Madcap Manor

Hello, my dearios! We have another challenge for you at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Christmas Goes! The most difficult cards to make at this time of year, I find, are not masculine ones but the totally non-religious ones! I don't mean for my Jewish or Muslim friends but those who are humanist or atheist. I don't know if my card today actually fits our theme, though it will accompany a present of hot chocolate and marshmallows at the end of the month - what do you think? This adorable image is Christmas in a Cup by Elisabeth Bell. A number of her stamps that were originally rubber are now available as digis. Instead of traditional greens and reds I used pink and mint, with Wink of Stella added to her sash and bow, and Stickles on the snowman on the cup. I used my corner chomper on the bottom two corners. I had several attempts before I got the image to print in the right place - I'm not very good at digi crafting! I th...

Good morning! There's Exciting News this morning - a brand new Challenge blog! The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge is a fortnightly Tuesday Challenge, whose theme is Christmas and always Anything Goes! I'm on the Design Team!! For my first card I have used an old Whiff of Joy rubber stamp, Willow with Candle. It's by the talented Elisabeth Bell: many of her images are now available as digis from Elisabeth Bell , but unfortunately not this one. Please read the terms and conditions very carefully. Here is my card: I layered some old Christmas paper on gold and green card, and cut the Spellbinders die from the same gold card. The poinsettia is an old Marianne die, I embossed it and rubbed some Nuvo Embellishing Mouse over the raised veins. The holly leaves are also an old Marianne die, cut from a scrap of pearlised green card. The gold-embossed sentiment is by Altenew. I added gold-coloured gems from my stash. This year I am determined not to spend the ...

Good morning from a grey, wet S-E Hertfordshire! We had 3 glorious sunny days, then the weekend comes along and..... rain! So it's a good time to stay indoors and craft - in fact you could say it's My Time to Craft! (Oh dear, that was such a laboured joke!) This week we have a first-rate sketch, designed by Jo Isn't it a corker?! I apologise for the wonky picture! The image is an older stamp by Elisabeth Bell which seems to be out of print - though there are plenty of equally sweet digis on her site! I used Copics: I'm still learning the colours, which is why the pink is a wee bit bright. There is glitter on one flower in her hat and Glossy Accents on her watering can. The sun is from Hello Sunshine by Lawn Fawn I stamped in Ranger Dye Inks first with yellow then I inked just the edges with orange, and used Clear Wink of Stella to give some glitter. The sentiment is by Lili of the Valley and is embossed with Wow! Gold Pearl Embossing Powder . The gems a...

Hi, guys! This is my second post of the day, please scroll down to see my DT post for My Time To Craft. A lovely friend celebrated her birthday today so I made this card. She is Indian, so I used different Promarkers than usual for the skin of this Elisabeth Bell cutie - sadly she no longer appears on the Whimsy Stamps site, but there are lots of other adorable images there! The gorgeous papers have glitter and shine, they are New Bloom by First Edition. I used a Spellbinders die to cut the lacy mat behind the image from one of the papers. The flowers are cut with Spellbinders dies from the 'Floral Doily' set. The gems and ribbon are from stash, and the sentiment is Lili of the Valley. I am entering the current challenge at C.R.A.F.T. Challenge which has a complex recipe: 1 image and 1 sentiment - check. Two shapes - Circle and Square - check. Three papers - two square backgrounds, and the third is used for the circular mat and the lower layer of flowers - check. ...

My goodness! We have sunshine (sporadically!) I'm even keener than usual on sunshine, because we now have solar panels on the roof! The electric meter goes BACKWARDS!! So exciting! But enough of this blathering, you cry. What about the card? The cute image is by Elisabeth Bell for Belles and Whistles, from Dies to Dies For . I coloured her with Speccies again. The swirls round her are Whiff of Joy Christmas swirls, stamped in Wild Honey Distress Ink, and I also distressed all the papers with the same ink. My yellow card is very bright, and the distressing toned it down a lot! Papers are Cosmo Cricket 'Togetherness' which are lovely Retro designs. The sketch is by 'Sweet Sketch Wednesday.' I stickled the swirls, the lemon slices and the dots on her bows. The flower is 3 Prima blooms, the blue swirl underneath is a Marianne die, and the green brad is one of a Papermania set I picked up at the Ally Pally last year. The glittery ribbon is from stash, the...

If this lassie tried to garden in Hoddesdon her hat would be blown away in no time!! She's a Belles'n'Whistles stamp by Elisabeth Bell, but I suspect she might be a re-issue. The sketch is from Mojo Monday and I've turned it on its side. The papers are by K & Co, Classic K I think, and they are so vintage-y and pretty! I used my inside-out corner rounder punch (phew! What a mouthful!)on the image and then stickled all edges with gold. The label is cut with a Nesties die. I put Glossy Accents on the watering can. The ribbon was from Hobbycraft, and it has a little sparkle to it that doesn't really show here. I didn't think it needed any other embellishments, because the papers are so pretty. Thanks for looking! I hope you all have a good week (why does time seem to speed up at the weekend?!) luv, Mags x Promarkers: Putty, Sandstone, Tan; Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink; Cocktail Pink; Pear Green, Lush Green, Powder Blue, Denim blue; Buttercup, Tulip Yellow