Busy Bee Shaker Card with Custom Dyed Seam Binding

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!  Question: What do you do when you don't have just the right shade of Really Reasonable Ribbon to finish off your project?  I always turn to seam binding ribbon, and custom dye it to match my project.  It's such an easy process, and really looks good on a girly grunge or mixed media card like this honeybee shaker card.

Here's how I custom dye my ribbon:

• First, cut about 1 yard of white seam binding ribbon.
• Next, select 3 complementary shades of Distress Ink. For this card, I chose Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Fossilized Amber. 
• Swipe the Distress Ink Pads on a non-stick craft sheet, then mist with water until small color droplets form.
• Dip the seam binding ribbon through the inky puddles.  Don't swipe, or the colors will get muddy. 
• Dry the ribbon with a heat gun between applications, and repeat until you are happy with the final result. 
• If your ribbon is wrinkled, you can iron with a warm iron.  But I like the crinkles! 

Top your custom dyed bow with a shimmering Iridescent Metallic String Bow to add the perfect but of sparkle.  Iridescent Metallic String picks up the colors in your project, so it goes with everything. Finish off your card with clusters of Pastel Sweetheart Blossoms for the win!  

I hope I've shared some ideas you can use today!  

Thanks for stopping by,

Kathy

 

Tying Shabby Chic Bows with Seam Binding

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!  I made this sympathy card for a friend of the family whose mother recently passed.  I wanted the card to be soft, elegant and very shabby chic. I find that seam binding ribbon makes the most gorgeous shabby chic bows, and is very easy to work with. I thought I'd share some shabby chic bow tying tips with you here today.

This 6x6 card used a mixed media paper from Canvas Corp brands.  The papers are all done in shades of black, grey and white which means you can custom color them.  After inking up the background, I water colored this heart image with Distress Markers.  I wanted everything to be very soft and soothing.  I laced up the center of the heart with Gold Metallic Bakers Twine. Noble Peacock Seam Binding was tied into a loose shabby chic bow, then tucked under a pair of white flowers. 

 

Tying a shabby chic bow is super easy.  I set the pegs on my Zutter Bow it All tool to be 3.5" apart.  Then I wrapped my ribbon around the pegs three times.  Before tying the knot in the center of the bow, I folded the loose ribbon end into thirds.  This helps gather the ribbon at the center.  To add the ribbon to the card, I placed a small puddle of hot glue beneath my flowers, then pushed the ribbon into place with the tips of my scissors.   Because seam binding ribbon is so soft, it folds in on itself and creates this beautiful loopy bow.  

The inside of the card is very simple.  I lightly inked the edges of my designer paper, then added a small journaling card.  This is where I will write my personal note to my friend.

Seam binding ribbon comes in a rainbow of colors, and is a dream to work with.  In addition to the colored seam binding I keep in my ribbon stash, I also have a full spool of both Cream and White Seam Binding so that I can custom color my ribbon to match any project I am making.  I'd be happy to share a tutorial for this custom dyed ribbon.  If you're interested, please let me know in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheerio,
kathy

You're in My Thoughts Pocket Card

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!  Some color combinations are as soft and sweet as a summer night and just fill my heart with feelings of nostalgia.  Today I've combined luxurious Rust Silky Crush Ribbon with delicate Pink Salmon Seam Binding and the result puts me in mind of the glorious summer sunsets on the hill where I grew up in Vermont.

These ribbons were a spot on color match for papers from Prima's "Something Blue" paper collection.  After stitching my layers together, adding a little fussy cut flower detail and a die cut doily, I stamped my sentiment on a tag from the collection.  I don't know about you, but this color combo makes my heart go pitty pat!

 The Rust Silky Crush Ribbon is so elegant and easy to work with.  I think I need to add all the colors in this range to my ribbon stash, don't you?  It just plays together so well with seam binding ribbon that it's a joy to work with.

 I wanted to give you a close up of the fun paper curls I created for the bow cluster.  When making my card base, I shaved off a sliver of paper to make the border dimensions exactly right.  As I picked up the shavings to toss I thought, "Hey....what if...."  and I carefully ran the shavings against the handle of a small paintbrush, sort of like curling ribbon...and to my delight, my "what if" turned into a "voila!"

I love to decorate the insides of my cards with little pockets and pretty papers! The upper half of the card has a small gift card pocket that I've filled with a blank notecard, a tea bag and a wrapped chocolate.

This lower pocket contains some sweet surprises, too!

I think the small tag would make a great bookmark, and the larger tag would be super cute on a fridge or in a work cubicle.  Just add your friend's name to personalize.

If you haven't played with Silky Crush Ribbon yet, I encourage you to give it a try!  It's glorious!

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheerio,
kathy

Altered Table Decoration for Thanksgiving

Happy Monday to all of you!

I have a fun Thanksgiving project to share with you today. It's part 2 of the gift set I began showing you last week on this post.

I mentioned that I am notorious for saving ribbon scraps. What I didn't say was that I save all kinds of things for my crafting.  My project for today shows you how fun it is to re-purpose everyday items found around your home! :)

The base to this decoration is actually an almond can.  The top 2 pieces are old ribbon spools that were spray painted white. Miscellaneous ribbons, Wild Orchid Crafts flowers, vintage buttons, scrapbook paper, burlap and silk leaves, and foam fruit decorate the tower.  Touches of various Stickles add sparkle and shine.

I'll fill this with a yummy nut snack mix and then hubby will give it to some friends of ours this week.

I hope you are inspired to create something fun of your own with things you have around your house! Really Reasonable Ribbon has so many gorgeous trims and ribbons to add the perfect touch! :)

Ribbons and trims used:
tower - autumn diagonal striped grosgrain, delicate stitched satin old gold, wired woven check brown/white, seam binding dusty olive, burlap string orange
card - silky crush olive, shimmer satin tangerine with gold, autumn diagonal striped grosgrain

Wild Orchid Crafts flowers:
10 mm open roses, 15 mm open roses, cosmos, cherry blossoms

You can find more information on my blog, "Just Coffee Please..."

Fall is Time to be Thankful...

With fall finally getting here it's always time to be Thankful for everything in our lives.  Today I am doing a quick share with a card and little goodie box I did with some gorgeous fall ribbons and Graphic 45 papers.

For my projects I chose some of the "Seam Binding Ribbon" in burnt rust and "Tuftan Brown Satin", "Brown Plaid" and my new favorite 3/8" inch lace called "Gabrielle" in ivory. The papers are a mixture of Graphic 45 papers I had in my stash but most of it starts with the cut outs for the Calendar pages.

I really love how this one came out.  The colors are so rich and pretty and the ribbon reminds me of the color of pumpkin pies so it was perfect to use.

For my box I used a Scor-pal and created a pizza box that the top post card tag would fit onto.  It's fun to make custom boxes and you can fill them with lots of fun surprises for the person you are giving it to.  For this I also used the seam binding ribbon and that pretty little lace I was telling you about.

Lastly I made up some quick tags to go on some kraft bags I have to fill with goodies to give.  The prints are so pretty and the ribbons go perfect with Graphic 45 papers.

Thanks so much for stopping over and have a really great day!!

Teresa