Madcap Manor

Exciting news! Our lovely Shell is setting up a new blog starting on January 15th called My Time to Craft Christmas! Go and see the details on today's post at My Time to Craft! where you can see what it's all about! DT applications welcome!  For today, we also have a seasonal challenge: Christmas Animals. I used a pre-coloured image from Lili of the Valley stamps which I've had for a long time. The backing paper, ribbon and sentiment are also old. I'm using up my stash! Unfortunately this image of the bear family is no longer available, but do check out the other adorable stamps on the site. And there's a SALE!  Thank you for your kind words about the quilt I made for my sister, I'm absolutely chuffed! Now I'm considering making one for my bro and sis-in-law! Sewing is as addictive as papercrafting!  Go and see my teamies' sweet creations on the Challenge blog, and check out the details of the new Christmas Challenge blog!  Thanks for looking

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping safe and well and finding time to craft. My cardmaking has taken a back seat this past fortnight, as I have finally replaced my ancient sewing machine and have been digging through my fabric stash to make a quilt for my sister's Christmas present. It's not exactly an heirloom, and I've made a few mistakes along the way, but it's the first quilt I've managed to finish! I'll add a picture at the end of this post.  But onto the Challenge, which as always is Anything Christmas Goes. I don't have many cards for blokes in my stash, so I dug into an old kit by Love From Lizi . I cut out the stag picture from one of the sheets of patterned paper and popped it up on some scrap cardstock on top of another paper from the kit, which I layred onto cream pearlescent card. The 'Joy' sentiment is a sticker, layered on the same cream card.  The rest of the sentiment is from an out of print Clearly Besotted stamp s

Hiya! I hope you're all keeping well. It's been quite rainy and blowy in S-E Herts but very mild - which is lucky, because out heating broke down on Friday! So yesterday we had the Gasman here to replace a fan. It was rather strange to have someone in the house, we kept well out of the way. Worst was not being able to offer him a cuppa!  All is snug and warm now! Time to tell you about the new Challenge at Dream Valley which is to use Lots of Layers. Our sponsor is the fabulous All Dressed Up Stamps. I have used Hopscotch which is one of the images Wendy kindly sent us for the challenge. I used papers from my stash for the three background layers.  I used flowers and die-cut leaves from stash to decorate, and added crystal Nuvo Drops. My teamies have done great things, as usual - Check out N-Eva's fabulous scene using this image! We also have a Design Team Call, beginners very welcome, we're a friendly and helpful bunch! Thanks for looking, stay safe, and ha

Does anybody else still find it hard to recall what day of the week it is? For me this has been one of the strangest things about Lockdown! All day I've been convinced it was Thursday! Oopsie! Of course it's Friday, and time for a new Challenge at My Time to Craft!   Our new theme is Good Luck - I think we could all do with some good luck for a change!  I know that a Black Cat is sometimes regarded as a bad luck symbol, but in my family it's always been regarded as good luck. Is that a tradition from the North East of England, which is where my family originates? Or is it common elsewhere? Anyway, this card includes an elegant Black Cat to wish every one of you Good Luck! This gorgeous creature is from Paper Smooches 'Feline Friends' stamp set - sadly, I have been unable to find it online. Admittedly, it is an old stamp set! I used my Misti to stamp her several times in Versafine Onyx Black ink to get good coverage, then added clear embossing powder for some

  Hello, my loves! There is a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge so now is a great time to add to your stockpile of Christmas cards! The Big Day will be here sooner than we think!  For my card I used an older collection from Hunkydory Crafts - I have collected quite a few of these over the years, and it's high time I used them up! I had a go at another slimline card, this one is 3.5" by 7.5". The background has a very subtle blue stripe, and a spray of snowflakes on the left.  I layered it onto gold mirri card for some festive bling! The gold-edged images and the striped strip came from the kit, and I added 5 star sequins from my stash. The text is the first verse of 'We Three Kings.'  Thanks for looking, stay safe, KEEP CRAFTING AND CARRY ON!  with love Mags B x

Evening, all! We have a new Challenge at Dream Valley which is to use Dies and/or Punches on your creation.  Our sponsor is the fabulous Di's Digital Stamps. , check out her adorable images, they are so cute!  Di doesn't supply images for other DT Challenges, I gather it's because she was taken advantage of by people sharing her images, which is of course illegal. So instead I made a Christmas card that is almost entirely made with dies! The Poinsettia die is a very old one from Spellbinders, and the greeting is the Holly Berry Dies set by Concord and 9th.  I used some old Christmas papers from my stash, along with some gold card by Tonic. Then I spritzed the card with Glimmer Mist, which is sparkly in real life but not in the picture!  We also have a DT Call so hop on over to the blog to check out the details!  Thanks for looking, and stay safe!  love Mags B x