Beautiful Card Designs Made Easy

March 04, 2012

Diamonds are a girls best friend...

This card looks far more dificult than it is and it can all be made from one piece af A4 card.

The back and the front can be decorated to match and there is plenty of space on the inside of the card for a verse or a sentiment.

The panels have been embossed and the butterfly is a die cut  from Marianne Creatables  and is cut from Glitter card with a pearly buttefly trail.



The ideal way to send this would be to create your own box and that too could be decorated to fit in with the scheme of your card.

Add flowers, ribbons and pearls from your "Stash" and make the card as pretty as you would like.


There is a video on the website to help you create this Diamond Top Card

The large Paper Rose  is also in a video and these are such a pleasure to make.

That way you will always have flowers to match your projects ... all you need now are the ribbons and pearls to go with them.

Now just before I go can I add a reminder that the winner of the Blog Hop Candi was Suzanne and as yet she still has not claimed the prize.

Can you let me have your shipping address please Suzanne and then I can post the stamps out to you.

But if they have not been claimed by the end of this week then I will draw another number for a new winner.


Hugs Christina xx

March 03, 2012

Craft Show Goodies

What a lovely day this has been ... but then whenever I go to a craft show it is always a lovely day. It rained quite heavily but nothing was going to spoil my day.

I tried ever so hard not to spend any money ...  but I couldn't resist some of the goodies on offer.  I was very good and didn't spend too much.




These are some of the things I bought and you will see right in the middle are some Spellbinders. Now those I can never resist as I love the effects I can get with them. 

Just to the right is a stamp from  Just Rite.  It is made for the Labels 20 shape and there are several sentiments on the sheet that will  then fit inside the stamped image.  I can't wait to have a play with that.

I bought some large pearls, diamante ribbon sliders, silver and gold Mirror card and some gorgeous pastel coloured feathers that you can see on the left of the photo.... and boy ! am I going to have some fun over the next few weeks with my "Stash"




Just a few feathers placed here and there can make your cards look really feminine.

The pale pink feather, and the pink ribbon,  are for a special Christening card that I have been asked to make and it is inspired by the one I have made for Isabellla.  The order was made because they liked that one so much.

But tonight it is going to be feet up, glass of red wine and some telly... so more tomorrow.

Hugs Christina xx









March 02, 2012

Blog Hop Prize Winner is ....

The Blog Hop winner has been chosen and the prize of the three clear stamps will go to ....Suzanne !!

If you would like to email  me  with your snail mail address then I will get your prize in the post to you straight away.

And congratulations I hope you enjoy the stamps.

Are you getting ready for Mothers' Day?    Here in England it is on the 18th March so not long to go.

This is a card that would be perfect  for that occasion and I love the colours of it.




The hearts are layered with lace in between each one and the swirly Gemstone embellishment is just gorgeous.

It came on a sheet in large swirls,  but I just cut it into the size that I needed for my project. This is one of three cards that I have been commisioned to make for the day.

The next one is going to be featured in a video on using the same set of dies that have been used in  all the Spellbinder Tutorials  and it is so pretty.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts  in a lovely shade of lilac and white and I have sprayed them with Perfect Pearls to make them look .... er Pearly!!

I am off to a craft show this weekend and I have no doubt I will be buying some stuff. The weather forecast is quite good too and so it should be a really enjoyable time. I will show you what I buy on Monday.

The show is one of many organised by  Sincerely Yours  that are held around the country... aaaand if you buy your tickets on line then not only do you save money ... you also get FREE tea or coffee all day.

 Have a look there may be one coming near you somewhere in the UK.

Hugs Christina xx











March 01, 2012

Blog Hop is closed

That was my first ever Blog hop and it was so good to take part. It has brought me 20 new followers so ...  Hello ladies and it's good to have you on board.

The draw is now closed and so no more comments will be included. I will add the two days as one and the draw for the stamps will take place later today. I will let you know the winners name tomorrow.

Earlier in the Blog I added a card that had been featured in one of the Spellbinder Videos

When I made that card I just added an everyday sentiment but I liked it so much I decided to turn it into another Christening Card for my Great Granddaughter  Isabella.


