Madcap Manor

Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! The final shopping has been done, the carpets hoovered, the living room tidied, there is wine in the fridge for this evening after the Christingle. If anything hasn't been done it ain't going to be done! And next week, of course, it's New Year! Our theme this week at CRAFT Challenge is New . New Year, New Home, New Job, New Baby.... Our terrific sponsors are: Sami Stamps Scribbles Designs I used a beautiful image from Sami Stamps, this is Looking at my Sweet Such a simple, elegant image needed a simple layout, so I went with the Current Sketch at Sketch Saturday. The papers are from stash, the sentiment is from an old American Crafts stamp set called 'Baby.' I added Wink of Stella to the baby blanket. Challenges entered: Sketch Saturday Thanks for looking, and I hope you all have a very happy Christmas! love Mags B x

Evening, all! How is your weekend going? Mine has been a little odd, since my daughter moved to Dublin on Tuesday, and the place is much quieter!! I confess I did shed a tear or two when I was ironing her jeans and hoodie today!! However, it's so amazing that she is now able to get on with her life, since a year ago she started her chemo. Enough of this maudlinity (is that a word?!) I made a card today while listening to a terrific cricket match - England lost to Sri Lanka, but it was a damn' close-run thing! The darling image is by Lili of the Valley of course, and I coloured her with my Promarkers in bright, sunny colours to cheer myself up. The papers are from the 'Porcelain' collection by Basic Grey - I have finally screwed my courage to the sticking place and started using some of my older treasured papers. The flower is by K & Co (Citronella collection) and the sentiment is from Hero Ats' 'Thanks a Bunch' set. The sketch is an old Sketch ...

Good evening, everyone! I hope you're all having a good week. I've been a busy bee with the dreaded housework, it's horrible to do though it helps when something funky comes on the radio and I can dance with the vacuum cleaner! (Though not as well as Freddie Mercury does in the video to 'I want to break free!) I've also made a Christmas card, using a lovely LotV stamp, Little Ivy she is adorable! I coloured here with Speccies (list at the end) and used the Blender to give just the faintest pink shadows on her surplice. Her wings were shaded with grey then slathered with Glamour Dust. The gold metal corner came from Whiff of Joy a couple of years ago; and the green-and-gold ribbon is from Pinflair in Hertford. So is the gold paper used to mat both the image and the LotV sentiment. Gems are from stash. The gorgeous papers are 'Silent Night' by Papermania, the spotted paper is actually shiny gold dots on cream paper. I also did the inside (it'...

Hi, guys! Have you finalised your plans for Valentine's Day? Or maybe your Other Half is making arrangements? Mine isn't, he's not really very good at that sort of thing! I do think the timing is unfortunate this year, since it's the first day of Lent, but I reckon that even if you plan to give up chocolate you can make allowances for just one special day! I've made a Valentine card using this pretty LotV Love Grows stamp. I used Promarkers to colour, and a spot of Glossy Accents on the watering can and shears. The heart mat is a Spellbinder's die, and so is the mat behind the sentiment. And I've just noticed that I forgot to colour in the flowers on the sentiment! Oops! The flowers are Wild Orchid crafts, the twiggy leaves are cut with a Nellie Snellen punch. The gingham ribbon and brown baker's twine are from The Ribbon Girl and the little wooden heart button is from stash. The paper is also LotV, from the new Country Lady pad. Challenges ...

Hi, guys! It's been a busy old week - we have had repair work done on our roof, bits of mortar fell out from under the tiles, which is never a good sign! But everything's right and tight now, which is a relief! This week I have mostly been making cups of coffee for the builders!! However, I have made one card since Tuesday, and here it is! Brace yourselves, chaps, this is BRIGHT! It's for my Daughter-in-Law, whose birthday is next week. The weather forecast is for a grey and cold day, so I hope this will cheer her up! The image is Shopping Willow from Whiff of Joy . I coloured her with Promarkers (list below) and added Glossy Accents to her boots and gold Stickles to her necklace. I die cut her with a Spellbinders Labels Ten and drew round the outside for the narrow mat, and distressed with Tea Dye ink. The papers were free last year with 'Cardmaking and Papercraft' magazine. I used a Magnolia Doohickey die for the borders and the stickled pink heart is a Ma...

