Madcap Manor

  Hi there from a cold, grey, damp, dreicht Hertfordshire! Perfect weather for making Christmas cards! Our new theme at My Time to Craft Christmas is Nativity. I have perhaps stretched the Challenge a wee bit, because my cards feature a children's Nativity Play rather than the Nativity itself, but I so love these images by Lili of the Valley.   The link is to a page with a whole set of these cute digi stamps. I used papers and sentiment banners from my stash, and added tiny star peel-offs by Love From Lizi.   My teamies have made some beautiful Nativity cards, check out the variety! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! it's been quite a day - my gorgeous grandchild and her parents paid us a flying visit and we went out for lunch. I'm here to tell you that Spag Bol with long spaghetti is more suitable for face-painting than eating. Lillie got it everywhere!!! Once she gets home I suspect she will be straight into her bath! We also picked up a new printer, since my old one died yesterday. Which would not have been too bad, except that I spilled a cuppa over a (coloured!) printed image for another DT card, and when I tried to reprint, nothing happened! It's been a Comedy of Errors at the Manor recently! However, now I'm here with my DT card for My Time to Craft and our theme is Spring Flowers . Think tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, crocuseseses - roses or sunflowers, though pretty, are right out! I used Daffodils by Lili of the Valley. The papers are from the Snippets drawer, the gems are from Hobbycraft. Gather a posie of your Spring Flower images and join in the fun! ...

Afternoon, all! Please excuse any typos in this post, my laptop refuses to connect to the Internet, so I'm using an old one with a dodgy keyboard! It's My Time to Craft time again! And now that the summer holidays are over the challenge has returned to being WEEKLY! The theme is 'Teddy Bear's Picnic' and we'd love to see your cards featuring A Bear as the main image. (Background papers with bears on don't count!) James the Bear is a Lili of the Valley cutie! I coloured him with Promarkers and added Glossy Accents to the baubles and stickles to the tinsel. The mat is cut with a Spellbinders Lacey Squares die and the blue card is a large snippet! The papers are from Hobbycraft and the ribbon is from stash. I used a snippet of dull gold paper to punch the snowflakes, using a Martha Stewart punch. Do go and take a look at my teamies' lovely makes, then dig out your favourite Teddy Bear image and have a go! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge ! Last time the 'Steampunk' theme was rather difficult, but now we have a nice and easy Challenge that everyone will enjoy - Something Old, Something New. It's an excuse to show off your new stuff as well as digging in your neglected stash! I'm sure many of you will recognise the Lili of the Valley Holly Wreath from last Christmas, and also the sentiment. I coloured in the image last January when I bought the stamp, using Spectrum Noirs - apologies, I don't have the list, after all this time! The ribbon was a freebie from 'Quick Cards' and it's at least a year old! The 'Something New' is the fabulous paper, from one of the beautiful new LotV paper pads. This gorgeous design by Laila is my favourite, because it reminds me of the fabric I used to make my children's Christmas Stockings over 20 years ago! Have a look at my teamies' fab contributions, and have a go yourself! But plea...

Hi, guys! Happy Jubilee holiday to those who have celebrated! I was asked to make a card for a lady whose bridesmaids are going to be wearing the colours of the rainbow! That's one colour each, by the way, not all seven at once! This is a big card (8" x 8") because the LotV die-cut is large. I used a Martha Stewart punch around the die-cut to give the lacy border. The striped paper is Funky Hand (it was a freebie last year) - aren't those colours lovely?! Flowers are Wild Orchid, and the leaves are a Whiff of Joy die. The ribbon is recycled one of my colleagues at the Toddler Club was going to chuck it because it's not very long - so I snapped it up instead! It makes me feel so virtuous when I recycle! The sentiment is also LotV, the butterflies and flowers coloured with Sakura Stardust pens, and matted onto a piece cut with a Spellbinders Floral Doily die. All the paper lace has been distressed with Spun Sugar DI. The pink roses and hearts on the image ...

My baby girl was 24 yesterday, and this is the card I made for her. I am amazed at how easy it is to make an easel card - the pictures on other peoples' blogs look so complex and lavish, but it's really simple! My Old Man Does Not Do Cute, but even he admitted it was good! I'm especially pleased with the little strawberry charm, from Whiff of Joy which is hanging on a twisted cord which I made from 2 pink embroidery threads. The inside: I distressed round the adorable Lili of the Valley image and also the card for the sentiment on the inside, with Tattered Rose distress ink, and stickled. Two of the papers are Basic Grey 'Nook and Pantry'; but the pink paper on the right and on the inside isn't, but I can't recall where it's from, sorry! The big flower is Prima, the small ones from my local Art and Craft shop, and they've been shimmer misted in gold but it doesn't show up in the picture. Let's be frank, I am not a very good photographer, bu...