Blog

Prize raffle tickets

16/08/2013

Morning everyone, hope you are well and having fun. We like fun at Crafty Ribbons.

We would like to invite you to our Summer Fete.......................

It starts on Monday, we have lots of ribbon and button games, creations all around the Summer Fete theme.
The design team girls have joined in so we have lots of inspiration for you.

Now a Summer Fete would not be the same without a raffle.

Ooooh lots of prizes to be won...........how would you like to spend £30 on our website, how many goodies could you cram into your basket?

Here is how to get your ticket

Leave a comment here on this post and we will write your name on a pink ticket.
This will give you one ticket...........
.........but you can also get another ticket by leaving a comment on our blogger blog here,
and we will put your name on a blue ticket.
That will give you two tickets.

We will put all the tickets together and pick 3 on next Friday morning.

Ooooh how exciting!!

Have a fab weekend, I am off to LEGOLAND on Saturday, not sure Tony is as excited as me!!

Unable to leave a comment?
Send it to us craftyribbons@gmail.com and we will add it for you

Hello wednesday - back with buttons

07/08/2013

Don't you just LOVE wednesday's? Say hello to wednesday "hello wednesday" It's all downhill from now on to the weekend - yippee!!!

Hi everyone, it has been a while. I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer. Tony and I had a fantastic holiday, the weather was just perfect. Loads of awesome food, lots of walking and some wonderful places visited. It was rather a shock to come back to the stock take. But that was completed with Bev's high level of efficiency and went off without a hitch.

It has been a couple of busy weeks since we arrived back. We have had another attempt at re-arranging our warehouse. Moving shelves and units is not the easest thing to do when they are filled to the top with new ribbon. Far too heavy to move loaded, so you remove the ribbon.....ummmmm where do you put it.....move the shelves and then re-stock with the ribbons. All sounds so simple when I dream up the idea, but in practice something rather different, oh well it all looks good now.

Our loading bay is now larger, to allow for the exhibition stand to be returned from shows and laid out, rather then trying to re-stock around the warehouse. All the exhibition stock is in the same area, no more hunting required! It looks really good, we have even started planning the new stand layout for the Exeter show which is towards the end of September and we are still in August!!!!

I have not been able to do much crafting, although my fingers have been busy. I have been after a new design software program for ages, but I have been rather unsure whether I would be able to use it. Not much computer confidence in me, all self taught by trial and error. Anyway I took the plunge last week....................I think my head was going to explode, I could not work the damn thing. Zillions of tutorial videos later, I cracked it......yeah...........I am so pleased. Pleased because it will mean improvements at CR but also pleased with myself.....I did it.

Back to Hello Wednesday - I made this brooch for my holiday. I had a new top and I wanted something to match it.

It hit the spot, looked fab on. I used a selection of buttons from Cream and our exclusive Nile colourway Basics 2 Go button range. I also added one of the Keep Calm ribbons, but just the Sew On bit- a little different I thought.

So many new things planned, lots of deliveries expected....oooh so exciting.

All the family are away on holiday, I am in charge of 4 rabbits, 2 cats, a huge fish tank full of fish with lots of babies. and two houses. Wish me luck, I have had to set alarms on my phone to remind me to feed the animals!!! Not my forte.

Low button stocks

29/07/2013

Look what someone has been making while I was on holiday

I think our stocks of buttons has gone down a bit!

Hello wednesday - just add buttons

24/07/2013

Don't you just LOVE wednesday's? Say hello to wednesday "hello wednesday" It's all downhill from now on to the weekend - yippee!!!

Hats.
Love them or hate them.

Thought about jazzing them up with buttons?

Looks like Mollie loves them - she wouldn't wear this hat until the buttons were added.

We used a selection of buttons from our Basics 2 Go range here
What fun.

None of us are looking forward to the next 4 days, sickness has been banned.
Stock taking yuk! Wish us luck.

****************
WAREHOUSE CLOSED for stock taking
Thursday 25th and Friday 26th JULY
NO ORDERS WILL BE DESPATCHED ON THESE TWO DAYS
****************

Syd's day

15/07/2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
SYDNEY

8 today.

I believe this is the first photo I shared of Sydney - March 2009 she was only 3.
We had spent the afternoon crafting together making the flowers for Bev.

Sydney and I still craft as much as we can together.
It made me very proud to see she was wearing her button necklace to her Birthday party.

Have a great day Sydney, sorry to be missing your special day.

******************

I do not normally tell you when I go away, I just make sure I have lots of posts lined up.
But...............

This time I am away for TWO WHOLE weeks, all together!
A HOLIDAY - not away for shows.
Tony and I sneaked away last week.

