All Hallows Church

Yesterday i had a table at a small craft Fair at All Hallows Church in Miskin. It's not the usual huge stand that I have at craft fairs but I wanted to make it as striking as possible given that there is not a lot of time to set it up.

What I did was to put a cloth on the table first.
I then added the 4ft gridwalls for height and covered them with another white table cloth.
I pinned my beautiful corsage roses to the cloth and boy, did they stand out.
I had packed my ribbons, buttons and felt, etc into boxes. All of the boxes were the same size. It looks messy if you use different sizes.
I then added the price labels so that everyone could see what they had to pay.

What would I do next?
Cover the boxes with adhesive film so that they don't look so much like boxes. I think that pink of white would be fine. It will also make them stronger.
Tape the prices to the front of the boxes so that everything looks straighter. I am not a fan of higgledy piggledy.

Any suggestions, anyone?

Mock Kanzashi Flower

I've entitled this entry a mock kanzashi flower, because It looks rather like a kanzashi flower, but it is made from ribbon rather than from fabric.

I've not shown you how to make a ribbon flower in a while and, truthfully. I made and photographed this one a while ago. You have seen a version of this on the jute bag.

So, if you want to make one of these then read on.

Take a length of strong thread and put a large knot at one end. Beware the small knot as it will not hold!

Start by cutting several pieces of ribbon. I used 23mm wide ribbon so the measurements below are for that type of ribbon. You will need to adjust the measurements if you use a wider or narrower ribbon.

Fold the ribbon over to make the shape shown below. Using the thread with the knot, begin to make small running stitches along the bottom edge of the folded petal as shown below.

When you get to the end of the first petal continue threading onto the next. Do not break the thread.

When you have threaded at least 5 petals on the thread, you can begin to pull the thread tight and as you pull, the petals will start to form a circle.

 Pull very tight and stitch the first petal to the last one and your basic flower is formed and ready to embellish. Below is what you should get.

Now all that you need to do is sew a button or bead onto the centre.

Ribbon wreath for inspiration

Today I have a ribbon wreath for a little Christmas inspiration. I don't have a photo tutorial for you as I forgot to photograph it as I went along but I can give you written instructions instead.

Basically what I used for this was a 20 cm polystyrene wreath that came from a twin pack that I bought in the Range for a £1. Yes, you did read that right, 2 for a £1. I was shocked that they could be so cheap.

I stuck a piece short (about 6cm), of double sided ribbon to the outside edge of the wreath and stuck the end of the ribbon to it and started winding until I reached the end of the piece of double sided. The I stuck the next piece onto it. I continued to wind and stick until I got to the end and then I stuck the end to the back of the wreath.

Now take a piece of the wired tartan ribbon and create a loop at the top of the ribbon. Tie a bow to the loop with a couple of extra tails to make it look fuller.

Finish with a couple of really large roses to create a colourful Christmas ribbon wreath.

All items used for this wreath are available here at Craft Fairy.

Organza Ribbon flower

Well I must say that I do seem to be on a roll as far as these ribbon flowers are concerned and this is the latest. Ribbon and button offer.

What you will have in this tutorial is the basis bow that will allow you to build up lots more bows. I've kept this simple for you so I hope that you're ready to play along.

You won't need much to make this, just:

1.5 metres of 23mm ribbon. ( The wider the ribbon, the fuller the flower. If you use thinner ribbon you will need to wrap it more to get the fullness. All will become clear).
1 large button
a scrap of contrasting ribbon
thread
needle
1 piece of still cardboard 5cm x 15cm. ( Cut it off an old cardboard box).

To make the flower:

Start with cut piece of ribbon at the top of the card as seen.

Wrap the ribbon around the cardboard overlapping the pieces as you go. Tie a good knot in your thread ( don't worry as it's not going to be seen) and sew a running stitch along the bottom edge of the ribbon.

 Slide the ribbon off the cardboard.

 Pull the thread abd it will ruffle up the ribbon.

When you've pulled tight you can sew the two edges together at the back of the flower and open out the loops. Now you can leave it like this if you like.

 Or you can.....Cut the tops off the loops at a diagonal as shown.

Thread the scrap ribbon through the button and tie tightly. Sew in place in the center of your flower.

Do you like it?

Now I've put an offer on the Craft Fairy home site as usual so that you can get this ribbon at a lower price.
Click here for the offer.