Ribbon Round-Up

 It has been a rip-roaring ribbon round-up around the house this week.  I have been washing, dying, and tearing both muslin and calico into strips.  Then I dug out the stamps and they all got new identities as torn cotton ribbons.

Oh. how I love ribbon week!

 After ripping the cloth into strips (2-inch, 3-inch and 4-inch),  I gave some a bath in Rit taupe dye.

For this process, I put a large aluminum bowl in the kitchen sink, pour in boiling water, some salt (sets the dye), and some of the dye.  You have to experiment with this step: too little and the color won't be even, too much and the color will be too dark.  The cloth has to be prewashed and wet before putting it in the dye bath.  I keep the pieces in until I see the color I want. (Make sure to stir!)  Rinse with cold water. Stick in an OLD pillow case to dry in the dryer.  There is always dye left in the water.  I add some more hot water and throw in colored calico to soak up the rest of the dye to give it a distressed or vintage look. 

The cloth strips in the photo were the last in the dye bath.  You can see the uneven dye on the piece on the right.  The pink and turquoise are just slightly tanned.


The first ribbon I stamped was left over from the bleaching of the bottle brush trees. (You can read that post here.)  I covered my screens outside with tea-stained muslin to catch the overspray when dyeing the trees.  I used the piece with the pink dye and tore it into 2-inch and 3-inch strips.

I used my Cat's Life Press Queen Bee stamp and created from several sets of cling letter stamps the phrase "Queen For Every Day".  



(I would guess this phrase only has meaning for folks of my age who faithfully watched "Queen For A Day" when they were young.  I wanted my granny to be on the show and get a new Hoover!  I just wanted the crown.)

Here they are in their pink, tea-stained goodiness.

These ribbons are great for gifts or basket fillers.

 The over-dyed pink ribbons were stamped with a crown.

I cut these into mostly 2-yard lengths and sometimes 3-yard lengths.

 I found this "Know Your Fortune" stamp in a bin at the thrift store.  It no longer has the company name or its design name printed on it.  In fact it was so dirty and dinged up, I did not think it would produce a clear image, but it was cleaned and loved on and came back to life!

I used a 3-inch wide yellow calico for this image.

My favorite fortune listed?

"Guests coming.  Means trouble."

It certainly would mean trouble here.  There are projects everywhere! 

And I have not vacuumed all the threads these ribbons leave behind.









I had made a promise to myself a couple of decades ago to put the owls away forever and never go back to Owl Land.  BUT  there was the cutest owl stamp and, of course, it was on sale at a great price so I bought it.

Once again using all my different cling stamp fonts I made a design typography.  "Wise owl  4 wise owls".  I alternated the owl stamp with the letter stamp down the length of the ribbons.  I used the taupe-dyed muslin and the turquoise and purple calico. 

 The owls safely nesting in a basket.

 I have sold all of this ribbon so I needed more.  I dyed plain muslin blue then stamped it with the Emily Dickinson poem "Hope is a thing with feathers ..." alternating with a bird stamp and a nest stamp.

 Bees are very popular, too.  This blue ribbon received a bee in a laurel wreath alternating with a frame stamp.

Sometimes I have requests to add an initial in the frame.

All the ribbons are dressed with their labels and tags and so, so pretty!

Off to the booth to join other spring items.









Well, I have a sinkful of cloth "dying" to be ribbons!  I have bunnies on  my brain.  There might be rabbit ribbon coming soon.

WAIT!!!  I forgot something very important.  When you are dying and rinsing, make sure you wear gloves.  Rit dye works on skin, too!

See y'all!

  .

A Few Vintage Finds

 I was such a good treasure hunter last week.  I left plenty behind for the other hunters trailing behind me.  I stayed true to my word LESS.  Just because the weather was horrible and there were almost no garage sales and the thrift shops seemed empty and I became addicted to iPiccy and Block,  doesn't mean I wasn't trying hard to be selective. 



 I spent almost nothing.  I took Chucks out for a milkshake at Sonic.  ($10 !?!  For two milkshakes!?!  Do you know how many crazy things I could have bought with that money!?!)

I loved the shape and the tarnished patina of this gravy boat. I am not familiar with its silver marks. So I need to find the lighted magnifying glass to discern the marks.  It has a hammered finish.

Next up is a pink and green plaid pillow which will look great for an Easter display at the booth.

At Goodwill I casually glanced in the pocketbook bin and saw this vintage straw purse.  I have several of these hanging in the guest room.  (I hear my family laughing at the idea that the blue room is a guest room.  One day they will be surprised to find it clean and neat!)

There was another lady looking through the bin.  She asked if I was interested in some more vintage purses - there seemed to be a number of them.  I told her I was just collecting the straw ones, but I almost caved when I saw three precious black patent leather ones. 

 I held firm, though I did stand there until two other women promised to buy all the purses.  I just wanted them to have good homes.

 For under a dollar each I bought a small basket, an @ photo stand, a bbq brush for painting, a stencil, some decoupage tissue, and a stack of molds.  I know I did not need any more molds.  Read here to find out why!

A piano bench in a beautiful shade of gray.  It really just needed some cleaning, but I found an image.  I took it over to Block.  I made  a poster.  I now have a major project.  When will I learn?

What are those things in the bench?  

Do you remember these in the library?

How many knew the correct answer? The poles are split into four sections to hold newspapers or maps.  They usually were hung from a wall rack or placed in a floor rack.





I am leaving now.  I am pleased that my shopping journeys over the weekend  resulted in LESS stuff hanging around waiting for their redo. The piano bench needs work.  I attempted something in the dark.  It looks horrible now.  If you live near and hear a loud annoying buzzing, it will be me sanding that bench.

And sanding that bench.

See y'all!



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