Madcap Manor

This is the last challenge of the year at Dream Valley and it will be open until 16th January! The theme is Christmas We have several amazing sponsors: Doctor Digi's House of Stamps Robyn's Fetish The Hobby House Pop over to the Dream Valley blog to see the great prizes on offer! Sadly, I wasn't able to use a sponsor image this time, as my dear old printer decided to chew up whatever card was fed into it. That kind of thing always happens t the most inconvenient time, doesn't it? So I went with a very old Stampendous stamp and some gold embossing. I layered the image onto some gold card from my stash, leaving a border on each side. The photo doesn't do the gold justice! Thanks for looking, and I hope your Christmas preparations are going well! love Mags B x

It's Thursday! That means a new CRAFT Challenge and it's our regular theme of Christmas . I apologise for the delay in posting, I managed to fall asleep this afternoon and I've spent the rest of the day catching up! Here is my card, using one of Bugaboo Stamps' fun images, this is Stella Christmas Sled . Isn't she great? I used Christmas papers from stash, and added Wink of Stella in clear to the hat and scarf, and silver Wink of Stella to the trim on the sledge, and icicle stickles to the fur on her hat. I die-cut some silver card with Lawn Fawn Stitched circles for one mat, then drew round the inside of the dies onto red card and cut it out to make a narrower mat. The vertical strip of paper has an edge punched with a Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment punch, and the green glitter paper is from a leftover snippet. Our great sponsors this week are: Bugaboo Digi Stamps - check out their site, they have freebies so you can try them out. I love their humorous...

Good grief, it's Thursday already! I hope everyone is looking forward to a great weekend! I will be at my Church's 'Crib and Candles' Festival, I am going to have a stall selling cards for the first time! If any of you are near Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire on Saturday, pop into St Paul's Church (opposite Morrison's) and come and say hello! Also there will be.... CREAM TEAS! Now back to your regular schedule. The new CRAFT Challenge is Winter . I made a Winter birthday card: I apologise for the rather dull photo! The image is Snow-covered lamp post by Pattie's Creations Digital Stamps. Of course the most famous lamp post in literature is the one in 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' where it stands alone in the middle of a forest in Narnia. So I picked some paper from my stash that has trees on it. The ribbon is also from stash, and the snowflakes were cut with a Whimsy snowflake border die with gold sequins added to the middle. ...

Hi, guys! I hope your weekend is going swingingly! It's a blowy, chilly day here in S-E Hertfordshire, with clouds racing across a pale blue sky - pretty to look at, as long as you're warmly dressed! Unlike many of you guys we have not yet had any snow, but our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is Let It Snow so let's see lots of snowflakes! I used a fabulous digi from Sassy Studios called Snow Queen Portrait she is a joy to colour! I used Lawn Fawn Stitched Circle dies to cut out the image and silver mat. I distressed the image edges with Weathered Wood Distress Ink and then added snowflakes from Simon Says Stamp's 'Lots of Snowflakes' stamp set in the same ink and added Baby Blue Stickles. The background paper is from stash, and the ribbon came from Hobbycraft. The glitter snowflakes were cut with a Memory Box Snowflake Border die. Go and see the lovely, snow-bedecked creations that my teamies have made, and dig out your prettiest snowflake stam...

Hi, guys! Our CRAFT Challenge this week is Christmas Present I used a cute image from Sunsational Stamps called 'Got Presents?' Can you spot my mistake....? Yep, I gave the elf red hair! I got rather carried away with my Copics and coloured too far. However, there's no reason than an elf shouldn't have red hair, is there??? My papers were from stash, and the twine originally arrived tied round a box of soaps, so it was a present, too! At the top is a string of Jingle Bells cut in gold card with a Memory Box die. Our sponsors this week are: Digital Delights A Day for Daisies Sunsational Stamps Sorry there are no logos, I've not yet transferred them from the old laptop!! Now hop over and see my teamies' gorgeous creations, and be inspired! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning from a very grey and gloomy Hertfordshire! It's time for another Challenge at CRAFT Challenge and it's another great sketch by Jo. And here's my interpretation, using 'Martini Pin Up Sassy' by Sassy Studio Designs Originally I was going to make a birthday card, but I found the Paper Smooches sentiment and since I can't resist a very bad pun, made another Christmas card! There is a lot of bling on this card! Wink of Stella on the red dress and the poinsettia, gold embossing on the sentiment, glossy accents on the olives, and lots of gems! The poinsettia was cut and embossed with a Marianne die, and the ribbon and paper are from stash. Our sponsors: Crafty Ribbons DRS Designs Sassy Studio Designs Don't forget to check out my teamies' variations on the sketch! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! It's well and truly autumnal today, damp and windy, and fallen leaves are everywhere! Time to have a look at this week's CRAFT Challenge methinks! Our theme this week is Shaped cards - but no squares or rectangles! Instead, go for a circular card, or a hexagon or even a dodecahedron!!! I took the easy route and went with a circle. You'll notice it's another Christmas card! I used Grand Circles and a Grand Scalloped circle and my Grand Calibur to cut the base, gold card, green card and paper (which is from stash and very old!) The 'Noel' sentiment is printed from a fab digi Christmas Alphabet Blocks by Melonheadz Doodles . I hadn't come across them before, but they have some fabulous images, and their alphabets are fun! Melonheadz Doodles is one of our sponsors, the other is: The Stamping Boutique Go and be inspired by my teamies' creation, then take up the Challenge of a Shaped card! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It's time for another CRAFT Challenge and this week it's our regular Christmas theme. Our sponsor is Stitchy Bear and I used this lovely Holly Bough It's a 5" x 7" card. The papers are all from LotV's Classic Christmas paper pad. I layered them on red and gold cardstock for some festive bling. The sentiment is by Clearly Besotted. I added Wink of Stella to the bow, and Glossy Accents to the berries. Go and be inspired by my teamies' Chrimbo Creations! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

