Secrets of Fashioning Ribbon Flowers

by Helen Gibb

This guide offers complete step-by-step instructions showing how to fashion from ribbon 15 flowers such as roses, pansies, violets, sweet peas, carnations and peonies. It also gives innovative ways to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873415620
• ISBN13: 9780873415620
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Krause Publications
• Length: 127 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.3" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

A history, a guide, and lovely flowers, too!

Wow, what can I say? I love this book. There's a great introduction to crafting ribbon flowers which includes a history as well. The instructions are so easy to follow it's a wonder that this hobby/craft is on the brink of vanishing for good! Not only that, but it's such a beautiful craft, too. I've used the book's techniques to embellish pillows, curtains, dresses, purses... you name it! Here's the great thing: I'm usually not even good at crafts! All it takes is to buy a cute little unadorned girls' dress from, say, Target, make a few ribbon flowers to attach to the dress and you have an instant artful creation. The things I have made (or embellished) have been such a hit with my family and friends. Also, Helen Gibb is an amazing person. I've seen her a few times on HGTV (which inspired me to get this book). I went to her website and sent an e-mail saying I enjoyed her segments on HGTV and she wrote me back a letter of thanks! It wasn't a canned response, either. Great lady, great book, great craft, so go get it!

A beautiful and nearly forgotten art brought into the 1990s

Helen has taken the artistry of making flowers from silk ribbon to a new level with her lovely flowers that can be displayed in a more traditional manner on garments and hats or in a more contemporary style as bouquets of wonderful stemmed flowers. Her love for antique elegance is evident in the beautiful photographs included in her book. The illustrations and instructions for making each flower or leaf are some of the best I have seen. If you love making beautiful things you will love this art and will definitely want this book in your library.

A must for those who love the finer things in life!

Practicality and beauty all in one volume! What more could anyone want? 'The Secrets of Fashioning RIBBON FLOWERS' by Helen Gibb, is in itself an 'heirloom for the next generation'. Sumptuous bouquets of floral delights illustrate the pages of this book with clear, easy to follow, step-by-step instructions for anyone wishing to recreate them. This volume is a must for any lover of fine arts, flowers and needlework or for those of us who merely wish to sit in a sunny bay window with a copy of this delightful book and SWOON! Susan M. Barr

THIS BOOK HELPS KEEP ONE OF OUR TREASURED ARTS ALIVE!!!

Being an antique dealer, I love to see those who help to protect and revive lost arts from our past. This book helps to keep the art of ribbon flowers and work alive. It's presentation is beautiful and the directions simple and direct. It would make a wonderful gift for those who are creative and have an interest in some of the lost arts.

Helen's ribbon flowers are outstanding as are the photos.

Reviewed by Nancy Wyatt, editor of Better Homes and Gardens "Cross Stitch & Needlework" magazine. If you like to make ribbon flowers or just like to look at beautiful things, you'll enjoy Helen's book, The Secrets of Fashioning Ribbon Flowers: Heirlooms For the Next Generation. The flowers look so real you expect to catch a floral scent from the bouquet featured on the cover! Helen has created the instructions and step-by-step illustrations for more than 22 flowers and leaves, not to mention at least seven different ribbon roses. The examples of Helen's flower making are outstanding and the photography of her designs is simply beautiful. There are 20 projects in which Helen has used her ribbon flowers for elegant accessories that reader will enjoy for decorating, wearing, or giving as gifts. Throughout the book you will find helpful tips called "Fashioning Secrets" that will make your flower crafting experience more plesurable. Helen, who lives in the United States now, still uses some of her native Australian dialect (which she clarifies for readers in a glossary in the back of the book).