Madcap Manor

Hello! Can you believe it's already the end of June????? This year is EVAPORATING! Here we are with another challenge at Dream Valley and it's one that everyone enjoys: Be Inspired by a Film, Song or Book Our super sponsor is the wonderful Crafty Sentiments and a lucky winner will receive 3 Digis as a prize! I used the adorable Sweetheart Bunnies and my song is an oldie but goodie: 'Daisy, Daisy, Give me your Answer, do!' This is an anniversary card for my brother and sister-in-law, who have a tandem. I used Spectrum Noir pens to colour the image. I used a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Square die to make the mat. The papers are old ones from my 'magazine freebie papers' box, and the yellow ribbon is from Hobbycraft. The sentiment is by LotV and I used another magazine freebie, a labels die, to cut it, and tied a scrap of baker's twine into a bow. In the corners are various coloured stickers from Paperchase, I like how they pick up the colours in t...

Hi, guys! I hope you're having a good weekend, with plenty of sunshine! Here in S-E Herts we have alternating drizzle and rain. Gotta love the summer! It's another Christmas Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and we have a wonderful sponsor, Sweet'n'Sassy . A winner will have 3 of their fab digis as a prize! This cutie is Pippin the Penguin with Christmas Lights. I used Promarkers, and added Glossy Accents to the lights. The papers are snippets, and the holly ribbon has been knocking around my stash for a couple of years. The holly vine is a memory Box die, with berries of red Liquid pearls. The glittered snowflake is a Martha Stewart punch. The sentiment is by Paper Smooches and I embossed it in green. Go and see the merry makes that my teamies have created to be inspired to make your own Christmas cards! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning, all! I hope you're having a good weekend! My daughter is over from Dublin. She has a job there, and now she and her partner are looking for their own place. Exciting! Children grow up so fast!!! it's time for another Challenge at My Time to Craft and this time it's Christmas in June . Well, it's never too early to get the Christmas cards started, is it? (I apologise for the naff photo!) I have some old die-cut sheets of images from Lili of the Valley coloured by the amazing Bev Rochester . I love these cute children decorating the tree - and I wish i could colour like that!!! The striped paper came from a pad of 'Back to Basics' Christmas paper by Dovecraft, and the sentiment is from a sheet of foiled Christmas sentiments, both of which came from Hobbycraft. The ribbon is from stash, and the snowflakes are made with a Martha Stewart punch and then glittered. Go and see the gorgeous Christmas creations made by my teamies, and make a C...

Good evening, all! Sorry I haven't blogged much this week, I have had some problems uploading pictures to the blog : fortunately my daughter and her wonderful partner are here for the weekend - he is a Jedi Master of IT and has solved the problem! He is a very noble gentleman!!! So here is one of a set of cards I made a week ago, starring the Woodware Patch an Owl set. I paper pieced the owl, using LotV Bonnets and Bowties papers (they came free with a mag!) The beak is pieced with a scrap of gold card from stash. I used a snippet of pink card and a Spellbinders Lacey Squares die for the mat. The sentiment came with the set. I used a stamp from the Winter Gifts stamp set and the matching Tag You're It dies. The tiny flower brads are from stash. Here's a picture of the 4 cards lying on my ironing board: One of the great things about paper piecing is that if you use 4 different papers you can easily make 4 cards!! I hope you've all had a great weekend, ...

Dream Valley Challenges are now on Mondays instead of Sundays. Oops, I know this is Tuesday, I'm sorry I'm late with this! Our new challenge is Monochrome - that is, with the exception of skin tones and hair if you're colouring an image of a person, just use shades of a single colour. Our Sponsor is The Paper Shelter and a lucky winner will receive a $20 voucher for the store! I used one of my favourite TPS images, this is Victorian Beauty I wanted it lo look like an old sepia photo. I used Promarkers, and distressed all the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The papers are by LotV/Nitwits, from the 'Country Lady' pad. One layer is edged with a Martha Stewart Doily punch and there's a strip of card glued underneath it to give some variety. The brown cord is crochet thread. I added pearls to the corners and also to the button on the lady's jacket, and Glossy Accented her mirror. The sentiment is a bought die-cut from stash. This is the perfe...

