Madcap Manor

Good morning, all! Phew! It's already a scorching day here in S-E Herts, so it's a little odd to be posting Christmas cards for The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. Our challenges are always Anything Christmas Goes. I made 2 cards with decoupage sheets from Hunkydory that I've had for ages! I added silver mats and a silver-embossed sentiment. I used silicon gel to adhere all the layers together. I love this old-fashioned pillar box, it reminds me of one that stood outside my grandparents' house in Newcastle-upon-Tyne! Both images have touches of silver foiling - so pretty! My teamies have made some gorgeous cards to inspire you, go and see!! Thanks for looking and have a good day! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! We have a Technique Challenge at CRAFT Challenge this week: 3D Decoupage. The cute Cat image is from Kenny K. I printed 4 images, all the same size, to cut my layers from, and coloured then with Warm Grey Copic markers. The striped paper is very old, I think it was from Papermania, but the pad has lost its cover. The ribbon and sequins are from stash. The gold-embossed sentiment and black pawprints are from the Nine Lives set by Paper Smooches. Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Kenny K Have a look at my talented teamies' 3D creations, they will inspire you to have a go! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

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! I hope you're all keeping well! My Olde Manne and I have just spent 3 days in Stratford upon Avon, where we saw a performance of 'Love's Labour's Lost' which was so good and so funny! It's amazing that Shakespeare's jokes are still funny 400 years after he wrote them! On February 11th there is going to be a live showing of the play in cinemas - not just in the UK but in other countries, too! Check it out! Now back to this week's C.R.A.F.T Challenge and it's a technique: Decoupage That's the technique of cutting out and layering your image to give a 3D effect, not the version that layers cut-outs in a collage-effect on an item like a tray or box. Here's a description by Christina Griffiths Decoupage I have used a cute Flower Pot image from Sunflowerfield Designs which was ideal for decoupaging! Here's a sideways view to give a better idea of the layering I coloured each layer with Promarkers and filled the centre wi...

Good morning! (At least, I hope it's morning when this post goes up, I'm at a wedding on Saturday!) Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is Christmas Decoupage . Now, Decoupage and Teabag Folding were the first 'techniques' I ever used on cards, long before I knew about Stamping or Blogs or Challenges! Cutting and manipulating and layering paper is so relaxing! The foiled decoupage is by Dufex, a firm that sadly no longer is trading. It is quite detailed to cut out. I layered the pieces with silicon glue from Pinflair, and layered it on a piece of gold card to give a narrow border. The card base is Centura Pearl, embossed with a diamonds folder by Sizzix. I hope you'll all go over to the Blog and see the fabulous Christmas Decoupage makes of my teamies! Then have a go yourself - decoupage seems not to be so common these days, but do try it if you haven't done any before, it's very satisfying! Remember, it's Christmas Decoupage - that means i...

Hi, guys! Saturday means it's another Challenge at My Time to Craft This time we'd like to see Farmyard Animals starring on your creations! I have a friend who adores pigs, so my choice was easy! I used papers and an image from a CD-Rom that includes 'Honey and Hugs' by Papermania, and did some decoupage. The ribbon is from stash, and the sentiment and die-cut are by paper Smooches Do go and see the cute makes of my teamies at My Time to Craft and join in our fun Challenge! You may want to sing 'Old Macdonald had a Farm' to give yourself some more inspiration! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good evening all! I hope your week is going well! Here's another Thank you card that I made for the tea ladies and behind-the-scenes helpers at the Space Academy Church Holiday club last week. It's inspired by the work of Christina Griffiths she not only has a blog but a website called Card Making Magic which is a mine of fascinating information! The die-cuts are in white pearlised card, and are made with Spellbinders Enchanted Labels 28 and the trellis is by Spellbinders for 'Our Daily Bread.' I saw the trellis on Christina's blog and fell in love! The dark blue backing card is a snippet, and the middle patterned section is from stash, probably from a magazine. The decoupaged flowers are from a die-cut sheet that I found while tidying, but I don't know its origin. The tiny butterflies are made with a Woodware punch, using a snippet of purple pearlised paper. Here's a side view to show the layering: The tea-ladies, especially, are of an age to ...

