Beautiful Card Designs Made Easy

August 13, 2016

Todays Winner

Hi Everybody,

Another lovely day here in the North West and I have a day to relax.  I have been engrossed in the Olympics and watching the ladies gymnastics was amazing.  The tiny American girl Simone Biles was just a pleasure to behold and I swear that girl can fly

But the draw for the card has been done and the winner this week is you ...

Jan Castle
please email me with your postal address to
christina@card-making-magic.com
and the card will be on its way to you.

I hope you will like it and would you let me know when it arrives with you.
I promise you it is much better in the hand 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

August 12, 2016

Friday Freebie 131

Hi Everybody,

Dies from the Victorian Garden by Spellbinders have been used for this card and it is a large card.

The sentiment on the front is for a new job but that can easily be removed and your own added if you wanted to use the card.

The background is created with the glue technique that I shared in Using Glues for Fun  and it is much prettier in the hand than on a photograph.

If this is a card that you would like to have then all you need to do is leave me a comment and from those one name will be chosen

The winner will be announced in tomorrows blog post and so you will need to come back and check if it is yours

I am happy to send the card anywhere and it doesn't matter if you have won before you can still try again.

You don't need to have your own blog either so have a go and you never know it could be your name that is on the page in the morning.

YT Video

There is a new video out on YouTube today with a new collection of dies from Apple Blossom called  Botanicals Collection   ... Please leave a comment if you enjoy the video 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

August 11, 2016

Falling Leaves Die & Embossing Folder

Hi Everybody,

Time for another peak into what is coming with this months Die Cutting Essentials.

The video will show you lots of  ways to use the 
 and of course there will be many more in the magazine itself

For this card I have created a clean and simple design and used the leaves to accentuate my floral display. 

I have cut them in green and gold and tucked them behind the flowers and around the gold frame

With this card I have used Autumn colours and with a change of sentiment it would make a really good male card which we all seem to struggle with

The leaves could also be used on a Sympathy card on the occasion when we need to make one.

I like to have a leaf die in my crafting stash as they always come in handy and this one has several shapes to the set.


The dies will come to you joined and the video gives you a different idea that you can try while they are still in one group

Some of the looks are really simple and easy to do and once you get to play I am sure that you will discover for your self many other ways to use this versatile free gift with
 Die Cutting Essentials

It will be in supermarkets and newsagents on the 18th August and you can also buy it direct from More Mags 

That is also the link if you wished to subscribe to any of their magazines and have them delivered straight to your door.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

August 10, 2016

Water Colour Wednesday - Friend Like You

Hi Everybody,

I love this image and I could not resist giving her a pretty floral dress to wear.  And don't you just love that the handbag matches her slippers.??

Adding clothes or changing the look of those already drawn onto the characters is so much fun and if you haven't tried it you are missing out.

I added Glossy Accents to her glasses to make them shine like lenses

It doesn't matter if you can draw or not as nothing is too fancy to achieve.

Just grab that pen and doodle away and you will be pleased and surprised at what you can come up with.

Have a look at last weeks image also as he too has been altered for a fun look ... Man and His Dog !!

This is a digital image from the CD The Next Big Thing from Just Inklined and as all companies do they have moved on and it is no longer available.

I wouldn't part with my copy for anything as there is some really fantastic characters on the disc to play with.

You may be lucky and find one on EBay that someone wants to sell on but I think you will need to search for it

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

August 09, 2016

Tuesday Tutorial - Hello Baby Girl ...

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is clean and simple and ready to welcome the new baby to the world. 
I have used Spellbinders dies to create my card and the lovely baby feet card is so special from LimeTree Crafts
The finished size is US A2 and it fits into a standard sized envelope for cheaper postage costs. 
Alter the wording and it would a really lovely baby shower card too
Spellbinders Supplies:

Other Supplies:

With die #7 from Matting Basics A cut two pieces of white card and create a hinged card
With #7 from Matting Basics B cut one layer in pink
With #6 from the A set cut another layer in white and emboss with you favorite embossing folder
(Please remember that #1 is always the smallest)
With #2 from the Scalloped labels 46 cut as many shapes as you would like to ad to your card front but adding too many will spoil the look
Add foam pads to the back of these shapes and place them on the embossed panel randomly
Add some of them so that they lie off the panel
Trim around the shapes from the back and then wrap your ribbon around the layers
Add this to the pink panel and add all to the base card with foam tape underneath to give dimension
Add a small bow and glue small flowers to the centre
Sprinkle them with glitter
Cut the words from a darker shade of pink several times and glue them in layers to add to the card
Dot with pink pearls to finish

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

August 08, 2016

Shabby Chic Inspiration ...

Hi Everybody,

The Shabby Chic cards that I add to the blog pages seem to be really popular

And so my "Film Crew" has put together a couple of videos showing all these cards in one group.

There are two short films and the second one will be added later.

Here is the first one 

 I really like all the cards that are shown
 I will add the link permanently into the page 
Cards to Inspire You
in the side bar to your left

That way it will always be viewable and easy to find.

There are now eight of these types of video and I hope you enjoy the cards.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx



August 06, 2016

Card Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

What a beautiful day and off to play with Isabella again this afternoon.  My eldest Granddaughter has been staying with me for the last two weeks and tomorrow she is heading off back to Australia to work for another two years.

