Madcap Manor

Good morning! I have some sad news and some happy news.  I am stepping down from all my Design Teams, including Dream Valley .  It was my very first DT, back in 2011 and I still get a kick out of talking about my 'teamies!' I want to thank them all for their kindness and creativity. Consequently there is a DT Call  - details are on the blog.  Anyone can apply, whatever level of crafting experience you have.  The DT members are lovely, they are always ready to help a 'newbie'! Now for the happy news: I have a new granddaughter! Fiadh (Fee-a) was born last Friday in Ireland and here she is: So tiny! So cute! Now, finally, here is my card for our new challenge, which is to Use your favourite colours.   Our sponsor is  Colour of Love  and I used the cute 'Sugi Summer Fashion' digi. The card base is a pop-out gatefold card from  This video  by Sam Calcott of Mixed-up crafts.  It looks complicated, but it's actually quite simple to make....

 Good morning! We are having a Design Team call at  Dream Valley ! If you're interested, check out the blog post.  We welcome crafters at all levels of experience - this was my very first DT, 12 years ago, when I was a very new crafter, and I learned so much from my lovely teamies over the years. Now for our new challenge - Add Some Bling.   Our sponsor is the wonderful  All Dressed Up Stamps  and Wendy kindly gave us two of her fabulous images to use.  I went with  Dreaming of Summer  - so pretty! I used papers from an elderly First Edition pad, and some pearlised purple cardstock from my stash.  I added two shiny  Lilac Mirror  peel-offs by Love from Lizi.  I covered the butterflies on the image with Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen (which doesn't really show in the photo unless you squint!) and finally some purple gems from my stash.  The die-cut hello is an old die from  Clearly Besotted. Check out the creations of ...

 Hi there! We have a new challenge at  Dream Valley  to brighten your Monday! We would like to see Square cards.  Our sponsor is the fabulous  Polkadoodles  an I used  Winnie Sunshine Little Friends  which was one of the digis kindly given to the Design Team to work with. Ain't she sweet? I used some very old papers from my stash, plus some matte silver-grey cardstock for the mats.  The image and lacy mat were cut with old Spellbinders Labels One dies, and the sentiment is an old die by Love from Lizi.  I also used  peel-offs  by Love from Lizi to edge the horizontal strip. Check out the challenge blog to see inspiration using more Polkadoodles images! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Happy New Year! Our new challenge at  Dream Valley  is all about new beginnings: a new house, new job, new retirement, new baby,,,, anything new! My daughter is expecting a baby girl in March, so it was easy to come up with a 'new' subject for this card! This digi image is an old one from  Pink Gem Designs  and is out of print, but there are so many adorable images still on their website. I coloured the baby with Promarkers, for a change, and added sparkle pen to the bubbles, although it doesn't really show.  The paper is from the snippets drawer, and the sentiment is an old one from Mama Elephant. Check out the Challenge blog for more inspiration! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 This Challenge lasts until January 9th 2023. Hi, guys! I hope you're all well.  This is the last Challenge of the year at  Dream Valley  and the theme is Christmas! We have three sponsors this time:  All Dressed Up ,  The Paper Shelter  and  Morgan's Art World I used Morgan's  Winter 10  digi stamp - the image looks like my neighbour, so that is who the card is going to. The papers come from an old paper pad by First Edition, and the chevron background is embossed.  I used an old Spellbinders Label die for the image, and Love from Lizi peel-ffs to edge the horizontal strip. There's still time to make a few more Christmas cards - or even start on the cards for next Christmas! - so I hope you'll join in the Challenge! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Good morning! To brighten your Monday we have a new challenge at  Dream Valley  which is Lots of Layers.   We are sponsored by  Polkadoodles  and the Design Team received some of their adorable images to work with. I have used  Balloon Days  which is so cute! This is a 5 x 7 card because I wanted lots of space for my layers of papers.  They all come from an old paper pad by Papermania, and the colours are so bright and cheerful.  I used  Sway peel-offs  by Love from Lizi to edge the long vertical strip.  The flowers came from The Range, and I added buttons to the centres.  The sentiment banner is an old stamp from Paper Smooches.  Finally I covered the balloon with Glossy Accents. Check out my teamies' creations using Polkadoodles images, get out your favourite papers and join the fun! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x.

