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!!!
I changed my plans for this weeks Hello Wednesday project after receiving several e-mails and lots of comments about my ribbon men - we call them Clown Poms! Some of you may have got a sneak peak of this on Monday, I was setting up the page ready to add to it over the last few days and I published it instead of saving it for later. Silly me.
I know you do wont believe me BUT they are really easy to make. A circle of fabric, a length of ribbon and thread, a few bits of stuffing and you are away.
Do you remember the old fashioned wooden cloths pegs? Well this is what I use as the Clown Pom's head. You can paint a face direct onto the peg but it sometimes "bleeds" into the wood, so I always dip mine into varnish and let it dry before I paint. Like many things I do, I do not paint well, so I practice on some paper first to get the face I like. Cut the peg down to size - Tony does this bit for me (not brilliantly) but thank you Tony.
Gather all the bits you will need around you - fabric circle about 15cm diameter, a peg head, white pom, stuffing, needle and thread and finally the striking Deckchair Stripe Ribbon which can be found HERE.
Double up your thread and put a knot in the bottom, sew all the way round the outside edge with running stitches, they do not have to be tiny!
Pull the thread to slightly gather the fabric, insert a little toy stuffing to the bottom, you do not want the peg sitting directly onto the fabric. I added a teaspoon of lavender (can be found HERE) this can be left out, but it makes him smell great!
Insert the peg so it sits on the lavender. (Did you know that lavender will keep it's scent for years). Every now and again give it a squeeze and it will release it's natural oils. If you are using lavender from your garden, pop the flower heads into the freezer for 24hours BEFORE you use it. This will kill any bugs and will stop them from chewing through your crafty creations.)
Insert more toy stuffing around the peg, try and keep the peg in the centre of the fabric, otherwise the clown pom willl be lopsided!
Pull the thread tight around the peg and secure with a few stitches.
This is our Deckchair Stripe Ribbon (HERE) you will need 25cm for the ruffle, fold over the raw edge and secure the thread at one end.
Sew along the edge of the ribbon, with running stitches.
Gather up the ribbon and place over the top of the clown poms head. Tuck the raw end of the ribbon under the folded end and pull the thread tight. Space out the ruffles and the secure the thread with a few stitches, the ruffle should be tight around the peg.
It should look like this!
Cut 5cm piece of ribbon for his hat, it needs to fit around your clown pom head. My finger is the same size as the peg (handy) so I make the hat on my finger!!! Fold the ribbon over and sew to secure in place.
Sew the two ends together. Secure with a few stitches. Next sew small stitches around the top edge of the ribbon.
Gather up the thread and the ribbon will scrunch together to form a little hat. Secure with a few stitches and sew on a white pom, this will hide your stitching!
Glue the hat onto the top of the peg and you have a cheeky Clown Pom staring back at you.
Hope you enjoy making these little ribbon guys and enjoy your Clown Pom Day.
Before I go for today, Bev was so inspired by Gails Strawberry & Cream card that she designed a NEW Bev's Bag around the theme.
Strawberries & Cream
You can find Bev's Ribbon Bag - Strawberries & Cream by clicking HERE As you know Bev's Bags are normally £5.00 already a super bargain, BUT you can order it for just £4.25 TODAY How? By joining in with Crafty Ribbons sunshine offer - place an order today Wednesday 23rd and by typing longest day into the special voucher box during the check out process we will give you a 15% discount off your order. And there is more, if you know the answer to the FREE POSTAGE question you can go back into the special voucher box and enter it and you will get FREE POSTAGE as well.
