Madcap Manor

My goodness, it's Thursday already! Where did the week go??? Mind, I have now bought most of the Christmas Presents (isn't the Internet wonderful?) which is appropriate because our new CRAFT Challenge is Christmas PRESENT not merely Christmas! (I apologise for the wonky picture!) The paper comes from The Magic of Christmas paper pad by Dovecraft. I added strips of Washi to look like ribbons tying up a present . The image of a present is from Christmas Doodles by Pickled Potpourri - such fun images! Icoloured 'From Me To You' in 3 shades of Copics to give an ombre effect. I punched a hole in the corner, added an eyelet and some glitter twine, and made it to represent the gift tag on top of my 'present' card! Our terrific sponsors this week are: Pickled Potpourri and DRS Designs My teamies have had a lot of fun with this challenge, do go and check out the inspiration on the blog! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you're all keeping well! It's already time for another Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and we're up to number 20! As ever the theme is Anything Christmas Goes. I used an old wood-mounted stamp and versamark ink on watercolour paper, then heat-embossed in gold. I used Distress Inks to colour the image by tapping an ink pad on a palette and using a waterbrush. I'm not brilliant at watercolouring, but I like the way the ink puddles between the embossed lines to give variety. The palette, by the way, is a piece of white card that's been run through a laminator - a great idea from Kristina Werner. Good luck with all your Christmas card making! Put on some seasonal music and craft, then reward yourself with a mince pie and a mug of chocolate!! Thanks for looking and have a good week! love Mags B x

Good morning! Our new Challenge at CRAFT Challenge is Not a Card! I made a vellum gift bag for my granddaughter's birthday present, using some beautiful heavy vellum that came with a magazine a loooong time ago! I find vellum quite hard to work with, as there are no second chances if you score the lines wrong, but it only took 2 goes to get this right!! The gorgeous image is Spring Flower by Star Stampz . The ribbon is from stash. Our sponsors this week: The Cutting Cafe Star Stampz Go and see the inspiration my teamies have left for you, put your thinking caps on, and make something that isn't a card!! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! We have a new Dream Valley Challenge for you and it's a corker: Add Texture. I have made a Christmas card (surprise!) using a sweet image from our sponsor, the wonderful Digistamp Boutique. Seriously, go and have a look at their fun, adorable images! Here is my card: This fun trio is Happy Penguins and even my hubby, who does not 'do' cute, likes them! The senstiment comes with the penguins. I added Flowersoft to the trims on their hats, which gives a nice fluffy look. My background is dry embossed with a snowflake pattern and I added some Nuvo Drops for some shine. The silver trees are made with silver Nuvo Mousse and a stencil which came with the November kit by Love From Lizi and I roughed-up the mousse before letting it dry, then cut out the trees. Lots of Diamond Stickles were added to the hand-cut 'snow banks!' It's a very sparkly card! My texture is: dry embossing; Nuvo drops; stickles; Nuvo Mousse, and Flowersoft! Do you th...

Hello, my dearios! Yesterday I had my latest post-cancer check-up, and I'm delighted to say I'm still in remission! The NHS really is a National Treasure, the staff are amazing and so kind. Thank you, ladies and gents, for seeing me through my treatment last year! But I'm here to tell you about the new Challenge at My Time to Craft which is Winter Birthday. A very useful Challenge, as I have 3 important birthdays between now and January! The gorgeous image is Winter Fairy by Sylvia Zet for Whimsy Stamps. I added a lot of Stickles to the 'fur' on her coat and her earmuffs, and Spectrum Noir sparkle to her wings. The papers are from stash, as is the ribbon, and the snowflakes are cut with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Snowflakes die. As usual my teamies have produced some lovely examples to inspire you, do go and see! Thanks for looking and have a good weekend! love Mags B x

Good morning! It's time for our regular Christmas theme at CRAFT Challenge How are you getting on with your Christmas crafting? At this time of year I can be found muttering 'DON'T PANIC!' in true Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' style! Every card made now means one fewer to make later! I had fun with the fold on this card, I cut a strip off the front and added the sentiment to the back. The image is Christmas Owls from Pink Gem. Aren't they fun? I coloured each one slightly differently, adding Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen to the furon the hats, and a spot of Glossy Accents to the stars. The papers are from the snippets drawer and so are the copper-coloured mats. The sentiment is a very old wood-mounted stamp and is gold-embossed. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig stamp positioner to make sure it was straight - such a useful crafting tool! Our wonderful sponsor this week is Pink Gem Designs. Go and see my teamies' gorgeous work and be inspi...

Hello! We have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. It doesn't seem like a fortnight since our last one! In the summer I bought a magazine about making Christmas cards, which included papers, a stamp set, some chipboard images, decoupage images and a 'how to' magazine, all for a tenner. I've been using a lot of the papers to make some quick cards. I used coloured cardstock for my card bases: they are all A4, but I can make one A2(US) card and also a 4 x 4 inch card from each sheet! Here are 3 of them: Sorry about the glare, it was a sunny day! I used 2 of the chipboards and also added a lot of shimmer with clear and coloured Spectrum Noir glitter pens. The 'ricrac' trim is made with a narrow Stitched Scalloped Borders die by Lawn Fawn which I die-cut from a longer strip of paper, then flipped the die and arranged it so that the second scallops were offset. They also have the full shimmer treatment! The papers are very brig...