Madcap Manor

Hi, guys! It's a glorious sunny day, and everyone seems to be smiling! Here's a card using one of the first LotV images I bought. I made it for a neighbour's son, but apparently the image shows an X Box and he has a Play Station, and never the twain shall meet! It sounds like they're rivals like Lancashire vs Yorkshire or Arsenal vs Tottenham! Who knew?! So I'll probably make him something else. I used Speccies again (finally becoming used to the colours!) I edged the Nestie shape and the sentiment with 64 in lieu of a mat (I ran out of the blue card) and glittered over the top. The racing car has also been slathered with glitter. The papers are Nitwits 'Heavenly'. I used a Martha Stewart zig zag punch. The ribbon and stickers (including the sentiment sticker) are from stash. I'm entering these challenges: Lili of the Valley who want Aqua, White and Glitter; Oldie but a Goodie whose theme is 'One for the Boys' the RUBBER stamp you use must be m...

I am all over ink and glitter and Glossy Accents! It's a long time since I made a Penny Black card! This week's Challenge is monochrome . I picked up the gorgeous Dovecraft 'Noel' papers in a sale after Christmas, and was inspired to do a vintage colouring by the damask background paper and the glittery paper on the right! The third piece, with writing on, is a snippet by K and Co. The sketch is from Sweet Sketch Wednesday I used Speccies, and glittered the angel's trumpet, wings and the stars. I got some Diamond Stickles at Ally Pally on Saturday, and they seem to pick up the colour of the Vintage Photo Distress Ink I used to stamp the image. I like the effect, though it was pure serendipity (sounds better than 'luck' doesn't it?! The snowflake is a Marianne die, distressed in Vintage Photo and stickled. The lace is from stash, and the card candy was coloured with Natural Oak (Spectrum Noir no 91) and glossy accented. It all took ages to dry! In spite ...

Crafty Cardmakers and The Spotlight Challenge are under new management and have a DT call. Do pop over and have a look, and see if you'd like to join them! luv, Mags x

This card is for a new challenge blog, The Cutie Pie Challenge which has a very nice sketch. Tilda is coloured with Speccies. The papers are snippets again - the horizontal strip is pearlised and through bad planning I managed to cover the pretty pattern! I put blobs of gold liquid pearls round the scallopped oval, and Glossy Accents on Tilda's shoes and orange stickles on her flowers. The ribbons are from stash and so are the flowers and the crystals. The round orange stickers are Paperchase. Right, I really ought to keep on with sorting my room (again!) Thanks for looking! luv, Mags x Spectrum Noirs: Browns - 91, 94, 98, 100, 104; Greens - 42, 43, 48, 175; Skin Tones - 132, 133, 135, 142; Yellows - 24, 33; Warm Grey 1

Purple and black are not my normal colours, but Lil Haunts Vampire Lilith , who is a digi from Tickled Pink Stamps, demanded to be given a Gothy and mysterious look, so what could I do?! I have had the sparkly black card for years - it came in an assortment from The Range and I found it while having yet another clear-out of my shambolic craft room. The purple paper with writing on it is Papermania capsule collection, and I put it twice through my paper crimper to give a waffle texture, just for a change. The other paper was loose in a drawer and I can't remember its provenance! I used a MS deep edger punch and a Nestie to give a bit more interest. The ribbon is from stash, it has a slight sparkle that isn't showing well. Also not showing is the distressing round the image and the addition of Whiff of Joy Christmas swirls, both in Milled Lavender DI. The sentiment is from The Greeting Farm, stamped in Dusty Concord DI. The flowers are from stash, I coloured the gems with my Spec...

My daughter has been making cupcakes. My kitchen looks like an explosion in a cake factory! Here's a card she commissioned for a friend who likes 'pretty' but not 'cute.' I used a scrap of K and Co paper for the background, and the glittery butterflies were cut from a piece from the 'Mariposa' stack by DCWV which was fluttering in my scraps drawer. I found these gorgeous glittery stickers at the bottom of my Christmas papers drawer - heaven knows what they were doing there! So I decided to use them for the inside of the card. Simples! Although the stickers weren't snippets, the rest was, so I'm entering Jules's Snippet Challenge. It's so encouraging to know I'm not the only one with a paper snippets overload!! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! luv, Mags x

Good afternoon, all! It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge and this fortnight the theme is - use BUTTONS! Our sponsors are Digis With Attitude who are offering a $10 voucher for their store. There are also freebies on the site, if you want to try before you buy! My card features a DWA image, Gardening Tween . These Tweens make me think of those 'Bratz' dolls!! I used a Nestie to cut a hexagon, just for a change, and coloured her with Speccies and then distressed the edges of the hexagon with Spun Sugar Distress Ink. The bp was free with a magazine: it's 'Vintage Rose' by Craftwork Cards . The flowers were punched with EK Success Retro punches from more paper from the same stack, and the pearlised buttons are from my mother-in-law's old button tin. The leaves are made with a Woodware punch, the shiny pink ribbon is recycled from a birthday present, the gems are from stash and the sentiment is LotV. The DT has had a great time with the theme, go on o...

I know, I know, that is a very groanworthy pun! It's high time I made a solid effort on my Christmas cards, and luckily there seem to be a lot of challenges out there to help! This one uses one of the new LotV Christmas images, 'Build a Snowman.' Haven't these little kiddies done a good job?! I coloured with Promarkers, adding Glamour dust to the girls' white trims, and Glossy Accents to the holly in Mr Snowman's hat. The gorgeous ribbon was in my stash (it may have been a magazine freebie) and I mounted it on a strip of white card punched with an MS border and then glamour-dusted. The paper is Dovecraft 'Tis the Season.' The pearls came from Whiff of Joy . The sentiment is also LotV (love that script!) I'm entering this for the Lili of the Valley Challenge, which wants a colour scheme of Green, Red and White - perfect for Christmas cards! I'll be back tomorrow afternoon (after an exciting trip to Saino's) with my Dream Valley DT card. See ...

My daughter has asked me to make birthday cards for her young man and his twin, preferably with a Star Wars theme. Help! Does anyone know of a source for stamps or digis? I could just buy a magazine and use pictures (not the Internet because of copyright!) but that seems like cheating! Also will anyone be at Ally Pally next weekend who'd fancy meeting for a cuppa? Help me, Obi-Wan Blogfriends, you're my only hope!!! luv, Mags x

Now, this is really out of my comfort zone! The pink, black and glitter papers are DCWV 'All Dressed Up' stack, and the glittered chipboard is from the matching set of chipboards, all a bit OTT! I've distressed all the edges with my scissors, rather than mat everything, because the papers are quite heavy. There are few things more embarrassing than propping a card open and then seeing it topple forward because of the weight! The gem brads in the corner are Do crafts, and the pink stars are Paperchase. I stamped Kenny K's Rock Chick with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Promarkers, and I covered her guitar with Glossy Accents. The sketch is from Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog and they also want a card for a teenager. I know precisely who I'll be giving this to, a 13-year-old Goth girl whose favourite colours are pink and black! There's a DT call at the challenge blog, too. Thanks for looking! luv, Mags x Promarkers: Dusky Pink, Blush, Pastel Pink, Cinna...

This little darling happened to blow into my shopping basket - well, with the weather so windy it seemed rude not to welcome her! The current Sugar Bowl Challenge is this useful sketch, with the option of using scraps - well, I have an awful lot of scraps, so any reason to dig into the pile is a good thing! The base card is a rectangle, mainly because I grabbed a piece of blue card and forgot to cut it into a square - but I think the image suits the shape. I tore the strips of yellow and blue papers to give definition without using a mat, mainly because I didn't have enough of the blue base card! The lace is from Hobbycraft, the flowers are Wild Orchid, with leaves punched from another scrap of paper behind them. The gems are Paperchase. I stickled with Waterfall on the frills of the dress and round the oval shapes. The sentiment is a freebie from a mag. I'm entering The Sugar Bowl Challenge - I used the sketch and lots of scraps! It's not as blowy today, thank goodness, a...

I hope you're all enjoying a peaceful Sunday. We have sunshine! I haven't made any Iris fold cards for a long while, so I thought I'd use up some yellow scraps and make a sun. I die-cut the circle in a square of card and used a pattern from this book . The yellow frame and the holographic card are also from the scraps box. I also decorated the inside: The brown birds are cut out from one of the scraps of paper I used for the sun. I'm going to enter this into Jules's Snippet Challenge. I didn't use quite as much paper as I hoped - and now of course I've got lots of narrow strips instead of half-cut sheets! Thanks for looking! luv, Mags x

This is a card for the twin of a baby boy The image is hAnglar and stAnglar 'bee girl.' The twins are being baptised tomorrow, so I wanted to make cards for them that had similar images. I used my new Martha Stewart PATP Deco Flowers from craftsulove . The papers are MME OohLala The doily is a Marianne die, and the butterfly is a Magnolia die. The ribbon and the alphabet beads and the buttons are from stash, and the button twine is Whiff of Joy. The butterfly is Magnolia. The butterfly and doily are shiny teal card scraps from stash. I'm entering this card into the Crafting Life's Pieces challenge, because their sketch this month is just so lovely! ETA: Actually, the challenge won't accept my picture so I can't join in! Never mind, it's a great sketch anyway! Thanks for looking! luv, Mags x promarkers: Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink, Tan, Putty, Caramel, Mint, Pastel Green, Cocktail Pink, Antique pink

I used Excalibur (my Grand Calibur)for this card, as you can tell! I used a Grand Nestie Labels One for the papers and base, and folded one in half and glued it to the back to make a stand. The papers are Bearly Mine Boys Zone. The image is a hAnglar and sTenglar, coloured with Specciesand the wings stickled. I used foam pads to give him dimension, and also curled the image a bit to make him look more realistic. The buttons are Paperchase, the button twine is Whiff of Joy. The alphabet beads are from stash and I've had them for yonks! The banner is a Molly Bloom stamp, free with a magazine, and I stamped it on coloured paper and stickled the flags. I'm entering the following challenges: Just Magnolia where 'Anything Goes' with an option of circles - there are circles on one of the papers, and I hope the buttons count, too! Papertake Weekly where 'Anything Goes' with an option of a shaped card Sketch Saturday - I flipped the sketch. Gotta love you and leave yo...

Phew! I'm just in time for the Lili of the Valley Challenge! This week there's a sketch to follow. The papers are by Kate Knight, free with a magazine last year - the picture makes them look blue, but actually they're a gorgeous teal, and a contrasting bright pink. I coloured this little LotV sweetie with my Speccies, using the turquoise set - it's not a colour I use much, but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out! I slathered her muff and the ground with glamour dust. The corner flourish is a Nestie, and I stickled the petals of the embossed flower in the corner and also around the edges of the bp. The snowflakes and poinsettia are made with Marianne dies - the flower uses more paper from the same pad. I must say, I'm loving the Grand Calibur (I keep wanting to call it Excalibur!!) that my olde manne got me for my birthday! It embosses beautifully - no more faffing around with shims on my dear little Cuttlebug! The text is also LotV. Ribbon is from stash, an...

Aren't these amazing? Tab from Tabby Craft Designs is offering this candy to celebrate being on the DT for The Ribbon Girl . Her creations are lovely, do hop across and have a look! luv, Mags x

It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge already! Take this picture as inspiration and go where your fancy takes you - think garden parties, summer weddings, tea parties, delicate leaves and sprays of flowers, a still life of glasses and bottles, or take the colours from the picture as your starting point. And please tell us what the inspiration was, too, it's always fascinating to see how different people react differently to the same picture!! It doesn't have to be a card, either! We have two yummy sponsors this fortnight: and: The DT were lucky enough to have some great digi images from Sassy Studios to play with - I used I'm Every Woman - Bubble Bath . Wish I had legs like that!! The firm also has some gorgeous images of elegant ladies from films like 'Gone With the Wind' and some fun Pirate images - quite a variety!! My card: I saw a Christmas card made by Dawny Phillips in this zig-zag style in 'Cardmaking and P...

Just to let you know that Squiggle Stamps are having a blog hop to celebrate their new Halloween release. These are seriously cute! Hop along and have a look!

My olde manne is out tonight, so I've been ensconsed in my room, creating! I love this Whiff of Joy image of Willow adjusting her shoe. She is so graceful and elegant, and I love her ruffled sleeves! I went back to my Promarkers, which are easier to use than Speccies because I know twhich colours work together! The swirls are also Whiff of Joy, stamped in Worn Lipstick DI, and I also dragged the edges around the ink pad to emphasise them. The pink mat is a Nestie and is also edged with Worn Lipstick. I've stickled her belt and jewellery, and also round the edge of the image, and along the cross-shape. Papers are MME, from a pad that was a magazine freebie last year (loved these so much I bought a second copy!) I also used the Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch. The pearls are from stash. I'm entering this into the current Sketch Saturday Challenge it's a really nice sketch, very simple. I'm also entering the Whiff of Joy Challenge where the theme ...

My goodness! We have sunshine (sporadically!) I'm even keener than usual on sunshine, because we now have solar panels on the roof! The electric meter goes BACKWARDS!! So exciting! But enough of this blathering, you cry. What about the card? The cute image is by Elisabeth Bell for Belles and Whistles, from Dies to Dies For . I coloured her with Speccies again. The swirls round her are Whiff of Joy Christmas swirls, stamped in Wild Honey Distress Ink, and I also distressed all the papers with the same ink. My yellow card is very bright, and the distressing toned it down a lot! Papers are Cosmo Cricket 'Togetherness' which are lovely Retro designs. The sketch is by 'Sweet Sketch Wednesday.' I stickled the swirls, the lemon slices and the dots on her bows. The flower is 3 Prima blooms, the blue swirl underneath is a Marianne die, and the green brad is one of a Papermania set I picked up at the Ally Pally last year. The glittery ribbon is from stash, the...