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Friday FREEBIE 36

03/09/2010

First Friday of September! September already, where has the summer gone? We start our exhibtions again this month, the first being Creative Stitches & Hobbycrafts - Exeter, Westpoint between 23rd and 26th.

As it is the first Friday of the month it must be voucher Friday..... Anyone fancy winning a FREEBIE voucher for £20?

It could be yours - all you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment - that's all. A few words for £20 to spend on our website.

Normal blurb - Please, please if you are having a problem leaving a comment or it has not been saved when you go back to have a read, YOU ARE BEING BLOCKED BY OUR SPAM FILTERS - all you have to do to stop this, is to email me at craftyribbons@gmail.com with your comment and I will add it for you. Once your email address has been added to the system you will be able to leave comments without any further hassle. Our spam filters are automatic, we do not know who is being BLOCKED, you have to tell us if you are experiencing a problem. All comments posted should appear straight away and stay there. Please leave a comment they are very important to us.

We still have one unclaimed prize from last weeks Friday FREEBIE - could it be you, have a scroll down and check. It would be a nice surprise to find out you have a Bev's Bag with all that fruit waiting for you.

I have a few more challenge delights to share with you all.

Pretty in pink, what super colouring Jan and the ribbon is a perfect match.

Jan this card must have taken you ages, it is awesome.

Look at the detail. Jan really enjoyed working with the ribbon, she was buzzing with ideas and could have gone on forever.

This cracker and cake box was Jan's first venture away from cards. Wow your first, they are amazing. Sadly the cracker was empty but I did find a surprise or two in the cake box. Those sweets are my favourites, have you tried the toffee version Jan? To die for!!

Leigh started a new job earlier in the year and she has been unable to join in with any of the challenges. But this new swiss dot ribbon brought creative thoughts to the surface again!

Very fine detail here Leigh, glad you liked the ribbons.

Pretty tag card, we do like this purple colour - very rich. Thanks Leigh, hope you are still enjoying your new job.

What a scrummy looking cupcake, I love the double bow on the side Karen - clever.

Overflowing with tags! You really matched the ribbons to those wicked glitter tags Karen. I want some of that card, I am sure I will find some at Exeter.

Karen suggested that the keyring could be for a holiday retreat (nice) or a "back to school" locker. I think it would look extra special on my camera bag - d'ont you!

This I think is a wicked idea Karen. It not just any old card have a look inside.....

Brill, just brill.

Once again thank you to everyone for these delightful creations - we are not finished yet. I still have one more bundle to photograph and share with you all.....BUT......I have this funny........feeling.......coming on.

Rather strange feeling actually.......

Another cha....lle...nge maybe.......

Oh..... you will just have to wait and see what the weekend brings!!!

Christmas Shop - OPEN

02/09/2010

Our 2010 Christmas Shop is all re-stocked and bursting at the seams!

40 NEW Designs of Christmas Ribbons - HERE Including this scrumptious bauble design above.

Go Grosgrain - make a change and go grosgrain this Christmas - HERE

Shooting Stars - a delicate sheer ribbon with a star edging - HERE

Enjoy our wonderful world of Christmas Ribbons.

Hello Wednesday - Lavender?

01/09/2010

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!!!

On my last trip to France I came home with a car boot full of lavender, much to Tonys disgust. He complained all the way home about the smell! You either love it or hate it.

I think ribbon was made for lavender, they make a perfect couple whether you are making lavender bags, lavender wands or just a simple bunch of lavender flowers - you just have to use ribbon.

Lavender bags made from wide sheer ribbon are soooo simple. Both the ribbons I used had wires running through the edges, simply remove it by pulling it out. You need about 25cms of ribbon for each bag, the wider the ribbon the better. I used the white sheer ribbon from our Wedding collection HERE and the flower ribbon from our Full Blooms range HERE. Both are perfect for lavender bags.

Fold the ribbon in half lengthwise and sew either by hand or machine along both sides of the ribbon. Using a spoon fill the ribbon bag with lavender heads, push them down so you can get as much in as poss. Tie a matching ribbon around the top to secure, I thought the dark purple velvet ribbon made them look luxurious, you can find it HERE.

The ribbon wand should be made when the lavender stems are green, mine were rather dried and very brittle. But with a little perserverance and care they can still be made at this time of year. They take a lot longer than the lavender bags and I was banished to the garden to fiddle with these. Tony couldn't cope with the smell while he watched telly! Arrrgh poor Tony - he has very bad tooth ache at the moment, an infection so I was really quite happy to go and sit in the garden and play. I will save this project till the Spring when the lavender will be perfect.

If you haven't got time to make either the lavender bags or the lavender wands then just bunch the lavender together and tie with ribbon, that could not be simpler.

Enjoy your lavender.

