Saturday, April 16, 2011

I Tried Something New

I left the house today. I did. It was pouring rain, so I went out. Actually, I went to see MaryBeth at a local craft show that I chose not to do, since it's not May yet, and I can't get my brain around doing a craft show before May. I just can't.

She does a lot of ribbon work, so I asked her how tough she thought it would be (for me, not her) to make something like this:

(from page 190 in the 2010-2011 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog) I have been in awe of this project since I first got my paws on the catalog. And ribbon? Hello! You've come to the right place. :) But how to begin?

First you need a circular something - like a ring. I stopped at every freaking store within 10 miles of here and found NOTHING. Zero. Zip. Here was my basic route:

You see, if I ever (EVER) leave the house to go somewhere that's not to work, I make darned sure to plan my day in a circle. So in that squiggle above, my house is the black X at the bottom. Moving to the right was the path I took today.

My first stop was the top right, to see MaryBeth and the craft show. Every. last. stinkin'. other. black. x. is a stop I made, IN VAIN, to find something, ANYTHING, that passed for a metal ring. I'm talking craft stores, dollar stores, hardware stores. NOTHING!

Oh, that tiny blue line? By the time I left the hardware store, I stopped in at Chipotle, which was only 20 paces from my car, to get a salad to go. Then I came home and ate it.

Dejected, I went searching for knowledge on the Interwebz. First, I found some metal rings online for not too much moolah, so I ordered a few to try them out. Then I found this video on YouTube to get a clue about how to make the actual wreath. She used a way different ring than I plan to use, but I was no longer completely clueless, so I started to play.

I started with my much-neglected circle cutter, and cut 3 circles from some scrap cardboard at about 3", and again at about 3.5" so I ended up with three cardboard rings that I then glued together for a practice ring. I pulled out some of my 1249563 miles of ribbon and went to work.

This is not as easy as it looks. I cut, I tied, and I tied some more. Then I trimmed and trimmed some more. Finally, it looked passable, and I made this:

My first attempt. Not too bad. I have some other ideas up my sleeve, too, but this was one of them. What do you think?

Gotta keep trying new things, right? :)

Thanks for stopping by!

9 comments:

  1. OH. MY. SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!! Leslie!! I love this!! WOW!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Be still my heart!! This is utterly gorgeous. Seriously. I adore it so VERY much. Beautiful work from all the ribbons, to the sweet, simple sentiment below. I love that you framed it in a lovely white frame, as well.

    Just FABULOUS!!! :)

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  2. What do I think? I think you did fine, and that was an excellent job of improvising. The wreath is really pretty. I hate it when no one has what I want, it happens a lot around here, especially at Michael's.

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  3. VERY nice!!!! That ribbon is so happy together on your wreath :) Beautiful choices, Leslie.

    Hah! I thought I was the only one Monk-ish enough to always plan my errand route in a circle. Even when gas prices were relatively low the past couple of years, I still did this...another reason why we're friends, huh?

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  4. that is PERFECT! i think i need to make one for myself! i just don't have enough ribbon LOL true

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  5. I think you did a fine job. Love it and think I will make one for our front door. TFS Hugs n' Stuff, Lynne

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  6. Ooh how cool! I love it! I need to experiement too!

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  7. Love this so much! And your story behind it all had me rolling! I drive in circles too -- and always plan to make right hand turns! Comes from living in my first apartment -- it was on a really super mega busy road and if you wanted to turn left you'd be stuck sitting there FOREVER! ha! HUGS! :)

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I'd love to hear what you really think! :-)

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