Madcap Manor

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well! Sadly, I have needed to make a Sympathy card for a friend who has lost her Mum. (How tough it is, when all the shops are full of Mother's Day cards!) I paper-pieced a Penny Black stamp called 'Love Blush' with scraps from the Snippets Box. Though I did colour the tiniest bits (are they called sepals? It's many years since I did Science at school so I may have that wrong!) - anyway, I used Spectrum Noir DG3 on them. The mat is cut with a Spellbinder's Floral Ovals die and I distressed through the die with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink to give a faint pink shade. The paper is from a 'Country Diary' stack that was free with a magazine quite some time ago! I decorated the inside, too I'm glad to say my friend likes it! I'm entering Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge - thanks for the reminder, Di! Well, the tidying and dusting won't get done if I just sit here looking at it (wouldn&

I am so pleased, I always think it's very special to be picked as a 'Top Three'! It's made my week! I hope you're all keeping well, have a good week! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Is it really Sunday again? This week has flown by, with visitors and a lot of tidying! It's time again for another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and this time we have a theme of Fairy Tale or Fantasy Our sponsor is the wonderful Make It Crafty who are offering a $Aus voucher in their fantastic shop! I'm already a fan, and for my card I used my favourite MiC image, she is adorable, and a dream to colour! A good friend who loves mermaids is under the weather, so this was perfect timing for a Get Well card. I used Promarkers (the tiny nibs are an absolute boon for colouring those luscious locks!) and slathered her tail with Stickles. The ribbon is from my stash. The sentiment is Whiff of Joy and the die-cuts are Spellbinders - I cut along her fins so I could flip them on top of the die so they didn't get sut with the rest of the image (does that make sense?) Finally, the starfish were a RAK from my daughter and the papers are by Cosmo Cricket -

Hello, my lovelies, I hope you're having a relaxed Sunday! We have sunshine! I'd almost forgotten what the sun looks like! It's time for Challenge 51 at Dream Valley and this time we would like to see ribbon AND bling! That's both, by the way, not either ribbon or bling! And the Challenge this time will last for THREE weeks, not two! Our fabulous sponsor is Crafty Ribbons who are offering one of their gorgeous 'Bev's Bags' to a lucky winner, so get out your ribbons, your rhinestones, your glitter and your Glamour Dust and have a go! This card is not in my usual style, but I'm rather pleased with it! My lovely daughter gave me a pack of Papermania Big Bloomers flowers for Christmas, which inspired this card. I fastened two together with a brad and put some Spellbinders Foliage die-cuts behind it. The leaves have a lot of Glamour dust on them, if you squint you can just about make it out on my naff photo! The ribbon and lace are from stash,

Hi, guys! Have you finalised your plans for Valentine's Day? Or maybe your Other Half is making arrangements? Mine isn't, he's not really very good at that sort of thing! I do think the timing is unfortunate this year, since it's the first day of Lent, but I reckon that even if you plan to give up chocolate you can make allowances for just one special day! I've made a Valentine card using this pretty LotV Love Grows stamp. I used Promarkers to colour, and a spot of Glossy Accents on the watering can and shears. The heart mat is a Spellbinder's die, and so is the mat behind the sentiment. And I've just noticed that I forgot to colour in the flowers on the sentiment! Oops! The flowers are Wild Orchid crafts, the twiggy leaves are cut with a Nellie Snellen punch. The gingham ribbon and brown baker's twine are from The Ribbon Girl and the little wooden heart button is from stash. The paper is also LotV, from the new Country Lady pad. Challenges

Hi, guys, I hope you're all doing well! This afternoon I was visited by my friend's daughter, she sat in her wheelchair and I did the ironing while we giggled at 'Top Gear' on the telly! Yes, I confess, I have a sneaky liking for 'Top Gear'! Yesterday I managed to find the Magnolia image that I 'lost' by sweeping it off my desk with my baggy cardigan sleeve and completed a Christmas card. I meant to post yesterday but I was out at a meeting in the evening and I got home late and knackered and went to bed instead! It was interesting to colour the same image with Spectrum Noirs ( here and this one is done in Promarkers. The Speccies I used are more vivid than the Promarkers, but I like both effects, thoug I find that Promarkers blend more easily. Experimenting is fun! The stars and crown have been glamour-dusted. I used Spellbinders' Opulent Ovals' for the mats, which are cut from Centura Pearl cardstock, they have a pretty sheen that does