It has been lovely to see her again and so last night as a farewell dinner we all went out to our favorite restaurant and had a family meal. Griff took some photos and I thought I would share one with you.
So here we are in all our glory me holding my Great Grandson with my two daughters either side of me and my Great Granddaughter is at the front.
 Then my two Grand daughters are each side of them and my Grandson is on the right of the picture

Now on to the draw for yesterdays card and the name this week is yours 
Marjorie Bates
would you email me please with your postal address to
christina@card-making-magic.com
and the card will be on its way to you straight away.

Have a good weekend

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

August 05, 2016

Friday Freebie 130

Hi Everybody,

For those of you who like blue here is a card in a really pretty pale shade with a striking striped ribbon along the side.

The flourishes and the butterfly on the card are glittered and so are the flowers.

The card is a 6" Square card and the inside is decorated to match the front

Would you like to own this card?

Then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post and from those comments a name will be drawn and announced in tomorrows blog post.

You will need to come back and check if it is your name and then email me with your postal address to claim the card.  You have 72 hours in which to claim it and then it will go to someone else ..
Good Luck

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx


August 04, 2016

Magazine Freebies Sneaky Peek ...

Up In The Air A4 Stamp Set
Hi Everybody,

Today I have two new videos on  YouTube   which feature the  gifts that will be attached to magazines that will  be on sale on the 11th August.  

They are:

You will be able to get your copy from supermarkets, craft shops and newsagents as well as WHSmith and direct from Moremags.co.uk

If you wanted to subscribe to any of the magazines that Moremags  produce then you can do that via the link 

In the videos I have tried to show you ways to use the dies, stamps or embossing folders that can help you to make beautiful cards. 

And of course inside the magazines there will be other examples of  how to use the fabulous free gift.

I will be adding these Magazine Freebie Videos each week so please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and then you wont miss any of them and don't forget to leave me a comment 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx


August 03, 2016

Water Colour Wednesday - Man and his dog !!

Hi Everybody,

After the comments on the video Birthday Bears when I added clothes to the stamped images I thought it would be fun to change this one as well.

So I painted the man to enhance his rugged looks and then added a flowery shirt to him along with his jeans.

I thought that the whole look was totally incongruous for a  man who looks like this
Would he really wear such a shirt and take his rather large bloodhound for a walk with a pink lead ???

I loved the look once it was done and it was fun to create and I know just the person to send this too.

He will laugh his socks off when he sees this

I used water colours to get the look and it didn't really take me that long to do it

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

August 02, 2016

Tuesday Tutorial - Old Meets New

Hi Everybody,

Having a collection of dies is no good unless you put them to good use and just because you buy new dies doesn't mean that you need to discard the older ones. So for todays card I am using the new Labels 56 and combining it with one of my old time favorites Label 8 Decorative Elements
Spellbinders Supplies:

Other Supplies:
  • Flowers, Leaves and centres from Wild Orchid Crafts
  • Glitter from Glitter Magic
  • Ribbon from Mei Flower
  • Card from Papermill Direct
Instructions:

With die #7 from Matting Basic A cut two white layers to create a hinged card
With #7 from Matting Basic B cut one in pink
With #6 from Matting Basic A cut another white panel and emboss it with your folder.
The folder will not be big enough to take all the card so emboss one side and then turn the card around and emboss the portion that is not done.
 It may leave a join mark but we are able to cover that with ribbon 
(Remember that die #1 is always the smallest)
With #4 from Labels 8 Deco Elements cut one in pink and add foam pads to the back of this
With dies #2 and 3 cut these layer with the larger one in pink
Add a sentiment to the smaller panel  in black ink and heat emboss with clear powder
With #3 cut this panel in white and add foam pads to the back of each one
Layer the Labels 8 Deco panel to the white embossed layer and then add both to the pink layer and wrap with ribbon.
Add all these layers to the base card and layer on the rest of the panels to assemble the card
The flowers I have added are a mirror image of each other at the top and bottom of the centre panel.
And if you struggle with your floral displays then here is a video that may help you with your arrangement ...  Adding Flowers To Cards 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx


August 01, 2016

Lilac and White

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is in a really pretty Lilac and white combination with a Cadbury purple ribbon and bow along the bottom.

I added in flowers that blend and sparkled them up with glitter.

The Spellbinders dies I have used are Labels 56 and I have just used the Classic set and snot the fancy ones that match

The card was very quick and easy to make and this is a useful die set to have ... especially if you get the Decorative Elements that match.

I bought the sentiment in a set of stamps from the craft show and I can't remember who it was by

I used the 5x7 embossing folder for the background panel as I really don't like this part of the card to look too plain

Little pearls have been dotted here and there around the flowers just as added interest.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx


July 31, 2016

Shabby Chic - Pink & Silver

Hi Everybody,

Time to create a shabby chic card again and this time I have used silver to highlight the pink and grey

The die that I have used is the Venetian Gatefold and I have used one of the pieces as a window to my card

The pretty papers are Digital ones that I have on my PC and the grey card for the base is from Papermill Direct

The flowers compliment the colour scheme and they have been sparkled with glitter.

Altogether a really pretty card that could be for many types of occasions

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx