Madcap Manor

Just popping in to wish all you lovely, lovely people a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, Crafty and FUN 2013! much love, Mags B x

Hi, guys! I'm sorry I'm so late with this, I should have scheduled it but time has been running away with me this week! Hopefully things will settle back to normal next year!! Our final Challenge for 2012 at The Squirrel and the Fox is Party Time! Very appropriate for this time of year, I think! The sponsor is 'Make It Crafty' (the store is closed until Jan 7th for the holiday at the moment) and the prize is an AU$15 voucher to spend in the shop! I used 'Party Zoe' for my card, which is for a Scottish friend to celebrate New Year, 'Hogmanay' in Scotland! I used my new Hero Arts Cupcake die for the base - I love it so much! Party Zoe is coloured with Speccies (list below) and I put Stickles on her blower and Liquid Pearls on the stars on her hat. Isn't she a happy little soul? I love colouring Zoe's MiC digi images, though this one took ages because I just could not  choose the right colour combo! Originally I went with pink but she d...

Hi, all! I'm so sorry I've been AWOL, my elderly laptop decided to start freezing - so frustrating! Trying to get online with my phone is definitely not the same, I always hit the wrong letters on the teeny-tiny keyboard! Luckily after a thorough clean of the keyboard with a paintbrush the problem seems to be solved - thank goodness for my daughter, I'd never have thought of that on my own!! So I have to wish you all a belated Merry Christmas but at least I'm in time to say Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful 2013! Just before Christmas my hubby, daughter and I went down to Shropshire to celebrate our granddaughter's first birthday. Her initials are 'L A' so I always think of her as 'Little Angel'! Oh she is gorgeous! She loved her 'post the shapes in the matching holes' house that we got her - at least, I think she did, she certainly enjoyed bashing the shapes together! This is the card I made her: Apologies for the na...

Huge apologies for being so late with my post, it's been another manic day but the sitting room is clean and almost all the presents are wrapped! I'll have to makes swome more tags, though, 27 wasn't enough because everyone else wanted to use them, too!! Here is my card for the latest challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and it's a card for Christmas! Our sponsor is the amazing Bugaboo Stamps and one lucky winner will be rewarded with 7 digistamps! Here's my card, made with a Bugaboo image of the gorgeous DeDe: I'm sorry about the naff photo! I made the easel card base with a Go Kreate Frilly die, and the star die is by X-cut. The snowflakes are cut with Spellbinders Create-a -Flake 4 dies. The papers are from a freebie pack from a magazine. I Glossy Accented the baubles that DeDe is holding and stickled the red tinsel hanging round her neck. I cut her out and added her with foam pads. Unfortunately I chucked out the list of Promarkers I used :( ...

Good afternoon, all! Where has this week gone? I dreamed last night that I got everything ready for Christmas only to discover it was Boxing Day and I'd missed it! It was quite a relief to wake up and realise there is still time to get ready! Here is a card that I made in various colours for several lovely friends. Apologies for the glare from the silver mirri card, I was using my Daylight lamp and just couldn't get an unshiny picture! The sleigh is a big Papermania stamp which I heat embossed, adding a sprinkle of glitter embossing powder to the mix to give a bit more sparkle, which unfortunately hasn't been picked up by the camera. The paper is by LotV. The sentiment is also LotV. The snowflake is made with a Spellbinders label from the Floral Doily set. I cut 3 of them and layered them, I'm rather pleased with the effect! I expect to be rather busy this coming week, which includes a trip to Shropshire to see our Granddaughter and celebrate her first birth...

Yes, it's time for the last Dream Valley Challenge of 2012! Because it's such a busy time of year, this challenge is open for an entire month. The theme is Christmas and we have Four Sponsors offering prizes!!! Well, I thought I'd do something a little different, so here are some tags. They're really quick and easy, which is a good thing because I need 27 of them!! The base is a Nestabilities circle - not the biggest shape but the next one down. The scalloped red mat and the smaller white circle are also Nesties. The holly leaves are cut with a Whiff of Joy die, using pearlised green card. I wish I knew where it came from - it's what was left over a couple of years ago when we cut out a mahoosive Prayer Tree at Sunday School, and now I'm running out! The berries are white card candi coloured with a CT4 Spectrum Noir. I then put some Glossy Accents on top and sprinkled with Glamour Dust. The ties are all recycled from articles of clothing! I just glu...

