Monday, January 19, 2009

Ribbon Tying Tutorial

There was some interest shown in how I tied the bow in this post, so I thought I'd try to put together a tutorial (my first!) since it's hard to explain in words. So here we go!

First, cut a piece of ribbon longer than the card you want to wrap around. Here, I could have made it shorter, and in fact trimmed some later, but I wanted to emphasize what's going on.
Next, cut another piece of ribbon after folding it into thirds to the length you want your bow to be.This next is an optional step and depends on the width of your ribbon. Since mine is pretty wide, I chose to cut a piece in half. Ordinarily, you won't have to do this.
Next, use your strip of ribbon to tie the bow onto the ribbon and tie it securely on the back. Because I cut this ribbon in half to make my strip, I had to trim a bunch of threads that came loose. Like I said, you won't ordinarily have this problem because you'll just be using a length of the original ribbon to tie the bow onto the main ribbon. Be sure to cut a long enough piece so that you have room to tie it and pull it snug. You can then trim off any excess. I've found that you don't need to tie it in a knot, which saves bulk. (The second picture below shows the back, as I'm tying the bow to the main ribbon.)
Finally, you flip it around, slide the bow a bit to make any necessary adjustments, and then attach it to your card by tacking the ends of the ribbon underneath a cardstock mat or around the edges of your card (I use my tape runner). Voila you have a beautiful bow!I pulled this card together pretty quickly to showcase the bow I made for this tutorial. I don't know what it is about me and monochromatic lately. I can't decide if I like it or if it's too dull.

The designer papers and stamps are from the Stampin Up Love You Much bundle (still available until January 31st at a 20% savings!). The card base is Riding Hood Red, with Very Vanilla for one of the mats and for the stamped hearts. I used a Build-a-Brad for the little birdie, which is punched from one of the stamped images in the set. The "lace" on either side of my center piece was made using my Martha Stewart edge punch. The scalloped hearts and the stamped hearts were punched out using Marvy Uchida punches. That gorgeous ribbon is no longer available, but it was good for demonstrating this technique, so forgive me for tempting you with something you can no longer buy.

I'm having trouble getting all the links to the new catalog and sampler, but I'll get those up as soon as the website calms down. I think there's a frenzy of orders going in today for items in the new catty. Mine won't be far behind!

Take care, and thanks for stopping by!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nicely done, easy to follow. Thanks for sharing! :)

Debbie Pamment said...

Thanx for the great tutorial - I had a hissy fit this morning when tying a knot - will have to try your method, may make my house a nicer place to be without me yelling - LOL

Kristine said...

OH, thank YOU!! I'm so bad at ribbons and bows. I'm soo saving this for quick find later!! Your card is adorable...love that bow!! =)

Anonymous said...

Love it, Lisa. Your instructions and photos are so clear and easy to follow. Can't wait to try one myself.
Judy

Stamp and Smile said...

This is great! Thanks soooo much for sharing this Tutorial... I need all the help I can get...LOL! Your card is FABALICIOUS!! :) I have a little something on my blog for you!!! I posted my award you passed on to me, but I have another for you with GREAT HONOR'S if you’re interested!!

Smiles and {{{Hugs}} Michelle

Jodi Collins said...

This is just MAGNIFICENT Lisa and I LOVE your tutorial!! I am totally going to try and make a bow like that tonight!! And I have that ribbon! Yeah! I also LOVE the bird in the Build A Brad...GENIUS!

Christyne said...

BRILLIANT!!!

Stella said...

Lisa, You are so creative you should copyright or patent some of your ideas. It is amazing to read everyone's comments as they all a gushing with appreciation for all of you ideas. There some interesting sites you can go to if you wish to patent your ideas. One is www.help-inventor-patent.org. Another fun page is www.inventionstatistics.com/Inventor_Income_Inventor_Success_Stories.html
Stella

Christy/Tiddly Inks Digitals said...

Okay, this is just exactly what I needed and guess who taught me!!! YOU! How funny. I googled ribbon tying tutorial and guess you popped up first!! My favorite crafty meow lady! Yay!!! I am laughing over here.

Thanks for the tutorial. :) Exactly what I needed to make a card tonight. :)