Madcap Manor

 Hi there! Happy Monday! We have a new Challenge at  Dream Valley which is For a Child. Our sponsor is Morgan's Art World. I have used a very sweet image, this is Susie. I used some old papers by Echo Park and the end of a reel of ribbon - I'm getting better at using things up instead of just admiring them! The Nuvo Drops look very dark in the photo but they are lighter irl and also more sparkly! Go and see what my teamies have made with some more of the cute images that Morgan kindly sent us! Thanks for looking and stay safe and well. love Mags B x

Good Afternoon! I'm sorry I'm late with my DT post for Dream Valley Challenges. We have a lovely Challenge this time - Pretty in Pastels. Time for some Springtime colours, methinks!   Our sponsor is The Paper Shelter and the Design Team received on of their adorable images to use. I love to see how different crafters work with a particular image, and my teamies have done a great job! This is Ellie , isn't she sweet? I used a paper from an old pad of 'The Country Diary' flowers as a background and dug out a Spellbinders Labels die to cut out the image. The top left corner was a bit bare, so I added some punched flowers and leaves to fill it. The sentiment is an old Clearly Besotted stamp and the ribbon is from my stash.   I hope you're all keeping safe and well. Today it's exactly a year since Ye Olde Manne and I decided to go into lockdown, spurred on by the news that St Patrick's Day celebrations in Ireland had been cancelled. H...

 Hello, good evening and welcome! Our latest Challenge at My Time to Craft! is to Make It Feminine! Let's get girly! I've used lots of flowers and lots of pink to make a birthday card for my lovely neighbour. Everything came from the January kit by Love from Lizi which is called 'Fresh Start.'   The kit is sold out, but many of the items included are now available on Lizi's website here I absolutely love the delicate ephemera and the printed vellum which I used as my background paper.  To stop any glue from showing through, I cut a piece of thin cardstock the same size as my card base, then cut the vellum longer at the top and bottom and folded it over so I could glue it on the back before sticking the panel to the card.  Finally I added some flower sequins to give some bling. I'm sorry the picture is a bit pale, the colours are stronger irl. My teamies' beautiful creations are on the blog post, waiting to inspire you! Thanks for looking and stay...

Hello, Good Evening and Welcome! We have a new challenge at Dream Valley which is to Use a hand-coloured Image on your creation. Any colouring medium can be used - water colour, or pencils or alcohol markers.  Our sponsor is All Dressed Up stamps - do check out Wendy's gorgeous digi images if you haven't seen them already! This cute girlie is Look At Me. I coloured her with Copic Markers, taking the colours from the background paper, which is an old one from Nitwits. I like the way the flowers are upright while the girlie is hanging upside down!  The ribbon is from my stash, I added it level with the base of the tree to ground the image. I added sparkle pen to the flowers and also a few Nuvo Drops.  Have a look at my teamies' pretty cards to inspire you to colour an image and join the fun!  Thanks for looking and stay safe!  love Mags B x

Hello there! Sorry I'm late with my post for the new Challenge at Dream Valley but I have been playing a demo of a new videogame that comes out next month and got a wee bit carried away. Yes, I'm a nerd. However, here we are with our new Challenge For Girls Only. Our sponsor is the amazing Crafty Ribbons so of course I used ribbon on my card! I used an old Miss Anya stamp from The Greeting Farm. I can't tell you the exact name because she has lost her packaging. The background paper is from an ancient Basic Grey pad which is long out of print, and I echoed the colours in the Copics I used on the image. I added Spectrum Noir to the flowers and a blob of Glossy Accents on her heart barrette. The ribbon is Lilac Grosgrain Ribbon from our sponsor. I added a wooden heart from stash, coloured with Copics and Glossy Accented. The embossed sentiment came with a magazine. My teamies have made the most gorgeous creations, do go to the blog and have a look! Thanks for ...

Hello, my dearios! We have a lovely Challenge for you at My Time to Craft which is Inspired by Disney. That is INSPIRED BY... since Disney's images are all copyright, of course, and they come down like a ton of bricks on anyone who uses their images without permission. So you could be inspired to use Mermaids, or Princesses, or a Chinese theme, or pick a fairy tale and put your own spin on it - just don't use any actual Disney images! And let us know what inspired you, too! I have a beautiful digi from Sassy Studios (which sadly no longer seems to be trading) called Snow Queen Portrait, which reminds me of 'Frozen.' For my winter birthday card, which is 5" x 7" for a change, I used shades of blue and white. The papers are from my stash, and long out of print. I layered them on blue and silver mats. I added White Blizzard Nuvo Drops to the centres of the snowflakes, and also to the Queen's hair, but they don't really show in the photo. The s...

