Happy Winter Card with Mini Bowdabra Bow

Winter is in full swing here in New Hampshire. Send a cheerful and encouraging card to friends and family, using this simple layout. I finished the card with a Mini Bowdabra Bow.

Materials Needed:

• Cardstock
• Circle Die Cuts
• Markers
• Glitter Ribbon
• Buttons
• Mini Bowdabra
• Thin Width Ribbon

For more about Bowdabra bow making products please visit the Bowdabra Blog (http://bowdabrablog.com)

Design a Bowdabra Ribbon Wrist Corsage

Instead of buying a wrist corsage from a florist - make your own!  Head on over to the Bowdabra Blog to view my step-by-step tutorial for making a ribbon wrist corsage.

The wrist corsage is super easy to make and if you use silk flowers it will stay gorgeous and fresh all night!  Wrist corsages are perfect for weddings, proms, father-daughter dances, and other special occasions!

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Always and Forever Wedding Frame

A wedding frame makes a wonderful gift!  Using a wedding themed cardstock I decoupaged a Plaid Crafts wooden frame and added the sentiment "Always and Forever" inside!  I attached ribbon along the top and the bottom and finished the frame with an elegant Mini Bowdabra Bow. 

Create your own handmade wedding frame easily following my DIY tutorial featured over at the Bowdabra Blog.

Supplies Needed to Make the Frame:

• Plaid Wood Frame
• Black Satin Ribbon 3/8" wide 
• MAMBI Specialty Cardstock Pad 12X12 48 Sheets - Wedding
• Mod Podge CS11202 Original 16-Ounce Glue, Gloss Finish
• Double Heart Silver Charms (20pc)
• Darice Mini Bowdabra Bow Maker W/ Favor Maker & Craft Tool Mini Bowdabra Hair Bow Making Attachment Kit with Instructional CD Darice Bowdabra Wire 50 Feet

To purchase this handmade item - mozy on over to visit my Etsy Store - Sewing and Crafting with Sarah.

How to Make a Mini Bowdabra Bow with Button Center

Learn how to make a Mini Bowdabra Bow with button center with my tutorial below.  This style bow is perfect for hair bows, card making, scrapbooking pages, and so much more!

Be sure to tune in tomorrow when I show you how to use this style bow for making pinwheels for springtime home decor!  Plus a Blog Hop tomorrow with my fellow Bowdabra Designers for even more pinwheel crafts.  Woot! Woot!

Materials Needed:

• Darice Bowdabra Hair Bow Making Kit   
• Darice Bowdabra Wire 50 Feet 
• Thin Width Ribbon
• Button

Instructions:

1. Begin by placing the Hair Bow Tool & Ruler (metric side) onto the Mini Bowdabra.  Cut 18" of Bowdabra Bow Wire and fold it in half.  Place the wire into the Mini Bowdabra.

2. Place the end of the ribbon into the Mini Bowdabra leaving a 4cm tail.

3. Fold and press the ribbon to create your first loop.  Press the loop at the 2cm mark.  Make a matching loop on the other side.

4. Make two more 2cm loops.

5. Cut the ribbon at the 4cm mark to make a matching tail.

6. Scrunch down with the Mini Bowdabra Wand.

7. Thread the two loose ends of the Bowdabra Bow Wire through the loop.

8. Pull the wire tightly.

9. Remove the bow and thread the loose ends of the wire through a coordinating button.

Hair Bow Clips Tutorial with Flower Centers

Little girl hair bow clips are so much fun to make.  Hair bows look cute in my daughter's hair and are great gifts for her friends.  Especially, for those last minute birthday parties, when you need a gift quickly.

If you follow my blog, you may know that I have become obsessed with learning how to read crochet patterns.  I have known the basics of crocheting, from a young age, but it has not been until recently that I started learning how to read patterns. 

You may also know that I like to get creative with my crafting materials and mix it up a bit. (Confession: I once used dyer lint and Elmer's glue to make a holiday ornament. Oddly, it was kind of cute.)  So, I was curious how lace would crochet.  Turns out - it looks really pretty and is soft and puffy - perfect for making little flower centers.  I invite you to visit the Bowdabra Blog for my step-by-step tutorial.

I was so happy with the flower centers that I designed a coordinating basic stacked bow to go with them.  I used the Mini Bowdabra and Hair Bow Tool & Ruler to make the bow.  The Mini Bowdabra with Ruler helps you to make exact bows every time.  For the step-by-step tutorial click here.

Interested in more hair bow clip tutorials.  Visit my collection here.

Fall Floral Table Arrangement

During fall I love decorating my table with floral arrangements.  The autumn colors are always so warm and inviting.

