How to Make Gift Bows
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Use all those little scraps of paper that you have leftover after wrapping gifts to make your own gift bows. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is.
How to Make Gift Bows
What You’ll Need:
Wrapping paper
Scissors
A stapler
Tape
A ruler
What You Do:
Cut wrapping paper into one-inch wide strips. To make a bow, you’ll need:
- (3) 11-inch long strips
- (3) 10-inch long strips
- (3) 9-inch long strips
- (1) 3-inch long strip
If your wrapping paper is the kind that has a grid of one-inch squares on the back, you don’t even need a ruler.
Once you have all your strips cut out, take one, and twist it into a figure eight. Staple the center to secure it.
Twist and staple the rest of the paper strips, except for the three-inch strip.
Take all of the 11-inch twists, and arrange them into a flower shape, as shown above. Staple the center to hold everything together.
Repeat with the 10-inch twists and the 9-inch twists.
Lay the 10-inch “flower” on top of the 11-inch “flower,” so that the loops of the top layer fit into the gaps between the loops of the bottom layer. Secure the two layers together with glue or a staple.
Then, staple or glue the 9-inch “flower” layer on top. This is how your bow should look at this point. See the gap in the center? That’s where that remaining three-inch strip comes in.
Shape it into a loop, and secure it twith a piece of tape.
Then, glue the loop in the center of your bow. And voila! Your bow is ready to use!
The fun thing about making your own bows is that you can make them any size you need. To make a bigger, fuller bow, just add additional outer layers. So, if your largest layer is made with 11-inch strips, add a layer that’s made with 12-inch strips and another that’s made with 13-inch strips. Easy.
Want to make a mini bow? Drop down to 1/2-inch wide strips, and cut them to these lengths:
- (3) 9-inch long strips
- (3) 8-inch long strips
- (3) 7-inch long strips
- (1) 3-inch long strip
Need a really big bow? Size up to two-inch wide strips, and cut them to these lengths:
- (3) 20-inch long strips
- (3) 19-inch long strips
- (3) 18-inch long strips
- (1) 8-inch long strip
And that’s just a starting point. As long as you make the strips in each layer one inch shorter than the strips in the previous layer, you can go as big or as small as you want. To determine how big the center loop needs to be, just cut a strip of paper, and do a test fit. You want it to stand up as tall as the other loops.