DIY Ribbon & Rings Necklace

I’m sure many of you have seen the Anni Albers DIY kit sold at Urban Outfitters that uses metal washers and ribbon to create a necklace. I liked the idea but I wanted to create something a little bit different so I came up with this design for a shorter, collar style necklace. It incorporates two shades of ribbon from the same tonal family (I chose neutral browns/taupes but being indecisive ended up buying three colours and only deciding at the last minute which two to use) and gold coloured rings in a pretty woven design. The necklace is incredibly quick and easy to make and the supplies can be bought cheaply from most craft stores or haberdashers.
   

What I used

- 1’’ Curtain rings

-  ¾’’ Wide ribbon

- Dress maker’s scissors

- Tape measure

- Needle and thread











1) I started by cutting a 40’’/100cm length of ribbon in each of my chosen colours. Obviously you can vary this length to create a longer or shorter necklace. Next, positioning the ribbon back to back I began weaving it through the rings. Overlapping one behind the other I wove up through the first ring, then down through the overlapped portion and up again through the second ring. This gives the first link.

2) I added a third ring and repeated the 

pattern. This photo from the side shows how the ribbon is woven in and out.

3) I continued weaving until I had attached 16 rings (like the ribbon length you could use more or less rings if you wanted a longer or shorter necklace). This is what it looked like from the front and back.

4) Even woven together the rings remain flexible so I simply curved them to give the shape of the finished necklace.

5) At this stage I could have simply tied a knot at the end of the rings but I wanted something that would look neater and reveal the contrasting coloured ribbon underneath. So I folded the loose end through 45 degrees, took it round the back of the ring, folded through 45 degrees again and passed it back through to the front. To make it extra secure I added a stitch with the needle and thread. The other end is folded in exactly the same way but the ribbon must not go down through the final ring. This is the only way to ensure both ends look the same.

6) Finally as a finishing touch I snipped the ends of the ribbon into a neat V shape and the necklace was done.     

Thanks for reading, I hope you like the necklace and that I’ve inspired you to have a go creating your own! If you have any suggestions for DIYs you'd like to see please leave them below, I'm always looking for new projects.

Grand Designs in Gingerbread

A few days ago a friend asked me about the Gingerbread house in the post below...

here's what you saw...

...and here's what you didn't!

Erecting the walls

That’s right, I admit it, I cheated and used a (gasp!) pre-baked kit. This included a (near useless) cardboard base, four gingerbread ‘walls’ and two ‘roof’ pieces, an industrial quantity of icing and some sweets to decorate. The first thing I did was ditch the flimsy base in favour of a solid cake board and replace the garish sweets with some tubes of my favourite treats, Jelly Tots and Fruit Pastilles. Next I mixed up a small amount of the icing adding water a little at a time until I achieved a stiff, toothpaste-like consistency. Assembling the house was the trickiest part of the project so I tackled it in several stages. First I applied a line of icing with a pallet knife to the edges of the walls and attached them to the front and back of the house, tidying up any icing that squashed out with a clean knife for a neat finish. I left the base to set for a couple of hours before attaching the roof in the same way. I joined one side under the other rather than at the edges for extra stability (using what I’m reliably informed is a butt joint rather than a mitre joint- see I told you there was engineering involved!).

Creating a lattice work roof

Now for the fun part- the decoration! I mixed up some more icing and filled the piping bag provided, I didn’t like idea of just spreading the roof with icing so I piped a series of straight lines at 45 degree angles creating a pretty lattice effect. Where the lines intersected I put a Jelly Tot. Around the edges of the roof and walls I piped a series of dots, applying even pressure then pulling sharply up and away leaving a little point. I created the icicles that line the bottom of the roof using a similar technique only pulling down and away more slowly to form an elongated tip. This step is a little tricky so it's a good idea to practice first.

Decorating the front & back

I created the front and back of the house by roughly sketching out the design I wanted and transferring it freehand to the gingerbread. I drew the windows and doors applying steady, even pressure to the piping bag and finished them off with a mixture of Jelly Tots and Fruit Pastilles. Around the base of the house I piped some more dots and stuck Jelly Tots around the base, I finished the whole thing off with a light dusting of icing sugar through a sieve. And it was as arduous simple as that! Now for the totally gratuitous 360 degree photos! 

Ta-da!

DIY Shabby Chic French Memo Board

French Inspired Memo Board

I’m always writing little notes and reminders to myself, so my desk is typically drowning in post-it notes. I’ve thought about buying a memo board in the past but they’re usually so stark and boring, I finally decided I could make something that was just as functional but a lot more aesthetically pleasing myself. I love shabby chic style so a French memo board was the perfect choice.     

What I used

What I used 

- 16 x 12 MDF board

- Wadding

- Fabric

- Ribbon

- Buttons

- Peg clips

- Mounting tape

- PVA Fabric glue

- Scissors

- Pinking shears

- Tape measure

- Dress maker’s pencil/tailor’s chalk

What I Did

1) Rose-print fabric

1) I chose this gorgeous vintage rose print fabric and found pretty East of India ribbon to match. I found these cute miniature peg clips in a craft shop –they’re perfect for attaching little notes to the finished memo board.

2) Next I had a board cut to size –thank you Dad! I used MDF although an old noticeboard or pinboard would work just as well. I asked for the corners to be mitred for a more professional finish.

3) I cut a piece of the wadding to fit and fixed it to the board with a little fabric glue.

3) The board and wadding cut to size

4) When the glue was dry I laid the board upside down on the fabric and carefully cut around it, leaving a 2.5’’ margin.

I used pinking shears to avoid the fabric fraying although if you don’t have these to hand regular scissors are fine too. As I can’t cut a straight line to save my life I used a dressmaker’s pencil to lightly mark where I had to cut the fabric.

5) I began to fold the fabric over the board, starting with the corners. Instead of using a staple gun I used strong mounting tape, fixing it to the board first and then pulling the fabric taut and sticking it down. 

         4) Cutting the fabric                                                            5) Fixing it in place with adhesive tape

6) Positioning the ribbon

6) Now the tricky part- positioning the ribbon. I found it easiest to fix the two diagonal pieces running across the board in place first. Through trial and error I decided how far apart I wanted the rest of the ribbon to be spaced, then using the diagonals as a guide, I measured a couple of points to check they were all running parallel before fixing them with the mounting tape.

7) I sewed a button onto each of the crossing points.

8) Finally I fixed a length of ribbon to the back to hand the board up. Et viola! C’est fini.

7) Ready to sew on the buttons                                             8) The finished board with ribbon for hanging