Madcap Manor

Hi, guys! Apologies for the delay in posting, I've had a gippy tummy today and spent most of it asleep! It's a nice and easy Challenge at My Time to Craft! this fortnight: Die Cuts Only . I used a set of nesting dies by Tonic and layered them with plain die-cut circles. The flowers are stamped and die-cut with an old set from Clearly Besotted, and the sentiment is from the same set. Have a look at my teamies' creations, they are so creative, they will inspire you! Remember, it's Die-cuts ONLY - a die-cut image doesn't count! (In fact, my stamped and cut flowers and my stamped sentiment may be stretching the Challenge a bit too far, come to think of it.) Thanks for looking, and have a good weekend! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope your week is going well! Did you know it's now less than 100 days until Christmas? Scary! Now's your chance to get ahead and join in at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge where it's always 'Anything Goes.' A few weeks ago I posted a card here using a die from a magazine which I inlaid with different coloured card. I've used the same die and also the matching embossing folder for today's card: This time I didn't do any inlay. I went over the border stars with a white gel pen. I love blue and white for Christmas/Winter cards, I think it looks so crisp and fresh! Do go and see what my teamies have made to inspire you! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys! I hope none of you has been affected by the flooding here in the UK after last night's downpour. The new theme for CRAFT Challenge this week is Animals We have 2 lovely sponsors: Sassy Studio Designs Digital Papercrafts I used Pin Up Cat by Sassy studios. I added some black Wink of Stella to her tail, though it isn't really showing here. The paper is from a very old DCWV stack called Rock Star and the hearts are all foiled. The die-cut cat and fish skeletons are cut from white card with Paper Smooches Cat Icons dies and the sentiment is from the matching stamp set. Meow! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Good morning! It's another great Challenge at My Time to Craft - the weeks are going by so quickly! Our theme is Die Cuts Only - that is, use die cuts and a sentiment but no image. So I made a 6x6 card out of white Centura pearl and trimmed off an inch at one side, then dug out a variety of dies: Two are from Tattered Lace: High Heel Glam and Smaller Bow which I trimmed down and then added a scrap of card behind the knot to give more definition. The oval die and the Floral Ovals dies are Spellbinders Nestabilities. The corners are a Whimsy Shapeology set, and the Sentiment is by Marianne. I used some Papermania card which has a pearlised effect. My daughter suggested drawing lines to join the corners (thanks, Sacha!) but other than that everything has been die-cut. I had such fun making this card!! Please go and see my teamies' fantastic makes, then hunt out your dies and make something gorgeous!! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hi, guys, I hope you all had a fab Christmas and New Year! Mine was lovely, full of delicious food and drink and good company (and I put on 2lbs!) but now everything is calming down. I'm quite glad to get back into the old routine! I have at last got back to my craft hovel! I still have a fair bit of sorting and tidying to do, but I cleared enough space to make this today: This is an awful photo, but the best of a very bad job. The purple and blue background papers are Nitwits snippets. I used Spellbinders: Parisian Border and Picot Edge Circle dies on plain white card, and Distressed with Salty Ocean Distress Ink. The white satin ribbon and the narrow blue velvet ribbon were both from Hobbycraft. The sentiment is Lili of the Valley, and there is a strip of the blue velvet across the middle. The sentiment and Picot Edge Circle are both raised on thin foam pads. The butterflies and flowers on the sentiment have been stickled. I really enjoyed making this, I have some new d...

Good evening, all! I'm sorry this post is so late, we've had Internet problems, but my daughter is now home from a weekend away and she found the wire that had become unplugged! Next week we're going to buy a new Router - exciting times!! Just as exciting is our latest challenge at Dream Valley which is the perennial favourite Anything Goes Our sponsor is Joanna Sheen who is offering a £10 voucher to spend at her online shop. Isn't that a fab prize?! Her shop sells Crafter's Companion gear, inclucing the cute 'Humphrey' stamps and Spectrum Noir pens, so that is what I used. This sweet image is called 'Flowers for You'. I apologise for the naff picture, the green Nitwits papers are brighter and prettier in real life! I got out my Spellbinders dies for this card: the flower is made with the Rose Creations set, the oval is the largest of the Floral Ovals, and the sentiment is on a Fancy Tag. Here's an inside shot: I coloured the...

Good afternoon, all! I hope you're well, and enjoying the weekend. I am finally getting into the swing of making my Christmas cards. Here's another one using the cute LotV image 'Dancing in the Snow.' In fact, I found the coloured image while sorting my stash - she was coloured in Spectrum Noirs earlier this year, so no list, I'm afraid. The papers are from an old Dovecraft stack, 'Tis the Season.' They are nice and bright! I used a Spellbinders Star Circle die for the image mat, a Whiff of Joy die for the glittered snowflakes, and a Memory Box Holly border die with a scrap of pearlised green card. The holly berries are pearls from Hobbycraft. The gorgeous ribbon is from the Pinflair shop in Hertford (only 50p a metre!) and so is the gold star. I glittered the little girl's fur trim and also the snow, though it isn't showing too well in the pic. I'm entering http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ ">ABC Christmas Challenge...

Have you been following the Olympics? Isn't it exciting? I do feel sorry for the women running the Marathon today through the rain, but I suppose it's keeping them cool! It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge and this time it's to use your Punches and Dies. We have 2 fab sponsors: One Stop Card Crafts is offering a £10 voucher and and Inked Treasures is offering 4 digis! So what did I do? I made a Christmas card! I think that's Number 6 - I have another 40 to do! I kept it quite simple to emphasise the shapes. The image is by Docrafts, and I embossed it in gold. I used my gorgeous new Nesties Labels 5 die. I stencilled with Antique Linen Distress Ink while the card was still in the die, and matted twice, on green and gold card. The gold card is thick enough to be embossed, so it looks as though there are 4 layers here! I think I've shown all the things you can do with a die! I used a Woodware Holly border punch, also layered on green and g...

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 ...