Velvet Leaves and wire-edge ribbon collage

Velvet leaves always add dimension to collage pieces. Using eight inches of  7/8" wide wire-edge ribbon,  fold in half and add a running stitch along the folded edge; pull to gather with nymo beading thread. Once the flower is gathered, tack to the silk fabric and stitch a Japanese disk, anchored with a seed bead, into the center of the gathered flower.

Using our #13 chenille needle, stitch two RibbonRuffle Spider Web roses beneath the wire-edge ribbon flower. Using a yard of  peach iridescent wire-edge ribbon, make three small folded-ribbon roses and tack those around the RibbonRuffle roses. Clip velvet leaves from the lavender and moss velvet leaf branch and stitch around the wire-edge ribbon flowers. Add vintage pearls among the design.

Wire-edge ribbon and Velvet leaves Collage with Butterfly

 

I've never met a French Poscard, that I didn't like!

Here's one of our fusible vintage post card images, ironed onto moss doupioni silk and then embellished.

I cut pieces of heavy netting from a wedding gown, and basted around the card.  Adding  1950's Japanese mother-of-pearl disks, tacked on top of the netting, creates movement in the collage. Then add a velvet butterfly to the silk fabric. The velvet butterflies are created from silk velvet using century-old German presses. I tinted the butterfly using a cosmetic sponge and stamp pad ink. Different inks layered, create vintage shades. Amethyst seed beads are stitched into the body of the butterfly.



Velvet flower and Chenille Ribbon Leaves

 

Close- up detail.

Velvet flower and chenille work velvet table runner

Hope this will inspire! This is a velvet table runner that I believe was embroidered in the 1930's. The embroidery is approximately 18 inches in length and embroidered at each end on brown velvet fabric.  I rarely find or see chenille work, and the last piece I saw was in an New Orleans antique store. The 2mm stitches were embroidered with some type of "crinkle" ribbon. 



Duct Tape Flower Pen Bouquet

Isn't this a clever use for Duct Tape?

We are lucky to have two kind, supportive women, that help out, here at the farm.

Last week Cindy gave  me a duct tape flower pen bouquet.  Love the bright colors and the pens should help in the scramble of always looking for  that elusive pen in the studio. 

Detail of Embellished vintage image

A close-up of an embellished vintage image, illustrating the use of a RibbonSmyth hand-dyed rayon motif and our hand-dyed rayon tape, used to cover the edges of the vintage image. Add vintage beads, bits of ribbon embroidery and now the image is the focus of an altered book, a post card or a crazy quilt block.

Embellished Vintage Image

This is a nine-inch crazy quilted block featuring a RibbonSmyth fusible vintage image.
I've embellished around the block with a Rainbow dyed rayon motif. And added RibbonRuffle loops and a hand-dyed rayon tape ribbon covered with 1/8th inch crimson velvet. The block is pieced with patches of celery, toast, and lime doupioni silk pieces. I've added  silk ribbon leaves and silk twist stitches, over the seams. The fun part ~ finish with vintage beads.

Vintage Rayon Tape Floral Spray

Freshly dyed rayon tape was used in this small floral spray, stitched onto gold moire fabric.

The spray was made with one 3-yard length of ribbon using a #13 chenille needle. Our RibbonSmyth vintage rayon tape is popular with jewelry designers, but it is also a great tape for ribbon embroidery. The first flower ,with the pearl center, is a series of  one-inch straight stitches, followed with a gathered ruffle flower. I've added two three-loop plume ribbons beneath the flower. I gathered a 6" length of our crimson velvet ribbon to create a small flower. Several pieces of our chili leaf garland was tacked into place with green silk buttonhole twist thread. Then added silk twist leaf stitches and finished with seed beads, vintage glass pearls and a plastic ombre green leaf, harvested from a candle ring. A Czech glass butterfly finished the piece.

I have mustard rectangular purse handles, that need to be used and inspired the piece. Will make a small rectangular purse with the embellished moire fabric. The moire fabric will be lined with a crimson doupioni silk.

Silk Ribbon Cattails

 

Amazing fiber art by Monika Kinner-Whalen, a talented Canadian artist, that has used RibbonSmyth silk ribbon to create this lovely landscape.

 

Visit Monika's blog for inspiration at

 

www.mysweetprairie.blogspot.com