Don't you just LOVE wednesday's? Say hello to wednesday  "hello wednesday" It's all down hill from now on to the weekend - yippee!!!

Poppies bring a splash of colour to summer, to some people they are weeds, to others they are a scarlet blanket of beautiful wild flowers. And to others they remain the symbol of the tragedy of war, whatever they symbolise to you - enjoy their simplicity.

I have been passing these poppies on the way to work for the past week or so, they are happily inhabiting a area of waste land, brightening up the space. They were the inspiration that I needed for this project. Ribbon poppies are so simple to make and can be added to almost anything - garment, bags, corsages, cushions, cards or in this case a freebie photo frame from a perfumery company!  I hate wasting anything, but really did not want their logo displayed around my photos, so I did a bit of disguising.

Heres how you make a Ribbon Poppy.

1.  Gather the bits that you need - wire edge ribbon in red, I have used this 25mm sheer ribbon (can be found HERE), black ribbon, toy stuffing or cotton wool, needle and thread and scissors.

2.  You need four lengths of 25mm red ribbon 10cms long, remove the wire from one side of the ribbon. 

3.  Put a knot in the bottom of the thread and secure it to the ribbon edge with the wire in.  Sew down the selvedge edge, along the bottom edge of the ribbon, without the wire, and then back up the other selvedge edge.  This will appear like a boat shape.

4.  Gather up your stitching so you create a petal, secure with a few stitches.

5.  Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 for petal number 2.  While the thread is still attached to the petal, sew it to petal number 1. You want the petals to slightly over lap each other.

6.  Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 for petal number 3.  Once again while the thread is still attached to the petal, sew it to petal number 2. Remember you want the petals to slightly over lap each other.

7.  Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 for petal number 4.  Sew the last petal in place.  You may have a large messy centre, but do not worry this will be covered.

8.  Sew a circle in a piece of 39mm black ribbon, cut away the excess ribbon to leave a small selvedge edge.

9.  Gather up the thread and put a small amount of toy stuffing or cotton wool into the centre of the ribbon circle.  Gather this up and secure. This is the centre of your poppy.

10.  Cut away the wired edge from a piece of black ribbon.  Gently ease out the long fibres and put to one side. These are the little black stamens you find in poppies.

11.  Put a small amount of contact glue (I use a hot glue gun) into the centre of the poppy. Place the long fibres over the centre (don't worry if they are too long), and place the black poppy centre on top. With sharp scssors cut away any long black fibres to give the poppy a good look.

To finish off the frame I used Saddlle Stitch Ribbon, in this really rich red (can be found HERE) and just loosely gathered it.

Enjoy the poppies.

Wow it's Friday again, what a busy week we have had with all those blooms. We have no flowers or blooms for this weeks Friday FREEBIE, but a bag of spots - no they are not contagious!!

The spots are in..... 

.....Bev's NEW Ribbon Bag. It's my birthday on Monday and I will be hummmcough4th, as a birthday special we are giving away 4 Bev's Bags for this weeks Friday FREEBIE prizes. So 4 prizes up for grabs, all you have to do for a chance to win, is leave a comment - simple.

Normal blurb - 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 the last of our ribbon blooms from Flower Week - A Bloom A Day.  I have been struggling to come up with a name for this flower.   I saw it being demonstrated at Version Scrap in Paris a few weeks back, not understanding what they were saying I just had to watch and take it all in!  They were making smaller versions for scrapbook pages, so would be suitable for cards, just use narrower ribbon.

I do take the strangest things out for a walk with me.  Tony thought we went to the beach yesterday, for a stroll and take in the fresh salty air -   narrrrrgh I wanted to take a photo!!!

As you guys know I am not a card maker, so I like to make different things, as Bev told me they are "Deffo different", she did add that they were wicked and fun - just perfect for the beach.

