Valentine's Day & ribbon roses....

With the  'Day of Love'  (as we call it in this house) nearly upon us I felt I should really give my attention to a romantic project or two this week so I'm starting out with a little card design that has a 'less is more' vibe...

 And what could be more romantic than a single red rose... and a lovingly handmade one at that?  The 'rose' itself is made from a simple ribbon embroidery technique explained below.

Before you begin you will need to gather a few items such as: some sort of fabric onto which you would like to work your design, some thin satin ribbon (I used 3mm), scissors, a needle with an eye large enough to thread the ribbon through, embroidery threads & a small embroidery hoop.

 
 To make things easier, cut the ribbon at an angle so that you can thread it onto your needle.

Now, to make a rose, pull the ribbon up from underneath the fabric (as if you were going to make a stitch). You will need to hold, knot or stick the end to stop it pulling through when you make the rose.

and wrap the ribbon around the needle 3-4 times (for those who embroider this is the same as a classic french knot stitch)

Now, point the tip of the needle just next to the spot where you brought the ribbon up through the fabric (allow the coiled ribbon to be slightly loose so that you can wiggle the needle down through it and the fabric)

 keep pulling gently underneath until the ribbon closes into a tiny 'rose' shape.

(close up)

 Trim the ribbon underneath to finish (you can tape the ends to stop them coming back through the fabric if you wish).  Then thread a needle with a couple of strands of green embroidery thread and sew a little stem & leaves...

 I chose to write a short message too and used a deep red embroidery thread over a very light pencil marking..

 Now you can add to a card blank & layer it up like this...

                                 ...and simply pop in an envelope and post to your loved one!


 You can, of course, sew more than one rose ....

you could always go for a dozen red roses if you are feeling arty!

with added *picket fence...

or hand tied...

*The 'lacy picket fencing' was made with a delicate bit of hand crochet - instructions to follow later
 
I think these little ribbon roses could kick off another small making addiction.. they are so easy to make & so cute.  They certainly have the potential for more than one project idea..hmmm (tick tock tick tock...brain is ticking)   

I hope you have fun - Happy Making!

xxxxx