Who is getting a Bev's bag....

31/08/2010

.....who will be waiting for Mr Postie to arrive with their fruity ribbons?

....who are the four lucky winners of our Friday FREEBIE? It was all down to Rachie and Mollie.

Mollie picked numbers 25 and 13, and Rachie picked numbers 6 and 1 - oh sorry you want me to tell you the numbers are...

No 1. Jennie
Ahem! (just clearing my throat!) Me-me-me-me-me!

No 6. Fiona Morris
Oh wow, a unique 5 a day!
Gorgeous ribbons as usual. I never cease to be amazed by your gorgeous ribbons and the variety you have to offer us.
x

No 13. Antiona
Beautiful creations again by the ribbon challenge winners. Oh please put my number in the bingo bag, a girl can NEVER have enough ribbons

No. 25 Tracey and Paul
4 winners that is so generous of you x x x

Congratulations everyone you have won some super scrummy ribbons, all you have to do is email us your address to craftyribbons@gmail.com so we can send you your 5 a day!

Big sorries (is there such a word?) to everyone who left delightful comments but did not win, thank you all, we love all your comments. Lets hope the winners will leave a few comments tonight - no pressure guys honest!

I have another glorious selection of challenge goodies for you today. If I have not shared yours yet please do not get worried, there is no favouritism - I put all the envelopes and boxes into a crate and pick them a batch at a time. Yours will be shown soon, it was our largest challenge so far.

Oh an ATC, have not had one of those for a while. What a unique design Claire C - that bow is just perfect in her hair.

It's a shame but the photo does not show how wicked this butterfly is. Not sure how Claire c has made it but believe me it is fantastic.

Look at the ribbon fish......

.... see it is made totally from ribbon, Claire I love it.

Dorothy sent me another Pandora's box of delights for this challenge, this is the first card that fluttered out! I like the rose detail Dorothy, I should show everyone how easy this type of rose is to make - a future Hello Wednesday maybe.

Oooh these are very creative Dorothy, another first I believe.

Look at the work Dorothy has put into these parosols.

A very colourful rose arch - perfect colours Dororthy.

I think you liked to sew this new ribbon Dorothy, it certainly makes super flowers.

Another colourful creation Dorothy and I love your quote

"Friends are the angels that help you fly".

What a super collection of treasues from Claire and Dorothy.

See you all tomorrow for Hello wednesday.....ummmm better get my thinking cap on!

Scrap it with a song

30/08/2010

I have been very bad of late, I have forgotton to tell you who we are sponsoring so that you can go and join in. Things have been a bit busy - I will try harder!

Today we are sponsoring a NEW blog to us - Scrap it with a Song. (Thankfully Christina reminded me this morning) It all sounds very exciting and rather different. Why not pop on over and have a look at what it is about.

My favorite is Hannahs take on the song, with all that ribbon how could I not be pulled into the magic!

Here's another installment of our Swiss Dot Challenge, once again they are a super duper batch of goodies.

As soon as Clare saw the swiss dot red ribbon with black dots she thought of ladybirds (so did we Clare!). She has been making a lot of brooches this summer from scrap fabric, so why not make a change and make one from ribbon she thought. We think it is fantastic, would look great on a denim jacket - oooh I have one of those. Tee hee!

This is the type of chocolate I am allowed -fimo. It's quite stunning Clare.

Ooooh I do like this card, all those colours, they work so well together Clare.

This card is fun, the flowers look as if they have faces. We wish you well with your house move Clare and enjoy your NEW Art room. I note the sticker on the back of your box Clare, if you are a fan then keep an eye on our NEW ribbons - it is a bit of a secret so don't let the cat out of the bag!!!!

Arrrrrh 2011, next years calendar!! But how could I resist that gorgeous teddy, Julie he is so delicate, you have to tilt the card to confirm it is decoupage.

I tried to get a close up, so you could all see how fine he is.

What a stunning photo Julie, did you take it? The pale blue ribbons just heighten the photo colours. Clever.

You mave me totally baffled here Julie, I have no idea what this type of card is called - have you stamped onto acetate? Great idea for the ribbon flower.

Oh what a sweetie, he is eyeing your bow up Julie, not sure he likes it!!!

This is very smart Claire (we have a lot of Claire's in this challenge, this is Claire B -OK). Anybody guess what it is?

A sticky note pad holder, what a clever idea, and as for those magnetic dots, I want. Never seen those before. Great creations Claire, glad you enjoyed it.

Gemma this is stunning and so tactile, those brown dots just want to be stroked.

When you stroke them they all pop up - I love.

Wonderful Gemma, simple but perfect. You girls all know my weakness - note books and sticky notes. I have so many sticky notes, on my desk and computer that I can never find the one I need. My memory has got so bad that I walk around the warehouse with notes stuck to me!!!!!!

