When our friends Phred and Tom got married, I was asked to be the flower girl. In this case, it meant that I was making the flowers for the wedding party. Here is a group of my friend Phred’s favorite flower, the daffodil. My husband Kevin gave part of the ceremony, and our daughter Gwen was the video photographer.
Happy Stitching, enjoy~ Christen!
Many of you know that I love hearts! I love the shapes and all of the possibilities. This quaint little ornament was used as a gallery example in my book Ribbonwork Gardens. The sample is full of ribbonwork components. I used French wire ribbon for the hearts, silk bias ribbon for the roses, an hombre ribbon for the tiny rosettes and taffeta ribbon for the leaves.
Happy February to you!
~Christen
Do you ever dream of days gone by when women’s clothing was adorned with flowers? This lovely rose is reminiscent of those days gone by, where beauty and femininity were present in everything aspect of our lives. This is a simple flower to make, so easy that you can in fact complete it in an hour, and where out the door! Come join us!
Details:
Class Fee: $15.00/1 hour class
*Please note that this class does not include any of the materials, supplies or tools; these must be provided by the student.
Class Requirements: hand sewing skills are a must
Date and time: Not currently scheduled.
Specifics:
This class fee is paid directly to Christen. This can be paid by a PayPal invoice, or by cash or check the day of class. Please email Christen:thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com to inquire about the availability of space for the date listed above.
Happy Stitching ~Christen
I designed this brooch for my niece Jessica Hamilton creative and talented owner of Doll Project. The directions are free in her newsletter for February, which you can sign up for here.
The brooch is made from individually made peapods, “new peas”, leaves and flowers. These are made from a variety of ribbons, silk bias, satin and French wire.
I have made kits in three different color ways, which you can find here. These are available through the month of February only, or until supplies run out. The cost is $5.00 plus shipping and handling.
Enjoy~Christen
These old heart shaped tin molds were a thrift store find, one that I just treasure. I picked up the myriad of Valentine’s day themed ribbon in the dollar section at Target. Too cute!
Rose Heart is a combination of two techniques from my new book, Ribbonwork Gardens. The heart shape is made from French wire ribbon, and the rose is made from hanah silk ribbon. This is a small corsage.
This is an embroidery sampler, showcasing traditional embroidery stitches worked in both perle cotton and cotton floss. This can be found in my book, Hand Embroidery Stitching, by C&T Publishing.
Here are my magical heart shaped tin molds full of my favorite mother-of-pearl buttons.
The base of this “Hanky Heart” is made from an old handkerchief that had ripped in several places. I hand-dyed what was left of the handkerchief, then hand pieced it into this heart shape. I covered the seems of the raw edges with hand-dye vintage lace. I then stitched a few ribbonwork flowers, and ribbon embroidery into this pretty little vignette.
This is a grouping of heart shaped bases, covered in vintage and new plastic buttons. The base is made from Timtex, then covered in a cotton muslin. Then the buttons are stitched down with pearl cotton. Fun, fun, fun….
Here are my heart shaped tin molds full of vintage and new heart shaped buttons (of course). The background is a piece of sheet music from the play Don Quixote.
I hope that you enjoy your day, think good thoughts, and forever stay young and curious…
Happy Stitching to you! ~Christen
I am so excited to share my first book Ribbonwork Gardens, by C&T Publishing!
There are 122 realistic flowers, leaves and garden extras included in the book, with experience levels from easy to advanced. The flowers are showcased in six different garden settings, offering you an array of small, medium and large flowers, each paired with a leaf to create a perfect combination.
I have included photographed step-by-step instructions (which I took), for each of the 122 examples. I have included a comprehensive cutting chart and have listed the types of ribbon that are suitable for each flower/leaf combination and included little extras such as French knots or beads.
There are over 14 basic techniques, some traditional and some that I have created especially for this book. There is a complete compendium with ribbon styles, selection and care, and troubleshooting tips with several gallery pages and examples sprinkled throughout the book for inspiration. The book is a soft cover, and will easily fit on your workspace while you learn and create.
I dedicated this book to my students, and I hope that you become one.
Happy Stitching! ~Christen
Bearie Antoinette
My dad always wore a paper bag on his head when he worked on the car, couldn’t mess up his look or get grease on those locks! It was a great hat, and as time wore on it really acquired a lovely patina…. So I thought about taking a long not so wide paper bag and try to make my own cool hat.
I had in mind the height of something similar to the wigs that Marie Antoinette wore. So I began crunching, munching and scrunching the bag into shape.
The next step was to add bits of lace pieces to cover the entire hat. These pieces were a gift from a relative, but were a little on the grungy side, so actually perfect for this project. I stitched the lace into place with crochet cotton. I also stitched the brim and the top of the hat.
Then I painted the lace and bits of bag that showed with four different colors of acrylic paints, I sealed the paint, then added Lumiere paints on top of this to finish off the coloring.
hat close-up
I embellished the top and the brim with ric-rac and vintage mother of pearl buttons. I added in a bow made from French wire ribbon for the decoration. This I embellished with a few flowers and leaves that I also stitched from French and satin wire ribbons.
The teddy bear was a long ago crib-mate of mine. Then I was not so concerned with names, hence the easy to remember “Bearie”. I think I was more concerned with comfort than conversation. At one point I must have been very naughty though, because she only has one ear! OOps I feel really bad about that!
Bearie Antoinette
The tatted baby bonnet could also be considered a hat of sorts. I purchased this a few months ago at an antique shop. I changed the cord that is used to tie the hat around the neck. I stitched several silk ribbon roses with ombre ribbon leaves and stitched these around the hat.
The collar that she is wearing is made from French wire ribbon that I ruched. The ribbon flowers are made from vintage Jacquard ribbon and these are decorated with vintage mother of pearl buttons.
