31 August 2014

Well done Gemma ....


I made this card for my great niece Gemma because she got exellent GCSE results and I'm very proud of her! Well done Gemma!!  I coloured Tilda with Inktense pencils then added Blackcurrant glitter velvet ribbon, Lyra guipure lace, 4mm ivory flat back pearl bead trim, a Melissa Frances crystal trinket pin coloured with copics, some WOC small ivory gardenias, 20mm lilac open roses, a butterfly charm and some Stardust Stickles
the challenge at this weeks Ribbon Girl Magnolia Only Challenge is 'add a charm' and I used a silver colour butterfly to compliment the butterflies flitting around Tilda.
I hope you will have time to pop over to the blog - there are some fabulous cards by the design team which are sure to inspire you and we look forward to seeing what you create

See you soon,
Mary x

26 August 2014

A couple of sympathy cards .....


Sympathy cards are always difficult to make but here are two different styles.  The first one has Pion papers,  pale lime satin ribbon, 'Teresa' ivory vintage style cotton lace, 6mm ivory flat back pearl trim, WOC 20mm and 10mm cream roses and coffee brow sweetheart blossoms

The second card is very simple and uses a small piece of Pion paper with small ivory guipure lace butterfly and some flat back pearls from the 5mm Peaches and Cream set

All ribbons, lace and embellishments are from the Ribbon Girl

Mary x

19 August 2014

Brrrrr ............


(scheduled post as I will be on holiday when this is (hopefully) published)

A pink and frosty Chrismas card using one of the new LOTV Christmas artpads - I used a nestie to diecut the silver scallop mat then added white ruffle edge sheer ribbon, pink ric rac, a flower shaped acrylic button tied on with silver twine and some Stardust Stickles on the snow.

I hope you can join in with this week's PTW challenge - to die for - there are some lovely cards by the desig team and a nice prize to win

Ribbon, twine, Stickles, button and ric rac are all from 

Mary x

15 August 2014

Vintage tissue box .....


I really enjoyed decorating a cardboard tissue box cover - I painted the box with white acrylic paint then used some lovely 'Fairytale of Spring' Pion papers which I had been saving for a special project.  It was a bit tricky making a neat edge around the central aperture but the lace frame fitted it very well.


I distressed all the edges with walnut ink then added an ivory guipure lace square to the top - enhanced with an ivory guipure lace butterfly.


I used 6mm ivory flat back pearl trim, Teresa ivory vintage style lace and 7mm cream satin ribbon around the edges of the lid.  I then added an ivory cherry blossom, 20mm and 10mm cream open roses and an ivory Kort & Godt rolled paper rose

At the bottom of the box I used 32mm ivory vintage style 'Anne' lace, more pearl trim and satin ribbon.

On the front side of the box I made a flower arrangement with flowers to co-ordinate with those on the top corner of the lid.

The feet were made by sticking on 14mm ivory flat back pearls

Mary x





13 August 2014

Merry Christmas .....


My last sneaky peek of the new bumper Christmas artpads to be launched tomorrow, Thursday 14th August, by LOTV

I used this sweet little robin then added  red satin ribbon, Christmas bias binding, Laila white vintage style cotton lace, Kort & Godt white chrysanth, an ivory gardenia, 15mm red paper roses, tiny white rosebuds and brown winter cones all from

Mary x

12 August 2014

Spots and dots at Papertake Weekly


Happy 16th birthday to my lovely great niece Gemma who is currently on holiday in very hot Mallorca - this weeks challenge at PTW is 'spots and dots' and I've used sequins for spots and the sparkly self adhesive numbers are made up of diferent sizes of gems.  I added red satin ribbon and a piece of 'Louise' guipure lace and some 4mm white flat back pearl string all from The Ribbon Girl

I hope you will be able to join us at Papertake Weekly for this challenge and look forward to seeing what you make!

Mary x

Another sneaky peek ..............


Another sneaky peek - roll on 14th August when the fabulous new LOTV bumper Christmas artpads are launched - for a change I made a small card and I have to say it's great to have the choice of using a smaller image - perfect for die-cutting.  The new Christmas artpads have 60 images, two per page, so you get double the value and oodles of images to use for Christmas cards and projects.  I love the pastel colours of this cute snowman talking to his rabbit friends!  I die cut the image then mounted it on silver mirror card then added


Glacier Aqua Satin, white Laila vintage style fine cotton lace,Stardust Stickles, a WOC white sweetheart blossom and tiny white rosebuds.  I coloured a Maya Road crystal trinket pin with Copics and added a tag and a tiny now made from silver twine and lastly added a silver pin protector - all from 
see you later with my Papertake Weekly card

Mary x

11 August 2014

A little sneaky peek .......



I'm thrilled to be able to share this little sneaky peek of one of the images in the new Lili of the Valley Christmas Bumper Artpads which will be out on Thursday 14th August - you get 60 images in every pad - fabulous value and they are all lovely and very 'useable' - I can't wait ...

I added white satin ribbon, white 4mm flat back pearl trim, white Laila vintage style lace and I topped my bow with a 22mm diamante snowflake embellishment.  My flower arrangement includes a WOC 30mm ivory wild rose, white lily flower, some white tiny rosebuds, blue beaded berries and Kort & Godt white chrysanthemums
all from The Ribbon Girl

see you soon, Mary x

5 August 2014

shall we dance?


My card for this week's Papertake Weekly Challenge - anything goes - I coloured the LOTV image with Inktense pencils then added 'Angelica' embroidered tulle lace, 16mm velvet ribbon, a fuschia pink 20mm open rose and a few sequins.  I added Stardust Stickles to the dress skirt and the background paper was embossed.

We're looking forward to seeing what you create - there is a fab prize and some excellent cards by the design team to inspire you

Lace, ribbon, flower and sequins all from

see you soon, Mary x


3 August 2014

Anything but a square ....


Anything but a square - that's the challenge at this weeks Ribbon Girl August Card Challenge - I made a round card with a large nestie and tried out my new Inktense pencils - I need lots of practice but I really liked using them.  I am so grateful to Becky Hetherington for showing me how she paints with them - she also has a couple of tutorials on her blog - very useful - thanks Becky!

I added 25mm faux hessian ribbon, 7mm cream satin, 30mm white zig zag cotton lace.  My flowers are 45mm red/pink roses, teracotta rose buds, mocha beaded stamens, winter cones, acorn cao and ivory cherry blossoms.  I added some dots around the background paper using white opal liquid pearls.

I hope you will be able to join us for the challenge and please don't miss the design team's fabulous creations!
anything but a square - look forward to seeing yours!

flowers, ribbons, lace and embellishments areall from The Ribbon Girl - by the way, we're celebrating our 4th birthday and we have a lovely give away for one luck winner - pop over to our facebook page for more information

Mary x