Madcap Manor

 Hi there! It's never too soon to start thinking about next Christmas! So we have our first Challenge of 2023 at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  to inspire you! Remember, it doesn't have to be a card! I have used papers and ephemera from last November's kit by  Love from Lizi  for a card. I used a no-scraps template by  Jess Crafts  for the patterned paper, and some pearlised pink cardstock for the background.  The sentiment is one of the  Simple sentiment strips - Christmas  by Taylored Expressions. If you're not 'all Christmassed out,' take a look at the Challenge blog and join in - you'll be glad you did when November rolls around and you have a good stack of Christmas cards, tags etc all ready to go! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Q: Qhat do you get if you cross a Kangaroo with a Sheep? A: A Woolly Jumper. A very old joke.  (Here in the UK a sweater is also known as a jumper.) Our new challenge at  My Time to Craft Christmas  is to show winter clothing on your creation.  Scarves, hats, gloves, coats, woolly jumpers...  The papers and ephemera on this card are from the  Love from Lizi November 2022 card kit  which is called 'Cosy Christmas.'  The sentiment is from the  Perfect Sentiments Holiday  stamp set by Pinkfresh Studio, and I added Gold Coast Nuvo Drops to give some sparkle. My second card uses an old Memory Box die called 'Precious Mittens' which is now out of print.  I cut the first layer from pearlised white cardstock and also red paper, trimmed off the red mittens and glued them together.  The purple pearlised background has been embossed with a 'knitted' embossing folder.  Papers and ribbon are from stash and the sentiment is anothe...

 Good morning! Hooray and Huzzah, it's almost the weekend! There's great excitement here at the Manor, because our dayghter is popping over from Ireland to visit.  Tomorrow we go to That There London Town to see an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.  I admit, I'm rather nervous, but I have a new mask and hopefully the trains won't be too crowded. Yes, there is a point to that tale: our new challenge at  My Time to Craft!  is all about Transportation.  Not just trains but cars, boats, aeroplanes, Santa's sleigh.....  I went with bicycles! I used a Memory Box die which sadly is out of print.  I used an old Spellbinders decorative circles die set for the lacy purple mats, and the sentiment is by MFT and also, sadly, out of print.  The rest is all from my stash.  I added gold sequins to the flower centres. This card is in a completely different style! The papers and image came from the October 2022 kit by  Love from Lizi. ...

 Afternoon, all! I hope your week is going well and that you have time to craft.  Especially if you make Christmas/Winter cards - there's no time like the present for getting a satisfying stack of cards readybefore the panic sets in around 1st December!! Yes, we have another Challenge at  The Holly and Ivy  to entertain you. I am once again concentrating on using up my paper pads, and one of the best resources I've found is  Jess Crafts  on Youtube.  She also has a blog with templates, and this card uses  a template from her section on using up a paper pad.  The snowglobe sticker is also from my stash, and the sentiment is from the  Winter scripty sentiments  stamp set by Lawn Fawn. Check out our challenge blog and use up those patterned papers! Then you'll have room to store new ones!! Thanks for looking and keep smiling. love Mags B x

 Good morning! Yes, it's another Christmas card! We have a new challenge at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  to help you to get ahead with your festive creations.  In 5 months' time it will be Boxing Day, and you don't want to be panicking over your cards in December lol! I used  this sketch  by Jess Crafts.  It's one of her excellent 'no scraps' tutorials, this time using 8 x 8" paper.  If you haven't come across Jess yet, do check out her videos and blog, she is a great teacher! Here is my card, using patterned paper from an old First Editions pad. The horizontal strip is glittered, and I edged it with gold  peel-offs  by Love from Lizi.  The gold-embossed sentiment was loose in my Christmas Stuff folder - I think it's by Lil Inker Designs.  I added a mat in dull gold. Check out my teamies' makes on the challenge blog and get in some festive crafting! Thanks for looking and take care! love, Mags B x

  Good morning! I hope you're all looking forward to a relaxing weekend. There's 2 weeks to go until the Big Day and the pressure is mounting - but I hope you can find some quiet time to yourself to do some crafting. Check out our latest challenge at My Time to Craft! where we're looking for Christmas Animals. I used This sketch by Jess Crafts. She has a Youtube channel, too, where she shows how to use up patterned papers leaving no scraps - so useful!  The adorable deer are from Lawn Fawn's Cheery Christmas stamp set, and I added little Christmas hats. The silver-embossed sentiment is also by Lawn Fawn, it's from the Simply Celebrate Winter stamp set. My teamies have made a lovely variety of cards on our them, take a dekko to be inspired!  Thanks for looking and keep well!  love Mags B x