Madcap Manor

 Hiya! I'm sorry I'm a bit late with my DT post for  My Time to Craft , I was doing the flower arrangement at Church this morning, and then I had a mammogram this afternoon (ouchies!)  But here am I, faint but pursuing! (My Grannie used to say that, it's probably Shakespeare.) Our new theme is Fantasy or Whimsy.   Fairies, magical beasts, mages, whimsical images of quirky animals or birds or people - whatever takes your fancy. My first card uses 'Magical Day', an older clear stamp from  The Greeting Farm .  This one is out of print, but if you check out the 'Fantasy' tab on their website you'll see another set of cute unicorn images. The papers are from an old First Edition pad which has a unicorn theme.  The background is glittered and I used pearlised card for the mats and  Love from Lizi sway peel-offs  in Teal Mirror, which give some lovely shine.  The sentiment came with the stamp set. My second card is more whimsical, using a very ...

Hello! Welcome to a new challenge at My Time to Craft! Our theme is Springtime Insects - butterflies, bees, ladybirds, ants, dragonflies, moths..... Of course butterflies were the first insect I thought about!  I used old dies from Love from Lizi and rose gold satin mirri card (by Tonic) for my butterflies.  The gold moondust strips are also from Love from Lizi.  The papers are from an old First Edition pad. My second card features bees from Paper Smooches (sadly missed.) I blended Distress Ink behind where the bees and beehive would go and stamped the sentiment which came from the same stamp set.  I coloured the images with watercolour markers then fussy-cut them and glued them in place.  I had a smudge near the sentiment so added 3 gold pearls. Check out the inspiration left for you on our blog and join in! Thanks for looking and stay well! love Mags B x

  Hi there! I hope you're all keeping well. We have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft Christmas which is Vintage Christmas. I mage another mini slimline which is 3" x 6" and the perfect size to fit my image. I used an old 12 x 12 paper pad from First Edition called Village Christmas which has several sheets of vintage images, so I just cut one out. The holly strip above Santa is glittered.  The background paper is from the same pad, I went round the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink,  and the ribbon is from my stash.  Check out my teamies' work on the blog and have fun going vintage on your Christmas card!  Thanks for looking and take care.  love Mags B x

  Hello, my lovelies! TGIF! We have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft which is New Home. I have made a mini-slimline card. The patterned paper came from an old First Edition pad, and has a canvas texture. I coloured one of the houses with Copics and added an old sentiment from Lili of the Valley. A very simple card - it took longer to find the paper and sentiment stamp than it did to make the card! I really must sort my craft hovel again!  Go and see the sweet inspiration that my teamies have posted on the Challenge blog!  Thanks for looking and stay well.  love Mags B x

  Hello, my dearios! I hope you had a good weekend. Unfortunately my daughter and her family, who were going to visit from Ireland in July, have decided not to risk the trip until later in the year. It is so frustrating, we haven't seen them since Christmas 2019! Well, we'll have to wait and see what happens. In happier news, there is a new Challenge at Dream Valley and the theme is All Occasions. Our sponsor is The Paper Shelter and the DT received an adorable image to work with!  THIS CHALLENGE IS OPEN UNTIL JULY 24TH These little mice are so cute! I used some gorgeous papers from 'Love Story' by First Edition and my mats are ivory Centura Pearl card by Crafter's Companion. The lace came from my stash.  Take a look at my teamies' creations on the blog for some great inspiration!  Thanks for looking, and take care!  love Mags B x

Morning, all! We have a new challenge at My Time to Craft! which is Inchies. Inchies are 1" squares of cardstock or chipboard which you decorate.  I had heard the term but never tried the technique because I thought it sounded fiddly, but actually this was very fun and easy! For a card you can add a line or a square of inchies - usually they seem to be used in groups of uneven numbers. As you can see, I went with a square layout. All the papers came from an old 6 x 6 paper pad by First Edition.  The paper on the squares has a spot gloss finish.  I layered them on some heavy card which gives a wee bit of dimension.  I added tiny flowers from Hobbycraft, and the sentiment is from a Pretty Pink Posh sticker set that came with a Simon Said Stamp kit some years ago. Go and see what my teamies have done, they will give you some great ideas on how to use inchies! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x.

