Crafty's advent day 19
19/12/2010
Wow it is cold outside, I nearly froze trying to take this photo. Anymore of the arctic photography and I will have to invest in one of those "Extreme" SD cards!
I made this for my favourite nephew (ok, my only nephew) Sam. They are spending Christmas with their Grand parents and I thought he could wear this on Christmas Day.
Every morning Bev is being woken up by Sam singing either Twinkle Twinkle little star which sounds like "inkle, inkle ittle STAR" or Jingle bells, jingle bells, which sounds like "ingle BELLS, ingle BELLS". They have been practicing for their school play, he has the tune but not the words! It sounds wonderful, best when he has no idea you are listerning.
I thought the T shirt would be perfect, it has a STAR and lots of ingle BELLS. Not sure Bev will like it. But ho hum it's Christmas.
If you want to copy the idea, it is very easy to make. Draw a triangle tree shape and add an oblong bottom for the trunk, cut the shape out and use it to draw onto the paper side of double sided bondaweb. Turn the bondaweb over so you have the sticky side facing you, start layering the ribbons onto the tree. I ironed mine in place every couple of rows, making sure the iron came nowhere near the bondaweb. I used a selection of green ribbons from Go Grosgrain this Christmas (here) Swiss Dots (here) Gingham (here) and I used the wide deck chair stripe (here) for the trunk.
Once I had the design covered with ribbon, I placed a cotton cloth over the ribbons and gave it a really good press, so all the ribbons were firmly fused to the bondaweb.
Next cut the shape out, remove the bondaweb paper backing sheet and postion the tree onto your T-shirt. Put the cotton cloth back over the tree and iron in place, making sure all the outer edges are stuck.
You could leave it like that, but as this was for Sam I added some extra details, blanket stitch around the tree in green thread, a gold star (here) on top of the tree and finally silver jingle bells (here) - perfect.
I hope he likes it.
Tomorrow will be our last day for despatching orders before Christmas. Pleased to hear your parcel arrived so quickly Leslie, it seem to be just pure luck.
Some parcels are taking over two weeks. But miracles do happen, we spoke to a lady from Peterhead Scotland last week, she wanted some personalised ribbons, we explained that we could send them that day, but had no idea when they would arrive with her. She phoned us again the next day and asked if we could repeat the order.......but we only sent them last night.....they had arrived the next morning!!!!!!! We mentioned it to our wonderful team at our local post depot, they could not believe it either.
Crafty's advent day 18
18/12/2010
That's it, we are on our last week of advent ideas, only 7 more to go!!
As children we always had a table present, very strange you may think. As we sat down for our family Christmas lunch there would be a plate of presents waiting for us, just something small but enough to keep us focused throughout the meal! It would take pride of place towering over our meal.
I can not claim this idea as my own - all down to my mum. I have just updated the idea with white tissue paper parcels and red and white ribbons.....
....a little country check, fresh stripe, chantel, snowflake, swiss dot and not forgetting gingham. Thanks Mum!
There are no rules or guide lines when you take part in one of our ribbon challenges - you can do what ever you fancy with our ribbon. The creation that Lucy sent us was stunning. A full size advent Gingerbread calendar, a different gingerbread man or biscuit for everyday. Sadly several of the biscuits were broken, a shame the post office didn't treat it with more care.
I tried to repair what I could.......
but I am much happier with a needle and thread then an icing bag! - Sorry Lucy.
I took these photos when I returned from Paris, we were very busy in the office and I had left the advent hanging on the wall while I quickly went to check that the photos had come out ok. I must have left it longer than I thought because on my return to the warehouse I captured this....
.......ummmmm that is gingerbread number 1!!!
Lucy, I can say your creation went down well with all the team.....yummmie.
Crafty's advent day 17 & Friday FREEBIE
17/12/2010
What can you make with these?
I have had these sat on my desk for months, we had new curtain poles fitted in the summer and these rings were far to good to throw away.....but I had no idea what to do with them.....so they sat on my desk gathering dust!
Bingo....I had an idea.....what do you think?
Same ribbon poinsettia as my crackers but on a smaller scale. Missed the crackers then you can see them here.
As promised I have a tutorial on how to make them.
Gather the bits you will need - needle and thread, scissors, curtain ring, calendar buttons are here and I used the same ribbon as the crackers this bauble ribbon here.
For the napkin poinsettias you need to cut the ribbon in half, for the larger cracker ones leave the ribbon uncut. Remove the wire from the outer edges of the ribbon.
With the wrong side of the ribbon facing you, fold the ribbon as shown.
Fold the other side of the ribbon over to form a triangle.
Sew along the bottom edge, if you turn the petal around you will see the cut edge of the ribbon, your stitching should be just above the cut edge - see below.
Cut away the extra ribbon just below your stitching.
Pull the thread to gather the petal and secure with a few stitches.
One single petal.
Repeat so you have 6 petals.
Sew two petals together so they slightly overlap.
Keep joining the petals together.
Join the first and last petal together to form the poinsetta.
While you still have the thread attached to the poinsettia sew the curtain ring in place.
Put a little glue on the back of the button and push into the centre of the poinsettia.
All finished!!
