is a very simple, quick and easy card to do and the colours are what make it stand out from the crowd.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Card Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

It's cold and wet and windy here in the North West and it's time to put the central heating on and warm up.  I hope it is better where you are but at least if it's too wet to go out then maybe a little crafting time is in order.

The draw has been done and the winner of the woven card is ...

Win Mayes

can you send me your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

and the card will be on it's way to you straight away.

You have 48 hours to claim the card and I hope you will like it.

Please let me know when it arrives with you

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie 090

Hi Everybody,

Another of the woven cards for todays offering as the Friday Freebie

The card shape is created with Grand Labels from Spellbinders but this shape is now retired from their website

The pattern is created with the Weaving Dies from Sue Wilson and there are two sets to get the woven look.

They can be used independently but obviously the look will be complete with both sets

I have decorated my card with flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts  and added in some diamante gemstones from Want2Scrap

If this is a card that you would like to have then all you need to do is leave me a comment and join the regular group of followers

You will need to come back tomorrow to see if your name is the one that has been chosen to have the card and then you have 48 hours to claim the card

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx.

Autumn Leaves

Hi Everybody,

Well here I am back at home and sorry to have missed the blog post yesterday.

The show at 7am  was cancelled and so after breakfast we set off back up the motorway.

I was really angry with myself because I made some lovely samples to show you ... and left them all on my desk at home !!

I only realised what I had done when I walked into the studio on Monday morning to set everything up.

My stomach did somersaults when it dawned on me.

Fortunately I had sent some samples ahead of time but  they where all I had to dress the set.

This is one of the cards that was shown and this one has used the Bricks and Bark EL-015  folder from Spellbinders

The dies I have used are from the  Woodland Collection  and they the large leaves Leaves S4-571 and I have inked them with Distress Inks.  The smaller leaves and the acorns are from Acorns S2-191

So now I am back home I can get back to normal and tomorrow there is a really pretty card up for grabs in the Friday Freebie

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Font One Uppercase

Hi Everybody,

This "Thanks" card is created with the  Font One - Uppercase  set of dies and it is very easy to do. The pictures  will take you through the  steps you can follow to get this look for your self.

Spellbinders Supplies:

•  S6-009 Font One Uppercase
• PL-001 Platinum Die Cutting and Embossing machine

Other Supplies:

• Brusho Crystal Colours
• Ribbon from my "stash"
• Acrylic Flower Wild Orchid Crafts 
• Altenew Halftone Thanks stamp

Instructions:

 Fold an A4 piece of  white card in half to create your base and keep  the fold at the top. 

 Use a brightly coloured background and trim it slightly smaller than the base. 

Cut another white layer slightly smaller than the coloured layer and this is the one we will work with

Select the letters that spell out "Thanks" and lay them on the edge of the ruler so that they are level.
 I have the cutting edge facing downwards and I add tape to the back to keep them all together.
This also makes it easier to pick up all the letters at the same time

Place all the taped letter onto the last white layer that you cut... but don't press them down
Make a very feint pencil line where  you would like your word to sit on the card front.

Remove the taped dies  and place the rest of the sentiment  under the line ... where you would like it to sit on your card.

Once you have it stamped in black and clear heat embossed,  add the letters back again to the card and this time press them down and run through your die cutter

Keep the die cut letters for another project but remember to save the little triangle from the die that sits in the letter "A"

I have then erased the pencil line and dry embossed my card with a folder from my "Stash"

Flip the card over and place the foam pads on the back  so that they support the outer edge and also the letters. That will stop them collapsing on the card. 

Then add it to the brightly coloured background leaving that  little border around the edge.
Replace the little triangle to form the letter "A" correctly

Add in some ribbon and a bow and place some enamel dots or gemstones around the card front to finish the look.

Try this idea with other words ... maybe someones name and as long as the word fits on the card front it will look really good.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Flourish Frame

Hi Everybody,

Today I am back on Create and Craft and this is one of the new dies that will be in the show.

I hope you will be able to join me at 8am and again at 1pm

I love this type of die as it is big and gives a really dramatic finish to any card.

The  Flourish Frame is really beautiful and the card is a 5x7 finished size

I have layered it with foam tape to give dimension and this shows in the picture because it looks as  if you can see through the layers

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts  and they have been sparkled with fine glitter

The bows centre is also from WOC and the ribbon is tied in a triple bow.

The pink pearls are from Want2Scrap and I have dotted them around the framework

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Trumpet Vine

Hi Everybody,

This pretty die is from Memory Box and is called Trumpet Vine.

It is a sample that I made for  Craft Stash  and I have cut the vine in pink card and added pink pearls to the flower centres

It has then been added to the top of some embossed parchment  which I stamped with the verse before embossing.

I have added my glue so that it is positioned under the ribbon and the die cut shape so that it wont show trough the parchment

The satin ribbon is from Mei Flower  and the centre to the bow is from Wild Orchid Crafts

The gingham card is from AnnaMarie Designs   and the plain pink card has been embossed with an A4 folder

All have been layered with foam pads to give dimension to the card.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

And the Winner is ...

Hi Everybody,

Todays  late start is not because I have been having a lie in but because I have joined Slimming World and Saturday morning is class day.

I go along like a good girl each week to be weighed to see what I have lost during the week.

So far I have been very good and I have shed almost a stone in four weeks so guess who is a happy bunny. There are eleven weeks now till Christmas and I hope to have lost another stone and then I am going to treat myself to a lovely new dress.

I go with my youngest daughter and she is also doing well. We are both enjoying the Food Optiming concept that is Slimming Worlds way and not once have we been hungry.  So watch this space and I will keep you up to date with my progress.

Yesterday was Isabella's fourth Birthhday and this afternoon we are going to her party. I can't believe where those four years have gone. She is growing so quickly

Any way the name has been drawn for the mint green card yesterday and the winner is ....

Marietta ...

Would you send me your postal address please to

christina@card-making-magic.com

And the card will be on the way to you.

You have 48 hours in which to claim it and I hope you will like it when it arrives

So on Monday I will be on Create & Craft TV with Spellbinders Members Deal

The shows are  Monday at 8am and 1pm
Tuesday at 8am and 3pm
Wednesday at 7am for the breakfast show .... Which should be good for a laugh so early in the day

I hope you will join me and many drop me an email it will be lovely to know that you are there

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie 089

Hi Everybody,

Mint green is the flavour of the day for this weeks Friday Freebie and the inside is lined to match the front

I have used the Bracket Borders Two for this design and there is a video to show you how to use this type of die

The video shows Bracket Borders One  but the principal is the same

The bottom panel is cut with Lonely Hearts  and this die is in two pieces that will cut the pattern either separately or leave it in the card

If this is a card that you would like then simply leave me a comment and from those comments a name will be chosen and the winner announced in tomorrows blog post.

Please come back to check if you are the winner as you only have 48 hours in which to claim the card

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx