Fabulous Flora!

Fabulous Flora! with Christen Brown

**Beginning February, 2017**

Do you love flowers, leaves and those little garden extras? This is a perfect class for you then! In this series of classes, you will be introduced to the art of ribbonwork. I will teach you how to make flowers, leaves and other objects with all types of ribbon; other materials such as lace and fabric will also be explored. My two books on ribbonwork: Ribbonwork Gardens and Ribbonwork Flowers will be used for instruction and inspiration, and therefore are a necessary requirement.

Here is a list of the techniques and types of flowers and the dates that they will be covered:

1. Rosette: September 5, 2017
   
2. Rosette with Details: September 12, 2017
   
3. Posy: September 19, 2017
4. Posy with Details: September 26, 2017
5. U-gather Petals: October 3, 2017
6. Folded Petals: October 10, 2017
7. Star Point Petals: October 17, 2017
8. Ruched Petals: October 24, 2017
9. Two Petal Flower: November 7, 2017
10. Individual Petals 1: November 14, 2017
11. Individual Petals 2 and Flower Centers: November 21, 2017
12. Flower with Petals: November 28, 2017
13. Roses 1: December 5, 2017
    
14. Roses 2: August 1, 2017
15. Vintage Flowers: August 8, 2017
16. Bugs and More!: August 15, 2017
17. Ruched Petals 2: August 22, 2017

Class Details:

You can take one, several or all of the classes. Hand-sewing skills are a must. Each class is $20.00, to paid the day of the class. My books Ribbonwork Gardens and Ribbonwork Flowers are a mandatory supply. No other ribbonwork book will be used or covered.

The classes are held on Monday’s from 10:00 – 12:00 at this location:

Beverly’s Fabrics
6185 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

For information on the series, and if you are interested in attending a class, please contact me Christen:

thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com

The above class fees reflect the content of the handouts for each specific class. You will receive a handout in an email for each week, which will need to be printed and brought to class.

Until then, Happy Stitching! ~Christen

Crazy Pieced Needle Case

This lovely, efficient needle case can be made over the course of a few weekends. It has a pocket that can be used for scissors, a few packages of needles, or what ever you want. There is also a sheet of folded felt, to be used for your loose needles.

I will be teaching this class with Carol, she will teach you how to machine stitch the base together. Then I will show you how to make the three-dimensional flowers and silk ribbon embroidered stitches. You will need to have embroidery knowledge for this class.

Here is the sampler for the pieces that I will be covering in my portion of the class.

Details:

Class Fee to be paid to Carol: $25.00/2 hour class

Date and time: Crazy Piecing with Carol, April 9, 3:00 – 5:00.

Class Fee to be paid to Christen: $30.00 for each 1-1/2 hour class

Date and time: Embroidery with Christen, April 13 and 20, 1:00 – 2:30.

*Please note that this class does not include any of the materials, supplies or tools; these must be provided by the student.

Class Requirements: You must know how to use a sewing machine, and know how to hand sew. You must know embroidery enough embroidery stitches before class.

Location: Beverly’s Fabrics, 6185 Balboa Avenue, San Diego, CA 92111

Specifics:

This class fee for Carol, can be paid through Beverly’s. The class fee for Christen is paid directly to Christen. This can be paid by a PayPal invoice, or by cash or check the day of class. Please email Christen:thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com to inquire about the availability of space for the date listed above.

Happy Stitching, and enjoy~ Christen

Ribbonwork Flowers: Wreaths

I wanted to share the wreaths that I have included in my book, Ribbonwork Flowers. I have a fondness for wreaths, and had fun putting together the components for each of the following ones.

The “Sweet Wreath” started with a wire base, that is covered with ruched grosgrain ribbon. The flowers include the Double Posy, Fancy Rosette, Star Point Petal flower, Knotted Ruffled Posy, Boat Gather Petal flower, and a Rosette.

“Spools and Tools” started with a base of vintage wooden spools that are strung on a wire base. I wrapped the spools with a novelty ribbon, that had images of seed packages. The center piece is a pair of garden sheers that were my grandmothers. Each grouping of blue, red and yellow flowers is set into a vintage thimble with advertising on it. I also included Rosettes made from novelty ribbon with a button center, and lady bugs made from grosgrain ribbon. To finish the wreath I added vintage buttons and vintage tin butterflies.

The “Rustic Garland” started with a fabulous plaid grosgrain ribbon that I found on sale at Joannes Fabrics. The brown grosgrain came from a friend who worked for Harry and Davids, the burgundy ribbon came off of a pillow that I bought and the turquoise twill tape is from the Martha Stewart collection. The remaining double sided satin, jacquard and sheer ribbons were found in my stash.

“Mariposa Fall” wreath started with a wire base, covered in vintage celluloid and Bakelite buttons sprinkled with gold-tone and copper butterflies. I died most of the ribbons, except for the Hannah bias silk that I made the pansies from. The remaining flowers are the Rosette, the Posy, English Miss and Simple Flower.

