Sketchie time at pTW .......

It's sketchie time at Papertake Weekly - I used sketch No 80 for my DT card.  The image in the centre is one of the new stamps from LOTV as is the sentiment.  I inked over them with walnut to distress them.  Lace is 'Claire' used with natural faux hessian mesh - I cut off the wired edges and frayed the ribbon.  I love the golden diamante butterfly charm - just lovely.  My flowers include dahlias from Ribbon Girl Barley Sugar Mixed Dahlia pack, ivory beaded stamens, a stem from an ivory and crystal branch, WOC hip rosebuds and 20mm open roses - all from The Ribbon Girl

I hope blogger behaves and publishes this on time as I will be cruising around the Greek Islands with my lovely husband to celebrate his 65th birthday

Mary x

Don't be square .....

I was delighted to be asked to be a GDT for today's Creative Romance Challenge 'Don't be square ...' and here is my card

I used our new dies we bought at the Doncaster Dome a couple of weeks ago and inked the edges. I added oloroso seam binding and Rebecca 8mm ivory fine vintage style lace topped with some 5mm ivory flat flower bead trim.  The sentiment is punched from a LOTV pad and inked too.

My flower arrangement includes a dahlia from the Barley Sugar pack, some 20mm WOC open roses, ivory beaded stamens and pink/white beaded berries.

More seam binding and lace topped with a 20mm open rose

I hope you will find time to enter the challenge, I really enjoyed it.

Mary x

Hot, hot, hot ....

This week's challenge at Papertake Weekly is 'hot, hot, hot' so this could be a colour challenge so red, pink, orange etc etc. Or maybe you have another interpretation!!!  Why not pop over to have a look at the inspiration from the rest of the DT?  The prize this week is a £10 voucher towards a spending spree in The Ribbon Girl store

I chose to make a card with red and orange, not my usual choice, but I rather like it.  I used an Elizabeth Bell topper with 'Cheltenham' white guipure lace and large check red gingham ribbon.  The butterfly was punched and I added some 5mm clear crystals.

My flower arrangement consists of a Ribbon Girl white beaded stamens,  white daisy, WOC cosmos, cherry blossom, and Kort & Godt white chrysanth.  I found the red poppy in my flower stash drawer - actually I've got 2 big drawers and they both need a jolly good sorting out - who knows what's lurking in there? 

Mary x

Pretty in pink ..

The June Colour Challenge at The Ribbon Girl is 'pink' and there is a lovely photograph to inspire you.  There are two prizes:  A £10 voucher to spend in the Lili of the Valley store and a £10 voucher to spend in The Ribbon Girl store.  The projects made by my teamies are wonderful, in fact, they get better and better every month!

For my DT card I made a pink Wedding Anniversary card for my little sister's 43rd wedding anniversary.  I used an image from the LOTV 'True Love' art pad with an LOTV image.  The background papers are from a Pandura 12x12 pad - all edges were distressed with walnut ink and then I added Stardust Stickles.

My flower arrangement consists of  WOC 35mm trellist rose, carnations, hip rosebuds and Kort & Godt white chrysanths.  I curled a few stalks and made leaves with my Martha Stewart punch.  

I added some 5mm pink pearls, 7mm dusky pink satin ribbon and a gorgeous pink crystal and diamante heart.  At the top of the card you can see 5mm flat flower pearl string and dusky pink tiny ric rac.

I hope you will be able to join in at the colour challenge - pink is one of my favourite colours and I'm looking forward to seeing your entries!

All flowers, ribbon, diamantes, pearls, pearl bead string and Stardust Stickles are from

Mary x

Hello Boys .....

The new challenge at Papertake Weekly is 'a card for a boy, Fathers Day etc) I've made a birthday card for a boy using one of the LOTV coloured art pads, two scraps of paper, a small piece of vintage blue lace, 3 buttons and 3 small pieces of natural button twine.  The sentiment is computer generated and printed onto Safmat.

My garden .....

 The Acer with holly bush in the background

A dandelion clock - better get that before a million seed heads land on the lawn!

Fir cones on one of the fir trees

Pansies in the front garden

First red poppy with forget-me-nots in the background

Purple flower - can't remember the name but they spread very well - I bought one cutting at an 'open garden trail around Hexhamshire 3 or 4 years ago and now I have loads of these plants!

Just in case you missed it, we have a lovely giveaway on the Ribbon Girl blog 

see you soon, Mary x

Non-square ........

This week's challenge at Papertake Weekly is Anything Goes with the optional extra of making a non-square card - sponsored by Lili of the Valley.

For my round card cut with nesties I used papers from the LOTV Gentlemen pad and this adorable image from the LOTV Art Pad 1 book and added brown tea dyed ribbon from The Ribbon Girl

I hope you will join in this fun challenge!"

Mary x

June card challenge is add a die cut .......

Today sees the start of the Ribbon Girl June Card Challenge 'add a die cut' - you could win some great prizes so please pop over and you'll be very impressed with the fabulous cards made by my mega talented teamies.  For my DT card I used a die to cut the card and the various layers, then cut a LOTV pre-printed image for the centre.  Backing paper is from a LOTV pad and all edges were inked with walnut ink.  The butterfly was cut with my Martha Srewart punch and I added a stalk off the daisy to make the antennae, a couple of 5mm pink pearls and some stickles

I was getting behind today so decided to use one of the LOTV images which are great when you are short on time!  I used 40mm dusky pink flat lace tied into a bow then added a white daisy with the centre removed and replaced with a pink crystal gem diamante embellishment. I used a small piece from a clear crystal heart stem, some 5mm pink pearls and glittered the centre of the flowers on the image with stardust stickles.  I used a Tim Holtz die to cut the stand which is holding up the card - I find this a very useful tool!

Lace, flower, diamante, pearls, stickles are all from 

Mary x