Paper Bow Tutorial

This bow came into being because I needed a 3-D accent. I did a search and learned how to make them from a post on flickr that used magazine pages. Paper is a little different, but these are really fast to make and can add a fun happy look to your pages or cards. OR... you could actually make it for a present topper. :)

You'll need a paper cutter, liquid adhesive and a pair of scissors (optional). Here's a step by step for you:

1. Cut 4 strips of 12 inch long paper. For this example I cut mine 5/8" wide, but you can experiment with the width.
   
2. Cut three of the strips in half at the 6" mark. At this point, you'll chose which side you want showing. I wanted the ruler side of Harper's Ruler to show because I thought the variations would make for a fun bow. Notice how I marked and X at the 3" mark on the ruler side? That will guide where you put the spot of glue, right in the middle.
   
   3. Now comes the trickiest part of the process. You'll put a dab of the liquid adhesive on the X and then fold the end on the paper backward onto itself.
   
   Here's what it looks like from the front:
   
3. Now you repeat the process with the other end of the same 6" strip.
   
   Here's what it looks like from the other side:
   
4. Now you repeat the same process six (6) times. For the last two times, before you start the process, you'll want to cut about 1/2" to 3/4" off the strip to make the end loop a bit smaller than the first four. You'll have a group that looks like this, aren't they so cute in a row like that? Notice the two on the end are just a bit smaller. It makes it easier to put the bow together.
   
   
5. Now the fun part, assembling the bow. Put a dab of glue in the middle of the first twist.
   
6. Then start stacking, adding a dab of glue (this is why I use the Quick Dry Adhesive by Scotch 3M, it really is FAST. The first and second ones will nest nicely, the next four will not nest, they'll start the lift that you see in the end.
   
   
   
7. The final step involves cutting a small piece of the strip, mine was 2.5" long, gluing the ends together and inserting it into the middle of the bow, attaching with one last dob of liquid adhesive. 
   
8. Then you can use the bow in any manner you'd like, on a layout, a card, or another project. The bow will smash when you put your layout in an album, but that just leads to the personality of the project in my opinion. I hope you have fun with this project!
   
   
   

challenge : make a card out of scraps

Hi all!! Steph W and I are hosting the blog this week, and I'm here to start things off with a challenge. =)

I've admitted before that I'm a messy scrapper. As I work, my desk gets covered in little bits of patterned paper and embellishments or stamped images that didn't make it onto a page for one reason or another. When I clean up, I tend to think that these little bits and pieces would make great cards.




This card uses mostly bits from my most recent page - piggy rides. The 3 circles were already punched in the backing from a package of Studio Calico's rubons. I had stamped the house in Mustard Seed before settling on Tumbled Glass for the page, so I used that along with a scrap of the Home Front Blown Fuse paper. I finished the card with some stitching, vintage seam tape and bits of fabric from a recent sewing project.



This card uses leftovers from my Joyland kit. I liked the effect of layering these two papers when I used it on my 3 of a kind page, so I used the same technique to make a big "9" for my oldest's birthday.

So that's our challenge for this week. Take the leftover, cast aside and not used items from your last project and throw them together into a quick card. Post a link to your card on this thread on the message board, and we'll draw one winner for a $5 gift certificate to the shop. You've got until midnight EST on Saturday night to enter!

Valentine's Mini Tag Book! ...A Tutorial

In honor of this weekend's holiday, I thought I'd make a little mini tag book for my sweetie. This is a really easy project that anyone can put together,
and chances are, you already have everything you need to make it.


For the tag book, I gathered some basic supplies:

• Studio Calico Silhouette stamps
• Studio Calico Heart Tag stamp set from Whodunit
• Maya Mist in Silver
• Staz On ink in Jet Black
• Scissors
• Office supply tag
• Scrap paper
• Stapler
• Black pen

This would also be a great time to use any punches you have.


First, I folded my tag in half. I stamped a heart onto a piece of scrap paper, cut the heart out and made a mask out of it. I sprayed Maya Mist directly on top of the heart and removed the shape once the mist dried.


Then, I took my Staz On ink and stamped directly where the mask was.


Then, I gathered scrap paper for my inside pages. I cut about 6 little double-sided sheets to fit right inside my tag, then folded them in half.

You can really use any kind of paper you want here, vintage, ledger, patterned...I experimented with some white washing, but decided not to use the paper for a layout, but decided the finished product was perfect for my tag book.

I stamped the girl silhouette on the right side of one paper, and flipped the boy stamp over to stamp it on the left side of another piece of paper.



Once I finished stamping, I folded my "pages" and arranged them in order.



Then I folded the book in half and trimmed off the excess corners.



Then I flattened the book out and stapled the spine right on top of the fold.


Of course, you can decorate the pages before or after you assemble your book. I did most of my embellishing after, and here's how mine turned out:



That's it! Easy peasy. If you decide to make your own tag book, feel free to link it up!

xoxo,

Steph W.