Madcap Manor

Good morning, my lovelies! I hope you're all having a good weekend! I have almost finished my Christmas shopping - yay! But I still have lists and lists of what needs to be done - I bet you do, too! don't worry, we are all totally AWESOME and everything will be sorted on time! In the meantime, why not join in with the latest challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox" ? Our theme is a seasonal one - Christmas or Hanukkah so ideal for encouraging you to make your last seasonal card of the year! Our lovely sponsor is Beary Wishes I used a pre-coloured digi for my card - aren't the colours on the bells gorgeous?! The background papers are papermania Back to Basics Vintage Christmas. The Holly corners are a Whimsy die, thesentiment is by LotV and I gold-embossed it and put it on a nesties scallopped circle die-cut. The wide red ribbon is from stash. The lovely sketch is from Tuesday Morning Sketches This card is going to a friend who does bell-ringing! Do join in wi...

Good morning! And Happy November - can you believe it's November already?! I'm sure that time is speeding up as we go through the 21st Century!!! It's also time for another Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox . Our theme this time is Animal Antics and our great sponsor is Sweet'n'Sassy Stamps who are offering 3 of their adorable digis to a lucky winner! The DT could work with some of their stamps, I chose Santa Owl I just love his startled expression! I coloured him with Promarkers and added Glamour Dust to the trim on his hat. I fussy cut him (mainly because I managed to go over the edge by his ear and trying to repair the damage only made it worse! Oh dear!) and added him with foam pads to a square of paper cut out with a Spellbinders Square Die. The mat is another Spellbinders die, this one is Lacey Squares. The papers were a magazine freebie, they are Christmas Carnival by Kaisercraft, and the colours are so pretty! The sentiment is from the same ...

For my DT post for The Squirrel and the Fox please scroll down to the previous post. Ta. Good afternoon! (Though I'm actually posting this on Saturday night, with the Last Night of the Proms on the telly - it's magnificent, as usual!) I hope this time I schedule the post correctly! We have a colour challenge this week, and it's Purple and Green Rather like a monochrome challenge, we ask that you use mostly shades of purple and green on your creations. (Remember, it doesn't have to be a card!) Of course, skin and hair colour don't have to be purple and green - unless your image is of an alien! I have made a Christmas card: The adorable image is by Meljen (have I mentioned that I love Meljen?) for Whimsy Stamps and she is called Holly Christmas Fairy I coloured her with Promarkers and used spellbinders dies to cut out the image and mat. The papers are by Pink Petticoat. The striped green ribbon is from Hobbycraft. The sentiment is also by Whimsy stamps, a...

Evening, all! I hope your week is going well - we are one day closer to the weekend, huzza! Yesterday I was making Christmas cards while watching the cricket, which was riveting! We won! (Sorry, Aussie mates!) One of the good things about following the England cricket team is that they do win - unlike the England football team!!! Anyway, I made half a dozen of these: The lovely Old Gold card is from Anna Marie Designs and it has a gorgeous sheen. I used a Spellbinders A2 Filigree Delight set for the die-cut gold and white shapes, and a Marianne die for the white sentiment. The white oval has dots of gold Liquid Pearls as a border. I was inspired by the beautiful cards made by Christina Griffiths whose blog and Youtube videos have taught me such a lot about how to use Spellbinders! I hope you like it! Ok, I must buzz off now and finish the ironing - that's the only downside of taking an afternoon off, the ironing pile expands when my back is turned! Take care, my love...

I can't believe it's the end of June already! This year is speeding by! And it's time for another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox . This time we're thinking about Christmas - yes, I know it's still months away, but if you make a Christmas card for our challenge you'll have one less to make in November and you'll feel soooo proud of yourself for being efficient! Or is that just me lol? Our sponsor this time is The Paper Shelter who kindly sent the DT some cute images to use. This one is adorable, I love the Victorian vibe! I used Promarkers to colour the image, then cut it out and layered on green card cut with a Spellbinders 'Holly Accents' die that happened to fall into my basket when I was shopping on Amazon! I was so excited when it arrived that I used it at once - and oh, dear, the card got stuck and tore and was such a mess! I'd forgotten to rub over the die with a tumble-dryer towel to make the card easier to remove! So I c...

