Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 23 –Ribbon

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 23 –Ribbon

On to the final stretch of what has been a far bigger project than I realised

Glue in Place

 

I now added some Glue and Placed it as far down as I could to the Base.

Pin to Hold

 

I Pinned the Ribbon to Hold it in position. I didn’t want it to slip at this point.

Final Sew

 

After removing the Pin I gave a Final bit of Sewing at the Base.

Retouch Paint

 

Since I have been constantly turning the Wreath some of the Paint was looking a bit tired. I gave the Pine Cones a quick Retouch with the White Paint.

Festive Finish

The Final Festive Finish. It has been hanging for a week and not fell down. I am so proud.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 21 –Ribbon

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 21 –Ribbon

Now I have made the Ribbon I have to add it to the Wreath. I tried this so many times I hope I have got the right photographs. 

Pine Cone Central

 

The most important thing to get right is to have the Pine Cone Central at the Bottom. Otherwise when it comes to hanging it will be lopsided.

Add Gold Ribbon

 

This Ribbon isn’t actually Gold but with two lots of Red Ribbon it gets complicated. Therefore I am referring to the Red Ribbon with a Gold Trim simply as Gold.

Apologies that it isn’t easy to see but then it wasn’t easy to take a photo of either. To hold the Ribbon in place I believe that I put a few Tacking Stitches in. I may have used a spot of Glue too but frankly cannot remember.

Add Glue to Wreath

 

This was far easier to do than to try and explain. This is because it needs accurate Positioning. I place the Bow where I want it. Then I Wrapped the Ribbon around and checked where it met.

Then I added some Glue to that part of the Wreath.  Then I Stuck the Bow in place. I also added some Glue to the Top of the Wreath to make sure the Ribbon didn’t move.

Glue Back Ribbon

 

Next I Wrapped the Ribbon around the Back. However I didn’t Glue straight away. I brought the Ribbon back to the Front so I could check that it overlapped. Then I added the Glue and Stuck the Ribbon down at the Back.

Add Bow Glue

 

This is quite time consuming as I have to wait for the Glue to dry. With the Ribbon now Glued securely at the Top and Back I can move on to the next part. This was to add Glue to the Top of the Bow and part of the Ribbon leading from it.

Wrap Ribbon Around

 

The photographs might be slightly out of order. This because I am trying to show you the best way to do this. I then began to

Line up the Ribbon from Below. I added some Glue then Wrapped the Ribbon around the Wreath and the Bow.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 15

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 15

Well my hand has healed so I can get on with more crafting. This is just as well since this is blog 15 and I am beginning to think it will be Christmas by time I finish making this.

Trying to Place

 

I now have to try and work out where to Place the Ivy. This is easier said than done. I have to take into consideration both the Top and the Sides of the Wreath.

In addition to this I have to think where I am going to Place the Holly and the Ribbons. 

Turn Ivy

 

After messing about adding and removing Ivy and Holly numerous times I decided to do a test.

Add Glue to Back

 

I turned the Ivy over and began to carefully add some Fabric Glue. I only wanted to put the Glue on the Upper most part of the Leaf.

Pin Low

 

I Placed the Ivy in line with the Pine Cone but leaving a Gap. I Pinned it just below where I had put the Glue. This is so I didn’t Glue the Pin too. If I did the Leaf would come away when I removed it.

Three Stuck

 

Once I was satisfied with the outcome of the first Placement I added another two Ivy Leaves. Again I Placed them underneath the Pine Cones.

This is going to be my basis for the rest of the Wreath additions.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 14

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 14

Warning do not look at the End Picture if of a Sensitive Disposition. ****

Pine Cone

 

I had an idea for some extra Decoration. I found one of the spare Pine Cones that I had rejected for the Ring.

Pine Cone Test

 

I began a Paint Test on the Pine Cone. First I did a few Seeds and when that looked alright I continued so it was all Painted.