Evening, all! While our Internet was down last week I tidied my craft hovel (again!) and came across a set of decoupage sheets that were free with a magazine. The sheets are from Crafts U Print and I used two of them to make some quick cards. The first is a New Home card: The top flap has been cut round with my Xacto knife and the decoupage has been put together with thin foam pads to give just a slightly raised effect: A bit of gold stickles and it was done! The second card is very Art Deco: The background paper is made by me: I sponged Weathered Wood and Faded Jeans Distress Inks onto card, then stamped with a small flourish stamp in Weathered Wood and also Silver Color Box ink. Again I used thin foam pads: I used Waterfall Stickles this time, along the borders of the image and the sentiment. It took longer to cut out all the elements than to assemble the cards! Thanks for looking, see you tomorrow with 2 DT cards - if Mr Blogger posts them for me, that is! Sta...

Good afternoon! I'm sorry I'm a few hours late with my card for Dream Valley I just had to listen to the cricket: we won, but it was a damn' close-run thing! Anyway, this time we would like you to show off your Fancy Folds . Our sponsor is Whimsy Farm Twine and one very lucky winner will be able to choose 3 spools of the most gorgeous twine! I also used twine (from The Ribbon Girl ) on my easel card. The image is by Hero Arts, Clear Design - Layered Flowers . I stamped the big bloom 3 times on orange paper and decoupaged them with thin foam tape. The leaves were stamped and fussy cut from a scrap of green Nitwits paper from the snippets box. More Nitwits papers, from the Bees Knees set, were used for the background paper and also the Memory Box Spring Border die. The sentiment tags are LotV and the orange tag is by Spellbinders, from 'Framed Tags One.' They all have orange gems added to them to look like fasteners. I glittered the edges of the petals w...

Good morning, all! I hope you're all looking forward to the long weekend! I wonder if we'll see any sunshine? It's time for a coffee break and a quick blogpost! Later today my daughter has another hospital appointment, but luckily the Olde Manne has the day off so we'll not be wasting hours waiting for the bus! How long we wait to be seen in the hospital is another matter, of course, but I don't mind that so much! Here is a gatefold card I made earlier this week when I was playing with a lovely Hunkydory kit that came with this month's 'Cardmaking and Papercraft' magazine: The image is from a die-cut decoupage sheet (it's so much easier than cutting round the fiddly edges of traditional decoupage images!) and I used Pinflair glue to layer the pieces. IRL there is pretty silver foiling, but the camera hasn't really picked it up. I used some pearlised pink card for the mat, which is cut with a Marianne doily die. The paper came with the k...

In my previous post I promised 2 cards, but the plumber arrived to plumb in the washing machine before I posted the second. And then I had to clean out the blocked overflow pipe, which was totally gunked-up (technical phrase, that) with soap and fibres - ewww! The pong! But now I can share another card I made for the Seize the Birthday challenge, and which was originally going to be for a boy but I think the jungle flowers make it more suitable for a girl who keeps reptiles. I know three! The papers are Pink Petticoat 'Chevron' Collection. The Chameleon and the vegetation are from the 'In the Jungle' set by Woodware. I stamped the flowers and leaves several times, coloured them with Speccies, and cut them out to make a jungle scene. The leaves and flowers are only glued in the middle and the free ends are slightly curled to give some depth. All together now: 'A wim-o-weh, A wim-oh-weh, A wim-o-weh, A wim-oh-weh!' Thanks for looking! love Mags B x ...

This week I have mostly been cutting out and decoupaging while watching telly. I found these sheets when I was having yet another tidy of my craft hovel. Why does it never stay tidy for more than five minutes????? Unless I'm out.... funny, that! Anyway, today I made them into very simple Christmas cards. And here they are: The last one is Pyramage, which I hadn't tried before, but it's a lot easier than it looks! Thanks for looking, and I hope you're all having a good week! luv, MagsB x