Madcap Manor

 Hiya! I'm sorry I'm a bit late with my DT post for  My Time to Craft , I was doing the flower arrangement at Church this morning, and then I had a mammogram this afternoon (ouchies!)  But here am I, faint but pursuing! (My Grannie used to say that, it's probably Shakespeare.) Our new theme is Fantasy or Whimsy.   Fairies, magical beasts, mages, whimsical images of quirky animals or birds or people - whatever takes your fancy. My first card uses 'Magical Day', an older clear stamp from  The Greeting Farm .  This one is out of print, but if you check out the 'Fantasy' tab on their website you'll see another set of cute unicorn images. The papers are from an old First Edition pad which has a unicorn theme.  The background is glittered and I used pearlised card for the mats and  Love from Lizi sway peel-offs  in Teal Mirror, which give some lovely shine.  The sentiment came with the stamp set. My second card is more whimsical, using a very ...

Hi, guys! It's time once again for our regular Christmas theme at CRAFT Challenge. The lovely image is Holy Night by The Paper Shelter. I used one of my all-time favourite Spellbinders dies to cut the mat Labels Four and Decorative Labels 4 (which sadly I can't find online.) The gold-embossed sentiment is by Clearly Besotted - and is 25% off in their Clearance Sale! The papers are from an old Papermania pad and I added Nuvo Drops to the centres of the flower shapes. Our sponser is The Paper Shelter. Check out the inspiring creations left on our blog by my gorgeous teamies! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Morning, all! I hope your week is going well and that you're looking forward to a good weekend! Maybe you're planning on making Christmas cards? If so, you're in luck, as Christmas is our new theme at CRAFT Challenge! The sweet image is Christmas Bella from Paper Nest Dolls. The crown of candles is worn by Santa Lucia, whose feast day is now 13th December - but before the calendar changed in 1752 it was on the shortest day, hence the candles to signify light. A friend of my daughter's is called Lucy and she's a big fan of Santa Lucia, so this is for her! The papers are from an old pad by Papermania, there is gold foiling and glitter on some of the papers. The sentiment is from the Paper Smooches Christmas Sammpler. Our sponsors this week are: All Dressed Up Stamps and also Paper Nest Dolls Go and see the gorgeous creations made by my teamies using digis generously given to us by our sponsors! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

When you read this I will be on the way to Dublin to celebrate my grandson's first birthday! I hope I get the scheduling right! It's time for our regular Christmas theme at CRAFT Challenge. I have used an adorable pre-coloured Elf by Melonheadz from the Christmas Bobbleheadz Clip Art set. I used papers from 'Pink Christmas' which is an old Papermania pad. The holly die-cuts are made with a Marianne Holly Branches die and the glitter snowflakes are from the old Frosty Border die by Memory Box. I added red stickles for the holly berries. The sentiment is from an old Hero Arts sentiment set, and is gold-embossed. The ribbon is from stash. I added stickles to the Elf's hat and Glossy Accents to his boots. Our sponsor is Melonheadz Thanks for looking, and enjoy your weekend! love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you are all having a good week. After several days of very hot and sunny weather we have suddenly got cold breezes and drizzle. Flaming June, eh? I just hope next week will be fine, as we have our annual Teddy Bears' Picnic at the Toddler Group that I help to run, and it's so much nicer to have it in the Church grounds rather than the hall! In the meantime, we have a new Challenge at CRAFT Challenge which is to Add Ribbon and Sparkle. When I saw this gorgeous Festive Flamingo I knew I had to make her into a Christmas card for a lovely friend who does Ice Dancing - yes, the same sport as Torvill and Dean! (And if you're too young to remember their amazing record-breaking Olympic win dancing to Ravel's 'Bolero' here is a youtube link. Awesome! Anyway, I coloured the Flamingo with Promarkers. Her hat is glittered with gold Glamour Dust and there is Glossy Accents on her blades and the string of lights around her neck (though they d...

