I love ribbon. I love making bows with ribbon. To me, decorating with bows are simple and easy and oh so elegant! Below is a helpful guide so you too can decorate with bows! Add them to your tree, banister, wreaths, presents!
Materials:
Wired ribbon (I used 12’ (about 3 metres) of ribbon to make the bow illustrated)
Florists wire (24 gauge) on paddle
Scissors
Wire snips
Cutting your bow
1.Decide how big/full you want your bow
2.Snip this length, allowing ½ to 1” extra for overlap
3.Cut three of this length (illustration used 20” for this)
4.Cut two more – one inch (1”) shorter (2 @ 19”)
5.Cut one more – one inch (1”) shorter than the previous (18”)
6.Cut nosing – 4 to 7” (depends on how you wrap it)
7.Cut tails – decide on how much hang you want on one side, cut 2x (leave one long piece)
Putting it all together
1.Pick up first long loop, overlap and fold loop in half to mark centre point. Pinch centre point in with overlap (accordion the pinch).
2.Using florists wire, wrap 2x around pinch, pulling very snug to secure (DO NOT CUT WIRE)
3.Repeat step #1 with next 20” piece, place immediately below first wrapped loop and wrap 1x snuggly with wire
4.Repeat with final 20” piece and place below second wrapped loop and wrap 1x snuggly. Wrap all three loops once or twice and pull tight. DO NOT CUT WIRE
5.Pick up first medium loop (19” piece) and repeat step one. Lay this pinch atop the foundation bow layer. Wrap wire around 1x.
6.Repeat with second medium loop and wrap 2x around, pulling snugly.
7.Pick up small loop piece (18” piece) and repeat step one. Lay this pinch atop the middle layer. Wrap 2x to secure.
8.Pick up tails and fold in half. Place below all loop and secure.
9.Cut about 8” of wire from florist wire paddle and set paddle aside.
10. Take nosing and loop around middle of bow. Leave it loose and overlap at back of bow.
Using wire, loop around and secure nosing. Form a loop in the wire and secure to itself (for the hanger)
11. Fluff up the bow and viola! The perfect bow!
With a little practice, you'll be whipping up bows like a pro - and the best part, no special machine or special ribbon needed! Enjoy and happy crafting! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Day 7!
All images used with permission. All images copyright Blackstone Images
I was inspired by a cheap snowman chalkboard in the Dollar store and when I couldn't find a snowman wood cutout at the craft store, I fell in love with a large wooden sled and decided that this would work even better! Using this picture as my inspiration, I started to work.
Once it was dry, I applied a second coat with a dry sponge. I then dry brushed black all over the edges. Next, I lightly sanded the entire surface and wiped it clean with a dry towel. I blended a white acrylic paint with a silver acrylic paint to paint the snowman. I gave him three generous coats (as the red beneath showed through). His nose was orange and his buttons had a base of orange and I painted over it with the scarf colour (a blend of red, black and gold). The hat is pure black and the cloud was acrylic chalk board paint (3 coats). The snowflakes were applied using white acrylic paint on a rubber stamp and I had painted his name on the top.
4.Repeat with final 20” piece and place below second wrapped loop and wrap 1x snuggly. Wrap all three loops once or twice and pull tight. DO NOT CUT WIRE