As I have no idea what the real name for this creation  is I have decided to call it Mille Feuille Bloom - (thousand layer Bloom) 

Mille Feuille Bloom

1.  Gather the bits you will need - scissors, clothes pegs or bull dog clips and 23mm sheer ribbon in different colours, I used 3 cream, pink and purple.  These ribbons are going onto the site later today.

2.  Cut the ribbon into 17cm lengths you need 30 of these.  Plus cut two extra pieces at about 30cm. All of these are for one shoe.

3.  Layer the ribbons ontop of each other, mix the colours as you go.  Hold in place with a peg.

4.  Repeat on the other end - you should only have the two longer lengths of ribbons left.

5.  Lay the stack of ribbon over the flip flop and tie in place with 1 of the longer lengths.  Tie a second knot to secure.

6. Repeat step 5 with the last piece of ribbon , you want the knots to form a cross.

7.  Pin back the two centre ties, so that you are left free to work on one of the ribbon stacks.

8.  Pin the stack you are working on to the side of the flip flop, leaving the bottom two ribbons free.

9.  With these two ribbons tie a knot, just a single knot but pull it quite tightly.

10.  Continue to tie two ribbons at a time from the bottom until you only have 3 ribbons remaining from the first ribbon stack.

11. Swap to the second ribbon stack and repeat the process until you have only 3 ribbons left.

11.  You should have 3 ribbons from each side that have not been knotted.  Take the bottom ribbon from each side and knot together.  Repeat with the other two pairs.

12.  Gather all the ribbons up in one hand, you will notice that they are different lengths.  While still holding them together, give them a hair cut! so they look all the same.

13. Finished Mille Feuiille Bloom.

What am I going to do with my self all next week, without any blooms to make - that's easy.  The parcels have started to arrive for the Full Bloom Challenge so I will have lots to show you all.

Have a FANTASTIC weekend, the weather is meant to be wonderful (will see).  The girls have invited me out to a birthday bash so can not wait.

Ribbon Rosettes, just perfect for joining in with the World Cup celebrations.  We have even put together a special collection of World Cup Ribbons - Click HERE.  Buy the WANT IT ALL Collection and you save a whopping £2.00 - go on go Football Crazy!

Ribbon Rosettes

1.  Gather all the bits you need.  Needle and thread, scissors, ruler and 10mm satin ribbon (you can find the red/white/blue ones HERE).

2.  Cut 6 pieces of ribbon 15cm long.  Fold each piece in half and press with thumb and finger to create a score line.  You just need to know where the centre is.

3.  Lay two pieces onto a table, a marked cutting mat helps to keep your ribbons square.

4.  Lay all 6 ribbon pieces out to create a circle, with the centre marks on top of each other.

5.  Thread the needle (I am using red thread so you can see my stitching!), pierce the centre of the rosette with the needle.

6.  Carefully pick up the rosette (apologies for the state of my thumb again, it is getting better), and push the needle through to the reverse.  Make a few stitches, going all the way through to secure the ribbons together.

7.  Fold one petal towards the centre, hold in place with your thumb, bring the needle through from the back and make a stitch.  Push the needle back through to the reverse of the rosette.

8.  Continue with step 7, stitching one petal to the centre at a time.

9.  Keep going.

10.  Fold over the last petal and sew in place.

11.  Secure on the back with a few extra stitches.

Finished ribbon Rosette.

I sewed a football button into the centre of each rosette, well it was a World Cup themed card!

Just finishing off tomorrows bloom (Bev saw it this morning, she said it was "Deffo different!!!), then hoping to go for a stroll by the sea, I have been sat by the computer for far too long. 

Third day of our Flower Week - A Bloom A Day

We have a Double Ribbon Bloom all from one single piece of ribbon, magic.

I had a little helper with me while trying to take this photo. But he did carry the flower bag all the way to the park and back! 

Sam is feeling much better and picking flowers was just what he needed to get some colour back in his cheeks.

Just checking to make sure they are all still in there!

Double Ribbon Blooms.

