Madcap Manor

 Good morning! Welcome to another challenge at  My Time to Craft Christmas  where our theme is Holly. I used a very, VERY old stamp by Woodware for my first card.  It's so old that when I was peeling it off my Misti it tore!  I stamped the image in a pale grey dye ink and coloured it with Promarkers, then stamped again with Versamark and added gold heat-embossing.  I layered the image and the patterned paper (from stash) onto gold satin mirror card.  The sentiment is embossed with the same embossing powder and the berries have been Stickled. My second card is a bit cheeky - the 'Holly' element is mainly the sentiment! I used a 'bubble greetings' stamp by  Taylored Expressions  which is sadly out of print on their website.  I coloured it with Promarkers in a rainbow order and added stickles to the holly berries.  The patterned paper is from stash. Check out my teamies' creations on the blog and join the fun! Thanks for looking and ta...

 Good morning! Happy Friday! Here is our new Challenge at  My Time to Craft  and out theme is Beverages.   It has been so hot recently that my favourite beverage is now... (drumroll)... Water! I hope you're all making sure you're keeping hydrated. I made 2 cards on the subject, one tea-themed (my daughter's favourite) and one coffee-themed (my son's.) I used 2 very old dies for the teapot and mug: both have embossed details, but the card I chose is too busy to show them properly.  The background paper is a scrap (by  Nitwits ) and I used the red spotted card as a mat. These cute coffee cups are made with a die that came in a Simon Says Stamp kit long, long ago.  I paper-pieced the elements, which was rather fiddly! The cardbase has an inch trimmed off the front to show a different patterned paper on the inside.  Both papers are also by Nitwits, though I can't remember which set. Check out the Challenge blog for more fun examples and have a go your...

 Good morning! It's another hot and sunny day here in S-E Hertfordshire - the perfect time to tackle Christmas cards! I know it's just my imagination, but making Christmas cards in the summer always makes me feel a bit cooler.  And  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  is here to help with a new challenge! We also have a Design Team call.  Whether you're a beginner or a long-time crafter, if you'd like to try out a Design Team, contact our Jedi Master Marlene with pictures of 3 cards you've made.  Details are on the blog post linked above. I put together a piece of patterned paper from my stash and an old Simon Says Stamp die of candy canes. The die-cut outline is red mirror card and I inlaid white card to fill the spaces.  The banner sentiment came from Craft Creations - the website has moved and is now  Katy Sue Designs.   I layered a green ribbon over a red-and-gold one for the horizontal strip. Check out my teamies' pretty creations and...

 Morning, all! It's time for a new challenge at  Dream Valley ! We'd like to see shaped cards - any shape except square or rectangular. I made a heart easel card for one of the Mums who attended our Church Toddler Group (Early Birds) with her gorgeous little girl.  Sadly, the family has returned home to Slovenia, as they were finding it too expensive to live in the UK.  Fortunately her husband is an HGV driver, so he had a job waiting for him already, and she is a psychiatrist and will be working from September.  We will all miss them! Anyway, this is the card I made for them to wish them well. The gorgeous paper is from an old First Edition pad and has a spot gloss finish on the roses.  The die-cuts are made with a Spellbinders die set and I dry-embossed them to emphasise the detail. Check out the lovely cards made by my teamies and have a go at creating a shaped card yourself! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Hi there! Our new challenge at  My Time to Craft Christmas  needs a bit of clarification.  We'd like to see Christmas decorations or ornaments - but as images on a card, not the actual 3-D decorations. My first card is a 5" x 7" and uses a nesting ornament die by Spellbinders. I used papers from my stash, some matte gold card and some glitter cord. My second card is stamped and heat-embossed. The wreath is from the  Winter Whimsy  stamp set by Penny Black.  Since you can't use alcohol inks with embossing powder (it ruins your pens) I used my Misti to stamp the image in grey DYE ink.  Leaving the stamp in place, I coloured the image with Promarkers.  Then I replaced it in my Misti and restamped in Versamark, heat-embossing in the usual way in gold. I used a scalloped circle die by Spellbinders for the matte gold mat and popped it up with foam tape.  The paper is from my Christmas stash. Check out the challenge blog for some great inspira...

 Hi there! I hope you're all looking forward to a good weekend - with some me-time for crafting! We have a new challenge at  My Time to Craft!  where the theme is The Sea .  So anything beside, on or under the sea! My first card is definitely Under the Sea (darling, it's better down where it's wetter, take it from me!) The mermaid is from a stamp set that came with a Simon Says Stamp card kit several years ago, and sadly it's now out of print.  The background is a blend of Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers and )of course!) Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxides.  I splayyered it with water and with a silver mica spray.  I coloured and fussy cut the Mermaid and her underwater friends as well as the sentiment. Card 2 is a nautical one, ie On the Sea. I used Lawn Fawn's  Float My Boat  stamps and dies for the images and the background paper is from my stash.  This is a mini slimline card, 6" x 3". Check out the challenge blog and my teamies' inspirat...

 Good morning! Yes, it's another Christmas card! We have a new challenge at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  to help you to get ahead with your festive creations.  In 5 months' time it will be Boxing Day, and you don't want to be panicking over your cards in December lol! I used  this sketch  by Jess Crafts.  It's one of her excellent 'no scraps' tutorials, this time using 8 x 8" paper.  If you haven't come across Jess yet, do check out her videos and blog, she is a great teacher! Here is my card, using patterned paper from an old First Editions pad. The horizontal strip is glittered, and I edged it with gold  peel-offs  by Love from Lizi.  The gold-embossed sentiment was loose in my Christmas Stuff folder - I think it's by Lil Inker Designs.  I added a mat in dull gold. Check out my teamies' makes on the challenge blog and get in some festive crafting! Thanks for looking and take care! love, Mags B x