Madcap Manor

Morning, all! I'm a bit early with my Dream Valley post this time because I'll soon be off to a family celebration for my Dad's 93rd birthday, and with the clocks going back wasn't sure if scheduling would work! Our challenge is 'Glitter and Bling' - nice and bright now that the days are getting darker and colder. Winter is coming! This fabulous lady is Pirate Penny from Sassy Studios who are sponsors for this challenge. Alucky winner can choose 4 of their gorgeous digis! I coloured her with Promarkers and turned the stones around the treasure chest into gold coins with dots of gold Liquid Pearls. I stickled her feather and Glossy Accented her gorgeous boots. The papers are Nitwits snippets. The gold card came from the new Pinflair shop in Hertford, cut with Nesties. The gold star came from there, too. You can just make out the transparent sparkly ribbon underneat the purple velvet one. Ooops, hubby growling it's time to go, will update tonig

Good morning, my lovelies, and a very big welcome to my new followers! I hope you enjoy my rather eccentric corner of Blogland! It's time for a new challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox and this time the theme is really easy - Use a Ribbon Our sponsor this time is The Digi Garden and they generously sent the DT some lovely images to use. One lucky winner will be able to choose 7 of their sweet images from their online shop! This cutie is called 'Immie's Scarf' isn't she pretty?! I coloured her with Spectrum Noirs (list below) The papers I used are from a Kate Knight freebie stack that came with a magazine last year. I wanted to do softer colours than the trad Red and Green for Christmas, so I chose Pink and Aqua instead. The icicles and Christmas Tree are both by Marianne from Crafts U Love and they have been coated with Glamour Dust. I also Glamour Dusted Immie's coat trim and wellies. I distressed the image, which I cut with a Nestabilities Flora

It's unfortunate that only one of you lovely people could win the prize from my blog for the Squirrel and the Fox bloghop, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyway! Congratulations, Craftygirl! you have won the Make It Crafty Ferris Wheel Kit! Please email Linda at thesquirrelandthefox@hotmail.com to find out how to claim your prize. She's on holiday this week so may not reply for a few days, please be patient! love Mags B x

Evening, all! Well, the 'flu has gone, huzza! I really appreciate being able to breathe again! And I can read without falling asleep - always a bonus! My daughter's ex-boss married her girlfriend today, so now I can show the card I made for them. I've never made a card for a same-sex marriage before, but this beautiful Lovebirds image from Squiggle Stamps came to the rescue. It's sad that Squiggle Stamps are closing, but some of their images will be available through The Stamping Shack I coloured the digi image with Sunkissed Pink and Rose Peach Flexmarkers, and also with Sakura Stardust pens which add a lovely gleam that the camera hasn't picked up, chiz. I used a Nestie to cut out the image and distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The card is ivory coloured, and I cut the edge of the front with a Magnolia die and also distressed with Vintage Photo. The papers are Bearly Mine Vintage, from the Snippets Box. The gorgeous lace is from Th

Hi, guys! It's a gorgeous autumn day and the sun is shining, so of course I'm tackling my list of Christmas cards! This was quite quick to make, apart from easing the snowflakes out of the Whiff of Joy die! The background is by Kanban, the colour is shaded from dark to light and as you can see there are little bits of silver here and there. The 3 snowflakes have been Glamour Dusted thoroughly (though it isn't showing brilliantly, I blame the photographer!) and held together with a Papermania gem brad which was originally clear so I coloured it with a Sapphire Flexmarker. The sentiment came free with a magazine last year. I'll be making more of these! But first I must clear my craft hovel - I'm sure there's a carpet somewhere under the boxes of crafty stuff! I'm entering this to the Cute Card Thursday Challenge as their theme is 'Glitter.' I'm also entering Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge as Hazel want to see Snowflakes! Th

Afternoon, all! I apologise for not being around much this week, I've had a dose of the 'flu. I know I'm poorly when I can't even read :( ! Enough of my woes, it's time for another challenge at Dream Valley ! Our lovely sponsors this time are One Stop Card Crafts with a £10 voucher, and Bugaboo with $21 to spend on their fantastic digis! This fortnight's theme is 'Hallowe'en.' Now, I don't really 'do' Hallowe'en, having problems with children being encouraged to knock on strangers' doors in the evening and demand sweets with menaces. I also know a lot of elderly ladies who sit in the dark all evening on October 31st because they're terrified of 'trick or treaters.'  Enough ranting! I'm happy to make a spooky card for my son's birthday in December, and here it is. The image is 'Zombieboy' by the superb Krista Smith of Saturated Canary . I used Promarkers to colour him. I put Rock Candy Stickl

My post for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop is here Evening all! Don't get too close, I have a filthy cold! The only things I managed to do today were order pizza and make this card! It's for my daughter to send to a friend who has just had a little boy. The image my daughter chose was this Woodware Baby Patch Elephant The text is from the same set. I was going to paper-piece him, but when I stamped him on this scrap of Kanban card he looked good already! The papers are from 'Lion Sleeps' a 12 x 12 pad by K and Co which is full of gorgeous papers for little 'uns! Here's a sideways view so you can see the elephants more clearly: The ribbon is from Hobbycraft, the gems and stars are from stash. I also used a Woodware punch to round the top corners of the image mat, and distressed with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I want to enter the challenges at 2 Sisters Challenge where I found the fabulous sketch! And also Come and Get It Challenges - I used Gre

For my bloghop post please click here Good morning! It's time for another Challenge at The Squirrel and the Fox - where has the last fortnight gone?! This time the theme is 'Things With Wheels' and our wonderful sponsor is Bugaboo who are offering 7 digis to one lucky winner! Gus is one of my favourite Bugaboo characters, and here he is on a child's ride! I love the sentiment, which came with the image. I had to colour the toy car in British Racing Green, because my hubby's first car was that colour. I used Promarkers (the list is below). I Glossy Accented the car and Gus's spectacles and added green stickles to his party hat. I used a Nestabilities Deckle Rectangle die to cut him out. The papers are K and Co 'Hopscotch' I think the paper with the old-fashioned toys on it is so sweet! Here's the inside view, also using papers from the same pad: The chevron striped ribbon is from The Ribbon Girl . I used black half-pearls from my s

If you're looking for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop please click here This gorgeous image is Willow with Candle by Whiff of Joy - she was candy from the lovely Kat! I coloured her with Promarkers - what a boon the fine nibs are for tiny areas! The holly leaves are cut with a Whiff of Joy die and have been Glossy Accented, though they don't really show here, and the berries have been stickled. The bells have a faint wash of gold liquid pearls. I used a Nestie to cut her out and did the draw-round-the-die-and-cut-out trick to give the narrow mat. The red pearlescent card and the papers are Papermania, the bp is from the A Silent Night stack - they are so fabulous! The ribbon is from stash, the double bow is made with a Bow-Easy from Quixotic Paperie The holly leaves are a Whiff of Joy die. The flowers are Wild Orchid, the glitter is Glamour Dust. Here's an inside shot, also with the papers from 'A Silent Night' The tags are Lili of the Valley. I

If you're looking for The Squirrel and the Fox bloghop, please click here The lovely folk from Josy Rose are offering a hotfix rod and some gems to one lucky winner! All you need do is post on your blog with a link back to the lovely Jules's blog here and then leave her a comment. Simples! love Mags B x

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