Craft Fairy in Cardiff

From Saturday the 15th of December Craft Fairy ribbon, bows and whatnots will be on sale in the Royal Arcade Cardiff.

We are joining forces with Eclipse Gift Packaging and will be selling a range of our wonderful ribbons, buttons, feathers and the fabulous Christie roses too.

These roses are truly stunning and will make a perfect Chrissie gift for someone special.

Felt has arrived

Felt has just been added to the Craft Fairy web site.

I have wanted to add felt to the website for a while now as it is so popular and I really love it.
Much of the felt available is quite hard and does not feel nice in the hand but this felt is a wool and synthetic blend so it feels good and has the advantage of being an even thickness and colour too.

Lots more but this is limited stock

More lace added to the site, but stock is limited in these styles.

These two styles are really beautiful. I have no idea what the composition of the fabric is, but they feel like cotton.

Did a burn test and they did not crinkle up like a synthetic so I have decided that they are cotton. Fab.

Lace, lace and yet more lace

Today a huge parcel of lace arrived on my doorstep. Well, it is so much better than bills. It is soft and pretty and will help to make your cards and sewing projects out of this world.  To tempt you to have a look here are some of the wonderful laces styles that we have added to the lace section:

Now all that you have to do is make something beautiful.

Chocolate .... Who can resist?

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.

Latest free quotation

Here's the most recent quotation that I've added to the ever growing list of free quotations on the Craft Fairy web site. Lots more to see there so pop on over and grab yourself some handy words.

Special Offer on the Web Site

Just gone live is an unmissable special offer on the Craft Fairy web site.

A free copy of the Drawing Flowers with Calligraphy Pens book will be sent out with every purchase of the  Drawing Flowers with Calligraphy Pens DVD. 

Click onto the image below and you will go straight to the offer.

Stock is limited so be quick.

This set will make an ideal Christmas gift that will give hours of pleasure all year round. You may even get a card made with the flowers as a thank you.

Pompom Trim so pretty

I'm glad to say that we've had lots of new stock in today and the prettiest by far is this wonderful pom pom trim in fab new colours.

In now for the Christmas season are both red, and white. So what are you waiting for? Hurry on over to Craft Fairy before it all sells out.

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.