Today, on the Bowdabra Blog I shared how to make a Sunflower Floral Arrangement.  The arrangement is bright and cheery and cost very little to make.  I used a terracotta pot, Styrofoam ball, and some silk sunflowers.  I finished the Mini Bowdabra Bow with my little fabric apple that I made the other day.  Doesn't it look so cute as the bow center!

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Christmas Ribbon Flower Ornament Tutorial

I made a Christmas Ribbon Flower Ornament that was showcased on Crafts Unleashed.  I am a designer for Crafts Unleashed and we are having an ornament challenge with all the designers participating.

I welcome you to visit Crafts Unleashed and vote for your favorite ornament.  By voting for your favorite ornament you are entered into a giveaway.   The giveaway is for a prize pack valued at $100.00. The contest ends 12/27 at 9am Est.  So head on over and vote!

Here is the ornament I submitted for the challenge.  I thought as an extra bonus I would give a detailed tutorial to my readers on how I made it.


Materials Needed to Make a Christmas Ribbon Flower Ornament:

• 2902-101 Poly Satin Ribbon-White-1 3/8 inch
• 2902-120 Poly Satin Ribbon-Holiday Green-2.5 inch
• 2902-106 Poly Satin Ribbon-Red-5/8 inch
• BOW3050 Bowdabra gold wire 100 yard value pack
• 02PFS-21-P White Pearl Stamen
• Thread
• Sewing Needle
• Hot Glue Gun

Instructions:

1. Begin with spools of poly satin ribbon.

2. Next, cut three strips of wide green ribbon 8" long.  Fold the ribbon at the half way mark to create a point.  Fold the ribbon again to make the leaf.  Use thread to hold the ends of the leaf together.

3. To make the white ribbon petals cut several strips 5" long.  Fold the ribbon in the same manner to create ribbon petals.  Hold the ends of the ribbon together with thread.

4. Sew all the ends of the petals together to form the flower base.

5. Stitch the green leaves onto the back of the flower base.

6. To create the red ribbon center cut 5" strips and dovetail the ends. Use a running stitch to hold the strips together.

7. Pull the thread and tie it at the center.

8. Add white pearl stamens to the flower center by wrapping the left over thread around them.  Knot the thread and trim away excess.

9. Sew the flower center to the base.

10. Bowdabra Bow Wire works awesome to hang Christmas ornaments.  I hot glued the wire to the back of the ornament and then finished the ornament with a circle cut out from the green poly-satin ribbon.

11. Your Christmas Ribbon Flower Ornament is complete and ready to be hung on the tree.

Please head on over to Crafts Unleashed and vote for your favorite ornament.  If my ornament is not your favorite - How about Paul's (my Dad) painted wooden ornaments?  So cute!

Fall Hair Bow Tutorial: Custom Ribbon with Glue Dots® Glue Lines

To make custom ribbon for hair bows use Glue Dots® Glue Lines 25ft.  The Glue Lines come on a continuous roll making it very easy to attach to ribbon strands.  Stack one ribbon color on top of another and glue in place for your own custom style ribbon pattern.  Using Glue Lines to create custom ribbon is one of the best ways that I have found to attach one ribbon to another.  Ironing adhesive onto ribbons can be a real pain and make the ribbon too stiff, hot gluing two ribbons together often leaves marks and bumps in the ribbon.  I designed a fall loopy bow on a French hair clip using my own unique style ribbon color combos created using Glue Dots® Glue Lines.

Materials Needed:

Glue Dots® Glue Lines

22” of 5/8” wide purple satin

22” of 5/8” wide gray satin

22” of 3/8” black grosgrain with white stitch

22” of 3/8” orange grosgrain with red stitch

2” French Clip

Bowdabra® Bow Wire

Instructions:

1. Begin by cutting 4 strands of ribbon of 22” long ribbon.

2. Attach the Glue Dots® Glue Lines to the center of the grosgrain ribbon.

3. Press the satin and the grosgrain ribbons together to create your own unique style ribbon.

4. Create two strands of unique ribbon.

5. Attach the ribbon strands to a large French clip.  The French clip is the easiest to work with if you remove the centerpiece and place it to the side.

6. Dovetail and seal the ends of the two strands.  Attach the end to the French clip using Bowdabra Bow Wire.

7. Create loops with the two strands.  Once the two loops are formed wrap the wire once around the ribbon and the clip.  Continue forming strands and crisscrossing the ribbon.

8. Create loops until you reach the end of the clip.  Remember after each set of loops is formed to wrap the Bowdabra Bow Wire around the ribbon and the clip.

9. When you reach the end knot the wire and dovetail and seal the ends.

10. Trim away excess wire and re-insert the metal centerpiece of the French clip.

11. Your unique fall hair bow with custom ribbons is complete.

www.gluedots.com/glue

- I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots® design team.