We had good news yesterday: my daughter has been over from Ireland to have her regular blood tests to check that she's still in remission from the cancer she had in 2013. Not only is she still clear, she now only needs to be checked every 6 months instead of every 4 months! Yay!!! Now it's Thursday again, and October! I swear there are fewer hours in the day than when I were a kiddiewink, it's the only explanation for why time seems to evaporate! But Thursdays are good, because Thursday means another fab Challenge at C.R.A.F.T Challenge and this time we have a terrific sketch designed for you by Jo . (Check out her blog for a recipe for Dutch Apple Pie! Yum!) Our fab sponsors: Great Impressions and for the Top Three: Sunsational Stamps And now my card - another Christmas card! (I'm so impressed with myself for getting on with them!) I used Willow With Christmas Candle from the sadly-missed Whiff of Joy. I used a Spellbinders die to cut the blue m...

Good morning! We have another of our regular Christmas Challenges at C.R.A.F.T Challenge and two ace sponsors! QKR Stampede Sweet Stamps I used a fab image from QKR Stampede, Merry Christmas . I like that the sentiment is included in the image! The paper is from stash, I used the colours for my copic colouring on the snowman. I layered the image on gold and red card, rounding one corner with my corner chomper. I added a green and gold ribbon, then glued everything onto gold card and then a red A6 ready-made card. I added stickles to the snowflakes on the image. I really like the result, it's sweet 'n' simple! Go and see what my teamies have made to inspire you, they are so talented! Thanks for looking! love, Mags B x

This morning I got a phone call from a man claiming to be D C Morris of Paddington Green Police Station, saying someone had cloned my credit card. Luckily, I knew that this is a SCAM designed to trick me into revealing my bank details. If you get one of these calls, use another phone to call 101 and report it to the real police! Now back to your regularly scheduled programmes! Our CRAFT Challenge is Christmas Animals . We have some great sponsors: 1: Bugaboo Stamps 2: Lacy Sunshine I used Bugaboo Stamp's Merry Christmas to Ewe isn't he adorable? I made a Shaker card, using fun foam rather than just foam tape to give the dimension. The sequins and paper are from stash, and the sentiment came with the image. Trot over to our Challenge blog to see the fun cards my teamies have made and be inspired! Thanks for looking! Baaa-bye for now! love Mags B x

Good morning! Our CRAFT Challenge this week is a recipe: Our sponsor is Sunflowerfield I made a circular Christmas card, and the image is on a square mat (those are the 1 image and 2 shapes part of the recipe): My 3 papers are MME 'Snowed In' which were a magazine freebie, they were pieced together and I used a Spellbinders Grand Circles die to cut the shape. The four gems are from stash. On the inside I added a pocket and a tea bag is doing stunt duty for a sachet of mulled wine spices, this is going to accompany a bottle of red wine for a Christmas present this year: Go and see my teamies' interpretations of the recipe, then have a go! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