Good afternoon! I'm late with this post I'm afraid: time just ran away with me! It's time for a new challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox! We have another great sponsor this fortnight: Delicious Doodles . A lucky winner will have FOUR digis from the shop! And all you have to do to be in with a chance is to Use Something Metal on your creation. This wonderful image is Kingfisher in the Rushes isn't it lovely?! Near where I live there is a bird reserve where every year Kingfishers nest, they really are stunning birds! I used Promarkers to colour the image. I added Stickles to the butterflies and dragonflies, and the bird's bill has been Glossy Accented. I rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper. The banner is by Lawn Fawn from the Winter Gifts stamp set and the matching 'Tag You're It' die. The sentiment is by Paper Smooches from the Sentiment Sampler The metal corner came from Whiff of Joy several years ago, and the brad is from stash. ...

I have been biting my tongue ever since the lovely Shell asked me to join the DT for My Time to Craft! I've hardly stopped smiling since!!! So here it is, my first DT card, and the theme is DL It! I admit I had to look up what makes a DL card: it has to be 200cm x 210cm - that is the size of a third of an A4 sheet of paper. Tall and skinny, in other words (sooo not like me!!!) It's a Father's Day card, done in a 'Retro' style using papers and stickers from Basic Grey's 'Hipster' collection. I mounted the stickers onto the same ivory card as the card base, and cut them out with a border, so I could put them onto foam pads. The circular one is like an old vinyl record, and I covered it with Glossy Accents. The twine came from Whiff of Joy For those of you of a younger disposition, 'Rad' is short for 'Radical' and was a popular word of approval amongst all the hep cats when I was a child! Go and see the gorgeous makes that my te...

No, that's not 'Three Kings of *Leyton* Orient' which is a soccer team from North London that several of my friends follow!!! The current challenge at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge is to use THREE of something. Well, call me old-fashioned, but one particular Christmas 'threesome' sprang to mind! The images are by Francoise Read for Woodware and I have had them for ages - unfortunately, they don't seem to be available any more. I coloured the Kings with Promarkers, I hope you can tell that one King is African, one is Caucasian, and one oriental. They have all been cut out and mounted on foam pads for dimension. I added Glossy Accents to the gifts and gold Stickles to their robes and crowns - and to the Star over Bethlehem. The papers are from Hobbycraft, I think it's their 'Vintage Christmas' collection, but don't quote me, as they are all loose in my 'Christmas box'. I cut the tan paper to look like hills and used Dis...

Dream Valley Challenges has changed from Sunday to Monday. Evening, all! We have another great Challenge this fortnight: For a Baby I'm going to need quite a few of these this year! We have a terrific sponsor: Dilly Beans who are offering 3 digis for the winner! Unfortunately I wasn't organised enough to use one of their fab images, instead I used a stamp set by Paper Smooches called A Little Lovin' . I paper pieced the elephants, using LotV Bonnets and Bowties . I die-cut a circle in the checked piece and made the scalloped border, all with Spellbinder dies, then added the paper on foam pads. The elephants are also on foam pads. The banner is a Lawn Fawn stamp called Bannerific and the sentiment came with the Paper Smooches stamp set. The baker's twine and star stickers were RAKs from my daughter. Go and see what my teamies have done, they have made some fabulous creations! Remember, if you want to have a go, it doesn't have to be a card! Thanks...

Good morning, my lovelies! I hope all is well with you! At The Squirrel and the Fox we are halfway through our extended Challenge, Let's Hear It For The Girls Our wonderful sponsor is Make It Crafty and there are TWO chances to win! You can link a creation in the usual way, but if you use a Make it Crafty item, you'll get another entry free, gratis, and for nothing! And when you consider that the prize is a $10AUD voucher for the store, and a second voucher for using a MiC image, you'll agree that it's not to be sneezed at!! Both cards I've made for this Challenge are intended for twins who have a birthday soon. This glamorous lady is Christine Soprano and she was a delight to colour! MiC images always look daunting at first, I think, but they are so cleverly drawn that it's quite easy to see where to shade. I added stickles to the feathers on her mask and choker, and fussy cut her out and mounted her on foam pads. I used Spellbinders Elegant Label...