Madcap Manor

Good morning! I hope you are all having a good week. After several days of very hot and sunny weather we have suddenly got cold breezes and drizzle. Flaming June, eh? I just hope next week will be fine, as we have our annual Teddy Bears' Picnic at the Toddler Group that I help to run, and it's so much nicer to have it in the Church grounds rather than the hall! In the meantime, we have a new Challenge at CRAFT Challenge which is to Add Ribbon and Sparkle. When I saw this gorgeous Festive Flamingo I knew I had to make her into a Christmas card for a lovely friend who does Ice Dancing - yes, the same sport as Torvill and Dean! (And if you're too young to remember their amazing record-breaking Olympic win dancing to Ravel's 'Bolero' here is a youtube link. Awesome! Anyway, I coloured the Flamingo with Promarkers. Her hat is glittered with gold Glamour Dust and there is Glossy Accents on her blades and the string of lights around her neck (though they d

Hiya! We have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge! As usual, it's Anything Goes! I found some old papers from Nitwits' Homespun Holiday Collection which came pre-printed with a magazine some years ago. I have been watching videos on Youtube on using up 6x6 paper pads and was inspired by Jess Crafts to have a go. Very simple, quick cards, using paper, a trimmer and glue! All I added was glitter on Santa's fur hat and Glossy Accents on the Snowman's nose. Then I made two more: I'll be adding to these until the papers are used up, then give them to my Church to sell. I think sometimes it's good to make sets of simple cards, I feel very accomplished when I've made a nice stack of them! Also, I highly recommend Jess Crafts on Youtube - very inspiring! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags B x

Hiya! I hope you're all keeping well. I had a great weekend in Oxford at a school reunion, which was so much fun! There were a lot of middle-aged ladies giggling like schoolgirls! And also wine - which I must reassure you was not available when I was actually a pupil! (What the teachers got up to I'm not qualified to say!!!) Now it's time for another Challenge at Dream Valley and our theme is Bling, Lace and Ribbon. I used a gorgeous freebie, Lady's Shoe from Sponsor Beccy's Place. I cut out the shoe and added it with foam pads to a mat cut with a Spellbinders Elegant Ovals die. The lace and ribbon are from The Ribbon Girl. The pearls and the pearl-and-gem heart are from stash. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and I covered them with gold Glamour Dust. The chipboard sentiment is from Noor Design and came in one of their gorgeous kits. I had a lot of fun with this card! My teamies have made some gorgeous inspiration for you, do have a look

Good morning, all! I hope you're all well - it's not long until the weekend, hurrah! Since it's Thursday we have a new theme at CRAFT Challenge and this time it's Animals. I have made a birthday card especially for a very sweet lad who comes to the Toddler Club that I help at, he will be 2 next month. (Already! I remember when he was a tiny baby!!) The cute image is Birthday Monkey from our sponsor All Dressed Up Stamps. Like every one of Wendy's stamps, this is adorable! I used a Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles die to cut the mat behind the image. The papers are snippets from my scraps drawer. The number 2 came from a magazine freebie, and I heat-embossed it in silver. The Lawn Fawn sentiment is also heat-embossed in silver. Have a look at my teamies' creations, they have done a wonderful job and will inspire you to join in with our challenge! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Eek! I'm so sorry that I'm late posting this! A busy few days with the Irish Contingent meant I totally forgot. Wot a plonker! (My grandson is adorable, but that's no consolation for you guys!) Our theme at My Time to Craft! is Summertime! Ice cream! The seaside! Sunshine! Scorchio! Torrential rain! (Well, maybe not the latter, I hope!) This is one of a pair of birthday cards that I made for a friend's twin daughters: The image is a very old wooden stamp by Penny Black, and sadly it's out of print. The paper is from an ancient pad that was a magazine freebie. The mat is cut with Spellbinders' Floral Ovals die, and the sentiment is by Lili of the Valley. The stickers are from Paperchase. I have been keeping to my 'stash diet' as you can tell - I'm trying to use up stuff, which is why so often what I show is no longer available. Apologies, I know it can be frustrating! However, if I don't make the effort I'll slowly be driven