I hope that you, the viewer, are not offended and don’t mind that I used Marie Antoinette as a model here for the “look”.
Enjoy! ~Christen
Narcissus Noire
I chose the name Narcissus Noire, because the coloring of the paper, the buttons and the ribbon reminded me of an old black and white movie. I also chose the name because it was my grandmother’s favorite perfume, (Black Narcissus) which I wore for many years also.
The bracelet is made from cardboard tube left over from a spool of ribbon. I covered the cardboard base with an ornately decorated vintage piece of sheet music. I then added strips cut from an old Valentine’s Day card, and strips from a piece of art paper left over from my last project.
I painted in splashes of color with gray and black acrylic paints and added swirls with silver Lumiere paints. When this was dry I glued on vintage celluloid buttons and hand blown glass beads. These I decorated with more silver paint.
The inside of the bracelet is covered in the same sheet of music, and circles cut from the art paper.
The pin base is a piece of cardboard cut from the top of the spool of ribbon. I painted a piece of sheet music with mod podge tinted with black dye. I used this to cover the cardboard base.
I stitched this ribbon rosette from a French wire ribbon with the same coloring as the buttons. I touched up the ribbon and the glass button center with silver paint. The stem of the flower is made from vintage glass leaves which are also sprinkled amongst the silk ribbon cord.
The old silk tie I liberated from the box that my husband puts the ties in that he no longer wears and I will probably make a neck- piece to go with the rest of the set.
Happy creating, pasting, gluing, and getting sticky! Enjoy! ~Christen
Lothlorien Twilight
“Lothlorien” is where Galadriel lives in J.R.R. Tolkien’s magical world. The cloaks that she and her ladies made, that were given to the “Fellowship of the Ring” were said to have been made with a cloth that reflected the leaf, branch, water and stone of this realm. I felt that the colors that I chose for this piece reflected the same thing. Hopefully the magic will be reflected here too!
embroidered center
The background is a vintage embroidered silk purse, probably from China. The purse itself was too delicate to be used as such, so I have tried to preserve it’s beauty, and add it to my collection of art. Each piece of embroidery is comprised of single “Peking or Chinese Knot”, incredible in itself the work that went into each piece! These were each stitched separately then attached by hand to the brown silk. The rows of gold work that attached each design had come apart so I hand stitched these back in place first before I added in my own embellishments.
Then it was time to add in some of my own work. I beaded three dragonflies that have a dentalium shell body that is beaded and wings that are beaded. I made several sets of brick stitched leaves and interspersed them through the sections of flowers. I also beaded a few vines of brick stitched leaves.
embellished and beaded center
I hand stitched several butterflies from French wire ribbon, and added dentalium shell bodies which are beaded. I also made hand stitched flowers from grosgrain ribbon that I stitched with vintage celluloid button centers. I antiqued both the flowers and butterfly bodies with copper fabric paint.
Several more flowers were made from silk bias ribbon and vintage velvet ribbon. These have beaded centers and are interspersed between the butterflies and larger flowers.
I used many vintage buttons that I have collected over the years including carved Tahiti shell, “tinnies” and celluloid which were used around the outer edges. Several new dragonfly and butterfly buttons and charms were also found to complete the theme.
Full wall hanging
I had a wonderful time collecting all of these treasures, then finding a home for them to reside.
The last item I found at Maureen’s Vintage Acquisitions was the mini quilt hanger with the dragonfly on the top! Perfection!
I hope that you enjoy what you do, have fun today and do take a look at the other entries for this challenge, they are all unique and incredible!
Happy stitching, collecting and treasure what gifts you have! Enjoy! ~Christen
Melon Balls Vintage Necklace and Earrings
This entire collection of accessories started with with the coral colored rectangular molded glass pieces set into earring findings, which I found at the Salvation Army for $.99.
The next piece I found was the bracelet (shown below found on ebay), several years later with the same carved glass pieces set into a metal finding.
I wore these two parts of the ensemble for several more years until I came upon the glass beads (used in the necklace, also from ebay) with the same carved floral design. A few months after that I found the lovely melon colored souffle finished oval beads at a quaint little bead store outside of Julian, CA. I mixed these with black bicones and seed beads to create the necklace. I used a vintage glass button for the closure.
Melon Balls Bracelets
The second bracelet is comprised of vintage glass sew throughs (these I had been saving for just the right project), vintage glass buttons for the closure, and the left-over beads from the necklace.
Then I got to thinking about a brooch for this set, and I started to play with my celluloid buttons and ribbons in the same colors of the necklace.
Deco Decadence Brooch
The brooch boasts a lovely display of “buffed celluloid” buttons. I just adore the black and tan combination. It took many years to collect the right sizes and colors for this brooch. The ribbon worked flowers are made from a vintage ribbed cotton ribbon and the leaves are from a taffeta ribbon.
The ribbon buttons and flowers are attached to florist wire wrapped in 1/8″ satin ribbon, and sit in a vintage jacquard ribbon vase. A pin back is stitched to the back of the vase.
I found a great Chico’s jacket at a thrift store to wear all of these treasure with. Finally the hat and purse that I had collected a while back had a purpose.
Melon Hat and Vintage Purse
The hat is a vintage crochet raffia by Laura Ashley found at a thrift store. I trimmed the brim with a textured lace. I made ribbon worked flowers from French wire ribbons, and used a vintage velvet leaf trim for the background of the vignette.
The vintage handbag was found on a treasure hunt. It is from China, embroidered in coral, melon and gray threads with gold work details. The frame is encrusted with pieces of turquoise and coral.
Yeah, I just love it when things like that work out!
Happy searching, I hope that you find a treasure today that will turn into a wonderous adventure like this one! Christen
Christen's Creations 