Madcap Manor

Evening, all! Who's enjoying Wimbledon? Normally it just seems like a procession, but this time the upsets have made it really interesting! Come on, Murray! I made this card for a young lad who is besotted by science - specially biology! So this chameleon, from the Woodware stamp set 'In the Jungle', seemed right. It's not an animal that appeals to me much in real life, but this one is just so cute! I used a nestie to cut him out then drew round the edge of the die on pearlised charcoal card by Papermania and cut out the narrow mat. He's coloured with Speccies, and there are stickles on the fly's wings and Glossy Accents on the ridges of his crest. I distressed the edge lightly with Scattered Straw DI. Papers are Paislee Road by Prima. The tags are Lili of the Valley. The leaves and flowers and butterflies are all made with Woodware punches: I used scraps of multicoloured, shiny green and copper paper. I hope the young man will like it - the card's ...

Evening, all! I have spent a wonderful afternoon crafting and listening to the cricket - England vs Australia in a One Day International. We won! Sorry, my dear Aussie friends, but the novelty hasn't worn off yet! This is what I made: The cute Tatty Button image is called 'Rainy Days' and she came from Angel Crafts . I'm going to send her to my son's MiL (shouldn't there be just one word to describe relations-in-law?) She lives in Shropshire, where there's been a lot of flooding - luckily she lives on a hill, but the main road to Shrewsbury was flooded yesterday and she is so sick of the wet! I hope this will cheer her up. I used Promarkers to colour her in watery tones. I stickled the raindrops and puddles, and put Glossy Accents on her button. I used a Nestie to cut her out, then drew round the outer edge of the die onto the mat and cut out by hand to give a narrow border. I distressed round the image with Broken China Distress Ink. The papers are...

Maybe he's watching the footie? He doesn't want me to leave any comments, chiz. I'll invoke the Mr Blogger mantra: if at first you don't succeed, reboot, reboot and reboot again. love Mags B x

Aren't these gorgeous? It's a giveaway from The Ribbon Girl on their blog. It ends next Saturday 30 June. Delicious! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! I hope you're all enjoying a good weekend, in spite of this crazy weather. Flaming June! It's time for another challenge at Dream Valley and we'd love to see your creations using Things with Wings Our sponsor this fortnight is Digi Doodle Shop There's a voucher for $10 to spend at their online shop for one lucky winner! I used one of their images, Butterfly Blossoms for my card and cut it out with a Nesties die. The card base and background papers were also cut with Grand Nesties on Excalibur, my wonderful Grand Caliber die-cutting machine. I coloured with Promarkers - the new pen tips are just brilliant for colouring a delicate image like this! I covered the butterflies' wings with glitter. The papers are a mix of Funky Hand and Nitwits. I used a Martha Stewart Deep Edger Punch for the bit across the middle. The flowers are made with Retro punches and covered in Glossy Accents, and the orange centres are shiny stickers from Paperc...

Good evening, my lovelies! I hope none of you has been troubled by the flooding in some parts of the UK, the pictures on the News have been awful. And, look, it's raining again! I think I'm going rusty. Twenty-six years ago tonight, after a very hot and dry day, I was in hospital with my brand new, gorgeous baby daughter asleep beside my bed. She was so tiny and cute! Now she's all grown up, but she can still be cute now and again, when she's in the mood lol! She also bakes amazing cupcakes, which do my diet no good at all! So when I saw this Whimsy stamp by Meljen at Angel Crafts I just had to buy it! This week, Sacha's favourite colours are red and blue, which is convenient because I could use Nitwits Tour of London papers. They are so pretty! Though every time I go on the website there seem to be more and more totally irresistable papers! The doily, which is Cheery Lynn French Pastry Doily Die from Dies to Die For (they have a sale at the moment! But I...

Hi, guys! I hope you're all making the most of the sunshine, there's heavy rain forecast for tomorrow. Apparently it'll be worst just as I walk down to the Church Hall for my slimming club... :( On to more cheerful things! This Whiff of Joy image is Willow with Turkey Chick and she's coloured with Promarkers. Now, there's a well-known videogame series called 'Final Fantasy' which features big yellow birds called Chocobos that are used for riding, and I owe a fan of the games a thank you card, so this seemed appropriate! The current challenge at Sketch and Stash is a free choice from the archive. I've used Number 17 The Nitwits papers, flowers and gems are from stash. The leaves are a Magnolia Doo-hickey die which is NEW! The sentiment is a recent buy from LotV. Ok, chaps, I'm off to do the washing up. Have a good evening, everyone, and thanks for looking! love Mags B x Promarkers Walnut, Henna, Tan; Bright Orange; Sunkissed Pink, Bl...

Firstly, welcome to my new followers! Glad you could make it - take a pew, I'll put the kettle on! Evening, all! I hope you all had a good weekend, and that that Monday morning feeling hasn't been too bad. This is a larger card than I usually make, because it's for one of our ladies at the Toddler Group, so there will be a lot of signatures on it! The lady has brought her 3 grandchildren to us over the last 3 years, and the youngest goes to nursery school in September so we'll sadly be saying goodbye. The papers are ancient, they are from the days when Lakeland did craft materials as well as kitchen and homeware. The pink gingham ribbon, which hides the join between the two papers, is from stash, and so are the Papermania gem brads in the middle of the chrysanthemums (of which more anon!) The pretty butterfly is a Penny Black, I picked it up at the very first craft show I went to, nearly 3 years ago! I cut the mats with a Nestabilities die, using a patterned g...

I made this card last week for a very special friend but our paths haven't crossed until tonight. She keeps chickens so I thought this was just the right image! It's a Saturated Canary image by Krista Smith called Murray who, as you can see, also keeps chickens! I coloured her with Promarkers, but unfortunately I can't find the list. I'm usually dissatisfied by my hair colouring, but this time I think I've almost cracked it. We Shall See! The papers are Nitwits Bees Knees Collection. The colours are so pretty, for once I chose the papers first and then matched the Promarkers. I know that's what you're supposed to do, but I'm rarely that organised!! The corners are cut and embossed with Spellbinders Floral doily set, the card is cheap'n'cheerful gold card for children's crafts which came from our lovely Art and Craft shop which closed 2 years ago - I miss it so much :( But I think my bank manager is quite happy that it closed lol! ...

Morning, all! I want to thank you for your lovely comments! Yesterday I had a very minor op and when I got back from the surgery I was feeling rather shaky, but when I read your comments they made me feel so very much better. so - THANK YOU!!! I wasn't allowed to do the ironing (shame!) so I made this. It's the first attempt at masking two images together that has turned out quite reasonably! The stamps are Magnolia, of course. I used Promarkers and Glossy Accented both skulls. The papers are digis by Creative Cottage, and I've had these scraps hanging around for about 2 years! I used baker's twine from The Ribbon Girl. The skull charm and pearls are from stash. The buttons are from my Mother in Law's button tin - the big one has lines on it rather like the points of a compass, so I thought it was appropriate! Here's the inside with more skulls: And here's a close-up of the button: I'm entering Just Magnolia Challenge whose theme is ...

Well, after yesterday's debacle I made certain that I posted this picture! The weather has been so cold and damp today! I've had the heating on - in June! Can you believe it! Anyway, this wintry card and the Whiff of Joy image, 'Willow with Hot Chocolate,' seems appropriate. Brrrr! I used Nitwits papers from the 'Joyful Hearts' and 'Still Joyful Hearts' collections, they are such a pretty blue. The doily is a Marianne die, and the label is from Spellbinders' Floral Doily Accents set. I added icicle stickles to both die-cuts. Willow is coloured in Promarkers and her mug is Glossy Accented. The sentiment is by Lili of the Valley, stamped in Broken China Distress Ink. I also distressed the edges of the papers with Broken China. The gorgeous lace is from The Ribbon Girl . The stars are from stash. I'm entering three challenges: Whiff of Joy Challenge which provided the great sketch; and The Ribbon Girl Challenge which is to use lace ...

