Madcap Manor

Morning, all! I hope you're all well and looking forward to a great weekend! Sadly, this is my last DT post for CRAFT Challenge. It's been a blast, and the DT is full of the loveliest ladies, all very talented and kind. However, life has become rather busy recently - in fact I'm scheduling this on Wednesday afternoon, I hope I've done it right!! The Challenge this week is Come Play Outside . This is Owen Building Birdhouse from Paper Nest Dolls. The paper is from stash and the sentiment is from the Scripty Sayings set by Lawn Fawn. Our sponsor is Paper Nest Dolls. Go and see what my lovely teamies have made to inspire you! Thanks for looking, and have a great day! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! After the sunshine of the last few days it's turned overcast and humid today - maybe we'll have more thunder and lightning! Usually thunderstorms go from south to north here, following the line of the River Lea about a mile away, but the other night the lightning was all across the sky! Very impressive! To take my mind off how hot and icky I'm feeling, here is my card for The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. I used items from a kit from Simon Says Stamp. The Santa is from Christmas Squad by Simon, the papers are Doodlebug's Milk and Cookies collection. The ribbon is from stash as are the gold sequins. All Santa's fur trim has been covered with Stickles! I used a rectangular and a square die to make a 'polaroid' but I should have used slightly smaller dies, because I think it's too big. Never mind, we live and learn! Go and see what my teamies have created on the Challenge Blog! It's always Anything Christmas Goes at The H...

Morning, all! I hope you're enjoying the Bank Holiday. Our new Challenge at Dream Valley is For a Man or Boy or as I like to say 'For a bloke!' I made a baby card, as I seem to be needing a few these days! My kids' generation is at that age - it's a bit strange, because I remember them when they were much younger, and surely it's not that long ago? The cute duck is Baby Huey by our sponsor Cute as a Button. I did the 'out of the box' technique on the ballon, which I covered with Glossy Accents. The papers are from stash. The sentiment is an old one from Clearly Besotted and I used a die for the word 'Baby.' The star stickers came from Paperchase a long time ago. Go and see what my teamies have made, they will inspire you to join in! Have a good week and thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Morning, all! I am scheduling this post as I have hospital check-ups tomorrow and I don't know how long it will take! However, the good news is I'm still in remission from my bowel cancer. It's amazing to think that it's now 2 years since I started my treatment - and thanks to the incredible doctors and nurses of the NHS I am still here!!! So I hope this post appears at the right time. We have a topical theme at CRAFT Challenge which is Father's Day or For a Bloke. . This lovely image is Lighthouse by Sweet 'n Sassy. Icoloured it with Promarkers. The paper is from stash, I cut it so that the centre, where the lines cross, would be behind the top of the lighthouse, and added Spectrum Noir sparkle to the coloured wedges, and also to the yellow section of the lighthouse. The die-cut 'Dad' is made with a very old MFT alphabet die, and covered with Glossy Accents. Our great sponsor this week is Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. Take a look at the fa...

Morning, all! I hope you're all enjoying your weekend. Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! is simply Circles. That is, use more than one circle on your card. I have quite a few on mine! I have this Mod Circle Frame Die from Simon Says Stamp. It's gorgeous, but quite tricky to use: it needs fairly sturdy card and a lot of little dots of glue in the corners and along the lines - I found out the hard way that Stick-It sheets don't work as the lines are so thin!! I cut several papers with the same die and inlaid them into the frames. I do love that look, though it can be fiddly. The sentiment is from the Everyday Greetings set by Mama Elephant and reads 'Enjoy the small moments.' My inventive teamies have left some lovely inspiration for you on the blog, do have a look! Thanks for looking, and have a great day!

Good morning! Well, after all the excitement of last week's Birthday Blog Hop we are back to normal with our monthly Christmas Challenge at CRAFT Challenge. This darling monkey is Cracker Chester from Little Miss Muffet Stamps. He is so cute, and he stars in other images at LMM, each one more adorable than the last! Check him out! I added Glamour Dust to the trim on his hat. The background papers are from an old Kaisercraft pad: the green piece is glittered and the red and white piece is foiled. The scalloped border is from the same pad, and the green ribbon is from stash. The sentiment is an old one from Clearly Besotted. Our sponsor is Little Miss Muffet Stamps. Go and see the sweet cards my teamies have made! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Evening, all! I don't know where this month is going, it's already time for a new Chllenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge! As always the theme is Anything Goes for Christmas. And of course you don't just have to make a card! I found some old Hunkydory Christmas designs (they were in a box under the sofa!). The toppers are foiled and very shiny! All I added to this card was a piece of organza ribbon and a silver mat: I must use up some more of my Hunkydory goodies! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you all had a great weekend! Who watched Eurovision? I've had a nasty cold, so I watched it well-wrapped up in a blanket with some medication and a wee whisky toddy (or two.) I love Eurovision, it's so kitsch and so much fun! Now I'm almost back to normal and here (belatedly!) with my post for the new Challenge at Dream Valley. Our theme is Summer Colours which is a great reason to dig out your most vivid papers and inks!! This bright striped paper was in my stash, and I used it to choose my Promarkers when colouring this cute image. She is Fireflies from Star Stampz. I added Nuvo Drops in Limoncello to many of the fireflies to give some shine. The sentiment is from an old Hero Arts set, I used Spellbinders dies for the images and mats. The ribbon was a magazine freebie long ago. The butterflies were cut with an old Joy! crafts die and glammed-up with some Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen. Our gorgeous sponsor this fortnight is Star Stampz . Do ...

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 9 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 several Guest Designers who join us for a month or a week 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 ...

Hi, guys! Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is to use colour on coloured card. That is, any coloured card except white/cream! I used Distress Oxide Inks in Barn Door, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Cracked Pistachio, Salty Ocean and Shaded Lilac on black cardstock to make a script background. The sentiments and the flower stickers are from a kit by Love From Lizi. The ribbon is from stash. Have fun with your colours and mediums and join in! My teamies' creations on the blog will inspire you! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! As you read this I will be on the way to Dublin to visit my daughter's little family for the weekend. I'm hoping for sunny weather! I hope I have scheduled this properly! We have a colour Challenge: So please use pink, purple, aqua/greenish-blue, white and dark blue in your creations! This sweet image is Cute Seahorse from Oddball Art. The papers are from stash and I used a glitter peel-off over the join. The glasses and bubbles have added Nuvo Drops. The sentiment is made with an old My Favorite Things Die-namics die and covered with a Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen. Our sponsor is Oddball Art. Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Apologies for the delay in posting this, we are getting ready to travel to Ireland tomorrow to visit the Gorgeous Grandson and time ran away with me! As always our Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge is Anything Goes. I have so many pretty Christmas papers that I decided to make cards highlighting some. I added sparkle to the Santas' beards. The base card has lines embossed into the corners, using a score board and bone folder. The die-cut sentiment is made with an old die by Simon Says Stamp, and the stars are from stash. I made 4 cards to the same design, with different papers, and this is my favourite! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x