There is most definitely the feel of autumn in the air in our corner of the world and each year at this time I get the urge to make gifts.  In anticipation of this annual ritual, I stocked up on alterable items — and some of my absolute FAV’s are the Beyond the Page MDF board alterables by Kaisercraft.  I like the weight and the quality.  When I saw the Ribbon Reels, well — of course — what can you expect — I HAD to have them.  I often give ribbon as a little gift to friends for various occasions and I knew I’d have fun making little gift items with these ribbon reels.  And what goes with ribbon — well, pins — so I made a pin cushion, too!   Here’s my first Ribbon Reel/Pin Cushion Gift Set:

With these type of alterables I typically cover them with paper, and I did consider covering this Ribbon Reel with paper, but opted not to.  I wanted the ribbon to be the focus and didn’t want the background paper competing with it, so a quick paint job using craft store acrylic paints did the trick, giving me the clean backdrop I wanted for my ribbon.  Isn’t it fun!!!  This Ribbon Reel alterable in its bare state will be shown at the end of this post along with other alterables in stock.

These Ribbon Reels have slots for 9 types of ribbon.  I used all May Arts ribbon on this project.  From the top down, these are the ribbons in the slots:

1/8″ Velvet in Teal, Violet, Turquoise

1/4″ Ringlet Trim in Ivory, Rose

5/8″ Crochet Lace in Ivory, Br0wn and Watermelon way at the bottom

3/4″ Lace with Pearl Center

Cardst0ck is SU Cameo Coral and Vanilla.

These are the supplies used to decorate the top of the Ribbon Reel.

1.5″ Silky Crushed Ribbon in Ivory

Prima Fairytale Roses in Teal and French White

The lace and trim are linked in the photo above

Sentiment from Just Because Mini Sentiment Set by JustRite

Sentiment tag cut with dies in the Happy Everything Tag Making Kit  by JustRite (interchangeable with all Mini Sentiment Sets)

Kaisercraft Pearls in Champagne 

Versa Fine Onyx Black Ink 

3D Foam Squares

These simple little pin cushions are so quick and fun to make. I recyled an old can, not sure from what, but a tuna can works great for these as well.  Have some polyester fiberfill on hand and a 12″ square of fabric, pull out your other ribbon and embellies and you’ll be set to go!

The ribbon and flowers used on this pin cushion are the same as linked above on the Ribbon Reel.

The paper around the can is Kaisercraft’s Utopia

The pins are 120 Long Pearlized Pins by Dritz

Scor-Tape was used to adhere the paper and all the ribbon

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Directions to make the pin cushion:

Cut paper to size and wrap Scor-tape around the can, upper and lower edges, to adhere the paper

Wad up a small handful of polyester fiberfill, place it in center of 12″ fabric square, pull fabric up around it and tie off with a rubber band.  Make sure it’s a proper fit for your can — adjust if necessary.  Using  a bit of glue, insert the “cushion” into the can, elastic side down inside the can.

Again using the Scor-tape, run tape around the can wherever you plan to place your ribbon.  Run your ribbon over the Scor-tape — easy peasy!   Add any other embellishments you like!  Then sit back and admire your new pin cushion!!!

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Here are all the Kaisercraft MDF board alterables currently in stock.   You can view them all in the store here.  They are listed under Alterables, which fall under Supplies.

These are the Ribbon Reels I used today — 4 per pack.  I only used 1 for today’s project.

BABY Monologue

Bird House

Mini Albums #1 – 3 albums per pack

Mini Albums #2 – 3 albums per pack

Bauble Album

Stocking Garland   

Scallop Hanging Tree

 Scallop Tree Album – 4 pages

And last but not least, the Advent Calendar so many of you have been having problems finding. It is back in stock and ready to ship.

All items in the post are available at The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store, as linked above.

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Thank you so much for stopping in again today.  I had fun creating this project and hope you enjoyed it.  I think it would make a GREAT little girlfriend exchange gift or teacher gift — and children would even be able to make the pin cushion with some help.

Have a wonderful weekend (can’t believe it’s the weekend again) and I’ll be back real soon!