Thursday, August 27, 2009

Bow Tutorial - By Anna

Almost everyday at the Essential Packaging Store, we get asked,
"How do you tie a nice bow?"
Well, today I'm going to do a tutorial on how to tie a bow! There are many different kinds of bows you can make but today I'm going to do a very simple one that I like to call The Cheater Bow. I call it this because technically we're not tying the ribbon into a bow. Follow this tutorial and see how really easy it is to tie a bow!

Start off with a length of ribbon. In this sample I'm using about 18" of single face satin ribbon.
Form the ribbon into a loop that resembles the Breast Cancer ribbons.

Then bring the loop down until it touches the centre where the ribbon crosses itself. You should now be able to see your bow starting to take shape.

Using a small length of tinsel cord, about 8" long, place the tinsel cord vertically down the middle of your bow.

Take the ends of the tinsel cord and tie a loose knot. As you begin to tighten up your tinsel cord knot the centre of your satin ribbon bow will also begin to gather. Be sure to make a double knot with the tinsel cord to secure the bow. Once you've finished the tinsel cord knot you may need to adjust the satin ribbon so that the bow lays properly.

This is a view of your ribbon bow from the back. Note that after I tied the tinsel cord knot I turned the knot to be at the back of the bow. This will allow you to use the remaining cord to attach your bow onto something else.

Now, back to the front of the bow. I trimmed the ends of the bow tails on an angle to give the bow a nice finish.

And there you have it - the perfect Cheater Bow!! Once you have mastered this bow try experimenting- use different types of ribbon, including wired; layer two or three small bows, in different colours and textures, together to create one amazing bow!

Well, I hope this tutorial has helped take the mystery out of bow tying! Please let me know if you found this tutorial helpful or if you have any further questions, I'd love to hear from you! Until the next tutorial, happy bow tying!

Anna

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Wedding Wednesdays - Paper Bag Favours!


Hi again! Time for another Wedding Wednesday blog entry. This week I thought I would borrow an idea from our current August newsletter only this time, we're using these little brown bags as wedding, shower or party favours. They're quick, easy and inexpensive to make and best of all, they can be personalized any way that you wish.


For this sample, we used our little 1/2lb brown paper bags (they measure 3" wide x 5 1/8" tall with a 1 3/4" side gusset or pleat). They're a great size for wrapped candies or chocolates! We trimmed the top of the bag with pinking shears just to fancy it up a bit.

We stamped our little saying, in brown ink, on the front of the bags (this particular stamp is from Stampin' Up). Then fill your bags, fold down the top of the bag and punch two holes side by side near the top of the bag. Thread a piece of ribbon through the two holes and tie a shoelace bow on the front. That's it! Easy and really cute, too!

Thanks and we'll see you soon!
Anna