Hi, everyone! I hope you're having a good Thursday. I have been putting away the winter clothes - my Grannie used to quote 'Cast Not a Clout Till May Be Out' and since it's June 1st it seemed appropriate! We have a fab Recipe at CRAFT Challenge this week. For my card I used the gorgeous Charmant by Rick St Dennis. I love his portrait digis they are so elegant. The Three Papers are from an old Papermania pad, they are brighter in real life. The Two Ribbons (or 1 ribbon and 1 ricrac!) are from stash and the gold Glitter is Glamour Dust. The gold-embossed sentiment is by Lili of the Valley. Our Sponsor is Rick St Dennis MFA I admit, I found the recipe quite Challenging! Do have a look at my teamies' fab creations for some gorgeous inspiration! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

ETA: My heart goes out to everyone affected by the terrible helicopter crash in Glasgow. So sad. Good afternoon, all! We have a very useful challenge at Dream Valley this fortnight - we want to see Anything But a Card . 'And why is this a useful Challenge?' I hear you cry! Well, it's a chance to show off your crafty gift or decor creations! Festive bunting, for instance, or a table decoration, or a candle - anything at all as long as it isn't a card! I have made a folder to hold all my Christmas lists! The instructions are on This youtube video for a File Folder Stationery Set, by a lady named Michelle . This is the front: the papers and Santa topper are from a set by Papermania called 'Noel' which I picked up in a sale last January. The inside shows the pockets at the sides and the bottom. It was very easy to put together, once I'd had a practice run-through without any decorations. I'm going to be making more for some of my friends for ...

Good evening, everyone! I hope you're all having a good week. I've been a busy bee with the dreaded housework, it's horrible to do though it helps when something funky comes on the radio and I can dance with the vacuum cleaner! (Though not as well as Freddie Mercury does in the video to 'I want to break free!) I've also made a Christmas card, using a lovely LotV stamp, Little Ivy she is adorable! I coloured here with Speccies (list at the end) and used the Blender to give just the faintest pink shadows on her surplice. Her wings were shaded with grey then slathered with Glamour Dust. The gold metal corner came from Whiff of Joy a couple of years ago; and the green-and-gold ribbon is from Pinflair in Hertford. So is the gold paper used to mat both the image and the LotV sentiment. Gems are from stash. The gorgeous papers are 'Silent Night' by Papermania, the spotted paper is actually shiny gold dots on cream paper. I also did the inside (it'...

Hello, my lovelies, I hope you're having a relaxed Sunday! We have sunshine! I'd almost forgotten what the sun looks like! It's time for Challenge 51 at Dream Valley and this time we would like to see ribbon AND bling! That's both, by the way, not either ribbon or bling! And the Challenge this time will last for THREE weeks, not two! Our fabulous sponsor is Crafty Ribbons who are offering one of their gorgeous 'Bev's Bags' to a lucky winner, so get out your ribbons, your rhinestones, your glitter and your Glamour Dust and have a go! This card is not in my usual style, but I'm rather pleased with it! My lovely daughter gave me a pack of Papermania Big Bloomers flowers for Christmas, which inspired this card. I fastened two together with a brad and put some Spellbinders Foliage die-cuts behind it. The leaves have a lot of Glamour dust on them, if you squint you can just about make it out on my naff photo! The ribbon and lace are from stash,...

Good afternoon, all! Where has this week gone? I dreamed last night that I got everything ready for Christmas only to discover it was Boxing Day and I'd missed it! It was quite a relief to wake up and realise there is still time to get ready! Here is a card that I made in various colours for several lovely friends. Apologies for the glare from the silver mirri card, I was using my Daylight lamp and just couldn't get an unshiny picture! The sleigh is a big Papermania stamp which I heat embossed, adding a sprinkle of glitter embossing powder to the mix to give a bit more sparkle, which unfortunately hasn't been picked up by the camera. The paper is by LotV. The sentiment is also LotV. The snowflake is made with a Spellbinders label from the Floral Doily set. I cut 3 of them and layered them, I'm rather pleased with the effect! I expect to be rather busy this coming week, which includes a trip to Shropshire to see our Granddaughter and celebrate her first birth...

If you're looking for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop please click here This gorgeous image is Willow with Candle by Whiff of Joy - she was candy from the lovely Kat! I coloured her with Promarkers - what a boon the fine nibs are for tiny areas! The holly leaves are cut with a Whiff of Joy die and have been Glossy Accented, though they don't really show here, and the berries have been stickled. The bells have a faint wash of gold liquid pearls. I used a Nestie to cut her out and did the draw-round-the-die-and-cut-out trick to give the narrow mat. The red pearlescent card and the papers are Papermania, the bp is from the A Silent Night stack - they are so fabulous! The ribbon is from stash, the double bow is made with a Bow-Easy from Quixotic Paperie The holly leaves are a Whiff of Joy die. The flowers are Wild Orchid, the glitter is Glamour Dust. Here's an inside shot, also with the papers from 'A Silent Night' The tags are Lili of the Valley. I...