1.  Gather at the bits you need around you.  Scissors, needle and strong thread and ribbon.  I used 40mm ribbon, grograins can be found here and I also used a selection of sheer ribbons from our Spring Time Collection which you can see here.

2.  Cut the ribbon into a 22cm length, (if your ribbon is wired, remove the wire from one of the edges.) Fold the ribbon but not quite in half, the edge without the wire is the one to fold down. Thread the needle and put a knot in the bottom of the thread.  Put the needle into the folded edge and sew along the fold.  You can play around with the amount you fold down as this creates different sized double blooms. 

3.  Sew along the folded edge of the ribbon, make your stiches about 6-7mm in length and the same distance apart.

4.  All sewn, you can now see the double bloom effect.

5.  Remove the needle and gather the ribbon on the thread, pulling from both thread ends.  Turn the flower over so you have the back facing you and tie a knot, so it is really tight, Tie another knot on top.

6.  Depending on the type of ribbon you use, a thickish ribbon like grosgrain will leave a hole, while a sheer ribbon will gather up with no hole at all.

7.  Use a scrap of ribbon and tie a knot in the centre.

8.  Push the ribbon tails into the flower hole, use the tip of your scissors to help.  You want the knot to sit on top of the flower hole.  Secure the knot in place with a dab of glue or a few stitches.

Finished Double Ribbon Bloom.

Have a play with different type of ribbons, this white bloom below was made using one of the NEW Ribbons from the Monochrome range yesterday (find it HERE).  

This ribbon is half silver and half white, so is perfect for Double Ribbon Blooms!

Thank you for leaving wonderful comments, I still have a few more "Blooming" ribbon secrets to share with you.

We launched a NEW Range today, rather classy we think.

MONOCHROME 

We added the NEW Ribbons to our existing Black & White range, so there are now loads and loads of black and white ribbons on our site, just waiting to be loved, stroked and played with.

Well, I had to have a play - with all those ribbons to choose from, who would be able to resist.  So Friday night I took a roll of each ribbon home with me, I sat and stroked them all evening - just to get the feel! Then it hit me, an idea.....

...those glitter dots were just calling me. Look what beautiful flowers they make....

Singed Ribbon Flowers

If you want to know how to make them, then continue reading as here is the next tutorial in our Flower Week - A Bloom a Day.

1.  Gather all the bits you need together - Scissors, needle and thread, candle and matches, a glass of water and sheer organza ribbon.  Any organza ribbon works, I used a 70mm wired edge glitter dot (you can find it HERE) in black and white.

2. Cut a large circle(ish) shape from the ribbon.  (If you are using the Glitter Dot Ribbon (HERE), then try to leave some plain sheer ribbon around the edge of the dots - I will explain why later on).  Keep cutting smaller circle(ish) shapes from the ribbon. 

3.  You want 4 to 6 different sized shapes, as you can see they do not need to be perfect circles.

4.  Light your candle, (I really enjoyed this bit, I think I have a hint of a pyromania as well as ribbonholic in me!!) you can do this with a lighter but I found with the candle you have more control.  Keep the glass of water close to hand, just in case you need to dunk the ribbon.

Pass the edge of the sheer organza ribbon close to the flame, you will see the edges of the ribbon start to singe.  Keep moving the ribbon around so all the outer edges of the shape is singed.  If using the glitter dot ribbon, you will find the dots produce a flame, but no problem either blow it out or dunk in the water.

5.  You can see the difference between singed and not singed.

6.  Continue singeing all the ribbon shapes.

7.  Start with the largest shape and layer the other ribbon shapes ontop, finishing with the smallest.

8.  Thread the needle and put a knot in the bottom of the thread. Gently pick up the flower and secure the centre with a stitch.

9.  Secure at the back of the flower with a few extra stitches.

10.  Finished Singed Ribbon Flower.

I could not waste those glitter dots, so I just put some double sided tape onto the back of the dots and cut them out - simple!

Here is a little pink flower I made from some 40mm ribbon (it's in our Bargain Basket and can be found HERE).  Just 3 circles and a bead in the centre.