Good morning! It's a glorious summer's day, so of course the new Challenge at CRAFT Challenge is Christmas! This is Elf Emma with Lights, All the lights have Glossy Accents on them, and the fur on her hat has been stickled. I used papers from an old Christmas set by Kaisercraft. The snowflakes are cut from glitter paper with a Cheery Lynn Laced Pine Snowflake die. The Jingle Bell Border is Memory Box die. Our sponsor it the fab Paper Nest Dolls Check out the inspiration left for you by my teamies at CRAFT Challenge! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi guys! It's already our 8th Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge! As usual the theme is Anything Goes, as long as it's Christmas. This cutie is Christmas Winston by Digistamp Boutique. I used papers from stash, and gold card for the dry-embossed corners, which are an old set by Spellbinders. The sentiment is heat-embossed in gold, and I added 3 tiny snowflake images, also gold-embossed. Go and be inspired by my teamies, they have such varied styles, you're sure to be inspired! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning, lovely people! I hope you all had a good weekend! To cheer you up if you're suffering from that Monday Morning Feeling we have a new Challenge at Dream Valley. It's a nice, easy one, too - Square Cards Only! I have used the adorable Sunshine by Star Stampz. I cut the image mat with the largest Spellbinders' Captivating Squares die, using paper from an old Basic Grey pad called 'Soleil.' The flourishes are cut with an old Magnolia die, and the lace and ribbon and flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts . Our sponsor is the fabulous Star Stampz My teamies have left some lovely inspiration for you on The Blog , do go and see! For once it's hip to be Square! Have a great week, and thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! We have a new Challenge at CRAFT and this week it's Inspired by a Film. When I first saw this image from sponsor Lacy Sunshine I thought of one of my favourite films, Curse of the Golden Flower which is a melodrama set in Ancient China, and which is gorgeous! However, the girl in the image is definitely Japanese, so instead I'll link to The Mikado The papers are snippets, the ribbon and shell embellies are from stash. The image is Koi Fish Dreamer Our sponsor this week is: Lacy Sunshine See what my teamies have made to inspire you and check out the films they have linked to - you might find one that's just right for your weekend viewing! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Eek! I'm late! Apologies! I really must learn that writing a 'To Do' list is useless if I don't do what's on the list! D'oh! Anyway, our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! is Down on the Farm so we'd like to see Farm animals - horses, pigs, sheep, chickens, cows - or a tractor! I made this Get Well card for a friend undergoing an operation. The cow is purple (and I'll explain why later) and is from Paper Smooches' Chubby Chums stamp set. Such fun images! The flowers and mushrooms and snail are from Lawn Fawn's Gleeful Gardens set. The 'Get Well' is from Sentiment Sampler by Paper Smooches and the 'sooooon' is made with stickers from my stash. So why a Purple Cow? Well, Gelett Burgess wrote this silly poem: I never saw a purple cow I never hope to see one But this I'll tell you anyhow, I'd rather see than be one. Then Carolyn Wells wrote some delicious parodies of well-known poems on the same subject. Tak

Hi, everyone! I hope you're having a good Thursday. I have been putting away the winter clothes - my Grannie used to quote 'Cast Not a Clout Till May Be Out' and since it's June 1st it seemed appropriate! We have a fab Recipe at CRAFT Challenge this week. For my card I used the gorgeous Charmant by Rick St Dennis. I love his portrait digis they are so elegant. The Three Papers are from an old Papermania pad, they are brighter in real life. The Two Ribbons (or 1 ribbon and 1 ricrac!) are from stash and the gold Glitter is Glamour Dust. The gold-embossed sentiment is by Lili of the Valley. Our Sponsor is Rick St Dennis MFA I admit, I found the recipe quite Challenging! Do have a look at my teamies' fab creations for some gorgeous inspiration! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x