The amazingly talented Krista Smith has a gorgeous cute image for download on her blog here for 12 hours only! love Mags B x

Wow! I was one of the winners at Seems a Little Sketchy !!! Yippee!!

eta apologies for the delay, I thought I scheduled this, but something went wrong! Hi guys! Once again it's time for another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and this time our theme is either Summer or Winter . Our sponsor the the fabulous Robyn's Fetish who generously let the DT use some of their images. I chose 'Summer' as a change from Christmas cards! I'm sorry the picture is so wishy-washy, the colours irl are much brighter. I coloured the lovely Sunflower with Promarkers and used a Spellbinders Labels 20 20 to die-cut it. The mat is cut with a Nesties trellis die, and the horizontal strip is also edged with Trellis elemants. I distressed with Scattered Straw DI while the image was still in the die. The corners, which I went over with gold Liquid Pearls, are Spellbinders' Parisian Motifs. I used a Cheery Lynn Mini Fanciful Flourish and also a Martha Stewart 3-in-1 hydrangea punch for the little flowers, which have gems in the middle of t...

Hi, guys! It's been a week of pottering - you know, a bit of housework here, a bit of shopping there, a bit of cardmaking when I have half an hour spare... Though I've bought and wrapped 2, yes, two Christmas presents! Only another 16 to go... I've made the Christmas card for my son and DiL, this gorgeous Sugar Nellie image is just right for them, it is so sweet! I'm sorry the picture is so dim, I used my Daylight Lamp to take the picture but the image came out a bit faded :( The papers are Dovecraft 'Tis the Season' they are very bright and cheerful. The snowflakes are from the Spellbinders Create a Flake 4 from J and C Creations and are covered with Glamour Dust. The teardrop gems are from stash. The sentiment is from the Penny Black 'Celebrate the Wonder' stamp set. I stickled the lady's hat trim and also the snowflakes I decorated the inside, reversing the papers: I'm entering this to the Sugar Bowl Challenge where I f...

Good evening, all! I hope none of you is being threatened by the floods, it looks dreadful on the News. Thanks so much for all your kind words about this $%£*&&& tonsillitis, I was feeling very sorry for myself but you cheered me up. Thank you!! Amazingly, the last fortnight has flown by and once again it's time for a new challenge at Dream Valley This time the theme is 'Non-Traditional Christmas' so put away all those red and green Christmas papers and go for something completely different! What do you get when you add yellow to Red and Green? Orange and Lime! This cute Cozy Cap Mouse is by Meljen for Whimsy Stamps, he came from Bunny Zoe's Crafts I used Promarkers (the list is below) and stickled the fur trim on his hat. The heart has been Glossy Accented and there are dots made with a 'Perlen-Pen'. The papers are Basic Grey 'Life of the Party'. I used a Memory Box Frostyville border on each side, both glittered, and the LotV s...

Hi guys! I can't tell you how glad I am this week's over, I've been laid-up with tonsillitis and it was vile! I've been living on soup while the Old Man tucked into steak, pork chop, bacon sarnie... all cooked by me, please note, but just too painful to eat! My neighbour has been a Tower of Strength, she even noticed I was running low on hankies and bought me some more when she was out shopping. So I have made her a thank you card. The image and the papers were both magazine freebies, they are taken from 'The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady' - such a beautiful book, Edith Holden was an incredibly talented artist! I used Speccies to colour the image and added stickles to the flower centres, and distressed with Bundled Sage ink while still in the die. The butterflies are made with a Martha Stewart punch and also stickled. The flowers are made with two sizes of Woodware Daisy punches and have a tiny pink gem in the middle, the leaves are also from a Woo...

This is one of half a dozen identical cards I made when I had no Internet, using Nativity, a Woodware stamp by Francoise Read. Mine is an acrylic stamp, part of a set which I have had for about 4 years but it now only seems to be available as a wooden one from Woodware I heat embossed the image in gold.  I used Promarkers but I can't find the list :( - sorry! The mat is gold card, the paper is by Bearly Mine, but it's a snippet so I don't know which collection. I layered it onto blue card because more gold detracted from the emphasis on the image. The haloes have been edged in gold stickles and that's all the embellishment I used. I'm entering Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge where the theme is 'Use something more than six months old.' I'm going to love you and leave you, lovely bloggers, because I have managed to come down with tonsillitis and a nice warm bath and an early night with a bad book are calling me! I hope you're all d...

