Madcap Manor

My poor little girl hasn't been well this week so I made her this. Her favourite colours at the moment are red, blue and black - all the time I was making it I was muttering to myself 'It'll never work!' but it turned out better than I feared! The patient likes it, anyway, which is the main thing! The sketch is from Sketch Saturday . I love those triangles! The image is a Whiff of Joy stamp. I love her, she looks as if she's just stepped out of a fantasy tale! I glittered one of her potion jars and put Glossy Accents on another jar and her shoes. The card candy is stickers from Paperchase; the sentiment is also Whiff of Joy. Papers are a mix from stash - Daisy Bucket (black and white) Bo Bunny (red) and Papermania capsule collection (blue.) I used a MS Punch Around the Page set for the edging. Suddenly a lot of people I know are under the weather, or having birthdays, or both, and I have a list of card requests! Which is so nice (it makes me feel appreciated) but t

Sorry I've not been around - we went to Shropshire to stay with my son and his Young Lady. What a beautiful county it is! Now for the card! The current Less is More challenge is a simple sketch, perfect for a thank you card made in a hurry!! The flower is Hero Arts and the text Penny Black. I stamped both in Peeled Paint DI. The strip of ivory card was cut with a fancy cutter on my Woodware Fingerguard Trimmer, then I went over the edges with Shabby Shutters DI. The flower was cut with a Nestie, and again I did the edges with DI. I raised it on foam pads. I stickled the flower to give a bit more pizazz, because it was very plain indeed with no decoration at all! My daughter asked for a plain thank you card for her boyfriend's parents, and I had it finished in 20 minutes! She likes it, which is the main thing! This "Less is More" challenge is very good for me, it encourages me to try things that I wouldn't otherwise think of! Thanks for looking! luv, Mags x ETA: t

Just a flyby post - I've spent the day trying to get rid of this awful virus from my hubby's laptop. I've now called in the cavalry, but he can't come until Wednesday, so hubby will probably be nicking my laptop for checking emails and playing his computer game! We're off to Shrewsbury for the weekend to see dear son, at least! The sweet rabbit is of course Penny Black. The Penny Black Saturday Challenge is 'Spring has sprung!' and it's certainly been a gorgeous spring day today! The sketch is a nice one from Sketch Saturday . Papers are Basic Grey 'Origins.' Ribbon is Hobbycraft, flowers are Wild Orchid, and the sentiment is PB, too. The border and the punched butterflies are Martha Stewart - I glittered the butterflies, but the pic makes them look much more dull than irl. There's a Marianne swirl, also glittered, which also isn't showing too well! The bow was made with my trusty bow-easy! All edges are distressed in Scattered Straw and

Last night my hubby was notified of a Firefox update and accepted it. It was in fact a very nasty virus that pretends to be an anti-spyware Windows programme. It pops up every time you try anything, and wants you to use it to delete a Trojan on IE or Firefox. Instead it steals all your info. I'm advised to accept no Firefox updates but to go directly to the Mozilla website to download them. Neither AVG nor Ad-aware shifts the virus - I'm about to delete hubby's account to see if that works (it doesn't affect my settings, only his.) If anyone has more advice, I'd be grateful! Wish me luck, I'm going in. luv, Mags x

This very pink card is for a little girl at the Toddler Group, who's been with us for 3 years and is off to school next term. All little girls love pink! The lovely sketch is by Bev for this week's Lili of the Valley Challenge The adorable image and the sentiment are LotV, the papers are MME, a freebie from a mag last year (love these papers!), the flowers are Wild Orchid and the lace is from Hoddesdon Market! I distressed with Spun Sugar DI and stickled the wings, the dandelions and round all the edges. The leaves are a Woodware punch. It's a simply glorious spring day out there! I'm going to hang out the washing now - what a difference it makes when the sheets have hung outside, they smell so fresh! Thanks for looking luv, Mags x Promarkers: Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink; Cocktail Pink, Antique Pink; Leaf Green, Lush Green, Buttercup; Caramel, Cinnamon, Cocoa

Morning, all! Suddenly the weather is warmer and all the daffs are out - I do love daffs! This card is for someone whose favourite colours are black and red. Yep, she's a Goth! I hope this Dancing Willow from Whiff of Joy isn't too 'Establishment.' The current WoJ Challenge is 'Anything Goes, and there's a blog hop, too. The challenge at Cute Card Thursday is 'Music and Dance' and I reckon Dancing Willow fits that - she's shakin' her bootie for sure!! I fell for her at the Ally Pally last spring, and I really should use her more! The lovely, simple sketch is from Sketch and Stash . I've had the papers, which are Dovecraft Charcoal Prints, for ages - I got them in Portsmouth when my daughter lived there, so they must be more than 18 months old!! I used Glossy Accents on Willow's handbag, jewellery and shoes. The flowers are made from red glitter card with a Woodware punch, with black gems from stash in the middle - they're meant to

