Happy Birthday ...

A birthday card for my lovely daughter and best friend Andrea who celebrated her birthday yesterday - we had a lovely day with our friend Anne but poor Dawny wasn't well and couldn't make it - we'll meet up again soon Dawny!  

I coloured a Sara Kay image with inktense pencils and used some of my Pion papers - I cut around the roses and tucked my image behind it.  I added 20mm WOC open roses, 30mm WOC wild roses, tiny pink rose buds and a Kort & Godt pink rolled rose.  I used 7mm pink satin ribbon and some 'Faye' ivory vintage style cotton lace.  The sentiment was cut from Pion paper and all edges were distressed

I decorated a box to match and used an ivory lace corner, , pink satin ribbon and a 20mm WOC pink open rose and some tiny pink rosebuds

Pick a fave at Papertake Weekly .....

This week's challenge at Papertake Weekly is 'pick a fave' I chose 'anything goes' from April and made a pop out birthday card.  I used 'Country Lady' papers from Lili of the Valley

this is a close up of the 'pop out' section

I embellished my card with a cream daisy, centre removed and replaced with a 15mm pearl and diamante embellishment, WOC white lily flower, cream 20mm open rose and some 7mm cream satin ribbon

Ribbon, pearls, flowers and diamante embellishment are from The Ribbon Girl

I hope you will join us over at Papertake Weekly - the design team have made some lovely projects and there is a super prize as usual.

I would like to take this opportunity of wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mary xx

Another Christmas Card ...

My DT card for this week's Papertake Weekly - I used an image from the Jack, Patch & Puss LOTV artpads and  'Frosty Christmas' paper and matted everything onto silver foil card

I added some medium white pom pom and some 9mm red and white snowflake ribbon from The Ribbon Girl

 hope you will find time to pop over to the PTW blog and join us for this challenge - we really like to see your projects!

Mary x

Christmas shopping .....

The last Lovely Lili Challenge of 2014 is open on the Ribbon Girl blog this morning - for my card I used this delightful image from the LOTV artpad -Tis the Season - then added 17mm Laila white vintage style lace, redcurrant glitter velvet ribbon and lots of Stardust Stickles!

  

For my flower arrangement I used  WOC ivory 30mm open rose, white hip rosebud and blossom flower, red medium berries and 15mm red paper roses

I added a diamante snowflake and a red Princess pin to my lace bow

 

I hope you will be able to pop over to the blog to see the fabulous cards by the design team and we look forward to seeing your cards and projects using Lili of the Valley images, paper or sentiments

Mary x

Christmas cake

  

An ivory iced Christmas Cake finished with 'Ophelia' Ivory Embroidered Tulle Lace

and 6mm ivory flat back pearl string

see you soon Mary x

Paper play

Todays challenge at Papertake Weekly is Paper Play - I made the flowers and leaves from paper.  I used a lovely Sara Kay stamp which I bought second hand, and coloured it with my Inktense Pencils.  there are some fabulous projects over on the PTW blog and a great prize as usual.

I inked all the edges and added a 12mm ivory pearl flower shaped flatback to the centre of each paper flower.

see you soon, Mary x

Christmas blessings ....

A pastel coloured christmas card coloured with inktense pencils and enhanced with tiny 2mm clear gems.  I used some paper from the new LOTV wedding Mr & Mrs pad, then added Fiona white guipure lace, 7mm white satin, silver, lilac and fuschia shiny twine.  My flower arrangement is 2 mini bunches of fabric forget me nots and a 30mm wild rose with a dusky pink centre.  I matted the image onto silver sparkle card and the background pale pink paper onto a deeper pink sparkly card

Todays challenge at Papertake Weekly is anything goes with the option of making a Christmas gift or toy so I hope you will be join in - there are some fabulous projects over on the blog and a great prize as usual.

Mary x

With love at Christmas ......

There is a new sketch/free for all challenge over at Papertake Weekly starting today - great inspiration from the design team so please pop over for a look and we'd love to see your projects!