Hello, my lovelies, I hope you're all keeping safe and well! Today, for the first time since March, I accompanied my hubby to the supermarket to shop! I was a bit nervous about crowds, but it was all very civilised, quite a few people were wearing masks, and the social distancing seemed to be working well. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife of King Henry II, was placed under house arrest for 20 years when she sided with her sons in rebellion against the King, so 4 months of semi-isolation could have been a lot worse! Anyway, you're here for our next challenge at My Time to Craft! which is Christmas in July. The Operation Write Home sketch that I used is a favourite of Kristie Marcotte who uses sketches to use up an entire paper pad! She has a great eye for matching patterned paper. I used an old Christmas pad by First Edition, matted on blue cardstock. I die-cut 3 snowflakes with a die from Whiff of Joy, using white glitter cardstock. The sentiment is heat-embossed...

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! 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...

Hi, guys! I hope you're all keeping well and looking forward to a great weekend! Our new challenge at My Time to Craft is All You Need is Love and I'll be humming that Beatles song all day now! It's not just for Valentine's Day but includes weddings, anniversaries, or something to say 'I love you.' I used papers from the 'Love Story' paper pad by First Edition, and the sentiment circle is a tag cut from one of the papers. It reads 'How sweet it is to be loved by you.' I added some lace from Crafteezee and ribbon from my stash. I covered the hole in the circle tag with a crystal flower from my stash. My teamies have left some gorgeous 'loving' inspiration on the blog, have a look and join in! Thanks for looking, and have a lovely weekend! love Mags B x

Hiya, lads and lasses! It's a glorious sunny day here in S-E Hertfordshire, Spring has well and truly sprung! Easter is approaching fast, but of course not everyone celebrates it, so at My Time to Craft we have two themes to choose from: Woodland Animals or Easter. I made an Easter card, using die-cuts. The Tattered Lace Small Cross Die was cut from white card and glued directly onto some gorgeous textured paper by First Edition. It's from a pad called 'Spring Drop' which is sadly out of print. The oval was glued directly onto white card cut with a Spellbinders' Elegant Ovals That is raised on foam pads. I did the same with the next layer, too. Finally I added 5 tiny green gems and rounded the top corner.  I really need to get out my dies more often! Go and see my teamies' gorgeous creations and join in the fun! Thanks for looking and have a good weekend! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! What a grey, chilly Monday it is today here in S-E Herts! A good day to cheer yourself up with some crafting! We have a new Challenge at Dream Valley which is Lots of Layers. Our sponsor is the delicious Lemon Shortbread an the Design Team were lucky enough to have some of their adorable images to play with! This is the gorgeous Bob Pixie Girl with Flower. I used papers from an older First Edition collection called 'Spring Drop'. The aqua-coloured paper has some gorgeous glitter elements! I added sparkle to the flowers on the image and also to the corners. The sentiment is by LoTV and the ribbon is from stash. Have a look at my teamies' creations and join in! Just add lots of layers to your project! Thanks for looking and have a good week! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! This week at CRAFT Challenge we have an inspiration picture. Take inspiration from the animals, or colours, or anything else from the picture - and don't forget to let us know what it was!! Our lovely sponsors: Bugaboo Stamps Digital Paper Craft I used the sweet Girl with Rabbit from Digital Paper Craft to make an Easter card. From the Inspiration Picture I chose the colours (green, brown and yellow) and the bunny. The papers are Spring Drop by First Edition, you can just see the cute bunnies in the background in my rather naff photo! The ribbon is from stash and the sentiment is from the All Occasions Sentiments set by Clearly Besotted. Now have a go! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning, all! I hope you're having a great weekend! My daughter and her Young Man are staying with us this weekend. Sacha's birthday is on the 23rd of June - Midsummer's Eve. We named her 'Helena' when she was born, partly after my Mum, whose name was Helen, and partly after one of the characters in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream.' Then, when she began learning Russian at Secondary School she had to choose a Russian name, and went for 'Sacha.' She preferred that to 'Helena' and changed her name - it took me several years to get used to it! But enough of this, you want to know what the new challenge is at My Time to Craft . Our theme is Fairies which is very appropriate, since there are a lot of fairies in 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream'! I used an adorable image from Lili of the Valley , this is one of their cute fairies, but sadly she is no longer available. However, there are loads of oth...

