Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Speaking of Chocolate...

Stitching up some yummy ribbon designs is almost as good as indulging in a box of chocolates...(well, not exactly the same, but just as fun!)

And lately, I've had an absolute craving to stitch up some ribbons in the currently popular color combo of turquoise/aqua and brown. I've been seeing that particular color combination in decorating magazines for several years now, and I've really wanted to create a ribbon design with those colors.

But first I had to find a suitable variegated #5 pearl cotton to use as the foundation. That was harder than you might think.....There are lots of variegated colors out there, but not one that was just the right turquoise/aqua and brown. Well...finally, Caron Collection came out with Watercolours 180 - Green Tea, and HOORAY! that was close enough for me to use. I grabbed a few skeins and started stitching....

Here's what it looked like when I first put in the basic ribbon foundations:
I matched the variegated thread with a darker tan, DMC 738 & 739, for the ribbon borders.

And I decided to work on the dark brown canvas, to make those ribbons stand out.
But at this stage, everything looks pretty pale and washed out, doesn't it?

Fortunately, I went to my local stitchery store - The Regal Rabbit in Windsor, CA - and came home with some scrumptious turquoise threads, in lots of different textures.


And now look what happens when you add some turquoise to those bland tan colors...
The ribbons start to get dimensional...and the whole project starts to liven up!

And then of course, you get to add a little bit of sparkle on top of the turquoise....and things REALLY start to sing!

Here's a peek at another of the big ribbons...For this design, I've even splurged and added some turquoise Very Velvet Petite for a special accent on the ribbons. (Can you spot it?)

Well, back to stitching on these ribbons....I'll unveil the whole design to you when I finish stitching it....(and hopefully, this new design will be available mid-June, so check on my website: www.ljperindesigns.com later this month if you're interested!)

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