Madcap Manor

Good afternoon, all! It's a beautiful, warm Spring day here in S-E Hertfordshire, with sunshine and blue skies! Such a lovely change, it seems as though it's been grey and cold for months! Here's a summery card featuring Anya from the 'Miss Anya Love' set by The Greeting Farm. I've wanted this set for ages, and treated myself after Christmas, it's a bit embarrassing that I've only just inked one of these cuties up! I apologise for the wonky photo, I'm obviously no David Bailey! I coloured Anya with Promarkers, and there are stickles on the flowers and Glossy Accents on the heart in her hair ornament. The elaborate mat is a Spellbinders 'Timeless Rectangles' die, another post-Christmas purchase. The papers are Nitwits 'The Bees Knees' collection, they are so pretty! The sentiment banner is by LotV and I put a foam pad in the middle and glued down the ends to give the curve. The lace is from stash. The flowers and leaves are ...

Hi, guys! I hope you've all had a good day! Welcome to my new followers! I'm so glad to have you along! I meant to post this card yesterday but I was at an e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y l-o-n-g meeting last night and didn't get home until bedtime! I love these Caroling Snowmen by Meljens Designs They are really putting their heart into their singing, aren't they? I used Promarkers to colour them - how did I manage without the removable fine nibs? The fur on their hats has been covered with glitter, and so has the fab snowflake, which is from the Spellbinders 'Create a Flake 4' which is candy I won from J and C Creations I used Nesties to cut the image and the mat and also the label, which is a trimmed-down Fancy Tag. The Postmark sentiment is by Whimsy Stamps. The papers are another freebie pack from 'Quick Cards Made Easy.' I have so many of these packs! The star stickers were a RAK from my daughter, and the ribbon is from stash. I decorated the in...

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 not going to mention the weather... When I saw this adorable Waterlily Tilda I had to buy her - since my granddaughter is called Lillie! She's coloured in Promarkers. I put baby blue stickles on the water and magenta on the butterflies' wings, and glamour-dusted the floral arrangement - and of course it doesn't show in the picture :( I used a Nesties Labels Eight die to cut her out, and distressed the edges with Salty Ocean Distress Ink while the die was still in place - I added more colour at the bottom to extend the pond area. Papers are Nitwits Tour of London, they're so pretty! The ribbon and charm and metal corner are from stash. I went a bit 'wild' with the Wild Orchid flowers! The leaves are made with a Woodware Punch. The butterflies are shiny stickers that were a pressie from my daughter. The lovely sketch is from this fortnight's Sunday Sketch and Stamp it was just right for this! I'm also entering the curren...

Evening, all! I have spent a wonderful afternoon crafting and listening to the cricket - England vs Australia in a One Day International. We won! Sorry, my dear Aussie friends, but the novelty hasn't worn off yet! This is what I made: The cute Tatty Button image is called 'Rainy Days' and she came from Angel Crafts . I'm going to send her to my son's MiL (shouldn't there be just one word to describe relations-in-law?) She lives in Shropshire, where there's been a lot of flooding - luckily she lives on a hill, but the main road to Shrewsbury was flooded yesterday and she is so sick of the wet! I hope this will cheer her up. I used Promarkers to colour her in watery tones. I stickled the raindrops and puddles, and put Glossy Accents on her button. I used a Nestie to cut her out, then drew round the outer edge of the die onto the mat and cut out by hand to give a narrow border. I distressed round the image with Broken China Distress Ink. The papers are...

Evening, all, I hope you're well. It's been a SCORCHIO! day - summer is here! Hooray! Unfortunately a dear friend is confined indoors recovering from an operation, but I hope this Whiff of Joy image will cheer her up. I used Spectrum Noirs to colour her. I'm a bit annoyed, because when I pulled the lid off the green pen to do the final colouring the whole nib came off and the inner tube went flying across my desk! Splodges all over my papers! Luckily none landed on the image, but I had to cut her out instead of using a Nestie. So I shall be a lot more careful with these pens in future. I'm just glad no ink landed on my background papers, which are from the first Nitwits download I ever bought, eighteen months ago, called 'Cherry Blossom. The flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts and the metal spray is from stash. The gold corners are Whiff of Joy, and so is the sentiment. I put Glossy Accents on the potion bottles. I coloured some white seam binding with Spun Sug...

