She only came third!
17/11/2011
Did you all watch Kirstie on television last night on channel 4?
This was the programme Ali was interviewed for in the summer, they came to the warehouse and filmed her making ribbon goodies. They decided to make a mosaic mirror instead! If they had chosen Ali they would of come first not third, ha ha.
Oh well maybe another time.
Love Bev and Rachie x x
All Gone..............
14/11/2011
Ali!!!!! We turn up at the warehouse this morning and it's all gone. Ali has stripped the shelves bare of all the show stock, you can actually see the wood and metal shelves.
We all came into work on Saturday to help Tony and Ali load the van for the Paris show, but after we had gone, she must have decided to fill the back of the van with everything she could find!
They arrived safely in Paris today and have an unloading time of 4pm, so they should be part way through. Thankfully they do not have a time limit to unload in, because poor Ali is struggling with her foot. We wish the bosses all the very best and DO NOT forget the French Pic Nic next Tuesday!
Rachie took the picture of Syd picking the winners from the "Bingo" bag this week. Mini winnie was being naughty and climbed into the "bingo" bag! Who is going to have £17.00 to spend in our website?
The winners are
Numbers 13 = Claire
Happy 17th Anniversary to you both. Have fab time celebrating. I'm keeping my fingers crossed especially hard this week. xx
Number 16 = Margaret
Congratulations on your Amethyst Wedding Anniversary.
Thank you all for leaving us comments, Tony surprised Ali with a meal out on Friday, she was a little down and thought she would have to wear slippers!!! Tony told us she was very brave and managed to eat her way through the menu, nothing different there then!! Congratulations Claire and Margaret - we hope you already have a wish list ready, if you could email Rachie at rachie.craftyribbons@gmail.com and she will let you know how to claim your voucher.
Happy shopping girls.
Bev and Rachie x x
Friday FREEBIE - 43
11/11/2011
Morning all, and what a wonderful morning, well it is here in Blandford. It is our wedding anniversary today and I am feeling extra happy!! This is one of only a few anniversaries that we have not celebrated at the NEC, shows you how long we have been doing the shows!
Tony and I would like to give an extra special Friday FREEBIE this week - TW0 Gift Vouchers.
For a chance to win just leave us a comment and say hi. Why 17? We are sure you can work that out!!
Have a great weekend.
Ali and Tony
If you are unable to leave a comment due to our spam filters, please email it to craftyribbons@gmail.com and we will add it for you.
All the comments go into our "Bingo" bag and we draw a random number(s) on Monday.
Please check back to see if you have won, it is up to you to claim your prize - we do not contact you.
Challenge Blog - Anything but a card
10/11/2011
How can it be time for another Challenge over on our challenge blog (here). Time is just whizzing by. The theme this time is Anything but a card. I can do that!!! But first a huge thank you to everyone that took part in the challenge, it was fab to see so many creations, we hope you all had fun.
Anyone who has visited us this season at an exhibtion will have seen me wearing a button necklace, and I promised that I would make a tutorial for you all. Speared on by the fact that I will be wearing the necklaces (yes I have a collection in different colours!) in Paris next week, and my French is not good enough to talk them through the demo!, this Anything but a card challenge has come just at the right time.
So here goes with my tutorial.
Step 1. Gather all the bits you need, 5 large buttons for the bottom row, 4 large buttons for the top row (I use 2 different colours), and 6 small buttons, they can all be found stripes here and spots here. You also need a needle, scissors and some Organza swiss dot ribbon here.
Step 2. Cut the ribbon to a very fine point.
Step 3. Thread a normal needle.
Step 4. Lay the buttons out to form the necklace. This ensures you pick up the correct buttons.
Step 5. Thread the first large button from the bottom row onto the needle.
Step 6. Sew up through the small button that sits on top.
Step 7. The ribbon goes across the button and back down through the other hole.
Step 8. The small button at the start and end of the necklace acts as a stopper, so the buttons do not slide along the ribbon. So we take the needle through the same hole the ribbon came up through.
Step 9. Come back up the other hole in the large button. Pull the ribbon tightish so that it snuggles to the button.
Step 10. Pick up the next two button from your line and go up through both.
Step 11. Take the needle back through the spare hole in the small button, the large button AND a new large button from your line. Pull the ribbon tightish.
Step 12. Take the ribbon up through the bottom large button and pick up the next set of large and small buttons from the line.
Step 13. Repeat 11 and 12 until you come to the last small button.
Step 14. As this is the last stopper button it needs to be sewn back through the hole you have already come up through.
I just tie the ribbon at the back of the neck with a bow.