A super collection of creations. We are all so pleased to see how versatile this Organza ribbon is. It was a big step for us to have it printed, you can probably guess the meterage was enormous but we are pleased to say everyone LOVES IT!!

Enjoy your bank holiday, whether you are out and about or at home, have fun.

Friday FREEBIE 35

27/08/2010

Ooooh a long weekend. A bank holiday weekend, that sounds nice - are you doing anything special?

Before the weekend we need to have a Friday so it must be Friday FREEBIE time! What could the prize for this week be, well as it is a Bank Holiday weekend I thought of giving 4 prizes, yes 4 lucky readers could all become fruity!

What are you talking about Ali? Let's get fruity with Bev's latest Ribbon Bag -5 a day!

We have all been told to eat 5 a day, Bev's ribbon bag contains- strawberries, mini grapes and large fat juicy grapes, cherries and cranberries (that's what we have called the red ones!). All the fruit has then been mixed together with co ordinating ribbons to create a scrumptious fruit bag.

You can find Bev's bag HERE - have you seen the way you can "super size" the photos on our new website? Just click on the product image and it will GO LARGE! Very LARGE! (sorry only works on new products added to the site since the launch)

If you would like a chance to win a Bev's Bag, 4 up for grabs remember, all you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment, we will pick the 4 Friday FREEBIE winners from our "Bingo" bag on TUESDAY. Good luck everyone.

Normal blurb - Please, please if you are having a problem leaving a comment or it has not been saved when you go back to have a read, YOU ARE BEING BLOCKED BY OUR SPAM FILTERS - all you have to do to stop this, is to email me at craftyribbbons@gmail.com with your comment and I will add it for you. Once your email address has been added to the system you will be able to leave comments without any further hassle. Our spam filters are automatic, we do not know who is being BLOCKED, you have to tell us if you are experiencing a problem. All comments posted should appear straight away and stay there. Please leave a comment they are very important to us.

Are you ready for another show of crafty treats? Have a look at what our talented challengers have created with our NEW Organza Swiss Dot Ribbon.

Talk about the cat getting the cream - oops sorry I mean cake! Beautiful colours Natalie.

Oh look at Tilda, are those flowers for me? Great idea to over lay the swiss dot ribbon on top of another organza ribbon, looks fab Natalie. I love the inside of this card...

...isn't that cool.

I had to show you the next creations today - as it is a Bank Holiday weekend there maybe a few of these around.

Delicious ice creams and.....

....bees buzzing around. What a perfect combo Bonnie, we love them, what great fun ideas. Thanks for your note Bonnie really pleased to hear you loved the ribbons.

Jenny these are adorable colours, Bev and I knew that the pink ribbon with brown dots would be a winner and you have shown us how great it looks.

Oh Jenny just what I need after a long day at the ribbon warehouse - bath bombs. Great mixing the dotty paper with the dotty ribbon - wicked. Although you did confuse me Jenny, the bath bombs had escaped out of their little box and as your creations were packed in a recycled Dishwasher tablet box, I couldn't work out why you had sent me dishwasher tablets!! I got there in the end.

What with bees and now ladybirds, they must have all been attracted by the delights in Bev's bag! This ladybird from Jenny is extra special it contains little sweeties (for me!), wicked idea. Not sure the ladybird had a very good flight to Dorset, looks like she lost an antennaei thing, mabe a collision with a bath bomb in mid air!

WOW! what fantastic crafting goodies, thank you all so much they are amazing. We hope you have enjoyed looking and may be go away with a little ribbon inspiration.

We hope you all have an amazing weekend.

We really love our dots

26/08/2010

It's true we really do love our dots, sheer dots, grosgrain dots even dotty buttons, if I see dots I have to grab them!

This is my latest selection.....

.....20 fresh new colours. Choose from Moonstone to Quartz or Root Beer to Buttercup, or how about Ginger Snap! We are sure you will love this NEW selection you can find them all HERE Now avaiable on 20mtr rolls

Well that was a perfect intro to our next installment of our Ribbon Challenge 17 goodies - the parcels have been piling up, just fantastic.

As soon as I opened this parcel I guessed it was from Carol - it's your style! I was really pleased to hear you liked the dots, thought you would. Will let you into a secret, a new delivery of these dots arrived today with a perfect combo for christmas, White ribbon with White dots -it's awesome.

Love the card carol and look at all the detail.

Carol these cards are a super size, great soft colours here.

Carol also made us this fun colourful photo album.

She left it blank so we could add our own photos - perfect. I know this will be hanging from our Autumn exhibition stand. All fantastic Carol, thank you.

Linda wanted to do something different and she could not think of a way of using the ribbon on a card, apart from a little bow or a straight line, so she came up with this delightful little set.

