Madcap Manor

Hi, guys! It's another lovely day here in S-E Herts. I hope everyone is keeping safe and well. During the summer I wear a straw hat shaped rather like a Stetson, and whenever I go out in my hat and mask my hubby howls with laughter because I look like a short and pudgy outlaw from the Wild West! We have to get our entertainment where we can, these days! We have even better entertainment for you at My Time to Craft where the new theme is to Use a Stencil. I used the Hero Arts Swirl Stencil to make a background with glitter embossing paste. I coloured 3 dollops with Mustard Seed, Worn Lipstick and Wilted Violet Distress Inks before smooshing it over the stencil. Once it was dry I added a die-cut in gold card with a vellum shadow. Go and see my teamies' gorgeous work, they are so full of inspiration! Take care, my lovelies, and thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! We have a great challenge for you from Dream Valley - add Sparkle! Our sponsor is the fab The Paper Shelter, they have so many sweet digis. Unfortunately my printer died early this month, and the new one has just arrived, so instead of using the gorgeous image we were so generously given, I had to use one I already had. This is Coquette. I love TPS's more historical images, they are so charming. Once again I used very old papers from my stash. I coloured Coquette with Promarkers - I love colouring her hair grey, like a powdered 18th century wig. I used some glitter peel-offs from Love from Lizi to edge the green paper. The heart border was cut with a Martha Stewart border punch (which is now unavailable) from paper which I coloured with a pink Delicata pearlised ink pad. I added 5 offcut hearts to the image, and covered them with glitter Nuvo Drops. Finally I added Spectrum Noir Sparkle to all the pink trim on Coquette's outfit. My teamies have made some ...

Good morning! I hope you are all keeping well. If you wear spectacles, do you find that they fog up a bit when you're wearing a mask? I haven't yet found a way to stop that, but it's only a minor inconvenience, really! Now to our new challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and I have once more delved into my old stash for my card. The digi image is no longer available, it came from Stitchy Bear, which is now closed. I coloured the lantern with copics and added Spectrum Noir Shimmer around the candle. The paper came free with a magazine long ago, and the gems are from my stash. I didn't have room for a sentiment! I'm enjoying rooting around in my files, finding printed digis that I had forgotten about. I aim to use them all up before starting again! It makes me feel very prudent and frugal to use up my stash like this, though I apologise if you see something you like that's now unobtainable - sorry! My teamies have made some lovely inspiratio...

Evening, all! It's Friday! My hubby and I have great plans for the weekend - he will be busy in the garden while I do the ironing! We live such a thrilling life these days, lol! It's also time for another Challenge at My Time to Craft to give you an idea for your crafting. Our delicious theme is Foodstuffs. Anything edible or drinkable will do. (My hubby swears that BEER is a foodstuff, as it contains Vitamin B! Nice excuse, eh?) I have made a card suitable for a birthday or as a party invitation. The papers and the glittered mat came with an old kit by Love from Lizi. It's a very simple card, but I really love the colours. I added Spectrum Noir sparkle pen to the glow round the candles, and Nuvo drops to look like pearls. The gold-embossed sentiment says 'A party without cake is just a meeting.' So true! Do go and check out the yummy inspiration that my teamies have left on the blog. There is a lot of cake, which is always a good thing! Thanks for loo...

Good morning! I apologise that I'm a day late with my post for Dream Valley where our new theme is Favourite Colours. Our sponsor is the fabulous Di's Digi Stamps and I have used the adorable Ellie Wrapped with Love , she is so cute! My favourite colour is green, and in the spring I love it paired with yellow. The papers came from my oddments drawer, and I used plain yellow card and pearlescent green card to mat and layer. The ribbon is from an old American Crafts spool. I used Marianne dies for the sentiment, sadly they seem to be out of print. Finally I added Nuvo Crystal Drops in Soft Mint and covered the presents with Spectrum Noir Clear Shimmer Pen to give some bling. My teamies have used some beautiful colours and images on their cards shown on the challenge blog, go and see! Thanks for looking, and stay safe! love Mags B x

Oops! I'm so sorry, I'm late with my DT post for The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. I was so convinced that yesterday was Monday! The trouble with self-isolating is that there is so little to distinguish one day from another! I said to my hubby this morning 'Is it Wednesday today?' He just looked at me and said dryly, 'All day.' Anyway, it's high time I showed you my card for this week's challenge! The cute Santa is an old stamp from Whiff of Joy, and I coloured him in Promarkers. I added White Blizzard Nuvo Drops to the trim on his outfit, and little blobs of red ones to the holly berries on his hat. The papers are snippets from the scrap drawer, and the narrow strip is foiled. I edged it with Red Glitter Peel-offs by Love from Lizi. The sentiment is from an old stamp by Clearly Besotted. As usual my talented teamies have some gorgeous creations on the Challenge blog, go and see! Thanks for looking, and take care. love Mags B x

What do zombie vegans eat? GRAAAINS! Good morning from a damp, grey Hertfordshire. We have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft! to brighten your day with a Recipe to follow. We would like you to use: 2 or more images; 1 patterned paper; 2 die-cuts or buttons; 1 ribbon or bow. Here is my card: My 3 images and the sentiment come from the Look For the Rainbows set by Simon Says Stamp. I thought the upright bird looked a little sad, so his 2 friends are looking up at him to reassure him. The patterned paper is from a very old Authentique paper pad, and has a slightly textured surface. My 2 die-cuts are an old pierced and scalloped border die by My Favorite Things, and an even older corner die from Whimsy Stamps, both cut in glittered blue cardstock. I added a narrow black ribbon along the border die to bring in more of the black in the patterned paper. The 3 squares were cut using my paper trimmer, they aren't dies, as you can tell if you look closely, as they are v...