Madcap Manor

 Hi, guys! Happy Monday! I hope you've all had a great Easter weekend.  It has been very special for me because my daughter, son-in-law and grandson have come over from Ireland to stay.  We have done a lot of playing in the local playgrounds, we've had picnics, played football, and had a lot of storytime, too! Not forgetting Easter eggs! I loved every minute. They leave early tomorrow but hopefully will visit again soon. Anyway, back to our new Challenge at Dream Valley  which is to use Embellishments.   Our sponsor is the fab 'All Dressed Up' digital stamps.  I have a wedding coming up soon (Covid permitting of course) and used Wendy's cute 'Over the Moon' image.  I suspect it's out of print, as I can't find it, but she has so many gorgeous wedding images in her Etsy shop, do check them out! The background is from an old First Edition paper pad, and the XOXO paper has a spot gloss effect.  I used a Spellbinders circle die for the image and the ma...

Good morning, my dearios! Welcome back to Dream Valley! It's a new year, so our theme is Anything New. Our sponsor is All Dressed Up Stamps and I have made a New Baby card, as my niece is expecting a baby in March. I used Night night Little One - so cute! The papers are from ye olde snippets drawer.  The sentiment is from an old Paper Smooches stamp set, and the ribbon is also from stash.  Yes, once again my New Year's Crafting Resolution is to Use What I've Got!  I had a clear out over Christmas and two carrier bags of crafty things have gone to my local Hospice shop, which is glad to receive craft items!  I still have an awful lot of things remaining - after 10 years of crafting I have amassed quite a collection! Go and see what my teamies have left on the Challenge Blog using some of Wendy's adorable images! Thanks for looking and Happy New Year! love Mags B x

Hi there! I'm getting back into the swing of things after a week's holiday in the glorious Lake District. Fresh air, gorgeous scenery and delicious food - perfick!  Now it's time for a new Challenge at Dream Valley where we'd like to see you use a digi. Our sponsor is the fabulous All Dressed Up and Wendy kindly let the DT use some of her sweet images for the Challenge. I went with Autumn Leaves. So cute! I used autumn-coloured papers from the Snippets drawer and the sentiment is from an old Simon Says Stamp set. I can't quite get my head around the fact that it's September, and Autumn is here!  Check out my teamies' creations and dig out your favourite digi and join in the fun!  Thanks for looking and take care!  love Mags B x

Hello, Good Evening and Welcome! We have a new challenge at Dream Valley which is to Use a hand-coloured Image on your creation. Any colouring medium can be used - water colour, or pencils or alcohol markers.  Our sponsor is All Dressed Up stamps - do check out Wendy's gorgeous digi images if you haven't seen them already! This cute girlie is Look At Me. I coloured her with Copic Markers, taking the colours from the background paper, which is an old one from Nitwits. I like the way the flowers are upright while the girlie is hanging upside down!  The ribbon is from my stash, I added it level with the base of the tree to ground the image. I added sparkle pen to the flowers and also a few Nuvo Drops.  Have a look at my teamies' pretty cards to inspire you to colour an image and join the fun!  Thanks for looking and stay safe!  love Mags B x

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...

Hi, guys! Well, apparently today is 'Blue Monday' which is the most depressing day of the year, according to an advert put out by a travel company back in 2005! I wonder why they chose gloomy (in the Northern Hemisphere) January to advertise holidays in sunnier climes?! However, there's a simpler solution to cheer everyone up - a new challenge at Dream Valley! We have a really unusual theme: Use a Doily and a Brad. Our sponsor is the gorgeous All Dressed Up Stamps. Wendy very kindly sent the DT a couple of very pretty images touse - check out what my teamies have done on the Challenge blog! Unfortunately my printer gave up the ghost over New Year just at the time I needed toprint my image out! Fortunately I had another sweet ADU girlie already printed out. Phew! This cutie is Flyaway Butterfly. I used papers from a very old pad which came with a magazine, and cut the edge of the pink piece with a Spellbinders Scalloped Borders One die. I used the Doily to d...

