Madcap Manor

Wow, I made the Top Three at Lili's Little Fairies with my monochrome baby cards! I am so chuffed! :) love Mags B x

Hi, guys! And a warm welcome to my new followers! Thanks for coming by! I hope your week is going well. We had an exciting day yesterday, as the new tv digi-box, phone and Internet were installed! Everything seems to be working a wee bit faster and, even more importantly, we haven't lost the Internet in the last 24 hours! I took the afternoon off, since the ironing is always with ye, and set up a mini-assembly line to make 4 baby cards: It wasn't much quicker than doing them individually, since as usual I kept putting things down and being unable to find them a minute later! I also managed to sit on a pencil and stab myself in the bum! Now, that takes real talent! Here's my favourite of the cards, I love the soft green Promarker colours: I used a different colour combo for the face and hands, since I saw this video on skin tones by Kimberly Brown yesterday. The image and the sentiment are both by Lili of the Valley The papers are all snippets, even the green...

Good evening, all! I have the Internet back, huzza! I've missed you!! Here's a Christmas card for a lovely friend of my daughter. She's a baker, so I used Icing the Cake by LotV, isn't she cute? I coloured her with Promarkers and stickled the flower in her chef's hat. I used a Nestie that was only just big enough, so I cut round the dog's tail so that I could ease the die underneath while I cut it out. (Does that make sense?) The sketch is from last week's Sketch Saturday, but I couldn't upload it in time. :( The papers are by Raspberry Road, they came free with a magazine - they are gorgeous! The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and I used a Woodware punch for the leaves. The flourish is a Magnolia die, with Hobbycraft pearls on the ends. The gingham ribbon also came from Hobbycraft. The sentiment is also LotV - since there wasn't really enough room to mat it, I went round the edge with a Burgundy Promarker. I love that you can do th...

Afternoon, all! I hope you're all having a good Saturday. My, it's cold! A good day to stay indoors and be crafty! I'm cracking on with the Christmas cards, I'm up to 19 now! I bought this sweet Lili of the Valley stamp last year but found it quite hard to colour because of all the tiny details. This year I have fine nibs for my Promarkers and it was much easier! I put dots of red Stickles on the holly berries and some gold Liquid Pearls on the hanging star. I apologise for the wishy-washy image, I was using a Daylight Lamp and the inks look a bit faded :( The papers are also Lili of the Valley, from their 'Classic Christmas' pad. I got out my dies for this one - a Marianne Christmas tree which I covered in white and gold glitter; a Marianne Christmas sentiment, also glittered - it shows up better irl, but I really should have used a slightly brighter paper; and a Whiff of Joy holly die, the paper is pearlised and I Glossy Accented the berries. I'...

Evening, all! I'm taking advantage of a few minutes between washing the dishes and the mass invasion of the family for 'Doctor Who' to post a card I made today. This little cutie is Christmas Dance by LotV and I coloured her in Promarkers. I used Nesties for the sentiment and image mats, and an X-cut star die for the stars. I've used the gold card from a children's craft pack again, it's nice and thick so it embosses really well! Papers are also from LotV, a digi from last year (I don't think they do them any more, now they are selling those gorgeous new paper pads!)  The flowers are from stash - I think the blue poinsettia came from Angel Crafts but don't quote me! I used a Magnolia flourish die and stickled it. The leaves are cut with a Woodware punch and scattered with crunchy glitter. I had a go at making the glittery twirlies that Bev talked about here last week.  You can just about see the twirlies. Next time I'll use finer gl...

