Madcap Manor

It's never too soon to make Christmas cards! And to prove it we have our first challenge for 2020 at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where as usual it's Anything Christmas Goes. I used the Radiant Ornament Layering Die Set from Birch Press Designs for my focal point. I used up snippets of coloured card stock and made the middle layer and the hanger from silver mirri card. I made 24 to this design in 'assembly line' fashion, while watching tv. It was very relaxing. The sentiment was an old one from Penny Black, I like how it's laid out to resemble a Christmas Tree, and I used co-ordinating ink to match the coloured card. Pop over to the challenge blog to see my teamies' gorgeous Christmas creations! Thanks for looking, and have a great week! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! I hope all is well with you. I am just back from Friday evening Choir Practice, which is always such a lovely way to end the week. And tomorrow morning we're singing carols in Saino's to raise money for our local Hospice! Christmas is coming! And so our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is Christmas Flowers. I have used the gorgeous Christmas Florals Stamp and die by Concord & 9th. I stamped the image using my MISTI using Antique Linen ink. I left the stamp in the MISTI while I coloured the flowers with Copics. Then I put the card back in the MISTI and re-stamped with Versamark and gold-embossed it. Copics and embossing DO NOT MIX so this is the best way to do it. Then I cut it out with a matching die and matted it on red cardstock. Finally I embossed one of the sentiments from the stamp set in white on black, cut it out, and added it to the card. I want to try this image with coloured pencils and with watercolour, too! My teamies have made s...

Hi, guys! I hope you're keeping well. We have the last challenge of the year at Dream Valley and the theme is Christmas! We have several fabulous sponsors this time and I fell for the adorable Noel Christmas Mouse from Polkadoodles. I used paper from an old Kaisercraft pad for the background (using up my stash!) and some glitter paper that I have had for years for the matting and the centre strip. I edged the central strip with Silver Bubble peel-off stickers by Love from Lizi. The sentiment is from a very old LOTV stamp. I added glitter to Noel's 'fur' trim, and Glossy Accents over the bauble. This card sparkles!! Thanks for looking, and have a great week! love Mags B x

Happy Friday! We have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft! We'd like to see a Christmas Scene. I used an old Crafter's Companion Die to cut and emboss blue Centura Pearl card. Then I backed it with glitter card - I like how the stars above the stable glimmer when the light catches them! My teamies have created all kinds of different Christmas scenes to inspire you, do go and see! Thanks for looking, and here's to a great weekend! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! Well, in a month's time it will be Boxing Day! It's beginning to feel Christmassy in the Manor, with interesting boxes arriving and rehearsals for carol singing. And, of course, making Christmas cards! We have a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy We have 2 lovely new ladies on the DT, to pop over and say hello to Bianca and Danka. They have made lovely cards for our new challenge! I have used an old Bugaboo Santa image, no longer available, but there are some fab Santa images on the site! The background paper is from stash, and so is the bobble ribbon (I think both were magazine freebies.) The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's Simply Winter Sentiments stamp set - so useful! I matted everything onto gold mirri card and added glitter to Santa's fur trim. Et voila! Thanks for looking, and I hope your week is going well. love Mags B x

Hiya! My, it's a cold, dank day today! Just the kind of weather to stay indoors with a big mug of tea and craft! Our new theme at My Time to Craft is Christmas Animals. I dug out this adorable stamp from Penny Black's Christmas Critters stamp set. These caroling mice are perfect for our Church Choir leader's card this year! I used some gorgeous foiled paper from my stash, which came from First Edition but is sadly no longer available. I matted everything onto gold mirri card and used a scallop punch to decorate the corners of the image. Finally I added stickles to the snow under the mice's feet. Christmas is coming! Have a look at the adorable cards my teamies have made, and join in the fun! Thanks for looking, and have a lovely weekend! love Mags B x

