Madcap Manor

Hello, my dearios! I hope all is well with you. I am just back from Friday evening Choir Practice, which is always such a lovely way to end the week. And tomorrow morning we're singing carols in Saino's to raise money for our local Hospice! Christmas is coming! And so our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is Christmas Flowers. I have used the gorgeous Christmas Florals Stamp and die by Concord & 9th. I stamped the image using my MISTI using Antique Linen ink. I left the stamp in the MISTI while I coloured the flowers with Copics. Then I put the card back in the MISTI and re-stamped with Versamark and gold-embossed it. Copics and embossing DO NOT MIX so this is the best way to do it. Then I cut it out with a matching die and matted it on red cardstock. Finally I embossed one of the sentiments from the stamp set in white on black, cut it out, and added it to the card. I want to try this image with coloured pencils and with watercolour, too! My teamies have made s...

Hi, guys! I hope you're keeping well. We have the last challenge of the year at Dream Valley and the theme is Christmas! We have several fabulous sponsors this time and I fell for the adorable Noel Christmas Mouse from Polkadoodles. I used paper from an old Kaisercraft pad for the background (using up my stash!) and some glitter paper that I have had for years for the matting and the centre strip. I edged the central strip with Silver Bubble peel-off stickers by Love from Lizi. The sentiment is from a very old LOTV stamp. I added glitter to Noel's 'fur' trim, and Glossy Accents over the bauble. This card sparkles!! Thanks for looking, and have a great week! love Mags B x

Happy Friday! We have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft! We'd like to see a Christmas Scene. I used an old Crafter's Companion Die to cut and emboss blue Centura Pearl card. Then I backed it with glitter card - I like how the stars above the stable glimmer when the light catches them! My teamies have created all kinds of different Christmas scenes to inspire you, do go and see! Thanks for looking, and here's to a great weekend! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Well, in a month's time it will be Boxing Day! It's beginning to feel Christmassy in the Manor, with interesting boxes arriving and rehearsals for carol singing. And, of course, making Christmas cards! We have a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy We have 2 lovely new ladies on the DT, to pop over and say hello to Bianca and Danka. They have made lovely cards for our new challenge! I have used an old Bugaboo Santa image, no longer available, but there are some fab Santa images on the site! The background paper is from stash, and so is the bobble ribbon (I think both were magazine freebies.) The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's Simply Winter Sentiments stamp set - so useful! I matted everything onto gold mirri card and added glitter to Santa's fur trim. Et voila! Thanks for looking, and I hope your week is going well. love Mags B x

Good morning! There's a new Challenge at Dream Valley to cheer up your Monday! Our theme is Your Favourite Colour Combo . Our sponsor is the gorgeous Polkadoodles. I have used the beautiful Winter Time Octavia . My colours are blue and yellow, with silver. This is a fabulous image to colour! The papers are from my stash. I used a silver Bubble Peel-off and a Handwritten Happy Birthday die , both from Love from Lizi. Nikky kindly sent some adorable images for my teamies to use, and they have created some gorgeous inspiration for you on the blog! Do join in the Challenge and show off your favourite colours! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags b x

Hiya! My, it's a cold, dank day today! Just the kind of weather to stay indoors with a big mug of tea and craft! Our new theme at My Time to Craft is Christmas Animals. I dug out this adorable stamp from Penny Black's Christmas Critters stamp set. These caroling mice are perfect for our Church Choir leader's card this year! I used some gorgeous foiled paper from my stash, which came from First Edition but is sadly no longer available. I matted everything onto gold mirri card and used a scallop punch to decorate the corners of the image. Finally I added stickles to the snow under the mice's feet. Christmas is coming! Have a look at the adorable cards my teamies have made, and join in the fun! Thanks for looking, and have a lovely weekend! love Mags B x

