All wrapped up in ribbon!

Ribbon obsessed!

I already have 4 Rubbermaid bins of Christmas ribbon but often I can not find just what I want for a Christmas tree.  My advice is if you think you might love a ribbon design well enough to want to use it to ribbon a 7 foot or taller tree or to ribbon all your outside wreaths and/or garland, definitely buy at least 3-4 10 yard (30 feet) rolls of 2 1/2 inch wide ribbon.  If you are following the theme idea that I use for the coordinating main decor, gift wrap and tablescape along with outdoor decor, then you will want enough ribbon for all of that plus your tree.  I usually choose two different ribbons that can mix and match.    

Trying to keep snow themes and reds together.

Mad for plaid!

An entire bin for elves and Grinch.

There are only three!  Who took my other bin?!!

Love browns for the hot cocoa station and the candy bar.  Also my master bedroom is painted Branchport Brown by Benjamin Moore and I use browns for decorating trees, wreaths, the bed and garland in that room.

Confession here...I have often purchased 12 rolls of the same ribbon because I was madly in love with it!  I am so obsessed that when I took a vacation to Lancaster, PA to visit the Amish I had to visit all the craft warehouses to buy ribbon.  That took 3/4 of the day.  We did also visit the York Markethouse for food and took some photos...BUT I just had to find ribbons!

Lots of ribbon online here and easier than looking everywhere for what you need!

Craft Outlet

Mardi Gras Outlet

Trendy Tree

Karaboo Ribbons

I will be putting up 23 trees this year.  I mean to say that I will be adding to that number-ha!  I am certainly behind this year.  Usually I have most of my trees up and dressed by now.  Thanks heavens I have two daughters and two granddaughters who will help me finish the trees.  The outside is done and I have been working on what I want for the tablescape.  I have almost two weeks to finish.  And then it will be time to wrap gifts on my gift wrapping station in the loft.  This is a treasured tradition.  My daughters helped my Mama wrap gifts in her game room every year.  She would set up a gift wrapping station and have cookies, candies and cocoa for the girls while they worked with her.  The boxes would be taped shut with a code name written on them so they could wrap with no anxiety from Mama that they might discover what gifts Santa would bring.  And in case you are wondering why Mama and her granddaughters would be wrapping for Santa, watch for a later post with the story I wrote about that!

St. Patrick's Day decor

Top O' the Morning to ya!  

We are getting ready for St. Patrick's Day ya'll!  Are you celebrating this year? Take a look at our wreath ideas and a handmade banner to bring the spirit!  This isn't blarney ya know.  This is a great holiday to bring out the festive side of your Irish heritage.  Even if you are Irish in spirit only...you can still have a great time bringing the green to your home!

Look how great this wreath looks on the front door!  Some full glitter mesh and a green plaid mesh paired nicely with the St. Patty's ribbon we found.  The neighbors love it!

We used a different green plaid mesh with some foil and a dark green smaller mesh on top.  More green ribbon adds a nice shamrock theme!

And don't forget those handmade banners...these are so easy it's a quick decoration you can put together in an afternoon!  Use your Cricut for quick cut outs and add some ribbon and bling.  Voila!  Done!  

Take a look at this beautiful small quilt!  Don't you just love the shamrocks?  I used an old plastic cookie cutter I had to get the shamrock design!  I used invisible appliqué for the design and it turned out great!

We hope you enjoyed our decor!  More to come!

Easter Felt Carrot

Happy Easter to y'all!  

I hope you are all surviving the snow and cold weather this winter.  I wasn't ready for all the snow we got, but we managed.  The yard is a sea of mud!  Ick!

I wanted to brighten up everyone's spirits and create some spring fling action!  I hope these inspire you to make some too!

I used the Cricut Maker to cut these carrot shapes, but in case you don't have one of those, you can cut them by hand.  No worries!  

I used the Pretty Pennants cartridge from Cricut.  For this one I cut it 8", and used poly fiberfill to stuff it with.  I also have some for the grandchildren filled with candy, I cut those 9".  