Start Painting

 

I let the Test Cone completely dry so I could examine it properly. It didn’t take long as I was using a simple Watercolour Paint

All Painted

 

I Painted all 3 Pine Cones attached to the Wreath. I let them dry then I went to turn the Ring over so I could Paint the other side.

Pine Seed Stuck

 

It was once I tried to move the Ring for turning that I noticed that unfortunately the Superglue had seeped through on to the dish.

I had to tug the Ring to remove it and it left a Pine Seed behind along with some Superglue.

********

Should Know Better

Remember the old saying ‘more haste less speed’. I was impatient to crack on with the Painting therefore I grabbed the nearest thing I had to remove the Superglue and Seed.

So with the Dish in one Hand and the Scissors in the other I began to prise the remnants off. Of course the inevitable happened. I slipped and thrust the Scissors straight into my Palm.

Consequently I had to stop Crafting for about a week.  

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 13

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 13

A nice quick blog this week.

Pair of Pine Cones

I wanted to make the Wreath more 3 Dimensional. I know that sounds weird as it already was but simply being a Ring it looked too flat.

Therefore I decided to add some Pine Cones. I wanted them a similar size so began comparing them. I wanted 3 in total.

Trying to Glue

 

Once selected I took a Pine Cone and tried to Glue it in place using my usual Glue. It didn’t go well. The Pine Cones Shape meant that there was little surface to place the Glue.

Trying to Sew

 

To try and give it some extra Strength I tried to part Sew the Cone to the Ring. This was done by securing the Thread to the Ring. Then winding the Thread in and out of the Pine Cone. Needless to say all that happened was tangled mess.

Superglue to the Rescue

 

Luckily I had some Superglue in my Craft Stock. I used that to Glue the Pine Cones in place. This was done at roughly equal placing. See above photograph.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 12

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 12

Okay I have not had a good day. Even with the Holly Leaves Sewn together I am still having problems.

Pipe Cleaner

 

I have been desperately trying to place the Holly Leaves in Position trying to find the best spot. However they are simply Flopping all over the place. I need to find a solution. 

My idea is to imitate nature. Normal Holly Leaves have Stalks and Stems. Therefore I need to Brace the Leaves. My first thought was a Pipe Cleaner but that was way too big.

Black up Wire

 

I had found some Wire but was concerned that the Colour would show through. Therefore out with my trusty Permanent Marker Pen.

Cut Black Wire

I measured the Black Wire against my Leaf. I cut it slightly shorter so as to prevent any Sharp bits sticking out. I then carefully Slid the Wire through some of the Stitches on the Reverse of the Leaves.

This was easier said than done as the Wire kept snagging on Strands. I had to patiently manoeuvre any bits of Wool out of the way before continuing. Otherwise I would have broken a Stitch and it could have Unravelled.

Holly Standing Up

After I Wired one Leaf I Sewed it in place using the Tail of Wool. I then proceeded to Repeat with the other Leaf. As you can see from the above photograph the Wire has made a huge difference.

Instead of flapping Loosely when I pick it up it now holds its Shape. This will now assist me making my Wreath.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 2

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 2

Did you work it out? I am going to make a Christmas Wreath.

White Strips

 

After sorting through my Hoard I decided on using White Strips of Material. Most of these are Offcuts from Pattern. Since quite a few have writing on they aren’t much use for other things.

Smaller White Strips

 

Now I have my Material I need to Cut it into Finer Smaller White Strips. Otherwise it is going to make the Process bulky and difficult to do.

Begin Wrap

 

Taking the Largest of the Three Rings I begin to Wrap. I am not bothering with using special Fabric Glue at this point. I Wrap all the way around at a slight Angle.

First Layer Complete

 

Here is the First Complete Layer. When I say Complete Layer I am not referring to once around the Ring. As you can see in the above photograph it has grown quite a bit in Girth.

This took several times around the Ring with gradually using Thicker Strips of Material. It is quite Time Consuming as you have to wait for the Glue to Dry. Therefore Layer in this case refers to the Finish of one Selection of Material