Hi there! I hope you're all keeping well! Are you thinking about Christmas yet? We have another challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge to inspire you. I have been making quite a few simple cards like this, where the emphasis is on patterned paper. I have a LOT of patterned paper! I used First Edition Believe in Magic papers - the red layer is glittered. I cut the snowflake with a MFT Die-namics Layered Snowflakes set using Love from Lizi's White Snow glitter cardstock . I love Lizi's glitter cardstock, it doesn't shed! The sentiment is from Simply Winter Sentiments by Lawn Fawn. Finally I added White Blizzard Nuvo Glitter Drops around the snowflake. My teamies have left some wonderful inspiration for you on the Challenge Blog, do go and see! Thanks for looking, and have a great week. love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Our new Challenge at Dream Valley is All That Glitters. So let's see shimmer, sparkle and shine to cheer up these dreicht November days! Our sponsor is the wonderful Dies to Die For and there is a £15 voucher awaiting one lucky winner! The photo of my Christmas shaker card doesn't show how glittery the die-cut wreath is, sadly. I die-cut green glitter paper with MFT's Winter Wreath die. The bow is from the same set, cut in red pearlised card. The papers are from an old First Edition pad which unfortunately seems to be out of print. The gold-embossed sentiment is made with a stamp from a magazine gift. Thanks for looking, and may your week be full of sparkle and glitter! love Mags B x

Eek! I'm so sorry my post for the new My Time to Craft Challenge is a day late! No excuses - I forgot. Anyway, our theme is No Squares or Rectangles - check out the blog to see what we mean and how my teamies have interpreted the challenge. I went with a circle card - and went out of my comfort zone by making a Shabby Chic card. I was inspired by Craftangel online - the lovely Shilpa makes beautiful cards, and her explanations are so clear. I layered ivory Centura Pearl cardstock with a very old green and gold paper and some white card. The lacy layer is cut with a gorgeous Rainbow Rose Edge Die from tonic studios, I cut it twice to make a circle. I added a strip of rose ribbon across the base. The flowers and leaves are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I added 2 butterflies cut from the ivory and green cardstock with a Martha Stewart Punch all over the page butterfly punch and layered them, then added brown and gold gems from my stash on the bodies. The gold-embossed senti...

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well. We have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy to entertain you! Get those Christmas crafts done - there is less than 2 months to go until the Big Day! The late, great Victoria Wood joked that this was the time when her auntie began boiling the water to cook the Christmas sprouts..... My Mother in Law wasn't so extreme, but at Christmas she always boiled the Brussels for a good hour 'to make sure they're cooked through.' They disintegrated into a grey mush, only edible when accompanied with piccalilli. And I don't like piccallili! Enough of that, here's my card! I used Operation Write Home sketch 146 for the layout. The papers are from a megapack from Love from Lizi from a couple of years ago. The snowflake background has embossed snowflakes. I used some red mirri card for the horizontal banner. The adorable image is 'Small Fancy Reindeer,' an old cling stamp from Hero Arts. His red nose is a blo...

Just a quick post today, in about 10 minutes we have a friend for tea! Our Challenge is to Add a Sentiment and our sponsor is Fabrika Fantasy - I have used Halloween Cat. I used papers from my stash. The sentiment is a very old one by Clearly Besotted, embossed with Pumpkin Pie embossing powder by Love from Lizi. Go and see my teamies' gorgeous creations and join in the fun with us! Thanks for looking love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you're all looking forward to a good weekend. A lovely crafting friend is visiting us tomorrow, we'll be going on a big March in London together! On Sunday I expect we'll be a bit stiff and achey!!! In the mean time, there's a new challenge at My Time to Craft and our theme is either Halloween or Cats. Not everyone celebrates Halloween, which is why there's a choice. This adorable kitty is Squisshy Kitty from Di's Digi Stamps. The papers are from a very old Basic Grey paper pad. Iadded a row of silver Nuvo Drops to the top of the banner, and the silver mirri sentiment is cut with Lawn Fawn's Scripty Hello. My teamies have left some fab creations on the blog to inspire you to join in! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well! How can it possibly be the middle of October already? This year is flying by! It will soon be Christmas - but never fear, The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge is here once again to inspire you to create for Christmas nice and early! I have a card made with Baby Snow from Digital Delights by Louby Loo. I matched the colours to the glittered background paper, which is from First Edition's 'Perfect Christmas' paper pad, which sadly seems to be out of print. I fussy cut the image and mounted it on the same ivory pearlescent card that I made the cardbase from, and then a mat cut from holographic gold card from my stash. I used the same gold card for the strips behind the image. The sentiment is from stash. One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to USE STUFF UP and I've used up quite a lot of STUFF on this card! Go and see my teamis' gorgeous creations and join in the fun! It's never too soon t...

