Becca's Peg Bow Maker

August 10, 2011

If you know me or have taken one of my classes you will know that I am NOT a bow maker!

I'd rather tie a knot than a bow and I sometimes feel that my ribbon embellished cards look the same because of this handicap.

I saw a post by Becca Feeken a while ago where she made her own peg bow maker and I knew that someday I would have to make one of these for myself!

I know that there are lots of tools out there to help you tie bows. 

I have a couple of Bow Easy's but I have to pull out the directions to use them every time. 

I even made myself some "fingers" to help me tie bows (I traced my 2 index fingers onto recycled plastic).

But after watching a few of Becca's peg bow tying videos I realized that her tool was a better one since it really is like having another hand.

So yesterday - while waiting for the garage door repair man - I looked around my garage and found some materials that I could use to make my own peg bow maker.

Here is my version of the Peg Bow Maker:

As you can see mine is not as nicely finished as Becca's but mine will fit in my craft tote and I can take it with me!

I used a scrap piece of MDF baseboard trim (leftovers from the bathroom remodel) and drilled holes every 1/2 inch.  Since I'm making card bows I thought this size would work for me and the funny thing is my trim piece measures out to 5 1/2 x 4 1/4!!

I found a length of thin dowel in the garage (not sure why I had it in the first place but glad I did) and cut it into two 4 inch pieces.

All in all this was very easy to put together and I'm so happy that I made myself a fantastic new tool.

Check out my bows:

Check out the photo below.  Yes - you are looking at a triple looped bow made by me!

Click HERE for the link to this figure eight multiple loop bow video by Becca.

I am happy to say that I am no long "Bow Challenged"!

If you haven't made one of these already I encourage you to do so - you'll be so happy with your beautiful bows!

Thank you Becca!!!!

Until Next Time!
Marie

Cleaning up my craft room....

Sorry I haven't been on much lately - lots of running around with the kids!

I've got a boy playing/participating in 4 sports right now and a daughter who is learning to drive on her own (she got her N license in Sept).  We just picked up the cutest MINI COOPER!!! and we are all having fun driving it around (well at least 3 of us are).

Today I've been getting ready for my Heat Embossing class on Saturday AND a Scrap/Craft Garage Sale next weekend.  If you're in the North Vancouver area you should check it out - it's Sunday January 30th at ScrapArts.

So I've been moving stuff around and PURGING - seriously if I didn't even know I had it how come I'm hanging on to it?  YES I'm cleaning up my craft room AGAIN!

TIP: Did you know that you can use your Sizzix Silicone Mat (SU! #114615) to pick up excess glitter off your work surface, your floor, your chairs, your body!?



It works great for paper dust and regular dust too - I tell you some of this stuff has been sitting on my desk for a while!
Maybe you already knew that but I just discovered this and I think it's the greatest thing!!! 
Once you're done cleaning up just rinse off the mat with warm soapy water and let it dry.

TIP: I've reorganized my ribbon "collection" too.  I saw this idea on Sharon Harnist's blog and I thought to myself "I've got some of those and I'm going to do the same thing!".

So I did....

I even went a step further and took the dowels out of my Making Memories Embellishment Centres and put these Store In Style Ribbon Spool Stackers in instead.  Doesn't it look better?

 I went through all my ribbon and tried to "group" the ribbon by colours and theme. 

The ribbon stackers looked kind of plain (white on white) so I attached an embellishment to it -

this is a "faux" metal tag with a small green flower on the green ribbon stacker.

 You might notice that I've turned my embellishment jars on their sides too. 

I don't know why but the "newer" ones I bought at Michaels are just a bit too tall for my shelves.

I don't mind them this way - I can still see what's inside.

 I moved a bunch of things around and I'm very happy with how it turned out. 

Here I used one of my Stampin' Up! punches to make labels for some of my jars

Until Next Time...
Marie

I LOVE this scrunchy ribbon look!

I've seen the scrunchy ribbon "look" done different ways but I like this one the best. 

Why?  It doesn't use sewing to gather and it's a pretty gather rather than just laying and scrunching your ribbon right on to sticky strip.

The method I used in the photo above is easy and quick - that is once you get the hang of it! 

Click HERE to see the video by the talented Mary Fish on how to do it yourself.   I LOVE her sample card too!

Marie's TIPS:
When doing this technique here are a few things to keep in mind.
1.  Cut a long piece of ribbon - for a 4 1/4 card front piece I cut a piece of ribbon 11 inches long.

2.  Secure the non-pulling side of the ribbon.  I did this by using a lighter to sear the ribbon end.  Check out THIS POST to see what I mean. 

If you don't do this you may pull your thread all the way through and end up with flat ribbon with a line through it.  This happened to me the first time doing this!

3.  Fray the ribbon end you're going to pull from quite a bit so you can get a hold of a thread.  I have long nails and I guess my finger tips are not that strong so I needed to use tweezers to get the thread started.

Click HERE for the sewn scrunchy ribbon look.


Click HERE for the scrunch look with sticky strip.

Which one do you like best?

Twisted Rose Tutorial

I saw this Ribbon Rose embellishment in the November issue of Stampin' Success Magazine - it's a publication for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.

So I decided to give it a try!

1. First you start off with a piece of scrap paper (I used the scrap from die cut) and apply some double sided tape. I couldn't find my red line tape so I used the Scor-Tape (Sookwang).

Apply as much as you need for the size of flower you are planning to make.

2. Remove the liner.3. Next select the ribbon you want to use - it's best to use ribbon that is 5/8 inch wide or less.

4. Start your centre and twist and turn

(I find it easier to twist the ribbon AND twist the scrap paper).5. Continue twisting and turning until you have the size rose you need.6. Once you have the size rose you want you can trim away the excess scrap paper.7. I like to singe the end of the ribbon so it doesn't fray and then tuck in the loose end.