A Quick Card

   

Hi friends!  I have a card to share with you today that uses ingredients from Really Reasonable Ribbon and my Scraps of Darkness February "Simple Pleasures" kit. There were some lovely Kaisercraft patterned papers included in the kit, as well as some delicate embellishments that I used to decorate this card project.

 

  I love how easily the seam binding from the shop takes to wrinkling - wish I could have it in every single color available lol!  I wrapped my card with it and for some additional punch, I also wrapped with the Metallic String Gold - my absolute fave fiber from the shop right now!  

  I did a bit of background stamping, slapped on a sticker sentiment, blinged it up, and completed a card lickety split that shall go in the mail today.     Thanks so much for visiting with me here today!  For tons more inspiration, come on over to my blog! -Vivian   SUPPLIES:

Really Reasonable Ribbon - Metallic String Gold, Olive Seam Binding Kaisercraft - "Marigold" Patterned Papers and sticker sheet Papertrey Ink - Olive Cardstock
Tim Holtz - Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Ink Prima Marketing - "Engraver" flowers, "Romance Novel" stamps Crate Paper - Resin Rose Bo Bunny - Gems Martha Stewart - Vintage Doily Lace Punch

Ruched Rosette Tutorial

  Take a look at this precious rosette!

 

Well, I have a tutorial for you today sharing how ridiculously easy it is to make!  Can you tell I'm excited lol?  You can make a rosette using a variety of ribbons, but I found that organza was the easiest to manipulate and made the prettiest bloom.  For this rosette, I used Plum Organza from the Really Reasonable Ribbon Shop in the 7/8 in. width.

First, fold the corners of your ribbon inward to make an arrow shape.  Make sure this is neat and hides any stray fibers as it will be the top of your flower and visible.  Then fold this portion over so that the raw edges are completely hidden as shown below.

At the point of your folded ribbon, stitch through all layers with a matching thread.  I used a contrasting color just to illustrate clearly.  Then do a running stitch down the length of your ribbon at intervals that approximately match the width of your ribbon.

For this 7/8 in. width, I did a running stitch about 11 in. long, and then pulled the thread to gather as you see below.

...Please excuse my gross finger!  Ewww!  I had been doing a lot of mixed media and the ink just wouldn't come out...  Apologies lol!

Back to my tutorial - after you gather tightly, twist your bloom so the folds aren't directly on top of each other, and backstitch to secure on the underside.  One simple knot might come loose, so a backstitch is advised, both at the origin and here at the end.  This is how the bloom looks at this stage.

I've been heating my organza a ton lately and ending up with really pretty, natural looking curves in my floral creations.  At this stage, I carefully set my heat tool on the bloom - one must be careful not to burn the fiber.  And voilà, you have some natural looking curves on a pom pom rosette which shimmers spectacularly in the sun.

Here it is on a simple card project.

 Easy as pie!

Thanks so much for visiting here with me today for this super easy tutorial.  If you are interested in more of my work and tutorials galore, please visit me on my blog! 

-Vivian

Supplies:

Really Reasonable Ribbon - Olive Seam Binding, Plum Organza

Hampton Art/ Authentique - Sentiment Stamp

Bo Bunny - Bling

Papertrey Ink - Olive Cardstock

Core'dinations - Purple Color Core Cardstock

Echo Park - Patterned Paper

Clean and Modern?

  Hello, friends!  Vivian here to share with you a rather clean and modern project - these adjectives haven't really applied to the papercrafting that I've been doing lately.  But it's important to work those crafty muscles every now and then with movements that don't come naturally, don't you think?     For this card, I used several papers and embellishments that came in my January Scraps of Darkness kit.  

   With its clean lines and bold patterns, this Pink Paislee collection definitely asks to be used in a modern way.  I decided to use some of the fun ephemera included in the kit to create a congratulatory Sizzix Pop 'N Cut card that would be appropriate to give to a man or a woman.  

  Using Solid Gray Baker's Twine from the Really Reasonable Ribbon shop, I simply wrapped the interior piece and knotted on a cute tag from the kit.  I also used the same twine to create some funky stamens for my flower.  

Here's a view of the easy dimension you can achieve using these Pop 'N Cuts dies.

Thanks for visiting with me here today.  See you again really soon!   -Vivian
SUPPLIES: Really Reasonable Ribbon - Solid Gray Baker's Twine Scraps of Darkness - Patterned Papers, Ephemera, Photo Frame, Sequins Sizzix - Pop 'N Cut die, insert, and coordinating Sizzlits, Flowers 3-D Fringed die Bo Bunny - Apple Cider Jewels

Inspired by Nature

  Hello, friends!  Vivian here today to share with you a card I recently made that's all about spring.  I love birds' nests.  On the few occasions I've been able to observe them up close, I've been amazed by their shapes, how skillfully they've been woven.  Those brief encounters have made me want a human sized nest of my very own!  Seriously!  

  I was messing around with my Really Reasonable Ribbon's Leaves, White Trim, and discovered that I liked it best when coiled into an abstract nest like the one I have in my card. Keeping my focal image white helped it stand out against the background I had crafted.

Now that I've found how beautifully it coils, I'm going to order myself a whole lot more of this beautiful fiber!  I hope I've inspired you to try it out, too!  It's available at the shop in a great variety of spring colors!   Fibers:
Reasonable Ribbon - Leaves, White Trim Scraps of Darkness - Angelina Fibers

Tools:
Provocraft - Embossing Folder

Media:
Tim Holtz - Black Soot Distress Ink
Tattered Angels - Sea Glass Glimmer Mist

Embellishments:
Jenni Bowlin - Stick Pins
Recollections - Resin Flower

Papertrey Ink - White Cardstock
 

Getting Started with Ribbonwork

  Hello friends!  Vivian here today with a short video tutorial which will show you how to make the traditionally ribbonworked daisy in my card project below!  For my daisy, I used Mimosa Yellow Seam Binding from the Really Reasonable Ribbon Shop!

 

 Can you tell I'm itching for spring?  If y'all visited with me here for my last post, you know I've been playing with my more colorful distress inks quite a bit - well the fun continues with the vibrant background for this card.

In the video, you will also see how ridiculously easy it is to create this "watercolored" effect without having to pull out your paints.

And if you're curious what supplies were used, they are all listed in the description box under the video.  Hope you'll take a break from your day to check it out!

-Vivian 

A Wish for Peace

  Hello, friends.  I hope your preparations for the holidays are going smoothly.  It's going to be a quiet Christmas for hubbie and me, which, it turns out, will be OK for us. As I'm sure it is for you, my thoughts and feelings often influence my art and craft.     

  This holiday, I'm wishing and praying for peace in the world and healing for all those that suffer.  Using 1/2 in. Natural Crochet Lace from the Really Reasonable Ribbon shop helped me create this quiet, comforting card project.

I'll be seeing you back here on the RRR blog in the new year.  Until then, I wish you all the best this holiday season.

-Vivian

SUPPLIES: Natural Crochet Lace - Really Reasonable Ribbon
Self-adhesive Pearls in "Snow" from Kaisercraft - Really Reasonable Ribbon "Flowers and Butterflies" Stamp and Framelit Set - Sizzix "Indigo Bleu" Patterned Papers - Pink Paislee
Snowflake Stamp - Kaisercraft Sentiment Stamp - Fiskars
Decorative Brad - Teresa Collins