I have a couple of Hello Wednesday for you, otherwise I will see you after our stock take!

Have a great time

****************
WAREHOUSE CLOSED for stock taking
Thursday 25th and Friday 26th JULY
NO ORDERS WILL BE DESPATCHED ON THESE TWO DAYS
****************

Hello wednesday - bias love

26/06/2013

Don't you just LOVE wednesday's? Say hello to wednesday "hello wednesday" It's all downhill from now on to the weekend - yippee!!!

Todays project may not be for you, but it made a little girl very, very happy.

Mollie asked if I could make a rain cover for her dolly's pushchair, as baby was getting wet. Oh, Mollie I do not know how to make one. "But Ali you can make everything" came Mollies reply with a little quivering lip.

Oh dear, so I put my thinking cap on. It was not until I was doing a bit of sorting out at home, that I came across one of those zipped plastic bags that duvets and such come in. It was edged in blue plastic all the way round the seams. Perfect the plastic would be strong enough to sew. I was really excited and showed it to Mollie. "But Ali its blue and baby is pink" Mollie informed me. So I let her choose her bias binding here and went home to sew.

Ta da!!! One baby pushchair rain cover edged with plain bias binding. Bias binding ties allow for it to be removed when it is not raining - very practical Ali!

Mollie was over the moon and I have restored her faith in her auntie Ali.

Thanks for your wonderful orders over the weekend, you do like your buttons. You caught us slightly, and even I have been helping pull orders this week! Bev did inform me that I was rather slow weighing the buttons out - I was rummaging about while weighing!!

Button flowers - sit back and relax

21/06/2013

Morning everyone, last day of our Button flower week - boo hooo, I have so many more ideas.

We had some NEW buttons arrive and I just had to have a play.

You have seen these flowers before BUT not in these awesome colours.

There are 8 different colours in assorted flower shapes.
I only used the large shapes but there are smaller ones too.

Just straight stitching to make the stems and then sew the flowers on top.
How easy is that?

You can find these flowers here

But that is not ALL...................
Due to the quantity we now buy our buttons in from the factory.................
we have been given a bigger discount.............
and we have passed it on to you.
YEAH!

We believe we have the largest selection of assorted buttons on the UK web,
some of which are EXCLUSIVE to us.
All our assorted buttons can be found here and start from only £1.25 for 50g

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL

We hope we have inspired you with our button projects this week, so we are having a flash button sale

ALL our Basics 2 Go Buttons are reduced by 20%

For this weekend ONLY

Grab some button love before Midnight on Sunday.

Mono winner is......

21/06/2013

Number 7 = Dorothy

Fantastic display and i love the ribbons,hope I win

Congratulations Dorothy you have a super collection of Mono ribbons. Please email bev.craftyribbons@gmail.com with your address to claim your prize.

Many thanks to everyone that left us a great comment.

Have a great weekend.

Button flowers - summer brooch

19/06/2013

These are my Mount Everest!
My night demon.

I started with a small mountain..............
Machine embroidered the centre, hand sewed the ribbons and buttons as well as the brooch pin on the back.

.........and then I went for it!
Full on - all the way round the felt flower and then the fabric flower.

What are you talking about Ali?

HAND SEWING

I can hold a needle!
YEAH!
Well sort of, not very elegantly, I would not make it into the Royal School of Embroidery....

BUT I can hand sew again.
I can not feel the needle from below the knuckle, but with the aid of my other fingers I have worked it out.
For those of you new to our blog, I had a accident and crushed my finger here.

I was so pleased with myself, talk about a cheshire cat!
Look proper hand sewing, small running stitches.
The little ribbon label reads "Sew a little happiness" here - Rock on tommy - that's me!!

No stopping me now - I went for blanket stitch................

Ribbon embroidery is my next mountain.

I think this would be a very special point in time to thank Tony and Bev.
They both have been so patient and kind to me.
Please forgive my "Finger tantrums" my paddys have been spectacular at times.
Frustration is evil, sewing has been part of my life since I was 4.
The thought of being unable to sew....................

Button flowers - ribbon and buttons

18/06/2013

How could I have a flower week without using ribbons as well. No way jose!

As Mollie would say "Oh cute Ali!

Three pieces of Swiss dot grosgrain ribbon here cut into lengths of 12cms.
Fold the ribbon in half to mark the centre.
Fold the cut edges to the centre and glue or sew to secure.
Repeat the folding/gluing stage above on the other two pieces of ribbon.

Join all three bits of ribbon in the centre with a blob of glue, to form the cartwheel shape.

With matching thread to the ribbon, sew stitches into a white button here, secure the thread with a knot at the back.
Stick the button onto the ribbons.