RibbonSmyth Workshops this Summer

On Friday, I will be teaching a class on how to create your own beaded cuff. What a fun way to create a wearable art statement! We will be using men's ties for the base. Once the cuff has been created, we will then begin to embellish the cuff with a focal bead, wire mesh and a variety of bras charms and beads. The cuff will be finished with a bead picot edge. The cuff will not be finished in class. Full day - 10 AM to 5 PM Kits will be available.

RibbonSmyth Workshops

Join us in June or August for a week-end filled with techniques and wonderfully embellished projects. We will add more photos and details shortly. Friday through Sunday, Stephanie Novatski, will be teaching an abundance of techniques. We will make faux dichroic cabs, beaded wool beads and a "casket" box purse embellished with hand-dyed lace, metallic stitching all on fused construction paper used for fabric!

Featured is a simple cab that has been embellished with beads and a bits of wire.

Workshops will be featured at the RibbonSmyth Studio in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

www.ribbonsmyth.com

Wire-edge Ribbon Posy PostCard Tutorial

To welcome Spring, finally, after 5 blizzards, a nor'easter and having snow on the ground since December; I created this card for my friend, Deb Whyte.
I will add a message on the back of the card using one of my French Fusible Post Card Backs. Enjoy!

Supplies
Available at www.ribbonsmyth.com Sign up for our newsletter at www.ribbonsmyth to receive sale notices and News updates

Fast-to-Fuse Post Card Blank, French Post Card Back

Nymo Beading Thread, Ribbon Needle Pack

Wire Edge ribbon - One yard in Tiger Rusty Olive and Buttercup

Tropicana Rayon Tape One yard

Velvet Leaves in Olive Gold

Doupioni Silk Assortment Pack

Glitter

Assorted beads and crystals, one mother of pearl tiny belt buckle, two cotton balls, White tacky glue, tooth pick

1. Using Nymo beading thread baste the silk doupioni to the fast-2-fuse card blank.
2. Using 5" of Tiger Rose wire-edge ribbon, tie a knot in one end of the ribbon and gather one side of the ribbon edge using nymo beading thread. Pull to gather and securely tie off thread and cut. Wrap the gathered ribbon around the ribbon knot and tack onto the post card with Nymo thread.
3. Make two small gathered roses with the Buttercup and Tiger Rose wire-edge ribbon using a 5" length of each. Tack to the post card.
4. Make three pods using the Buttercup ribbon. Cut three 3" pieces. Stitch the ends together.
Gather the top edge with Nymo thread and pull to gather. Tie off securely. Stuff the "pod" with part of a cotton ball or fiberfil. Gather the bottom edge of the ribbon using Nymo, leaving thread in the needle and attached to the ribbon edge. Insert several stamens inside the pod. Pull the thread to gather and tie off.
5. Fold in half, 12" of the Tropicana rayon tape and tack to the postcard. Twist each piece of ribbon tightly until it begins to "curl". Tack the ribbon into place. Take the bottom tail of the ribbon and tack to one of the pods. Take the pod to the postcard. Repeat for another pod.
6.Thread 12" of rayon tape into the belt buckle and tack into place with Nymo thread.
7. Tack the third pod into place beneath the belt buckle.
8. Tack velvet leaves into place with Nymo thread.
9. Twist and curl the rayon ribbon tails and tack into place. Add assorted beads among the design.
10. For extra glitz, brush a bit of diluted white glue mixed with water, onto the edges of the velvet leaves and the edges of the wire-edge ribbon flowers. Spinkle a bit of our German White Gold Glitter onto the leaves and ribbon. Tap off the excess glitter onto a piece of paper and pour glitter back into the container.
11. Trim the edges of the fabric to 4"x6". Write a message on the French postcard back using a permanent brown marker. Fuse the French post card back to the back of the fast-2-fuse. Zig zag with the machine around the card edge or blanket stitch around the card-edge.

Red Rocks, Boynton Canyon, Enchantment

I don't know anyone that is not mesmerized by the Red Rocks in Sedona. The rocks "change" through-out the day as the light shifts. There are not words to describe the beauty. As I edit my photographs, they will be loaded onto the website at www.ribbonsmyth.com in a section of contemporary images that have been scanned onto fabric waiting to be embellished with 3-D elements.

Sedona Film Festival Party

Off to the Sedona Film Festival Party! What a special group of women and how lucky was I to spend a bit of time with them. Each of them added extra magic to a fabulous trip.

Left to Right - VAB, Shirley Williams, Mary Fisher, Dawn Frantangelo and Anne Brawley-Emerson.

Please visit Mary's website at www.maryfisher.com and her Etsy site ~ "Mary Fisher" to purchase Mary's books, her beautiful jewelry designs, her hand-made paper assortment packs, which will add joy to your life and to the women in Zambia. Mary reminds us, that we all are related.

Anne has created the most amazing collage card set. Each card offers meaning and is the perfect way to start your day with mindfulness. In another post I will show a collection of Anne's cards and her website. You will want a deck!

Boynton Canyon, Sedona, Arizona

Again using watercolor pencils and working quickly, no more than 30 minutes on a sketch, I tried to capture a dry rock bed in Boynton Canyon. Now I want to take this image, scan onto fabric and lay layers of fabric over the stones using dyed organza and adding fibers for the branches in the background; with attention being given to padding beneath fabric for the foreground.

Cactus Sketch - Sedona

One of my favorite places on this planet is Sedona, Arizona.

I was fortunate to spend a few days there recently and had hoped to pack my watercolor pencils before I left. But in the rush to get orders to the post office and beat the next oncoming blizzard;
the pencils did not make it into my bag. When I returned, I did a couple of quick sketches taken from digital pics. Outside the door of our casita was a small grouping of cactus.

Working with watercolor pencils, I laid down a bit of color trying to capture the angle of the sun. Then with a small liner brush and a bit of water, touching the pencil marks allowed the colors to blend into each other. My hopes are to scan the watercolor onto silk and then embellish with thread, fibers, actual little pebbles and pieces of silk and bark. When doing watercolors, my goal is capture the "suggestion" of the subject and not to labor over details.