Good evening, my dearios! And a special welcome to my new followers! Have a virtual cookie (calorie-free!!) x I hope everyone is settling down happily after the holidays, it always takes me ages to get back into the old routine! Especially the crafting routine! I am reorganising my craft hovel and cataloguing my stamps (nothing dramatic, just images in files!) and I'm aghast at how many I haven't yet used! So my new Resolution is to use them all at least once. It helps that I won't be at Ally Pally :( because my son is coming to see us :) This LotV LotV cutie is 'Shall We Dance.' I used Promarkers, and Diamond stickles on the lady's fringed dress. The papers are Nitwits: the spotty one is 'Breath of Fresh Air' and the checked one is 'Eggstravaganza.' I used a Martha Stewart punch, and the spotted ribbon is from Hobbycraft. I layered green and pink Prima flowers and put a mesh-and-pearl flower from stash in the middles. There are more...

Hi, guys! Happy Jubilee holiday to those who have celebrated! I was asked to make a card for a lady whose bridesmaids are going to be wearing the colours of the rainbow! That's one colour each, by the way, not all seven at once! This is a big card (8" x 8") because the LotV die-cut is large. I used a Martha Stewart punch around the die-cut to give the lacy border. The striped paper is Funky Hand (it was a freebie last year) - aren't those colours lovely?! Flowers are Wild Orchid, and the leaves are a Whiff of Joy die. The ribbon is recycled one of my colleagues at the Toddler Club was going to chuck it because it's not very long - so I snapped it up instead! It makes me feel so virtuous when I recycle! The sentiment is also LotV, the butterflies and flowers coloured with Sakura Stardust pens, and matted onto a piece cut with a Spellbinders Floral Doily die. All the paper lace has been distressed with Spun Sugar DI. The pink roses and hearts on the image ...

Hi, guys! What a blustery day it's been today! I dug out my woolly winter scarf and hat when I went out this morning!  I was at the Ally Pally on Saturday where I met Mags , one of my lovely Dream Valley teamies, and her mum. It was great to sit down and talk about cards with people who understand! The image and papers from today's card were all bought on Saturday. The totally adorable teddy is by Lili of the Valley , I used promarkers and paper-pieced her balloon. The basket has been coated with Glossy Accents. The papers are by K and Co, called 'Lion Sleeps'.  I already had the Penny Black sentiment and the Martha Stewart punch. I used Woodware punches for the flowers, which are pearlised white Papermania card coloured with Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick Distress Inks. The leaves were also made with a Woodware punch, and the brads and gems are from stash.  The sketch is by Friday Sketch Challenges isn't it great? I distressed the strips and stickled ...

I could get used to this weather! I've been waking at 5 this week to catch the cricket and make cards at the same time. Yes, I'm a sad case. I don't think we'll mention England's result against Sri Lanka, though. Oh dear! Anyway, here is today's offering. The cute bunny is by Lili of the Valley of course, and so is the sentiment. I coloured him with Promarkers, these bunnies are a joy to colour! The papers are a mix of Pink Petticoat and Funky Hand I used a Martha Stewart Deep Edger punch on the horizontal strip. The skeleton leaves are Marianne dies, and flowers, gems and ribbon are from stash. Once again I'm using the terrific sketch from this fortnight's Friday Sketch Challenge . I'm entering the current Lili's Little Fairies Challenge which is 'Anything Goes.' Ah, the lovely whiff of paraffin just floated by - one of the neighbours is firing up the barbie! In March!! Thanks for looking! I really appreciate all your lovely comments...

Evening, all! What a grey, rainy day it's been! I hope you're all tucked up snug and warm and dry! One of my Sunday School kids has just had a tooth removed and she's been feeling sore and miserable, so I dug out this poorly LotV bunny to make a card for her. I love the big bottle of carrot juice and the yummy grapes in this image! I added Glossy Accents to the spoon and bottle to give some shine. This week's theme at Lili's Little Fairies (it's the new name for the LotV challenge) is 'Lavender and Lace'. I used papers from the 'Heather' Papermania Capsule Collection stack. The lace, which is mostly covered, unfortunately, is from my local market. The flowers are Wild Orchid, sprinkled with gold Glamour Dust. The little pearls are from stash. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy. I also decorated the inside (otherwise the card kept falling over lol!) reversing the two papers: The wonderful sketch is from this week's Sketch Saturday , it was ju...