I am enjoying our Flower Week, hope you are too.

If you have a spare moment then have a look over at The Crafty Pad, they have a NEW competition starting today.  You could win an exclusive collection of ribbons to match promarker pens.

Have a great evening and don't forget if you are trying these Singed Ribbon Flowers - be candle safe.

Oh I have had a wonderful time playing with ribbons this weekend.  I finally caught the cold/flu/virus/bug thing that everyone in the warehouse has had, so it was perfect just to sit back feeling sorry for myself and indulge in my pleasure of ribbon. More of that later, first we have the Friday FREEBIE winner.  I managed to get an action shoot of the number being picked by Mollie.

The Friday FREEBIE winner is.....

....Number 9 Craftykitten

Craftykitten wrote - "Yummy, piles of pink prettiness to play with how cool would that be!!  Good luck with your wall, lets hope you find loads of yumminess for more Friday Freebies!!
Hugs
Dawn x"

Congratulations Dawn, we hope you will be "Tickled Pink" with your prize, please do leave a comment and send us your address to craftyribbons@gmail.com. Thank you for all the other wonderful comments, Rachie and I did not make it all the way through the WALL! All you could hear were "Oooohs" and "Arrrrrhs" as we opened a new box. We will be back on WALL duty later in the week. 

We all LOVE Ribbon (I don't think that is in question!) and I LOVE Flowers, so I have combined my two LOVES - Ribbon Flowers. Every day this week I am going to show you how to make a different ribbon flower, a bloom a day!

Shaggy Ribbon Flower

This Shaggy Ribbon Flower looks great and is really easy (I Promise) to make, this side view shows you how shaggy it is!

It is a while since my last tutorial, but here goes.  (Apologies for the state of my thumb, I had an accident on Friday with one of the boxes from the WALL.)

1.  Gather all your bits together.  You will need a needle and strong thread, a small button (the spotty ones can be found HERE).  The ribbon I used is a 22cm length of 40mm Grosgrain (HERE), but you can use any ribbon width, just change the length that you use.

2.  My grosgrain ribbon had wired edges, so I just eased back the ribbon to find the end of the wire, then pulled it out. Repeat for the other side.

3.  Thread the needle with strong sewing thread, you have to pull the thread really tight, so test the thread first to make sure it will not break, put a knot at the end of the thread.  Fold the ribbon in half width-wise and sew along the top edge, do not make your stitches too small, about 8-9mm and the same distance from stitch to stitch. 

4.  Continue sewing along the length of the ribbon.

5.  Once all sewn, it should look like this, remove the needle and open up the ribbon to remove the gathers.

6.  Snip the ribbon about 1cm apart, do not go all the way to the sewn line.  Continue snipping all the way along the length of ribbon.

7.  Gather up the ribbon, pull it really tight and knot the thread to hold the gathers in place.  Make a second knot to be safe.

8.  Your ribbon may have already started to fray, if not rub it between your thumb and fingers.  This will loosen the fibres where it has been snipped.

9.  Sew the button to cover the hole in the centre of the flower.

Finished Shaggy Ribbon Flower.

I enjoyed making that, I now have a collection in different colours.  You do not have to use grosgrain ribbon, have a play with other types.  The more open weave the ribbon is the better "Shaggy" effect it will give.

Hope you will join me for tomorrows workshop, you will need a candle! 

What do you do with.... a pack of ribbons?

As you know our annual January Pack SALE is on at the moment - all packs £1.00, a massive saving on our normal price of £5.00. I know you all enjoyed the countdown to Christmas we had last month, so I thought I would give you a few ideas to use some of the packs.  I will not promise a posting a day, just depends what inspiration I get!!!

The project today can be made from the Victorian Ribbon Pack.  This pack has soft muted sheer ribbons, wire edge golds and a shot taffeta green which is perfect for leaves.

