Ribbon rose

I am making lots of lavender bags this week… they are all heart shaped using layers of scrap fabric but this one has little ribbon roses on it in place of the ‘usual’ sequins or drawn florals.

Rather than the proper silk I am using the satin ribbons that come with new blouses which makes for a tougher sew but is a good experiment for me.

Following a Sarah Homfrey embroidery tutorial I sewed five spokes of an imaginary wheel for each flower then just wove the ribbon over and under the spokes until the flower looked full enough.

Here I used contrasting cream thread for the spokes which are still just visible.

Must try some of her other ideas for ribbon flowers, these are great!

Travel kit

Quick personalised, laminated luggage tag and book mark

A quick make as a gesture for a traveler.

I like the matt laminating sheets I have. They create a subtler effect without the gloss.

To use up the laminating sheets I made a storage pouch (slipping a second sheet inside and turning it inside out) and extra book marks for another day …

Decoupage dabbling

I salvaged a pretty serviette from a coffee morning and decided to use it up when I upcycling a cheese tray about to hit the recycling and scallop shells from a yummy ready meal.

I just pasted the top ply of the napkin on with mod podge (using up the giant pot of gloss where I can so I can get some Matt finish glue soon).

Layers of mod podge not only stick the paper, they also seal it enough for casual trinket dishes.

Mod podge also sealed the paint I put on one of the shells and I finished off the edges with some Goldfinger burnish effect.

Serging ahead?

Our library has a ‘fab lab’ where you can play on machines such as 3d printers, sublimation and sewing machines. I decided to see if a serger was something I might find useful.

A one hour session making up assorted bags and pouches was enough to convince me NOT to buy one. Fiddly to thread, scary to use and I can do a mock overlock with my standard machine.

Thanks to the library for the trial run though.