Hi, guys! I'm so sorry I'm a day late with this post, it's been a very busy few days. Our new Challenge at Dream Valley is Anything But A Card and our sponsor is the lovely All Dressed Up Stamps. Wendy kindly sent us some images to use, and when I saw this cute little girl reading I knew I had to make a pretty notebook! I removed the covers from a shop-bought notebook and covered them with paper, then used my Crop-A-Dile to re-punch the holes and thread the covers back onto the wire binding. I added some gorgeous pink ribbon and cut the letters with a Memory Box Classic Alphabet die set. My teamies have been very inventive, go and check out their creations! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

First of all, a massive apology to all followers of Dream Valley and our lovely DT! I forgot to add my card to the blogpost. What a plonker! Our theme is Christmas in July and our gorgeous sponsor is All Dressed Up Stamps. This sweet image is All Dressed Up for Christmas. The papers are Merry Little Christmas by First Edition, which is sadly out of print. The gold and green ribbon is from stash. I added sparkle to her wings and Nuvo Drops to the baubles on the tree. The sentiment came with a magazine, I like the pop of teal against the trad red and green! Thanks for looking and have a fab wee! love Mags B x

Happy Monday, everyone! Our new Challenge at Dream Valley is to use At Least 2 Buttons on your creation! I used 6 little wooden buttons that came free with a magazine! The cute image is Little Flower Girl by All Dressed Up Stamps. I used papers from the Snippets Drawer and matched the Copics I used to the colours in the papers. I added some crochet lace to match the rustic buttons, and the sentiment is a sticker from an old Love From Lizi kit. Our sponsor is All Dressed Up. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

I apologise for the delay in posting. My cold is at the really yucky stage and I spent most of yesterday asleep! At CRAFT Challenge we have our regular Christmas theme. This cutie is Christmas Hair Do from All Dressed Up Stamps. The papers are by Dovecraft from The Magic of Christmas 6 x 6 paper pad (on sale at Hobbycraft!). The snowflakes are cut with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Snowflakes die set. The gold-embossed sentiment is by Lili of the Valley. Our sponsors this week is the fabulous All Dressed Up Stamps. Thanks for looking! love Mags x

Good morning, all! I hope you're all well - it's not long until the weekend, hurrah! Since it's Thursday we have a new theme at CRAFT Challenge and this time it's Animals. I have made a birthday card especially for a very sweet lad who comes to the Toddler Club that I help at, he will be 2 next month. (Already! I remember when he was a tiny baby!!) The cute image is Birthday Monkey from our sponsor All Dressed Up Stamps. Like every one of Wendy's stamps, this is adorable! I used a Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles die to cut the mat behind the image. The papers are snippets from my scraps drawer. The number 2 came from a magazine freebie, and I heat-embossed it in silver. The Lawn Fawn sentiment is also heat-embossed in silver. Have a look at my teamies' creations, they have done a wonderful job and will inspire you to join in with our challenge! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I can't believe that it's already a whole month since Boxing Day! Next month we will be celebrating St Valentine's Day - and our new CRAFT Challenge has a theme of Love/Valentine's/Anniversary . Very topical! I have made a wedding card for a friend's daughter, who is getting married in the spring. The colour she has chosen is a gorgeous burgundy, so that sorted out my colour scheme! I made a circle card to echo the moon on this gorgeous Over the Moon image by All Dressed Up Stamps. I used Copics to colour it - I made sure to scribble off the pen tips first, since I've found that my reds and greys can be very juicy. I covered the flowers and the bride's veil and gown with clear Wink of Stella. The paper is from an old magazine freebie, and I cut it with a Cheery Lynn die. The card base is cut with Grand Nestabilities circle dies by Spellbinders, and originally I was going to use the gold heart brad to hold them together, but it was easi...

Hello, chaps, I hope you're having a great weekend We have been visited last week by new grandson (and his Mum and Dad!) which has meant days of baby-cuddles! They left today to travel back to Ireland, which is why my post is a bit late! We'll be seeing them again at Christmas, and I can't wait! Now back to my card! Our challenge at My Time to Craft is to use Fancy Folds - that is, use more than one fold on your card. Visit the blog and see my teamies' great work to get an idea of what we mean. My card is inspired by this video by the amazing Kristina Werner. Where she used a butterfly punch, I used a heart die. And here is the inside: This wedding card was made for 2 of my daughter's friends, who were married last week: the colours were lilac and purple. The papers are from stash, and the heart border was cut with 2 Nellie Snellen hearts dies. The image is The Wedding Cake by All Dressed Up. The roses have Spectrum Noir sparkle on them. Hav...

Good morning! I have scheduled this post, as my new grandson (and his Mummy and Daddy) will be over here from Ireland and I suspect my time will be taken up with baby cuddles! I hope the scheduling works! We have a beautiful Inspiration Picture for you at CRAFT Challenge this week: Use the image as the starting point for your creation - and please tell us on your post what inspired you! I was inspired by the colours and the leaves. The gorgeous image is All Dressed Up' Love to Dance - I love Wendy's images! I added Glossy Accents to the hearts and Wink of Stella clear to her dress and headband. The leaves are cut with Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves dies, using snippets of card. The lower mat is dry embossed, and I put yellow ink over the folder first, to give a letterpress look. The background paper, lace, ribbon and pearls came from stash. Our gorgeous sponsors are: Robyn's Fetish All Dressed Up Do look at my teamies' creations to inspire you! Tha...

