Madcap Manor

 Hi, guys! I have been spending many weeks (many, many weeks!) making Christmas cards.  The latest batch uses the December 2023  Sheetload of Cards  by Alicia of Call Me Crafty Al.  I have made 50 cards for all the mums/Nans/childminders who come to the Toddler Club that I help to run at my church. Here are 8 of the cards I made to show how great this is for using up paper pads.  I finished off a Christmas pad that I'd had for 2 years! And the next 4. All the images and the sentiment are by MFT, the Santas are from the  Jingle All the Way  stamp set and the Elves are from the  Santa's Elves  stamp set.  I love 'em! I coloured them with Promarkers and fussy-cut them.  These cards make me smile! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

Morning, all! Welcome to another Challenge at My Time to Craft Christmas.   I have chosen to make 2 cards with Stockings, since I don't have anything for a Christmas fireplace!   My first card uses one of the adorable Elves from MFT's Santa's Elves stamp set. The background paper is a snippet from my stash - it also has stockings on it! The sentiment came with the stamp set.   My second card uses a Penny Black image from the Wonder stamp set. I love these cute mice! The paper and sentiment are also from the Snippets drawer.   Check out the blog for some more inspiration!   Thanks for looking and take care.   love Mags B x

Hi there! Welcome to The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Christmas Goes. My card is quite simple this week, using inlay die-cuts and some gold embossing. I used the Collage Cover Up Die from My Favorite Things and some gorgeous paper from yet another old First Edition paper pad. The white card has a linen texture. The sentiment is an old one from Clearly Besotted.  Check out the inspiration on the blog and join our challenge! It's never too soon to start on your Christmas cards!  Thanks for looking!  Mags B x

 Hello, my dearios! Well, it's flaming June and here in S-E Herts we have had grey skies and drizzle all day.  At least it's not cold!  I can't think of a witty segue from that, so I'll just say: we have a new Challenge at  My Time to Craft Christmas ! Our theme this time is Santa. I have been a wee bit obsessed with Bridge cards recently! I've been following this video from Sasha Reade, I find it easier to follow than Splitcoast Stampers' tutorial.  I used Christmas paper from my stash and MFT's cute 'Jingle All the Way' stamp set. Sadly, it's no longer available on their website. The dancing Santa and the Christmas tree came from the set, I coloured them and fussy-cut, then added a silver star gem to the tree.  The sentiment is also from the stamp set. (I wanted to use 'Rockin' around the Christmas Tree' but the sentiment I have didn't fit!) Rock on over to the Challenge Blog and see what my lovely teamies have made, and jo...

Hello, good morning and welcome! It's another cold, grey May day in S-E Hertfordshire, very suitable for doing some festive and cheerful Christmas crafting! And we have a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge to inspire you!  I have chosen to make some tags this time, using up scraps of card from a Hunkydory magazine gift from last year. The papers are in fact border designs from some of the cardstock that came with the kit.  I added snowflakes made with an MFT Die-namics layered snowflake die set - maddeningly, I can no longer find it on their website, so it must be out of print. The snowflakes are cut from no-shed glitter cardstock by Tonic, and the ribbon and baker's twine came from my stash.  I made 4 of each design - they were a bit fiddly, but I'm pleased with the result. Check out my teamies' gorgeous creations on the blog, and join in the challenge! It's never too soon to start Christmas crafting! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mag...

Hiya! It's a cold, frosty but bright winter's day here in S-E Hertfordshire and today I have the excitement of a trip to the supermarket to do the grocery shopping and buy a new kettle!  The thrills never cease! Even more thrilling, we have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft and we'd like to see Glitter and Sparkle on your creations. This card is very glittery. I used gold card from Tonic Studios (which doesn'T shed!) and die-cut 'YOU' from the mat before layering it onto my card base.   The die and gold-embossed sentiment are by My Favorite Things: 'All About You' for the sentiment and 'You Trio' for the die. Neither is on the MFT website, I'm afraid, so they may be out of print.   I used a snippet of flowered paper from my scraps drawer and some sequins for even more sparkle.   My teamies have done a sterling job with their creations, as usual!   Thanks for looking, stay safe, and have a good weekend!   love Mags B x...

