Ribbons Galore



I made this snowflake 25 years ago. And I still use it.

 I love making new things from old stuff

 I finished decorating my house for Christmas. So of course that put me in the mood for wrapping all the gifts I have been buying and making and hiding all year. hee hee
I like using all the things in my ribbon box, or bits and pieces of this and that which I have saved up.
And I love to make special wrappings and bows and this is where today's project comes in...

Today's project is:
Lacy ribbon snowflakes

You will need:
lacy ribbon or velvet ribbon
Fabric Stiffener (buy it at Michaels or Joann's)
glue gun
scissors
wax paper
Optional: white pony beads or small decorations for the center of the piece (I used plastic holly)

You can also make this Poinsettia with the same pattern.
Instead of lacy cloth ribbon, I used velvet ribbon and added white pony beads.

The velvet ribbon is pretty thick and stiff already, you do NOT need to use the fabric stiffener on it.
In fact, it would mess up the soft velvet.
These can be bows on the packages, or ornaments or both!



First you will cut strips, about 5-6" long and taper the ends as the picture below shows. For larger snowflakes, make the lengths longer, but cut only 5 or 6. For smaller snowflakes, keep the length down to 4-5" and make more of them, perhaps 7 or 8.
If you are using the lace and wish to hang these up on the Christmas tree for decorations, you will need to stiffen the fabric. If you are using them for package toppers, you really don't need to do this step.

To stiffen fabric, you pour some Fabric Stiffener in a bowl (line it with foil, if you wish, for easy clean up)

Then take each strip and dip it, then run it through your fingers to get the excess off. Fold it so the ends meet at a point. Place on wax paper to dry (several hours, or overnight). The stiffener will hold the ends together til they dry. You will have to glue them afterward.

this is messy, so use a big piece of wax paper to catch drips

After the strips are dried, then you can place them, one at a time, and glue the ends. Then hot glue them next to each other, one at a time. When you use hot glue with lace, be careful not to get your fingers in the way. Use popsicle sticks to press edges together. You will form a snowflake or poinsettia when you place the last piece in place.  Poke a hole in the velvet ribbon to hang for an ornament. With the lacy snowflake, just put the thread through one of the holes.

Hot glue beads or embellishment in the center, if you wish.  I put these on my packages, and tell the recipients that after they open their gifts, they can use the "bows" for ornaments on their trees. They love it!
Remember reusing is better than throwing away.


tip of the day:
If you run out of boxes to wrap your gifts, remember that the Post Office has flat rate boxes that are free. They are usually in their lobby, and come in 4 sizes.

That's all for this week!
:D