Hello, my lovelies! It's time for another Challenge from The Squirrel and the Fox and this time our theme is 'Anything Goes'!  Our wonderful regular sponsor is the fabulous Bugaboo Stamps .  If you haven't yet come across them, do go over and browse their website, their images are great and the sentiments are often very funny indeed! See what I mean? This is Ruby don't you love her hair? I coloured her in Promarkers (list below). Ruby lurves chocolate! So does the friend I made the card for! My friend and I were at a very, very long meeting last Monday night and I wanted to cheer her up. Obviously I had to go with purple for Cadbury's Dairy Milk (is it me, or has Cadbury's chocolate changed in flavour since Kraft took over? It seems rather greasy to me!) I added some silver mirri card as an extra mat for the background paper. The paper is Funky Hand Rainbow Polka Dots in lilac. I used a corner rounder punch on the image and sentiment. I stickled t...

Inky Chicks will have a new challenge fortnightly on every other Tuesday. There is amazing candy on the site! love Mags B x

Good evening, all! I have the Internet back, huzza! I've missed you!! Here's a Christmas card for a lovely friend of my daughter. She's a baker, so I used Icing the Cake by LotV, isn't she cute? I coloured her with Promarkers and stickled the flower in her chef's hat. I used a Nestie that was only just big enough, so I cut round the dog's tail so that I could ease the die underneath while I cut it out. (Does that make sense?) The sketch is from last week's Sketch Saturday, but I couldn't upload it in time. :( The papers are by Raspberry Road, they came free with a magazine - they are gorgeous! The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and I used a Woodware punch for the leaves. The flourish is a Magnolia die, with Hobbycraft pearls on the ends. The gingham ribbon also came from Hobbycraft. The sentiment is also LotV - since there wasn't really enough room to mat it, I went round the edge with a Burgundy Promarker. I love that you can do th...

oh dear  it is hard to type on this phonr! I won't have thr internet until fridayso i won' t be aroind your lovely blogs. see yoi at the weekend i hope love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you've all had a good day! Welcome to my new followers! I'm so glad to have you along! I meant to post this card yesterday but I was at an e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y l-o-n-g meeting last night and didn't get home until bedtime! I love these Caroling Snowmen by Meljens Designs They are really putting their heart into their singing, aren't they? I used Promarkers to colour them - how did I manage without the removable fine nibs? The fur on their hats has been covered with glitter, and so has the fab snowflake, which is from the Spellbinders 'Create a Flake 4' which is candy I won from J and C Creations I used Nesties to cut the image and the mat and also the label, which is a trimmed-down Fancy Tag. The Postmark sentiment is by Whimsy Stamps. The papers are another freebie pack from 'Quick Cards Made Easy.' I have so many of these packs! The star stickers were a RAK from my daughter, and the ribbon is from stash. I decorated the in...

Oh wow, look what I've been given! It's for my card with Humphrey and the huge bouquet of flowers. I am over the moon! Thank you so much, ladies! love Mags B x

Good evening, all! I'm sorry this post is so late, we've had Internet problems, but my daughter is now home from a weekend away and she found the wire that had become unplugged! Next week we're going to buy a new Router - exciting times!! Just as exciting is our latest challenge at Dream Valley which is the perennial favourite Anything Goes Our sponsor is Joanna Sheen who is offering a £10 voucher to spend at her online shop. Isn't that a fab prize?! Her shop sells Crafter's Companion gear, inclucing the cute 'Humphrey' stamps and Spectrum Noir pens, so that is what I used. This sweet image is called 'Flowers for You'. I apologise for the naff picture, the green Nitwits papers are brighter and prettier in real life! I got out my Spellbinders dies for this card: the flower is made with the Rose Creations set, the oval is the largest of the Floral Ovals, and the sentiment is on a Fancy Tag. Here's an inside shot: I coloured the...

Afternoon, all! I hope you're all having a good Saturday. My, it's cold! A good day to stay indoors and be crafty! I'm cracking on with the Christmas cards, I'm up to 19 now! I bought this sweet Lili of the Valley stamp last year but found it quite hard to colour because of all the tiny details. This year I have fine nibs for my Promarkers and it was much easier! I put dots of red Stickles on the holly berries and some gold Liquid Pearls on the hanging star. I apologise for the wishy-washy image, I was using a Daylight Lamp and the inks look a bit faded :( The papers are also Lili of the Valley, from their 'Classic Christmas' pad. I got out my dies for this one - a Marianne Christmas tree which I covered in white and gold glitter; a Marianne Christmas sentiment, also glittered - it shows up better irl, but I really should have used a slightly brighter paper; and a Whiff of Joy holly die, the paper is pearlised and I Glossy Accented the berries. I'...