Silly me, I only forgot to post a picture of my card in yesterday's post! It's there now! Thanks for pointing out the mistake, guys - I think my memory must be going rusty because of all the rain! love Mags B x

Afternoon, all! It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge! This time we'd like to see something for a special man or boy in your life. We have two sponsors this time: one lucky person will win a £10.00 gift voucher from One Stop Card Crafts A second lucky person will win 4 images of their choice from Sassy Studios I made a card for my daughter to give my hubby for Father's Day. The inspiration comes from Rubber Stamping by Kim Reygate which was one of the books that got me into cardmaking. Anyone who has read the book or visited her blog will recognise the technique of embossing and sponging on the torn paper. I used a background stamp by Great Impressions which I think came from Sir Stampalot and stamped on white card with embossing ink, then covered it with glitter embossing powder. A wave of the heat gun and a Harry Potter chant of 'Meltiamus!' and there was the white-on-white pattern. Next came the fun bit, sponging Distress Inks (Peeled ...

Evening, all! It's time to announce the name that my hubby drew for my blogaversary candy and it is: Lynne in NI Congrats, hun! Thanks, everyone who joined in. I'm sorry all you lovely people couldn't win - but it's my birthday next month so I'll be offering more candy for that! Have a good evening! love Mags B x

This is a sticky post, please scroll down for other posts! Tim Holtz Alterations Texture Fades: Damask and Regal Flourishes Set Woodware Acrylic Stamp Set: Celebrating Christmas Small Christmas tags Docrafts: Hot Diggity Dog Decoupage plus foam pads Assorted metallic and glittered stickers There wasn't room to show: 3 packs of coloured cards and envelopes (mango; yellow; and lilac) Two years ago I didn't know what the future would bring when I started this blog. In fact I've got to know wonderful, kind, creative people. Thank you for your encouragement and inspiration. There is only one rule for my candy: leave your name on this post! On June 8th I'll write down your names, toss them in a bowl, and withdraw one at random. I'll post anywhere

Good afternoon, everyone! I hope you've all recovered from any Jubilee celebrations in the rain. Wasn't it a shame the weather was so awful! I hope the Queen has had a lie-in today to recover! Next week the 5 lads and lasses from my Sunday School class are being confirmed, so I have made each of them one of these cards. I didn't want them to be 'religious' because the family of one of the candidates just isn't interested at all and I don't want to put the kid in an awkward situation. So instead I used this gorgeous Poppy stamp, which I bought at Ally Pally this year. I used red Promarkers for the image, and the sentiment, which came with a Forever Friends stamp yonks ago, is stamped in Faded Jeans Distress Ink. The white bows are from stash. It took me quite a while to make 5 of these - actually I made 9 altogether, but the stamping went wrong on 4 of them so they were Binned With Extreme Prejudice! I'm entering the Less is More Challenge whi...

Songbird Challenge in a Challenge that will be opening its doors on August 6th. Challenges will be fortnightly, based around a theme of music (eg song titles or lyrics.) It sounds different! There's a DT call on until June 15th. love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Happy Jubilee holiday to those who have celebrated! I was asked to make a card for a lady whose bridesmaids are going to be wearing the colours of the rainbow! That's one colour each, by the way, not all seven at once! This is a big card (8" x 8") because the LotV die-cut is large. I used a Martha Stewart punch around the die-cut to give the lacy border. The striped paper is Funky Hand (it was a freebie last year) - aren't those colours lovely?! Flowers are Wild Orchid, and the leaves are a Whiff of Joy die. The ribbon is recycled one of my colleagues at the Toddler Club was going to chuck it because it's not very long - so I snapped it up instead! It makes me feel so virtuous when I recycle! The sentiment is also LotV, the butterflies and flowers coloured with Sakura Stardust pens, and matted onto a piece cut with a Spellbinders Floral Doily die. All the paper lace has been distressed with Spun Sugar DI. The pink roses and hearts on the image ...