Hi there! I hope you're all keeping well! Are you thinking about Christmas yet? We have another challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge to inspire you. I have been making quite a few simple cards like this, where the emphasis is on patterned paper. I have a LOT of patterned paper! I used First Edition Believe in Magic papers - the red layer is glittered. I cut the snowflake with a MFT Die-namics Layered Snowflakes set using Love from Lizi's White Snow glitter cardstock . I love Lizi's glitter cardstock, it doesn't shed! The sentiment is from Simply Winter Sentiments by Lawn Fawn. Finally I added White Blizzard Nuvo Glitter Drops around the snowflake. My teamies have left some wonderful inspiration for you on the Challenge Blog, do go and see! Thanks for looking, and have a great week. love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Our new Challenge at Dream Valley is All That Glitters. So let's see shimmer, sparkle and shine to cheer up these dreicht November days! Our sponsor is the wonderful Dies to Die For and there is a £15 voucher awaiting one lucky winner! The photo of my Christmas shaker card doesn't show how glittery the die-cut wreath is, sadly. I die-cut green glitter paper with MFT's Winter Wreath die. The bow is from the same set, cut in red pearlised card. The papers are from an old First Edition pad which unfortunately seems to be out of print. The gold-embossed sentiment is made with a stamp from a magazine gift. Thanks for looking, and may your week be full of sparkle and glitter! love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well. We have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy to entertain you! Get those Christmas crafts done - there is less than 2 months to go until the Big Day! The late, great Victoria Wood joked that this was the time when her auntie began boiling the water to cook the Christmas sprouts..... My Mother in Law wasn't so extreme, but at Christmas she always boiled the Brussels for a good hour 'to make sure they're cooked through.' They disintegrated into a grey mush, only edible when accompanied with piccalilli. And I don't like piccallili! Enough of that, here's my card! I used Operation Write Home sketch 146 for the layout. The papers are from a megapack from Love from Lizi from a couple of years ago. The snowflake background has embossed snowflakes. I used some red mirri card for the horizontal banner. The adorable image is 'Small Fancy Reindeer,' an old cling stamp from Hero Arts. His red nose is a blo...

Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well! How can it possibly be the middle of October already? This year is flying by! It will soon be Christmas - but never fear, The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge is here once again to inspire you to create for Christmas nice and early! I have a card made with Baby Snow from Digital Delights by Louby Loo. I matched the colours to the glittered background paper, which is from First Edition's 'Perfect Christmas' paper pad, which sadly seems to be out of print. I fussy cut the image and mounted it on the same ivory pearlescent card that I made the cardbase from, and then a mat cut from holographic gold card from my stash. I used the same gold card for the strips behind the image. The sentiment is from stash. One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to USE STUFF UP and I've used up quite a lot of STUFF on this card! Go and see my teamis' gorgeous creations and join in the fun! It's never too soon t...

Good morning! We have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Christmas Goes! I used papers from an old pad to create 2 cards at once! The gold embossed stag's head is from Altenew's Festive Silhouettes set. The sentiment fits so neatly between the stag's antlers. I switched the papers around for the second card. The gold corner stickers are from my stash. I layered everything on some heavy gold cardstock, it has a subtle glitter which doesn't show very well in my photos! Go and see my teamies' gorgeous creations and be inspired! Thanks for looking, and have a great week! love Mags B x

Christmas is creeping ever closer, but at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge we are here to help! In other words, we have a new Challenge for you! I have been channelling my inner Kristie Marcotte and have made a set of 4 cards. Kristie's videos show how she uses card sketches to use up an entire 6 x 6 paper pad, and I get ideas from her about how to mix papers without a card being too busy, and also ideas on using up snippets! Do go and have a look! The card sketch is Operation Write Home #146 - unfortunately I don't seem able to add the image here. The papers are from an old DCWV Christmas paper pad which came with a magazine. The gold-embossed sentiment is by Clearly Besotted and sadly is out of print. I added some gold peel-offs from Love from Lizi for added bling. I am quite a slow cardmaker, but doing an 'assembly line' using the same sketch is quicker, and the various papers make them not too 'samey'! Check out my teamies' creations ...

