May Arts Candy Colored Challenge, DIY Embellishments

I was so excited to be able to participate in this month's May Arts Craft Challenge. If you're not famliar with it, Bethney from May Arts selects a theme, and then an assortment of May Arts ribbons. Each participant gets two yards of each of the ribbons. Then, it's up to you to create something with those ribbons.

This month's challenge is a Candy Colored Challenge, based on the above photo that Bethney found on Pinterest, and here are the ribbons that Bethney chose for us to use:



I wanted to create some custom embellishments with the ribbons. The method I used is based on a quilting technique called foundation piecing. Here's a short tutorial of the basic process:

1) Sew ribbons together. You may wish to iron them (on low heat) to flatten them.



2) Draw/trace the shape you wish to create onto a scrap of regular printer paper. Pin to the right side of the ribbons.



3) Tape a scrap piece of cardstock, slightly larger than the shape you want to create to the bottom of the ribbon, creating a sandwich with the ribbon.



4) Sew around the shape.



5) Remove the printer paper.



6) To add definition, sew around the shape again, this is also when I added the thin blue ribbon.



7) You can now cut the shape out. That's the basic process. I added zigzag stitches along the outside of the shape to add a little more definition. For some of my embellishments I also add a little bit of a cotton ball between the cardstock and the ribbon during step 4 to create a ‘puffy’ embellishment.

I didn't just want to create the embellishments, I wanted to use them in a project, so I created this little set of cards which also utilize the ribbons on one of the layers of the card.











If you don't like the puffy look, here's an example of a card that has a little less bulk to it.



And finally, this technique can be utilized for pretty much any shape. Here are a couple more examples, as well as an example using white thread.



Like I said, this was a lot of fun, and I hope that you like my project. Be sure to stop over at the May Arts blog to take a look at all the different projects that were created. Vote for your favorite in the comments - you could win a roll of each of the ribbons used in the challenge!

Supplies Used:
Paper/Cardstock: Stella Level 2 Papers; White Daisy, Cocoa, and Kraft cardstock
Ink: Cocoa
Other: May Arts - Ribbons; CTMH - Sponge Daubers; Sewing Machine