Madcap Manor

Evening, all! It's been a cold, dreich day, and I have been wrapping Christmas presents! With some music on in the background it's a very soothing activity. They will be delivered this weekend along with cards for the neighbours, and then all that remains is to shop for the Big Day.  We will be on our own this year, which is sad, but we will be having facetime with the grandchildren, which is some consolation. I'd rather have a quiet Christmas this year, knowing I'll still be around to celebrate in style next year!  Anyway, we have another Christmas challenge at My Time to Craft! which is Monochromatic Christmas. We're looking for shades of one colour on your creations! I went with blue. The stamp, which is perfect for a slimline card, is a clear stamp by Woodware Craft Collection. I can't find them online - are they still in business?  I heat embossed the outline onto watercolour card and painted the image. I layered it onto blue patterned paper and b...

Hi there! I hope you're all keeping well. I have been busy wrapping presents for the family to post tomorrow. Not long until the Big Day! In case you still need some encouragement to make a Christmas card, we have the last Challenge of the year at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge.   T his Challenge lasts until 18th January 2021.   I used another topper and card set by Hunkydory Crafts to make a card and a tag to go with the present for my lovely next-door neighbours. This set is no longer available, but they have some gorgeous Christmas things on their site! Other than the gorgeous green mirri card around the images there is no extra bling!  It's hard to realise that we are approaching the end of 2020. This year has dragged so much at times, and of course we've still got a long time to go before the virus is gone. However, we've made it this far, we can carry on for a couple more months!  Stay safe and well and keep crafting!  love Mags B x

I am such a numpty! I was convinced that the last Dream Valley Challenge for the year was next week. So convinced that I only realised when I went to post my card. D'Oh!!!  We will be back on January 11th!   Our theme this time is Christmas! .  We have some terrific sponsors for this challenge, check out the blog post for details! I used an older digi from sponsor Di's Digital Stamps which sadly now seems to be unavailable. The background paper and sentiment banner are from my stash. I added Frosted Lace stickles to the snow and snowflakes.  Isn't this an adorable image?  Go and see what my teamies, who are much more alert than I am, have created, and join the fun!  Take care and stay safe!  love Mags B x

Exciting news! Our lovely Shell is setting up a new blog starting on January 15th called My Time to Craft Christmas! Go and see the details on today's post at My Time to Craft! where you can see what it's all about! DT applications welcome!  For today, we also have a seasonal challenge: Christmas Animals. I used a pre-coloured image from Lili of the Valley stamps which I've had for a long time. The backing paper, ribbon and sentiment are also old. I'm using up my stash! Unfortunately this image of the bear family is no longer available, but do check out the other adorable stamps on the site. And there's a SALE!  Thank you for your kind words about the quilt I made for my sister, I'm absolutely chuffed! Now I'm considering making one for my bro and sis-in-law! Sewing is as addictive as papercrafting!  Go and see my teamies' sweet creations on the Challenge blog, and check out the details of the new Christmas Challenge blog!  Thanks for looking...

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping safe and well and finding time to craft. My cardmaking has taken a back seat this past fortnight, as I have finally replaced my ancient sewing machine and have been digging through my fabric stash to make a quilt for my sister's Christmas present. It's not exactly an heirloom, and I've made a few mistakes along the way, but it's the first quilt I've managed to finish! I'll add a picture at the end of this post.  But onto the Challenge, which as always is Anything Christmas Goes. I don't have many cards for blokes in my stash, so I dug into an old kit by Love From Lizi . I cut out the stag picture from one of the sheets of patterned paper and popped it up on some scrap cardstock on top of another paper from the kit, which I layred onto cream pearlescent card. The 'Joy' sentiment is a sticker, layered on the same cream card.  The rest of the sentiment is from an out of print Clearly Besotted stamp s...

Hiya! I hope you're all keeping well. It's been quite rainy and blowy in S-E Herts but very mild - which is lucky, because out heating broke down on Friday! So yesterday we had the Gasman here to replace a fan. It was rather strange to have someone in the house, we kept well out of the way. Worst was not being able to offer him a cuppa!  All is snug and warm now! Time to tell you about the new Challenge at Dream Valley which is to use Lots of Layers. Our sponsor is the fabulous All Dressed Up Stamps. I have used Hopscotch which is one of the images Wendy kindly sent us for the challenge. I used papers from my stash for the three background layers.  I used flowers and die-cut leaves from stash to decorate, and added crystal Nuvo Drops. My teamies have done great things, as usual - Check out N-Eva's fabulous scene using this image! We also have a Design Team Call, beginners very welcome, we're a friendly and helpful bunch! Thanks for looking, stay safe, and ha...

Does anybody else still find it hard to recall what day of the week it is? For me this has been one of the strangest things about Lockdown! All day I've been convinced it was Thursday! Oopsie! Of course it's Friday, and time for a new Challenge at My Time to Craft!   Our new theme is Good Luck - I think we could all do with some good luck for a change!  I know that a Black Cat is sometimes regarded as a bad luck symbol, but in my family it's always been regarded as good luck. Is that a tradition from the North East of England, which is where my family originates? Or is it common elsewhere? Anyway, this card includes an elegant Black Cat to wish every one of you Good Luck! This gorgeous creature is from Paper Smooches 'Feline Friends' stamp set - sadly, I have been unable to find it online. Admittedly, it is an old stamp set! I used my Misti to stamp her several times in Versafine Onyx Black ink to get good coverage, then added clear embossing powder for some ...