If you would like to make some of these napkin rings then maybe you could be a winner of this weeks Friday FREEBIE - we have 3 more £20 vouchers up for grabs.
Leave a comment between now and Monday and we could pick your number from our festive Bingo Bag - have fun this weekend.
Ooooh nearly forgot the winner of my bag of buttons.
wow that button picture is so classy - you'd pay a fortune in one of the posh shops for something similar, am loving it. Buttons??? do I "need" buttons ? - of course I need buttons. Desperately in fact as am playing with some jute bags rights now, the first two are on my blog but I now have to make smaller versions for my granddaughters, have some very pretty fabric for them but buttons as embellishments would look fantastic. (oh dear I sound very 'needy' don't I).
xx
Beryl it sounds as if you need buttons - send us an email craftyribbons@gmail.com with luck and a following wind you could have the buttons before Christmas!
Stay warm this weekend.
Crafty's advent day 16
16/12/2010
An idea for using up those odd christmas buttons you have and a little bit of ribbon!
I had real trouble photographing this beauty, there were so many shadows. Finally with the glass removed I took it outside, not perfect but better then the others.
Just buttons to form a heart shape - simple. our christmas buttons can be found here.
Wow we had lots of comments yesterday, thank you all. But I think the winner should be Chrissy.
I bought one of these cones a couple of years ago to make one of these and by the time I had got it home it was in bits!!!!1
So would love the chance to have another go I think they are fab.
Loving the gingerbread goodies well done challengers.
Chrissy
Hi chrissy just pop us an email to craftyribbons@gmail.com with your address and we will get the ribbons straight to you. I promise Tracey it was really easy, the only trouble I had were my pins. They were normal household pins and were a bit thick and i got a sore finger from pressing them into the cone. Next time I would use lace pins which are much finer and I believe would go into the cone with less finger preasure. My cone was made by Rayher who I think are German and the stock number is ART.-NR. 33010 00, I got it at the Paris show but I am sure you can get them over here. I have a smaller one that I planned to cover with buttons - maybe next year!!
A couple more gingerbread makes.
This one from Dorothy is wicked, pull a little thread and the snake rises to the top - very clever.
Carols adorable bag would hold lots of choccie coins, just the thing for Christmas.
Since making my button frame my mind has been buzzing around with different shape ideas.....Christmas Tree......Star.......Snowflake ummmm maybe I will have time for a little play later. Would you like to have a play with some buttons? Leave a comment today and we will announce the winner tomorrow.
No snow here.....so far!
Please note: We are closing our warehouse from 5pm Monday 20th and will reopen on 9am Tuesday 4th January.
Crafty's advent day 15
15/12/2010
Now this is not a new idea, but it is the first time I have made one.
....but it was sooo easy and fun to make. I used all 15mm width ribbons and cut them to about 6cm, folded them in half and pinned to a polystrene cone - simple. The star was made of gold ribbon and mounted onto a pin.
Rachie has already claimed this for her Christmas table, as I was mean yesterday and would not make her any newspaper crackers! Sorry there was no tutorial for the poinsettias I will work on one and get it posted. I was a bit short of time yesterday, we thought we had cracked the orders situation only to receive a last minute rush and several valentine orders!!!! I have some new valentine ribbons, but thought it was a bit early to add them to the site, so I have now added that to my "to do" list.
If you would like a collection of these ribbons to make your own tree, just leave a comment and we will announce a winner in tomorrows posting.
I have a collection of gingerbread goodies that i can find no names for - are they yours? Please leave a comment a claim your creations.
A perfectly tied bow, I love the beaded detail.
Someone must claim this delightful card it is wicked.
Another wicked creation with our gingerbread girl ribbon.
Wow a really cheeky gingerbread, this card is double sided and a super texture.
Not sure if these tree decs have been made by the same crafty person, but they are both wonderful. The one on the right hides a secret......a choccie mint!
Hope you have a good day before the snow arrives tomorrow!
Please note: We are closing our warehouse from 5pm Monday 20th and will reopen on 9am Tuesday 4th January.
Crafty's advent day 14
14/12/2010
I am always trying to do something a little different - so what do you think of these......
....newspaper and ribbon! I wanted the ribbon to be very lush in contrast to the flatness of the newspaper cracker, I think it has worked well. Red velvet in 9mm (here) for the ties and wide christmas ribbon with baubles (here) for the poinsettia. Rachie saw them and instantly asked for 6!! Although I have now stopped taking on commisions. I finished a Swedish costume for Sydney last night in blue and yellow and I made the white flowers from ribbon - what else!!!!
I hope you have not thought I had forgotten the balance of the Gingerbread challenge, more photos will be taken today.
Not sure about you, but the back logs in post offices and at delivery hubs is causing us a nightmare. Tony drove over to our local City Link depot yesterday as we were unable to make contact on the phone, their warehouse is stacked to the roof with undelivered parcels! We are still despatching orders on a daily basis, and trying to ensure your ribbons will arrive before christmas.
Please note: We are closing our warehouse from 5pm Monday 20th and will reopen on 9am Tuesday 4th January.
