Elegant ribbon
Colorful ribbons make beautiful craft projects and wearable art. Make a set of bookmarks in complementary colors for Mom, a beribboned Alice band for your favorite little girl or a ribbon photo board for a teenager. Ribbons can make easy projects look like expensive luxury gifts.
Bookmarks
A thin ribbon weighted at each end with pretty beads and a charm makes a wonderful bookmark. Cut about 15 inches of 1/4-inch ribbon. Use beads in a variety of shapes to add interest, and thread one end with four or five beads. At the end of the ribbon, loop the ribbon through the hanger of a small charm. An initial charm is nice, or choose something special to the recipient of the bookmark, such as a dance charm or a cartoon character. You may also use a bead at the bottom. Tie a knot at the top of the charm and wind the end of the ribbon up and around the ribbon several times, glue in place, and trim the remaining ribbon. Slide the beads down to the knot and secure with a dot of glue. Tie a knot at the top of the beads to prevent the beads from sliding up.
Finish the bookmark by repeating this process at the other end of the ribbon. The beaded ends of the finished bookmark will hang out of the book at the top and bottom, marking the reader's place without damaging the pages.
Alice Band
Alice bands have been popular with little girls since the Victorian era. Use colorful ribbons to put an individual twist on this classic look or match a special outfit. A wide grosgrain ribbon with a small pattern is a wonderful choice for this project. Use an inexpensive, cloth-covered Alice band as the base for your project. Cover the ends of the headband first, using hot glue to hold 1-inch pieces in place at each end. After the ends are covered, start on the inside of one end, place a dab of hot glue, stick the end of the ribbon in place and hold it tightly until it dries. This should take only about a minute.
When the glue is dry, start winding the ribbon evenly around the headband, adding a dab of hot glue on the inside with each wind. When you reach the opposite end of the band, secure the end with a liberal dab of hot glue and hold in place until dry. Hot glue a bow tied from the same ribbon to one side of the center for extra pizazz.
To make a full accessory set, consider adding matching ribbon bows to a dainty pair of gloves, the belt of a dress or a pair of dressy little socks. Sew pre-tied bows to the accessories for more durable wear.
Ribbon Bulletin Board
Show off precious pictures without creating pushpin holes, display and easily change greeting cards or tuck to-do reminders under the ribbons on this handy bulletin board. Start with a lightweight board cut to any size you like. Attach a layer of quilt batting using dabs of fabric glue and let dry according to glue directions. Place the padded board face down on the wrong side of a piece of fabric large enough to cover the board and overlap 2 inches on each side. Fold the bottom up and use an upholstery stapler to attach the fabric to the back of the board. Pull the top side tight, fold and staple to the back of the board. Fold in the each side, tucking the corners and pulling tightly as you staple. Once the board is covered, turn it over.
Lay 1/2-inch ribbons in an even crisscross pattern across the board with two inches of extra ribbon at each end. When you have a pattern you like, staple the center of each cross. Get creative with colors, patterns and ribbon widths or make it neatly balanced and evenly spaced. When each crossed ribbon has been stapled, turn the board over and staple the loose ends to the back of the board.
Hot glue beads, fabric flowers, trinkets, buttons or use decorative pushpins to cover the staples at the crossed ribbons for a finished look. Slide pictures, cards and notes under the ribbons for a collage-style display. For an interesting and useful dual-purpose twist, attach a mirror to the back and hang from a long, wide ribbon over a sturdy hook for easy flipping.
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