So come on and join in with us on our Crafty ribbons Challenge Blog HERE , you can have some fun and might even win some ribbon. The prize is our famous Bev's Bag! The winner can pick which ever one they would like. How cool is that!
If you have not got time to enter the challenge, do check out the DT girls creations they are awesome and are ooozing with inspiration - ribbon inspiration of course!
We are putting the final touches to our Paris stand today, the last minute stock has been returned from the out girls so just needs putting on the pegs.
Hope you all have a great day.
Last of the New England
08/11/2011
I had planned on sharing the last few pictures of the New England Challenge last week, but with no Wi-Fi at the hotel, it was rather difficult!
These delightful treasures are made by Tina, I think Tina has really captured the New England theme in her card designs. What do you think?
This cranberry red card is such a perfect match to the ribbons, so clever the way Tina has used the parcel ribbon as inspiration for her embellishment.
This card was on display at the NEC over the weekend, and yes I think it sold a few button boxes! It is a super special card Tina.
Your hand stitching has always amazed me Tina, it looks so realistic. This card could be used for a birthday or Valentines NOT just for christmas!
Super, super cool, I love it. The little spotty pot is rather cheeky Tina, looks wicked.
How cute is that? Just think what could be inside..................
Thank you Tina for your wonderful creations, I hope you had a fun time playing. I have just uploaded all the challenge goodies to a Facebook Album and you can view them HERE.
I got myself into a little bit of a pickle last night and ended up at A&E in Dorchester. I was rather tired but fancied a bit a crafting, there was not very much on telly, so thought a bit of sewing would be good. I always sit on the sofa with my legs curled up under me, as I moved position to get comfy my scissors embedded themselves 2 inches into my right heal. I am ok but rather sore and I feel rather stupid, I have a few stitches and a bandaged foot. I have been told to rest the leg, no standing for 7 days, ummmmm I go to Paris in in 6 days and have to stand up for 12 hours a day. Oh what fun!!! I never knew crafting could be so painful.
Take care
Woooweee.....
07/11/2011
How can we thank everyone that came to see us at the NEC over the weekend - you blew our socks off!!!
Not only did Tony and I break an all time daily total on Saturday, but we also broke the record for the largest UK show EVER. Remember we have been exhibiting at shows for 16 years and so during these current tough times, not even in our wildest dreams did we expect to be so busy. Thankfully Rachie, Bev and the team had loaded the van with a mega amount of stock, so we only ran out of some ribbons during Sunday. Maybe they knew something?!
We met such wonderful people and had a delightful time, it was fun and enjoyable. It was fantastic to speak to so many of our customers and blog followers, and to hear your stories. It was great to see so many cake visitors, and thank you for coming specially from the Cake show to find us. All the projects were carefully scrutinised and photographed. Although I do think Wilkinsons should give me some commision for sending so many people to their stores for the felt hearts I certainly hit the spot with that Hello wednesday project HERE.
When Rachie saw the state of the ribbon units this morning, well........, sorry but her comment is unprintable!! She and the girls could not believe it, Bev even asked "What had I done with the ribbons?" Ummmmm Sold them! They have been busy restocking for Paris, which we leave for on Sunday.
I only managed to catch up with the Friday FREEBIE comments this morning. Our hotel had no mobile signal and they do not offer wi-fi, so I was a bit in limbo all weekend. Thanks for all your super messages. Mollie did the honours of picking from the Bingo bag this week.
The winner is number 34 = Joanne Edwards
Ooh another show, I can only imagine the goodies that the lucky visitors will get to browse!! Hope it goes (or is going to be accurate) very well indeed for you x
Thank you Joanne, it did! If you send me an email to craftyribbons@gmail.com I will let you have all the details for your voucher, I am sure you will have a little wishlist already.
That's me done for tonight I am pooped!! I have some super Challenge goodies to share with you this week, they were hand delivered to the stand, I have had to put them under lock and key - Rachie has fallen head over heals in love with one of the cards. To be honest I am not sure any of the creations would be left in the box if I left it on the work table overnight!!!
Friday FREEBIE - 42
04/11/2011
Another Friday, wow this year has gone really fast. I just can not believe that we are back at the NEC at Hobbycrafts again!
As it IS the first Friday of the month then it must be voucher Friday.
A £20 voucher up for grabs for just leaving us a comment, that's not bad is it.
Thanks to every blogger and customer that has come to visit us on our stand, it is great to speak to you all.
Have a fantastic weekend.
If you are unable to leave a comment due to our spam filters, please email it to craftyribbons@gmail.com and we will add it for you.
