live . craft . learn

ribbon tassel : mini tutorial

yesterday i headed into kmart to purchase a light up lawn tree that was on sale. it was a gift to appease our neighbors. since we are the first house you see when you drive into the neighborhood we always hear from everyone at the holiday progressive party how much they love seeing our light blue lighted tree in our front window. it shimmers with LeD lights, so i kinda understand.

but this year i decided to have it in the corner, next to the front fireplace so the rest of our furniture will fit too.

so i needed to get something to make my neighbors happy, so i don't hear complaints all night long on sunday during the party, i know you understand.

{and gretch... that cabinet shot is for you ;)}

while i was there i fell in love with the country living holiday decorations, have you seen them? bright & cheerful, ribbons & felt & gorgeous trim.

but the one item that i fell head over heels for was a tassel ornament made from ribbons & rik-rak. but it was $4. so i know you all can hear my head saying quite clearly "um, kL. you have more ribbon than you know what to do with... go make your own".

so i did, and i thought i'd share the mini tutorial with you so you can too. although i'm sure you all don't need it, it's just some wrapped ribbon with twine.

easy, peesy. lemon-squeezy.

so, to begin grab your ribbon stash & also grab some twine {or embroidery floss or coordinating thin ribbon, whatever you've got for the wrapping & holding part.

take assorted pieces of complimentary ribbon {varied from 10" to 14"} and cut to size. these will be gathered & then folded in half in the center when it's tied together.

cut a 12" piece of twine & wrap into a circle & knot in the middle section. it's not rocket science, so you expert crafters are probably already done by now.

 take the twine circle and grab your ribbon and tie the twine to the center of your ribbon pile.

then fold your ribbons to gather so the middle section {that is wrapped with the twine circle} is doubled, take an additional piece of twine and wrap it around the ribbons to secure.

 voila.

a cute & cheerful bundle of ribbon tassel. perfect as is, or add some sequins or buttons to the ends so it clinks when moved.

i plan on making these for all of my gift toppers. with a manila tag that says "give" they'll be the perfect embellishment that our loved ones can also use.

happy friday!
xo

 

 

 

a few words by the little man

just because he needed to say *hi* to all of you....

i love my mommy.

gdghttyhdefdrryutingjhf dcsxvzbnngmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

vcbvcbvcb

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

 cvvdbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

apparently i owe him a REALLY good present for that first line ;)

happy thursday!

st nick : wordless wednesday

 

Jbs | tutorial tuesday

I have a little mini tutorial up on the JBS blog today explaining how I made the ruffled seam binding border in my vintage goods layout from the November gallery, seen above. Come say hi.

Happy Tuesday!
xo

expert tree hunters

We had a beautiful weekend, did you?

Saturday afternoon was spent at the tree farm selecting our two trees Fred & Ethel. Did you know that I name almost all of our inanimate objects? I do.

I have pictures of the actual hunt but since I forgot my camera {doh!} they are on the man's phone, since of course, my phone was also dead. {{double doh!!}}

This is the world's most feared tree hunter. He conquers & cuts with wild abandon.

Then he's forced to spend Sunday morning & afternoon stringing lights on Ethel, The tree in our Living Room. That's his job. The only part of decorating he's required to do. Required by me.

He does a great job, doesn't he?

Then I swoop in at the end for the beauty part. This year I had two wonderfully happy helpers, Bubba & the Bean. It was the first year they were excited to help the entire time. Usually it's a good 5 minutes then they're off stealing ornies to burrow somewhere deep in their room.

Of course our house looks like a Christmas store belw up in it right now since I still have the mantels and our other tree {Fred} to finish. but oh how I am loving spreading joy around our house this year.

Happy Jolly Monday!
xo