Hi, guys! Happy Monday! Ournew challenge at Dream Valley is to use Buttons and/or a Bow. Our sponsor is Oddball Art . The DT were given some of their cute and quirky images to play with, and I have used Penelope. The background paper is glittered, it came from a very old Papermania pad called 'Hampstead.' The buttons are in fact die-cuts, made with a Love from Lizi die and cut from a snippet of blue glitter card. I added embroidery floss to tie each button to make them look more realistic! The bow is coloured with Broken China Distress Ink. The sentiment is an old Sizzix die. I also added Nuvo Drops on the image and around the scalloped mat. Go and see the cards my teamies have posted on the Challenge blog and be inspired! Thanks for looking, and have a great week! love Mags B x

Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope you're all looking forward to a FANTASTIC weekend! If you join in with our new challenge at My Time to Craft you certainly will, as our new theme is Fantasy. (See what I did there?) I have a card for a little girl here, using the adorable Magical Day by The Greeting Farm. The unicorn paper is from Chasing Rainbows by First Edition. I made the image into a banner, adding some Nuvo Drops along the top. The ribbon is from stash and the sentiment came with the image. Go and see the fantastic creations made by my teamies over on the Challenge blog! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! We have a new challenge at Dream Valley and it's to use yellow and black on your project. Our sponsor is the gorgeous All Dressed Up and Wendy kindly gave us a couple of her adorable images to use. I chose Magical Woodland it is so cute. The background is made with the Honeybee layering die set from Birch Press, and I used up scraps of orange, black and yellow card forthe die-cutting. The die-cut sentiment uses a Love from Lizi die and a snippet of black glitter cardstock. Have a look of my teamies' creations, they have made some very pretty cards! Thanks for looking and - Bee Happy! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! I hope you all had a relaxing weekend and are now rarin' to go! We have a new challenge for you at Dream Valley - Only Girls Allowed. Our lovely sponsors, Star Stampz and Cute N Crafty. Both have gorgeous girly images, do check them out! I used Spring Flower from Star Stampz. The papers are from an old pad by First Edition. I used green mirror card for the scalloped oval, and green glitter peel-offs by Love from Lizi to edge the central panel. The daisy lace and gold gems are from my stash. My teamies' have done a marvellous job, as usual, showcasing images from our sponsors - do go and see! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you're all keeping well! We have a new Challenge at Dream Valley and it's a lovely, girlie theme - Pink Birthday. Our fab sponsor is Fabrika Fantasy and the DT were lucky enough to be given some images to work with - I chose the darling Flying Elf. So cute! I chose the Promarker colours from the background paper, which is a very old piece by Kanban, and has lovely silver foiling which really gleams in the light. Because I didn't have quite enough to stretch across my card I added a matted scrap of an old Nitwits paper down the middle to hide the gap. The elf's hair and dress, and the dragon's horns, have Spectrum Noir sparkle added to them. The silver-embossed banner and sentiment are also old, they are by Clearly Besotted. I added pink Nuvo drops around the scalloped mat which I cut with a Spellbinders die, and inked the edge of the image with Spun Sugar Distress Ink. Is this pink enough, do you think? So if you want an excuse to ...

Good morning! Are you all getting back to the normal routine after the Festive Season? I have been tackling the washing and ironing - talk about coming back to earth with a thump! And now we have our first Challenge at Dream Valley which is Anything Goes. I made a ridiculous mistake when making my card - more anon! My first version was this: All weekend I was puzzling over why it looked wrong, then yesterday I realised - it's all the wrong way round! Cue a lot of careful removing of elements and replacing them correctly! Oh dear, what a palaver! The cute image is Fairytale Princess from Fabrika Fantasy Stamps. I took the pictures using a daylight lamp, which has made the papers (from an old First Edition pad) look brighter and the image look paler, for some reason. Sorry! The sentiment is from an old Hero Arts set called 'You're Pretty Sweet.' The wooden heart and gems are from stash. We have a lovely new sponsor, Fabrika Fantasy Stamps. Go and se...

Evening, all! There is a DT Call at Dream Valley Have a look at the details which are on the blog and see if you'd like to join us! DV was the very first DT I was ever asked to join, and my teamies are so welcoming and kind. No experience necessary! We have a great Challenge this fortnight - Birthdays! I have made a card for a little girl: This is Ellie, and she's having difficulties carrying that big pile of presents - I love how the bottom one has slipped sideways and she's supporting it with her foot! She is from Di's Digi Stamps and sadly this image has been retired, but there are other equally adorable images on the site! The papers are from an old pad by Crate Paper called 'Little Bo Peep.' The narrow white ribbon originally came from a blouse - does anyone else snip those off to use on cards? The sentiment is from an old Hero Arts stamp set. Our fab sponsors are: Di's Digi Designs and Crafty Ribbons Thanks for looking, and ch...

