Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Joy of Ribbon!

Still freezing cold here, but at least the sun is shining to cheer things up a bit.

I've remembered that I haven't shown the things I made with the last DT pack of ribbons I received from Ribbon Oasis. Bea has a spectacular range or ribbons and trims in her shop, and if you've not already succombed, then grab yourself a coffee and head over there for a happy hour or two browsing all that's on offer.
I love getting the little DT packs from Bea, you never know what you're going to find in those envelopes and sometimes there are ribbons you might not have gone for ordinarily, but they turn out to be the most inspiring.

This happened to me with this batch when I found this rather wide (about 7cms) ribbon in the pack. It's such a beautiful ribbon, but much wider that n the sort of thing I usually used, but it turned out to be perfect for covering this little lidded box
I made a new lid for an empty cotton buds container as the plastic one wouldn't fit once the box was covered. I used some minty green paper to cover the box and lid - it was the reverse of a patterned paper that's been hanging around unused for ages. Because the ribbon is sheer the soft green shows through and looks really pretty. I added a length of another of the ribbons in the pack to trim the edge of the lid, and to make a little loop to the top.
I'm not sure whether to use this as a gift box or to keep it for myself.

I was experimenting with different techniques for making books a while back, and did this one which is a bit like a loose-leaf folder. Having made the shell, I wasn't sure what to do next, so thought I'd try using my Bind-it-All to make the inner section.
The cream "pages" are actually pockets for holding notes, lists etc. I haven't got round to actually decorating them yet, but I will one day!

I covered the chipboard covers and spine first with a nice thick scrapbooking paper in a cream colour. Next I ran lengths of various gold themed ribbons and trims from my DT pack through the Xyron and adhered them right around the covers.
To tidy up the inside I used another piece of scrapbooking paper which covers the edges of the cover paper and also encases the ends of the ribbon.
The pockets are made from folded pieces of Bazzill, then there's a backing piece of chipboard covered to match the inners of the book. I used the BIA to link all these together then used a strong glue to fix the chipboard piece to the inside back cover of the book.

Ribbons make a lovely textured cover for a book and I think I'll be doing things like this again - there are so many gorgeous ribbons on the Ribbon Oasis webiste and this way you get to use several at a time so you don't need to choose just one!

Christmas Pressies Ideas abound!

I'll show the cards I made with the ribbons in the pack tomorrow.

8 comments:

Karen said...

I love RO as well....they have an amazing range of ribbons to choose from. I love what you have down with them and I have never thought about coveing a cottonbud container....well done! X

Gez Butterworth said...

Fantastic Kathy. I love the idea of using the ribbons to cover a book. Can't wait to see your cards. :) and to check out the link. x

Hazel said...

Great idea for using ribbons - that wide one is ideal for going round the container.

Kaz said...

My name's Karen and I'm a RO shopper too!!

Lovely stuff there Kathy, what pretty ribbons.

Louly said...

Wow Kathy you're so creative! I love them both. Who would have believed that beautiful box used to house cotton buds!

Angelnorth said...

Oooh, that little box is so feminine and pretty! Love the way the colour shows through the sheer. Great binder too, the different ribbon textures give a lovely look!

Karen Mortensen said...

That's just beautiful Kathy. What a wonderful gift! xxx

Janice said...

Lovely ribbony gorgeousness.