Madcap Manor

Evening, all! At Dream Valley our Challenge this time is to use Ribbon, Lace and Pearls . Our sponsor is All Dressed Up - do go and see the charming digis that Wendy has designed, they are lovely! For my card I used Abi Ballerina isn't she cute? I coloured her with Copics. I took the colours from the papers which are from the Promises pad by Nitwits and Lili of the Valley. Abi is cut out using a Deckle Rectangle Spellbinders die. The lace and ribbon and pearls are from stash - I added a pearl to her bow, as well as to the squares of patterned paper. The silver-embossed sentiment is from the Simply Fabulous Sayings stamp set by My Favorite Things. Go and see what the DT has created with these beautiful images and be inspired! Remember, it's Ribbon and Lace and Pearls - all three! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! I can't believe that next weekend will be Easter - where has the last 3 months gone????? At My Time to Craft our challenge this week is Easter Animals Think chicks, lambs, bunnies..... Here is my card - I apologise for the naff picture, it's rather wonky! I used papers and a sticker from the 'Spring Fling' paper pad by First Edition. I added the Chick sticker to white card and cut it out to make it sturdier, and added it with foam pads. I used a Fiskar's 'bubble' punch on the green strip of paper. The sentiment is stamped with Lawn Fawn's Milo's ABC - the stamps are very tiny and a bit fiddly to line up, but I really like them! The eggs decorating the sentiment are cut out of one of the papers from the pad and added Clear Wink of Stella. The card base looked too plain, so I used a Hero Arts Dots background stamp and Buttercup pigment ink by Mama Elephant. The ribbon is from stash. Go and see the cute creations made by my ...

Hi, guys! It's C.R.A.F.T Challenge time again and this week it's a fun one - Inspired by a Film Mine is '3 Men and a Baby' - Hubby and I saw it when it first came out, when my daughter was a baby. We went on a date - all you parents will know how rare and special that is!! We got a baby sitter, had a meal out, and went to the flicks - and this was exactly the kind of silly, frothy film we needed to see! Also, back in the mid-eighties it was still most unusual for any man to be involved in child-rearing: if you saw a bloke pushing a buggy in the street that was a rare event! The image is Baby Shower Cake by Karleigh Sue Designs. The mat is a spellbinders Fleur de Lys die and the label is also by Spellbinders. The ribbon is from stash and the background paper is a snippet. Karleigh Sue Digis is our sponsor for our March Star of the Month! For this Challenge our sponsors are: Great Impressions Stamps and Meljen's Designs Sadly, Melissa is moving on...

Good afternoon, all! I hope your Saturday is going well! I have spent the day helping to do lunch for 12 couples attending a 'Marriage Preparation' course at my Church. My friend Hilary brought along baking potatoes, chilli con carne, two trifles and some cupcakes! She is an amazing cook! I brought along a teatowel.... It was really enjoyable, a great chance to catch up and have a good natter! Now I'm home with my feet up and a cuppa made by my lovely hubby. So that's why I haven't yet blogged the new Challenge at My Time to Craft which this week is to have a Silhouette as your image. I have a set of silhouette stamps from Indigo Blu and I set them out on my Fiskar's Stamp Press to make the scene and sentiment I wanted, then stamped in Versafine Black Onyx Ink. First I stamped on some old pink patterned paper and added pink flower sequins: Then I stamped on lilac patterned paper and added black flower sequins: Both dragonflies have Wink of Stella ...

Hi, guys! Our Challenge this week is to make a card for a lady - either for Mother's Day or for any other female! Our sponsors are Little Miss Muffet Stamps I made an easel card, using lots of pink! The adorable image is Kiki Bloom . I cut my bases using a large Go Kreate Frilly Frames #2. I used Worn Lipstick Distress ink to colour it, then used an Interference Red perfect Pearls Mist to give it some shine. The papers are from the Bonnets and Bowties paper pad by LOTV, and the sentiment is also by LOTV. The white swirls and the dragonfly are cut with Magnolia Doohickey dies. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. For the base I used the same papers and also a piece of ribbon and some lace from stash. Go and see what my teamies have made, then dig out your prettiest, girliest stash and join in the Challenge! love Mags B x

