Madcap Manor

Afternoon, all! Once again I apologise for any typos, I am still using the elderly laptop with the dodgy keyboard! At The Squirrel and the Fox we are being especially challenging this time - make a card for a bloke! So put away the ribbons and lace and flowers, you won't need 'em!! Our sponsor is the fabulous Sweet'n'Sassy Stamps who are offering a lucky winner 3 free digis from their store! The DT have used some of their gorgeous images: this one is the Lighthouse digi stamp. It is perfect for my brother's birthday later this month, as he and his family like to go sailing. I used some cloud patterned paper from stash for the background, then cut out an island shape in brown spotted paper. The image is coloured in Promarkers, with lots of gold glitter on the lamp,hallenge! and I cut it out and added it with foam pads for dimension. The 'sea' is torn strips of patterned blue paper, with stickles along the white edges, which is sparkly in real l...

Hi, guys! I hope you're having a good weekend, with plenty of sunshine! Here in S-E Herts we have alternating drizzle and rain. Gotta love the summer! It's another Christmas Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and we have a wonderful sponsor, Sweet'n'Sassy . A winner will have 3 of their fab digis as a prize! This cutie is Pippin the Penguin with Christmas Lights. I used Promarkers, and added Glossy Accents to the lights. The papers are snippets, and the holly ribbon has been knocking around my stash for a couple of years. The holly vine is a memory Box die, with berries of red Liquid pearls. The glittered snowflake is a Martha Stewart punch. The sentiment is by Paper Smooches and I embossed it in green. Go and see the merry makes that my teamies have created to be inspired to make your own Christmas cards! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good afternoon! I'm late with this post I'm afraid: time just ran away with me! It's time for a new challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox! We have another great sponsor this fortnight: Delicious Doodles . A lucky winner will have FOUR digis from the shop! And all you have to do to be in with a chance is to Use Something Metal on your creation. This wonderful image is Kingfisher in the Rushes isn't it lovely?! Near where I live there is a bird reserve where every year Kingfishers nest, they really are stunning birds! I used Promarkers to colour the image. I added Stickles to the butterflies and dragonflies, and the bird's bill has been Glossy Accented. I rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper. The banner is by Lawn Fawn from the Winter Gifts stamp set and the matching 'Tag You're It' die. The sentiment is by Paper Smooches from the Sentiment Sampler The metal corner came from Whiff of Joy several years ago, and the brad is from stash. ...

Good morning, all! Happy Easter! It's time for another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox ! We'd like you to dig out your Dies and/or Punches . Our sponsor is the amazing Kenny K . A lucky winner will be able to choose 5 digis - what a great prize! So get punching and die-cutting and enter the Challenge - you gotta be in it to win it!! This fabulous image by Kenny K is 'Supermom' and I made the card for a very special friend who is definitely a Supermom! I used Spectrum Noirs to colour her - I've been practising with my Speccies, following the video tutorials on the Spectrum Noir website, which is a very useful resource. All the papers are from my 'free with magazines' stash. I used 1 Spellbinders label die; 1 Martha Stewart border punch; 2 Retro flower punches (E K Success and Tonic); and 1 Woodware punch for the leaves. The sentiment is by Lili of the Valley. The gems are from Hobbycraft. Go and see how creative my teamies have been with ...

Good morning! There's a new challenge over at The Squirrel and the Fox . Thanks to everyone who took part last time for the 'Violet for Hodgkin's Lymphoma' challenge - seeing the lovely cards submitted really cheered my daughter up! She has her last chemo on Wednesday, then a scan just before Christmas, and in January we hear if she's clear of the cancer. So there's not much longer to wait! Now on to the current challenge which is Summer or Winter Our sponsor is Pink Cat Studio who have some great digis for sale, and also lots of activity sheets for children, so with the Christmas holidays coming up you might want to see if there's anything that will keep the little 'uns amused! Check out the page for 'free stuff' too - the paper I used for my card is free at the moment, it's so pretty! I used Promarkers to colour the image, and also to colour the narrow strips of card on either side and which have been Glossy Accented. The bp was ...