Hiya! I'm sorry this post is late - my daughter is over from Ireland for the weekend, and I'm afraid with all the excitement I forgot! Anyway, we have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft which is to make Anything BUT a Card. That can be a scrapbook page, embroidery, anything! I have made some little boxes for Christmas presents. They are based on This video by The Posh Paper Lady. I used 6.5" papers from Kaisercraft (a very old Christmas pad!) so I was able to add lids to the boxes rather than glue everything down. All I did was add half an inch to one of the top flaps, score it, and cut off the opposite flap to give room to tuck the lid in. The snowflakes are cut in silver mirri card using a Lawn Fawn Stitched Snowflakes die. I'll add tags nearer the time, once I've found suitable gifts to go inside! My teamies have been so creative, do go and look at their lovely work! Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend! love Mags B x

Hello! It's another very hot day here in Hertfordshire, so what better than to talk about Christmas? Yes, we have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Christmas Goes. I found a very old foiled decoupage sheet when cleaning up my stash a couple of weeks ago. It was ragged around the edges, but I salvaged one gorgeous image of the Three Kings giving their presents to Baby Jesus. I matted it onto silver mirri card, and for a background used a vintage-looking paper of bells which I think was a magazine freebie. I love all the festive shine! Do join us for the Challenge - remember, it's doesn't have to be a card that you create! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hello! First of all I must apologise: although I made my card before our break in Ireland to visit my grandson (and his parents) I completely forgot to upload the image to the Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge for today's new challenge post. Ooops!! Here is my card, which is made using paper and image from an old set by Hunkydory. I layered everything with silver mirri card, which echoes the silver foiling on the image and sentiment. Easy and very pretty - I really like Hunkydory! Do go and see the creations which my lovely and FAR MORE EFFICIENT teamies have left on the challenge blog to inspire you! Thanks for looking, and I hope you're having a good week. love Mags B x

Hi, guys! This is my third Christmas card in 5 days! We are back with a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. I have kept my card very simple, because the main image has a lot of gorgeous gold foiling on it. I 'up-cycled' a card I received last year, the stained-glass dove was too beautiful to discard! I used very old Frilly Frames die to cut out the image, and drew around the die to create the mat from gold mirri card. The background paper is from stash, and the die-cut sentiment is from Lawn Fawn. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hello, my lovelies! When you read this I will be away in the Republic of Ireland, staying with my daughter and her fmily. My grandson hasjust turned three! Where does the time go??? So this post is scheduled, and I hope I've done it right. Our new challenge at Dream Valley is Christmas in July. So we are looking forward to see your Christmas creations - remember, it doesn't have to be a card! Although in fact I have made a card! The image is Snow Queen Portrait from Sassy Studios Designs. I used snippets of blue winter papers, and the silver mirri sentiment is made with an old Love From Lizi die. I added drops of Diamond Stickles in her hair to look like snowflakes. Rather than mat and layer all the papers I brushed the edges with Faded jeans Distress Ink, because I thought that gave a more delicate look. Go and see my teamies' cool Christmas creations for some inspiration! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It is blisteringly hot here in S-E Herts - but to cool us all down we have a new challenge at My Time to Craft which is Christmas. For my card I have used items left over from an old kit by Love From Lizi. The image is cut out from a piece of patterned paper, foam mounted on another patterned paper from the kit. The sentiment reads 'Winter Wonderland' and is embossed in gold and mounted on a scrap of gold cardstock. I used the same gold cardstock as the main mat. I think this would make a good Christmas card for a bloke! Thanks for looking, and keep cool! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It's mid-June and the rain is tipping down. A good reason to make a Christmas card or two! Especially since we have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. I have used one of my favourite Christmas stamps, Penny Black's Antique Santa. Such a delight to colour! I used up some very old paper that came free with a magazine long ago, and some equally old red mirror card. I added stickles to Santa's hat and the star on his wand. The gold-embossed sentiment is also old, it came from Clearly Besotted. I wish I could say that my humongous stack of paper pads obtained over the last ten years was shrinking - but no!! I'm sure we all have that problem!! Hopefully you can all dig into your Christmas stacks and make a card and join our challenge! My teamies, as usual, have done sterling work to give you inspiration. Thanks for looking, my dearios, and I hope your week is going well. love Mags B x

Hi, guys! It's time for another Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Goes. I used snippets of paper and glitter card from the Snippets Drawer, and an image from an old Clearly Besotted stamp. I added gold stickles to the Rockin' Robin's crown, and dots of Nuvo Drops to the papers. Have a look at my teamies' fab creations to be inspired! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x