I added her names to the front of the card and a lovely verse inside and I was very pleased with the result... and of course it had to have a box with it, so I carried the theme of the card through to the front.

I'm sorry to repeat myself with cards but I love this card and it is for my daughter (Grandmother) to give at the Christening later this Month... I know these cards will be treasured and shown to Isabella when she is old enough to understand.

And now I am off to the hairdresser to get a trim and then this evening I am going out for dinner to my favorite restaurant. Mmmm Mmmm!

Hugs Christina xx

February 29, 2012

Amy Jo's Birthday Blog Hop Day 2

It's day two of Amy Jo's Birthday Blog Hop and I hope you have enjoyed it so far. There are some "Goodies" to be won along the way.

Just become a follower of the Blogs you visit and leave them a lovely comment if you like what you see.

We don't have to make any special project ... just use Amys' favorite colours of Pink, White and Black or any character from Alice in Wonderland and it can be anything you like.

We only needed to make one thing over the two days so there was plenty of time to go hopping.

But I am adding another birthday project here in pink and white as they are my favorite colours too


This little gift incorporates some tealight candles and they smell gorgeous. 

 If you want to make one of these for yoursefl you will find the written instructions  and a  short  Video Tutorial  on the website.

The flowers are from  Wild Orchid Crafts and the candles are from Ikea... lots of them in a box .
The Pink Polka dot ribbon is from  Fantastic Ribbons and they have a lovely selection for you.

If you landed here from Anita  then you are in the right place and your next stop is at Naomis'

But if you just happened on my Blog today... or you got lost along the way then start again at Amy Jo's so that you don't miss any of the fun.



I have some "Goodies" up for grabs too and all you have to do is join the followers and leave me a comment and I will draw a name at random to win  these three sets of clear stamps after the Blog Hop is done.

Hugs Christina xx



February 28, 2012

Amy Jo's Birthday Blog Hop


Welcome to Amy Jo's Birthday Bash and Blog Hop! We are so excited you could join us today to help celebrate Amy's birthday!

This is a very special unique hop and we don't have to just stick with one particular subject or theme, and we can use any of Amys' favorite things to create a card or project with that in mind.

Some examples of Amy's favorite things are the colors black, white, and hot pink, along with anything Alice in Wonderland.  Here is my card (inspired by Sue Wilson) to wish a Happy Birthday Amy Jo


If you arrived here from   Anita   then you are in the right place!

If you just happened upon my blog today, please start at the beginning with Amy Jo at Scrapping, Card Making and Living with Fibro  because you don't want to miss out on the fabulous prizes that are being sponsored!

This is a two-day hop,  however, we are only making one project. That should give you two full days to go through the entire hop and leave comments and become followers of each blog, if you are not already, to be entered to win some of our sponsored prizes!

Some of the blogs may be offering blog candy as well so this is a hop you're going to want to finish.

I am offering three sets of clear stamps to followers of my Blog so to be in with a chance to win join the gang and  leave me a comment.   The winner will be chosen at random on the 1st March.



Thank you so much for joining us and helping us celebrate along with Amy! Your next stop is the talented Naomi and I hope you are enjoying the hop.


Hugs Christina xx

February 27, 2012

Watercolouring ...

Watercolouring with Distress Inks was a series of videos I made in response to questions on how to make them work for you, as most of us have some of these ink pads in our "stash"  

I made them in three parts to cover each of the different apects such as    Skin, hair and clothes   and this link will take you to the first part.    You can access the other links from that page.

The stamp used is Day Dream Believer from the SWALK collection from Crafters Companion and the flowers are from  Wild Orchid Crafts



The whole process of water colouring with Distress Inks is so relaxing and once you get into it you will enjoy it.

I used a good water colour card from the same company, it was not expensive... and it will go through my printer too so I can work on digital images.



This image has the hair accentuated a little more and I prefer this project more. But it makes up into a very pretty card and would suit any occasion for a girl of any age.

Give it a try and don't forget to add your photos to the websites Gallery   page for us all to share in.