Evenin', All! Halfway through the week already - it'll be the weekend before we know it, huzza! Just a short post today, I ought to be making the tea but I've just finished off a card, and here it is! Isn't she cute? She's a Penny Black stamp I've had for ages. I coloured her with Speccies, they are so vibrant! The papers are Tilda 'Winterbird' which was a bargain, half price at Hobbycraft!! Well, yes, I broke my stash diet for them, but - half price!! Cute Card Thursday has a theme of 'Music and Dance' and I'm almost too late to enter!!! Penny Black Saturday Challenge is to use a bargain and say what it is - well, I think these papers are going to be the bargain of the year! The Prima flowers and Wild Orchid roses are from stash. The ribbon is actually a stamp by LotV which I coloured, then Glossy Accented, then Decoupaged. Papertake Weekly wants us to highlight a part of our cards, and I hope that fits the bill! The lovely, simple sketch...

Good afternoon! It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge which for this fortnight is 'Mother's Day.' You don't have to make a card, just go where your fancy takes you as long as it fits the theme. We have a prize of $10 (Canadian) from Digis With Attitude . Digi’s With Attitude! is a Digital Stamp Company that brings Sass & Attitude to your stamping projects! Meet the newest Attitude’s in town! ’Grumpy Gretchen’ is a sure beauty with sexy curves and very unique facial features. Her hairstyles constantly change, as does her clothing and element she is in. She is sassy and isn't afraid to show it! Everyone loves Grumpy Gretchen. We know you will too! You can now meet the new Animals With Attitude! too! They are in the store and ready for you to adopt them. All images are 300 dpi and come in both JPEG & PNG instant downloads Go and have a look, they have some very cute and fun images! Ok, on to my card! I recently bought he Sarah Kay cutie from Diesa t...

Evening, all! Here's a card for Sunday Sketch and Stamp . This is the sketch: It wasn't until I'd nearly finished my card that I realised what a great sketch it would be for an SF or science geek! The sketch looks like a moon passing in front of the planet Saturn, with the horizontal strip representing the Rings! Yes? No? Anyhoo, the image is Little Goth Girl by Sugar Nellie, from Funky Kits . Papers are a mix of Kate Knight (a mag freebie) Daisy Bucket (from Dies to Die For and a Nitwits download. Flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts and also some from stash. Raffia is also from stash - it's a bit of a pig to stick down, isn't it? Pretty, though. I used Nesties, and a Woodware punch for the leaves. The sentiment is by The Greeting Farm. The purple gems are from stash, and I stickled all the die-cut shapes and the leaves - oh, and the skull-and-crossbones barrette in her hair! I hope you're all having a good half-term: may those of you at home enjoy a break, and may...

I do like these more grown-up Anyas, they are a bit more elegant than the chibi 'Wild Sprouts'! This card is for a friend who lives in Bristol, where it has been very cold! I used Promarkers, as usual, and the fur trim and her muff have been Stickled and sprinkled with Polar White Flowersoft. Papers are from stash (I am trying so hard to use up my stash, but I've scarcely made a dent in it yet!!) - the brown is K and Co, and the blue spotted is a download from The Creative Cottage, but I can't remember the source of the flowered background. Ribbon is Hobbycraft, flowers are stash, sentiment is written by lil' ole me. My normal handwriting is pants, so anything legible is a plus! And for once the picture is reasonably accurate, because we have sunshine in Herts! It's such a nice change from the wind and rain. I'm entering this card into Creative Inspirations Challenge which is a colour combo of blue, brown and white; and Anyone for Anya? whose theme is ...

Here's a birthday card for a friend of my daughter! The dancing girl is Penny Black. She's one of the first stamps I bought, must be 3 years ago now, when I was just starting. The Penny Black Saturday Challenge this week is for zig-zags. Can you see the zig-zag pattern on the girlie's top and trousers? Cute, eh? The bp, which is only just visible, is also zig-zaggy, and came from an old mag, and of course I've also used the MS zig zag punch on the blue card (from stash). I think that's enough zig-zags! I'm also entering this into the Oldie But A Goodie challenge, which wants butterflies. I love the MS butterfly punch! I've stamped them from the pink matting card, ang stickled all over, then curled up the wings for dimension. You can just see the small Retro flowers that they're sitting on. The great sketch is Sunday Sketch and Stamp which I am just in time for! The one new item I used is the nestie, isn't it pretty? I distressed the edges with Spu...