Madcap Manor

Here is a picture of my new granddaughter Fiadh, who was born last Friday, and her brother Oscar, who is 6.  Ye Olde Manne and I will be visiting at the beginning of March and I can't wait!!  Sadly, this is my last post for  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge .  I am sorry to leave, it has been great to get all my Christmas cards sorted before December! I want to thank Marlene and the lovely Design Team and everyone who enters the challenge for their inspiration. My card is based on  this video  by Iced Images for a Gatefold Star Card.  The papers are from a very old paper pad by Cosmo Cricket called 'Mitten Weather.'  The two glittered chipboard snowflakes came from the same collection.  The sentiments and gems are from my stash. Check out my teamies' lovely creations! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

Good afternoon from sunny Hertfordshire! Well, it's sunny now that the freezing fog has lifted.  Brr! It's so wintry these days - but we can all cheer up by making cheerful Christmas cards! Yes, it's time for a new Challenge at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge.   We also have a DT Call  so if you've ever wondered about joining a Challenge Design Team, check out the blog.  All welcome, no matter your level of experience! I was tidying my Craft Hovel and came across an old set of papers and die-cuts by  Hunkydory Crafts  which came with a magazine a long time ago. I can't remember what this fold is called!  Here is the inside: Everything is from the kit, which includes some very pretty foiling.  The inside sentiment is 'To the Lovebirds at Christmas' and I know just who I'll be sending it to in 11 months' time! Check out the blog for more inspiration and for details of the DT Call. Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Edited to add: oops, I made a mistake when scheduling this post, apologies that it's late! Good morning, my lovelies! It's January 24th, and it's only 11 months until CHRISTMAS EVE! I mentioned this to my hubby and he groaned and covered his face with his hands..... Anyway, this means there is plenty of time to get your Christmas Thing going, and at  The Holly and Ivy  we are here to help.  Yes, we have a new challenge for your entertainment! I only realised when I posted that this is the same layout for my card yesterday at Dream Valley! The cute image and the papers are by Doodlebug from their 'Let It Snow' Collection.  I added a red cardstock mat and some white Love from Lizi peel-offs. I also dotted stickles on the snowflake centres and the pom-pom on the penguin's hat. Check out my teamies' fun inspiration and join in the challenge! It's never too soon to start making Christmas creations! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 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

 Hello, my lovelies! I hope you're all keeping well.  We had snow on Sunday - 9 inches overnight! It's more than we've seen in several years.  I know, I know, those of you in places where snow is much more frequent will be rolling on the floor, laughing, but here in the south of the UK we rarely get so much.  Everything looked very Christmassy on Monday morning. And now we have the last Challenge of the year at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge , which lasts until 8th January 2023. I apologise for the shine on the image, I had to use the camera flash, and all the papers are glossy.  Papers, ephemera, bow and sentiment are all from the November 2022 card kit by  Love from Lizi .  I used a tiny bow stamp from a very old Simon Says Stamp set and some pale pink ink to stamp on the card base to give more interest.  The sketch is by Jess Crafts, from her paper pad templates  here. I hope you are all getting organised for the Big Day witho...

 Hi, guys! We have a new Christmas Challenge at  The Holly and Ivy  to give you extra inspiration for your Christmas creating! Every year I make a dozen tags for a very dear friend.  This year I knew I wanted to include a snowflake.  I was inspired by  this video  by Jess Crafts; and  this video  by Ardyth.  Check them both out on Youtube, they are so inspiring! I used scraps of mirror and holographic card, and an old Martha Stewart punch.  The frames were cut using Spellbinders square dies: I cut the larger die first, then lined up a smaller die in the middle to create the frame.  The white cardstock was cut with a wonky stitched square die from Craftstash (now out of print) and I used my Cropadile to punch holes for the ribbons. Check out our new Challenge and get Christmassy! Thanks for looking and take care. love Mags B x

