Madcap Manor

  It's Monday! Time for a new Challenge at Dream Valley and our theme is Anything Goes. I made a very quick baby card, using a pack of coloured cardstock that was already cut and scored and which I have had in my craft hovel for years! The cute babygrow is an old die from Paper Smooches and I used a snippet of glittered paper to cut it out.  Behind it is some embossed vellum.  The sentiment came from another old Paper Smooches stamp set.  Finally I added some Nuvo Drops. Clean and simple and very pink! Check out my teamies' creations and join in! Thanks for looking and stay safe! love Mags B x

Hello, my dearios! My, what a gloomy, grey, rainy day! Time to stay indoors and craft, I think! For your inspiration, at My Time to Craft! we have this gorgeous sketch: Lots of lovely layers! The sketch is ideal for using this lacy Tattered Lace die (sadly it seems to be out of print) because it's quite large. The papers are from a pad that's lost its front - I think they are Crate Paper. I added swags cut from a scrap of pearlised paper, and the ribbon was from a dress! The sentiment is by Clearly Besotted, now also out of print, sadly. Do go and see the lovely varitions on the sketch produced by my teamies! Thanks for looking and have a good weekend! love Mags B x

Happy New Year! Our Challenge at My Time to Craft is Something New. That can be a new event (baby, job, home etc) or new craft stash that Santa has brought you! I have made a New Baby card and also used a new stamp set. The stamp set is by W Plus 9 and is called Party Animal I coloured the cute giraffe with Copics. The balloon was coloured with Distress Inks and blended with a blending tool, then once it had dried I stamped the sentiment with Clearly Besotted's New Baby set in pink pigment ink and clear-embossed it. I fussy cut the images and used foam pads to give dimension. The balloon string is drawn with a black marker. Finally, I added sequins from stash. I hope you all had a happy and peaceful Christmas and are looking forward to 2017. Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Happy Independence Day to all my friends and family in the USA! Good morning, all! We had an amazing thunderstorm last night, bright sheet lightning lighting up the clouds and an absolute cascade of rain! The air feels so much fresher today! Now for the new Challenge at My Time to Craft which is Paper Piecing . (The link leads to a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers.) Woodware have produced some great 'patchwork' stamps that are ideal for this. Here's the elephant: I used papers from the Snippets drawer to piece her. The background is made with a MFT Die-namics Sun-ray die, I cut it from pink card and patterned paper, glued the card to the front of my card, and filled in the gaps with paper - it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm not so sure. However, half the fun of cardmaking is EXPERIMENTING to see what works and what doesn't! ;) The banner is Paper Smooches, the sentiment I think came from a magazine a long time ago! Do go and see...

Dream Valley Challenges has changed from Sunday to Monday. Evening, all! We have another great Challenge this fortnight: For a Baby I'm going to need quite a few of these this year! We have a terrific sponsor: Dilly Beans who are offering 3 digis for the winner! Unfortunately I wasn't organised enough to use one of their fab images, instead I used a stamp set by Paper Smooches called A Little Lovin' . I paper pieced the elephants, using LotV Bonnets and Bowties . I die-cut a circle in the checked piece and made the scalloped border, all with Spellbinder dies, then added the paper on foam pads. The elephants are also on foam pads. The banner is a Lawn Fawn stamp called Bannerific and the sentiment came with the Paper Smooches stamp set. The baker's twine and star stickers were RAKs from my daughter. Go and see what my teamies have done, they have made some fabulous creations! Remember, if you want to have a go, it doesn't have to be a card! Thanks...

Hi guys! I hope you're all settled into the New Year now that all the excitement is over! Welcome to the first Dream Valley Challenge of 2012, where Anything Goes! Our first sponsor for 2012 is One Stop Card Crafts who are offering a £10 voucher for the store. There's a Clearance Sale on at the moment, too! You don't have to make a card, either, just craft to your heart's content! We do ask that you submit no more than 3 times, and that you link to the Challenge blog. And no backlinking, please!! Ok, you'll be astonished to know that I made a Baby Girl card to celebrate the arrival of my granddaughter Lillie! The image is by Woodware, coloured in Promarkers - I forgot to write down which, but I think I used most of the pink range!! The bubbles, water and puddles have been stickled. The image and mat were cut with Go Kreate Frilly dies. The Wild Orchid Sweetheart flowers are popped on top of green flowers cut with a Magnolia Doohickey die to give the effect of le...

Here's the second card I've made for my friend's 1-year-old twins. How sweet these images are, they have such character! I used Nitwits papers again, this time from the 'Eggstra Special' collection which is full of bright and cheerful pinks and yellows. Behind the image is a heart cut with a Cheery Lynn Heart to Heart Doily Die from Dies to Die For , it doesn't show very well but it's gorgeous! The embossed corner at the bottom left is a Marianne Die, and I glamour-dusted it to make it a bit more visible behind the flowers. I used Promarkers (the list is below) and Glossy Accents on the pram. The flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts, the leaves a Nellie Snellen punch, and the sentiment is LotV again. I also used a corner punch by Woodware. Another lovely sketch, this time from Pink Ink Sketch Challenges In the few minutes since I last posted the sun has gone behind clouds - why can't the weather make up its mind, eh?! Thanks for looking! luv, Mags x Promarkers...

Hi, guys! I hope you're all doing well. March seems to be evaporating - I can't believe we're already halfway through the month! This card is a 'commission' from my daughter, since a friend of hers has just had a baby girl. The friend is a Goth, but I don't have any Gothy baby stamps, so my daughter picked this Woodware image, which is one of my oldest unmounted stamps. I remember the lady in the shop telling me how to use acrylic blocks, and I was amazed that I wouldn't need glue to stick the stamp down! Anyway, the papers are Daisy and Dandelion Some bunny loves you; and Papermania Honey and Hugs, both from Hobbycraft. I ran the D and D piece through a heart folder on the Cuttlebug - you can just about see the embossing! I'm getting quite good at using up stash, I've had these papers about a year! The ribbon is also Hobbycraft, the flowers are Wild Orchid. I stickled all the bubbles and water. The sketch is from Mojo Monday and it was just right f...

This is the second challenge I've entered! It's for the Lily of the Valley Challenge 53 It's a Sketch Challenge: I turned it on its side, and managed to put the sentiment in the wrong place, chiz. Geometry has never been one of my skills. The stamp came from the Ally Pally, the paper from Hobbycraft, the flowers were a magazine freebie, the bow is from the lovely ladies at my local craft shop, the ribbon from stash. I really enjoyed using the sketch - it's very versatile and not too complicated!! Thanks for looking. Recipe: Papers are Daisy and Dandelion 'Some bunny lovews you' Image coloured with Distress inks: Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstic, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Frayed Burlap, Spiced Marmalade, Black Soot. Martha Stewart heart border punch Scalloped oval Nestie Pink stickles round scallops and sentiment Flowers and sentiment from a craft magazine. Gold stickers and ribbon from stash