Crafty's advent day 13
13/12/2010
Before i tell you who has won the gift vouchers or todays advent idea, I have some really important news......
Our warehouse has been a no go area all weekend. We have had a team of workmen in doing major works......we have waited 15 years for this work.......we just can not believe it has happened......what......what have we had done....
....we have had heating fitted in the warehouse and it is HOT, HOT, HOT! It is wonderful, gone are the fagin gloves, gone are the winter coats and Bev has even taken off her thermal underwear!!!! We have asked Santa for nothing else, we are warm as toast.
We all went outside in the cold to pick our Friday FREEBIE winners, just so we could come back into the warm again! I was just about to take the photo when Mollie pulled another number from the "Bingo" bag, oh Mollie! So we have 4 winners this week, and they are......
Number 4 = Wilma
Looks like a fun weekend for everyone - love the way you have decorated the place mats - poor Santa getting his clothes wet- he really need a tumble drier in this weather but the ribbons wouldnt be quite the same LOL!! Well done Sarah on winning the bowdabra! As for winning a gift voucher and choosing for myself - yes please that would be a lovely Christmas present! 
Number 25 = Jenny
Oh wow a voucher to spend on your gorgeous ribbons christmas must have come early. Thanks for the chance to win
Number 33 = Sarah
Wow thanks for choosing me to win the bowdabara, I am so excited.
You lot are far too generous, not that I am complaining
Love the idea with the placemats, you might have to run the ribbon throught the washing machine after though
And the last number mollie pulled from the bag was.....
Number 1 = Gail
...it's my week! It's got to be my week! lol
Love those mats... makes them look a lot more snazzy and Christmassy...
xxx
Wow what lucky girls you are Wilma, Jenny, Sarah and really lucky Gail! Please email me at craftyribbons@gmail.com so I can send you details of how to use your £20.00 vouchers. There will be more prizes throughout the week, so do not miss out.
Todays advent idea is a very simple one, but one we must not forget!
Tie up your mistletoe with bright red ribbon so that it can be seen by everyone.
About to go back into the warm warhouse, I would have done anything to have stayed in the front office last week.
Hope you are all as warm as we are.
Crafty's advent day 12
12/12/2010
Oh err missus we are half way through our advent!
Left overs......turkey......veg.....Christmas pud......never waste anything, we all put it in the fridge and with all good intentions plan on using it up! But left over ribbons are easy to use.....
Even tiny little bits, never throw them away, you never know when they will come in handy....
We had a awesome day yesterday, it was fantastic and I think my Santa bags went down a storm!
A quiet day I think for today.
Crafty's advent day 11
11/12/2010
Carrying on from my Santa theme for our family meal today, I have made each child a Santa Bag.
They are filled with allsorts of goodies, things that they can play with while at the table - stickers, pencils, coloured paper and of course a few gold coins for after pud! I had great fun making them I just used red felt oblongs and ribbon.
I used bondaweb and ironed it onto the reverse side of the black wide ribbon (here) and then ironed it across the Santa Bag to make the belt. Then just plain running stitching along the top and bottom of the ribbon belt, to give it a bit of detail. Next came the buckle, once again ribbon, this time gold metallic (here), I ironed on the bondaweb then cut a square from the ribbon, and then a smaller square from the centre. With the square bit from the centre of the buckle I cut a small oblong with rounded ends for the pokey bit (sorry can not think of it's name, it is early), and ironed the buckle and pokey bit in place.
All that was now needed was a fur top and ribbon handles, I used red 16mm grosgrain (here). I am not sure what gave me more enjoyment making the Santa Bags or putting all the goodies into them last night!!!
Lots to do today so must go.
Have a great day.
Crafty's advent day 10
10/12/2010
We have a weekend planned for the family, all of us! A pre Christmas meal with all the little ones. We all do our own thing on Christmas day, tony and i are in France, Bev and family in Birmingham and Rachie has the in laws to stay in Dorchester. So this weekend is our time.
As there are so many little ones, I like to make the table child friendly. We have all ages from 5½, 4, 2¾ and 2 years old, they all know who santa is.
I have decorated some simple silver place mats with our Santa's laundry ribbon (here) and I am going to tell them a story about Santa falling out of his sleigh and all his clothes got wet!!
I used just sellotape to hold the ribbons in place at the back of the mats, which means I can change them to another ribbon for another party.
We have been trying to think of a really good Friday FREEBIE for today, ribbons, bowmaker, kits BUT could not agree on a prize. So would you like to choose for yourself?
We have another 3 £20 vouchers for you to enjoy. For a chance to win just leave a comment and you could be picked from our festive Bingo bag on Monday.
If you are having trouble leaving a comment due to our spam filters, please email it to me at craftyribbons@gmail.com and I will add it for you.
Bowdabra winner....I had a tough time picking this one, but finally decide that we could not have "pants" bows at Christmas and that Sarah was in desparate need of one!
Oh wow please put me in the draw because I would love to win a bowdabra. I have been trying to make bows at work today without any kind of bow maker and quite frankly they are pants lol.
You will have magic bows this Christmas Sarah - email us craftyribbons@gmail.com and let us know if you would like red or silver snowflakes.
Have fun this weekend.
my basket