Madcap Manor

Hi, guys! As Christmas gets closer I find myself making CAS cards that are quick to reproduce! Some metallic embossing and a bit of mirri card for bling, a die-cut or two, et voila! Here is my simplest card yet, for the last Challenge of the year at My Time to Craft! It's open until January 5th. The silver-embossed wreath is made with an old Penny Black wood-mounted stamp, and the sentiment is from an old Clearly Besotted set. The bow is a Tattered Lace Smaller Bow die and I filled in the knot with red Nuvo Drops and added Wink of Stella to give some shimmer. The background paper is from a 12 x 12 sheet that was hanging about my Christmas supplies box without a name, but the snowflakes all have some very pretty glitter on them. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hello, my lovelies! At CRAFT Challenge we have our regular Christmas theme! This cute image is Snowman Broom from Crafty Sentiments. I love his smiling face! I have used up some old papers from stash, adding red Nuvo Drops to the berries on the bushes. The silver ribbon and the blue gems are from Hobbycraft, and the sentiment is made with a Sizzix Thinlits Holiday Words Script die and brushed with a clear Sparkle pen. Our lovely sponsors: Crafty Sentiments and Bugaboo Stamps My teamies have made some great cards using images kindly given by our sponsors, do go and see! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hello, my lovelies! If you need encouragement for making Christmas cards, our new challenge at Dream Valley is - Christmas! This adorable image is Christmas Star from Star Stampz. So sweet! The papers are First Edition's Merry Little Christmas The gold twine is from stash. The red banner (which I cut a bit short) is printed with 'Merry Christmas' and so I didn't add a sentiment. We have THREE sponsors for this Challenge, which lasts until January 6th 2018. Star Stampz Lemon Shortbread Ppinky Dolls Art Each one is offering a prize of 3 digis of your choice! Go and see my talented teamies' gorgeous inspiration on the Challenge blog! Thanks for looking and have a good week! 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

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...

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...

Morning, all! Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! is Paper Piecing. In case you haven't come across this technique before, it's where, rather than colouring your stamped image, you stamp it again on patterned paper, cut out the pieces and glue them in place instead. I used an old stamp by Woodware called 'Patchwork Christmas Tree.' Sadly it's now unavailable. The key with paper piecing is to use an image with clearly-defined shapes - have a look at my teamies' lovely creations to get a better idea. I used a selection of green papers for the tree, and a scrap of red for the heart, which has been covered in Glossy Accents. I also added Stickles to one of the 'patchwork' patterns and the star. The background paper is from stash and the ribbon is from Hobbycraft. The sentiment is from an old magazine freebie stamp set and the gems are also from stash. I made a second card, too: I only have another 2 dozen Christmas cards to make! I've ...

Hi! Here at last is my post for The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge I apologise for the delay. Suddenly Christmas seems much closer, so I am trying to make at least two of every Christmas card now! This time I made two Shaker cards. For this one I used a Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornaments die to cut the window. I cut it again from gold cardstock and then, without removing the die, traced around the edge and cut it out to make the frame. The sequin mix is from Little Things by Lucy and the paper is from stash. The sentiment is cut in the same gold card with a Simon Says Stamp die. This is made in the same way but with circle dies for the window and frame, and the sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp's Deco Christmas Tree die. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Using items from the Love From Lizi October Kit, plus paper scraps, plus stickers, plus a chipboard ship from Hobbycraft, plus a little Santa hat stamp from Lawn Fawn. Isn't it a horrendous pun?! love Mags B x

Morning, all! I hope your week is going well and that you're looking forward to a good weekend! Maybe you're planning on making Christmas cards? If so, you're in luck, as Christmas is our new theme at CRAFT Challenge! The sweet image is Christmas Bella from Paper Nest Dolls. The crown of candles is worn by Santa Lucia, whose feast day is now 13th December - but before the calendar changed in 1752 it was on the shortest day, hence the candles to signify light. A friend of my daughter's is called Lucy and she's a big fan of Santa Lucia, so this is for her! The papers are from an old pad by Papermania, there is gold foiling and glitter on some of the papers. The sentiment is from the Paper Smooches Christmas Sammpler. Our sponsors this week are: All Dressed Up Stamps and also Paper Nest Dolls Go and see the gorgeous creations made by my teamies using digis generously given to us by our sponsors! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Morning, all! I hope everyone is ok this morning, especially those in the British Isles hit by Storm Ophelia yesterday. It was a bit blowy in S-E Herts, and the sky turned a strange reddish-sepia: I remember 'red dust' from a couple of times in the 60s and 70s when I was at school, but never anything like that! Fortunately the sky is clear and the sun is shining today. How are you doing with your Christmas cards? The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge is here to encourage you! As usual, our theme is Anything Christmas Goes! In my never-ending quest to use up my patterned papers I investigated Youtube and found a tutorial on making a pleated card here by a talented lady called Crazy Paper Chick. The paper isn't actually Christmas, but I love the pattern! I scored a piece of 10" x 5" paper at 1" and half an inch alternately, trimmed out a truncated diamond, and folded. Then I re-folded because I had the wrong side of the paper facing up!!! The car...

