The Ultimate Cheater Bow

This is a great cheater bow! And no one will ever guess that it's not real! I'm again using a coaster for the purpose of the tutorial, but you'll be using cardstock.

1. I'm going to get you started: Lie a piece of ribbon across the face of your cardstock and secure it on the back with adhesive. The front will look like a ribbon stripe.


2. Take an additional piece of ribbon (use matching for a cheater bow, use a complimenting color for a decorative touch) and run it under the flat piece.


3. Tie the smaller ribbon in any style you choose. (Check out my X-shaped Bow and How to Tie a Knot That Lies Straight and Flat tutorials for two ways to tie it.) It is now mobile and will slide easily across the flat ribbon so that you can place it wherever you'd like on your project. And we were always taught that cheating wasn't acceptable!

Flat Faux Bow

Here's a third ribbon tying idea. This is super easy and deffinately a cheater bow! All you'll need is a double square, rectangle or circle punch to be used on your cardstock, in addition to your ribbon.

1. Use your punch on your paper so that you have two holes side-by-side. If you don't have a double punch you can fake it by punching a regular punch twice. Just make sure that you get them lined up evenly.


2. Thread your ribbon through the holes so that both tails are on the same side. Note: The tails should be on the BACK of your project and the flat piece should be on the FRONT. Pull snug.


3. Flip the left tail down and to the right.


4. Tuck the right tail into the left hole. Pull snug.


5. Tuck the left ribbon into the right hole. Pull snug.


6. This is what the back of your cardstock should look like now.


7. And this is the front! Trim the ends and it's ready to go, no adhesive needed if it's been pulled snugly. It's a nice bow for masculine cards.

Tying an X-shaped bow

I'm posting a series of ribbon tying tutorials because I've noticed that a lot of people are afraid of ribbon because they don't know how to make a good bow or knot. This is the second posting of ribbon tying. We're going to make an X-shaped bow, so go get a length of ribbon and hurry back to your computer!

1. Hold the ribbon in your hand like this, creating a loose loop shape, with the longest tail off to the left.


2. Bring the long tail up and over the loop.


3. Then bring it around the backside.


4. Next, you're going to push a bit of the ribbon through the loop you've just created, making another loop. Just like tying your shoe...


5. Pull snugly to secure and snip ends. You can make the "ears" of the bow as little or as large as you'd like by pulling the tails and ears accordingly.

How to tie a knot that lies straight and flat:

Everyone is always in search of a perfect knot, whether it be for a card, a scrapbook page or a special package. Here it is! You're (k)not going to believe how easy it is either! For the purpose of this tutorial, I'm wrapping my ribbon around a coaster, but you'll be able to do this on sturdy paper if you need to. I'm using a ribbon with a deffinate front and back so that you'll be able to follow easily.


1. Bring the right-hand side of the ribbon across your surface and then turn it back under itself at a right angle, aiming away from you. (It will resemble the letter "L".)


2. Bring the left-hand side of the ribbon across your surface and turn it back under itself at a right angle, aiming it toward you. The two ends should be intertwined.


3. Pull snugly to tighten it up. You will have the letter "T" now.


4. Hold the center knot snugly and bring the top end of the ribbon down to the right.


5. Still securing the center knot, bring the bottom end up and to the right. The two ends will now be crossed.


6. Take the end that is aiming up and tuck it into the hole created where the two ribbons cross and start to pull, turning the ribbon slightly to position it so that the correct side of the ribbon is showing. Pull tight enough to secure and trim the ends. Viola!! Easy right? After you do this a few times, you'll never forget how to do it again.

Customize Ribbon to Match Your Project

Here's a great way to custom-color your ribbon to match any project! It's really quick and super easy to do. There are a few different ways to color your ribbon; this is the least messy one. Others include reinkers, ink pads, heat tools....yadda, yadda, yadda. This one can go from start to finished on your project in about 5 minutes. You'll need:

Pastels (Mine are SU Stampin' Pastels)
Sponge Dauber
A length of Grosgrain Ribbon in a nuetral color (I used cream, but white is an option)
Spray acrylic sealer


1. Load up your sponge dauber with pastel color. You'll see how much is needed as you go.


2. Liberally apply the color to the ribbon, using a side-to-side and up-and-down motion to be sure it gets good coverage. If it doesn't get even coverage it will look splotchy.