Evening all! And welcome to my new followers! Pull up a chair, pour out a glass of your favourite tipple, you are very welcome to this Manor of Madcapness!! While waiting for the supermarket delivery yesterday, I made 4 Christmas cards to this design: Hooray! It's a CAS card! I find CAS cards quite difficult, because if you make a mistake you can't cover it up with embellishments! I'm so pleased with this one that I made 4! The image is a Woodware clear stamp from the 'Christmas Greenery' set by Francoise Read. I stamped with Embossing Ink and then embossed with Evergreen 'Heat It Up' embossing powder. If you squint hard you can almost see how it shines! The leaves looked a bit stark left white, so I gave them a very light wash of Evergreen Boughs Distress Ink. I used a square Woodware punch to cut the images out (it JUST fits!) and glued them onto ridged gold card from the Pinflair Shop in Hertford. The ribbon came from the same place, the gold tri...

This weekend in Oz it's the Melbourne Cup, their equivalent of the Grand National, and there are big celebrations! That's the reason for this fortnight's theme of Horses, Hats or Flowers Our sponsor is the wonderful http://www.makeitcrafty.com/"> Make It Crafty - if you haven't visited them yet, do go along, there are fabulous digis, colouring tutorials and much more!I already had this lovely image which is http://www.makeitcrafty.com/summer-dreams-digi-stamp.html ">Summer Dreams I coloured her with Speccies, but I've lost my list I'm afraid. :( Her hatband has dots of orange stickles on it to match the bow, made with ribbon from my stash. I used a corner punch to round two of the corners of the image. The sentiment stamp is by Woodware. The bunting was paper-pieced, the stamp is by Molly Blooms and was a magazine freebie. The flourish is a Die-namics die, the pearls are from stash. I tinted a white Wild Orchid rose with my pens to match...

Good afternoon, all! I hope you're well, and enjoying the weekend. I am finally getting into the swing of making my Christmas cards. Here's another one using the cute LotV image 'Dancing in the Snow.' In fact, I found the coloured image while sorting my stash - she was coloured in Spectrum Noirs earlier this year, so no list, I'm afraid. The papers are from an old Dovecraft stack, 'Tis the Season.' They are nice and bright! I used a Spellbinders Star Circle die for the image mat, a Whiff of Joy die for the glittered snowflakes, and a Memory Box Holly border die with a scrap of pearlised green card. The holly berries are pearls from Hobbycraft. The gorgeous ribbon is from the Pinflair shop in Hertford (only 50p a metre!) and so is the gold star. I glittered the little girl's fur trim and also the snow, though it isn't showing too well in the pic. I'm entering http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ ">ABC Christmas Challenge...

Evening, all! I've spent most of half term tidying, cleaning and chucking things out - whatever happened to my plans for several days' intensive crafting?! Alas, they went the way of all flesh! However, I have managed to make birthday cards for twins who will be two next week - and a right mischievous pair they are! I used these cute Lili of the Valley stamps, they are perfect for toddlers! The banners are also LotV. I coloured both with Promarkers. In this one, the wheels of the toy are Glossy Accented, and the stars in the paper have been stickled. I used a Go Kreate Frilly Square #6 die to cut out the image and emboss it with Excalibur (my gorgeous Grand Caliber machine) and distressed all the edges and papers with Salty Ocean Distress Ink. For this one, I used a Spellbinders Heart Circles die and distressed with Worn Lipstick but left the papers undistressed because they're more contrasting. The pram has been Glossy Accented. Who else had a toy pram like that wit...

Morning, all! I'm a bit early with my Dream Valley post this time because I'll soon be off to a family celebration for my Dad's 93rd birthday, and with the clocks going back wasn't sure if scheduling would work! Our challenge is 'Glitter and Bling' - nice and bright now that the days are getting darker and colder. Winter is coming! This fabulous lady is Pirate Penny from Sassy Studios who are sponsors for this challenge. Alucky winner can choose 4 of their gorgeous digis! I coloured her with Promarkers and turned the stones around the treasure chest into gold coins with dots of gold Liquid Pearls. I stickled her feather and Glossy Accented her gorgeous boots. The papers are Nitwits snippets. The gold card came from the new Pinflair shop in Hertford, cut with Nesties. The gold star came from there, too. You can just make out the transparent sparkly ribbon underneat the purple velvet one. Ooops, hubby growling it's time to go, will update tonig...