Good morning! It's time for another Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and as ever it's Anything Goes. I have been inspired by the videos of Kristie Marcotte. She takes a pad of 6x6 papers and challenges herself to use the whole lot! This card is not a copy, I hasten to add!! I just wanted to make a card with a simple layout that highlights the patterned paper! The papers came free with a magazine. The sentiment is from All the Christmas You'll Ever Need by Lil' Inkers, and is gold-embossed. The die-cut mat is from Spellbinders Stately Circles. The ribbon and gems are from stash. I made 2 other cards with the same papers: I hope you'll go across to the blog and have a look at my teamies' gorgeous creations and be inspired to make a Christmas card or two!! Thanks for looking, and have a great week! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope your week is going well! Did you know it's now less than 100 days until Christmas? Scary! Now's your chance to get ahead and join in at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always 'Anything Goes.' A few weeks ago I posted a card here using a die from a magazine which I inlaid with different coloured card. I've used the same die and also the matching embossing folder for today's card: This time I didn't do any inlay. I went over the border stars with a white gel pen. I love blue and white for Christmas/Winter cards, I think it looks so crisp and fresh! Do go and see what my teamies have made to inspire you! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Don't forget we have a DT Call on until the end of the month! Good morning, all! Brrr, it's a chilly, grey day in S-E Herts:a good day to join in at the new CRAFT Challenge and make something for Christmas. (As long as the weather is fine in Birmingham, where Essex Cricket Club are on the verge of winning the Division One Championship title, I don't mind what it does here. Exciting times!) Right, our theme is Christmas, and I made a card: This cute image is Snowy, Slippy and Flurry from Digital Delights by Louby Loo. I added a lot of stickles! I used paper from an old Papermania pad that has bands of pattern, but it was rather too busy, so I added a green dotted paper fromthe same pad. I added some glittery bakers' twine and the sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's Winter Scripty Sayings stamp set, embossed in white. We have two fab sponsors this week: Digital Delights by Louby Loo and Oddball Art. Go and see my teamies' gorgeous work! A...

Hi, guys! I'm posting this from a little stone cottage just north of Bath, in the UK, where Ye Olde Manne and I are having a week's holiday. My sister lives in Bath, and my oldest friend and her parents live in nearby villages, so we have been visiting them. Next year I will have known my friend and her parents for 60 years! I can't quite believe it!!! Anyway, on to the Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and of course the theme is Anything Goes. I used an old Whimsy Stamp, designed by Melissa Jenkins, of a cute fairy using a holly leaf as a sail to blow her along! Unfortunately I left my list of items I used at home! Have a look at my teamies' creations, they will inspire you to get on with your Christmas cards!! Thanks for looking, and I hope you're having a good week. love Mags B x

D'OH. And DOUBLE D'OH! I didn't post my card last week for The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. Sheer forgetfulness, I'm afraid, during the summer holidays I can never remember what day it is! I write lists to myself and then lose them. Wot a plonker, eh? Well, better late than never! The theme, as always, is Anything Christmas Goes. Now, this is RIGHT out of my comfort zone! I had a weird dream about a huge Christmas card that was slathered with lace and muslin and lots of gold trim, and when I woke up I thought, dammit, I'll give it a go! Let me tell you, this card took me all afternoon to make. I tried out different inks and stamps, and finally plumped for Vintage Photo Distress ink and a very old Santa image from Bo Bunny. The torn background paper is stamped with a wood plank effect stamp from Altenew. I added a Spellbinders holly motifs die-cut behind the Santa. The flowers and roses lace and the pearl strip are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The se...

Hi, guys! We have our regular Christmas theme at CRAFT Challenge! This cute Santa is from the Christmas Junk Drawer set by Melonheadz Clip Art. The papers are from an old Papermania pad. I used a Memory Box Frosty Border die for the snowflakes and covered them in Glamour Dust. Santa's fur trim has been stickled. I hope all is well with you! This weekend we are visiting beautiful Shropshire for a family reunion, and the Irish contingent are flying in tonight, so I've been madly cleaning and tidying! We have a travel cot which is such a pain to fold up that we tend to leave it in the bedroom, where it gets filled with blankets, pillows etc. So now I have to put them all away in the right cupboards!! Serves me right for being lazy!!! Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend, too! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hiya! The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge no 12 is here! As usual the theme is Anything Goes for Christmas . I used a die that came with a magazine to do some card inlaying: I backed the image with silver mirri card, which shows through the star and the windows, and added dots of a white gel pen to make more stars in the sky. Inlay die-cutting is a bit fiddly, and you have to be careful not to lose any of the smaller pieces, but I really like it! Have a good weekand thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! To cheer up your week we have a great new Challenge at Dream Vlley which is Christmas Animals. I used a small Hero Arts cling stamp called Small Fancy Reindeer - I love his curly antlers! I used a gorgeous die from Joy!crafts which sadly is no longer available, to echo the curly antlers. The starry ribbon-threader is a very old Marianne die, and I used silver ribbon from Hobbycraft to thread through the holes. I added some of the left-over stars as embellishments. The paper is from stash. Go and see the fun cards that my teamies have made to inspire you! There is a fabulous variety! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags B x