hello.

introduction:
hello everyone! welcome to scientifantastic where i am excited to share with you the process of starting my own handmade business. so far i have been doing lots of research on the steps involved in promoting my work and the venues available to sell and share photos of my handmade creations as well as places to make connections with others in the handmade community. i have found so much useful info in etsy's seller handbook and have become very inspired by the 'making it!' series on the hearthandmade blog.

i recently signed up for a flickr, and myspace and am working on a facebook account, and have registered to sell my work on etsy. i have also been working hard to create a studio space in my home where i can work on all my crafty experiments without any distractions.

one of my goals is to document the creative process involved in each of my projects, so today i will show you how to create your own hand stamped fabric ribbon trim.

materials:
2 - 3 yards of bright inexpesive fabric
scissors
iron
ironing board or towel
starch
empty toliet paper or paper towel roll
foam or rubber stamps
ink pad





step 1: cutting your fabric
use a scissor to make a few small snips at the end of the fabric about 1.5 - 2 inches apart, depending on how wide you want your ribbon to be. beggining at each snip, rip the fabric from beginning to end along the entire length of the fabric to create each length of ribbon. get rid of any loose hanging strings by seperating or pulling them along the entire length of the ribbon.

step 2: preparing the ribbon
iron the trim to get rid of any wrinkles or curled edges. i don't own an ironing board so i lay a towel down on my couch and iron it on top of the towel. while i'm ironing i like to roll the trim around a cardboard toliet paper roll to keep it from getting wrinkled or tangled. if you'd like to create a stiffer trim you can spray it with a little starch while ironing.

step 3: stamping on your design
prepare a smooth flat surface where you can lay out your ribbon. i like to lay a self healing cutting mat down on my dining room table to protect it in case any ink bleeds through, but you could also use cardboard or paper. once your surface is prepared, lay the ribbon down flat, coat your stamp with ink and press it firmly onto your fabric. repeat until you have covered the full length of your ribbon. now it's up to you to get creative with your pattern and colors.

step 4: setting the ink
once the ink is dry, you will need to iron the fabric once again to set the ink. i then like to roll it back onto the cardboard roll or sometimes i use a wooden spool to keep it wrinkle and tangle free. you are now ready to use your trim! i like to use mine to wrap packages, create garlands or applique onto different sewing projects. the possibilites are endless and fun!



if you decide to make your own, i would love to see pictures of your trim, or what you created with the finished ribbon.