Good morning! Welcome to a new Challenge at Dream Valley! I hopt that will cheer up your Monday! Our new theme is Clean and Simple and if you'd like to check what that means, have a look at this Glossary from the "Less is More" blog. Our sponsor this fortnight is LeAnn's World 101 and I used the lovely Princess Alea. (Unfortunately Etsy won't let me link to her shop.) I used a mask and Distress Inks to make a green hillock and a sky background, then I masked the green again and gave the sky a quick spritz with Nuvo Mica Mist in Antique Gold. It gives a subtle sheen, with a few splatters as well. I fussy cut the image and added her to the scene with wet glue, then put Stickles on her tiara and necklace, and Spectrum Noir Sparkle on the embroidery on her dress. The sentiment is from Altenew's Fresh Freesia stamp set. I matted the image on a scrap of pink paper from my stash that matched her pink dress exactly! It's so satisfying when that happe...

Hello, my dearios! I'm sorry I'm so late posting this, we've had a busy day preparing for our Church Harvest Festival on Sunday. Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! is Inside Out which may sound a little puzzling. No worries! All it means is that we'd like the Inside of your card decorated to look as pretty as the Outside! Like this: Now for the inside: I did a lot of masking on my card! The flower image is from the September kit by Love from Lizi , I used masks to stamp the flowers and leaves and also to cover the entire bouquet while I stamped the background with the Candystripe background stamp in Simon Says Stamp Surf Blue dye ink. I wish I had chosen a softer colour, this one is a smidge too bright. I used Promarkers to colour the flowers and leaves.I added Nuvo crystal drops to the flower centres, and embossed the sentiment in gold. For the inside I used more masking and coloured inks to replicate the design on the front, and another sentiment...

Good morning! We have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Christmas Goes! I used papers from an old pad to create 2 cards at once! The gold embossed stag's head is from Altenew's Festive Silhouettes set. The sentiment fits so neatly between the stag's antlers. I switched the papers around for the second card. The gold corner stickers are from my stash. I layered everything on some heavy gold cardstock, it has a subtle glitter which doesn't show very well in my photos! Go and see my teamies' gorgeous creations and be inspired! Thanks for looking, and have a great week! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! Well, we're back from our holibobs in North Shropshire! We were very lucky with the weather and had a very relaxing week. I read a couple of books by a new author, J M Alvey, they are murder mysteries set in Classical Athens and they are so very good! The first is 'Shadows of Athens' and I recommend them highly! Since returning I have slowly got back into the usual routine, but I took some time out from the post-holiday washing and ironing to make some cards. Does anyone else find they have to schedule their cardmaking activities amongst all the weekly work? I used items from the Love from Lizi September card kit, which included a lot of ephemera in gorgeous colours. The kit is sold out, but I may be able to give you an idea of how to use ephemera from other brands. I apologise for the wonky photos! The frame is popped up on foam tape and the striped paper is pearlised. The sentiment is made with a Clearly Besotted die. The glitter stickers come...

Hi, guys! I hope you've had a good weekend! We have a new Challenge at Dream Valley which is Things With Wings. On Friday I mentioned that I've been looking through my card kits, trying to use up my stash, and I came across a Simon Says Stamp stencil and stamp set which are perfect for the Challenge. From the April 2018 kit I used the butterfly stamp set and the matching stencil. I used the stencil and Distress Oxide ink to blend the colours over the butterfly shapes. The sentiment came from the same set, and so did the sequins and card base. Unfortunately I needed a card for a friend who's been going through a rough time, and I think butterflies are always appropriate for such a time. I'm glad to say she liked it! Go and see my teamies' fab creations, you'll be amazed at the variety! Thanks for looking and have a great week! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! As you read this I will be travelling home after a week spent in Shropshire, close to where my son and his family live. It's a beautifulpart of the country, stuffed full of history and with some fabulous walks by the River Severn. Of course, as a fan of Ellis Peters' 'Brother Cadfael' mediaeval mystery series I love exploring round Shrewsbury, where the stories are set! Do visit, if you ever have the chance. Anyway, I have scheduled this post, and I hope I've got it right! Our challenge this time is simply - Birds. I have a gorgeous pink flamingo on my card! I have been sorting through my card kits and came across one from Simon Says Stamp last year which included the One Cool Pineapple stamp set, which is still available to buy on its own. I LOVE this stamp set! I stamped and coloured the flamingo and used a circle die to cut it out, then added streaks of Copics in blue to make the water round its feet. I also gave the water some sparkle with a ...