Good morning! To cheer up your Monday we have a new Challenge at Dream Valley with a lovely theme: One for the Girls. An excuse to dig out all your prettiest papers and embellishments for the ladies in your life! I apologise for the rather odd photo, the Glossy Accents was still wet, so I took the picture with the card lying flat instead of upright! The delicious papers are from a very old pad by MME called 'Quite Contrary.' The sentiment is from the same pad, I fussy cut it and added it to some white card and covered it all with Glossy Accents. The sweet image is Jerry from our sponsor Ppinky Dolls. The ribbon and gems are from stash. Go and see the gorgeous, girly creations my teamies have left on the blog to inspire you! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags B x

Good morning! We have a technique Challenge at CRAFT Challenge this week: Embossing. This can either be heat embossing or dry embossing with a folder - or both! I used an embossing folder on some ivory Centura Pearl cardstock for my background.  The image mat is cut with a Spellbinders die. The gold-embossed sentiment is from a very old Woodware stamp set. The kawaii image (that's 'cute' in Japanese!) is Kimono Portrait by Star Stampz. The ribbon and gems are from stash. Apologies for the lack of detail, I'm on holiday and left the details at home!! Our Sponsor is the adorable Star Stampz. Go and see my teamies' inspiration and get embossing!!! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! Happy Bank Holiday Monday for those enjoying the break! Our new Challenge at Dream Valley which is to Use a stamped or digi image. Nice and easy - but it must be an image! I have used one of the fabulous images from Wendy Burns at All Dressed Up Stamps. In fact, this beauty is a rubber stamp from Little Darlings Rubber Stamps, this is Looking Gorgeous. She is so glamorous that I pulled out the flowers and lace! Both are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I built a flower arch for the ballerina to dance under, and added little leaves from a Spellbinders' Foliage die. I also used a Spellbinders Labels 22 die to cut out the image. The paper is from an old paper pad by Tilda called 'Summer Blues.' The ribbon is from stash. Our sponsor is All Dressed Up. Do go and have a look at Wendy's lovely images! The DT has used some of Wendy's images to inspire you, go and see! Thanks for looking, and have a good week! love Mags B x

It's Saturday! And it's not raining (yet!) Yippee!!! I had my 3-monthly check up post-chemo yesterday, and all seems well, thank goodness! :) Now on to our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is Hats and Bags. You can use either or both on your creation. I can't find a link to the gorgeous Sarah Kay image, sadly, though if you Google you'll find some places that still sell her stamps. NOT, of course, digi copies of her images on Pinterest or elsewhere, those have been stolen and are why she has stopped doing stamps, I'm told. Anyway, I coloured her in Copics and added Glamour Dust to her ribbons. I used a Joy!Crafts Heart die 6002/0381 for the doily and their Leaf die 6002/0493 for the leaves. The cheesecloth is from stash, as are the flowers and the ribbon. The lace is from The Ribbon Girl. The papers are All About Me by Prima. Go and see what my inventive teamies have done with the Challenge, they will inspire you! Thanks for looking! love Mag...

Good morning! It's been such a wet week here in the UK, but to cheer us all up we have a gorgeous Colour Combo Challenge at CRAFT. I found some old papers by Kaisercraft which include turquoise, green, pink and cream, and added brown in the image. The sweet image is Macy Boo from Lacy Sunshine. The photo doesn't really show that her dress and stockings are coloured in aqua and green. Her shoes are brown, and all the pink trimmings have added sparkle. I cut the mat with a Spellbinders die, and the butterflies are cut with a Martha Stewart punch, in pale and darker pink, layered together, with pearls along the bodies. The sentiment is LotV. . The ribbon is from stash. Our sponsor is Lacy Sunshine Stamps Have a look at my teamies' inspiring work using these colours! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! It's a grey, drizzly day here in S E Herts. A good day to hop over to Dream Valley and check out our new challenge, Things with Wings. So - fairies, birds, bees, aeroplanes - as long as it has wings it's ok for the challenge! I went with a cute image from our sponsor Sasayaki Glitter. This is You Blow Me Away isn't she sweet? I added glitter to her wings and the centre of the flower in her hair. I used a Spellbinders' Labels Four die to cut out the image, and layered it onto an Elegant Labels Four mat. The Butterfly is also cut with a Spellbinders die. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the ribbon and pearls are from stash. The background paper is a snippet and the sentiment is from an old Lili of the Valley sentiment set. Go and see my teamies' pretty creations and then join in the fun! Thanks for looking, and I hope you have a good week! love Mags B x

Hi, guys, our new Challenge at Dream Valley is to have differently coloured hair on your project. Don't do what I did!!!!! I didn't read the requirements properly - what a plonker! So please imagine that the dancer on my card has purple, or blue, or orange or pink hair! The image is an old one from the greatly-missed Saturated Canary. I used paper from a very old magazine freebie paper pad; the sentiment is from an old Clearly Besotted stamps set which sadly seems unavailable. The ribbon and gems are from stash. Our sponsor this fortnight: PPinkyDolls Art Thanks for looking! love Mags B x