Holly and Robins ......

Love the new Pion designs 'Christmas in Norway' and especially these cute little robin redbreasts!!  This is my card for this weeks Papertake Weekly which is a sketchy free for all (use this weeks sketch 104 or choose one from the challenge blog) or any of the options, eg, colour, product, technique.  My card is based on sketch 104, also I made it look vintage and distressed.

I added 15mm and 25mm No 80 khaki (sage green) satin ribbon, a wooden vintage style clock button, brown 30mm wild rose, red apple, mocha beaded stamen, Kort and Godt ivory beaded berries, tiny red berries, a very cute tiny little bronze colour pine cone charm (bottom right hand corner, just peeping out, also I tied the button on with some gold twine.  I also added ivory s/a pearls 3 - 6mm and the lace is 32mm Josephine vintage style 32mm wide fine cotton and I inked all my distressed edges with Stardust stickles.  all from www.ribbongirl.co.uk

I hope you will be inspired by my team mates projects and we look forward to seeing yours, and there is a lovely prize from Simon Says Stamp.  

see you soon, Mary xx

Pink Christmas card ...

The challenge at Papertake Weekly this week is 'diecuts'     I made a pink Christmas card and rather like the effect :-)   makes a change from traditional colours.  I used Pion Silent Night papers and the image is from that set also. All edges were distressed with Ranger gathered twigs ink.  I die cut the intricate frame using some non-stick baking parchment to make sure it didn't stick and it cut perfectly.  I also cut a Lil Inkers snowflake to which I added a 22mm diamante snowflake for some glitzy sparkliness - I love pink but I love sparkle even more!!

I added gorgeous 'Blanche' embroidered tulle lace, pink shabby pleated ribbon topped with 6mm white flat back pearl string.  I popped on a few 3mm pink pearls from the 3mm sugar and spice set and added lots of Stardust Stickles to the image.

My flower arrangement includes 30mm wild rose, pink/pink berries, white pretty blossom, white beaded twirl and 10mm pale pink open rose. 

I hope you will be able to join us over at Papertake Weekly  - great inspiration from my very talented teamies and there's a £10 voucher towards a spending spree at Ribbon Girl for the winner!

see you soon, Mary xx

Vintage style wedding card

It's the Ribbon Girl Colour Challenge - my favourite challenge and it's PINK my favourite colour. I made a card for my son and his lovely new wife Claire.   I tried to add elements that I had used when I decorated their wedding cake (lace, bead trim, pink faux silk ribbon)  I used Pion 'my precious daughter' papers. I altered a photo in photoshop and made it a sepia colour then made it the right size to fit within an arch top resin frame from the Eiffel resin set, which I distressed with 'Gathered Twigs' ink.  The die cut up the right side is my new Tonic die, briar with butterfly, looks really nice in real life

 50mm Ophelia embroidered tulle lace, 4mm ivory flat back pearl trim, 12mm pale pink faux silk ribbon, ivory lace leaves, ivory lace corner, bark heart, 3mm pink s/a pearls, pink heart and ivory teardrop pins, 30mm pink rose, 20mm pale pink open rose, pale pink small rosebuds and green rose leaves

The distressed resin frame is from the Eiffel set of resin frames

I also distressed the flowers with the gathered twigs ink to try and make the card look vintage as the whole wedding had a vintage theme to it

I hope you will be able to join in with the challenge, there is some lovely work by our design team to inspire you and a lovely prize from Ribbon Girl and Marianne Designs.

see you soon, Mary xx

Spots and stripes ....

The new challenge at Papertake Weekly is 'spots and stripes' so I used pink spotty paper from LOTV  Pastel Dreams paper pad  (the stripes are on the wrapping paper of the bouquet of flowers Jenny bear is holding)  I used an image from LOTV artpad number 23 James and Jenny Bear.  

I added 38mm white spotted organza ribbon, with a pink heart diamante embellishment, and there is a green leaf and pink heart pin tucked in behind the ribbon.  The sentiment is from LOTV stamped onto a scrap of the pink spot paper.

My flower arrangement includes a pale pink cherry blossom, 2 x 20mm and 2 x 10mm pale pink open roses and two tiny pale pink rosebuds.  I finished the card with a few 5mm self adhesive flat back pearls.

I hope you will be able to join in this fun challenge, there is a nice prize from The Hobby House for the lucky winner!!

see you soon, Mary xx

Chris and Claire's wedding items .... part two

Ladie's favours at the 'afternoon tea' hen party - a bar of chocolate covered in pink spot paper with pale pink faux silk ribbon tied in a bow

men's favours/place settings at the wedding - a miniature bottle of Jack Daniels with silver twine and pale pink faux silk ribbon

another photo of the wedding cake with sugar roses, leaves and hydrangea petals by me, plus the 'Ophelia' lace, 5mm ivory pearl string, pale pink faux silk ribbon and 10mm ivory square flatback trim around bottom board from www.ribbongirl.co.uk

Andrea's beautiful cup cakes including more of my hand made sugar florist paste hydrangea petals - they tasted scrumptious too!

the wedding cake by me, sorry for poor photo quality as this was taken in artificial light in the evening

Still to share are the invites etc - I'll be back soon with them

Mary x

Everything goes with an image .......

This is my DT card for the Everything Goes with an Image challenge at the Ribbon Girl - it's 'anything goes' this week so we're hoping to see lots of lovely projects - as long as they have an image on they can be anything you like!!

I used a wooden clock button tied with natural hemp twine, 7mm cream ribbon, 10mm ivory vintage style cotton lace, a couple of ivory guipure leaves, a brown 30mm wild rose, a 20mm pink rose with lots of distress ink to 'age' it so it blended in with St Nic's cloak, Mocha beaded stamens and velvet finish holly leaves.  I inked all edges then went over them with stickles.  The sentiment is from LOTV and my image was cut from my precious stash of Pion paper - I hate cutting into it, but it makes gorgeous cards.  The inside of the card replicates the front with a blank centre for a message

Hemp, ribbon, button, lace, lace leaves, flowers and stickles are all from

I hope you will be able to join us over on the blog and be inspired by the design team's fabulous makes!

see you soon, Mary xx

Claire and Christopher's Wedding ....

It was a fabulous day celebrating the marriage of my son Chris and my lovely daughter in law Claire on 6th August 2015 - here are a few photos of some of the things Mary, Andrea and Jackie made for the big day - I'll be back with another blog post on another day showing invitations, order of service, men's favours etc etc

The bride and groom Chris and Claire cutting the cake - you can see the gorgeous vintage style cupcakes made and decorated by Andrea - tasted yummy!  also the bride's bouquet.  The lace tablecloth was my late husband's grandmothers and it was old when it was given to her

a close up of the lower tier of the wedding cake by Mary

one of the twelve pew ends made by Jackie which decorated the church beautifully

me with my little sister, Jackie who made all of the pew ends, bouquets, buttonholes and corsages - I was the 'reach me - fetch me - cut that' assistant :-)

All of the ladies had a wooden fan as their place setting - each had a variety of flowers with vintage style lace and pink faux silk ribbon, made by Mary

see you soon, Mary xx

Pink birthday card ....

There is new challenge at Papertake Weekly - anything goes - sponsored by LOTV and I've made a card for my great niece who will be 17 years old in a few days time - where does the time go  I used a lovely image from the Party & Cake artpad with co-ordinating LOTV papers.

I added some white daisy venise lace and 7mm dusky pnk satin ribbon, a pink cosmos daisy, pale pink 20mm open rose and a white Kort & Godt chrysanth.  The name was hand stamped and the sentiment tag is a stamp from LOTV

I hope you will be able to join the the Papertake Challenge, if you pop over to the blog you are sure to be inspired by the fabulous creations by the design team!

see you soon, Mary xx

Icy Hugs ....... even if it is only the beginning of August!!

This is my DT card for The Ribbon Girl August Card Challenge 'use ribbon'    I have coloured one of the brand new Lili of the Valley Christmas stamps (Icy Hugs) with inktense water colours then added  lots of Stardust Stickles to represent ice.  I haven't coloured for ages and I can see I need lots of practice but the new stamps are so pretty I had to have a go!  The sentiment is also from Lili of the Valley as is the background paper, and all edges were inked then sparkled with  Stardust Stickles.

I added 15mm Berisford Khaki Sage No 80 satin ribbon, an ivory lace corner, bark heart, some 'Amelia' ivory vintage style fine cotton lace, 30mm brown wild rose, Kort & Godt ivory beaded berries, ivory asters and an ivory gardenia.

Flowers, berries, bark heart, lace corner an lace, ribbon and Stickles are all from

I hope you will be able to join in with the challenge, there are some lovely cards from the design team which are sure to inspire you and you can win a £10 voucher towards a spending spree in the Ribbon Girl store and a £10 voucher to spend at Lili of the Valley - just in time for their new stamp releases!

see you soon, Mary xx