Christmas is creeping ever closer, but at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge we are here to help! In other words, we have a new Challenge for you! I have been channelling my inner Kristie Marcotte and have made a set of 4 cards. Kristie's videos show how she uses card sketches to use up an entire 6 x 6 paper pad, and I get ideas from her about how to mix papers without a card being too busy, and also ideas on using up snippets! Do go and have a look! The card sketch is Operation Write Home #146 - unfortunately I don't seem able to add the image here. The papers are from an old DCWV Christmas paper pad which came with a magazine. The gold-embossed sentiment is by Clearly Besotted and sadly is out of print. I added some gold peel-offs from Love from Lizi for added bling. I am quite a slow cardmaker, but doing an 'assembly line' using the same sketch is quicker, and the various papers make them not too 'samey'! Check out my teamies' creations ...

Hi, guys! We had a visit from our daughter this weekend and in between seeing her old friends she was watching Korean Drama on the tv! I found it quite interesting - though I'm not normally one for the soaps! Anyway, she's now on her way home to Ireland and the house seems a bit empty! Hopefully she'll be back before the end of October, with hubby and son in tow. So we have a very topical new challenge at Dream Valley: Autumn Colours. . Our sponsor is Sheepski Designs and the lovely Andrea generously sent some digis for the DT to use. I have used Lilly - isn't she lovely? The papers came from a mysterious pad that has lost its details, which I found while tidying the Craft Hovel last week. It's amazing what I find when I do that! I coloured Lilly with Promarkers and matted the image and papers with gold mirri card. I added a Sway Peeloff from Love from Lizi over the join between the two papers. The corner stickers are from my stash, and the sentiment is fr...

Hiya! I'm sorry this post is late - my daughter is over from Ireland for the weekend, and I'm afraid with all the excitement I forgot! Anyway, we have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft which is to make Anything BUT a Card. That can be a scrapbook page, embroidery, anything! I have made some little boxes for Christmas presents. They are based on This video by The Posh Paper Lady. I used 6.5" papers from Kaisercraft (a very old Christmas pad!) so I was able to add lids to the boxes rather than glue everything down. All I did was add half an inch to one of the top flaps, score it, and cut off the opposite flap to give room to tuck the lid in. The snowflakes are cut in silver mirri card using a Lawn Fawn Stitched Snowflakes die. I'll add tags nearer the time, once I've found suitable gifts to go inside! My teamies have been so creative, do go and look at their lovely work! Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend! love Mags B x

Hello! It's another very hot day here in Hertfordshire, so what better than to talk about Christmas? Yes, we have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Christmas Goes. I found a very old foiled decoupage sheet when cleaning up my stash a couple of weeks ago. It was ragged around the edges, but I salvaged one gorgeous image of the Three Kings giving their presents to Baby Jesus. I matted it onto silver mirri card, and for a background used a vintage-looking paper of bells which I think was a magazine freebie. I love all the festive shine! Do join us for the Challenge - remember, it's doesn't have to be a card that you create! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Happy Monday! Ournew challenge at Dream Valley is to use Buttons and/or a Bow. Our sponsor is Oddball Art . The DT were given some of their cute and quirky images to play with, and I have used Penelope. The background paper is glittered, it came from a very old Papermania pad called 'Hampstead.' The buttons are in fact die-cuts, made with a Love from Lizi die and cut from a snippet of blue glitter card. I added embroidery floss to tie each button to make them look more realistic! The bow is coloured with Broken China Distress Ink. The sentiment is an old Sizzix die. I also added Nuvo Drops on the image and around the scalloped mat. Go and see the cards my teamies have posted on the Challenge blog and be inspired! Thanks for looking, and have a great week! love Mags B x

Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope you're all looking forward to a FANTASTIC weekend! If you join in with our new challenge at My Time to Craft you certainly will, as our new theme is Fantasy. (See what I did there?) I have a card for a little girl here, using the adorable Magical Day by The Greeting Farm. The unicorn paper is from Chasing Rainbows by First Edition. I made the image into a banner, adding some Nuvo Drops along the top. The ribbon is from stash and the sentiment came with the image. Go and see the fantastic creations made by my teamies over on the Challenge blog! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hello! First of all I must apologise: although I made my card before our break in Ireland to visit my grandson (and his parents) I completely forgot to upload the image to the Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge for today's new challenge post. Ooops!! Here is my card, which is made using paper and image from an old set by Hunkydory. I layered everything with silver mirri card, which echoes the silver foiling on the image and sentiment. Easy and very pretty - I really like Hunkydory! Do go and see the creations which my lovely and FAR MORE EFFICIENT teamies have left on the challenge blog to inspire you! Thanks for looking, and I hope you're having a good week. love Mags B x

Hello there! I hope you're all keeping well. We havea new challenge at Dream Valley which is to use a Hand-coloured Image . I used a lovely image from our sponsor Fabrika Fantasy. This is Spring Fairy and I loved colouring her! The papers are Nitwits' Bonnets and Bowties digi papers. I added a pink ribbon from my stash and a die-cut sentiment. Have a look at my teamies' creations, using some adorable images from our sponsor! Thanks for looking, andhave a good week! love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well. I am in the middle of a GRAND TIDY UP and I have reached the stage where I'm inspecting my hubby's wardrobe. 90% of his shirts and trousers are frayed and worn - I foresee a shopping trip in the near future. He hates clothes shopping! Enough of that, you're here for our new Challenge at My Time to Craft. Our new theme is 'Oriental.' I have used a very old Woodware Stamp set, Oriental Ladies, which is sadly out of print. The papers are also very old, from the 'Kioshi' collection by Basic Grey. I added dots of Caramel Cream crystal Nuvo Drops on the fans on the background paper. The black dragonflies and the sentiment are from the same old stamp set. Do go and see the elegant creations my teamies have left on the Challenge blog to inspire you! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! This is my third Christmas card in 5 days! We are back with a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. I have kept my card very simple, because the main image has a lot of gorgeous gold foiling on it. I 'up-cycled' a card I received last year, the stained-glass dove was too beautiful to discard! I used very old Frilly Frames die to cut out the image, and drew around the die to create the mat from gold mirri card. The background paper is from stash, and the die-cut sentiment is from Lawn Fawn. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hello, my lovelies! When you read this I will be away in the Republic of Ireland, staying with my daughter and her fmily. My grandson hasjust turned three! Where does the time go??? So this post is scheduled, and I hope I've done it right. Our new challenge at Dream Valley is Christmas in July. So we are looking forward to see your Christmas creations - remember, it doesn't have to be a card! Although in fact I have made a card! The image is Snow Queen Portrait from Sassy Studios Designs. I used snippets of blue winter papers, and the silver mirri sentiment is made with an old Love From Lizi die. I added drops of Diamond Stickles in her hair to look like snowflakes. Rather than mat and layer all the papers I brushed the edges with Faded jeans Distress Ink, because I thought that gave a more delicate look. Go and see my teamies' cool Christmas creations for some inspiration! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It is blisteringly hot here in S-E Herts - but to cool us all down we have a new challenge at My Time to Craft which is Christmas. For my card I have used items left over from an old kit by Love From Lizi. The image is cut out from a piece of patterned paper, foam mounted on another patterned paper from the kit. The sentiment reads 'Winter Wonderland' and is embossed in gold and mounted on a scrap of gold cardstock. I used the same gold cardstock as the main mat. I think this would make a good Christmas card for a bloke! Thanks for looking, and keep cool! love Mags B x