 Evening, all! Sorry I'm late with my post, I have been wrapping presents for Santa to give out to the children at the Toddler Club Christmas Party in 3 weeks' time.  It's always good to get Christmas preparations under way early! Speaking of which, we have a new challenge for you at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge!  I have made a CAS card. Once again I have used some older stash.  The background is embossed with an ancient Sizzix folder with Christmas words.  The vertical strip is a snippet from my Christmas papers, edged with Love from Lizi's  Gold holographic peel-offs .  The gold mirri sentiment is an old Love from Lizi die.  I matted the panel on some red paper before adding it to my card base.  Simples! Check out my teamies' creations on the challenge blog and get inspired to make a Christmas card! It's not long now until the Big Day! Thanks for looking, and take care! love Mags B x

 Hi, guys! Welcome to another Challenge at  The Holly and Ivy ! I found a digi image of a Christmas present, but unfortunately I had forgotten to write down the source.  It's quite old.  If anyone recognises it, please let me know so I can give credit where it's due. I used papers from my Christmas stash, and coloured the image to match.  I added  Gold holographic peel-offs  by Love from Lizi to edge the vertical strip.  I also added  Bottle Green Nuvo Drops  to decorate the ribbon. Check out the blog for more Christmas inspiration! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Hello, my lovelies! I'm sorry this post is a day late, I managed to pick up a tummy bug which wiped out Monday and Tuesday this week! Well, it's one way to lose weight..... For our new Challenge at  The Holly and Ivy  I decided to make a stencilled background.  I used the Pretty Pink Posh  Layered Sunflower Stencils  to create poinsettias. It's an easy set to layer, and with different colours could be daisies or even Michaelmas daisies, I think.  I matted it on gold cardstock which I also used for the die-cut sentiment, which is an old one by  Love from Lizi .   In ;ess that 2 weks' time it will be November! Break out your Chrimbo stash and join in at the Challenge! You know it makes sense. Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Good afternoon! I'm sorry my post is a wee bit late, it's been a busy day.  This morning was spent at the Toddler Club which I help to run at my church; then I had a dental appointment to have my gnashers cleaned; and then hubby and I had our Covid booster AND flu jab! Now it's time for a cuppa! Anyway, our new Challenge at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  is under way.   I used an old die-set (now out of print) for the Snow person, it's so cute! I cut everything out of white card and coloured the pieces with copics.  The oval is die-cut from a scrap of embossed card, as is the sentiment, which is an old die by Love from Lizi.  The background paper and spotted card are from my stash. My stash of Christmas cards is looking quite healthy by now - although I will need even more to be sold at the Toddler Club for our funds.  It's a good thing I really enjoy making Christmas cards! Take a gander at the Challenge blog to be inspired by my t...

 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

 Hi there! I hope you're all keeping well.  We have a new Challenge for you at  The Holly and Ivy  where it's always Anything Christmas Goes. I have made a 5" x 7" card, using pieces from a kit which came with a magazine some months ago. There is some gorgeous gold foiling on the die-cut image, so I added gold mirror  peel-offs  by Love from Lizi to cover the join between the two papers.  The banner sentiment ('The reason for the season') came from the same kit. Check out our challenge and kick-start your Chrimbo mojo! Thanks for looking and take care. love Mags B x

 Good morning! It's another hot and sunny day here in S-E Hertfordshire - the perfect time to tackle Christmas cards! I know it's just my imagination, but making Christmas cards in the summer always makes me feel a bit cooler.  And  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  is here to help with a new challenge! We also have a Design Team call.  Whether you're a beginner or a long-time crafter, if you'd like to try out a Design Team, contact our Jedi Master Marlene with pictures of 3 cards you've made.  Details are on the blog post linked above. I put together a piece of patterned paper from my stash and an old Simon Says Stamp die of candy canes. The die-cut outline is red mirror card and I inlaid white card to fill the spaces.  The banner sentiment came from Craft Creations - the website has moved and is now  Katy Sue Designs.   I layered a green ribbon over a red-and-gold one for the horizontal strip. Check out my teamies' pretty creations and...

