Two Winners Today ....

Hi Everybody,

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend and whatever the weather holds for you. It's bright and cheerful here today even if it is cold. Thanks to all for participating in the two "Give Aways" that have been on the blog this week.

The names of winners each week will be added to the "Winners Page" that is a permanent fixture in the side bar to the left and I will be starting a new list with todays winners and erasing the names form 2017.

So a clean slate for the New Year and to save confusion over which gift is yours I have added the photos of each prize

The first prize winner for the Friday Freebie has been drawn and this card and gift are going to you ...

NukeWidow

please email me your postal address to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

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

The second winner for the New Year 2018  parcel is you ...

Elsebeth

I also need you to email me your postal address please

as above

Both gifts will be in the post to you ladies straight away. 

I hope you will both like them and please let me know when they arrive safely.

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

There will be no Friday Freebie next week as I have some exciting news to bring you plus I will be on Craft Stash Facebook Live at 10 am  on the 12th January

And can I also explain please that although I ask you to let me know that you get the FF safely by the very nature of the gift I only have one to give away. So in the sad instance that one FF goes missing it is with much regret that I cannot send another as I don't have one.

I hope you understand

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Lavish Labels

Hi Everybody,

For the New Year I am continuing with the Card and Gift give away each Friday.

And so today is the beautiful die and stamp set that was free with Simply Cards & Papercrafts 

The video ...   Lavish Labels   will give you some ideas on how I have used this set.

The card shown is the one that I am giving away with the dies and stamps and so if this is set that you would like to have then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of the post

One name will be drawn from the hat at random and the winner announced in tomorrows blog post.

You will have 72 hours in which to claim the prize by emailing me with your postal address.

Good luck everybody 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tonic Studios - Moroccan Orchard

Hi Everybody,

Well as I promised I am now going to be doing adding more videos to the blog pages.

Thank you for letting me know that you enjoy them and that you would prefer this type of tutorial

The links to the products will be at the bottom of the post for you to view 

For this beautiful card I have used the Tonic Studios Moroccan Orchard Corner and it is quite a large die in two sections.

The Pink and White card is from Papermill Direct and most of the card I use is from them and weighs between 255 - 300 gsm

This is a good solid base for any of my designs

The video will show you in detail how I made this card and it is really lovely in the hand. So I hope you will enjoy the tutorial and will continue to join me as I make more for you to view.

And don't forget the  "Give Away"  is running until Friday so add your comment if you want to be in with a chance

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Creative Stamping 52 Music & Dance Collection

Hi Everybody,

The first magazine that I am showing you for the New Year is Creative Stamping Issue 52.

This has to be such a good value magazine as every month there is an A4 stamp sheet.

I just love this Dancing Feet stamp and I couldn't resist extending the ladies skirt and putting some folds in it.

I used sparkle pen on the shoes and decoupaged the flowers at the bottom of the card.

Another one I liked was the drum kit and some of the sentiments will fit inside the largest drum

There are two examples of cards ... one for the ladies in your family and the other for the men.

Such a versatile stamp set and for any age group too. and what a way to collect some quality stamps

It is on sale 4th January and is sure to sell out quickly.  

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Inked Background & Layered Butterflies

Hi Everybody,

Here is the first Tuesday Tutorial video for the New Year and I hope to bring you many many more.
I have topped 50,000 followers on YouTube in 2017 and I am hoping it will grow even more this year

Thank you so much for all your kind wishes and for being with me again in 2018

Supplies Used:

• Complete Card & Box Die Set
• Layered Butterflies Die Set
• Cube Trellis Die Set
• Fancy Flourish Stencil
• Distress Inks
• Blending sponges
• Black Sequins
• Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue

I am aiming to keep the videos quite short so as not to take up too much of your time but I hope you enjoy them anyway.  

 The list to the products is at the end of the blog post and some of them are affiliate links which means if you buy them I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you  

You could use Distress Oxides if you have those and the look will be slightly different. 

But try any inks that you have in your own collection and see which blends you like.

 Write down the combinations and then you will always know which ink works with another 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Happy New Year 2018

Hi Everybody,

This is to wish you ALL a very Happy New year and to Thank You for all your support throughout the last one. 

I have enjoyed bringing you the videos and there will be lots more in the coming year

You may have noticed that I have added a permanent link to videos using my own collection in the side bar to your right  --->

Plus there are more additions planned for the "Christina Collection" 

So to start the New Year I have two items planned one is the video on the making of this card ...
And the second one is this bumper "Give Away" to say Thank You.

In this package there are:

Pack of Metal Embellishments
Pack of mixed flowers
Pack of Apple Blossom Dies, Stamps, Stencil and Embossing Folder
Five packs of  self adhesive pearls & gemstones
Five rolls of ribbon/lace
Pack of five hatpins
Pack of satin Rosebuds
Pack of brads
Two packs of Guipure Lace
One pack of glitter

All together a prize well worth winning so if you would like to win this then simply leave me a comment at the end of the post to be in with the chance.

The winner will be announced on Saturday along with the
Friday Freebie Winner

Happy New Year

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby Update ...

Hello Everybody,

It's me Ruby and I thought I would pop in to say Happy New Year to everybody and let you see how I have grown.

I am now 16 months old and I am a very happy 

English Cocker Spaniel 

Here I am sitting on the footstool in my house waiting for my mum to give me some of that biscuit that she has in her hand 

I had a lovely Christmas and got some new toys and I had some turkey as a special treat. 

I also got a new coat and a harness for when I go walking with my mum and dad.