Good morning, my lovelies, and a very big welcome to my new followers! I hope you enjoy my rather eccentric corner of Blogland! It's time for a new challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and this time the theme is really easy - Use a Ribbon Our sponsor this time is The Digi Garden and they generously sent the DT some lovely images to use. One lucky winner will be able to choose 7 of their sweet images from their online shop! This cutie is called 'Immie's Scarf' isn't she pretty?! I coloured her with Spectrum Noirs (list below) The papers I used are from a Kate Knight freebie stack that came with a magazine last year. I wanted to do softer colours than the trad Red and Green for Christmas, so I chose Pink and Aqua instead. The icicles and Christmas Tree are both by Marianne from Crafts U Love and they have been coated with Glamour Dust. I also Glamour Dusted Immie's coat trim and wellies. I distressed the image, which I cut with a Nestabilities Flora...

It's unfortunate that only one of you lovely people could win the prize from my blog for the Squirrel and the Fox bloghop, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyway! Congratulations, Craftygirl! you have won the Make It Crafty Ferris Wheel Kit! Please email Linda at thesquirrelandthefox@hotmail.com to find out how to claim your prize. She's on holiday this week so may not reply for a few days, please be patient! love Mags B x

Evening, all! Well, the 'flu has gone, huzza! I really appreciate being able to breathe again! And I can read without falling asleep - always a bonus! My daughter's ex-boss married her girlfriend today, so now I can show the card I made for them. I've never made a card for a same-sex marriage before, but this beautiful Lovebirds image from Squiggle Stamps came to the rescue. It's sad that Squiggle Stamps are closing, but some of their images will be available through The Stamping Shack I coloured the digi image with Sunkissed Pink and Rose Peach Flexmarkers, and also with Sakura Stardust pens which add a lovely gleam that the camera hasn't picked up, chiz. I used a Nestie to cut out the image and distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The card is ivory coloured, and I cut the edge of the front with a Magnolia die and also distressed with Vintage Photo. The papers are Bearly Mine Vintage, from the Snippets Box. The gorgeous lace is from Th...

Hi, guys! It's a gorgeous autumn day and the sun is shining, so of course I'm tackling my list of Christmas cards! This was quite quick to make, apart from easing the snowflakes out of the Whiff of Joy die! The background is by Kanban, the colour is shaded from dark to light and as you can see there are little bits of silver here and there. The 3 snowflakes have been Glamour Dusted thoroughly (though it isn't showing brilliantly, I blame the photographer!) and held together with a Papermania gem brad which was originally clear so I coloured it with a Sapphire Flexmarker. The sentiment came free with a magazine last year. I'll be making more of these! But first I must clear my craft hovel - I'm sure there's a carpet somewhere under the boxes of crafty stuff! I'm entering this to the Cute Card Thursday Challenge as their theme is 'Glitter.' I'm also entering Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge as Hazel want to see Snowflakes! Th...

Afternoon, all! I apologise for not being around much this week, I've had a dose of the 'flu. I know I'm poorly when I can't even read :( ! Enough of my woes, it's time for another challenge at Dream Valley ! Our lovely sponsors this time are One Stop Card Crafts with a £10 voucher, and Bugaboo with $21 to spend on their fantastic digis! This fortnight's theme is 'Hallowe'en.' Now, I don't really 'do' Hallowe'en, having problems with children being encouraged to knock on strangers' doors in the evening and demand sweets with menaces. I also know a lot of elderly ladies who sit in the dark all evening on October 31st because they're terrified of 'trick or treaters.'  Enough ranting! I'm happy to make a spooky card for my son's birthday in December, and here it is. The image is 'Zombieboy' by the superb Krista Smith of Saturated Canary . I used Promarkers to colour him. I put Rock Candy Stickl...