I decorated one of our selection boxes with ribbon flowers and leaves, but you can use the same idea for cards, summer straw hats.  So here goes, lets hope you can follow my instructions -

Cut a 40mm wide ribbon to about 40cms, this is a sheer but you can use any ribbon.  (If it is wire edged then remove the wire from the edge to be pinned.) Fold the ribbon in half and mark with a pin, fold in half again and mark with pins. This will give you 4 equal sections, each section is a petal. If you want a five petal flower then fold into 5 equal sections etc. 

Start at the top edge of the ribbon with out the pins.  Secure your thread, give it a tug to make sure it will not come undone.  Sew small running stitches down the cut edge of the ribbon (not too close), along the bottom edge to the first pin, up from the pin to the top edge of the ribbon and back down the pin again.  You should have created  a U shape of sewing. Repeat to the end of the ribbon so you have 4 u's -  uuuu 

Gently pull the thread to gather the ribbon, pull it as tight as you can.

Tie a knot in a small length of ribbon, and enclose the flower around the knot.

Secure the two ends of the flower together.  You only want to join two small pieces of ribbon, the piece where you secured the thread and the piece where the last stitch was sewn.  This is called "kissing the ribbon" i.e a small peck!!!  Secure with a few stitches, making sure you keep the gathers in tightly around the knot of ribbon. (I hope you understood all of that!)  If you feel the centre knot is loose then just put a few extra stitches in to secure it.

If you did your flower will look like this.  Play with it slightly to give it some shape.  try different widths and lengths of ribbon and see what you come up with.  I used these flowers on Mollies scrapbook Page, you can see it by CLICKING HERE

For the leaves, I used a 15mm wide ribbon 12cms long.

Fold the ribbon in half.

Fold both edges up at right angles and secure with pins.  It should look like a little boat.

Sew all the way around the outside of the ribbon.

Pull the thread so the ribbon gathers, not to much.  Secure with a stitch or two.

Open up the ribbon and you will find the leaf!! Magic!!

Thank you for such a postive response to our first ribbon challenge of the year, first time I have closed it the same day as launching it, although I must do something about my counting - somehow I can not seem to stop at 10, Tee Hee.  It was almost a 50/50 for traditional and contemporary.  I love ribbon challenges when the goodies start to arrive back.  It's like Christmas again, and all the parcels are MINE!!!!

I went Christmas shopping for the first time this morning - it wasn't that bad.  So the prezzies I have just wrapped are real ones - strange thing to say you may be thinking, but I am so used to wrapping empty boxes for our exhibtion stands, do you know they get stolen.  I would love to see their faces when they open up the parcels to find empty Daz boxes!!!

Ribbon Roses are not just for Christmas, but they do looking stunning in this sheer gold ribbon.  I hope my step Mum likes them, they are for her!

If I told you how easy they are to make I am sure you would not believe me, so I will show you.  All you need is about 1mtr of wire edge ribbon per rose.

Tie a knot in one end of the ribbon about 5cm from the end, pull the knot tight. 

Go to the other end of the ribbon (the one without the knot), ease back the ribbon on one side to find the little wire that runs through the ribbon edge.

Gather the ribbon, all the way along the wire - like a net curtain!  You want as many gathers as you can, the more gathers you have the fuller the rose will be.

Place your fingers just below the knot.

Gently roll the knot along the gathers.  You want the gathers to sit ontop of the knot.

Keep rolling it along the gathers.

When you run out of gathers and you are at the end of the ribbon, place it ontop of the knot and tail of ribbon you have been holding onto, see photo below.

With the spare wire, twist it around the ribbon to secure.

Trim the stem of the ribbon rose.

Play with the rose a little, put your fingers in the centre and give it a little twist to create the bud. 

One Ribbon Rose - was that easy or what?!  I use a hot glue to stick it to my parcels.  You can use any ribbon as long as it is wired edged, the ribbon I used can be found HERE.

I am off to Syd and Sam's to deliver their advent calenders - I know I am a bit late but I only finished them this afternoon, what a bad Auntie I am.

Happy rose making.