Not only do you get the option to use the new Sketch  No 96 or one of the oldies but you don't even need to use one to join in! If sketches aren't your thing then you have the choice of THREE yes THREE other themes to play along with!    You can choose between using a Blue & Green Colour Scheme / Masking / Ribbon & Lace or you could even use them all!

I followed sketch number number 96 and used blue, green and ribbon

I coloured up this lovely image of The Nativity from Wild Rose Studios with Inktense pencils - can you see where I went over the line on Joseph's head covering :-(  I really like Inktense pencils which are easy to use, but once you've laid down the colour you can't take it off or rub it out.  

I know that many of you will have little ones in the family who are currently practising keeping their tea towels on their heads and learning their lines ready to perform in their school nativity in December :-)

My background papers are from LOTV and I distressed the edges with ink then added  5mm clear gems, a flower from a pack of white cotton paper dahlias,  some silver twine and an oyster Princess Pin all from

The Ribbon Girl

I hope you are able to join in with this fun challenge at Papertake Weekly

see you soon

Mary x

Annabelle with her Christmas Tree .....

It's the November Colour Challenge over on the Ribbon Girl Blog and we'd like to see RED on your projects - so that should be easy as we approach Christmas!!  

I coloured up this Wild Rose Studio image 'Annabelle with Tree'  with inktense pencils and added Stardust Stickles and some snowflakes with a white gel pen.  The papers are from the Lili of the Valley Classic Christmas pad - I made the front a little narrower than the back of the card, and used a different paper for the inside - all edges were distressed with ink

I added white 'Laila' vintage style lace and 7mm Scarlet Berry satin ribbon 

I added 15mm red paper roses, Kort and Godt chrysanth, white sweetheart blossom and a tiny pearl cluster stem finished off with a little bow made from silver twine

Lastly I tucked a green Princess pin into the bow and added an oval shape Marriane die cut on the inside for the message to be written

Mariane Designs are our new regular sponsors for the Colour Challenge and this month you can win this fabulous set of dies PLUS a £10 voucher towards a spending spree in the Ribbon Girl store!

We look forward to seeing your creations over on the Ribbon Girl blog

Mary x

2 or 4 legs .......

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the title of this weeks Papertake Weekly Challenge - two or four legs  -  well, I pondered for ages until I had a look through my little used stash of special Pion papers which I keep in a separate box  - I finally decided on this lovely image which has two (human) and four (doggy) legs - just the ticket!

I die cut around the image then distressed with Gathered Twigs distress ink.  I added some champagne 32mm pure silk ribbon - it ties the most beautiful bows - and added a couple of the new Princess Pearl & Diamante pins.

My flower arrangement includes a brown 30mm wild rose, cream 20mm open rose, Kort & Godt ivory beaded berries, a cream sweetheart blossom and some ivory beaded gypsophalia

The guipure lace trim is 38mm ivory 'Grace' 

Flowers, pins, ribbon, lace and Stardust Stickles are all from

The Ribbon Girl

I decorated a box to go with the card (it's not Pion paper), added some 16mm satin ribbon to tone with the colour of the silk and some gold colour washi tape which I pinched off Andrea :-)

I hope you can join us for this weeks challenge - the Papertake Weekly design team have come up with some marvellous cards to inspire you so please pop over for a look!

see you soon, Mary x

Christmas at Lovely Lili ....

This is my DT card for today's Lovely Lili challenge 'Christmas' over on the Ribbon Girl blog

I used a traditional image from the LOTV XL Christmas Artpad on some 'Frosty Christmas' paper 

I added some medium white pom pom trim, white seam binding, a silver poinsettia with the leaves removed, 15mm white diamond guipure lace, lots and lots of Stardust Stickles 

 all from The Ribbon Girl

Do you like the gorgeous Blue Princess Pin  - they will be available soon at The Ribbon Girl in lots of colours!!

I hope you will be able to pop over for some inspiration - there are two great prizes to win, a stamp of your choice from the lovely ladies at Lili of the Valley and a £10 voucher towards a spending spree in The Ribbon Girl online store

see you soon

Mary x

Ho Ho Ho ....

