Madcap Manor

  Good morning! It's a red-letter dayat the Manor, as this morning Ye Olde Manne and I receive our second Covid vaccinations! Our Church Hall is being used by our 3 local surgeries, and several of my friends are volunteering there so I'm looking forward to the trip! How strange it is that events that used to be a chore are now a valued reason for getting out of the house!  In the meantime I'm here early to tell you about our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! which is Sentimental. That is, make your sentiment the focal point on your creation. I used an old die-set, Blueprints 1, by My Favorite Things to cut my paper and cardstock. The cardstock is pearlised, and the paper is from the scraps drawer, while the gold-flecked ribbon is from my stash. The gold-embossed sentiment is another oldie, this time by Hero Arts. I added butterflies in green and blue to jazz things up a bit.  Go and see the great ideas my teamies are showing on the Challenge blog!  Thanks for look

  Good morning! There's a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy and also a DT Call! Check out the blog for details. I have made a slimline card featuring the Woodware Clear Stamp Snowman Family. I stamped onto watercolour paper and embossed the lines with clear embossing powder and painted in the details, then fussy cut the image.  For the snowy ground I stamped the bottom of the image onto glitter cardstock and cut it out to fit.  Tha background paper is from my Christmas drawer, it is very old! Check out my teamies' fab creations and also the DT Call! All levels of experience are welcome! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

  Hello, my dearios! I hope you're having a good weekend. I apologise for being a day late with my DT post for My Time to Craft Christmas - we had an unexpected visitor yesterday, a good friend who used to live nearby, and I was so excited by the novelty of seeing someone who's not my olde manne that I forgot my post! All is back to normal now, and I can tell you that our theme is Baubles. This pretty image is another from a kit by Hunkydory, which I have had for years.  The background paper and the circular die-cuts have gold foiling on them.  I popped the innermost circle with the image onto foam for some dimension and did the same with the sentiment circle. It was quite tricky lining up the inside circle with the border, but I managed it after a couple of attempts! My teamies have left some gorgeous inspiration for you on the blog, check it out and join the fun! After all, 8 months today it will be Christmas Eve..... Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Hi there! Happy Monday! We have a new Challenge at  Dream Valley which is For a Child. Our sponsor is Morgan's Art World. I have used a very sweet image, this is Susie. I used some old papers by Echo Park and the end of a reel of ribbon - I'm getting better at using things up instead of just admiring them! The Nuvo Drops look very dark in the photo but they are lighter irl and also more sparkly! Go and see what my teamies have made with some more of the cute images that Morgan kindly sent us! Thanks for looking and stay safe and well. love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well. We are seeing a bit more sunshine here in the UK - what a difference good weather makes to our mood!  To cheer everyone up even more, we have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft. The theme is an unusual one - Use Stationery - that is, use paperclips or staples or envelopes and such. I have to admit, I did struggle a bit, but I came up with a collage card.  This is way outside my comfort zone, though I have seen and admired mixed media works I have never quite got the hang of them before.  However, I am quite pleased with this. I used Vintage Photo Distress ink on everything! I stamped script from a Tim Holtz stamp in black on the background to add interest.  Then I layered: a scrap torn from a writing pad; a hessian ribbon; a kraft tag with two postage stamps and a paperclip that reads 'awesome'; a postcard image made with an ancient Penny Black stamp; a vellum envelope and some tiny hearts in purple and gold. Halfway throu

 Hi there! I hope everyone is having a good day.  I have been watching the live stream of the new eruption in Iceland recently, it's fascinating! But my heart goes out to the people of St Vincent, where a very different kind of eruption is causing so many problems.  Nature is very cruel sometimes. We have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and also a DT Call.  Check out the blog for details, we are a very friendly bunch. This cute Christmas tree image is a very old stamp - I must have had it for 10 years! I coloured the baubles and stars with copics, then added glitter to the stars and Glossy Accents to the baubles.  The paper and ribbon are from my stash and the old Clearly Besotted sentiment is gold-embossed.  For a change I made a 5" x 7" card, it makes a nice change to have the extra space! Have a look at the blog for some gorgeous inspiration by my teamies! Thanks for looking, and stay safe.  Let's be careful out there! love Mags B x

 We have another Challenge at  My Time to Craft Christmas  and we'd like to see lots of Snow People this time! Snowmen, Snowwomen, Snowchildren - take your pick! I used an old image from Paper Smooches to make a scene.  The background has snowflakes heat-embossed in white and then sponged with Distress Ink, and the snowy hill is cut from glitter card with an old Memory Box Die.  I used Spellbinders' Dies to cut the image, and a snowflake embossing folder on pearlised blue card for the background. My teamies have made a lovely variety of cards in all kinds of styles, go and see! Thanks for looking and stay safe and well! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! It's a cold but sunny spring day in Hertfordshire - and we have had snow flurries! Only a few flakes at a time, and certainly not enough to settle, but even so it is rather a surprise! Spring is a very variable season! Springtime is our new theme at Dream Valley and our sponsor is the fabulous Bugaboo Digi Stamps. We were sent some images to use and I chose this gorgeous Spring Boot. So cute! I took the colours from the patterned paper, which is from the  Spring Bloom pad by Love from Lizi.  I love those pastels! Go and see my teamies' creations on the challenge blog, they will brighten your day! Thanks for looking and stay safe. love Mags B x

Happy Easter, everyone! Wishing you a sunshiny weekend!   Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is Easter. Because I'm a churchgoing Christian I made a religious card (or 2!) but obviously the theme includes Bunnies and Easter Eggs! I used an old stamp by Wild Rose Studio, embossed in gold. Originally I was going to colour it with Zig markers, but hubby said it looked better without, and I think he's right. I used Centura Pearl cardstock for the mats.   My teamies have left some darling cards on the blog to inspire you, do hop over and see!   Thanks for looking and stay safe!   love Mags B x

Good morning! It's quite odd to be thinking of Christmas on a beautiful Spring day, but it's time for another Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge.    I have used a darling image from Penny Black's 'Celebrate the Wonder' set which sadly no longr seems to be available. The paper is from my scraps drawer and the sentiment banner is a foiled die-cut from my stash.   We also have a DT Call, so if you've ever wanted to join a Design Team, go and see the blog for the details! All welcome!   Thanks for looking and stay safe!   love Mags B x