Good afternoon! It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge which for this fortnight is 'Mother's Day.' You don't have to make a card, just go where your fancy takes you as long as it fits the theme. We have a prize of $10 (Canadian) from Digis With Attitude . Digi’s With Attitude! is a Digital Stamp Company that brings Sass & Attitude to your stamping projects! Meet the newest Attitude’s in town! ’Grumpy Gretchen’ is a sure beauty with sexy curves and very unique facial features. Her hairstyles constantly change, as does her clothing and element she is in. She is sassy and isn't afraid to show it! Everyone loves Grumpy Gretchen. We know you will too! You can now meet the new Animals With Attitude! too! They are in the store and ready for you to adopt them. All images are 300 dpi and come in both JPEG & PNG instant downloads Go and have a look, they have some very cute and fun images! Ok, on to my card! I recently bought he Sarah Kay cutie from Diesa t

Hi, guys! I hope you're all doing well. March seems to be evaporating - I can't believe we're already halfway through the month! This card is a 'commission' from my daughter, since a friend of hers has just had a baby girl. The friend is a Goth, but I don't have any Gothy baby stamps, so my daughter picked this Woodware image, which is one of my oldest unmounted stamps. I remember the lady in the shop telling me how to use acrylic blocks, and I was amazed that I wouldn't need glue to stick the stamp down! Anyway, the papers are Daisy and Dandelion Some bunny loves you; and Papermania Honey and Hugs, both from Hobbycraft. I ran the D and D piece through a heart folder on the Cuttlebug - you can just about see the embossing! I'm getting quite good at using up stash, I've had these papers about a year! The ribbon is also Hobbycraft, the flowers are Wild Orchid. I stickled all the bubbles and water. The sketch is from Mojo Monday and it was just right f

For some reason this photo has a pinkish tinge which isn't there irl! It's a card for a Liverpool fan whose birthday is this week - and apparently Liverpool beating Man U was the best birthday present EVAH!!!!! The image is LotV, and the lovely sketch is for Lili of the Valley Challenge . I turned it on its side to fit the little footballer better. Papers, buttons (which have gold embroidery thread put through the holes to make an 'x') and ribbon are all from stash. I stickled the edges, though it's not showing too well here. Where have all these clouds come from all of a sudden? It was sunny this morning! At least the week's halfway through! Thanks for looking! luv, Mags x Promarkers: Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink; Honeycomb, Burnt Orange; Crimson, Poppy, Lipstick Red; Cool Grey 2

ARGGH! I've just realised I forgot to add the sentiment to this 'New Home' card! Wot a plonker!! This is for our new Vicar, who starts in 2 weeks but who's already moved in to the Vicarage. The image is a digi from Squiggle Stamps . It's part of the 'Orange Bird Studio Collection' which has a lovely Retro feel to it. The sketch is from Sweet Sketch Wednesday . I used Nitwits papers, I love those shades of blue and green together. I used Promarkers on the image, and Nesties to cut it out, and just stickled round the edge. The flowers are from stash, some cut with a Retro punch from a scrap of spotty paper. I added glossy Accents to the birdhouse roof and the Retro flowers. Gems and ribbon are from stash. This is my DT card for Dream Valley Challenges where the theme is 'New Beginnings.' The prizes are a £10.00 Voucher from One Stop Card Crafts and some lush ribbons from Crafty Ribbons Hop over and see what deliciousness the rest of the DT has made,

I have spent 40 minutes trying to get a decent photo of this card! The green bp is brighter irl, and shades from darker to lighter going from left to right. The rock idol's red outfit is brighter, too. Grr! I blame the crummy light. Anyway, this rockin' chappie is a Sugar Nellie, and I'm entering the card in The Sugar Bowl challenge, which this week is a sketch. Papers are from my scrap box and I stickled the edges. The swirls are a Marianne die, and I stickled them in red. The star and gem are a RAK from my Dear Daughter. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the trim, and Woodware punch for the squares. The squares also have dots of red Liquid Pearls on the corners. I printed the sentiment from my little laptop. Now I must, must, must tidy my room! Wish me luck, I'm going in! Thanks for looking! luv, Mags x Promarkers: Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink, Putty, Ivory, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Cool Grey 5, 4, 2, 1, Ruby, Crimson, Poppy, Lipstick