living on the crafty side of life

ribbons galore custom order: luggage tags | key rings

Recently I received a request to make 25 luggage tags, in the same style as the ribbon key rings I make and sell over at Ribbons Galore. They were for a tour group which I assume are travelling to Japan (my assumption based purely on the ribbon chosen for these tags).

I love making custom orders, the more in the order the merrier, cause I set myself up a little production line, completing one task at a time.

First task with these tags was to cut the cotton webbing and the ribbon into pieces and have them stacked next to my sewing machine. Then the ribbon is stitched to the webbing.

A little tip: when I'm stitching a polyester ribbon to cotton webbing (or cotton fabric for that matter), I always iron the ribbon with a warm iron (not hot). There is usually a little shrinkage with polyester ribbons, and by ironing them now (before you sew), you avoid the ribbon puckering once sewn to it's cotton base.

Each piece of webbing/ribbon is then folded in half so I can sew the two raw edges together. I add this step into the process so both ends of the webbing stay in place once the metal end is clamped. You see, the metal clamp has "teeth" on one side only. When the metal end is clamped only one side of the webbing is held with these teeth. By stitching the two ends together, you are making a more secure key ring or tag. And I speak from experience, one of the first key rings I made did not last very long, one side of the webbing pulled out of the metal end. Since sewing the two ends together, the key rings have stayed in place!

Next step, and this is an optional one, but I really like to be sure that my key rings will stay in tact. I like to glue the webbing ends to the metal end. I use a strong glue.

Then leave them to dry a little.

Time for clamping, this is the part where you close the metal end around the webbing ends. I always clamp these as tight as possible.

Once that is done, the split rings are added and you're finished.

I had a 24 hour turnaround for these, they had to be packed up and on the plane to Hong Kong (well at least in the hands of Australia Post) one day after receiving the order. I made it, and they were on their way in time.

Would love to see what they all looked like on the luggage as a group.

Thanks for visiting.

Cheers

Fiona

PS: the ribbon used is the gorgeous miss ling on grey ribbon, available from Ribbons Galore. Webbing and key fob hardware available also from Ribbons Galore.

 

Happy Easter from Ribbons Galore [and a 10% discount coupon]

Wishing you a happy Easter. If you fancy a little ribbon shopping over the Easter long weekend, here's a 10% discount coupon for you to use.

You can redeem this coupon during checkout. Just enter the code in the box provided, and click on the redeem button.

[ETA: the sale has now finished, thanks to all who visited Ribbons Galore during this time].

The coupon code is: HappyEaster2012

The coupon is valid between 04/04/2012 and 11/04/2012 (Australian time).

Coupon is valid for in store items only and is not available for special orders.

We look forward to you visiting Ribbons Galore

Cheers

Fiona

Ribbons Galore 

Connect with Ribbons Galore....

 

 

a puppy

There is something so irresistable about a tiny puppy.

 

This little girl is just 3 weeks old.

Another 5 weeks till we bring her home.

Fiona x

 

easter buckets waiting to be filled

With Easter only a few weeks away, its time to start decorating some little buckets ready for some little chocolately eggs.

I've recently started stocking some very cute baby pom pom trim at Ribbons Galore, these trims seem to suit some Easter crafting perfectly. 

I've just used some glue to stick the pom pom trim and ribbon in place on the buckets.

And finished decorating them with some little grosgrain bows (also at Ribbons Galore).

Now we're ready for a little Easter egg hunt :)

Thanks for visiting...

Cheers

Fiona

Relay for Life

And now I'm handing over this blog post to my gorgeous daughter Emily.......

Hi It's Emily,

Last year a cancerous tumor was found in my best friend, Emma's spinal chord. At the end of last year it was removed, and she spent her summer holidays in rehab where she had to learn to walk again. For the last 6 weeks she has been having radiotherapy everyday after school and has been battling the cancer. Last Friday was her last day of treatment, and to celebrate her survivorship we are putting together a team of about 20 friends to participate in 'Relay For Life', where we be walking for 18 hours and fundraising for cancer. 

We have a lot of support from family, friends and our school, and we were even featured on the front of the Mosman Daily last week! 

We are looking to raise money for the Cancer Council and my 'Relay for Life' page can be found HERE to make online donations. Any donations would be greatly appreciated by me, Emma and anyone who has been touched by cancer.

Thank you! 

Emily xxx

easter

Easter is just around the corner, well about a month away, so thought I'd list some of my favourite Easter ideas I've made over the last few years.

I've also been adding lots of Easter ideas to my Easter board at Pinterest, if you'd like to see more gorgeous ideas.

Anyway, here's some old favourites.....

Pom pom chicks: (with tutorial) 

Bubble corduroy easter bags (with tutorial):

Little felt easter bags (with tutorial):

EASTER SOFTIES TO MAKE:

eggIE softie: (with pattern and tutorial)

Colourful bunnies:

Soft bunny:

Easter bunny packaging:

Decorating easter eggs:

I'd like to thank the EveryEtsy blog for featuring my pom pom chicks above in their 101 Handmade Easter Craft ideas post. As the name suggests there's 101 crafty ideas for Easter project, well worth taking a look at all the lovely ideas listed.

 

Thanks for visiting. Happy crafting.