If you're looking for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop please go here It was my friend James's birthday last week. He's a very talented musician, with a very jolly sense of humour, so this little frog should amuse him! I love being able to personalise cards like this! The image is Penny Black, from the 'Toadily' transparent set. I coloured him with Promarkers and Glossy Accented the front of his guitar. I used 3 sizes of an octagonal Nestie to cut out the image and mats. The leaves and flowers were cut with Woodware punches, and so were the background squares. The banner is LotV, and the swirls have been stickled. There are tiny pearls in the centres of the flowers. I made the paper by sponging Distress Inks - Scattered Straw, Mowed Lawn and Peacock Feathers - on plain white card. Then I sprayed with Glimmer Mist to give it a sheen. The dots are stamped with Teal Stazon, using a Great Impressions background stamp. I'm ridiculously pleased with how it t...

I made this card last week for a very special friend but our paths haven't crossed until tonight. She keeps chickens so I thought this was just the right image! It's a Saturated Canary image by Krista Smith called Murray who, as you can see, also keeps chickens! I coloured her with Promarkers, but unfortunately I can't find the list. I'm usually dissatisfied by my hair colouring, but this time I think I've almost cracked it. We Shall See! The papers are Nitwits Bees Knees Collection. The colours are so pretty, for once I chose the papers first and then matched the Promarkers. I know that's what you're supposed to do, but I'm rarely that organised!! The corners are cut and embossed with Spellbinders Floral doily set, the card is cheap'n'cheerful gold card for children's crafts which came from our lovely Art and Craft shop which closed 2 years ago - I miss it so much :( But I think my bank manager is quite happy that it closed lol! ...

Evening, all! I intended to spend half term crafting, but the best laid plans of Maggies and men gang oft agley! Partly that's because of the dreaded Housework, partly because... (drumroll!) I have a Kindle! Being me, I also ordered a proper book at the same time, and both arrived in the same box, which amused me. So this card has taken me 3 days to make! The sketch at Sketch Saturday looks really daunting at first - lots of circles! I actually like it a lot, though it took me a long time to find embellies for the smaller circles that I liked. The image is another elegant lady by Christina Dee from Tickled Pink Stamps I thought she'd look good as a bust. She is coloured with Promarkers, and Speccies for her hair. The bow at her neck and the candy canes are Glossy Accented, and the lace on her outfit is covered with Glamour Dust. I cut her out (mainly because I made a right pig's ear of distressing round the image) and put her on foam pads for dimension. I offset the green...

Hi everyone! Isn't it cooooold?! Here's a cheerful springtime card for the current Penny Black Saturday Challenge and this time the theme is 'Floral Frenzy!' I love this little hedgie surrounded by flowers, saying hello to a bee, it makes me think of springtime. The sketch is from Sketch Saturday and at first I thought it would be tricky with the diamond shape, but in fact it all came together very nicely. I layered the image on green, pink and green card, because the original diamond was too small, but I rather like the effect. Papers are Basic Grey 'Porcelain.' The swirl is cut with a Marianne die, and the flowers with a medium Retro punch, using the same papers. The sentiment was a magazine freebie, the gems are from stash. I stickled the bee's wings but didn't add any more bling because I didn't want to cover the pretty papers too much. The white velvet ribbon is from Hobbycraft, and I used a Woodware punch for the brown leaf-shapes behind 3 of...

Evening, all! What a grey, rainy day it's been! I hope you're all tucked up snug and warm and dry! One of my Sunday School kids has just had a tooth removed and she's been feeling sore and miserable, so I dug out this poorly LotV bunny to make a card for her. I love the big bottle of carrot juice and the yummy grapes in this image! I added Glossy Accents to the spoon and bottle to give some shine. This week's theme at Lili's Little Fairies (it's the new name for the LotV challenge) is 'Lavender and Lace'. I used papers from the 'Heather' Papermania Capsule Collection stack. The lace, which is mostly covered, unfortunately, is from my local market. The flowers are Wild Orchid, sprinkled with gold Glamour Dust. The little pearls are from stash. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy. I also decorated the inside (otherwise the card kept falling over lol!) reversing the two papers: The wonderful sketch is from this week's Sketch Saturday , it was ju...