These were tricky to cut at first.  I tried four methods for cutting felt on the Cricut Maker  Finally the last go round worked!  Yes!

This is the magical product that finally helped get this job done!

Aleene's Fusible Web!  More on the methods in a bit.

I added a satin ribbon bow and a small felt flower and button with some hot glue just to add a little bit more bling.  These are darling gifts and decorations for your Easter celebrations!

Ok these are all the options I can come up with.  I wish I knew how to do a video...but will do my best with photos. 

Here is number 1 option.  It is Joann Fabrics orange felt with no backing except spray adhesive.  It had to be hand trimmed.  It is the second worst option in my opinion.

Option 2 is Joann's orange felt with spray adhesive Krylon Easy Tack and embroidery paper for sewing machines.  It did not work at all.  This is the worst option as it bunched in the machine and scared me to death.  We had to hand trim this one as well.

Option 3 is freezer paper and spray adhesive Krylon Easy Tack.  We did iron the freezer paper onto the felt (difficult to get it to stick firmly) then spray adhesive on back against the mat.  We did not hand trim this one but we cut it twice on felt with setting under custom.  That means it actually cut 4 times!  It also bunched up while cutting.  Also not my favorite choice.

Option 4 is by far the best!  Success!  I used the Joann's orange felt again, and this time I used Aleene's Fusible Web as the backing.  I ironed on the Fusible Web, then used the Krylon Easy Tack spray adhesive on the back of the fusible web paper to stick it to my mat.  I cut this using the felt with backing setting under custom.  

This is by far the best option for a clean cut.  It didn't even leave a sticky backing on the felt!!

Feel free to suggest other methods I have not tried for cutting felt on the Cricut Explore.  I love to hear from you!

Happy crafting!  Happy Blessed Easter!

A new design for a mesh wreath!

We are excited to share our new design for ruffled mesh wreaths!

We were inspired by a wreath done on Mardi Gras Outlet blog! Thanks to their designer for a great tutorial on the ruffle method decomesh wreath!

Tools used were a wreath form, 10" deco mesh, four different ribbons, and a small Valentine balloon. 

We love how this turned out, don't you? 

Check out these ribbons! We are so excited about these ribbons!

Please share on your Facebook, Twitter, or other social media outlet. 

Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed this new ruffled mesh Valentine wreath! 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It's Christmas time here at Southern Style on Fifth Avenue!  We are starting you off with a sneak peak of three decorated trees in our home from 2014.  We love to share our designs with you to inspire you to create a beautifully decorated theme tree in your home or even office!  Take our ideas and get busy with your own creation!  We would love to see yours!

  Leave us a message or comment with a link to your tree design.

First we have a corner tree in the stairwell we did a few years ago.  The Sleigh Bells Ring tree showcases red, white, and light blue jingle bells, light blue glitter ribbon, "Jingle" word ornaments, white glitter ball garland, large candy canes, snowflakes, and some 50's inspired ornaments I gathered through the years!

Also a sneak peek of the railing garland.  Green garland with sheer white glitter snowflake ribbon, white poinsettias, and glitter snowflakes from the Dollar Tree!

This is a small four foot tree we call Candy Apple Lime.  I love the addition of lime to Christmas décor.  I feel in love with this ribbon and wanted to showcase it on a tree.  My Mama loved apples so much and I wanted to include those as well to pay tribute to her!  Red and lime green apple picks from Michaels, I forget where I got the ribbon (sorry!), red berry picks in the topper, and red and lime whirly gigs from Michaels.  It was not too expensive to put this one together!  Maybe you already have  some favorite items at home you can use to decorate your first creation!  Just go for it!

This is an older rendition of Scarlet Elegance.  I love this 9 foot tree in the Bahama Mama room!  I love this grand tree with red poinsettias, poinsettia ribbon, red glitter whips, yes, whips (hehe), red glass ball ornaments, red drop ornaments, and gem snowflakes. 

Stay tuned for current tree photos, tips, ideas, and chatter about our open house! 

More to come!

Enjoy looking for your tree decorations and holiday décor! 

Debra