How to Make your own Gift Bows

Making a gift bow from a magazine page looked so interesting that I couldn’t resist trying it out. The result is impressive and these are really lots of fun to do. Try it … you’ll like it!

Some tips I gleaned in the experience ..
– Try to find a magazine page with interesting and somewhat matching images on both sides of the page. You’ll only need one page per bow.
– You cut the page into 9 strips which are 3/4′ wide. Leave 3 strips at the full length (@ 11 inches, with the second 3 being 1 inch shorter (@ 10 inches) and then 2 an inch shorter than those (@ 9 inches). The last one should be 3 1/2 inches long.
– The first time I tried it, I used a pen to mark where I’d cut my strips, but be warned .. unless you cut exactly on the line, it will show, as both sides of the page are visible in the finished product. For my second try, I scored the paper and cut along that line.
– If you can find them, using pre-cut pieces of two-sided tape works out really well. In order to make your bow even, fold your strip of paper in half to mark the exact centre, attached the tape to the fold and arrange the ‘arms’ of your loops so the ends butt up to one another on the tape.
– When arranging your loops, try to make sure the colours are distributed evenly.

On my first attempt (on the red back-ground) you can see my pen-marks and the fact that I should have arranged the loops differently in order to avoid those 4 white ones together in the same area.

In summary, this is a fairly easy and rewarding little craft, which will get you kudos from your gift recipients, because they really do look quite impressive.

Thanks for dropping by. Hope you’re having a great Wednesday. It is so dark here at 3 pm that it feels like nighttime already.

xo loulou

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