My Time to Craft! is going fortnightly just for the summer, so you have more time to join in with our Challenges! This week it's Christmas in July , which gives you a chance to get on with any cards, decorations or gifts that you intend to make for Christmas! I went with a card: The image is an old stamp from Whiff of Joy which sadly is closing down soon. I used a Spellbinders Labels 2 to cut out the image, then drew around the die and cut it by hand to make the narrow mat. The papers and sentiment are from my stash of magazine freebies collected over the years, and the ribbon came from Pinflair in Hertford, just up the road from where I live. The cluster of holly leaves was cut with a Marianne Holly Branches die, with gems for the berries and some green stickles on the leaves. Go and see the cool creations that my teamies have made, they will inspire you to reach for your Christmas stash! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! It's Christmas at CRAFT Challenge this week! We have two ace sponsors: Stitchy Bear Stamps Yours or Mine Papercrafts I used a lovely Christmas Lamp digi by Floppy Latte Designs for Stitchy Bear. I coloured the image with Copics and added Glossy Accents to the berries, silver Wink of Stella to the knob on top of the lamp, and clear WoS to the candle flame. The ribbon, paper and sentiment are all from stash. I used a Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch Around the Page set for the border. Go and be inspired by what my teamies have made, and join in! I'm going to be listening to the Cricket today! Come on, England! Thanks for looking, and have a great day! love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you're all enjoying a sunny Thursday! Our theme at CRAFT Challenge this week is Christmas We have two great sponsors: Rick St Dennis and The Paper Shelter I used Yep, I have my methods by The Paper Shelter. So cute! I coloured him with Copics, and added a lot of glitter to the snow and Santa's fur trim. The papers are by Dovecraft. I used the Memory Box Frosty Border die for the snowflake die-cuts, which are glittered, and the Poinsettia is made with a Marianne Die. The sentiment is by Paper Smooches. Go see the inspiration that my teamies have created, and have a go at a Christmas card - it's never too early to start! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you're all having a good weekend! Some big news: my daughter has got engaged! She and her wonderful Young Man will be tying the knot next year in Dublin. What a beautiful place to get married! Now on to our latest challenge at My Time to Craft which is Domestic Animals . So that's cats, dogs, fish, rabbits... I went with a cat. This stamp is an old one by Margaret Sherry for Penny Black, called Xmas Hat. The papers are from another freebie stack that came with a magazine. I distressed the edges with Pine Needles Ink, which was a bit of a mistake, because it makes the card VERY green! However, we live and learn! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

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! I hope you're all well and looking forward to a fun weekend! Not long to go now! Thursday brings another C.R.A.F.T Challenge and this week it's our regular Christmas theme. Our sponsors this time are: Stitchy Bear and Yours or Mine Papercrafts I used a lovely image from Stitchy Bear by Kaz Kraftz called Christmas Candle . I printed it several times and decoupaged the holly and also the flame. The berries have been Glossy Accented and there are gold Stickles on the candle flame and the middle of the poinsettia. Papers are by Lili of the Valley from their Classic Christmas pad. I used a Grand Spellbinders die for the card base, and Classic Circles for the two paper layers. For the card base I cut two scalloped circles and scored the back one half an inch down from the top, then glued that flap to the front. I added some white card to the inside, and fussy cut one of the smaller images that come with the candle set. Skate over to the CRAFT blo...

Hi, guys! it's Christmas time at C.R.A.F.T Challenge! We have two rather special sponsors this week: Sassy Studios Design The prize is 4 digis from her shop. and our very own boss Trimgym's Digistamps and Images The prize is 3 digis, or 2 decoupage sheets, or a paper pack! I used the beautiful Snow Queen Portrait from Sassy Studios Design. I coloured her with Promarkers and shaded her hair with Cool Aqua and Tea Green to give the impression of snow-white hair! I used a flourish stamp arount the image and added Stickles, to give the impression of a swirl of icy magic. The image is cut with a Spellbinders Labels 28 die, and the mat with a Decorative Labels 28 die, and then it was distressed with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. The sentiment is by Clearly Besotted. The glittered snowflakes are cut with Avery Elle dies. The ribbon and papers are from stash. My teamies have made some fab Christmas creations, do go and see! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, Guys! It's Thursday already, and that means another CRAFT Challenge and this week we'd like to see your Christmas cards in traditional colours. So put away the lilacs, pinks and turquoises and get out the red, gold and green!!! I used a lovely image, Triple Tree with Snow by one of our sponsors, DRS Designs . I coloured it very simply, using Inktense Pencels and blending the colour with a waterbrush. Then I added stickles to the snowbanks. I used a Spellbinders die to cut it out. I used papers from the 'Vintage Village' stack by First Edition for the image mat and the background, and the ribbon is from stash. We have two lovely sponsors this week: DRS Designs Sweet'N'Sassy Stamps Go and see what my creative teamies have done with images generously supplied by these two sponsors! They will inspire you to begin your Christmas cards early - think how glad you will be in December not to have the usual orgy of Christmas card making!!! Have a g...