Good morning! I hope you're having a happy weekend! At My Time to Craft this week we have a very specific theme, we'd like to see Two or more people on your creation. And, remember, it doesn't have to be a card, any craft is welcome if it follows the Challenge rules! I did make a card, though! This totally adorable image is by Sarah Kay. They are coloured in Copics (I'm still practising!). I used 2 dies from Mama Elephant to cut the image with a postage stamp edge, and to cut the paper with a stitched edge. I used Distress Ink on the image mat. The background paper is from the Floral Pavilion stack by First Edition. The sentiment is by Studio Calico, it came with a kit. My teamies have excelled in their creations, as usual - go and see and be inspired! Remember we'd like to see at least 2 people on your creation!! Now I'm going to watch craft videos on Youtube and do a humongous pile of ironing! Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend. ...

Yes, our next C.R.A.F.T Challenge is Christmas! . Get ahead of yourself, every Christmas card made before December is a bonus lol!!! I don't think I've ever made one this early.... I used the beautiful Lady Jane by Scrapper's Delights and coloured her in Promarkers. I followed a tutorial in Donna-Marie's Colouring e-book though using different colours. I can highly recommend this book, it has taught me a lot. AND all the money goes to a homeless charity, too! The green mat is a Spellbinders Floral Oval die, and I added some red spotted paper from the snippets drawer. I used glittered poinsettia paper from a Christmas Vintage 12" x 12" pad by First Edition which came from Hobbycraft last year. The ribbon is from stash, and the Lili of the Valley sentiment was stamped in Tsukineko Delicata Gold Ink. We have one sponsor this week, Scrappers Delights I'm sure you have all begun to notice that some digistamp companies have closed or are no longer...

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. ...

Good - er - afternoon, everyone! I am so sorry that I'm late today! Finally here is my card for the new challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and our theme is Love We have a new sponsor this time, Doodle Pantry. Go and see the lovely digis on their site: one winner of this challenge will have a $10 voucher for the shop! Usually, 'Love' means 'Romance' especially in February, but I have made a card for a neighbour who is ill, who definitely needs some love to cheer her up. She has a flower-jug that's almost identical to the one in this digi! The Promarkers I used to colour it are very close to the real life colour of the jug, too. :) The papers are First Edition, from the 'Floral Pavilion' stack, they have a lovely Retro vibe, and a lovely sheen that my camera hasn't picked up, sadly. The ribbon is upcycled from a box of soaps (it smells delicious!) The flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts, and the leaves are cut with a Spellbinders 'Foliage...

Hi, guys! I hope you're all settling down after the holiday season - I love Christmas, but it can get a bit frantic, can't it?! We have another challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and it's a chance for you to Show off your new stuff! . Tell us what you got for Christmas and show what you've made! Easy and fun! Our sponsor is Hobbybook - and the prize is 5 digis! Here's the card I made, using one of the sweet images the DT were lucky enough to be given. My 'New Stuff' is the fabulous Inktense Watercolour Pencils that I used to colour the image. The mat is cut with a Spellbinders Big Scalloped Rectangle. The papers are also new, from a pad called 'Floral Pavilion' by First Edition. The swirl is a Marianne Die. The flowers are Wild Orchid and the ribbon and doily are from stash. The sentiment came with a magazine a couple of years ago! Go and see what my talented teamies have created, then grab you new stash and join in! But please tell ...