Hugs Christina xx

February 26, 2012

My First Challenge ...

The world is full of firsts and new things to do.  This was my first time at Blogging and  it was  a first when I decided to start my Website  and that is almost three yeras old now.

So the other day I tried my first Blog Hop, and this is the first card I have entered into a Blog Challenge. 

The challenge is with   Just Us Girls Challenge Blogspot  and it is challenge  #125  to create a project that features flowers, ribbons and buttons. 

So how close to the title of my Blog is that ....so I just had to try it didn't I????

I have entered a card and it is another one of the  Tag Cards  featured a few days ago.  The green one on that page also has the same ingredients but this one is in my favorite colours pink, pink, pink!!

And it suits my style of cardmaking with all the "Bling" it can take




The flowers on this card are from  Wild Orchid Crafts  The ribbon is Oraganza and the button is added to the bow with Bakers Twine.

 The papers are all from my "Stash" as is the doily in the background and of course the Hatpin sneaked it's way in to complete the look .

So wish me luck on my first trip into challenges.

Hugs Christina xx

February 25, 2012

Another Felt Flower ...

I am really enjoying making these felt flowers and I think they make the card just that little bit different.

I have today made a video to feature another card made with the Spellbinders and it includes these flowers as part of the title. It should be available tomorrow so I hope you will give it a viewing.





The background to this card is made using the Impressabilites onto some Parchment ... and the effect was very subtle. I  lightly ran over it with some distress inks and then attached it to the card base with some small white brads.

The flowers and leaves are felt and I used the Spiral Blossom 1 die and the Foliage leaf set.  The ribbon is a pale blue gingham and I havae used a pearl buckle as added decoration to the top.

The butterflies are from another Spellbinder and I have dotted Cosmic Shimmer Pearl PVA onto the body line of each one.

Now I know it's a bit early for butterflies ... but in my world there are always beautiful butterflies.

Hugs Christina  xx

February 24, 2012

Decorative Hatpins

Adding embellishments to my cards is one of the things that I really enjoy doing and I openly admit to being a "More is More" kind of cardmaker.  I just love all the pretty things that go to making a truly feminine card .... not much good with male cards!!

Yesterday I covered felt flowers created with Spellbinders and today I would like to show you some beautiful Hatpins.



These are always a luxury touch and they are not hard to do.  There is a video on the website about   Decorating Hatpins




The Hatpins that I use are 3" long and come complete with end protectors as a safety feature ... and that way the recipient cannot hurt herself on the sharp point.

I buy mine from the Sparkles Group and they are offering you a  5% discount  on your purchases.

Make your choice ... and at the checkout add the code CGDIS5 and the discount will be automatically applied. 

You will find the pins in gold and silver and in different lengths in "Specialist Findings"



Add the pins to the card ... threaded through ribbons or flowers ... but don't forget to tell the recipient that the pins can be removed and used as a lapel pin for her jacket. 

Maybe another idea for Mothers Days eh??

Hugs Christina xx

February 23, 2012

Felt Flowers

I am sure you know by now that I love to add flowers to my cards whenever I can ...  and so this morning I bought lots of felt squares in different colours.  It was not expensive (47pence) and each sheet is about the size of A4 card ... so not a bad price!


With the help of the Spellbinder Spiral Blossom  I set to and cut out flowers in most of the colours and leaves from the Foliage dies in the two shades of green .


I was very pleased with the result and used my hot glue gun to hold the flowers together ... but if you don't have one then a few stitches will keep them in place. 

On some of them I have gone around the edge with glitter glue and left it to dry and that gives a really pretty effect.



And this is the card I made with one of the flowers tucked in place along some satin ribbon.

I have added a bow and there is a piece of  Card Candi added to the centre to neaten the knot.

A miniature tag tucked under the flowers says "With Love" and then I added the  Pearls  along the edges as a finishing touch. 

A card that is very feminine and "Mothers Day" is just around the corner.

Hugs Christina xx


February 22, 2012

Windy weather...

Can you hear it??? It's blowing a gale out there and I still have to go out and do my shopping.

Yesterday I was card making again and this time I was asked to make a really special birthday card for an 80th Birthday.

