Madcap Manor

  Good morning! Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is a technique challenge - Stencil It! Unfortunately I can't find the stencil I used (it's SOMEWHERE in the olde craft hovel!)  I liked the geometric shapes, as this was my Olde Manne's Birthday card this year. I used Distress Oxides and the sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's Simply Sentiments stamp set.  I'm glad to say the Birthday Boy liked it!  Stencilling is so versatile, take a look at the examples left by my teamies on the blog for some gorgeous inspiration!  Thanks for looking, and take care!  love Mags B x

 Hello, my dearios! I hope you're all keeping well, and that my friends in the USA and Canada and Europe are safe and warm.  I was on a Zoom call with 3 schoolfriends, one of whom lives in Massachusetts, she said the weather had warmed up to 17 degrees. 'That's not too bad!' I thought.  Then she translated from Fahrenheit to Centigrade - MINUS 8!!!!! I never was much good at maths.  All my friends thought my shocked expression was very funny! Anyway, I'm here with our latest Challenge at My Time to Craft! which is to make a standalone tag or to use one on your creation. Check out my teamies' fab examples to see what we mean! This photo isn't very clear, because the paper has silver foiling and the tag itself has a shiny surface as well as silver foil.  I used papers and elements from an elderly DCWV pad called 'Rock Star' which is long out of print, I'm afraid! I sliced 2 inches off the front of the cardbase and glued a strip of paper with...

Oops! I'm a day late with my post for Dream Valley, I apologise! Following on from the last Challenges theme of 'One For The Girls' we now have One For The Boys. Our sponsor is the amazing Bugaboo Digi Stamps. Unfortunately my printer is making everything look blurry and I wasn't able to use the fun images we were sent so generously, so instead I used something I already had. This is Gus , isn't he wonderful? The sentiment reads: 'Growing old is mandatory... Growing up is optional.' I used old papers from my stash plus 2 of Love from Lizi's Gold Matt Peel-offs. I added Glossy Accents to Gus's spectacles and two stitched circles die-cut from a scrap of gold card as embellishments. My teamies have made some fab cards to inspire you, showcasing more of Bugaboo's fun images, do check them out! Thanks for looking, and have a good week. love Mags B x PS I was talking to a friend who has just finished a Bio-Med degree, and he explain...

Morning, all! I am scheduling this post as I have hospital check-ups tomorrow and I don't know how long it will take! However, the good news is I'm still in remission from my bowel cancer. It's amazing to think that it's now 2 years since I started my treatment - and thanks to the incredible doctors and nurses of the NHS I am still here!!! So I hope this post appears at the right time. We have a topical theme at CRAFT Challenge which is Father's Day or For a Bloke. . This lovely image is Lighthouse by Sweet 'n Sassy. Icoloured it with Promarkers. The paper is from stash, I cut it so that the centre, where the lines cross, would be behind the top of the lighthouse, and added Spectrum Noir sparkle to the coloured wedges, and also to the yellow section of the lighthouse. The die-cut 'Dad' is made with a very old MFT alphabet die, and covered with Glossy Accents. Our great sponsor this week is Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. Take a look at the fa...

Hello there! We have a fun new theme at CRAFT Challenge. - Add a Charm. I don't know where this last week has gone! I had this little music note charm in my stash so I went with this cute Music Conductor from Star Stampz. I coloured his little waistcoat in red - very smart! The papers are from my Christmas snippets file! I used some blue baker's twine to thread the charm onto, and the sentiment is Label Love by Altenew. Our sponsor is the fabulous Star Stampz. Go and see the 'charming' creations made by my teamies! (Sorry - I can't resist a bad pun!) Thanks for looking and have a good day! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you're enjoying a good weekend. My daughter is visiting from Ireland and we've just come back from a delicious lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Nomnomnom! Onto our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! and the theme is Inspired by a Film. I have made a card for a bloke, featuring Superman. All the images are from Paper Smooches' Super stamp set, and I fussy cut Superman and the buildings in the background. The papers are from stash, I used a Lawn Fawn Meadow Borders die for the grass. I added clear Nuvo Drops to some of the sars in the sky, and the star on the sentiment is from stash. I hope you all have a 'super' week ahead! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend! Now we have a new Challenge at Dream Valley and it's to use Dry Embossing on your creation. While sorting through my embossing folders I came across one with this geometric pattern that reminds me of the patterns on metal stairs meant to give your shoes a better grip. I also needed a card for a bloke, so I dug out some silver mirror card and some metal cogs from stash. The strip of paper is from an old Authentique pad - I like how the print gives the impression of texture. The sentiment is cut with dies by Marianne from a scrap of black glitter cardstock. Go and admire my teamies' creations, they are so varied! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! I hope you are all having a good weekend! We have grey skies and a chilly wind here in S-E Herts, but on the bright side I have seen several Swifts flying by in the last couple of days, which means that Summer is on its way! On to our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! and it's to make something For the Men in Our Lives. Yes, one of those tricky creations for a bloke! I've made a Father's Day card - I know the actual day isn't until June, but I thought I'd be efficient and make one early! I used the Balloon Bouquet outline die from Simon Says Stamp and cut it in black card. I glued it to the card front, which is covered with paper from an old Studio Calico Kit. Then I cut the die again from snippets of coloured card and inlaid them. I gave them some sparkle with a Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen. The sentiment is from an old set by Clearly Besotted, sadly it's now out of print. Do go and see my teamies' gorgeous creations for ...