My post for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop is here Evening all! Don't get too close, I have a filthy cold! The only things I managed to do today were order pizza and make this card! It's for my daughter to send to a friend who has just had a little boy. The image my daughter chose was this Woodware Baby Patch Elephant The text is from the same set. I was going to paper-piece him, but when I stamped him on this scrap of Kanban card he looked good already! The papers are from 'Lion Sleeps' a 12 x 12 pad by K and Co which is full of gorgeous papers for little 'uns! Here's a sideways view so you can see the elephants more clearly: The ribbon is from Hobbycraft, the gems and stars are from stash. I also used a Woodware punch to round the top corners of the image mat, and distressed with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I want to enter the challenges at 2 Sisters Challenge where I found the fabulous sketch! And also Come and Get It Challenges - I used Gre...

For my bloghop post please click here Good morning! It's time for another Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox - where has the last fortnight gone?! This time the theme is 'Things With Wheels' and our wonderful sponsor is Bugaboo who are offering 7 digis to one lucky winner! Gus is one of my favourite Bugaboo characters, and here he is on a child's ride! I love the sentiment, which came with the image. I had to colour the toy car in British Racing Green, because my hubby's first car was that colour. I used Promarkers (the list is below). I Glossy Accented the car and Gus's spectacles and added green stickles to his party hat. I used a Nestabilities Deckle Rectangle die to cut him out. The papers are K and Co 'Hopscotch' I think the paper with the old-fashioned toys on it is so sweet! Here's the inside view, also using papers from the same pad: The chevron striped ribbon is from The Ribbon Girl . I used black half-pearls from my s...

If you're looking for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop please click here This gorgeous image is Willow with Candle by Whiff of Joy - she was candy from the lovely Kat! I coloured her with Promarkers - what a boon the fine nibs are for tiny areas! The holly leaves are cut with a Whiff of Joy die and have been Glossy Accented, though they don't really show here, and the berries have been stickled. The bells have a faint wash of gold liquid pearls. I used a Nestie to cut her out and did the draw-round-the-die-and-cut-out trick to give the narrow mat. The red pearlescent card and the papers are Papermania, the bp is from the A Silent Night stack - they are so fabulous! The ribbon is from stash, the double bow is made with a Bow-Easy from Quixotic Paperie The holly leaves are a Whiff of Joy die. The flowers are Wild Orchid, the glitter is Glamour Dust. Here's an inside shot, also with the papers from 'A Silent Night' The tags are Lili of the Valley. I...

If you're looking for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop, please click here The lovely folk from Josy Rose are offering a hotfix rod and some gems to one lucky winner! All you need do is post on your blog with a link back to the lovely Jules's blog here and then leave her a comment. Simples! love Mags B x

If you're looking for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop please go here It was my friend James's birthday last week. He's a very talented musician, with a very jolly sense of humour, so this little frog should amuse him! I love being able to personalise cards like this! The image is Penny Black, from the 'Toadily' transparent set. I coloured him with Promarkers and Glossy Accented the front of his guitar. I used 3 sizes of an octagonal Nestie to cut out the image and mats. The leaves and flowers were cut with Woodware punches, and so were the background squares. The banner is LotV, and the swirls have been stickled. There are tiny pearls in the centres of the flowers. I made the paper by sponging Distress Inks - Scattered Straw, Mowed Lawn and Peacock Feathers - on plain white card. Then I sprayed with Glimmer Mist to give it a sheen. The dots are stamped with Teal Stazon, using a Great Impressions background stamp. I'm ridiculously pleased with how it t...

My hugely talented and beautiful daughter has shown me where my link was wrong! Huzza!! MASSIVE APOLOGIES to anyone who clicked on the broken link to the Squirrel and the Fox bloghop post only to be told the page didn't exist. Thanks to Lynne, too, who pointed out another mistake! x love Mags B x

Morning, all! If you're looking for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop, please click here This is going to be a loooong post, so grab a cuppa - or, if The sun's over the yardarm you may prefer a G and T! The current theme at Dream Valley is 'Breast Cancer Awareness' so you need to THINK PINK! You can make anything, not necessarily papercrafts, as long as it fits the theme. My card uses a gorgeous image by Krista Smith of Saturated Canary Isn't she lovely? She looks a bit like my adorable granddaughter! Krista also has a sweet new image, 'Butterfly Baby' and this week she is donating money from this image to a children's charity - there's a link in my sidebar. I'm really pleased with the colouring on this one - Krista's images are a dream to colour! I used Promarkers (list below)and stickled the rose in her hair. The papers are Nitwits, from the snippets box. (Hi, Di! ) The gingham ribbon is from Hobbycraft. The flowers are all Wil...

