One for the girls (or Mum) ......

This is my pink and girly DT card for this weeks Papertake Weekly challenge 'one for the girls (or Mum as it is Mothers Day this coming Sunday 18th March)' and as my own mother passed away more than 30 years ago,  I have made a birthday card instead.  Please pop over to the PTW blog to feast your eyes on the beautiful creations by the design team and you have a whole week to get your card in - there's a fab prize up for grabs!

Isn't this image from the Stamp Fairy lovely? I coloured her with copics then finished her dress with some white opal liquid pearls and a touch of stardust stickles.  I die cut the delicate corners with one of my new cuttlebug corner dies which work beautifully in the Sizzix.    My easel card was finished with deep rose tiny pom pom trim, white 30mm zig zag cotton lace and 25mm hot pink and white polka dot ribbon with a single 13mm white mulberry rose

Lace, polka dot ribbon, tiny pom pom, mulberry flower, liquid pearls, stardust stickles are all from here

See you soon, Mary G x

Vintage look sparkly mini card and box set ........................

During our Mother/Daughter crafting time at the weekend, I followed Andrea's lead and tried my hand at making tiny 4 inch cards and I thoroughly enjoyed making this little vintage pink and sparkly set. 

This card and matching box took longer to make than the 14.5cm card I usually make, but I think it was well worth the extra effort.

I achieved the vintage look by distressing everything with  straw/brown distressing inks.  The background paper (a digi download) is machine stitched onto kraft card and the little tag is cut from a scrap of kraft using a Papertrey die then stamped with a Papertrey sentiment.

I cut up a Zva clear crystal swirl and added a couple of pieces to the card.  I used mauve scallop cotton lace, posie seam binding and pale pink mini ric rac, then added 25mm and 13mm pink/white mulberry roses with white rosebuds and rose leaves (all distressed) with green leaves cut with my Martha Stewart punch (which seized up at the weekend, I hope I haven't worn it out !!)

I spent ages making and decorating the matching box - as you can see the top of the box is just as pretty as the actual card (which has machine stitching) and even the sides of the lid and the inside of the box have been decorated  - I think it would make a lovely little keepsake box.

I will enter this set into the Cupcake Challenge which is to make something sparkly
and into the Pixie Dust Challenge (Sparkle and Bling)

See you soon, Mary G x

Hello Dolly ...... and a new colour challenge ....

I fancied making a rag doll for a Christmas gift and this little dolly (approx 20 inches tall) is the result - I particularly like her arms which are attached using large pearl buttons using a very long doll making needle, so they move, and best of all they stay just where you put them.  I am still not sure about her features which as you can probably see, have been unpicked and re-stitched more than once - poor dolly!

Her hair took ages to make - almost a full ball of black cotton dk yarn, which was wrapped, cut, stitched then firmly stuck and stitched to the head - her bunches are tied with 7mm pink satin ribbon which is stitched to the side of her head.  I decided she looked better with a fringe so cut the front of her hair after she was all finished! I added pale pink small polka dot buttons to her shoes which are made from felt.  Ribbon, Lace, Buttons and Felt are all available from the Ribbon Girl online store

Her dress is embellished wiith 15mm pink satin ribbon and 18mm white cotton lace, and her pants are trimmed with broderie anglaise which although you can't see very much of them are made from pink spotty fabric. The pattern and all the fabric, including the body fabric, is from The Fat Quarters which is a 15 minute drive away and well worth a visit - the staff are so friendly and helpful

This is my DT project for Colour Challenge No 13 PINK & WHITE over at the Ribbon Girl blog - it will run for two weeks so you have plenty of time - there is some fabulous inspiration from our amazing Design Team - do pop over and have a look and I look forward to seeing all your gorgeous pink and white projects - you could win a great prize of one of our pretty pink mini ribbon kits

and a £10 voucher generously donated by Laila and Lisa to spend in the LOTV store - and they've got a gorgeous range of new stamps, just out!

See you soon, Mary G x

When is a card not a card ...............

When is a card not a card ....... when it's a gift card holder

This is my DT project for this weeks Papertake Weekly challenge. Please pop over and be inspired by the fabulous DT projects - and the prize this week is a £10 voucher to spend in the Ribbon Girl online store  I used a diecut LOTV image enhanced with plenty of Stardust Stickles, the die ccut images are so handy when you're in a bit of a hurry!!

I adhered the image to the card via a flap and underneath made a little pocket to hold a gift of money

I was pleased with the end result becaue the card can still be on show as any normal card would be.

