Gift Wrapping: How to Tie a Bow with Ribbon

I just love a beautifully wrapped gift, especially with a big satin bow on top usually only seen in fancy stores. You know the ones with ribbon that come undone in one long piece like this?

If you've ever wondered how do they do that or you just want to avoid stick-on bows this year then this is the tutorial for you.


Step 1

Start by measuring out the tail of the ribbon you see on the left. You will need to leave enough room to make the bunny ear of the bow, plus the tail. Lay it across the center of your gift with the backside of the ribbon (dull side of a satin ribbon or unprinted side) facing up. Then turn the ribbon downwards to make a little pocket. The shiny side of the satin ribbon will be facing up going in this downward direction.

You do not need to pre-cut the ribbon as you see here. Keep it attached to the spool so you will have the proper amount of ribbon.

 

 

 The "pocket"

Step 2

Wrap the ribbon around the back of the gift.

Step 3

Pull the ribbon down and underneath the other ribbon where the "pocket" is.

You've now made the vertical part of the ribbon.



 

 

Step 4

 

Now, it's time to wrap it horizontally. Hold the center with a finger or thumb.

and wrap the ribbon around the backside of the gift.





and continue to wrap the ribbon all the way across to the other side going underneath the vertical ribbon.

You're left with two tails. Now, it's time to make the bow.

 

 

Step 5

 

Instead of making a knot, just make two bunny ears and tie them together.



Step 6

Now, fluff up your bow and turn the backside of the left tail to face upwards so all you see is the shiny side of a satin ribbon or the printed side if you have a pattern. Cut the ribbon from the spool so the tails are equal lengths. I chose to cut my ends once more in a dovetail. Add a tag and ornamentation if you choose.

If you add greenery, consider using a hot glue gun to make it secure. Ornaments can be looped through the ribbon before the bow is tied.

This takes a lot of ribbon! Considering I have about 40 presents to wrap it's not possible to make this type of bow on all of them, especially large gifts. Most of these ribbons are tied on the smaller ones like the candy cane striped one below.

I want to show you a few alternatives of decorating with ribbon so you aren't breaking the bank. The green and red ribbon combo on the right was made with smaller scraps. I also varied the placement of the ribbons not for aesthetics, but to make stacking them on top of each other under the tree easier. The burlap snowflake ribbon is hot glued together at the edges and used on the larger gifts. It is easy to just slide if off the gift as if it were a sleeve. You have to keep in mind someone has to unwrap these!

With the exception of the burlap ribbon, everything you see here was purchased at Wal-Mart! The satin and fabric ribbon was not easy to find, but they do have it. I found mine in the garden area outside and a small Christmas section in the craft area. If finding elegant wrapping paper is difficult, look for solids in the birthday section. You can always pair it with a ribbon for a nice color contrast. Pretty and budget friendly!

Christmas Home Tour 2014

These halls are really decked this year. I don't know why I have more Christmas mojo than Buddy from the movie Elf, but I went with it. You'll also notice I added more traditional color this year. I was so convinced I would continue with the blues and neutral tones from last year, but I changed my mind at the last minute. The good thing about decorating with ribbon is that it's easy to switch things up without having to buy all new décor. Well, let's get started!

My neighborhood is full of these branches with the red berries. Aren't they just perfect for Christmas?

I really love decorated stairs. It's one of the first things I notice when I'm driving by a house at Christmas time because you can see it lit up through the windows and glass doors.

The stairs, dining table, and console in the entry all got the poinsettia treatment. I love using them because they make such a big impact for such little cost.

 

 

 



 

 

I shared a few pictures of the living room last week, but I found these live wreaths for such a good deal that I couldn't pass them up.

 





 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

The breakfast room and kitchen just needed a bit of greenery and ornaments.

I love hanging ornaments in the windows.



A wide view from the kitchen.

 

And from the living room.

 

 

 



The kids got their own tree upstairs in the gameroom surrounded by the Christmas village they love so much.

 

 

I put this out yesterday and surprised them when they got off the bus. I can't believe how much they love this village. They kept stopping and looking at it all night.

 

I can't leave you without a picture of Mario all dressed up. Here he is going through the stages of Santa hat grief.

 

Denial

 

 

 

Anger

 

 

 

Acceptance

 





Don't you just love those expressions?!

Whew! Now that the decorating is over it's time to finish the present shopping and start on the gift wrapping. Oh, and I can't forget about the baking! How are your holiday preparations going?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-tree-party-2014.html

 

 

 

My Greek is Showing

For the past year or so I've noticed the Greek bust trend in interior design. I couldn't believe it was becoming so popular because I distinctly remember rolling my eyes as a kid at my Greek family's statues. Now, I'm not going to decorate my backyard fence with them like my Great Aunt did, but I have been keeping an eye out for one to hold my necklaces on my dresser. Like with all trends that come back, it's done much better than before.

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I noticed Homegoods carried them, but all of the ones I found were cracked or had noses missing. It wasn't on purpose to make it more authentic. I finally found one last week that was intact and carted her off. Here she is on my dresser wearing a fabulous necklace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, all I need is a Flokati rug and a gift shop ashtray with ancient Greeks on the side. For some reason I thought those ashtrays were antiques when I was little. Didn't you know the ancient Greeks enjoyed their Marlboros? What's even funnier is they are still selling those "antique" ashtrays in Athens gift shops. I noticed that when we went to Greece earlier this year and got a good laugh. It was tempting to buy one for the sake of nostalgia, but I think I'll just stick to the Greek busts...and maybe a Flokati rug one day.

 

 

 

 







Christmas Living Room 2014

I'm plugging away at putting the finishing touches on my Christmas decorations this week. The most important room, the living room, is done! I'm enjoying the fire as I type away and trying not to notice my kids are flinging around the pillows and throw blankets right now. At least I have the pictures to prove it was clean at one point.

You might notice I finally got rid of the ceiling fan. It's been an eyesore for so many years (10 but who's counting). My husband loves ceiling fans so this was a big deal. I replaced it with an inexpensive light from Overstock that is very similar to one Pottery Barn sells. I didn't have many options in this room because of the low ceilings, but anything is an improvement over the hovercraft I had in here before.

The reindeer is a recent find from Target. Isn't he cute? I have a feeling if he were real he wouldn't be thrilled with being called cute. I think he would prefer majestic or regal. He may be a bit of a snob.

I didn't change much else on the mantel. I doubled up a faux garland and then added varying types of real branches on the mantel. If I have any that turn brown it will be easy to take them out and replace them. I probably won't, but at least I have that option if I'm feeling industrious. The boxwood wreath on the window is from Trader Joe's and it was only $10! I think every woman in that store walked out with one that day. Oh, and that's Jingle, our Elf on the Shelf, hanging out inside the wreath. No one is supposed to touch him or he will lose his magic so he made it into the pictures this year. I'm not risking the wrath of my 6 year old by moving him. He is very much into the magic of Christmas this year. It took me by surprise, but I'm so excited that I'm searching for Christmas movies for us to watch at night and planning on taking him to see Santa soon. Oh, what fun!

It's not quite a Rockefeller Christmas around here though. I have to show you what I'm dealing with while trying to clean up this room and take pictures.

Serenity now! If you were wondering why Mario wasn't photobombing as usual, this would be why.

Would you ever know that was going on looking at this picture?

This looks way too peaceful to be my living room!