 Good morning! It's a really autumnal day here in S-E Hertfordshire: misty, moisty, and the trees on the housing estate are showing off their beautiful leaves.  I love this time of year! Anyway, enough waffle, because we have a new challenge at  Dream Valley.   Our theme is Anything Goes  and it's Just For Fun. I fell in love with Papermania's  Modern Deco  paper pad and when I got it home, after admiring the gorgeous geometric patterns and the gold foiling, suddenly wondered - now, how shall I use this? Well, I came up with one idea - it's a birthday card for my son.  See what you think. Black, white and gold aren't colours I would normally use together.  The airship image is a very old red rubber cling stamp from  Whimsy Stamps , I stamped it repeatedly in black pigment ink - thank goodness for a Misti, which makes it so easy! I cut gold and patterned papers and the image with Lawn Fawn's  Stitched Rectangle stackables  to gi...

 Hello! We have a new challenge for you at  Dream Valley  which is to use dies or punches - or both! Our sponsor is the fabulous  Polkadoodles . I have used  Octavia Frosted Winter . I used an ancient Spellbinders dieset for the circle mat and the strip of paper lace.  The flowers and leaves and the sentiment came from an old set by  Love from Lizi , and I added one of her peel-offs over the join between the lace and the paper.  The gold gems are from my stash. Check out my teamies' lovely creations and have a go! Thanks for looking and take care. love Mags B x

 Hi there! It's time for a new challenge at  Dream Valley  and our theme is to use Pearls or Gems on your creation.  Our sponsor is Morgan's Art World. My printer is having a hissy-fit, so I was unable to print any of the gorgeous images that Morgan sent for the DT to use.  However, I had one of her images already printed - this is  Missy May. I used paper, ribbon and lace from my stash, and the flowers and leaves were cut with the  Stitched Blooms  dies by My Favorite Things.  The sentiment is cut with a die from the October card kit by  Love from Lizi.   The gems on the flowers are from my stash. Check out my teamies' fab creations, then join in the fun and scatter pearls or gems across yours! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Good morning! Happy Monday! I am actually feeling quite happy today because my horrible cold (not Covid, thank goodness!) which I have had since Thursday, is finally getting better.  I have almost stopped sneezing! And it's time for a new Challenge at  Dream Valley , our theme is Favourite Colours. I went with Blue and Yellow (and a bit of green.)  I used cheap'n'cheerful acrylic paints, watered down a little, and scrunched-up clingfilm (saran wrap) to dab colours onto a piece of card.  There's a fuller explanation in  this video  by Sasha Reade. There is so much sparkle and shine on this card, but I just couldn't get a decent photo.  I spritzed the background with a mica spray, then once it had dried I stamped the flower in Memento Ink and coloured the little blooms with yellow centres and blue flowers, using Copics.  The leaves were coloured in a green-blue.  Then I put the panel back in my Misti and re-stamped using Versamark and emb...

Good afternoon, all.  It's a sad day, saying goodbye to the Queen.  She has been a constant for my entire life.  I have also been remembering my own parents and grandparents, as I'm sure many others have done, too.  However, life does go on, and being creative, whether crafting or cooking, has always been a comfort in stressful times. So, we're back to normal with a new challenge at  Dream Valley , where our theme is Autumn Colours.   Our sponsor is  The Paper Shelter , whose images are so adorable.  I made my card before going on holiday a fortnight ago, so instead of the gorgeous image that the DT were kindly given I used another, equally gorgeous image:  Autumn is Coming . I love this image, the little girl is having so much fun throwing autumn leaves into the air! I used papers from my stash for the background and to die-cut the Lawn Fawn  Stitched Leaves .  The wooden flowers are from stash, with pearly Nuvo drops in the centre...

