Silk Ribbon Embroidered Card for Valentine's Day

This card will shortly be winging it's way to my Mother for a small Valentine remembrance.  I will send  a Valentine gift basket to my parents filled with chocolates and silly little extras; but my Mother will place this card on her kitchen desk, where it will stay. We all enjoy special cards and this one is easy to create. The tutorial is included in the close-up photo of the bouquet.

Silk Ribbon Card Tutorial

This is a close-up of a small 4"x6" embroidered silk ribbon card that you can easily create for a material cost of  under $3! What a great rememberance for Valentine's, Spring, Wedding or Easter!
Supplies are all available at RibbonSmyth - Anna Griffin Card with lined envelope is $1. These Anna Griffin cards are a real value! 1/2" wide lavender picot ribbon is $1 per yard and the little plastic flowers in the blue colorway are $1. The glass leaves are in the clearance section for  $.99 for 10 leaves. And I used 4mm silk ribbons in the Lavender Garden 25 yard ribbon combo  pack. The pearl strand comes in our 10 yard lace assortment pack. All these Ribbonsmyth supplies are enough to create multiple cards.

The cards are a tri-fold card. I used a small 6" scrap of lavender moire fabric and traced the outline of the frame opening onto the fabric with a pencil. Hoop the fabric.
1. Using 3" of the picot ribbon, gather one side, pull to gather and tie off. I use Nymo for all beading and embroidery. Attach the gathered flower to the fabric with Nymo. I added a green swarovski bead to the center of the flower.
2. Stitch an assortment of 4mm one-wrap pink French knots around the picot flower.
3. Add 4mm lavender loop stitches and one-wrap French knots.
4. Add 4mm one-wrap French knots and bullion lazy daisies in soft gold ribbon ribbon,color #502.
5.Add several plastic flowers to the bouquet anchoring with  olive glass seed beads
6. Add 2 iridescent glass leaves among the design.
7. Press the fabric and trim the fabric to fit inside the card.
8. Use Fabri-Tac glue (the only glue I use for everything!) and place 4 dots of glue inside the card back - top/bottom/side to side.
9. Place the fabric inside the card, centering the floral design in the card opening. The glue will secure the fabric.
10. Using a #13 needle, place drops of glue onto the needle point and touch to the back of the pearl strand. Glue the pearls to the inside of the card.

Sari Silk Paisleys

I see so many applications for these paisleys. The fabric is harvested from a vintage Indian Sari. The paisleys are embroidered on a silver blue silk ground. Each length of silk is sold for $5 and has approximately 10 paisleys and the paisley motif is approximately 2 1/2" in length and 1 1/2" wide. The paisley is embroidered with silver metallic and crimson threads. 

Vintage Sari Silk Embroidered border

This embroidery definitely inspires. The embroidery is silver metallic thread combined with crimson threads embroidered on a silver blue silk ground. Beautiful flowing motif that comes from a vintage Sari.  The border is approximately 4 1/2" wide.  The border is sold in 24" lengths for $5 and cut to order. Companion paisleys are also available for sale.

CQJP February block Work-in-Progress

This block adds in some blue fabrics with the apricots. Layered on top of the silks, brocades and velvets, are lace scraps with ragged edges which adds to the flow of the negative space. Gold metallic Scalamandre gimp is couched over the lace bits. A couple of hand-dyed rayon venise lace motifs are tacked into place. Finished the stitching session with rolled RibbonSmyth Rainbow-dyed silk satin roses.

CQJP January Block Work-in-Progress

Still a bit more embellishing to go. Certainly "see" some beads that need to be pulled out and replaced.
The finished size of the blocks are 8 1/2" beginning with 9 1/2" blocks.

January CQ Journal Project block work in progress

I believe I am addicted to apricot and peach colorways.

I found a stack of fabric bits of Japanese brocades that I acquired from an antique dealer 20 years ago.

Time to use the fabrics! The wall-hanging will be hung in a stairwell with mocha walls. The major embellishments for all the blocks will be old brass buttons and lace.

This is a close-up of embellishing I've begun on one of 12 blocks that I'm assembling for the crazy quilt project hosted by Kathy Shaw. To view crazy quilt blocks that offer an abundance of inspiration, visit  ~ http://www.cqjp2012.blogspot.com/


You will be enchanted!

The fabric colors for all the blocks are apricot, crimson, roses, gold, honey, melon, blues and purples in silk doupioni and silk velvet.

In this piece, I've made a velvet flower surrounded by brass buttons. I've added silk satin tendrils on two seams. I've dyed the velvet and silk satin using RibbonSmyth Rainbow dyes using Antique Gold, Brown and Crimson.

I've begun to add beads around a silk ribbon-wrapped ring.