Cheers

Fiona

when life gives you basil.... make pesto

I returned home from my parent's house recently with a huge bag of basil... beautiful fragrant lush green basil. When I'm in possession of such a large quantity of fresh basil (whether I've grown it myself or raided my parent's herb garden), there is only one thing I can think of to preserve it, MAKE PESTO!

Pesto... It is a delicious combination of basil, garlic, toasted pinenuts, parmesan and olive oil, and it is VERY VERY VERY EASY to make.

Basically this is how it's made. Wash the basil and carefully inspect for any freeloaders looking for a free meal (those little green caterpillars can be tricky to find on the basil). Toast the pine nuts. Grate the parmesan cheese. Peel the garlic.

Throw it all in the bowl of a food processor and blitz. Drizzle in the olive oil.

Many recipes will say to pick the leaves from the stalk and only use these in the pesto but I use the whole thing, leaves AND stalks. The stalks have the same lovely basil flavour as the leaves, and you will dramatically increase the amount of pesto you will make using the stalks.

Pack the pesto into little containers and drizzle some extra olive oil over the top (this stops the pesto from turning brown).

And this is the preserving part, the pesto freezes really well, so all that lovely summery basil goodness is now in my freezer ready to use when we need a quick tasty meal. If you've packed it into smaller containers, such as half a cup, you can defrost just enough for dinner.

I have to say, I love having my iPhone in the kitchen to be able to take quick photos on the go :)

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Fiona

crocheting the wool-eater blanket [the 2012 crochet-along project]

I've made a start on a crocheted blanket for Emily.

While looking for some ideas I found the Wool-Eater blanket which is a crochet along project for 2012 over on Sarah London's blog.

I'm using the wool I bought last year from Bendigo Woollen Mill [Emily chose the colours].

This blanket is going to use a lot of wool, it will be heavy and thick and I'm sure it will be super warm to snuggle up with when finished.

There's a challenge on Sarah's blog, to complete a certain number of rounds or rows every week. I'm not sure if I'm up to date, but I'm enjoying crocheting this pattern.

And in other news... I've finished Phoebe's granny square blanket. I'm just looking for a nice crocheted edging to finish it off. This hasn't stopped Phoebe snuggling under the blanket while relaxing in front of the TV sometimes.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Fiona

ribbons galore photography

Yesterday I spent an enjoyable afternoon in my little studio photographing lots of new ribbons for Ribbons Galore. I'm loving my new props, these vintage wooden bobbins which I bought last year from Europe. Here's a few favourite photos from the session...

The ribbons will be on the Ribbons Galore website next week... I'm busy added them to the website at the moment :)

Have a good weekend.

Cheers

Fiona x

fiona's choc chip health snacks [recipe below]

I've been making this recipe for a little while now. {In my opinion} its a delicious and healthy snack, full of goodness, protein, fibre, lower in sugar (the white sugar type)... and it's delicious :) It makes a good morning tea for the girls to take to school and it's a nice snack with a cuppa for afternoon tea... it gets me through the afternoon without snacking before dinner.

I tend to make this recipe up as I go along, and have been wanting to write it down. I've finally done that, so here's the recipe.

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FIONA'S CHOC CHIP HEALTH SNACKS

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup SR wholemeal flour

1 cup puffed quinoa

1/2 cup puffed amaranth

1/2 cup ground almonds or oatbran (or another dry ingredient that you like)

1 cup shredded dried coconut

1 1/2 cups mixed dried fruit

1 cup really nice dark chocolate (chopped roughly)

2 teaspoons mixed spice (I used a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmet).

1/3 cup chia gel **(see below)

1/2 cup rice malt syrup (or use agave syrup or maple syrup)

4 eggs

1-2 teaspoons vanilla

 

METHOD

Mix all the dried ingredients together in a large bowl. Beat the eggs, chia gel, rice malt syrup and vanilla together. Add to the dried ingredients and mix well.

{Note: the mixture should be a little sticky and moist. If it seems dry, add a little more chia gel.}

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the mixture into baking trays. Bake for about 20 minutes (or until lightly browned) at 170 degrees Celsius.

Allow to cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!

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How to make Chia Gel

Mix 1/3 cup of chia seeds and 2 cup water together in a bowl. Whisk the mixture together to stop the chia seeds from forming clumps. Leave to stand for about 20 minutes, while the seeds to absorb the liquid. Your can substitute the chia gel for oil/butter in recipes. The gel will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You can read more about chia gel on the Chia Co website.

 

Enjoy and thanks for visiting.

Cheers

Fiona x

Better Homes and Gardens LIVE Melbourne ticket giveaway

The BHG LIVE show is coming to Melbourne! It's on 24-26 February 2012 at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton.

The three day event will host four stages, with live demonstrations from the Better Homes and Gardens TV experts, plus there'll be over 300 companies exhibiting at the event. You can read all about the show on the Better Homes and Gardens LIVE website.

To my Melbourne readers, start planning your day, cause I have 10 double passes (a total of 20 complimentary tickets) each valued at $40.00 to give away.

If you live in Melbourne or will be in Melbourne town on the weekend of the show and would like a couple of tickets, please send me an email.

Enjoy the show :)

Cheers

Fiona