A very simple small card - we've had this image for years, possibly from Tim Holtz?? I know we used to colour it with inks which we got when we met him at the NEC many years ago.

I coloured this one with Inktense pencils and matted it onto red card to represent his coat, then added a tiny piece of 7mm black satin and a tiny square diamante buckle slide

Ho Ho Ho

I'm going to enter this into Without Words challenge

Christmas Cottage ....

A clean and simple Christmas Card today - the image is Christmas Cottage from Stampendous - I saw a card using this image by the talented Kath Stewart and I thought it was perfect for Christmas cards,  so I bought one straight way.  I coloured it up at the weekend with inktense pencils and added plenty of Stardust Stickles to make it sparkle.  I added some silver twine and a small holly leaf charm

This is my DT card for this week's Papertake Weekly - the challenge is 'anything goes' and we are sponsored by Lili of the Valley - so why not pop over and be inspired by the fabulous creations by the team and we'd love to see what you make!

see you soon, Mary x

He's making a list .............

Hard to believe we're into November and it's Christmas next month!!

I love this jolly Santa Claus - 'Letter to Santa' by Papermania  - I coloured him with inktense pencils then added some black fine liner to bring out the details. The papers are from LOTV Classic Christmas - perfect match for the red Inktense pencils.

 I added some white daisy guipure lace, white ruffle edge sheer, a stem of white pearl loop twisted in the centre, white sweetheart blossoms, white/ivory beaded berries, fabric holly leaves with tiny red berries, small pine cones and a white flower from the 'colour it yourself' collection of recycled cotton paper dahlias.

This is my DT card for today's Card Challenge over on the Ribbon Girl blog - great prizes and wonderful projects to inspire you - we'd love to see your Christmas creations!

Lace, ribbon, pearl loop, flowers, leaves, cones are all from

Sketchy time at Papertake Weekly ...

It's sketchy time at Papertake Weekly and I based my card on Sketch 95.  I used papers from the LOTV Shabby Shack pad and the image came from one of their very useful flower artpads

I added moss green 25mm satin ribbon, white 38mm guipure lace, 6mm flatback white pearl trim.  My flowers include a stem of tiny pearl flowers, WOC lemon sweetheart blossoms, ivory hip rosebud, a white orchid, white lilly and some little yellow stamens I've had in my stash for ages.  I also added some 3mm white flat back pearls all from

The Ribbon Girl

I hope you will be able to join us at Papertake Weekly - we'd love to see your creations and of course, there is a lovely prize to win too!

see you soon, Mary

A very sparkly Tilda ....

The October Magnolia Only Challenge is 'sparkle' - my very favourite thing after pinkness!  My DT card and box set combines both - a Magnolia Tilda image coloured with Inktense pencils and with lots of Stardust Stickles and rhinestones.  From The Ribbon Girl store I added 10mm double row ivory pearl trim, pale pink faux silk, 15mm pearl and diamante embellishment, pink velvet lace, pink organza rose trim, pink 30mm wild roses, 20mm open roses, Kort and Godt pale pink rolled rose, pink starburst stamens, fuschia pink 10mm open roses and pink picot edge satin ribbon.

 

I used one of the new ivory lace corner motifs with WOC 10 and 20mm open roses.  The centre is a lovely die from the new Noor UK store

I hope you will be able to join us in this fun challenge - if you pop over to the Ribbon Girl Blog you'll be amazed at the fabulous creations by the design team! and there are wonderful prizes to win!

see you soon, Mary x

black white and ...

My DT card for this weeks PTW challenge 'black, white and one accent colour' I chose red.  

I added black/white spot 9mm organza, a red poinsettia, white rosebud, white beaded twirl, white starburst stamen and stardust stickles on the snowman image  all are from

The Ribbon Girl

I hope you will find time to pop over to PTW to be inspired and we look forward to seeing your project

Mary xx

A white wedding card ....

This is my card for the Ribbon Girl October colour challenge which is 'white' . 

 I have made a wedding card and box using a LOTV image from my stash, then I added white Wedding Bells vintage style cotton lace, white satin ribbon, 6mm white flat back pearl trim, 3mm white pearls,  White Mixed Dahlia to colour yourself, white beaded stamens, white tiny rosebuds, white babies breath and white Kort & Godt chrysanthemums, 3mm and 5mm double sided sticky tape 

I decorated the lid of the box to match but used white ruffle edge sheer rather than the white satin

I hope you will be able to join us for this colour challenge - fantastic inspiration from the design team and great prizes so why not pop over and get crafting!

Ribbon Girl Blog

see you soon,

Mary x

Vintage dragonfly ...

This week's challenge at Papertake Weekly is 'things with wings' so I've coloured up this LOTV stamp from the 'Flora and Fauna' set with inktense pencils then added

WOC pink lily flowers, ivory cherry blossoms, ivory faux silk ribbon, Clementine embroidered tulle lace and 2mm clear self adhesive gems

The box I decorated to match the card has WOC pink lily flower, ivory cherry blossms, Ivory Clementine Embroidered Tulle Lace and double row pearl string

We'd love to see your creations over at PTW - the design team have come up with some wonderful projects and there is a great prize as usual

Season's greetings ...

My DT card for today's Ribbon Girl 'Lovely Lili' Challenge over on our blog we'd like you to 'add lace'.  I used the sweet traditional image from the LOTV Christmas XL artpad and shaped it with a nestie then mounted it on some silver mirri card.  I added  Stardust Stickles, white seam binding with a diamante snowflake on top, silver glitter velvet ribbon, 'Valerie' 32mm white fine vintage style cotton lace, red shiny berries, white beaded stamens, white cherry blossoms and a WOC 30mm ivory wild rose.  The sentiment is from PapertreyInk

I hope you will find time to pop over to the challenge blog - great inspiration and fabulous prizes

Image and papers from Lili of the Valley

Silver Glitter Velvet Ribbon, seam binding, diamante snowflake, lace, flowers, pine cones, berries are all from

The Ribbon Girl

see you soon

Mary x

Christmas Wreath ...

Inspired by the very talented crafty lady Kath Stewart, Jackie and I had a go at her Christmas Advent Wreath - well, as you can see ours wasn't quite like hers but we both made a Christmas Wreath and thoroughly enjoyed it.  However, Mrs Numpty here didn't read the instructions a well as she might have, and we spent half the night looking for Christmas papers we liked which were double sided - no need - Kath actually says in her instructions to glue two pieces together for the top petals :-(  I'll know next time and at least I have sufficient left over petals for a whole wreath !!

We used wooden spoon handles to roll the petals into shape

such concentration!!

We each added Stardust Stickles, a golden shimmery poinsettia and some Venetian Red seam binding to our wreath.

Thanks so much for sharing this with us Kath - no doubt we'll be making more before the big day!

Mary x

Peace on Earth - Goodwill to men

I raided my stash of Christmas papers (I hate cutting into them!) and made a Christmas card on which I've used Inkido paper, an image from Pion and a sentiment from PapertreyInk!  The back layer is made from gold mirri card.

I added 10mm gold glitter velvet, scarlet berry satin, 'Gloria' ivory vintage style fine cotton lace

I added a WOC brown wild rose and white sweetheart blossom, a terracota/rust large rosebud, a cone from a pack of 5 small pine cones, a sprig of Kort & Godt ivory beaded berries and a stem from a pack of 3 fabric holly leaves with small red berries

On the second flower arrangement I added another rosebud, a cone, a stem of holly leaf/berries, a bow of Scarlet Berry satin ribbon and a tiny gold liberty bell from a pack of 10 bells.

I think the sentiment is very apt at this time of global unrest and I added an ivory resin flat back dove
'Peace on Earth - Goodwill to men' 

all the ribbon, lace, flowers, cones, berries, bells, dove and embellishments are from

The Ribbon Girl

see you soon, Mary x