You’ve seen the popular wreaths made from coffee filters with the ribbon bundles hanging from them right? These have been popular for quite a few years now. I smile each time I see one, as ribbon makes my heart happy, and when my heart is happy my life is en-LIGHT-ened!

What may seem a “new” craze to most, is something I’ve been doing from a very early age. I’ve had a love of ribbon, trims, buttons, buckles, and ornaments for as long as I can remember.

I use these items to accessorize the gifts I give. One of my favorite things is making gifts and giving them away – it’s my Love Language!

Some may perceive this as me trying to buy love, but that could not be further from the truth. All humans to some extent or another find satisfaction in creating things of beauty.

These don’t always come in the form of something tangible. A spreadsheet can be a thing of beauty!

So can a skilled nurse who is capable of giving shots that you can’t even feel! There are many ways we can be creative with the God given gifts we were born with.

Because I don’t seem to have an “off switch” on my brain, I lay awake at night dreaming up things I can make and give to people.

I seek out the most unique and personal gifts I can find, and then make them. Part of the fun, is the presentation of the actual gift. I rarely use wrapping paper.

I prefer a beautiful and unique gift basket, canvas bag, or a “Happy Bag” from “Natural Life”.

All of which can be re-used, and become a gift in and of themselves. I’ve already posted about some of my favorite baskets made by Amish families in the Midwest.

I love supporting people who are doing the best they can to live their beliefs and support their families at the same time.

One of my nieces recently made a comment to my daughter, that a gift from Les is not complete unless it has 62 ribbon streamers and a hand blown glass ornament hanging from it.

That comment made me laugh out loud, because even though I wasn’t part of the conversation, I knew the gifts she has received from me have brought a smile.

As a child, I had an entrepreneurial spirit. Trips to “Zim’s Crafts” on 45th south, just off the freeway in Murray, made my heart skip a beat!

If I could make things to sell, I could make money to buy more supplies to make gifts for those I loved and cared about. My poor neighbors and relatives were so kind to support my thriving little business ventures!

These included sturdy wire hangers beautifully knotted with yarn and finished with a pom-pom, painted rocks, beaded jewelry, knitted slippers, knitted hot pads, stuffed dolls and animals, aprons, and even tiny snails in shells caught in the Portneuf River in Idaho, and gifted in baby bottles with pretty rocks and twigs for the snails to live in. Then and now, a piece of my heart is included with each gift. :)

When I was twelve years old, my oldest sister got a job at “Buttons and Buckles”, at the newly opened mall at Trolley Square, in Salt Lake City. This would have been in the early 1970’s. By that time, I had been sewing from the time I was three years old. Granted, my sewing projects at three consisted of scavenging scraps of fabric out of the garbage can in the sewing room, and sewing small bags and pillows using a needle and thread. To this day, handwork is soothing and peaceful to my soul. “Buttons and Buckles” carried lovely fabrics from all over the world, but my favorites were the “Liberty of London” iconic cotton prints, the fine English and Italian wools, and the spools and spools of ribbons, and trims. The wall of buttons and buckles was mesmerizing to look at and admire.

I would imagine all the things I could make with those delicious fabrics and notions! They don’t make them like that anymore. One day, my sister asked if I would be interested in working a couple days a week after school at the store. It was a dream come true!!! I dusted the store, helped wind ribbon onto old wooden spools, and arranged them on the glass shelves. I also got to help straighten the bolts of fabric, and organize the buttons in the little drawers behind the display doors the buttons were arranged on. Eventually I even got to help measure and cut ribbon and fabric. Because I was only twelve, the owner would pay me $2.00 in cash each time I worked.

I saved my money and bought ribbons, and buttons to decorate my handmade gifts with. I LOVED that little store!!! I dream of it still today!!!

At Christmas time, Trolley Square asked the owner of “Buttons and Buckles” to decorate the mall for Christmas. She had the vision to make yards and yards of large twisted fabric garlands out of plaid taffeta moiré satin from England. There were two different colors, one was a deep evergreen, and the other was a deep burgundy. Each had woven lines of antiqued metallic gold thread and deep rich greens and reds. She asked if I would be willing to cut the eight inch strips of fabric, hem the edges on the sewing machine, and then hand gather each garland down the center with heavy cording.

I matched every plaid when cutting and sewing the strips together to make these garlands perfect. After this, I gathered the fabric onto the cording as tight as I could, and then twisted it to form yards and yards of festive garlands. This took roll after heavy roll of this gorgeous fabric to deck out the wrought iron railings still found throughout Trolley Square today.

These garlands were used for many years – I wish I had a scrap of the fabrics just to look at they were so pretty. Legally, I wasn’t old enough to be working, and so I was paid with a handmade gold ring set with a rare green Wyoming Jade stone made by Larry at “The Silversmith” jewelry store in the mall. I will never forget the satisfaction I felt, knowing I had contributed so many hours to help make that first Christmas at Trolley Square magical with those fabric garlands, tied with real evergreen boughs and bows of ribbon streamers!

I have scoured the few pictures I have from when I was younger, in addition to searching the internet trying to find pictures of the store, and the Christmas decorations, but sadly haven’t been able to find anything. I even drove to Trolley Square and talked to the people in the museum there, but the mall has changed hands so many times, there are no known pictures of those first stores that hold so many happy memories for me! “Buttons and Buckles” was located upstairs, in the main part of the mall, on the corner of the second floor above what is today “Tabula Rasa” - a high end paper and gift store. Originally “Buttons and Buckles” had a rounded glass wall that made it visible to see into the store on two entire walls of that quaint little corner shop. On the inside of those glass walls were shelves that went from floor to the top of the glass wall filled with ribbons and trim. At some point, that wall was taken out, and an eyeglass store has been in the location ever since.

To my recollection, there is only one establishment that has been there since day one, and that is “The Old Spaghetti Factory” restaurant. We will actually be going there tonight with all our kids and grandkids to celebrate Ronnie’s 62nd birthday!

My family will attest that I have a slight ribbon fetish.

They all know if they need a specific type of ribbon or trim, Grandma Les probably has what they need.

I don’t know what it is about a beautifully arranged gift, but the presentation tells the recipient how much we love and care about them.

So if you receive a gift with 62 ribbon streamers and a hand-blown glass ornament (or any other type of dangly thing of beauty I happen to run across) from me, I hope it brings you as much joy as I had making it! And I hope it brings LIGHT into your life!

I hope you find joy and LIGHT each day as you share your own unique creative gifts with family, friends and strangers alike.

Love Ya, Les :)

Create

Ribbon Fetish