Madcap Manor

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