Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Ribbon Tutorial

Today, after many many request I am going to share with you how I create the bows on my scrapbook pages that I am known for!

It's really so easy, you'll be surprised what little effort it takes!

SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED:
* ribbon to make a bow with a decent amount of tails
* a good pair of scissors, that will not fray your delicate ribbon
* a hot glue gun and glue stick
* a pretty button or bling piece to accent the center of your ribbon

STEP 1:
Before you get started, it's a good idea to make sure your ribbon is beautifully striaght, without crinkles or creases. An easy way to straighten your ribbon is to use your hair straightening iron or your regular iron if you do not have the one for hair! If you are going to use the hair iron, make sure the ceramic is clean first, by wiping it down while it's warm with a damp rag.


STEP 2:
Tie a pretty bow, making sure both sides are even and straight. You may have to fuss with it a bit to achieve this, but the end result is worth it. I also really hate it when you tie a bow and the tails do not match....meaning one side may be shiny like the front side of the ribbon and the other tail dull because it's got flipped to the back side of the ribbon during the bow process, even worse when one side is printed and the other is not......you get what I mean, lol....
To fix this problem simply twist the flipped tail at the edge of the knot, this also may take some fussing with, but if you work with it, you will be able to turn it the correct way, so that both tails match beautifully!


STEP 3:
Now that you have a perfect bow, your ready to adhere it to your project!! Choose a perfect spot for your ribbon, I personally like to butt it up against an exsisting embellishment such as flowers, it's nice just to mix the box right in, plus it gives the bow the extra dimension it needs resting on something else to give it that pretty lifted look. When your ready to adhere and you think you've found the perfect spot, just use a bit of hot glue to adhere it trying not to stick it flat to the page, but slightly upward just a bit.



STEP 4:
Once you've adhered your perfect bow in your perfect spot, it's time to create perfect tails!!!  Before try to do this, play with your tails for a moment by trying them in different areas, shaped different ways.  For instance crinckle them to the left a bit, maybe try them to the right, or having them go different ways......this step is just a matter of preference and there is really no right or worng way to do it. Once you've found the perfect spot, it's time to adhere! So crinkle your first tail slightly and put a very very very small dab of hot glue down at the end of your first crinkle, reapeat with the rest of the tail as well as the second tail!



STEP 5:
Now that you have a perfect bow, it's time to finish it off with the perfect accent piece, for my page I choose a pretty pearl! All you need to do is adhere it over the center of the bow with some hot glue and let it dry!


Once your all done, you will have a pretty bow like mine below!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my ribbon tutorial!

3 comments:

  1. You make it look so easy!! So gorgeous, thanks for the tutorial!

    kelseymel.blogspot.com

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  2. Beautiful! and so simple when you 'know how' thanks for sharing, now to borrow my dd's straightener ;)

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  3. okay, going back through your blog has convinced me. I am now a follower. Love your style. Thanks as always for sharing.

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