Hi, if you're looking for my post for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop, please either scroll down or go here It occurs to me that I should give more details of the card I posted for the hop. The image is Elizabeth, a digi from Make It Crafty . I knew the prize on my blog would be from Make It Crafty, so that's why I used this fabulous image when I made the card last weekend. She was so satisfying to colour, in spite of all the complicated folds and flounces of her dress, which meant lots of shadowing! I made it for a lady who loves Retro stuff, hence the double rings, cut with Nesties, about the image. The papers are Bo Bunny Vicky B. The leaves are made with a Woodware punch and the flowers are Wild Orchid - I coloured the Lily flowers with Burnt Orange Promarker. The sentiment is Lili of the Valley. I stickled the flower in Elizabeth's hair (it doesn't show in the photo I'm afraid!) but otherwise added no bling because I wanted the papers to speak for the...

Hello and welcome to my part in the The Squirrel and the Fox blog hop. If you have come here from Linda's blog, then you’re in the right place. If you just happened to stumble upon my blog, head to The Squirrel and The Fox to start at the beginning and read how the hop works. You can also see all the amazing prizes up for grabs. To celebrate one whole year of The Squirrel and the Fox, the team are giving away some wonderful prizes. There’s even an individual prize for just landing here on this page. To showcase their work, each DT member is also showing off some of their favourite creations. I have chosen this card, made by me this September. This is for a good friend of my daughter who is into Vintage and Retro and who was a Tower of Strength when her relationship broke up. I love the Bo Bunny papers and the elegant Make It Crafty image with her gloves and fan and all those flounce! The prize that is being given away from my blog has been generously donated by Make ...

I am waiting up for my daughter to return from a weekend away, since she doesn't have her keys! So I thought I'd post this card now, especially since next week looks quite busy again! This is for my brother, who in spite of living slap bang in the middle of the country (Derby) took up sailing 5 years ago! The cute image is LotV. Unfortunately I forgot to write down the Promarkers I used - sorry, chaps! The papers are Nitwits from my snippets box. The shiny stickers are Paperchase. The twine is from The Ribbon Girl. eta I'm entering Pixie's Snippets Challenge after too long a time away from the Playground! And that knock on the door is my daughter! I'll love you and leave you, my dearios, and hopefully see you again soon! Take care! love Mags B x

J and C Creations are offering this fab candy of a new Spellbinders Create A Flake die-set! To join in, become a follower of the blog and post the pic in your sidebar with a link back, and comment on their post. Go over anyway to see the amazing cards that the wonderful Jacqui Dennis has made! love Mags B x

Good morning, all! It's time for another Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and this fortnight's theme is Celebrate the Occasion Our lovely sponsor this time is the wonderful Bugaboo and one lucky winner will be able to choose 7 digis from their store. I love Bugaboo! This image is from their Har Repotter set and is of The Wise One. He has changed his usual dark robes for a cricket umpire's white coat and a robe in the colours of the Marylebone Cricket Club, which runs Lord's Cricket Ground, 'The Home of Cricket.' Obsessed? Moi? The bp is a snippet from the green Papermania Capsule Collection. The red card is also Papermania and is pearlised. I used Tim Holtz grungeboard letters coloured with Speccies and the sentiments are computer-generated. The cricket ball and his glasses are Glossy Accented. Do run over and see my teamies' great creations! Then make a card for a celebration and join in! There is also a DT C...

Good morning! I'm so sorry this post is a day late, my laptop was dead when I tried to post yesterday. Disaster! So this morning just before calling the cavalry I tried one last time to fire her up and discovered... (dramatic pause)... the battery was flat! What a plonker! So now here's the new Dream Valley Challenge and the theme this fortnight is 'Celebrations.' So put on your glad rags and PAAAARRRTTYYYYY! Our sponsor is Digi Doodle Shop, there will be a prize of a $10 voucher. I used a romantic, old-fashioned image from DDS for my card, coloured in Promarkers, which is for another wedding anniversary. This is a gatefold card, for a change: Here's the inside. The papers are K & Co from my stash. The sentiment is LotV. The butterfly is a Magnolia Doohickey die, the ribbon, gems and charm are from stash. I stickled the rose in the lady's dress. Do go across and see what the DT has done and join in - I hope you all have lots of reasons to ...