Magazines. Full of too much information that I wind up forgetting in a few days. However, there is the exception. The page that grabs you and says, “I want to do that.” Mine this month was gift bows. When I stumbled across the directions on how to make my very own I was intrigued. All I needed was magazine pages and a little creativity, and I was in business. I began to search through my magazines on hand, ripping out the pages that seemed to have the most interesting colors, illustrations, and text. Clearly, I had to attempt several combinations to see which type of page would make the best bow. After creating a pile of about 25 pages, I began to measure the lengths of each piece based on the direction’s prescribed sizes. Nine little strips were going to actually form into a handmade gift bow… very fun.
Not an extremely difficult process, but my first one was an experiment. Michael became my interpreter on the “folding backwards” step (the trickiest part). As I explored different lengths and widths for the magazine pieces, I quickly learned which size strip made the tightest bows. They improved with each one I made and I became determined to have fun gift bows for all of my presents. Michael watched each night as I cut, folded, or taped, always amazed at the end result.
The gift bows were absolutely gorgeous, however I was not happy with how they clashed with the typical Christmas wrapping paper. Solid color paper was a must. Putting the bows on white or parcel paper nicely showcased the colors and patterns of each gift bow, as well as making each present unique. I had finally reached success. Low and behold, the gift bow. My new favorite winter project.