 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

 Hiya! I hope you're all keeping well.  We have a new Challenge at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  - it's less than 6 months until Christmas! I don't know where this year is going! I used some old stamps from a Hero Arts set in shades of green and added Icicle Stickles to the ornaments.  I matted it on gold mirror card and added it to a paper from my stash that is layered onto gold and green (I cut the paper a bit too small, hence the 2 layers!) The sentiment is from my stash. Check out the challenge, it's so satisfying to have a decent pile of cards ready well before Christmas! Thanks for looking and take care. love Mags B x

 Well, it's a beautiful summer's day here in S-E Hertfordshire, the sun is shining and the sky is blue.  A perfect day to talk about Christmas! Yes, we have a new Challenge at  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  where Anything Christmas Goes. I used  James - Wrapped in Tinsel  by LotV - I have him as an unmounted stamp, but I'm glad to say that he's still available as a digi. The papers are from a VERY old pad by Dovecraft which is now out of print.  I matted the snowflake layer onto another paper from the pad and then a scrap of purple pearlised card.  The ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment is an old one from Simon Says Stamp.  Finally I added  Plum Pudding Nuvo Drops  for a bit of shine and Icicle Stickles to the tinsel on the image. Check out the Challenge blog and my teamies' inspiration! Thanks for looking and take care! love Mags B x

 Good morning! I hope you're all well.  I have scheduled this post, as when the challenge at  The Holly and Ivy  goes live I will be at Church, arranging flowers to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.  For celebrations we always have a stand by the main door and one by the altar, and smaller arrangements along all the windowsills.  The Flower team are so talented, it will look fabulous! But you're here for our new Challenge! I wanted to make a CAS card using this pretty blue as my 'white space.'  I made a panel slightly smaller than my card base and scored 2 lines on the left and at the bottom, then used my Cropadile to round the top right corners.  The snowflakes are cut with Lawn Fawn's  Stitched Snowflakes  dies from a scrap of rose gold non-shed glitter card from Tonic.   The sentiment is embossed with rose gold, the stamps are from a very old Bo Bunny stamp set, and I rounded the top right corners.  On reflection,...

  Hi there! We have a new Challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. Yes, we're halfway through May, but we can make Christmas cards all year round! I had a play with making a different fold for my card this time.  I cut off a section on the front of a side-folded card base in blue and added papers to the inside and outside.  The topper and sentiment, which both have gold foiling, were glued only to the front flap; the star is also gold foiled. Everything came from a card kit that came with a magazine earlier this year.  It's a simple card, but the gold foiling gives it some pizzaz! Check out the Challenge blog and my teamies' fab creations, they'll inspire you to join in! Thanks for looking and take care. love Mags B x

 Hello, my dearios! It's time for another challenge at The Holly and Ivy. I upcycled a card I received last Christmas, I love the elegant foiling of the image on the dark blue background. I used Octagon nesting dies by Spellbinders to cut the pale blue border and the image.  The gold mat was made by tracing the outline of the smaller die and cutting it with my trimmer; I did the same technique for the card base using the largest die. A very simple card, but I like the unusual shape. Check out the challenge blog and make a Christmas card! You'll be glad to have a stash of cards ready for December ;) Thanks for looking and take care. love Mags B x

Hi there! Welcome to The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always Anything Christmas Goes. My card is quite simple this week, using inlay die-cuts and some gold embossing. I used the Collage Cover Up Die from My Favorite Things and some gorgeous paper from yet another old First Edition paper pad. The white card has a linen texture. The sentiment is an old one from Clearly Besotted.  Check out the inspiration on the blog and join our challenge! It's never too soon to start on your Christmas cards!  Thanks for looking!  Mags B x