Hiya! We have a great new Challenge at My Time to Craft - Check It Out! That means: use checks, or plaids or ginghams in your creations! I used up some papers from an out-of-print Basic Grey pad called 'Lauderdale.' The cute lion stamp came with a magazine a couple of years ago, I gold-embossed him and coloured him with Distress Markers. My fab teamies have left some terrific inspiration for you on the Challenge blog, do go and Check It Out!!! I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Well, what a scatterbrained girl I am!! I was so certain that TODAY was the next challenge at My Time to Craft! that I didn't check - and of course it was LAST FRIDAY. D'OH!!!!! Wot a plonker, eh? The current theme is I do like to be beside the Seaside - so anything to do with the sea or the beach. I used items from a 2018 kit by Love from Lizi. The image is part of a decoupage set, I edged it in Faded Jeans Distress ink to make it stand out against the gorgeous beach toys background paper. The sentiment is glittered, and reads 'Fun in the Sun.' I added some light blue ribbon from my stash. I'm so sorry I'm late! But do go to the Challenge blog and see what my lovely, EFFICIENT teamies have made! Thanks for looking, and have a good weekend! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! We have a new challenge at Dream Valley and it's to use yellow and black on your project. Our sponsor is the gorgeous All Dressed Up and Wendy kindly gave us a couple of her adorable images to use. I chose Magical Woodland it is so cute. The background is made with the Honeybee layering die set from Birch Press, and I used up scraps of orange, black and yellow card forthe die-cutting. The die-cut sentiment uses a Love from Lizi die and a snippet of black glitter cardstock. Have a look of my teamies' creations, they have made some very pretty cards! Thanks for looking and - Bee Happy! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It's mid-June and the rain is tipping down. A good reason to make a Christmas card or two! Especially since we have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. I have used one of my favourite Christmas stamps, Penny Black's Antique Santa. Such a delight to colour! I used up some very old paper that came free with a magazine long ago, and some equally old red mirror card. I added stickles to Santa's hat and the star on his wand. The gold-embossed sentiment is also old, it came from Clearly Besotted. I wish I could say that my humongous stack of paper pads obtained over the last ten years was shrinking - but no!! I'm sure we all have that problem!! Hopefully you can all dig into your Christmas stacks and make a card and join our challenge! My teamies, as usual, have done sterling work to give you inspiration. Thanks for looking, my dearios, and I hope your week is going well. love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I apologise that I'm a day late with my DT post for My Time to Craft! However, better late than never! Our new theme is Watercolour and I have used 2 versions - watercolour paints, and Distress Oxide ink smooshing. I also made 2 cards. Here is the second card: The flowers are from the May kit from Simon Says Stamp, I stamped them on watercolour paper and painted them, then fussy cut them. The backgrounds are smooshed with Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet and Seedless Preserves Distress Oxides. The sentiments came from the same kit. Finally I added Nuvo Drops here and there. My talented teamies have made some gorgeous cards to inspire you to get out your watercolours and have a go! Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend! love Mags B x

Good morning from a very wet S-E Hertfordshire! Our new Challenge at Dream Valley is to use Summer Colours. Well, today the colours outside are mostly grey, and the only summer colours I can see are on my card! Having seen a lot of gorgeous creations with Turnabout Stamps by Concord & 9th, I have had a go myself, using the Wreath Turnabout . I chose 4 dye inks in bright colours, loaded upmy Misti with the stamp and a Turnabout Jig and started to stamp. It really was very easy, especially now that the stamps come with a printed acetate sheet that helps with lining up the stamp. I used orange card for the cardbase to keep the bright theme going! Finally I used an MFT Celebrate die to cut the sentiment in gold card and added some pearly Nuvo Drops around the wreath. Take a gander at my teamies' bright and summery creations, they will cheer you up! Thanks for looking and have a great week. love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It's time for another Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Goes. I used snippets of paper and glitter card from the Snippets Drawer, and an image from an old Clearly Besotted stamp. I added gold stickles to the Rockin' Robin's crown, and dots of Nuvo Drops to the papers. Have a look at my teamies' fab creations to be inspired! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement on my news that I'm still clear of cancer! I really appreciate it. XXX Now we have a new Challenge for you at My Time to Craft which is to use kraft on your creation. I love the look of white embossing on kraft, and dug out my coloured pencils, too. The image is from the Simon Says Stamp set Mandy's Flowers as is the white-embossed sentiment. I added a few Nuvo Drops as embellishments. My teamies have been very creative as usual, do check them out for some inspiration! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Just popping in to say that after tests and a scan I am still completely clear of the cancer I had 3 years ago! Now I only need to see the oncologist once a year, and no more scans! Yippee!!!!! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It's a Bank Holiday here in the UK, and as is traditional we have grey clouds and showers! All the more reason to get into the craft room, I think! Last time at Dream Valley we had a girlie theme; this time it's the boys' turn! Our sponsor is Sheepski Designs and the lovely Andrea is offering a prize of 3 images from her shop. She also gave the DT some fab images to use - check out the Dream Valley blog to see what my talented teamies have done with them! I used Taking Pics and coloured him with Promarkers then fussy-cut and mounted on foam tape. I used a Spellbinders Labels Two die to cut spotty paper for the background, and drew round the die onto blue card and cut it out for the mat. The check paper also came from my stash. I found a little black-and-white camera sticker and coloured it to match, then added a Happy Birthday die-cut from Love from Lizi. Finally I added Glossy Accents to the camera apertures. I'm really pleased how this tur...

