May Arts Ribbon DT Call - Final Round

Hi everyone,

I was so very excited last month, to make it to the final round in May Arts Ribbon's design team call!  

Bethney, The Ribbon Lady, asked us to design a final project and tutorial that best exemplifies our style, so of course I had to go with Shabby Chic!

My starting point was this beautiful frame from Prima, which was one of the add-ons to Swirlydoos' June Scrapbook kit, Rose Bouquet.

Then all my beautiful ribbon from May Arts arrived!!  Happy Day!  

So I started by distressing a piece of paper (Storyteller by KaiserCraft) from my Swirlydoos kit, to fit the back of the frame.  (The back piece comes out very easily, making this a simple job.)  Then I played around composing my mini-layout making sure it fit on the back piece of the frame.  You can see in the second photo that I cut a doily in half to put behind my photos.

In order to "fancy up" the exterior of the frame, I glued a piece of this wonderful striped grosgrain ribbon around the circumference.  Cutting a notch in each end helps it fit around the metal flourish at the top.

Then I took pieces of the lovely 1/4" silk ribbon and tied it in bows at intervals.  Finishing it off with a large striped bow at the top.  The grosgrain ribbon makes bows beautifully - it has a nice weight that holds its form - I like it a lot!

To embellish the little frame I put around my dog, I took a small piece of black crocheted lace, trimmed it and glued it below the picture.

To make the pearl embellishment, I cut a small piece from the pearl trim, curled it, and attached the ends to a glue dot and then glued over top of the black trim; finishing off with a little flower on top.

On the outer edge of the blue frame, I wanted a really eye-catching flower that wouldn't take long to make.  (There are times when we just DON'T want to fiddle around - right??)  So with the beautiful piece of satin ribbon, I proceeded to experiment.  (Brave aren't I?)  I took a 12" piece that was 1-1/2" wide, and cut it down the middle.  Then I randomly cut slits along the unfinished side.  Don't worry about measuring here - if some are a little narrower than others.... it just DOESN'T matter!  Just snip, snip, snip away.

Next, you're going to take a spoon, hold it as I'm showing below, and use your heat tool to melt the edges where you have cut.  The spoon will guide the hot air to the two sides and curl them up.  Don't over-think this part ... each petal will be its own unique self!  However, don't hold the heat tool too long in one spot, let it move back and forth, or else it will totally melt the petal.  Do some practising and you will start to get the feel of it.

If everything goes smoothly, you will end up with a piece that looks like the top picture.  If not, you might find you've melted right through the edge and ended up with many pieces (as I did).  :)  Not to worry... DON'T throw them out.  We can STILL use them!!

Now we're getting to the fun part!  Put a glob of glue (mixed media or Beacon's fabric tac - that type of glue) on your craft mat (note:  a craft mat is essential for this part.)  Mine was about 3/4" in diameter.  Start rolling your petals from one end into a "bud" and set it in the glue.  Then keep winding around and around the "bud" with the petals until you get the size of flower you want.  As you're going, you're pushing the bottoms down into the glue.  (The nice thing is this glue isn't HOT and you're not going to burn your fingers if you accidentally get any on you.)

Once your flower is big enough, just snip the ribbon off and stop.  After I had used up my first 12" strip of ribbon, I decided I wanted a bigger flower, so I just added more glue around the outside, and continued to add the broken bits and pieces I mentioned before.  I ended up using 36" of ribbon, which made the 2" flower you see at the bottom.  Now you just leave the glue to set and then using a spatula you slip it under the flower (like turning a pancake) and lift it off the craft mat.  I turned mine over and let the bottom harden as well.  Once you've done that, you have a very durable, GORGEOUS, flower to use how you wish.  

To use the flower in a flower cluster, I added a couple of cardstock pieces from the coordinating KaiserCraft "Collectables" package.  I loved the quote about good friends, so I tucked it on top of one of the flower "collectables" which I had already glued to a piece of scrap acrylic packaging and trimmed around, to make more sturdy.  Then I added my flower, some Prima leaves, a bit of black ribbon lace for a bow, and some other bits and pieces from my stash.  To make the black bow, all I did was make two equal size loops and staple them together, which then tucked under the flower.

So pretty!

The final thing that I did to my frame, was I took this adorable wired string with raffia bows, and curled it around the outside of my pictures.

It gives a pretty little whimsical touch, that I just love!

So there you have it!  If you've hung in there to the bottom of this post... Thank You!  I hope you will leave knowing how to create a frame of your own, and I hope you have learned how flower-making can be quick and easy with gorgeous results!

The little dog that I've featured in this project was my beloved childhood pet, Slippers, and the little girl is ME!  (Some 50+ years ago... but we're not counting... right?)  You can tell by my happy smile, that I was thrilled the day she came into our lives.  She was a wonderful companion for many years and I remember her with much love.

Thank you for dropping by today!  I hope you've enjoyed your time here!  Wish me luck, as I wait to hear the announcement on July 28th of who has made the design team!

Linda

Supplies used:

Prima Blue Altered Picture Frame

KaiserCraft "Storyteller" patterned paper

KaiserCraft "Storyteller" collectables

May Arts ribbon:

-  5/8" Wired String w/Mini Raffia Bows - olive

- 1.5" Grosgrain Ivory Striped Ribbon - black

-  1.5" Single Faced Satin Ribbon  - white

-  1/4" Silk Ribbon - black

-  5/8" Crochet Ribbon - black 

Dusty Attic chipboard frame embossed in white

Want 2 Scrap bling - blue

Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Miscellaneous bits and pieces from Swirlydoos June kit.

Fabri-Tac glue

Italian Flourish Doily Die by Cheery Lynn

Inkssentials Re-usable Non-stick Craft Sheet