5 Minute Ribbon Necklace

We're five weeks into the new school year and my little Prep girl has just received her first birthday party invitation. To say she is excited is an understatement and she's been talking non-stop about what she'll do when she arrives, the games, the music and the PRESENT. Every time we get a party invitation I get a little stressed because I'm never really sure whether I should buy or make a gift for the birthday boy or girl. This year I'm a little luckier because my eldest is going to be nine and nine years old boys don't want handmade gifts so I'll just have to brave the toys aisles to see what we can find.

So been the first party of the year I decided that I'd contact the birthday girl's mum, ask her what she'd like me to get for her daughter and then go from there. I found out she loves Barbie, dressing up and jewellery. Now I took my daughter to the shops to LOOK for ideas and if she'd had her way we would have been walking away with hundreds of dollars worth of Barbie dolls and accessories.

After sitting down with a drink together we came up with a plan to create a few special, one of a kind necklaces that worked in with the Barbie theme while also adding a few other accessories so that they could be used during dress up time. This meant our gifts would tick off all three of the birthday girl's favourite things list and we'd be guaranteed to get a smile. First up I went looking for a few small pieces of jewellery that would be ideal for dressing up and I also found a small quilted case to hold them in. While in Kmart my daughter found a Barbie make up kit and we also found some really pretty silver bangles that would go perfectly with dressing up.

The only thing left was to make a couple of ribbon necklaces and the gift would be ready to wrap. While visiting my local scrapbooking shop one week earlier I'd found a few antique gold jewellery bits and I knew that they'd be perfect for the job. The great thing about this project was that I already had most of the items on hand and each necklace cost me under two dollars. I also personalised one of the necklaces because I wanted it to be special for the birthday girl. I drew the Barbie logo with a black pen on a piece of pink paper and I added the year that she was born as there wasn't much room to write her birth date.

Overall I'm really happy with the entire gift. Mackenna and I really like the necklaces the most and that they're handmade, makes them extra special. I have chosen colours that relate back to Barbie and that will work easily when the birthday girl is playing dress ups. Although the gift might be small in size there's been a lot of thought, effort and care put into the entire gift. 

These necklaces are easy to make and the fact that you can personalise them makes it even better. I think I'll buy a few more pieces for future birthday parties so that Mackenna or Viveca can give them as personalised presents. If I knew making a necklace like this was so easy I would have made some of them ages ago. My birthday's next week and as a treat I'm going to make myself a few of these necklaces so that I can add something personal next time I go out somewhere special. Kidding! I'll just make one pretty one and wear it when I go to school and grocery shopping.

With the success of this project I'm now thinking I'd like to try making some more jewellery but I want to try making something more decorative and something with a chain. In the last few days I've taken more of an interest in the jewellery section when I'm out at the shops. Might have to take my time with the next project as my craft area is getting crowded with all the stuff I've already got. Glad Mr Opoes leaves me to my own devices when it comes to crafting but I think I might need to narrow it down to two crafts and focus my attention on them.

Megan

Christmas Tree: Ribbon Wrapped Tree

I've had a few polyfoam cones lying around the house since last Christmas season and I got to thinking that I probably should get around to using them otherwise they'll still be sad looking Christmas Trees next year. After searching Pinterest I found a few different trees that I liked the look of and with these images pinned to my Christmas board I got to thinking about what I wanted to achieve.

Last year I attempted a ribbon tree and it just didn't work out very well as the ribbon I'd used had an elastic band made it difficult to attach to the polyfoam cone. My mother loved it so I gifted it to her and she ended up using it on her Christmas mantel. So this year I was looking for something similar when I stumbled across some fabric wrapped trees at Landee See Landee Do. Her simple instructions are easy and that was what I was looking for.

Supplies Needed:

polyfoam cone

ribbon

sewing pins

1. Take two pieces of ribbon and pin them over the point the of the cone so that it creates a cross. Push the pins down on a 45 degree angle so they don't stick out the sides.

2. Tuck the start of the ribbon under one of the pieces of ribbon that formed the cross. If it's too lose undo one of the pins and place the ribbon under the cross and secure it with the pin again.

3. Begin wrapping ribbon around the cone as you make your way down the cone. Pin every once in while to secure it. Just a tip, place the pin near the bottom of the ribbon so the next layer covers the pin.

4. As you get to the bottom, try pinning the ribbon under the the cone. If your ribbon isn't wide enough work your down the bottom of the cone and then fold it on a 45 degree angle, securing the ribbon under the bottom of the cone.

5. I also placed a pin inside the fold so that the ribbon didn't  become unfolded. Now if you are worried that the pin might damage the surface its going to sit on you could try gluing a piece of felt on the bottom of the cone.

I've got a few more polyfoam cones in different sizes plus some silver ribbon so I'm going to wrap a few with silver ribbon to create a small little Ribbon Wrapped Christmas Tree community. I'll just have to find a safe place to put them so that four sets of little fingers don't get them before the big day.

So what do you think? The possibilities for these trees are endless, you could use fabric, burlap, a jumper, sequins. See I told you, endless possibilities.

Megan