Mini Pom Poms Flower Tutorial

 

Hello my crafty friends!  Sadly, today is my last guest blogging post for Really Reasonable Ribbon.  I have had so much fun working with their fantastic ribbons, laces and trims, and have been so inspired by the varieties!  Today I made a flower much like the last ones I shared, except the center is quite different.  I just took their Mini pom-poms, and rolled them up and woila!  

I love how they look in the center of a flower!!

The sentiment and frame are from the newly released Waltzingmouse Stamps set My Kind of Guy.  All the sentiments are individual making it easy to stamp with different colors and arrange how you want them!

 

For the gathered flower, I used White Netting and Wired Faux Burlap White.

I also added some Ric Rac Trim, and a wee bit of Claudia White Crochet Lace that's mostly covered by the image panel.

 

Here's how I made the flower center.

The Pom-Poms have a perfect edge for gluing, and depending on how you roll it, it can be flat, or have a lot of depth.

    Here I added some Diamond Stickles to give it a bit of sparkle.  I think it even stands alone quite well.  

Here's a card I made with the Pom-Pom Flower as the focus, using a quote from Our Daily Bread Designs' Stamp set Quote Collection three.  I also wrapped the card with some True Black Hemp from the Earthy Collection. The background is just a collage of Washi Tape.

That's it for me today, and this month.  

I'd like to thank Bonnie for inviting me to Guest Design for RRR this month.  Bonnie's a gem to work with and this has truly been a pleasure.  Thank you all, too, for your generous comments and support.  I felt very welcome over here!!  

Feel free to visit my blog Stamp Talk with Tosh for more paper crafting inspiration!

Happy Crafting ya'll!!  

Grosgrain Fringe Tutorial

Tosh here again, and I'm excited to share my Grosgrain Fringe Tutorial with you today.  

  All you need is 2' of Grosgrain ribbon any width.  I used 5/8" White and Black Grosgrain for the flower centers, but you could use any color or width, depending on how long you want your fringe.  Even if you use the 1 1/2", you could always cut the fringe to the length you want.  And if you only have white, you could color it with Distress Inks or use a Mister.  Grosgrain ribbon takes color really well.  You could even color it with Copics.
 

 Grosgrain ribbon is sealed on both edges.  So to start, you have to trim off one of the edges.  It doesn't have to be perfect because you won't even notice the varying lengths of the fringe once you finish it.  Just try to stay as uniform as you can.

Then, while holding the ribbon taut between two fingers (very important otherwise the ribbon will gather making it harder to remove the strands.), using your fingernail, try to separate 6-8 strands from the bottom of the ribbon and pull out and up.  It's important to pull away from the strip as you pull up to make it come apart easier.  I do this until there's about 1/8" left of the weaved part of the ribbon.  It's up to you how much of a base you want to work with.

Here's what the fringe looks like.  I wanted you to see that you don't notice a difference in lengths of fringe, even though my cuts weren't perfect.

Then I just use a heat gun and roll it up on itself.

Now, to make a flower using this fringe, you'll need 2' of 1 1/2 " wired ribbon and a 1 3/4" felt Circle.

For the flower base (this is Wired Faux Burlap Antique Gold...I used Natural Burlap with Wired Edge Silver/White for my actual flower), I pulled the two edge wires out from one side of the ribbon and tied them together.  I then pulled the two wires from the other side and gathered the ribbon, tying those ends off too when I had the gathers where I wanted them.

I then glued the two wired edges together every inch or two and hot glued them to the 1 3/4" felt circle, starting from the outside.

Then just add some hot glue to the center and place your fringed piece in the center smooshing it down really good.  Don't worry about being gentle.  You want it to move out a bit, so scrunch it good.

 

You can spread out the fringe a bit and add an embellishment to the center, or leave it as is.  It's up to you which you prefer.  For this flower I used the fabulously fun 1 1/2" Black Houndstooth Ribbon, and added a Vintage Button by Bazzill.   Now, this fringe looks beautiful on cards too.  Here's a card I made using the Wired Woven Chevron Stripe Pink Ribbon.  It shows diamond patterns when you make the fringe, however I wasn't able to show that very well in my photos.  It's quite sparkly in real life.  

I used the same  Wired Woven Chevron Stripe Pink Ribbon  for the bow at the top too.  The sentiment is from the Waltzingmouse Stamps set Compact Sentiments, and the paper is Lyric by Prima.  I also used a Fancy Tag 3 die (Spellbinders) to frame the sentiment, and added a White Organza Beehive Blossom to the bow.

 That about sums up my Grosgrain Fringe tutorial.  For more inspirational paper crafts and tutorials, feel free to visit my blog:  Stamp Talk with Tosh
Hope I've inspired you to make some fringe!! Happy crafting! Tosh  

Really Reasonable Ribbon Tassel Tutorial

Don't forget about our RRR 3-Day SALE now through midnight on 4/10.  For the sale codes, please click HERE.

Hello my creative friends! Tosh here, and I'm thrilled to be guest designing for Really Reasonable Ribbon this month. I have a super easy Tassel Tutorial to share with you today that utilizes a nice variety of RRR Ribbons, Laces and Trims. 

 I recently purchased a locker that was salvaged from an old ship.  I'm redecorating my kids' rooms, and this locker is going in my daughter's. It's super fun with a lot of personality, but being rather large and metal, I thought I'd soften it up a bit with some elegant tassels.

I have two tassels to share with you.  The one above, and the one I made while making this tutorial.  I'll list, and link, all the ribbons I used at the end of this post.

There are many ways to make a tassel.  I wanted my ribbon and trims to be free flowing so I just cut 4 12" strands of a variety of ribbons, laces and trims.

I also wanted an elegant topper, so I combined some Vintage Trinkets (Prima) with some beads and caps I had on hand, along with some 20 gauge beading wire.  You can use embroidery or sewing thread also, but I find it super easy to string the beads with wire, and it forms a nice tight hold on the ribbons too.

I just laid the wire (about 8") across the center of my 12" ribbon strands, folded the ribbons in half and secured the wire around them leaving the two ends poking straight up in order to string the beads.

I strung the beads over the wire and made a little loop at the top so I could add some silver cording to attach my tassel to the key that opens the locker doors.

And finally, here's the tassel attached to the key.

You can make the tassel as large as you want depending on how many different ribbon strands you use, and their length.  That's what makes this so special.  Each one is unique to fit the style you need.  I think it would be super fun to make a tassel using this months Ribbon Club Kit too.  I LOVE the color combination.

Here's a list of ribbons, lace and trims:

Tassel #1

 Sheer Box Pleats White

Sheer satin Edge with Silver Accents White

3/8" White Crochet Lace

4 mm String Beads Pearlized

Tassel #2 

Corsage Ribbon Silver

Sheer Organza with Satin Center White

Sheer satin Edge with Silver Accents White

4 mm String Beads Pearlized 

White 3/8" Ric Rac

I hope I've inspired you to make a tassel to enhance a key, knob, or curtain tie back in your home.

To see more of my creations, please visit my blog Stamp Talk with Tosh.

Happy creating!!
 

Tosh