We had lots of visitors over the holiday and they all made a fuss of both me and my very best friend Dougal.

Our mums took us on the beach a lot and into the park too where people make a fuss of us because we are so beautiful.

I may be growing into a big girl but I can't seem to catch up with my ears.

My mum says I look like Dumbo and maybe I could fly with them if I flapped them fast enough 

When ever I have a drink they get wet even though my mum bought me a special Spaniel bowl 

But I love it when she dries them for me and I can chase the towel 

But now that we are coming into the New Year I need to watch my weight and so I am getting stuck into this bag early 

I hope you all have a good year and I will be back again soon.

Bye for now 

Love 

Ruby xx

Card & Gift Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

Not long to go now to the start of another New Year and I have a feeling that this one is going to bring some exciting things.  The opportunities that I was given in 2017 have been amazing and they look set to continue with some new additions to the "Christina Collection" coming soon.

As we come to the end of this year my little Ruby will be back tomorrow to tell you what she has been up to and then on New Years Day I have a video for you and a little "Give Away" so I hope you will pop by and say hello.

The draw for yesterdays gift has been done and the name this week is you ...

MariaM 

please can you email me your postal address to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

and your prize will be on its way to you straight away.

I hope you will have fun playing with this set and please let me know that you have it safe

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Enjoy the journey

Hi Everybody,

This is the fun gift that was with Die Cutting Essentials 25 and I made lots of cards with this

Here is the link to the video for you to view and refresh your memory

DCE25 Enjoy the Journey

Now if you would like this gift to be on its way to you then you know what to do !!!

Leave me a comment at the end of the post and one name will be drawn from those comments and the winner notified in tomorrows blog post.

I am happy to send the gift wherever you are in the world but you only have 72 hours in which to claim it by email to christina@card-making-magic.com

If it is not claimed then it will be offered again at a later date

 As we go into the New Year are you happy for me to continue with the card and gift as a Friday Freebie ??

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tonic Hearts in Gold and White

Hi Everybody,

Just lately I have been enjoying playing with beautiful dies from Tonic Studios and this Heart is one of the latest.

This is the Thank You Blossom Dies Set and I have used Gold and White to make my design.

I teamed it with another Tonic die for the sentiment and I love the finished card. It is one of those that are better in the hand than a photograph

The completed size is 5x7 and I will be making a matching box from my own 

"Christina Collection" 

The video will show you how the card was made and the little centre to cover the knot in the bow is from an inexpensive bracelet that I bought really from Primark

I hope you enjoy the video and will give some of these ideas a try in your own adventure into cardmaking

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Simply Cards & Papercraft 172

Hi Everybody,

There is a  really useful stamp set that comes free with this issue of Simply Cards & Papercraft and the wave stamp in the set fits the All Occasions embossing folder too

There are some Tags and Frames also included plus some templates for you to create a Pillow box or a Pop Up Box.

There are lots of ideas and inspiration both inside the magazine and on the back of the package so you should be able to adapt these to suit your own way of working.

In the video I give you more and together we can work through making another in easy steps to create a really pretty card in muted colours

Thank you for your answers to my video vs written question for tutorials and  l will be doing more videos in the New Year

You need very little of the Cosmic Shimmer Mica Powders and they will last you a long time. They come complete with the little brush and a spray bottle for you to use them in other ways too 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tonic Studios - Romanesque Bracket Corner

Hi Everybody,

This beautiful cards is created with the new Romanesque Bracket Corner Die Set from Tonic Studios

It is a lovely die and cuts so easily and I have added two to my card.

There are lots of ways to use this die and I will feature it in future videos.

But for today I am sharing the making of this card and I have used a selection of flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts

I hope you enjoy the video and it is not long so won't take up too much of your day ... but thanks for watching this and all my other videos. There are now well over 500 for you on YouTube

This is the second Tuesday where I have done a video tutorial instead of a written one. Which do you prefer? Video vs Written ... let me know your thoughts and I will do my very best to oblige 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tonic Craft Kit 05

Hi Everybody,

Tonic are a wonderful brand that can be purchased from anywhere in the world ... and the dies are quality and cut beautifully every time.

Their craft kits are well worth the subscription and you will be really pleased at the amount of stuff that you get in the box.

This month is no exception and it is full of florals and leaves for you to create the most beautiful additions.

The card shown is using just Kit 05 and I am really pleased with the result.

The video can be viewed below and the kits are available from Tonic Studios

UK & Europe 

US & North America 

The kits can be bought as a one off purchase or you can enrol to get them delivered to your door each month and save even more money.  They are an affordable way to build up your crafting stash with dies, paper & card, embellishments as well as tools.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Three Videos

Hi Everybody,

The first thing I want to do is wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas wherever you are in the world and how ever you celebrate it

I am going to be scheduling blog posts for the next few  days so that I can get some time off to be with my family.
But I will be back with even more good things to share with you.

Any comments that you kindly leave will be added as I come back to my PC

I hope you will stay with me through the New Year and continue to enjoy the videos

Talking of which I have three to add here ... just to keep you going ....

Merry Christmas xxx

Card & Gift Winner ...

Hi Everybody,

A really quick post today as I have lots to do before the big day.  I did all my shopping yesterday but you can sign your name in the dust in my house and so to get that in order is the main task for today.

But the draw for a winner has been chosen at random to receive the card and gift from yesterday. It was the lovely nesting Family Ties dolls and sentiments.  The name chosen is you ...

Maggie Gardner

please will you email me your postal address to 

christina@card-making-magic.com

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

I hope you will put them to good use and please let me know when you have them safely.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx