Crafty's Tour de France is over and we are happy to tell Wilma we are coming home with the Yellow Jersey!!

The car is totally covered in road grime and looks awful, the trailer must be lighter from all the stock we have sold, it appeared to be almost skipping on the way to the port!

We have driven almost 2000 miles since we left Dorset, as my Dad would have said "Just to sell RIBBON!"

The boat is about to leave port, the sea looks calm and I hope we have a good crossing.

We woke up to this! But we will be back soon!!

What a beautiful day we have had here in Brittany, the sun has been out all day, I even went out without a coat on!! I had a wander around the garden, and small signs of spring are popping up, little green shoots are just showing their heads.  Spring is on it's way - hooray!!

Just perfect to launch our NEW range of ribbons.

"WOODLAND"

A small collection of modern stylish ribbons called "Woodland".  Wonderful shades of leafy green, subtle creams and warm browns make this a fresh and inspiring range. Oh and there are dots too!!!

The ribbons and colours work so well together and at only 50p per metre it is stunning value. If you cannot decide which ones to choose then why not go for the WANT IT ALL, 1mtr of ALL 11 ribbons for £5.00

I have used 5 of the ribbons on this card, very simple to make and could be given to both male or female. I just stuck lengths of 4 ribbons onto card using double sided tape, then cut it into a narrower strip, mounted this onto a cream backing card.  For the ribbon ruffle, I stuck double sided tape to the card and roughly pleated the ribbon as I stuck it down.

With the ribbons I had left from the first card, I made this card! Waste not, want not!

Lydia we hope you passed your exams, we have had our fingers crossed all day.

Our Tour de France is almost over. The stand was packed up for the last time last night in the most horrendous conditions you could imagine. The area that surrounds the hall is cobbled - Parisian style. Looks absolutely amazing BUT it was -6 and had been snowing, the cobbles were totally frozen over and it was sheet ice. Breakdown is a manic time anyway, and the ice made it almost impossible. Tony and I just slowed down and took our time, waiting until the mayhem had eased.

We arrived in Brittany in the early hours all safe and sound, although rather tired!

Less of my waffle, you want to know who is going to be going Dotty from this weeks Friday FREEBIE.....

......Friday FREEBIE winner is

No 9 - Lydia

Well done Lydia you have loads of dots coming your way.  All you have to do to claim the prize is to email your address to craftyribbons@gmail.com  Sorry Lydia, the strawberries are not part of the prize, Tony went shopping this morning and came home with this big box, they look amazing and I can not wait to enjoy them later!!!!

Huge thanks to everyone that left such wonderful comments, it was great reading them and such fun. I will be back in the office for this weeks Friday FREEBIE and I know we have had several NEW ribbons turn up, so maybe I will make the FREEBIE extra special!!! 

Carmen - you asked if we attend the Ally Pally Show, we do but only the Knitting and Stitching Show held in October.  Below is a list of all the shows we are attending this Spring. 

MARCH

4 - 7 Hobbycrafts - Glasgow, S.E.C.C.

18 - 21 Stitch & Craft 2010 - London, Olympia

25 - 28 Hobbycrafts - Birmingham, N.E.C.

APRIL

9 - 11 Version Scrap - Paris, Parc Floral

MAY

13 - 16 Quilts UK - Malvern, Three Counties Showground

Before you all shout at me, YES there are several shows missing from our previous Spring Schedule, we are so busy in the warehouse that we have once again cut down on our show exposure - sorry. Please forgive us if we are no longer coming to a show near you, we would suggest that you join our website mailing list HERE, so that you do not miss out on the regional offers we have planned.

Ummmmm.... those strawberries are a calling me......

It’s the last day of L’Aiguille en Fete today, and I have to say it is such a fantastic show and the name says it all “Festival of the Needle”. The creations that are on display are truly exceptional, the hours of dedication and skill is almost overpowering.

Every stand is bursting with different styles of embroidery, knitting, and sewing – all crafts that use a needle! It is also a very special show in another way – you have to be invited to exhibit at the show by the organisers, who scour the world to bring together a truly unique collection of exhibitors.  It is now in its sixth year, Crafty Ribbons have exhibited for 5 and we have our fingers crossed we will be invited back!!!

I took some time out to walk the show – well I had to, how could I resist all those tempting stands, they were calling “Ali come and see me!!!” I do love my embroidery, although I am unable to follow charts or designs, much preferring to “go it alone”. Fabrics, threads, books where should I start?

There is a display of costumes from L’Opera de Paris. What do think about this new outfit I found for Tony?

I think he would look great wearing this on the exhibition stands, that ombre ribbon just makes it! 

Or maybe this one with the ribbon waist trim?

How about this one for me, not sure if I have a small enough waist!!! Dream on Ali! There were so many more and they were all fantastic, works of art!

I woke up yesterday with a cold, I was so pleased that I had avoided everyone’s bugs from the office.  But someone in Metz must have got me! Feeling dreadful and not looking forward to breaking the stand down this evening. We leave Paris tonight heading for Brittany for a few days rest, so all I have to do is make it through today then Tony can fully pamper me at home!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM

It's our little Sams second Birthday today and I am missing it - boo hoo.  Have a great day and enjoy the ball pool, I love those!

So many of you last week voted for Swiss Dots as your favourite ribbon collection so this week your dream could come true.....

..... a collection of 20mtrs of different colours of Swiss Dots - you can all go dotty now!!!