I'm having another go at scheduling - wish me luck, I'm going in! Good morning, all! It's time for another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and this time we have a theme of Love Our sponsor is the talented Kenny K . One lucky winner will be able to choose 5 digis from the shop! Now, I must confess that I'm not a massive fan of his very sexy images, they just don't appeal to me, but the others are really fun! The DT were fortunate to have some images to use - this one is his Happy Couple digi stamp, isn't it great? I have a wedding coming up next month, and I know the 'happy couple' will love this! I used Speccies (I can't find my list of colours, I may have chucked it when I was tidying!) I used Cotton Candy stickles on the bouquet and the bride's tiara and the trim on her dress and veil. I cut around the bouquet before using a Nesties circle di to cut out the image, I like the effect it gives! She is just about to throw her b

Good afternoon, my lovelies! I hope you're all having a happy weekend. I have a TOP TIP to give you: Don't craft in a cardigan with loose, floppy sleeves! The number of times I've swept things off my craft table and onto the floor this week is ridiculous! There's one coloured-in Tilda that seems to have escaped completely! I'm halfway through cleaning my craft hovel in the hopes I'll find her! Amidst all the kerfuffle I did manage to finish one card without a mishap: The Sketch is from Seems a Little Sketchy and I flipped it over. The papers are Nitwits (though I didn't make a note of the collection, sorry!). I used a Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles die on Tilda's blue mat, and the leafy Fanciful Flourish die is by Cheery Lynn, I added sequin flowers with tiny gems glued in the middle. The sentiment is LotV, the flourish is stickled though the light hasn't caught it. I also stickled Tilda's Star wand and her cute crown. The star embe

Hi, guys, I'm back! Did any of you watch the tv programme 'The King in the Car Park' about the discovery of Richard III's skeleton? It was fascinating - especially when a forensic reconstruction of his skull was revealed, showing what he looked like! I'm going back into the past with this card - but not as far as 1485! This is Tickled Pink Fashionette Lil Lolita 50s Lilith She has such a wonderful sulky expression! I used a Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Nine and distressed with Worn Lipstick while the card was still in the die. The skulls have been glamour-dusted, and I edged the background strips of paper with glamour dust, too, after rounding two corners with my corner punch. (On reflection, I should have made the strips longer.) Papers are a mix: Nitwits for the striped background, and the strips are from a free Hollie Hobby pack that came with a mag. The twine was also a freebie. The label is LotV, the shiny dots are Paperchase stickers, and the button

This is a card I made for last week's challenges at Anyone for Anya and Mojo Monday Yes, I said 'LAST week!' I've had limited use of my laptop because my hubby's one threw a hissy fit and he had to borrow mine for work. Fortunately his is now working again! This cutie is an old Anya stamp that seems to be no longer available, which is a pity. She's for a good friend who is a 'Hippie Chick' and has the beads and CND scarf to prove it! I haven't got the list of pens I used - sorry! I stickled her headband and bracelets and also the butterfly on the LotV circle sentiment. The papers are Papermania Capsule Collection. Ribbon and stickers are from stash. I used an MFT Banner die for the tags, and an EK Success punch for the scalloped border which isn't showing up very well! The sketch from Mojo Monday was lovely to use, and I'm kicking myself for missing both challenges! Last week was special because on Wednesday afternoon we went up

Afternoon, all! There's another challenge at Dream Valley and since it's February (already! Who stole January??) we're looking forward to the most romantic day of the year - St Valentine's Day! We are sponsored this fortnight by the wonderful Meljen who very generously let the DT use some of her fabulous designs! One lucky winner of this challenge will be able to choose FOUR digis from her shop! Isn't this a fun image for a Valentine card? Actually, my first two cards went in the bin because the layouts looked all wrong, then I decided to go for a semi-circle (to echo the round apple - oo gosh how arty!) and it worked! It's all part of the learning curve! I used Grand Nesties and the base is made from pearlised card from Craft Creations The green paper, which you can't really see, was a magazine freebie. The heart is a die by Cheery Lynn, the flowers are Wild Orchid. Simples - eventually! Go and have a look at the fab, romantic creations by m