Madcap Manor

Good morning! I hope you're all looking forward to a great weekend! It's Thursday, so it must be another CRAFT Cahllenge . With Father's Day approaching next month, our theme is Father's Day or Male , so that those of us whose fathers are no longer with us can join in with a card for a male friend or relative. Our awesome sponsor is: Digital Delights I used Steampunk Octopus Freddie from Oddball Art. Isn't he suave with his top hat and monocle and elegant moustache? I cut the silver frame with Lawn Fawn Stitched Circles and the cogs with a Sizzix Tim Holtz die. I coloured the cogs with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress paint, then added some Peeled Paint embossing powder for a verdigris look. The paper is from stash, I like the 'compass' pattern! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Happy Monday! At Dream Valley we have a nice, straightforward Challenge this fortnight: Add a Doily Our sponsor is wonderful All Dressed Up Stamps . As well as digis, Wendy's images are available from Little Darlings Rubber Stamps at Sugar Nellie and Noor Design I made an easel card, using Little Flower Girl. The doily is in the top left corner, and was made with a Cheery Lynn French Pastry doily die. The papers are by K & Co, they are very old and have lost their cover! The dragonfly used as the easel stop is also from the same very old collection. The sentiment is by Lawn Fawn and the ribbon and lace are from stash. The butterflies are by Joy! Craft from Noor Design. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! We have a technique challenge at My Time to Craft and it's Paper Piecing . That's the technique where, instead of colouring in your image, you stamp it on coloured papers, cut out, and pice them together like a patchwork quilt. For the background I used Snow Drifts Cover Up by My Favorite Things. The papers are Beach Boardwalk an older paper pad by Carta Bella. The yacht image is from Lawn Fawn's Float My Boat and the sails and hull are paper pieced. Go and get some inspiration from my teamies' gorgeous creations, they will inspire you to join in! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you're all keeping well. We have a new challenge at CRAFT Challenge and this week it's our regular Christmas theme. Our wonderful sponsors are: Rick St Dennis DRSDesigns I have used a Rick St Dennis image, Buddy, who sadly seems to be discontinued. I made him into a Christmas image by using red and green for his clothes, and adding glitter to the apple he's holding. The die-cuts are Spellbinders Holly Accents . The stickers and papers are from stash. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Happy Birthday To Us Happy Birthday To Us Happy Birthday Dear CRAFT Challenge Happy Birthday To Us! Can you believe it? CRAFT Challenge is already 7 years old. Originally started by Tracy from Just Tracy Crafts and with a DT mostly recruited from Trimcraft forum members (Hence the term CRAFT Challenge, which stood for Crafters Residing Are Friendly Trimmies. Or if you wished alternative meaning of Can't Remember A Flipping Thing) on the 4 th of May 2009. We have now grown to be a large team of Design Team Members from all around the world, supplemented with lots of Guest Designers who join us for a month at a time. We have always welcomed all kinds of craft, not just paper craft (unless specifically stated so in the challenge at the time) and are happy to have such a large group of faithful followers. So, how are we going to celebrate this milestone? Well, how else can we celebrate than to have our yearly Blogaversary Blog Hop? We all feature one of our sponsors for th

Good morning! It's Dream Valley Challenges time again and our theme this fortnight is Ribbon, Lace and Pearls Our terrific sponsors are: Dies to Die For who have a spiffing new design for their website! and Crafty Ribbons who as always have the most gorgeous ribbons and lace for sale! I have used a sweet image by Julia Spiri for my card, this is Victorian Hat and she is adorable! I layered several papers using a Go Create Frilly Die. The butterflies are cut with a Spellbinders die. The ribbon, lace and pearls are from stash. I am scheduling this post, and I hope I get it right, as on Monday I have a 'line' attached to my chest, which is to feed in the chemotherapy for my bowel cancer. The actual treatment starts on Wednesday, and I'm so glad that the wait is over! I want to get on with it, since the sooner it starts, the sooner it'll finish! Thank you all for your kind thoughts both here and on Facebook, they are really appreciated! I hope you

Hi, guys! Sorry I'm late, I lay down for a nap and woke up 2 hours later!! Ooops! Our Challenge at My Time to Craft is Sketchy Time! and here is the sketch: I made a card for a tea-drinker: The stamp set by Clearly Besotted unfortunately is no longer available, though they have some cute stamps for tea-drinkers and coffee-drinkers! The sentiment is from the same set. The papers are from stash, I rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper. Then I added Clear Wink of Stella to the teapot and teacup. Go and see the great creations my teamies have made using the sketch, they are so varied! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! At CRAFT Challenge this week we have a Technique for you to try: Paper Piecing . This is when instead of using pens to colour your image, you stamp it on patterned papers, cut them out and piece them together like a jigsaw. There is a tutorial on our Challenge blog here . Our lovely sponsors this week are: Di's Digistamps The Stamping Boutique Sweet'n'Sassy I used Blast Off! by Sweet 'n' Sassy to make a shaker card. I apologise for the picture, the rocket ship is much clearer irl! I printed and cut out a plain image and then paperpieced the rocket with scraps from my stash, and before I glued them onto the base I went around the edges with a black felt tip to add definition. I added Wink of Stella to the blue bubble cockpit and the flames. The papers are also from stash. Go and see my creative teamies' paper piecing, and have a go! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x