Madcap Manor

Afternoon, all! I hope you're having a good weekend. My son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter are up from Shrewsbury for the weekend. They have taken the olde manne out to get a stairgate while I have my afternoon kip! So I thought it was about time I posted about the new challenge at My Time to Craft . We have a fab Sketch by Jo for you to try. I always have a bit of trouble getting the sizing right for background strips, so this time I cheated and made the central strip separately and glued it on top of the background paper!! I used the Artists Butterfly wood-mounted stamp by Hero Arts. I used a Die-namics Zig Zag Stitched Square die to cut it out. I also cut all my papers and mats with Spellbinders 6 x 6 Matting Basics A and B which are a bit more accurate than my normal cutting! The papers are from the Snippets drawer and the ribbon and gems are from stash. The sentiment is from Hero Arts Thanks a Bunch set and the Fancy Tags label is by Spellbinders. My

Good morning and happy Thursday! Our CRAFT Challenge this week is Summer . I have used a cute image from Star Stampz , one of this week's sponsors. This is My Sweet Rose isn't she pretty? I die-cut the image with a Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles die, then drew around the edge of the die onto cardstock and cut it by hand to make the narrow mat.  The papers are from my Snippets drawer and the ribbon and flower are from stash. The Sentiment says 'Dreaming of Summer Days' and is by Lili of the Valley. The sponsors this week are: Imagine That Digital Stamps And Star Stampz Do have a look at the inspiration that my talented teamies have created on our blog, and join in the Challenge! Thanks for looking and here is a picture of my adorable grandson Oscar, who is already a whole week old! How time flies! He is still so tiny that he can lie along Daddy's knees! love, Mags B x

Good morning! I'm delighted to tell you that I'm a Grannie for the second time! My daughter in Dublin has produced a sweet baby boy, named Oscar. So exciting! Now to get down to business, our regular Christmas Challenge at CRAFT Challenge I used one of the Christmas Elves by one of our lovely sponsors, Melonheadz Doodles The papers are from an old pad by Kaisercraft called 'Mint Twist,' as is the sentiment. I matted everything on silver and red card, and the image mat is cut with a Spellbinders 5 x 7 Detailed Scallops die. Our lovely sponsors are Melonheadz Doodles and Sheepski Designs My teamies have made some lovely cards, do go and see them and be inspired! I leave you with a picture of Oscar: Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you all had a refreshing weekend are are rarin' to go this week! The challenge at Dream Valley this fortnight is Christmas in July Our sponsor is the fabulous Pink Gem Designs I have used Funky Snowman which is one of the first stamps I ever bought when I started cardmaking. He stamps as beautifully now as he did 5 years ago. The paper is a snippet, I think it came with a magazine, and the sentiment also came with a magazine. The snowflakes are cut with a very old Marianne die and covered with glitter. Have a look at the inspiration on our blog from my teamies! Thanks for looking love Mags B x

Well, we finally have sunshine and warmth here in S-E Hertfordshire! Is it possible that summer's here? I do hope so, one of my chemo side-effects is that I feel chilly all the time! Lots of hot tea and a woolly cardigan are the answer! (In fact the chemo is going ok, and the staff at the hospital are so encouraging. Hooray for the NHS! Awesome people!) Seeing that it's warm and sunny, at My Time to Craft our theme is Christmas in July . We're a mischievous lot!! Here's my card: It's a small card, only 4" x 4". The image is from Penny Black's Holly Day Critters and I added stickles to the fur on his hat. The papers are from an old pad by LotV - sadly they are no longer available. I used holographic gold card from stash to mat and the ribbon came with a magazine a couple of years ago. Do join in our Challenge, the more Christmas cards you can make before the panic sets in on December 1st, the better you'll feel! CHALLENGES ENTER

Hi, guys! I apologise for the lateness of this post! There is a new challenge at CRAFT Challenge and it is Thank You (Teacher) In other words, make a thank you card, with the option of making it for a teacher. I used Stella Calendar Month September Isn't she fun?! The papers are from the Boyfriend paper pad by Cosmo Cricket. The die is a Spellbinders Labels Eight and the border is made with a Fiskars Notebook Border Punch . The star stickers are from stash and the sentiment is from Altenew's Label Love stamp set. Our sponsors are: Bugaboo Stamps The Paper Shelter Di's Digistamps Have a look at my teamies' fab creations and then join in! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope the sun is shining for you today! Our new CRAFT Challenge this week is a sketch. Our ace sponsors this week are DRS Designs and Digital Delights I have used Shelldon the Turtle for my card, isn't he cute? I turned the sketch sideways. The papers are from the snippets drawer, I think they are both by Prima but can't give any more info. Sorry! The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted and I stamped it on a tag cut with an MFT Die-namics die. The sparkly green candy is by Papermania. I'm entering a Challenge, since all my papers and the turquoise card are snippets! I am going to re-visit Pixie's Snippets Challenge - it's a long time since I last visited The Playground, I'll stand at the back and hope that Miss doesn't notice me! My teamies have done marvellous things with this sketch, do go and see and be inspired! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! At Dream Valley Challenges we would like to see the colours of your flag - and please tell us which flag! Our sponsor is Angie's Stamps and Digis and I used Little Lila Picking Flowers I used Red, White and Blue, the colours of the Union Jack. The card base and papers are cut with Spellbinders Grnd and Classic Labels 23. The papers are snippets, they are by Nitwits but I don't know which collection. The lace and ribbon and heart gems are from stash, and the heart doily is by Noor Designs . The label is also by Spellbinders. Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags B x

Good morning, and happy Saturday! And if you celebrated Wales's astonishing win yesterday in the football, I hope you're not feeling too fragile today!! We have a really intriguing challenge at My Time to Craft this fortnight. There are a number of videos on Youtube that show what Triple Stamping is, here is the one that I found most useful. It took me a bit of practice to do this, I must admit, but I really like the result! I used Altenew's Persian Motifs and coloured them with Copics. The sentiment is by Hero Arts and the label is by Spellbinders. I added some sequins to give a bit of glam - and to hide where I'd gone outside the lines with my markers! Have a go, it's quite easy to get the hang of this technique and it looks really impressive! Have a look at my teamies' lovely creations to be inspired! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x