Madcap Manor

 Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well.  We have a new challenge for you at  My Time to Craft Christmas  and we'd like to see Elves or Gnomes  on your creations! I have used Gnomes that came with an old Simon Says Stamp card kit. The Gnome, presents and sentiment are from the  Gnome for the Holidays  stamp set, though the trees are from a retired  Clearly Besotted  set.  I ink smooshed the card with Distress Inks to make the sky and the snowbanks were die-cut using Lawn Fawn's  Stitched Hillside Borders dies .  I added streaks of Stickles here and there to make the snow sparkle. I die-cut and paper pieced this cute Gnome die from Simon Says Stamp using scraps of Christmas paper.  Sadly, this particular die is no longer available.  The white oval and the background have a very subtle linen look, which doesn't really show up on the phot.  The sentiment comes from the previous SSS stamp set. Check out my Gnom...

 Good morning, all! We have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft! for your delectation and delight. Our theme this time is Thank you. It's always useful to have thank you cards on hand!   My first card is simply embossed. I used Simon Says Stamp's Thankful Flowers stamp set and their Bold Thanks die . Both came in a card kit a couple of years ago but are still available in their website (if you can afford the extra 20% VAT that the UK Government now adds to everything.) I used gold embossing powder and gold mirror card and layered the image onto black and gold card. This is very much inspired by Amy R's series of Black, White and Gold cards - the link is to her playlist at Prairie, Paper and Ink on Youtube.   For my second card I used the Pinkfresh Studio Fuchsias washi tape and Matching Die for this card. They are part of the March 2022 release. I fell in love with this beautiful washi, it's even more gorgeous in real life than in a photo! ...

Morning, all! It's April, two weeks away from Easter, so OF COURSE we have sleet and snow in S-E Hertfordshire! A good day to stay snug and warm indoors and craft! We have a new challenge at My Time to Craft Christmas to inspire you, and it's a great challenge - Use 3 or more Patterned Papers. I don't know about you, but I have so many patterned paper pads that this kind of challenge really encourages me to use some up. My first card includes some paper piecing/decoupage on a cute gnome from Simon Says Stamp.  I used snippets of 6 different papers. There's quite a lot of bling from gold glitter peel-offs by Love from Lizi, both straight strips and mini circles.  I added a glitter circle to the Gnome's hat, and layered the image on gold glitter card. My second card also uses Lizi's peel-offs, this time in silver, and a star ornament die that I think came in one of her kits a couple of years ago.  This time I managed to use 5 different papers.  The mats are al...

  Hi there, and welcome to another Challenge at Dream Valley.    We would like to see some bling on your creations this time. I made a very shiny card! I heat-embossed an old Simon Says Stamp image and painted them with mica paints.  They show up so well on black cardstock! Then I tried splatter with gold and white paints - as you can see, I'm not a very good splatterer, I need more practice!  Finally the sentiment is die-cut from gold card. Check out my teamies' creations and join in! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

I'm sad to say that My Time to Craft is having a break until August. Check out the blog for the details. Hopefully we will all be in a better place in 6 months' time.  In the meantime, here is the card I originally made for the challenge 'Black and White.' The technique is inspired by This video from the ever-inspiring Natasha Foote. She used dies but I used a stamp and heat-embossing. The image was a Simon Says Stamp/Gina K design for Stamptember a couple of years ago. I stamped and heat-embossed twice, using my Misti so it would be at the same place on the black card and the white. Then I cut up the images and pieced them together on some copy paper and finally adhered the panel to my card. I added some white pearls from my stash for an embellishment.  Thanks for looking and keep well!  love Mags B x

