Ribbon Roses

Hello fans!  I'm thrilled to be able to share this project with you today.  It has been absolutely delightful to be part of the May Arts Design Team.  I have a deep passion for ribbon.  Having my own hair bow business and being part of the May Arts Design Team, I have ribbon from my top floor to my bottom floor and still find myself looking at ribbon when I go to the store. May Arts ribbon however is in a class of it's own.  Let me show you just how real ribbon roses can look using some of their extraordinary ribbon. 

First, I will show you how to start your ribbon rose.  It really is pretty simple.

 This stick is a slightly smaller version of your ordinary Popsicle stick.  You can find these at your local craft store. 

Start with the stick at an angle and begin to roll it towards the bottom of your ribbon until the top of the stick is covered by about 1/4" of ribbon. This measurement is only an approximate.  You'll get the hang of it after trying it a few times.

At this point you will fold the top of the ribbon down to cover the stick.

 After folding it down, continue to roll the stick a couple of times to give you the look of the center of a rose.

 While holding the stick you will fold the ribbon away from you as shown above and continue to roll the stick. As the ribbon begins to wrap around, this fold begins to give you the petal look.  You will continue to fold and twist the ribbon back every half to full turn of the stick.

  You will begin to see your flower take shape.  Continue this pattern until desired size of flower.  For this project the ribbon length ranges between 30-48 inches of ribbon for one flower.

You can use sequin pins to pin the flower underneath as you create your petals to help hold the flowers shape.  You can leave the pins in since they won't be seen or you can put glue in between some of the layers and take the pins out.  You can also stitch it with some thread.

The stick and sequin pins help you hold the ribbon and keep the flower more uniform.  Once you have formed the flower you can take the stick out, which is what I have done, or you can leave it in and wrap it with some green floral tape for an arrangement.

 Begin placing the flowers on the wreath to decide how you want to organize them.

This sheer loop ribbon is absolutely adorable and will add a nice elegant touch to your roses.  I definitely want to get more of this ribbon!

 Make 3 bunny ears and wrap some floral wire around the bottom.

For wreath bows I use this wooden "EZ bow maker" I picked up years ago.

 Wire the layers together and cover you wire with some more ribbon in a smaller size.

Now fluff those loops and you'll be set.  You can use fabric stiffener on your bow if you choose to or, what I like to do with my bows is bake them.  Yep, I said bake.  All you have to do is line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil, turn you oven to 250 degrees and once it's Pre-heated stick it in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  The heat will set the shape of your ribbon without discoloring it.

Place everything on your wreath until you have it where you want it.  Then begin to hot glue everything in place.  Wire your bow to the wreath and there you have it.  Isn't it darling?  Using different ribbon materials gives the flowers different character.  I love making these with the EN satin/scalloped ribbon.  The scallop gives the flower such a delicate look.

The Ribbons I Used Were:

EN 09,14,17,22  1.5" 

HA 01,09,14,17,22 1.5"

QH 01,09,14,17,22, 1.5" 

367-58-01,09,14,17

XB 17,22 1.5" 

I have often thought a wreath like this would be nice for a funeral in place of real flowers.  This is something that will last forever.

Supplies:

Wreath, ribbon, wire cutters, scissors, glue, sequin pins, sticks, lighter, greenery, other embellishments, and ruler.

I love being able to share my ideas with you and hope you like them as much as I do.  I love hearing your comments too.  I hope you enjoy this week and all the projects of the many talented women.

Cheerio!!  Andrea

Project made for http://www.mayarts.com/blog/

"All In One" Calendar

Oh boy, do I have a treat in store for you today.  Have you ever seen one of those adorable calendars that you can change the theme on etc.?  Well,  I have found many, but never purchased one because I couldn't write on it.  Sometimes it's okay to buy something with the intent for it to be just a decoration, but I could never justify that with a calendar.  Here's my solution.   The hardest part was picking out the ribbons and paper with so many choices to choose from.  Hmmm. This is what I came up with.

The two paper stacks I used were the Ciao Bella, and The Four Seasons.  

To get you started I used a 12 X 12 shadow box.

A vinyl calendar transfer.

A decorative knob that has the screw permanently attached.

Some GORGEOUS May Arts Ribbon.

and some Velcro.

And yes, my pictures go backwards starting with December.

I decided I wanted to hang it by the computer where I would enjoy it the most.  When I got thinking about the colors of ribbon and my sponge painted wall I knew colors were going to clash. 

I began to brain storm how to solve this problem and decided to cover the raised poster board with some fabric and trim it with the luscious 379-15-10 black satin pleats ribbon.

Absolutely perfect.

 I measured my ribbon to fit the perimeter of the frame and used Velcro to hold it together.  I put the Velcro directly on the ribbon so I could interchange the ribbons and this would keep the ribbon nice since I will be using this over and over. 

 Aren't the September colors absolutely amazing?  The tails that come down from the knob making it look as if the calendar is hanging from the ribbon is just an illusion.  Simply drape the ribbon over the knob and use either sequin pins or straight pins to hold it.  The calendar itself actually hangs from a screw  making the interchangeable process so easy and again taking care of that GORGEOUS ribbon.

 

Doesn't this set up just make you want to jump in the ocean and take a swim?  To fill in your calendar simply use a dry erase marker....voila!

 For the month names some are stickers and some are hand written, but they are on the paper itself so you won't have to do it again.  How easy is that?

 Ribbon used: PV15, RF47, FR14

I'm looking forward to the sunny days ahead.  Fowers and butterflies make me smile!
 EB36, WC34, WT15

WC44, HN27, QA25, WC14, ED04

EN14, FR32, MR28, 372-15-17

Who knew pink could look so good!

 Last but not least, actually the best part of all, is you can store ALL your papers and ALL your ribbon inside the shadow box nice and neat.  It's where you need it, when you need it.

TA-DA!!!

"All In One"

Useful, beautiful, and easy to keep it organized.  Yippee!!

Which month and ribbon is your favorite?  I hope this inspires you to make one of your own.  I know I'm going to enjoy mine!

Thanks for joining me today.  I hope you're having a blast with May Arts and DCWV this week.

Come again soon, I love having you visit!

Project made for http://www.mayarts.com/blog/