Madcap Manor

Hiya! I hope your week is going well and that you're looking forward to the weekend - the clocks go back on Saturday, which means an extra hour's lie-in, hooray!!! Or you could use the extra hour to join in our new challenge at CRAFT Challenge! ;) The theme this week is Add Ribbon, Sparkle and Shine so dig out the ribbon, Glossy Accents, Stickles, Glitter..... Our fab sponsors are: Lacy Sunshine Stamps Crafty Ribbons Now for my card! My papers are from a very old magazine freebie by Raspberry Road.  The sweet image is Strawberry SB Basket from Bugaboo Stamps. There is Wink of Stella Clear on her dress and hat, and Glossy Accents on her hairband and the 'pips' on her bonnet. The shiny butterflies are stickers from my stash. The flowers and leaves are made with punches, the flowers are made from gold-dotted pink card and the centres are gems from my stash. The ribbon has a lovely sparkle to it - I found my Bowmaker recently and made a double bow. Th...

Hiya! We have a new Challenge at Dream Valley and it is One For the Girls . Our sponsor this fortnight is Live and Love Crafts who sadly will be closing down soon. Go there to swoon over the beautiful vintage and shabby chic items that are for sale! I have used Ruby-Chocolate-Nature's Way from Bugaboo Stamps to make a card for a particular 'girl'! Isn't that a wonderful sentiment??? I added sparkle to all the purple areas, and Glossy Accents to the phone and the chocolate. The papers, ribbon and diamante are from stash. I used Shaded Lilac Distress Ink to go around the image, since it seemed a bit too stark against the purple mat. I used a Spellbinders' 'Wonky Rectangles' die to cut it, using the 'out of the box' die-cutting technique for Ruby's hair, and I drew around the die and cut it by hand to make the narrow mat. Go and see the very pretty creations made to inspire you by my teamies and join the challenge! Thanks for l...

Hello! It's a beautiful, clear but chilly autumn day here in S-E Herts. Every fortnight when my hubby takes me to hospital for chemo we drive along a road bordered with the most beautiful trees, and over the past few weeks it's been lovely to see them change into their gorgeous autumn colours! And now our Challenge this fortnight at My Time to Craft is Halloween or Autumn Colours I don't oftem make Halloween things, because most of my friends and family just aren't interested, so it's good to have an alternative. This is a very bright card! I die-cut snippets of cardstock in dark red, orange, and gold-spotted yellow with a Spellbinders Majesty die set. For the base layer I drew around the outside of the largest die and hand-cut it. The Fancy Framed Tag is also by Spellbinders and I used the matching diamantes from Want 2 Scrap to bling it up. I embossed the sentiment in gold. The spotted background is actually more green than the picture shows, and it...

Good morning! Christmas is only 2 months away! To help with your Christmas crafting we have our regular Chrstmas Challenge at CRAFT . Our fab sponsor is Digital Paper Crafts I have used this adorable Drummer Boy he is so sweet! The papers are from an old magazine freebie and I cut 2 sheets into triangles to echo the pattern on the drum. The snowflake is by Avery Elle and I added glamour dust to it for some sparkle. The green bakers twine also has a bit of sparkle, though it doesn't show in the photo. The gold-embossed sentiment is by Lili of the Valley . I added dots of a white Pearl Pen in two of the corners, and Glossy Accents on the drum. Have a look at the inspiration that my teamies have created, and get stuck in! Every card made now means one less to be made in a panic in December! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! It's a grey, wet Thursday here in S-E Herts and I am a bit snuffly with a cold! I hope everyone else is doing rather better! Our CRAFT Challenge this week is a technique: make a Tri-fold card (also called a Criss-Cross card) with a tag Here is a tutorial to remind you of the style. And here's mine! And now with the tag insert: The papers are all snippets in patriotic red, white and blue, making a rather British card! There are drops of ice white Pearl Pen on the cute Owl's crown, and the jewels have been covered with Glossy Accents to give a more regal look. There is a teapot charm attached to the blue bakers twine. The sentiment on the tag is by Paper Smooches and I added the word 'soon' underneath using stickers from an old Freckled Fawn kit. The cute tiny clothes' pegs are from stash. Our gorgeous sponsor this week is the fabulous Pink Gem Designs and the image I used is Keep Calm Owl who is so cute! I really enjoyed m...

Good morning! It's Monday again (groan) but to cheer you up we have a new challenge at Dream Valley . (Yay!!!!!) Our lovely sponsor is Di's Digi Designs , do go and see her fab designs! The challenge is One for the Boys and is a chance to make something for the blokes in your life. Remember, it doesn't have to be a card! Though I did make a card myself. I made this for a friend's 60th birthday, luckily he liked the image and sentiment as much as I do! I made something using them for my Dad some years ago and even though he enjoyed it my sister disapproved rather loudly!!! You have to be careful sometimes! Anyway, back to the card. The image is Gus Birthday - Optional by the always-entertaining Bugaboo Stamps. I added Glossy Accents to his glasses and the car, then fussy cut him and popped him up on foam pads. The mat is cut using a Spellbinders die. The papers are from an old Cosmo Cricket pad, Joy Ride, which sadly is out of print. The stars are from...

Hello, chaps, I hope you're having a great weekend We have been visited last week by new grandson (and his Mum and Dad!) which has meant days of baby-cuddles! They left today to travel back to Ireland, which is why my post is a bit late! We'll be seeing them again at Christmas, and I can't wait! Now back to my card! Our challenge at My Time to Craft is to use Fancy Folds - that is, use more than one fold on your card. Visit the blog and see my teamies' great work to get an idea of what we mean. My card is inspired by this video by the amazing Kristina Werner. Where she used a butterfly punch, I used a heart die. And here is the inside: This wedding card was made for 2 of my daughter's friends, who were married last week: the colours were lilac and purple. The papers are from stash, and the heart border was cut with 2 Nellie Snellen hearts dies. The image is The Wedding Cake by All Dressed Up. The roses have Spectrum Noir sparkle on them. Hav...

Good morning! I have scheduled this post, as my new grandson (and his Mummy and Daddy) will be over here from Ireland and I suspect my time will be taken up with baby cuddles! I hope the scheduling works! We have a beautiful Inspiration Picture for you at CRAFT Challenge this week: Use the image as the starting point for your creation - and please tell us on your post what inspired you! I was inspired by the colours and the leaves. The gorgeous image is All Dressed Up' Love to Dance - I love Wendy's images! I added Glossy Accents to the hearts and Wink of Stella clear to her dress and headband. The leaves are cut with Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves dies, using snippets of card. The lower mat is dry embossed, and I put yellow ink over the folder first, to give a letterpress look. The background paper, lace, ribbon and pearls came from stash. Our gorgeous sponsors are: Robyn's Fetish All Dressed Up Do look at my teamies' creations to inspire you! Tha...