I'm so sorry this is late - once again I mucked up the scheduling. :( Our theme for the Challenge this time is Easter - and it's suddenly getting close! I gave up chocolate for Lent, so I will really enjoy my Easter egg this year! Our sponsor this time is the amazing Robyn's Fetish I used the cute Easter Girl . She is coloured with Copics and her wings have been stickled. The background paper is from the Spring Fling stack by First Edition, I went over the eggs with a Wink of Stella pen for some added glitz. I used a Spellbinder's Floral Oval die for the mat. The bow is made with a scrap of ribbon from stash, and the silver-embossed greeting is by Clearly Besotted from the All Occasion Sentiments set. Ga and be inspired by my teamies' great creations! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags B x

Happy Saturday, guys! It's My Time to Craft and this week our theme is very topical, with Mothering Sunday tomorrow: For a Special Lady . That can be for a mum, but it could be for a friend or a girl's birthday! I used City Girl , one of the gorgeous images by Hannah Lynn, available from Crafts and Me and coloured her with Copics. I added white Pearl Pen to her earrings and pendant, and also to the punched butterflies. The mat is a Spellbinders die which sadly no longer seems to be available.The sentiment is from the Penny Black Gratitude sentiment set and is stamped in Mama Elephant Eggplant pigment ink which is just gorgeous! The butterflies were cut with two Martha Stewart punches: the 'Punch All Over the Page' Butterfly and the 3 in 1 punch . Papers, ribbon and flower are from stash. Go and peruse my teamies' gorgeous makes, then get out your girliest stash and have a go! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! it's Christmas time at C.R.A.F.T Challenge! We have two rather special sponsors this week: Sassy Studios Design The prize is 4 digis from her shop. and our very own boss Trimgym's Digistamps and Images The prize is 3 digis, or 2 decoupage sheets, or a paper pack! I used the beautiful Snow Queen Portrait from Sassy Studios Design. I coloured her with Promarkers and shaded her hair with Cool Aqua and Tea Green to give the impression of snow-white hair! I used a flourish stamp arount the image and added Stickles, to give the impression of a swirl of icy magic. The image is cut with a Spellbinders Labels 28 die, and the mat with a Decorative Labels 28 die, and then it was distressed with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. The sentiment is by Clearly Besotted. The glittered snowflakes are cut with Avery Elle dies. The ribbon and papers are from stash. My teamies have made some fab Christmas creations, do go and see! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Don't come too close, I'm still getting over a beastly cold!! But it's Saturday and the sun is shining! Hooray! It's also time for another Challenge at My Time to Craft and this week's theme is really unusual - Zentangle I always thought that Zentangle was just a rather posh kind of doodling, but in fact there is rather more to it than that. here is a very good website that explains Zentangle and how to make the patterns. It's actually a very relaxing kind of art, I've really enjoyed it! This is the basic idea, you draw a 'string' to divide up your 3.5 x 3.5 inch square of paper, and fill in the gaps with different patterns. You can also use the patterns as a border for a scrapbook page, or to fill in an outline stamp for a card, it's a very flexible technique. Go and see what my teamies have made for your inspiration, then pick up a pen and have a go! It's very therapeutic! I hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for looking...

Evening, all! I'm sorry I'm so late posting this, I have a horrible cold and I've spent most of the day swigging lemsip and kipping! But better late than never, eh?! Our newest CRAFT Challenge is a recipe: 1 image , 2 papers and 3 embellishments . Now, normally I find recipe challenges - ah - challenging, but this one came together quite easily, because I knew i wanted to make a bloke's card using some 'screw' brads that I've had in my stash for yonks. See what you think! The cool dude is Frankie Knuckles by Kenny K. I coloured him with Copics and used a woodware Reverse Corner punch on the corners before layering him on a scrap of blue card. The papers are over 5 years old, the black and white one is by DCWV from a 'Black and White' pad; the blue is possibly Papermania, but the pad has lost its cover. The sentiment is from the All Boy stamp set by Simon Says Stamps. The brads are from stash. Our great sponsors are: Kenny K Downloads ...

My card for our Dream Valley Challenge 101 where the theme is Mother's Day The image is Birdy-Girl Valentine by Robin Pushay for Crafts and Me and she is just so adorable! I used up more freebie papers, and also a freebie doily, just visible to the top right! The lace and ribbon are from stash, and the flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts , they have had spots of glitter added to them to look like dew. The sentiment is by Lili of the Valley and the heart gems are from The Hobby House . I coloured some of the hearts with alcohol pens to turn them red. Our lovely sponsors are: Crafts and Me The Hobby House Thanks for looking! love Mags B x