Pretty Bows from Paper Stash

Hi Crafters 

We all have a stash of off-cuts we are going to do something with, because its just too pretty to throw away. Well I have several ideas for them including these pretty bows made from paper/card strip approx 1" wide.

For these you need pieces 8" or more in length

You can make them on your envelope board, (check it out on YouTube)  or if you do not have one but want to make a bow to match your project, here's how:

Take your piece of paper 8" x 1" 
Fold in half and put the folded half in your corner punch both sides 

Next with the two sides still together cut approx 1.5 cm up in the middle of the strip from the open end, this forms the tails of the bow as you now cut on the curve from the outer edges into the middle. Run your scissors along the card taking care not to cut through to give the bow some dimension.

From the tail end mark 4cm in, and fold the paper back at this point , lining it up so it sits inside the other side of the paper, your folded edges will sit nicely on the middle where your paper punch rounded and form a bow.

Holding it all together gently cut around the curve so there are no edges showing at the centre. Glue down using Pritt Stick or a wet glue and add a centre decoration. 

I now have several packs of bows made in this way as well as my bows made on my enveloper.

Bows made using my corner punch

The enveloper is obviously quicker for bulk making, but if you want one bow to match a project, using your corner punch and cutting by hand can be very effective.  

Bows made using the WRMM letter board 

I shall definitely be making these for Christmas wrapping and for Craft Fayres.

Other uses for paper stash include:

• Flowers - lots of small flowers are always handy to have around 
• Bag Holders - see previous blog
• If the card is plain on white side and printed on the other, I use the white side to stamp out my business details to give out at craft fayres etc

Perhaps I will show these another day.

Happy Crafting 

Dee