Good morning! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Our new Challenge at Dream Valley is All That Glitters. So let's see shimmer, sparkle and shine to cheer up these dreicht November days! Our sponsor is the wonderful Dies to Die For and there is a £15 voucher awaiting one lucky winner! The photo of my Christmas shaker card doesn't show how glittery the die-cut wreath is, sadly. I die-cut green glitter paper with MFT's Winter Wreath die. The bow is from the same set, cut in red pearlised card. The papers are from an old First Edition pad which unfortunately seems to be out of print. The gold-embossed sentiment is made with a stamp from a magazine gift. Thanks for looking, and may your week be full of sparkle and glitter! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It is the middle of May - and time to make Christmas cards! Well, it's never too soon to start! We have a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy, where it's always Anything Christmas Goes. The MFT Santa's Elves stamps are so cute, and a joy to colour. I matched my Promarkers to the background paper, which is from an old pad by Papermania. I used a scrap of red holographic card to mat the image, and the foiled sentiment is from a magazine freebie. For more sparkle I added Crystal and Gold Stickles to the image. Check out the inspiration that my teamies have left on the blog, as usual they have done a terrific job! Thanks for looking and have a good week! love Mags B x

Evening, all! I hope you are all having a good weekend. The evenings are getting noticeably longer now, and Spring is on its way! Though on sunny days the sun shining through the windows shows me that they really need a good clean! Are you planning your holibobs yet? Because our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! is Travel. So that means boats, aeroplanes, cars, motorbikes - you get the idea. I have this very, very old wood-mounted stamp, I've had it for years. It's not the easiest to stamp, being big and also full of tiny details. I tried embossing in white and painting a wash of watercolour over it, and it just did not work. Then I tried Versafine Onyx Black, which is so good for fine detail, but it was too stark. Sepia Versafine was just dull. Finally I went for Mama Elephant's Stargazer pigment ink. Success! It was annoying that my previous ideas didn't work, but all that practice in stamping meant the final image came out really well!!! I added a ...

Our new Challenge at Dream Valley is Not A Square Our sponsor is the awesome Live and Love Crafts oh, I could spend ages drooling over their gorgeous site! Anyway, here is my card. It's a Christmas one again! I used a new die, this is the Snoflake Fusion Cover Up die-namics die by My Favorite Things, which unfortunately now seems to be unavailable since I bought it a couple of months ago :( I cut it in white card and layered it on gold mirri card. The poinsettia is a Marianne Die sprayed with shimmer spritz. The ribbon is from stash. Don't be Square, join in our Challenge! :) Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! We have a technique challenge at My Time to Craft and it's Paper Piecing . That's the technique where, instead of colouring in your image, you stamp it on coloured papers, cut out, and pice them together like a patchwork quilt. For the background I used Snow Drifts Cover Up by My Favorite Things. The papers are Beach Boardwalk an older paper pad by Carta Bella. The yacht image is from Lawn Fawn's Float My Boat and the sails and hull are paper pieced. Go and get some inspiration from my teamies' gorgeous creations, they will inspire you to join in! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good afternoon! I hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend. We have sunshine in S-E Hertfordshire, what a difference it makes, everyone seems so cheerful when the sun shines! Unfortunately I have been fighting off a cold this past few days and it's now Cold - 1, Maggie - 0! I am mainlining Beecham's powders, they taste vile!! Enough medical talk! There's another lovely challenge at Dream Valley and it's Things With Wings - very suitable, I think, with the birds flying about building nests. Our fabulous sponsor is Kenny K and the prize is 3 digis! I used Devilish Donna for my card, which is made for a Goth chick of my acquaintance! I coloured her with Spectrum Noirs, glittered her wings, and then cut her out. The card base is made with purple centura pearl, embossed with a big Spellbinders M-bossibilities folder. I stamped a polka dot border with an MFT stamp called Large Scale Backgrounds - I tried to do an ombre effect. The sentiment on the banner i...