Good morning! And Happy November - can you believe it's November already?! I'm sure that time is speeding up as we go through the 21st Century!!! It's also time for another Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox . Our theme this time is Animal Antics and our great sponsor is Sweet'n'Sassy Stamps who are offering 3 of their adorable digis to a lucky winner! The DT could work with some of their stamps, I chose Santa Owl I just love his startled expression! I coloured him with Promarkers and added Glamour Dust to the trim on his hat. I fussy cut him (mainly because I managed to go over the edge by his ear and trying to repair the damage only made it worse! Oh dear!) and added him with foam pads to a square of paper cut out with a Spellbinders Square Die. The mat is another Spellbinders die, this one is Lacey Squares. The papers were a magazine freebie, they are Christmas Carnival by Kaisercraft, and the colours are so pretty! The sentiment is from the same ...

Good morning, all! I hope you're all enjoying a good weekend! It's time for another Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox - and since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our theme is Pink for Breast Cancer Although this disease is not quite the scourge that it was some years ago, it is still very horrible and dangerous. So CHECK YOUR BOOBIES, LADIES AND GENTS! Yes, men can fall foul of breast cancer, too. Our sponsor this time is Delicious Doodles and one lucky winner will be able to choose 4 Delicious digis! Here is Fairy Fae isn't she magical? I was inspired by the work of Christina Griffiths who makes gorgeous cards with Spellbinders die-cuts. The pink card is pearlised, and came from Craft Creations it has a lovely sheen. The white card is Rymans 200gsm coated card, which I use for all my stamping. I embossed the background with an M-Bossabilities folder (I don't have the name but it's number EG-003). The next pink layer is cut and emboss...

Good morning! I hope you're all having a splendid weekend! We have had a wonderful time with our lovely little Granddaughter (and her Mum and Dad, too!) I love being a Grannie! Today it's time for another Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox . this time we have a lovely theme - 'Things With Wings' . Our fab sponsor is Hobbybook and a lucky winner will be able to choose 5 digi images! I used this little cutie, she is 'Pearlsticks Fairy.' The papers were free with a magazine a long time ago! I used a Spellbinders Gold Labels Four die for the mat. I distressed round the image with Tattered Rose DI. The flourish, the flowers and the corner piece are all Marianne dies, and the butterflies are a memory Box die. The fairy's wings are glittered with Diamond Stickles. The sentiment is by LotV. The crochet lace is from stash. I also added clear gems to the flowers and to the fairy's hair sticks. Do flutter over to the blog to see my Teamies' fab ...

Good morning, all! I hope you're enjoying the weekend! It's officially Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, my favourite time of the year. I love the colours on the trees as the leaves turn! Though I'm not so keen on the fog and rain! However, this fortnight's challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox concerns rain that I think I'd enjoy - It's Raining Men! Can I hear a 'Hallelujah!'????? (If you have a moment, hop over to Youtube and see It's Raining 300 Men which has shots from the film '300' and the soundtrack of the song. Guaranteed to make you laugh!) The image on my card makes me smile, too, it's Buggin' Drummer by Kenny K. Yes, our sponsor is Kenny K and a lucky winner will be able to choose FIVE digis as their prize! Isn't he having a great time?! I used Promarkers to colour the image (and lost the list :( - sorry!) The background papers are from the Rock Star stack by DCWV, I love the clashing colours and the foi...

(Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I thought I had scheduled Sunday's posts, obviously I did something wrong! Apologies!) Good morning, all! When you read this we will be entertaining my son, DiL and gorgeous granddaughter for the Bank Holiday weekend! I hope it stays fine! It's time for another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and it's a seasonal theme! It's Spring Down Under and Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, so you can choose Spring or Autumn for your theme! The sponsor is the aptly-named Delicious Doodles and a lucky winner can choose 4 digis from the shop! I used one of their pretty images, this is Pumpkin Corner isn't it gorgeous? I coloured it with Promarkers and *Flexmarkers. The papers are both embossed: the background using a Spellbinders Autumn Leaves Embossability and the orange paper with a Cuttlebug Dots folder. I used a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Square behind the image, I cut it into quarters and glued them in place. The sentiment is...

Good morning, my lovelies, and a very big welcome to my new followers! I hope you enjoy my rather eccentric corner of Blogland! It's time for a new challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and this time the theme is really easy - Use a Ribbon Our sponsor this time is The Digi Garden and they generously sent the DT some lovely images to use. One lucky winner will be able to choose 7 of their sweet images from their online shop! This cutie is called 'Immie's Scarf' isn't she pretty?! I coloured her with Spectrum Noirs (list below) The papers I used are from a Kate Knight freebie stack that came with a magazine last year. I wanted to do softer colours than the trad Red and Green for Christmas, so I chose Pink and Aqua instead. The icicles and Christmas Tree are both by Marianne from Crafts U Love and they have been coated with Glamour Dust. I also Glamour Dusted Immie's coat trim and wellies. I distressed the image, which I cut with a Nestabilities Flora...

Good morning! It's time for another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and this fortnight the theme is very topical - Make It Sporty! Our lovely sponsor is Robyn's Fetish and the DT were fortunate to be able to use some of their cute images. I chose s. s. Hoppity . The rowing events in the Olympics are taking place on the River Lea just a few miles from where I live, so this was the perfect image! I used Speccies to colour him in, and stickled all the water. The corners have been punched with a Woodware punch. The 3 strips of Velvet ribbon are from stash, they hide the join where I glued 2 pieces of paper from Prima's 'Alla Prima' collection. The dragonflies are Magnolia dies, cut from a scrap of yellow paper and then thickly stickled. I only glued the bodies down so that the wings could be raised to give a 3D effect. The sentiment is an LotV stamp. We have been preparing for our Children's Holiday Club at Church, which has an Olympic theme, and ...

Good morning, all! At least, I hope it's morning, I'm scheduling this post and if it doesn't work I'll be re-posting after Church, the Supermarket and, most importantly, LUNCH! It's time for another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox . The entries for the last challenge were lovely, thank you for entering, I got some good ideas for Christmas cards! This fortnight we'd like to see cards made for Kids and Babies Our sponsor is the wonderful Bugaboo and the DT were delighted to be able to use some of their adorable images! Here's my card:  This has been made for a young man who has just turned 4. Isn't this image just right for a boy who loves exploring? I used Promarkers to colour him (list below) and used a Nestie to cut him out, then did the usual trick of drawing round the edge on my matting card and cutting out to give a thin border. The papers are 'U Bug Me' by Bo Bunny. I happened to be browsing the Dies to Die For site (as o...

I'm now on the DT for The Squirrel and the Fox! I've been biting my tongue for the last fortnight so I wouldn't let the cat out of the bag! And this is my first DT post! The theme this fortnight is Christmas in July and the sponsor is Digi Doodle Shop Here's my card: I used 'Christmas Ornaments' from Digi Doodle Shop. Isn't it pretty? Though I was very glad of my thin Promarker nibs when colouring the tiny pine needles! The ornaments have all been Glossy Accented. The papers are Papermania 'A Silent Night' - the burgundy stripes are glittered! The die-cuts are all Memory Box. cut from green paper from stash, and the green-and-gold ribbon was in a candy I won from the talented Lilackat . The sentiment is LotV, cut with a Whimsy Stamps ticket die. Do go and see the fab cards the DT has made, and then get your gorgeous Christmas crafty gear out and make a Christmas card! It's less than 6 months until Christmas - you know it makes sen...