 Good morning! We are back to our normal schedule at  Dream Valley  and our new theme is Embossing.   It can be either kind, whether using an embossing folder or a scoreboard; or using embossing powder and a heat gun. It's a very pretty pattern of butterflied.  I used pearlised pink card for the background, first spraying it lightly with water to make sure it didn't crack.  The butterfly die came from  Love from Lizi  a couple of years ago, and I used some of the circles of card that came out of the die-cut to embellish the top right corner.  I backed the butterfly with vellum to give more definition.  The sentiment is from the  Thoughtful words  die set by Christina Griffiths. Take a look at the Challenge blog for more inspiration and get embossing LIKE A BOSS! (My hubby has just sighed and shaken his head at that awful joke.) Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Yes, it's that time of year: the summer hols are over and a new school year begins.  That's the new theme at  Dream Valley   The challenge lasts one week, not two; but then we will be back to the normal schedule. This very cute image came from Bugaboo.  (I miss them so much!)  I coloured the lad and his huge pile of school items in Copics.  The papers are from a very old pad by Papermania - I thought the brightly-coloured geometric shapes of the background were suitable for school.  (Maths! Not my favourite subject!) I cut the letters from a dull silver-grey glitter card.  The misspelling is deliberate, by the way! Check out the challenge blog for more fun inspiration! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Morning, all! It's time for a new challenge at  Dream Valley ! We'd like to see shaped cards - any shape except square or rectangular. I made a heart easel card for one of the Mums who attended our Church Toddler Group (Early Birds) with her gorgeous little girl.  Sadly, the family has returned home to Slovenia, as they were finding it too expensive to live in the UK.  Fortunately her husband is an HGV driver, so he had a job waiting for him already, and she is a psychiatrist and will be working from September.  We will all miss them! Anyway, this is the card I made for them to wish them well. The gorgeous paper is from an old First Edition pad and has a spot gloss finish on the roses.  The die-cuts are made with a Spellbinders die set and I dry-embossed them to emphasise the detail. Check out the lovely cards made by my teamies and have a go at creating a shaped card yourself! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Evening, all!  Dream Valley Challenges  is back after our simmer break, and our new theme is Christmas in July.   Our sponsor is  Colour of Love .  Heather sent us a couple of images - I used  Peace on Earth Angel . I used a dull gold cardstock for the mats.  The background paper is from an old Christmas pad by First Edition, it had glitter on all the red flowers.  The sentiment is a die-cut from my stash. Check out the inspiration pieces created by my teamies! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 I am so sorry, my lovelies, I thought I had scheduled this post for Monday 13th but.... didn't.  Well, better late than never. The new Challenge at  Dream Valley  is to Add a Sentiment.   I went the whole hog and used a sentiment as my focal point AND I made 2 cards at once (often called a 'Twofer.'  Twofer one - geddit???!!!) Here is the first card: I used the Lawn Fawn  Giant Thank You die  and some bright paper from my stash for the sentiment.  I also cut 2 extras from white cardstock and glued them behind to give dimension.  To position the die-cut I made a template the same size as my white stitched rectangle background and cut the die in the position I wanted it to be, then glued the words in place and removed the template.  Finally I added a few sparkly gems. The second card: As you can see, this is the reverse of the previous card and made in much the same way.  Because I had cut the sentiment from the middle of the pa...

 Hi there! It's time for a new Challenge at  Dream Valley  and the theme is Summer Colours.   It's astonishing to realise that next Wednesday is June 1st - where did May go??? And of course next weekend we have the celebrations of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and an extra Bank Holiday.  I'm involved in a Fun Day at my Church, we are all hoping and praying for fine weather. But you want to know more about the Challenge! Our gorgeous sponsor is  All Dressed Up Stamps  and Wendy has sent the DT two of her adorable digis to use.  Seriously, check out her shop, her images are fabulous! I used  Little Flower Girl  she is so cute! I used a gorgeous paper from an old paper pad by My Mind's Eye called 'Howdy Doody.'  Such bright colours! I layered the image on yellow and orange cardstock and matted the paper onto orange: we have marigolds in the garden which are bright orange and look fantastic! The sentiment is the  Painted hello die ...

  Good morning! Welcome to a new Challenge at Dream Valley. Our theme this time is add Embellishments so dig out your favourite embellies and have fun!   Our sponsor is Crafty Sentiments Designs and I have used the adorable Couples digi stamp for an anniversary card. The patterned paper came from my Snippets drawer. I coloured the bears with Copics and the sentiment came from an old Hero Arts stamp set. I used several embellishments: Peel-offs from Love from Lizi; some heart confetti from an old bag of sequins by Little Things by Lucy ; and some twine from my stash.   Check out the blog for more inspiration!   Thanks for looking and take care!   love Mags B x

  Good morning! It's a Bank Holiday in the UK: you can tell because it's a grey, dreary day with the likelihood of rain later. It's a running joke that Bank Holidays usually mean rain! Whatever the weather, I hope you all have a good day!   Our latest Challenge at Dream Valley is a corker: Four-legged Friends. Yep, any animal with four legs will be good, whether wild or domesticated!   I have two sets of rubber stamps by Katzelkraft (the link is to the page that lists the sellers of their stamps by country.) I used one of Les Chiens for my card but I also have Les Chats Russes. Such fun, quirky images!   Anyway, on to my card. The dachshund is perfect for a mini slimline. The background paper is from my stash and the mat is pearlised. The sentiment is from an old Clearly Besotted sentiment set. The dog was so easy to colour, as there are shading lines on the images and a coloured example on the packaging - in shades of green!!  ...

 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...