Good morning, my lovelies! I hope you have a good week ahead of you! The new Winter Birthday Challenge at Dream Valley is very appropriate for me as there are 3 important family birthdays for me between December and January! I used wintry shades of blue and white, plus two snowflake papers for the background. The image of the airship is from Grand Tour I by Indigo Blu and I stamped it in pigment ink and clear embossed it. The oval mats are cut with a Stitched Ovals Die by My Favorite Things. The brads are from my stash and the sentiment is from an older Clearly Besotted set. Do go and see what lovely creations the team has made, and say hello to Gina, our new DT member! Thanks for looking, and have a great dy! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! Firstly, welcome to my new followers! I hope very much that you enjoy this erratic, sometimes crazy blog! xx We had good news this morning: my daughter had a 3-month check-up today and her cancer is still in full remission! She is so lively now, back to what she was like before the Hodgkins' Lymphoma struck. So we opened a bottle of wine this evening to celebrate, and I may possibly be a wee bit tiddly. Please excuse any misprints in my post! On to the card! This was made for my hubby's BFF, who turned 60 at the weekend. I went with a CAS look. The card base is Neenah Desert Storm Kraft card (my Christmas present to me was a subscription to Simon Says Stamp Monthly Card Kits and the card came with one of them.) I rounded the corners with the We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, I do love that bit of kit! The background striped paper is a snippet from the Nitwits Tour of London collection . I embossed a snippet of blue Core'dinations with the Cutt...

I was asked to make a couple of cards for my friend's brother's birthday. He's a fan of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (Come On You Spurs!) so the card from my friend was quite straightforward. The second was from my friend's kids - both of them love 'Doctor Who' and I went for an 'Alien' theme. The football background paper came from my stash, and the main image is a computer 'Wallpaper' from the net, which I downsized to fit the card. I layered it on silver, white and blue card. The sentiment is heat embossed in blue. The numbers are die-cut from silver card with a Memory Box die. The cute alien is an old digi from Pollycraft. I replaced the original balloon he's holding with a larger one from a 'Simon Says Stamp' Valentine set, and added the die-cut numbers from the same Memory Box die set. The papers are Cosmo Cricket. The sentiment also came from Pollycraft, I embossed it in white. The name is made with some Basic Grey sti...

My brother was 55 today! here's the card I made for him. He is red-green colour blind, so I used yellow and blue to make a strong contrast on the image. The stamp was given to my daughter when she worked at Waterstone's Bookshop by a lovely lady who used to come in and chat about crafting. This old Kadoodles stamp was one that she no longer wanted, and it's perfect for my brother, so I borrowed it! The papers are from stash, I've had them for ages!! I used promarkers to colour the lad and his dog, and used a Spellbinders Deckle Rectangle (one of the first I ever bought! If only I'd known then how my die-addiction would grow!!) to cut him out. The very shiny stickers are from Paperchase. Alas, they seem to have been discontinued, they are brilliant for male cards! The indigo twine was also borrowed from my daughter! The sentiment is by LotV. You might say that this card is a joint effort between my daughter and me!! Thanks for looking! I'm entering the...

Good morning, all! I hope you're enjoying the weekend! It's officially Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, my favourite time of the year. I love the colours on the trees as the leaves turn! Though I'm not so keen on the fog and rain! However, this fortnight's challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox concerns rain that I think I'd enjoy - It's Raining Men! Can I hear a 'Hallelujah!'????? (If you have a moment, hop over to Youtube and see It's Raining 300 Men which has shots from the film '300' and the soundtrack of the song. Guaranteed to make you laugh!) The image on my card makes me smile, too, it's Buggin' Drummer by Kenny K. Yes, our sponsor is Kenny K and a lucky winner will be able to choose FIVE digis as their prize! Isn't he having a great time?! I used Promarkers to colour the image (and lost the list :( - sorry!) The background papers are from the Rock Star stack by DCWV, I love the clashing colours and the foi...

Eta: obviously I didn't schedule this properly! Sorry for the delay! x Hi, guys! I'm scheduling this post as we're all off to a family 'Do' on Sunday. I hope it works! The Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox is 'One For the Men' and we are sponsored by the wonderful Bugaboo I used one of their wonderful images of Gus, I love this old gent! isn't he great? I used Speccies to colour him, and stickled the water quite lavishly. I distressed with Salty Ocean DI. The digi papers are 'The Boys Zone' by Bearly Mine I used Papermania Kraft to mat. The star is an X-cut die, I stamped a LotV sentiment on it and edged it with stickles. The shiny stars are Papermania and the twine was a magazine freebie. The sketch is from Here Come the Boys which is dedicated to cards for the men in our life! I'm entering their Challenge, isn't it a great sketch? Do paddle over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at my teamies' fab contrib...

Morning, all! I want to thank you for your lovely comments! Yesterday I had a very minor op and when I got back from the surgery I was feeling rather shaky, but when I read your comments they made me feel so very much better. so - THANK YOU!!! I wasn't allowed to do the ironing (shame!) so I made this. It's the first attempt at masking two images together that has turned out quite reasonably! The stamps are Magnolia, of course. I used Promarkers and Glossy Accented both skulls. The papers are digis by Creative Cottage, and I've had these scraps hanging around for about 2 years! I used baker's twine from The Ribbon Girl. The skull charm and pearls are from stash. The buttons are from my Mother in Law's button tin - the big one has lines on it rather like the points of a compass, so I thought it was appropriate! Here's the inside with more skulls: And here's a close-up of the button: I'm entering Just Magnolia Challenge whose theme is ...