The requirement was that the card had to ... be a large card (yep can do that) ... be in pink  (no problem there then)...to have ribbon on it (that's my kind of card)... to have flowers on it ...(Oh! it just got better and better) ... and to have a matching box (Oh Yes...  all sorted)



Here is the card I came up with and when the young man came to collect it he seemed quite pleased with it ... but you know what men are like... they say yes it's fine and that's it ... so who knows... but he did give his permission to show you the card so here it is....


... and here is the box to match... complete with Flowers, Ribbons and Pearls .... OooooH! that title rings a bell.

And now I am off to the supermarket for goodies....anybody fancy meeting up for a coffee????

My daughter says that pensioners (me) should only shop on weekdays and leave the supermarket free on Saturdays for those who have to work during the week ... I won't repeat what I replied.

Hugs Christina xx

February 21, 2012

Christening Card...

I have been working to prepare a very Special Christening card.   It is for my Great Grand-daughter.

She was born last October and is my grandson's first child.

The Christening is on the 25th March and she will be named Isabella Mandy Victoria and she is simply beautiful.



I have used the "Bookatrix" embossing board from the   The Glitter Girls    to create the pages and dressed up each one individually before sticking them together... but then I have added the whole lot to an A5 card with the fold at the top and this will allow the "book" to stand up.


I have made it in pale pinks and white with the addition of feathers and ribbons and a pretty pink Hatpin in the centre... and I really am pleased with the result.


The flowers on the front of the card are from  Wild Orchid Crafts.   The feathers were in my "stash"


I hope that her parents will keep the card safe for her until she gows up a little, and then show it to her and tell her it was all hand made by her Great Grandmother with lots and lots of love.


I made a box to give the card and I have lined it with pale pink tissue paper... and of course the Spellbinders came in really useful too. 

Just need to lose two stone and a new dress for the day and then I'm done....


Hugs Christina xx

February 20, 2012

I have a Blog Award ...

I have a Blog Award and I am so honoured,  especially as my Blog is so new.

But I would like to thank Sharon  at  Card creations by Sharon Joy  for this award and I add it with pride to my page....


The LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD is used to show appreciation of smaller blogs (under 200 followers)  and to help spread readership and joy.

As part of the tradition the award is to be passed along to five other blogs that have motivated and inspired me. 

It comes from the German meaning Dearest or  Beloved, but can also mean Favourite.

To accept the Award you must:
1. Link back to the persons blog who gave it to  you, and thank them.
2. Post on your blog.
3. Give to five other Bloggers who you appreciate and value.
4. Leave a comment on the five blogs you choose and  let them know.

These are the choice I have made, and why, that I would like to pass the award on to ...

Creative Bug on the Loose  ...  Naomi as she was the one that encouraged me to start the Blog in the first place.... so this is all her fault!

Crafty Bloggers ... Kathleen as she was the one who helped me to remove the  annoying Word Verification from the Blog.

Best of Betsy'    ... Betsy  because she makes some beautiful cards.

Marisa Designs  ... because I just love the  LOVE  red box project Marisa  has made with Spellbinders.

Bless This Mess ... Denise  because she also has some pretty projects for you to try.


I hope you will pay each one a visit and see some of the things they have done, and thank you again to Sharon for nominating me for this award....


I am so pleased ... like the cat with the cream.

Hugs Christina xx




February 19, 2012

New week ...new video!

The sun is still gracing us with it's presence and it has been really lovely day.  I took my film crew (Griff) out  to lunch and he enjoyed it very much.

There is nothing like a good Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding ... unless of course you make it your self ...and I couldn't be bothered.  So it was out to the nearest restaurant for that delicacy and it slipped down very easily too I might add.




The new video has been added to the website and it features this lovely card.  It is an 8" square and I have also included how to make a feature of the back of the card too, so it looks good from every side.



You don't need to buy larger card stock for this as you can get the look from your A4 card quite easily.

And this is another idea that you won't be disapointed in if you use the Spellbinders that you have in your collection.

I hope you enjoy the video and the card that you can create.

Hugs Christina   xx