A hair grip with a super cool flower and...

... a stunning pair of earings and look- Tiffany blue!!!!

Great crafty goodies, thank you both. I have more to share with you tomorrow.

Hello Wednesday - with this ring

25/08/2010

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!!!

With this ring, on this ring cushion, I will........

A simple gift made for a friend of a friend. She wanted a small ring cushion for her bridesmaid to carry. I offered to embroider one for her, but she wanted it very simple, so I came up with this.

A bed of white ribbon roses, tied with a simple bow to hold the ring in place. The bride was delighted with the result.

I used a wide ribbon (you can find it HERE), this ribbon was perfect as it had crinkles, which would add an extra dimension to the finished cushion. I removed the wire from both edges of the ribbon, so I was left with nothing but ribbon! Each rose takes about 80cms of ribbon.

Fold the two ribbon edges together and sew a running stitch along the length of the ribbon. Gather up the ribbon on the thread, and roll the ribbon around the the gathers. It is similar to our Ribbon Roses tutorial which you can see HERE. Once the rose has formed, secure in place with a few stitches, the fold of the ribbon forms the top of the roses. I made 9 of these roses for my ring cushion.

I placed the roses on the table to form a tight square, I needed to measure them so I could make the cushion. I cut two pieces of fabric the same size as the rose square, which meant that it would come out slightly smaller once it was finished. Place the two pieces of fabric on top of each other and machine about 1cm away from the edge all the way round the square, leaving a small gap. Trim the fabric corners, to reduce a bit of bulk. Poke your fingers into the gap and turn the cushion the correct way round. Push the corners out, so they are nice and square.

Fill the cushion with stuffing and hand sew up the gap. Mark the centre of the cushion with a small pencil dot, so all your roses will fit perfectly!

The next bit was really easy (my sewing teacher would have had a fit!), I used a hot glue gun to stick the roses to the cushion. Stick the centre one first and work your way around the cushion. If you can see any of the fabric between the roses, just put a little bit of glue and stick the roses together. Do not use too much glue as you do not want the cushion to feel hard.

Tie a ribbon around the cushion to hold the ring in place.

Fingers crossed all brides this weekend will have stunning weather, it is very wet here in Dorset today.

Big smiles please

23/08/2010

We all decided to go out to lunch today. Most people when they go out, take their handbag, maybe a coat - BUT me I take the Crafty Ribbons "Bingo" Bag.

It is a very well travelled "Bingo" bag and gets taken to the best of places. It is not always treated with the love and care it should be , Mollie has run over it in her car before! Sam decided to take it on the climbing frame today and I got this perfect picture of him picking this weeks Friday FREEBIE winner. Look at that smile, I am sure he is going to break a few hearts in his time.

It's good to smile and who is number 22 Karen

What gorgeous ribbons, as usual Please add me into your free draw as I would be delighted to win these!!

Well done Karen we hope you have a big smile on your face, just like Sam's - maybe without the tomato ketchup!! Please can you email us your address to craftyribbons@gmail.com so we can send your collection of In the Pink Ribbons. Mega thanks to everyone that left super cool comments, we love reading them they make us feel special. We are just so sorry that we can not give everyone a prize each week.

More Challenge parcels have been arriving, Christmas has come early!

Leslie this is a wonderful card, the ribbons make perfect flowers, and simply held in place with a brad.

When Bev and I chose the colours for this range, Pink with brown spots was at the top of our list, this card just say's it all to us. Great colours Leslie, Bev certainly has eyes for this card.

Please do not worry if we have not show cased your creations yet, they will appear - we promise.

Friday FREEBIE 34

20/08/2010

Friday FREEBIE - prezzie time - what delights this week. While I have been working on our NEW website, the running of the warehouse has been left in the capable hands of the girls so I thought this collection of ribbons was rather apt for this weeks Friday FREEBIE.

If you would like to win this weeks Friday FREEBIE of a WANT IT ALL Collection of In the Pink Ribbons then just leave us one of your delightful comments. There are 20 different ribbons in the collection and you will get 1mtr of each ribbon. My favourites are these three!

Everyone go arrrrgh......

Please, please if you are having a problem leaving a comment or it has not been saved when you go back to have a read, YOU ARE BEING BLOCKED BY OUR SPAM FILTERS - all you have to do to stop this, is to email me at craftyribbbons@gmail.com with your comment and I will add it for you. Once your email address has been added to the system you will be able to leave comments without any further hassle. Our spam filters are automatic, we do not know who is being BLOCKED, you have to tell us if you are experiencing a problem. All comments posted should appear straight away and stay there. Please leave a comment they are very important to us.

Do you want to see some more challenge cards? Thought you would. Todays collection is from Sherry and they are amazing.