This is the biggest card I've ever made - it's an 8-incher! (Don't you dare say, 'Oo, Matron!!!') The image is a Tickled Pink stamp from last year which I picked up in the sale - it looks as though he's no longer available, unfortunately. I coloured him with Promarkers, and stickled his feather, the snowman's pom-pom, and the ground. I distressed round him in Bundled Sage DI. The papers are Dovecraft 'Tis the Season' which I've had for yonks! The sketch is the current Sketch Saturday one, and I really like it! I must use it again to use up some snippets! I faux-stitched around each square in black fineliner to give a bit more definition. I used my gorgeous new Memory Box 'Frosty' die from Crafts U Love in a scrap of gold card. The Christmas tree is a Marianne die, and the swirl is Magnolia. I made the rosette from a 1.5 x 12 inch strip, scored every quarter inch on one side, then scored again between the first scorings on the other sid...

But at least the weekend isn't far off! On Saturday I'm going with my neighbour's son to a concert of videogame music at the Albert 'All. He has never seen a live orchestral concert! Nor has he eaten Japanese, so we're going to Wagamama for our grub. Yum! Enough waffling! This card, you won't be surprised to learn, is for a Harry Potter fan! The image ('The Brave One') is from Bugaboo , their Har Repotter set. The papers are very shiny, the stripes and the spots are gold. They're Papermania's 'A Silent Night' stack - gorgeous burgundies and greens and gold! I've had them a year and this is, I think, the first time I've used any. But if I don't use my papers I'll soon be buried under a heap of them, and there won't be room to buy more!! I used my new Marianne Christmas Stars border die, threaded with yellow ribbon from Hobbycraft. The flowers are yellow Prima and red Wild Orchid, and I punched fronds with a Nellie Sne...

Hi, guys! It's a glorious sunny day, and everyone seems to be smiling! Here's a card using one of the first LotV images I bought. I made it for a neighbour's son, but apparently the image shows an X Box and he has a Play Station, and never the twain shall meet! It sounds like they're rivals like Lancashire vs Yorkshire or Arsenal vs Tottenham! Who knew?! So I'll probably make him something else. I used Speccies again (finally becoming used to the colours!) I edged the Nestie shape and the sentiment with 64 in lieu of a mat (I ran out of the blue card) and glittered over the top. The racing car has also been slathered with glitter. The papers are Nitwits 'Heavenly'. I used a Martha Stewart zig zag punch. The ribbon and stickers (including the sentiment sticker) are from stash. I'm entering these challenges: Lili of the Valley who want Aqua, White and Glitter; Oldie but a Goodie whose theme is 'One for the Boys' the RUBBER stamp you use must be m...

My olde manne is out tonight, so I've been ensconsed in my room, creating! I love this Whiff of Joy image of Willow adjusting her shoe. She is so graceful and elegant, and I love her ruffled sleeves! I went back to my Promarkers, which are easier to use than Speccies because I know twhich colours work together! The swirls are also Whiff of Joy, stamped in Worn Lipstick DI, and I also dragged the edges around the ink pad to emphasise them. The pink mat is a Nestie and is also edged with Worn Lipstick. I've stickled her belt and jewellery, and also round the edge of the image, and along the cross-shape. Papers are MME, from a pad that was a magazine freebie last year (loved these so much I bought a second copy!) I also used the Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch. The pearls are from stash. I'm entering this into the current Sketch Saturday Challenge it's a really nice sketch, very simple. I'm also entering the Whiff of Joy Challenge where the theme ...

Eep! I almost missed the deadline for the Tickled Pink Challenge . The current challenge is 'Textures' and I've used raffia ribbon (I think that's what it's called?) and a strip of dark purple velvet ribbon, both from stash. I also made a 'mirror' using two nestie dies, with holographic card and a frame which has been embossed and then swiped with Milled Lavender DI. The lovely image is one of the new Lil Victorian range, isn't she beautiful? A pleasure to colour, too! The sentiment is Penny Black, the fab papers are a Bearly Mine download. The flowers are Wild Orchid. The sketch is from Sketch Saturday which I turned on its side. Ok, gotta fly if I'm to get this posted! Take care! luv, Mags x Promarkers: Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink, Ivory, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Henna, Lavender, Orchid, Amethyst, Mulberry