I used red and white pencil stripe ribbon, 18mm white cotton zig zag lace, a small red and white polka dot button and some natural button twine - all from http://www.ribbongirl.co.uk/ (and my sister will be very impressed that I made a card without using any flowers on it!! lol)

See you soon, Mary G x

Sparkly Pink Fairy Christmas Card ....

I followed Bev's sketch at this weeks LOTV challenge to make this very pink and sparkly Christmas card!

The image was coloured using Copics and liberally glittered with Stardust Stickles - the white circle and pink background were cut with a nestabilities die.

I used white 18mm zig zag cotton lace and pink ruffle edge sheer ribbon to tie around the card and I hung a snowflake charm behind the bow with a piece of candy pink divine twine.  The flowers used were 30mm pink/white Mulberry rose, pink/whiter pretty blossoms and pink/white semi open rosebuds.  The foliage was cut from green card with Martha Stewart punches.  I added the sentiment matted onto pink card with plenty of Stardust Stickles and lastly added a couple of silver filigree corners.

I made a box from white card and added co-ordinating papers to the top and sides plus more of the pink ruffle edge sheer ribbon.

I was really pleased with how this card turned out - I even decorated the inside of the card and stamped the image again but didnt colour it in this time and I was especially pleased that my box-making skills are improving!  Less 'oops and oh no's and trips to the recycling bin, and more 'oohs and aahs'

I will now enter this into the LOTV challenge, and also Totally Papercrafts, see you soon

Flowers, lace and ribbon are all from http://www.ribbongirl.co.uk/

Sentiment from Pink Petticoat

Silver corners from WOC

 Mary G x

Flowers for you ....... and a clean and simple card

This was my DT card for this weeks Papertake Weekly challenge which is a sketch. Humphrey is so cute with his bunch of roses! I decided on a bright sunny colour and added 18mm white zig zag cotton lace, 25mm large check golden yellow gingham ribbon and a couple of heart shaped pins (all from Ribbon Girl)

The image was coloured with copics and I added plenty of Stardust stickles.

Instead of my usual bouquet of mulberry flowers, I made my own with toning paper, added one small flat paper flower then finished it off with a flower shaped acrylic button tied on with lemon Divine Twine (both from Ribbon Girl).  The flower was then liberally sprayed with sparkle from Crafters Companion. I added some stick on pearls to finish the card.

This is my entry for the Simply Less is More challenge, (to use polka dots) and I used polka dot paper which was cut with a die for the christmas ornament ........

and small red polka dot buttons as holly berries.  The holly leaf die and the sentiment stamp are from Papertrey Ink.  The only other embellishment is a 7mm red satin ribbon and a bit of doodling with a fine black pen!

Mary G x

It's 25th so it's time for a new 'Jingle all the way to Christmas' challenge ....

As it's 25th of the month there is another 'Jingle all the way to Christmas' challenge over at the Ribbon Girl blog and this is my card:

I used a LOTV image which has been coloured with copics and smothered in Stardjust Stickles!

I added 30mm white zig zag cotton lace and 12mm silver lame ribbon - the flowers are a 30mm purple two tone rose, 20mm large white rosebuds and white pretty blossoms.  Lace, ribbon and mulberry flowers are all from the Ribbon Girl. A doohickey swirl and a nice sentiment from LOTV complete the card. I will enter this card into the Totally Gorguss challenge 'Pastel Christmas'

A close up of the LOTV image

So please pop over to the Ribbon Girl blog and take a look at the fabulous projects made by the mega talented Ribbon Girls DT - we hope they inspire you to get cracking with your Christmas crafting and you could win a really nice prize, see above, if you enter the challenge which runs for two weeks until 8th November.

Take it easy ........

I made this card using the Just Magnolia sketch by Mina and will enter it for the challenge.  The backing papers are from a Christmas pack, sorry I can't remember which one and plain green card from stash.  Copics were used to colour the cute little image who is taking a rest in the garden (you can tell she's in a garden because her stool is ever so slightly crooked  (ahem, my fault - I will try harder next time)

I punched leaves from the green backing card with my Martha Stewart leaf and branch punches - I love these little punches.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid and the green satin ribbon and white cotton lace is from the Ribbon Girl, as is the Stardust Stickles.

The gorgeous butterfly is from our stash, but I see it has lost one of the little gemstones - not to worry, I put plenty of stick on green gems around the scallop oval which I cut on the sizzix using a nestabilities die