A Happy Scrap Ribbon Bow For Spring

Have tons of old ribbon in your craft stash? Short pieces and mixed patterns? Why not use them to make a lovely, scrap ribbon bow for a wreath or gift package. Here's a quick how to and inspiration for your next DIY.

Last week, I ended up at Hobby Lobby, looking for a few Easter napkins and walked out with this wreath.

Isn't it fabulous?


So bright, so cheerful.

So perfect for spring...and 40% off to boot.

Score! Except.

It didn't have a bow.

Now, I have plenty of bowless wreaths in my home, but when it comes to decorating my front door...I need a bow.

It's the exclamation point, the jazz, the sparkle. So of course, I went over the ribbon aisle and grabbed a spool of pink gingham that coordinated with those hot pink flowers.


However, when I got home, I remembered all the half empty spools of pink ribbon in my stash.

Leftovers from other DIYs, and thought, what if I combined them all into one, big, beautiful scrap ribbon bow. Now that would be outstanding.

So I did.

How To Make A Scrap Ribbon Bow

The key to making a really big, really full, really happy scrap bow, is to use lots of different kinds of ribbon. Thick, thin, wired, mesh, patterned, solid, etc. Just grab what you have, and based on the size of your wreath of package, adjust it accordingly.

Supplies:

• Bowdabra Bow Maker
• Scrap Ribbon
• Scissors
• Zip Ties
  
  
  And if you like the wreath:
  
  
• Similar Pink Geranium Wreath
• Another Similar Wreath

This bowmaker is the first thing I was ever influenced to buy way, way back in 2013, and it's been worth every penny. Seriously. Every bow is perfect, every single time.

I loved it so much, I even blogged for the company for a bit.

Can you make a scrap ribbon bow without, it? Yup.

It's a little harder, but you can follow the same steps, it just might be helpful to have a second set of hands to hold the ribbon down in the center as you layer them.

The bowmaker includes this wire to hold the ribbons together and form the bow. 


However, over the years, I've found that a zip tie works the same, if not better.

It's easier to cinch everything together. Plus, in my opinion, it also provides a tighter hold, especially when layering a lot of ribbons that will be exposed to the outdoor elements.


To get started, I laid a zip tie in the long opening of the bow maker. Then I added my ribbon on top of it, leaving a very long tail, tucking it into the shorter opening.

I continued layering the ribbons on top of one another. Thicker ribbons on the bottom, thinner on the top.

Each ribbon is placed in the bowmaker, twisted so the pattern is on top again, and fed back again through the same opening. That's how each loop is formed.



I graduated the sizes so it was fuller on the bottom and decreased in size as I moved closer to the top.

When I was satisfied with my bow, I used the Bowdabra stick to squish down the center of the ribbons, tightened the zip tie enough to keep the bow together and shimmied the locking mechanism to the back of the bow.


Then I tightened it all the way and snipped off the long tail, so the bow would lay flat against the wreath.


To attach the bow to the wreath, I used another zip tie, that I looped through the bow and around the grapevine.

Again, it's the strongest way I know how to keep the wind and rain from stealing the bows off my spring and summer wreaths. 


And those ties are so stealthy, you'd never know they were there.

Leaving you nothing to notice except that gorgeous bow on my already fabulous wreath. A winning combination.


Whimsical and flowing freely in the March wind.

Calling out to everyone who passed my home that I was ready to welcome spring.

Unfortunately, when I skipped outside to make that grand announcement, this is what I was greeted with...surprise!


Yeah. Apparently my husband was excited to welcome spring in his own way, by ripping out the crumbling 100 year old stoop in our front yard. Ok...

Not going to lie, I just stood there and laughed. Murphy's Law. Always the way and all of that jazz. I thought it was so funny, that I actually shared my surprise in an Instagram story that now lives in my DIY highlights. 

So me and my giggles moved on to plan b and hung it in my family room instead.


Until the next morning, when I suddenly decided that my front stoop needed that wreath now more than ever...if only to help distract the eye from that crumbling pile of bricks.

So back to the door I went.


And you know what? I'm so glad I did, because later that afternoon a neighbor stopped her car to tell me how happy my wreath made her.

Which made me happy.

Then yesterday I received this text message from another neighbor.
Of course, I replied, with words about that mess below the wreath.

And she answered with a response I adore.

She's right, progress is messy and since my DIY guy is a weekend warrior, those eggs will remained cracked for a good long time.

But apparently no one really seems to notice.

Thanks to my decision to use up all those scraps.

To decorate my wreath.

Fabulous indeed.

🎀

Do you have a lot of scrap ribbon hanging around?

Happy Crafting, Friends!