Evening, all! I have finally made a skewed easel card! I used the tutorial on Jacqui Dennis's tutorial blog . It was much easier than I thought, but taking pictures isn't that easy! The challenge at Penny Black Saturday Challenge is 'Milestones' and this card is for someone who's just had her first baby! The sketch is this week's Sketch Saturday offering. I used a Nestie for the circular element - on reflection the text should have gone into the bottom corner, but never mind! Papers are a freebie 'Honey and Hugs' from (I think) 'Papercraft Essentials.' I have a bigger version of this pad, and the papers are so cute and pretty! The narrow ribbon is white velvet, from Hobbycraft. Flowers are Wild Orchid, plus a white rosebud from stash that I coloured with Rose Pink Promarker. The pink blanket is glittered, and so are the cute little socks on the message square. Here's the inside: I hope you like it! I can't produce a list of Promarkers, ...

All my photos come out faded - this cute Bugaboo digi Dino is lime green! The current Passion for Promarkers Challenge is 'Prehistoric.' Well, I'm a lover of History and Time Team and Dinosaurs, so I had to go for it! Only problem... no dino stamp. However, Bugaboo came to the rescue - I love how you can buy digis and just download them with no waiting! Though resizing and printing is a bit more of a faff than just using rubba. The sketch from Sketch Saturday was ideal. I used Basic Grey 'Origins' papers, they seem to fit. I used a new Nestie, 'Wobbly rectangles' to die cut the image, and drew round the edge to give a narrow border. I also ran a Shabby Shutters Distress Ink pad round the edge. I did the same with the sentiment, which was a mag freebie. I glossy accented his toes and heart, and the card candy has been coloured with Lime Green Promarker and stickled. Even my hubby likes it! WIN!! Thanks for looking, chaps. Only one more day to go before ano...

Evening, all! Hasn't it been a beautiful day?? Every day is better with sunshine! Though I was a bit tummyish this morning, as last night the old man and I went out for an Italian meal, with wine and Irish Coffee! I met him in London on the way home from a nice visit to my sister's in Oxford, and the meal out was a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was lovely though I ate too much!! AND we had a candlelit dinner at home on Sunday - it feels like we're courting again!!! I had a request for a card this morning for a little girl's birthday - with no pink!!! So since it's spring I went for green and yellow. The papers are Papermania capsule collection. I added two strips of narrow ribbon (recycled from a top!) to the striped section, and used the doily lace edger punch again. The bunny is Lotv and so is the sentiment, which is new! I distressed with Shabby Shutters and edged with green stickles. The balloon and the icing on the cupcake have glossy accents on them. The bra...

My poor little girl hasn't been well this week so I made her this. Her favourite colours at the moment are red, blue and black - all the time I was making it I was muttering to myself 'It'll never work!' but it turned out better than I feared! The patient likes it, anyway, which is the main thing! The sketch is from Sketch Saturday . I love those triangles! The image is a Whiff of Joy stamp. I love her, she looks as if she's just stepped out of a fantasy tale! I glittered one of her potion jars and put Glossy Accents on another jar and her shoes. The card candy is stickers from Paperchase; the sentiment is also Whiff of Joy. Papers are a mix from stash - Daisy Bucket (black and white) Bo Bunny (red) and Papermania capsule collection (blue.) I used a MS Punch Around the Page set for the edging. Suddenly a lot of people I know are under the weather, or having birthdays, or both, and I have a list of card requests! Which is so nice (it makes me feel appreciated) but t...

Just a flyby post - I've spent the day trying to get rid of this awful virus from my hubby's laptop. I've now called in the cavalry, but he can't come until Wednesday, so hubby will probably be nicking my laptop for checking emails and playing his computer game! We're off to Shrewsbury for the weekend to see dear son, at least! The sweet rabbit is of course Penny Black. The Penny Black Saturday Challenge is 'Spring has sprung!' and it's certainly been a gorgeous spring day today! The sketch is a nice one from Sketch Saturday . Papers are Basic Grey 'Origins.' Ribbon is Hobbycraft, flowers are Wild Orchid, and the sentiment is PB, too. The border and the punched butterflies are Martha Stewart - I glittered the butterflies, but the pic makes them look much more dull than irl. There's a Marianne swirl, also glittered, which also isn't showing too well! The bow was made with my trusty bow-easy! All edges are distressed in Scattered Straw and...