Hi, guys! Happy Monday! At Dream Valley we have a nice, straightforward Challenge this fortnight: Add a Doily Our sponsor is wonderful All Dressed Up Stamps . As well as digis, Wendy's images are available from Little Darlings Rubber Stamps at Sugar Nellie and Noor Design I made an easel card, using Little Flower Girl. The doily is in the top left corner, and was made with a Cheery Lynn French Pastry doily die. The papers are by K & Co, they are very old and have lost their cover! The dragonfly used as the easel stop is also from the same very old collection. The sentiment is by Lawn Fawn and the ribbon and lace are from stash. The butterflies are by Joy! Craft from Noor Design. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hiya, peeps! We have a new Challenge at Dream Valley which this week has a spooky Halloween theme! Our sponsor is Imagine That! . I used an adorable image from All Dressed Up, this is Boo! I can see you! isn't it gorgeous?! I wanted to keep the rest of the card simple, because the image is so delicate. I tell you, it took me half an hour to find suitable papers! Most Halloween papers that I have are very busy and overwhelming. Finally I found these papers in a pad by Studio Calico that came with a kit, I like the tiny geometric patterns! Trot across and see the inspiring Halloween creations that my teamies have made! They are lovely! Have a good week! love Mags B x

Good morning! At CRAFT Challenge we have a technique challenge for you: Embossing That can be dry embossing or heat embossing, whichever takes your fancy. Our sponsors are: All Dressed Up and DeeDees Digis I used one of Wendy's beautiful images from 'All Dressed Up: I dry embossed the background and added dots from a green pearl pen. I heat embossed the sentiment, which is from LotV. The patterned paper and lace are from stash, and I used a Martha Stewart punch for the borders. Thanks for looking! love Mags b x

Good morning! It's nearly Midsummer's Day, so of course the weather is cloudy, grey and chilly, with intermittent drizzle! A good day for going through cupboards and filling bags to go to the Charity Shop. (WHY did I buy that ghastly bright blue and black retro print dress that makes me look like an elephant??) Alternatively, it's a good day to enter our new Challenge at Dream Valley and this time our theme is Girly Our wonderful sponsor is All Dressed Up Stamps . If you haven't come across them yet, RUN, don't walk, to the shop - the images are absolutely gorgeous! I used So Pretty I made the shaped card base with an XXL Frilly #2 die by Go Kreate, and the layers were cut with a Large Frilly Frame #4. All the papers came from a 12 x 12 'Summer Blues' pad by Tilda. I fussy cut the roses from the same pad and added stickles. There is a strip of lace hiding in there behind the flowers, and some sequins for a bit more girly sparkle! Go and s...

Hi, guys! I hope your week is going well! My hubby retired from work on Tuesday and we spent a great evening in a pub in London, saying goodbye to his lovely colleagues. I was introduced to a Tequila Shot - actually, I thought it was a bit tasteless, but it was certainly warming! It didn't really mix well with beer: I felt a wee bit fragile on Wednesday morning. Not such a good thing when you help run a Parent and Toddler Group full of shrieking infants!!! Now it's Thursday, and I seem to have recovered, so here is our next Challenge at C.R.A.F.T Challenge . Our theme is Christmas - but no Red or Green! I used an adorable image fromm All Dressed Up - this is A Star Is Born - so cute! I coloured him with Copics. The papers are lotV, and so is the sentiment, which I embossed in Wow! Blue Glitz Embossing Powder. The snowflake is made with a Martha Stewart punch, and glittered with Glamour Dust. I used some embroidery thread to make the hanger and bow for the big star, and ...

Good morning! Our Challenge at Mt Time to Craft is to use this fab sketch: I used a darling image fromm all Dressed Up, this is I Love My Puppy isn't it adorable? I used Promarkers, matching the colours in the paper, which is a snippet from my stash. The buttons are also from stash, I've had them for years! The sentiment is from Paper Smooches Good Gab stamp set, coloured with Promarkers and with Glossy Accents on the heart. CHALLENGES ENTERED: I am entering the Challenge at All Dressed Up - Anything Goes (with an All Dressed Up image.) Go and be inspired by the lovely work my teamies have posted on the blog, and have a go at using the sketch! Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend! love Mags B x