3. You may choose to color the opposite side also. I used a slightly different shade in the same color family so that once my bow was tied it would have the depth of two colors.


4. Blow off any excess pastel dust and take the ribbon outside to spray it. Just a quick spray (not at close range) to coat it will be enough. The ribbon will have a bit of stifffness to it now but will still be pliable. Let dry for about 60 seconds and tie it onto your project! (If you sprayed too much you'll have to let it dry for longer before using it.)

To see the rest of this card being made, look for the tutorial Watercoloring With An Aqua Painter.

Make a gift box with card stock

Here are instructions on how to make a box using cardstock. It may seem confusing at first, but after you've done it once or twice you may not need instructions anymore. This makes a great gift box for small thoughtful items! You'll need:

2 sheets of 12x12 cardstock (I used SU Very Vanilla & SU Designer Series paper)
Paper cutter
Scissors
Hole punch
Brad
Adhesive
Pencil & ruler (or anything with a straight edge to draw a line)


1. Using the piece of 12x12 cardstock that will become your lid, draw lines from point to point, diagonally, so that the two lines intersect at the center.


2. Starting at one corner, fold point up and into the center point, crease. Repeat on all four corners so that all points are in the center.



3. Unfold the paper so that it is flat again. Now fold a point up to meet the previous score line above it, crease. Unfold. Reapeat on all corners. (Yeah, the picture is crummy, deal with it.)


4. Your paper should look like this now. Lots of squares w/ a few triangles around the edge.


5. Now, take a point and fold it to the first score line it meets. Crease. Repeat on all sides.


6. Starting at one point, cut with the scissors until you meet the center four squares of your box. STOP AT THE FOUR CENTER SQUARES. You will cut a depth of one triangle and two squares. Repeat on the other side of the same point so that this part is independant of the rest of the cardstock.


7. It should leave a section like this on each side of the cut portion.


8. Repeat on the point opposite the one already cut. You should get a mirror image of the first cut. Your cardstock should look like this.


9. Taking one of the uncut points,


10. fold the point into the center of the cardstock. At this point you may wish to put a small amount of adhesive in each of the center squares. When a point meets the center of the cardstock, the adhesive will hold it in place.


11. Repeat on the opposite side. It will leave "tails" sticking out on either side.


12. Bring two of the tails together.


13. Lift the point that rests behind them and bring it up and over, securing the point in the center of the box. Your box now has three sides.



14. Repeat on opposite side. This completes the box lid.


15. To make the bottom: take the remaining sheet of cardstock and trim 1/2" off of two adjoining sides. Reserve these pieces.


16. Repeat steps 1 through 14. Your box will now have a top and a bottom.


17. To make the bow you will need the two pieces of paper cut off of your box bottom. Cut the 12" piece into two 6" pieces. Cut the 11 1/2" piece into one 6" piece and one 5 1/2" piece.


18. Fold the three 6" pieces in half to find the center. Fold one side up to the center and one side down to the center, overlapping slightly. (Think of a figure 8.)Punch a hole where the overlap is. The hole should be through 3 paper layers. This will be the loops of the bow.


19. Cut the 5" strip in half. Punch a hole in one end of both pieces. Cut tails in the opposite ends. These will be your ribbon tails.


20. Insert the brad into one of the loops, follow with the remaining two pieces, then the two ribbon tails. Open brad to secure paper. Adjust loops evenly.


21. Your bow is done and can now be applied to the box top for a finishing touch!



I've found other ways to make this box online but this is the one I prefer. One of the other styles has creases that will show on the finished box top where your pencil lines are hidden. I know it seems complicated, but it's really not.