All the comments go into our "Bingo" bag and we draw a random number(s) on Monday.
Please check back to see if you have won, it is up to you to claim your prize - we do not contact you.
Halloween party
31/10/2011
We had a Halloween party for the little guys after school today. But Rachie forgot to bring Mollies witches costume, so we dressed her up as a mummie. The poor thing had no idea what we were doing but she bravely let, Syd, Sam and myself wrap her in loo roll!
With a witch a skeleton and a mummie running around loose in the warehouse, I had to trap them behind bars to pick this weeks Friday FREEBIE winner.
What a gruesome lot, but they did pick a number from the "Bingo" bag.
Number 11 = Julie
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. We have no plans other than taking our new kittens to the vet's to be vaccinated.
Congratulations Julie you get a bunch of the NEW Snow tree ribbons, all we need is your address please to craftyribbons@gmail.com. We hope your kittens got on fine at the vets.
Mega thanks to everyone that left us a comment, sorry we have no idea what went wrong with the auto notificcation emails. Fingers crossed they work tonight.
Have a great Halloween evening. Did you see the PINK moon on Saturday evening!!
Friday FREEBIE emails
28/10/2011
It would appear that not everyone received their automatic email to notify you there was a NEW posting.
No idea why! But if you are looking for the Friday FREEBIE please click HERE
Challenge Blog - Bingo
27/10/2011
It's time for a NEW Challenge over on our challenge blog (here) and when the DT girls said we should do a Bingo Challenge I was completly flummoxed! Ok - I know what the game of Bingo is, ( I used to play it with my Nan), and I know we use a bingo bag for all our Friday Freebie numbers, BUT how can that be a challenge. Anyway, I shouted help and the girls came to my rescue.............
....this is the Bingo board and you have to select a line of three to make your creation..................ooooooh that's NEW to me (I get the feeling they are trying to push me out of my comfort zone!). Glitter - nope haven't any, ditto flowers although I could make some, embossing - rather on the scary side, lace - only have one and I used that on the last challenge.
Maybe I should look at it from the other side, what can I do. Ribbon (loads and loads of it!), I like the idea of hand made embellishments and I am sure I can find some gems.
That's my line Handmade embellishment, ribbon and gems. Do you want to see what I made, (believe it or not I am rather a nervous crafter) never thinking my creations are very good, so I always show the girls in the warehouse first. If I get a good reaction, I share with you all...................if not................back to the drawing board.
The flowers are my handmade embellishments, I sewed the flowers first using seam binding ribbon. I punched out the flower shape and made a hole in the centre then pushed the sewn flower through it. The gems were a problem, I could not find any. So in the end I raided Sydney's craft drawer!!! I always give her the little free packets you get on the craft magazines and I finally found the three little silver flower gems. I had not planned on using silver so I then did some faux stitching with a silver pen around the card and on the flowers.
Although I had used ribbon to make my flowers, I thought I still needed to use it again for the third item of the bingo challenge. Not seen this ribbon on our website? Yes you have.....it's seam binding......but I have printed on it using my ink jet printer. How cool is that! (Don't worry I will show you a little later.)
When I put all my card together I thought it looked a bit............well............plain. So I added a few extra faux stitched flowers. After the scariness had gone away I had so much fun making this card, why don't you come and join in with the challenge (here). We have a super prize this week, no NOT Ribbon, we have a sponsor - Mulberry Crafts
MulberryCraftsUK online shop is a Home-Based business run by Bev . At the moment we are focussing on providing miniature flowers made from genuine mulberry paper for crafts use - although we have a small selection of non -paper crafts too. Why mulberry paper? Because they are robust, realistic, look and last longer than ordinary paper and it provides a sustainable income for people in the cottage industry. In due course we will be introducing more of other craft materials which is not related to mulberry paper. Website - mulberrycraftsuk.co.uk
Bev has given a extra super collection of flowers for a prize. Ooooh I would like some of those.
For a chance to win, just join in with our challenge on our
Crafty Ribbons Challenge Blog.The DT have created some awesome cards to give you a little bit of inspiration, so go and have some fun!
Back to the "Print your own Ribbon"
Print your design onto paper or thin card.
Put double sided tape over the printing. Peel off the backing paper and place the seam binding ribbon over your design and stick to the paper. feed this back into your printer and print the same design again.
Carefully lift the seam binding ribbon away from the sticky paper.
That is it!!! Just think what you can do - ribbon to match your backing paper, ribbon to match your borders. The only down side is you can only print the length of A4 paper, but I am sure that will not stop you.
Nearly forgot you can find our seam binding HERE.
my basket