Feelin' Crafty: Ribbon Wreath with a Twist

[thelongthread.com]

I know this tutorial is old news in the blogosphere but upon discovering a bin of $1 ribbon spools at Michael's I decided to try it out. I wanted to create a "holiday-ish" version so I also picked up some gold ball ornaments and glitter gold leaves.


I don't know if I got the right base ring for the wreath but I figured wood would work just as well as wire or foam and it was cheap. I cut 11-ish inch lengths of ribbon and tied them around the ring with double knots, attempting to tie them each the same way. (This was hard as I was also watching an intense movie and had a dog distracting me.)


This is what it looked like with the ribbons finished.


Behold, the final product! I used my hand little hot glue gun to attach the gold balls and foliage. I think the battleship grey ribbon with the gold accents give it a nice non-specific holiday vibe while still feeling festive.

I had so much fun with it I've contemplated making more ... but who knows if that'll happen.

Spotted!

The lovely Sarah Pease from Brilliant Event Planning in New York contacted me a month ago asking if she could feature my Colored Crinolines on her blog. To which I gave her a resounding "yes!"

Her timing couldn't have been better because I had just gotten some awesome crinoline photos from my clients. She chose to use pictures from my Client Spotlight of Christina, the bride with the incredible Puerto Rico wedding and the pale pink crinoline.

[photo by Shawna Herring]

Check out her post about my shop.
Thank you Sarah!

Client Spotlight: B

My lovely client B, just sent me photos of her save the dates before they went out to her guests. She will be getting married this spring at the Château verbust in Lyon, France. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous of her guests! So ...

Dear unmarried friends,
Please have your wedding at a chateau in France.
Thanks,
-Ashley

Postcards and wrap label designed by 2BirdStone
Printed by simple card

Off they go!

Fantastic Floor Coverings ... or Rugs

The hubs and I are getting ready to move to the UK and are looking forward to living in one location for more than nine months. Given this new sense of security and the possibility of having a house worth decorating I have started to allow myself to look at home decor with the intent of actually buying some of it.

That said, I am absolutely in love with these designers and their rugs!

Amy Butler "Lacework"

Amy Butler "Morning Glory"

Anna Maria Horner "Blue Dancefloor"
Ikea "Hulda Vilse"

Vera Bradley "Yellow Bird Black"

2Modern "Wood Wood Lounge"

Feelin' Crafty: Felt Flower

My supplies

Some days I find myself spending hours browsing through my Reader subscriptions and by the time I've gotten through all of them I feel like like an under creative, impotent artist. It's like being in middle school again and I'm standing in the high school hallway; un-noticed, small, lack luster and plain uncool.

I've always wanted to try my hand at the beautiful fabric flowers I see all over the net but they always seemed so complicated. So today, with two giant cups of frantic energy (coffee) in my system, I happened upon this tutorial and giveaway at Grosgrain. The only thing I had to do was cut petal shapes out of fabric and use a hot glue gun. With new found confidence I said out loud, to the sleeping dog, "I can do that!"

I immediately rummaged through the "box of coolness," that my husband wonders why I keep, and found some black recycled felt from a 10 min project I did for him a few months ago (see below).

My "office." Underneath the desk to the left is the Box of Coolness.

This is my treasure box of cool sparkly and shinny things I inherited at an old job from the old trashed skating costumes of the Broadmoor Skating Club.

When your husband is a military pilot he'll collect a million patches and pins and want to display them all on his "I love me wall." Covering a cork board with felt is a good way to contain the madness.

Rather than use the printable templates from the tutorial I just made my own. With felt petals in hand and glue gun at the ready I used the glue and fold method in the tutorial to get my flower shape. Found a nice fancy, vintage bead-thing for the center, added some black ribbon and a bobby pin to the back and Viola! My finished hair flower!

It's tough taking pictures of your own head!

This was super easy and I love the result!!

NEW Vintage Style Save the Date Postcards

One of my favorite classes in college was print making and since then I've always dreamed of someday owning my own letterpress and silk screen studio (not for t-shirts, mind you).

When I heard of this book, The Handy Book of Artistic Printing I ordered it immediately. Upon its arrival I was instantly inspired by its contents: the diverse layouts, the complex and minute details, and the color palettes. I spent days sketching and flagging pages and when I finally sat down to the computer this postcard design came to life.

Front

Back

While directly inspired by a layout within the book, I now feel I have a better grasp of "how" to translate these vintage designs to modern stationery and create designs all my own. So look out for more awesomeness to pop up in the shop!

Client Spotlight: Kate

Kate asked me to dye her crinoline this sweet lilac color and little did I know she was going to wear it with a pair of awesome lilac Chuck Taylors! (She's a girl after my own heart.) I love how it came out and the color really pops against the green grass.

How adorable are these bride and groom converse WITH their wedding date written on the heel?!

Without a doubt, this is one cute and chill couple!

Client Spotlight: Christina

I recently dyed a crinoline light pink for Christina. She had a gorgeous wedding on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico and a fantastic photographer, Shawna Herring. Check out more of her fabulous photographs here.

[all photos by Shawna Herring]

Her awesome wedding has been featured on Vintage Glam Weddings, The Wedding Chicks, and Trendsetting Wedding too!

Minted: Personal Stationery

I have begun to submit entries for this round. It's too early to vote but I'd love critique if you have some to give!

Classy Lassie Personal Stationery


party beads Personal Stationery

Etsy Shop: Color Your Crinoline

I've begun to update my shop's listing pictures for a classier, cleaner look. I think the crinoline pictures look much more appealing now, almost like a selection of eyeshadow compacts. We'll see how that affects business ...