Hi, guys! It is the middle of May - and time to make Christmas cards! Well, it's never too soon to start! We have a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy, where it's always Anything Christmas Goes. The MFT Santa's Elves stamps are so cute, and a joy to colour. I matched my Promarkers to the background paper, which is from an old pad by Papermania. I used a scrap of red holographic card to mat the image, and the foiled sentiment is from a magazine freebie. For more sparkle I added Crystal and Gold Stickles to the image. Check out the inspiration that my teamies have left on the blog, as usual they have done a terrific job! Thanks for looking and have a good week! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Apologies that I'm a day late with my DT post for My Time to Craft. This fortnight we'd like to see your Tags Mine is a mixed media/shabby chic mashup and somewhat out of my comfort zone, but I think it works ok! I used a woodgrain stencil and Indian Gold Nuvo Embellishment Mousse on the tag base. I inked and distressed a scrap of pink patterned paper, and stencilled 'love' using the same mousse. The die-cut fairy and the little shaker bottle came with a kit by Love From Lizi and so did the ribbons and sparkly butterfly stickers. The lace and star gems are from my stash. My teamies have made a wonderful array of tags in so many different styles to inspire you, do go and check them out! Thanks for looking, and have a good weekend! This afternoon I'll be tidying the craft hovel (yet again!) and this evening I'll be listening to the FA Cup Final and making cards! Come on, Watford! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! I hope you all had a relaxing weekend and are now rarin' to go! We have a new challenge for you at Dream Valley - Only Girls Allowed. Our lovely sponsors, Star Stampz and Cute N Crafty. Both have gorgeous girly images, do check them out! I used Spring Flower from Star Stampz. The papers are from an old pad by First Edition. I used green mirror card for the scalloped oval, and green glitter peel-offs by Love from Lizi to edge the central panel. The daisy lace and gold gems are from my stash. My teamies' have done a marvellous job, as usual, showcasing images from our sponsors - do go and see! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags B x

Hello, all! I hope you're all keeping well. Here in S-E Hertfordshire it is a very cold day, and the rain is teeming down from a very grey sky. Brrr! On the other hand, we have a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge to join in with! The theme is Always Anything Goes. Eek! A rumble of thunder! Apparently hail is expected later today, too. It's all appropriately wintry for our new challenge! I kept it CAS this week, using an old Whimsy stamp of pine branches and ribbon. (Yes, here comes the hail!) Colouring an embossed image with alcohol markers is a no-no, as the alcohol dissolves the embossing and the embossing ruins the pens. However, Jennifer McGuire has a way around it! Using a Misti, stamp the image in pale dye ink and colour that in. Then replace it in the Misti and reink with Versamark, they you can emboss on top of the dried inks! So that's what I did. Go and see my teamies' inspiring creations, and join the fun! Thanks fo...

Hello, my dearios! I hope you're all looking forward to a good weekend, with plenty of time to craft! We have a new challenge at My Time to Craft which is Clean and Simple. I have used items from the Simon Says Stamp April card kit to make 2 cards to the same layout. I made 2 cards because I used 2 papers to die-cut the wellie boot and just swapped them around! I die-cut the base from white card and coloured in the flowers, then paper-pieced the boots. I added shading with grey alcohol markers to give more definition. Finally I went over the boots with Glossy Accents. My teamies have made some beautiful cards to inspire you, do go and see! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x