  Good morning! I hope you're all keeping well. We have a new Challenge at My Time to Craft and this time we'd like to see  No Patterned Paper. Instead you can use dies or an embossing folder or simply stamp an image and sentiment onto plain card.  I used a die-cut, this is an old Simon Says Stamp die called 'Rose Flower Frame.' I cut the die from a square of white card and coloured the flower with Copics. I layered it on more whte card and then on some textured gold cardstock. The sentiment is from the Simple Pleasures stamp set by Love from Lizi and reads 'You've Got This.' My teamies have left some great creations on the challenge blog to give you some ideas!  Thanks for looking and stay safe!  love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! This year seems to be racing by, how can it be March already??? And now it's time for another Challenge at My Time to Craft! which has the theme Farmyard Animals. Think sheep, cows, pigs, chickens..... I used an image from an old Simon Says Stamp set called 'Birthday Farmyard Animals' which is sadly out of print. I coloured the Chickie with Copics and die-cut a panel with a stitched rectangular die, leaving space for the ribbon and sentiment. I blended Broken China and Tumbled Glass Distress Oxides over white cardstock for the background, then used the same inks and Simon's 'Screened Leaves' stencil (also out of print) to give a tone on tone background. I really like how it turned out! My teamies have made some gorgeous creations in so many different styles, do check them out! Thanks for looking, and have a good weekend! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I apologise that I'm a day late with my DT post for My Time to Craft! However, better late than never! Our new theme is Watercolour and I have used 2 versions - watercolour paints, and Distress Oxide ink smooshing. I also made 2 cards. Here is the second card: The flowers are from the May kit from Simon Says Stamp, I stamped them on watercolour paper and painted them, then fussy cut them. The backgrounds are smooshed with Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet and Seedless Preserves Distress Oxides. The sentiments came from the same kit. Finally I added Nuvo Drops here and there. My talented teamies have made some gorgeous cards to inspire you to get out your watercolours and have a go! Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend! love Mags B x

Good morning, all! It's a grey, overcast, drizzly day today in S-E Herts, very Novemberish! A good day to craft! Christmas is creeping closer - eek! - so it's a good thing that we have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy where it's always Anything Christmas Goes. While sorting my craft hovel (again) I found a pack of wooden Christmas embellishments from Hobbycraft on clearance last year which are great for fun cards! Aren't these Gingerbread Dudes cute? I added Glossy Accents to their top hats, bow ties and candycanes. I used a Simon Says Stamp Tri Square Craft Die to cut the 3 holes and added the wood shapes on top. The sentiment is also by Simon Says Stamp. Go and see my teamies' Christmas creations on the Challenge blog and be inspired! Thanks for looking, and I hope your week is going well! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! It's been a very busy fortnight, we went on holiday to North Norfolk for a week then just had time to do a load of washing before we were off again to Dublin, to witness my daughter and her lovely young man get married in the registry office there. They had the party in May, this was just the paperwork - not the usual way to go about things, I know! Afterwards we had a delicious meal, and a stroll around Dublin's Fair City. It is such a beautiful place! Anyway, we're finally back to normal and there is a new Challenge at My Time to Craft which is Food and/orDrink. No, I haven't mistaken the day, the Challenge has moved from Saturday to Friday. I used items from the Simon Says Stamp card kit for February 2017. The stamp and sentiment come from Simon's Coffee and Tea stamp set and the paper is Doodlebug's Cream and Sugar 6 x 6 paper pad. The ribbon is from stash. My teamies have made some delicious cards to inspire you, go and se...

Hi, guys! Festive greetings - we have a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge! As usual the theme is Anything Christmas Goes and it doesn't have to be a card! We also have a DT Call so hop over and check out the details! While sorting my stamp sets I came across this cute Merry and Bright set from Simon Says Stamp, which came in an old kit along with Doodlebug papers from the Here Comes Santa Claus paper pad. I used an MFT Stitched Scalloped Border Die for the snowbanks, with some icicle Stickles to add streaks of glitter. I used red Nuvo Drops for Rudolph's nose and the baubles on the tree. My teamies, as usual, have made gorgeous examples to inspire you! Thanks for looking and have a great day! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope you're all keeping well. Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is to Make a Stamped Background. It can be made with rubber stamps or digis. I am determined to make better use of the card kits I subscribe to, so I had the Everything Together stamp set from the May 2018 Simon Says Stamp kit and decided to use the solid flower and leaf stamps for my background, with some Hero Arts dye inks. Inspired by our Jedi Master Shell's card for our Circles Challenge last month, I die-cut the centre of my piece, matted it on card, and replaced it using fun foam. The sentiment is from Simon's Uplifting Thoughts stamp set and reads 'There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy.' I added a ribbon from stash and gold stickles to the centres of the flowers. Do go and see what my talented teamies have made, the variety is very inspiring! Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I'm so sorry this is late, I thought I'd scheduled this! The best-laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley! Anyway, at My Time to Craft our new Challenge is Holidays. That's not necessarily Christmas, but Easter, or summer holidays too. I went for summer! The images and sentiment come from an old Simon Says Stamp kit. I coloured and fussy-cut the ice lolly and flip flops, and added glossy accents to the lolly. I embossed the sentiment with SSS steel blue embossing powder, it's very shiny! The paper is from an old paper pad by Echo Park, and the orange twine is from Lawn Fawn. Go and see the inspiring creations my teamies have left for your perusal on the blog! Thanks for looking, and have a good day! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! After the sunshine of the last few days it's turned overcast and humid today - maybe we'll have more thunder and lightning! Usually thunderstorms go from south to north here, following the line of the River Lea about a mile away, but the other night the lightning was all across the sky! Very impressive! To take my mind off how hot and icky I'm feeling, here is my card for The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. I used items from a kit from Simon Says Stamp. The Santa is from Christmas Squad by Simon, the papers are Doodlebug's Milk and Cookies collection. The ribbon is from stash as are the gold sequins. All Santa's fur trim has been covered with Stickles! I used a rectangular and a square die to make a 'polaroid' but I should have used slightly smaller dies, because I think it's too big. Never mind, we live and learn! Go and see what my teamies have created on the Challenge Blog! It's always Anything Christmas Goes at The H...