Thank you for looking, and Happy Stitching! ~Christen

Jacket full of Ribbonwork Gardens and Flowers

I have two things to share with you today…..

My first book Ribbonwork Gardens was just included in a blog post from ProFlowers; the post is 30 Books to Expand Your Love of Flowers. How exciting was that?!!!

I also just finished embellishing this jean jacket that I found at a thrift store. The front and back panels are embellished with the leftover ribbon flowers that I have made over the past three years for two of my books.

Some of the flowers are from my first book, Ribbonwork Gardens, and some are from my new book, Ribbonwork Flowers. The rest are just are prototypes of flowers that I just liked, but didn’t get into either book.

 

Here is a closeup of the front, and then the back.

Happy Stitching my friends, and may your gardens always bloom! ~Christen

Day full of suprises!

I just received my advance copy of my new book, Ribbonwork Flowers, along with a nice note, signed by everyone at the office! I also had a surprise visit from the florist, my publishers sent a pot of azaleas, too! How great was that!

The new book will be available here, at the beginning of next month. Hope that you will find something that you can use to create lasting blooms with!

Happy Stitching! ~Christen

Country Cottage Tussy Mussy: class/tutorial

Country Cottage Tussy Mussy: 2 lessons/$27.00

Create a charming vintage, feminine or holiday decoration that will fit right in with any decor. Start with a cardboard cone that is covered with decorative papers, greeting cards, and other paper ephemera. This is further embellished with buttons, charms, and cords; ribbon and crochet flowers and more. The vessel will then be filled with fabric, ribbon, lace and felt flowers and leaves.

Skill Level Beginning: some hand sewing and embroidery skills needed

Lesson 1: In this lesson I will discuss themes, gathering, storing and choosing your components. Then the fun begins with paper collage including cutting and ripping techniques. The collaged vessel can be embellished with pens, stamps, trims, ribbons, lace, buttons and more!

Lesson 2: In this lesson you will learn how to make the flowers and leaves, then assembling them in the cone. The flowers include the shabby rose, five-petal flower, spiked sunflower, stuffed posy, ricrac daisy, crochet mum and lace leaves.

Class Information

These classes can be purchased at any time, there is no set schedule.The class can be ordered by contacting Christen: thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com. She will send you an invoice through PayPal.

Once the class is paid for, the supply list will be sent out. The lessons will begin one week after the purchase of the class, unless otherwise stated. You will receive an email with the lesson attached. The following lesson/s will arrive one week after the previous lesson.

A high speed internet connection is recommended, and you must have basic computer and internet skills. You will need to be able know how to download and save a document to your computer’s hard drive, open it and print out a copy.

You can contact Christen with any questions pertaining to the class/class information throughout the length of the class.

Class fees will not be refunded.

Happy Stitching,

~Christen

Corsages to Dye For I: class/tutorial

Corsages to Dye for I: 3 lessons/$38.00

Do you find yourself wishing “if only I had a ribbon that was this color or that”, or “why didn’t it come in my favorite colors”? If your answer is YES, then let me invite you to take a colorful journey into the realm of dyeing your own RTD (ready to dye) silk ribbons. I will teach you how to prepare your ribbons then dye them to create one of a kind, creative and colorful ribbons. These ribbons will then be turned into magical works of floral art for your own “corsages to dye for”!

Skill Level Intermediate: hand sewing and ribbonwork knowledge helpful

Lesson 1: This class you will learn how to mix the Colorhue dyes (no other dye will be used or discussed); you can use the basic color wheel or create your own colors. You will learn a series of techniques to prepare the ribbon for dyeing, then dyeing the ribbons that you will use in the next lessons. I will also cover over-dyeing and “antique coloring” of the dyed ribbons.

Lesson 2: The second class will focus on making the flowers: the Rose and Bud; Butterflies Delight; and the Harlequin flower. I will show you options on how to use each flower, from a single flower to a group of flowers. Which corsage you decide to make is up to you.

Lesson 3: The third lesson will focus on making the leaves from the ribbons that you dyed, then stitching all of the components together for each corsage.

*Note: The Corsages to Dye For series need not be taken in order. In each class you will learn how to prepare the dyes; and each lesson will cover a different set of preparation techniques to create the colorful patterns in the ribbons.

Class Information

These classes can be purchased at any time, there is no set schedule.The class can be ordered by contacting Christen: thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com. She will send you an invoice through PayPal.

Once the class is paid for, the supply list will be sent out. The lessons will begin one week after the purchase of the class, unless otherwise stated. You will receive an email with the lesson attached. The following lesson/s will arrive one week after the previous lesson.

A high speed internet connection is recommended, and you must have basic computer and internet skills. You will need to be able know how to download and save a document to your computer’s hard drive, open it and print out a copy.

You can contact Christen with any questions pertaining to the class/class information throughout the length of the class.

Class fees will not be refunded.

Happy Stitching!

~Christen