All you have to do is leave a comment and let us know what what you would do with all those dots.  We will pick the winner on Monday as usual from our "Bingo" Bag.

If your comment is being blocked  by our spam filters please email the comment to us here craftyribbons@gmail.com and we will add it for you.  Your email address will then be verified and you will be able to leave further comments without any hassle. 

I have taken lots of photo's from the show and hope to share them with you.  Have a great weekend - have you got snow again?  We have in Paris and it is freezing -7!!!!!

Phew what a busy day, I am so tired but wanted to show you the washing line.

Your cards caused quite a stir today and many photos were taken.

I am off to bed, another long day tomorrow - show is open 9am to 7pm!

We have had a wonderful day, driving through the French country side, seeing what is going on - not a lot.  To be honest you hardly see a soul in the little villages, they appear to be deserted. Tony insisted on driving for miles to see a Maginot Line Fort. To me it was a large ugly lump of concrete with rusty bits. But he seemed very happy and that is what counts.

The monday we left I received 2 envelopes from the Valentine challenge, I had hoped to share the photo's with you sooner, Carol spotted hers on the Metz stand.  Only a few more days to make those special cards, so here is the last inspiration from our Ribbon Challenge 11 "Valentine"

Carol this is so cute, I adore the picture - oh and the ribbon flower is great too!!

Carol is our first international challenger, all the way from Cyprus.  Great card Carol, the backing paper matches the ribbon perfectly.

I was asked all the time in Metz for the Broderie Anglaise Carol, I was sorry I could not help them, but we did sell the ribbon!

Wendy went for the traditional ribbons and don't they look fab.

I love the ribbon woven effect that Wendy has created here. I am a fan of ribbon weaving it is so easy to do, and makes great cushions.  Sydney has a collection on her bed, all in bright colours.

Thanks to all that took part in the Valentine challenge, your creations are, as always awesome.  We have a larger stand in Paris and I plan on using Tracey's washing line idea.  I have lots of little wooden pegs and I am going to peg them across the open sides of the stand, like a washing line - yes I will take pics!!

This is a delightful Auberge we are staying in, but we didn't realise that we are the only 2 here, until we went to dinner last night.  They had set up a table for two in front of the log fire - oh it was so romantic!!

Off to Paris tomorrow.....

Hi everyone, I managed to get online but it is not the speed of light!!!!

When I said in an early post that I packed everything for this trip, I truly did - the famous Crafty Ribbons "Bingo" bag came too!  Who could I get to pick this weeks winner for our Friday FREEBIE, have you met Ettley? He is my teddy bear and comes everywhere with us (much to the disgust of Tony). Ettley has done the honours this week and he has picked........

.....our Friday FREEBIE winner is

16 - Sharon Neil

Sharon's favourite ribbon collection is the bling - it would appear you are not the only one Sharon.  The bling is just blingtastic!!  Please email us your address craftyribbons@gmail.com so the girls can send a WANT IT ALL Bling collection to you.

Thank you to everyone who left such wonderful comments, it was great to read them all last night and catch up.

I am not speaking to Bev and Rachie, do you know what they did today. I sent a text to say that we were having a delightful lunch and I got a reply saying they were far to excited to eat, they were piling into a delivery of NEW ribbons.  NO, NO they are mine!!!

Sounds like I  caused a little bit of a dilemma asking you to pick your favourite ribbon! It has been great catching up on your comments.  These French show hours are exhausting, and next week they are even longer in Paris. 

There was a huge display of pergamano at the show, something I have never tried.  The work was exquiste and they allowed photography.

This picture looked so delicate.

This was taken through the glass frame, it is so fine. I wonder how many hours of work it took.

This little basket caught my eye, Spider web roses made from silk ribbon.

Metz is over for another year, the trailer is all loaded, we must have sold a fair amount of stock, it was not such a tight squeeze fitting it all back in!!!

We are heading off tomorrow to a Auberge in the middle of a forest en route to Paris, something a little bit different.  Tony booked a room with a hot tub, but forgot to ask if they have WiFi or if there is a mobile signal - men! So you may or may not hear from me!!

The show we are exhibiting at is called "Creativa" which means creative. So not only is there cross stitch, wool, papercraft, stands you would find in all UK shows, but there are also stands for all types of creation.  The stand just down from us is selling silicone baking moulds, so all day they are baking - ooh the smell!!  The nut crisp he makes is so tempting, he rolls it between two flat sheets of silicone.  I have to be so careful not to watch his demonstration all the time! We also have the Tupperware stand, yes proper tupperware in some wicked colours, not like the ones my mum had.  Although I am pleased that we are not near the "Spice Man", think it would be too heady for me.

The show closed at 7pm, but I managed to nip off the stand to take a few pics for you.  There is a display of lamp shades, but not plain boring ones, these have had a "make over"! Let there be light - although I am not sure how much light will shine through these lamp shades!

Only lamp shades here.

Look our ribbons and buttons!

Great idea for a childrens room, or even a craft room.

Not sure I have a room to accomodate this one.

Thanks for all your wonderful comments, I do hope your are enjoying Crafty's tour, it's great to read them as I always get a little home sick, silly I know. I like your idea Gail, sell all the ribbons and come home with cakes - party at Crafty's house!! Your cards are on the stand Dorothy, at the front above the buttons.

Don't forget tomorrows Friday... FREEBIE day