Good afternoon, all! We have a lovely challenge today at Dream Valley which is Animals The sponsor is Robyn's Fetish Digi Stamps and one lucky winner will have 5 digis from the shop! I used an image I already had, this is Mouse with Christmas Cookie He is coloured with Speccies (list below). The fur trim has Glamour Dust on it, and the yummy cookie has been Glossy Accented. The papers were another magazine freebie - I love the gingerbread men on the back paper! The sentiment may have also been a freebie, it was all on its ownsome in my 'Sentiments' file. I used a Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch-Around-the-Page punch and also a Snowflake punch which has also been glittered. The spotty ribbon and the green gems are from stash. Go and see the lovely work done by my talented teamies! Remember, you don't have to make a card, as long as it follows the Animal theme! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! Challenges I'm entering: Robyn's Fetish Ch...

Just a fly-by post today, I'm out with my Dear Daughter for a routine check at the hospital. It will be an Adventure as we'll be going on the bus into deepest Essex! (Well, Epping!) A tiny (4") Christmas card, using a Penny Black stamp and a green Versacolor ink pad, with an added star from Paperchase. The green mat is pearlised but the sheen hasn't really come out in the picture. I made 5 of these - well, it's already May, only 8 months until the Big Day! I'm entering the Challenge at My Time to Craft where the theme is 'Use a Sentiment as the Main Focus.' Ideal for a CAS design, I think! I hope you're all having a good week - only 2 days until the weekend!! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good evening, everyone! I hope you're all having a good week. I've been a busy bee with the dreaded housework, it's horrible to do though it helps when something funky comes on the radio and I can dance with the vacuum cleaner! (Though not as well as Freddie Mercury does in the video to 'I want to break free!) I've also made a Christmas card, using a lovely LotV stamp, Little Ivy she is adorable! I coloured here with Speccies (list at the end) and used the Blender to give just the faintest pink shadows on her surplice. Her wings were shaded with grey then slathered with Glamour Dust. The gold metal corner came from Whiff of Joy a couple of years ago; and the green-and-gold ribbon is from Pinflair in Hertford. So is the gold paper used to mat both the image and the LotV sentiment. Gems are from stash. The gorgeous papers are 'Silent Night' by Papermania, the spotted paper is actually shiny gold dots on cream paper. I also did the inside (it'...

Hi, guys, I hope you're all doing well! This afternoon I was visited by my friend's daughter, she sat in her wheelchair and I did the ironing while we giggled at 'Top Gear' on the telly! Yes, I confess, I have a sneaky liking for 'Top Gear'! Yesterday I managed to find the Magnolia image that I 'lost' by sweeping it off my desk with my baggy cardigan sleeve and completed a Christmas card. I meant to post yesterday but I was out at a meeting in the evening and I got home late and knackered and went to bed instead! It was interesting to colour the same image with Spectrum Noirs ( here and this one is done in Promarkers. The Speccies I used are more vivid than the Promarkers, but I like both effects, thoug I find that Promarkers blend more easily. Experimenting is fun! The stars and crown have been glamour-dusted. I used Spellbinders' Opulent Ovals' for the mats, which are cut from Centura Pearl cardstock, they have a pretty sheen that does...

Evening, all! It's freezing tonight, proper brass monkey weather! Brrrrr! With snow on the ground I decided to make a Christmas card! One of the card magazines had a free gift last year of two 'Holly Hobbie' stamps - I used to love Holly Hobbie when I were a lass!  I coloured her with Speccies (I'm sorry, I forgot to make a list *slapped wrist!*) and Glossy Accented her boots, and used a Spellbinders Labels 4 to cut her out. I distressed with Broken China while she was still in the die. The mat is made by drawing round the outside of the die and cutting out. The sentiment is from the same Holly Hobbie set. The poinsettia is from Wild Orchid Crafts and the leaves cut with a Marianne die (I don't know which set it's from, sorry!) The ribbon is from stash. The paper is 'Rum'n'Raisin' by PaperArtsy which I have had for over 2 years! It's so pretty! I added Platinum stickles to the brown flourish. I used a matching paper withou...