State Fair Entry Winners: Sweatshirt Makeover and Ribbon Purse!

Two of my three Kentucky State Fair entries have won a blue and a red ribbon!  I almost didn't enter anything this year, but decided to go ahead since I had some items ready to go.  The sweatshirt makeover that I've been working to complete off & on over the past two years became my last minute "hurry up and finish" project!  Here it is with its blue ribbon.

My second place entry is one of the ribbon purses I made a year and a half ago for the craft shows and for the Koi Gallery at the Galt House in downtown Louisville.  I added a layered flower with an embroidered, covered button center placed on top of the bow that was already on it.  I think because it's in the red/black/white combination, it looks like a University of Louisville Cardinal bag and that may have caught the judges' eye!  Oh, well, I'm not going to complain about a second place, red ribbon award!

The display at the Fair isn't very attractive, so I've included the photo I took of the purse just before I took it to be entered.  The second photo shows it off better.

More Craft Show Pictures

This picture of our craft show booth may be a little hard to figure out with the open drapes behind it and the bright sunshine outside.  I guess I could have asked if the drapes could be closed, but didn't even think about that!  I know I need to make some improvements and adjustments to this set-up.  I'll figure out what to do before the next show, I promise!

This shows the work area, behind the covered button display board, where customers could watch me actually put together their covered buttons as they chose what they wanted.

I took the rest of my ribbon purses to the craft show.  The label shown in my heading above is like what I've made for all of my purses.  Each of these purses is one of a kind, making them very unique.  They're made out of grosgrain ribbon sewn onto a fabric base, with a hook and loop tape pocket on the inside and are fully lined.  The one I've been using almost every day for the past four years is holding up so well, you'd never know it's that old!

 I love the way the color combination came together on this sticky note pad holder.  The pen has matching paper rolled up and inserted inside the barrel.  I used a scroll embroidery design on baby blue fabric for the covered button.  The purple thread matched the purple sticky note pad perfectly!

Of course, I had to have a University of Kentucky button on the blue sticky note pad holder!

This is one of the first covered buttons I made - the one in an earlier post on which I added fusible crystals on top of the stitching.  The black layers are made of organza, which added to the "glitzy" look of the brooch, I think!

This layered flower brooch came together nicely.  I love the way the two shades of yellow compliment each other with layers of pale yellow and yellow and white gingham.  The yellow rayon embroidery thread really picks up the darker yellow in the gingham, don't you think?

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Again, to this layered flower, I added some layers of black organza and layers of white bridal tulle.  The black rayon embroidery thread really gives the black and white theme a punch.

Custom Ribbon Bag Holder for Kindle Fire

My first ribbon purse custom order from the last craft show was a success!  A lady who visited my booth at the previous craft show asked about the availability of a smaller ribbon purse.  I was away from our booth at the time, but hubby told her I could make a smaller size.  (Which, of course, I can!)

She looked me up at the next craft show and placed her order for two smaller ribbon purse/bags for her two granddaughters, who are sisters.  The sisters were to get Kindle Fires for Christmas and grandmother wanted them to have matching bags to hold them.  The only complication was how to differentiate the bags from each other if they were alike!  We decided to try a monogram of the girls' initial of their first names.  I told her I would experiment with some scrap ribbon and see what I could do.  As seen here, the monograms turned out great!

Grandmother requested purples for the color combination.  I had run out of enough purple ribbon to make the bags "purply," so I went out and purchased the floral and the solid ribbons.  I thought the combination turned out looking really nice.  I always try to put together a combination of ribbon colors and patterns that are eye-catching.

This is an inside view of the Kindle Fire bag.  The pocket was made large enough for a box of crayons, so the girls could include a coloring book in with their Kindle Fire.

Both ribbon bags have the same bow out of sheer ribbon that has glittered circles printed on the top side.  The glitter seemed to fall off as I was working on the ribbon, so I sprayed a heavy layer of starch on the surface and let it dry overnight.  That took care of the glitter!  I rubbed it and shook it and it wouldn't fall off.  I like to hand-sew a pin back on each ribbon bow so the owner may remove it, if desired.

I enjoyed working on these ribbon bag holders for the young girls' Kindle Fires.  They certainly won't see any other holders for Kindle Fires like these anywhere!

Art and Craft Shows

I've been away for a while!  I've been working on a new venture: making items for sale at art and craft shows.  After all, this is the Season!

I have been making ribbon purses for about six years and decided to take them to the marketplace.  Two weeks ago, I exhibited my purses at the art/craft show at my high school alma mater.  My husband, Lee, helped me with the exhibit and working the show.  We had a blast!  He loves people and loves to tell people about what I do, so it was a good experience.  We also did a second show the next week and had more fun!

This is one of my purses, made completely with grosgrain ribbon and embellished with fun fur around the top edge and a sheer ribbon bow topped with a ribbon rosette.  The bow and rosette are hand-sewn onto a pin back for easy removal.  This one is in a lavender and white combination.

This red, white and black combination is quite eye-catching!  It has a red and white polka dot lining.  All of my purses are made with a cotton or cotton/polyester blend lining fabric, and there is one pocket on the inside with a hook and loop tape closure.   I have added a magnetic closure for the purse, itself.

The grosgrain ribbon is extremely durable and can be spot-cleaned to maintain its beauty.  I have been using my own personal ribbon purse for almost four years and it's still in like-new condition.






The next one is a black and white combination and has a black and white floral lining.

I now have both of these last two purses, along with a third one, for sale in the Koi Gallery, a shop inside the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. 

I was thrilled when the shop owner said she would love to have some of my purses in her shop, needless to say!

I'll update my status on how this new venture is going, as time goes on.  I've also added some lower priced gift items for sale that can be purchased at a lower price for the budget-minded, such as Christmas tree napkins, coasters to match, fabric bowls, and I'm working on a garment protector design.  I'll try to get some photos of them posted when I get them ready.

I'm getting ready for another art/craft show scheduled for this Saturday and another - my last one - on the 10th.  My time is short, so I'll get back to the work table and sewing machine.