Hello, my dearios! I hope you're all having a great weekend! Our new Challenge at My Time to Craft! is this fabulous sketch: Simple yet elegant, don't you think? Rather than add an image to the sketch, I stamped a gingham pattern. It has a distressed look (because my stamping was a little heavy-handed in places!) Take a look: Everything except the silver-embossed sentiment by lawn fawn and the tag cut with an old MFT die comes from the Simon Says Stamp March 2018 card kit. I also added some vellum circles under the flowers - the flowers and leaves were coloured with Copics and fussy-cut with a narrow white border and are raised on foam dots and covered with Spectrum Noir Shimmer pen. I finished the card by rounding all the corners with my good old corner chomper and went round the edge with a white gel pen. It shows just enough to give a bit of interest. I am so pleased with this card! It's for a particular friend who's been unwell, and I think she...

Evening, all! I hope you're all having a restful weekend! I've made a card using items from the January Kit by Simon Says Stamp. Everything is from the kit apart from the little heart-shaped gem, which is there to cover a smear of glue, and the banner, which is also from SSS, and the heart die. It's a bit too pink and girly for my Olde Manne, but I'm pleased with it! I am entering the current Challenge at Stamp Ink Paper because I used their lovely sketch! I hope you all have a happy week ahead of you! love Mags B x

Hi! Here at last is my post for The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge I apologise for the delay. Suddenly Christmas seems much closer, so I am trying to make at least two of every Christmas card now! This time I made two Shaker cards. For this one I used a Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornaments die to cut the window. I cut it again from gold cardstock and then, without removing the die, traced around the edge and cut it out to make the frame. The sequin mix is from Little Things by Lucy and the paper is from stash. The sentiment is cut in the same gold card with a Simon Says Stamp die. This is made in the same way but with circle dies for the window and frame, and the sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp's Deco Christmas Tree die. 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 ...

Goooood Morning!!! I hope you're all enjoying the weekend! Our next challenge at My Time to Craft is to use Sequins or Buttons or Both on your creation! This is a great challenge, as you can add sequins to a girly 'make' or buttons to a 'boy' one! I went with a Shaker card for a baby. I think it looks as though she is sitting in one of those soft ball play areas! The adorable little elephant is from a Simon Says Stamp set, Wild About You - the stamps came with their April kit, I don't have the dies! Even though the price has gone up a lot since the fall in the £ since last June, I just can't stop my subscription to these gorgeous kits!!! We are eating a lot more vegetarian dishes as a result, they are cheap and delicious and my veggie daughter approves! Back to the card. I stamped 3 pale pink hearts around the elephant and used Glossy Accents to glue some sequins about her. I added a pink one near her ear, but when I added more sequins la...

Hi, guys! I hope your weekend is going swingingly! It's a blowy, chilly day here in S-E Hertfordshire, with clouds racing across a pale blue sky - pretty to look at, as long as you're warmly dressed! Unlike many of you guys we have not yet had any snow, but our new Challenge at My Time to Craft is Let It Snow so let's see lots of snowflakes! I used a fabulous digi from Sassy Studios called Snow Queen Portrait she is a joy to colour! I used Lawn Fawn Stitched Circle dies to cut out the image and silver mat. I distressed the image edges with Weathered Wood Distress Ink and then added snowflakes from Simon Says Stamp's 'Lots of Snowflakes' stamp set in the same ink and added Baby Blue Stickles. The background paper is from stash, and the ribbon came from Hobbycraft. The glitter snowflakes were cut with a Memory Box Snowflake Border die. Go and see the lovely, snow-bedecked creations that my teamies have made, and dig out your prettiest snowflake stam...