Madcap Manor

  Ho, Ho, Ho! There are only 11 months to go until Christmas! Yes, there's a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy! Let's get cracking on making Christmas cards! I mean, it's a whole month since Christmas, I'm sure everyone has recovered! ;) Here is a CAS card made with a Sizzix die by Tim Holtz called 'Woodlands.'  I inlaid the green outline onto a panel of linen-effect card and pieced the white cut-outs back into the frame.  It looks like snow on the branches! I added gold Nuvo Drops and a gold-embossed sentiment made with a Taylored Expressions stamp and matching die. I love die-cut inlay for a CAS card, and of course it makes it much easier to post. For more inspiration check out my teamies' work on the blog! Thanks for looking and keep well! love Mags B x

 Hello! We have a new Challenge at Dream Valley which is Circles. I may have gone a little over the top with the amount of circles on my card!   Our sponsor is Rachelle Anne Miller and I have used her adorable Ballerina digi stamp. I used the Mod Circle Frame Die by Simon Says Stamp and inlaid it with a textured patterned paper from my stash. I used the same paper as a mat for the image.   With the offcuts of the white card and patterned paper I made a second card, adding a Vintage Bicycle die-cut in silver - the bicycle shows up rather better in real life! Gotta love a 'twofer!'   Take a look at my teamies' creations for more circular inspiration!   Thanks for looking and take care!   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

I know, I know, it's only a couple of weeks since we were all preparing for Christmas, and here is our first Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge for 2018! But 'the sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish', as my Mum used to say to me when I was meant to be tidying my room! I made a very simple card, using a die-set from Tonic Studios which sadly seems to be out of print. The green background paper has a slight ombre effect. I lined the white die-cuts with circles cut from the same paper to emphasise the details. The sentiment and holly sprig come from an old stamp set from Clearly Besotted who are having A SALE!!!! I love how elegant these layering dies look! Do have a go at the Challenge, you'll feel so pleased with yourself! And don't forget to check out my teamies' gorgeous creations. You have more time to join in because this Challenge doesn't end until February 4th. Enjoy! Thanks for looking! love Mags B x

Hiya! The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge no 12 is here! As usual the theme is Anything Goes for Christmas . I used a die that came with a magazine to do some card inlaying: I backed the image with silver mirri card, which shows through the star and the windows, and added dots of a white gel pen to make more stars in the sky. Inlay die-cutting is a bit fiddly, and you have to be careful not to lose any of the smaller pieces, but I really like it! Have a good weekand 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 ...

Hello! It's a beautiful, clear but chilly autumn day here in S-E Herts. Every fortnight when my hubby takes me to hospital for chemo we drive along a road bordered with the most beautiful trees, and over the past few weeks it's been lovely to see them change into their gorgeous autumn colours! And now our Challenge this fortnight at My Time to Craft is Halloween or Autumn Colours I don't oftem make Halloween things, because most of my friends and family just aren't interested, so it's good to have an alternative. This is a very bright card! I die-cut snippets of cardstock in dark red, orange, and gold-spotted yellow with a Spellbinders Majesty die set. For the base layer I drew around the outside of the largest die and hand-cut it. The Fancy Framed Tag is also by Spellbinders and I used the matching diamantes from Want 2 Scrap to bling it up. I embossed the sentiment in gold. The spotted background is actually more green than the picture shows, and it...

Good morning! It's Monday already - where did the weekend go? To cheer you up we have a new challenge at Dream Valley and our theme is Vintage A great excuse to go overboard with lace, flowers, distressing and pretty papers! Our sponsor is the amazing Crafty Ribons Here is my card: My background paper is from an 8 x 8 'Floral Pavilion' pad by First Edition, and I distressed the edges of the paper and the card base with Vintage Photo. The sentiment is from a very old Penny Black sentiment set and says 'Happiness is time spent with a Friend.' I had the oval frame in my stash, it was rather brash white plastic so I dabbed Cranberry and Terracotta Alcohol Inks by Ranger onto it. The shape behind is cut with a Spellbinders die from the 5 x 7 Heirloom Legacy set, and it is also distressed with Vintage Photo. The vine is cut with a Spellbinders Floral Bundle die, the flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts and the lace and gem swirls are from stash. 'Vi...

Good afternoon, lovely people! I hope you're all having a relaxing weekend. My hubby and I have just spent a hilarious hour working out how to put our new lawnmower together! I think the instructions were originally written in ancient Chinese and translated into English via Latin! Fun times! Here is my slightly late card for Dream Valley Challenges and our theme this time is Make Your Own Flowers or Embellishments . Our lovely Sponsor is Mulberry Crafts who sell the most gorgeous, top-quality flowers! They are offering a Goody Bag as a prize to one lucky winner! I have gone 'Steampunk' with this birthday card for a friend of my daughter. The image is by Papermania, embossed in Detail Black, and sponged with Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Frayed Burlap inks. The background paper is by Bearly Mine, and the ticket is by Tim Holtz. WHAT ABOUT THE EMBELLISHMENTS? you cry! I took a leaf (or should that be a cog?) out of my very talented teamie Elaine's book and made ...

Hi, guys! I'm sorry I'm a bit late with this post, I'm having problems with my poor old laptop! Here at last is my card for this week's challenge at My Time to Craft and this week the theme is Stitching - Real or Faux I went for 'faux' stitching. The Spellbinders 'Floral Ovals' dies have a border of tiny holes, so I used a blue gel pen to add 'stitches'. There are more around the edge of the background which has been embossed with a butterfly Embossability and very lightly swiped with my Broken China Distress Ink pad. I distressed round the die-cuts, too. The flowers and ribbon (which has some real stitching on it!) are from stash,the blue leaves are made with a Woodware punch. The butterflies were cut with a die that came free with 'Simply Cards and Papercraft' magazine this month and I added blue pearls from Hobbycraft to the bodies. I've recently discovered Christina Griffiths' blog and youtube videos, and this card i...

Oh dear, it's raining again! Of course today's the day my daughter decides to do loads of washing, both clotheshorses are groaning under a weight of wet washing!! Today's card is for our Church Administrator, who retired on Thursday. He was always wonderful when I forgot my keys to open up the hall where we hold our Toddler Groups! He was even more wonderful this week when I dropped my keys down the grate covering the Church hot air heating system! My middle name really should be 'Plonker!!!' I got out my dies for this one. The base, circles and scallops were all cut with either Grand or ordinary Nesties and layered together. I used oddments of card and also a scrap of spotty paper from Nitwits. The sentiment is from a set by The Greeting Farm, and the cute duck was a freebie many moons ago when I was starting carding and came with one of those 'Let's Make Cards' packs.  It's going to be my second blogaversary in May (where does the time g...