And Then My Head Exploded

Dear Mom,
On a recent visit to the Kansas City area to spend several blissful days with a dear friend, we gloried for hours, soaking in the inspiration of Florilegium.

beads of every shape and color imaginable

This area was off limits to customers. It is The Owner/Artist's Studio area.

This display is just small selection of the beautiful ribbons available.

Everything is displayed to perfection.

This case greets you as you step in the door.

This Enchantment is beaded embroidery on a window screen!

And one display case was filled with samples of ribbon embroidery.

In addition to the ribbons and beads I've shown here, there was roving, and wool for embroidery or needlepoint, buttons, art yarn, hand painted yarns, and thousands of ideas. Gretchen, the owner, and Cathy, her employee, were extremely generous with their time and ideas, with no hesitation to demonstrate a technique or describe a creative process. We left with our heads spinning. My only regret is that Florilegium is 9+ hours away. Lucky for ALL of us, they ship orders every day!
Love,
Kim

Another Use for Ribbons

Dear Mom,

A worn out watch band + an abundance of ribbon=

I've been having fun swapping out ribbons to coordinate with what I am wearing. Way more fun than that brown leather I was buckling to my wrist everyday.

Plus there is the bonus of having a new excuse to buy more ribbons!

I find myself wearing more jewelry around my wrists in the summer. I guess because they are not bundled under warm sweaters. Last summer the Young Lady and I made these:

We tore bandannas into 1-inch strips, soaked them in water and them twisted them tightly. We tied them around our wrists and ankles and let them dry. The longer we wore them and the more frayed they became, the better they looked.

Carefree summer "jewelry" for easy summer days.

Love,

Kim

Ready!

Dear Mom,

I think I am ready. The house is not perfect, but it is clean. I am going with the belief that too clean makes people uptight. No way would anyone be afraid to sit on our furniture, walk on the carpets or grab a snack and set their drink down. This house is a home. We live in every room here.

I even had time to dress up the guest room before My Hero's Mom and Dad arrive. I put tulips on the bedside table.

And chocolates. (p.s. thanks to Gina Whocanparallelpark for the chocolates!)And tied pretty ribbons around the towels.

All just they way I would like it if I were a guest here.

Love,

Kim

Another Family Trait??

Dear Mom,
I think that perhaps along with the genetic traits that have us loving to vacuum, getting holes in the big toe of our stockings and compulsively counting out the correct change, we may be compelled to collect and save ribbons. I didn't realize this until I saw Wendy's ribbons yesterday. Some of hers look very familiar. Very. Familiar.
I am unable to resist a bargain bin full of ribbons. One dollar for a spool of ribbon? Can't beat that! And searching through my ribbons for just the right one is as much fun as going through my button box. One of my favorite ribbon sources is LFN textiles . They have some of the most beautiful, interesting, and unusual ribbons.
Love,
Kim

Ribbons

Dear Mom,

I love ribbons! My ribbons are a big jumbled mess which only adds to the excitment of digging into them.

I have a ribbon for every occasion. My BFF might need a gift wrapped in this argyle ribbon:After 40 years of knitting, Kim might suddenly forget how and she would need this: I have gift wrapped many baby gifts with these:

and birthday gifts, friend gifts, I-love-you-so-much gifts with these:

I have spools of ribbon that I have had for YEARS because there are yards and yards on the spool. I also have ribbon like this:

I can't bear to throw it away; I could use it on a handmade card or a handmade tag. Or in a hairbow. A gift for a fairy. Or something.

Someday I will be all Martha Stewart and organize my box of ribbons. But probably not because when my ribbons are all jumbled up, finding "new" ribbons is a treasure!

Love, Wendy