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The Perfect Bow Every Time
Tracey Olson - Stamping Deck CrewmemberI don't know about you but I have struggled with tying that "perfect bow" every time. No matter how I try to make it come out with both loops to the side and the ends hanging down, with each end being just slightly to the side, it never happens!!! I remember learning how to tie my shoes; Captain Kangaroo (well now I am showing my age) showed us all on TV about the bunny ears and the hole the bunny goes into to make a bow for your shoelaces. But shoelace bows don't have to be perfect; they just have to keep your shoes on. There has to be a way to do this correct every time!!
So one night around midnight, I was once again struggling with this dilemma and it all came back to me. GIRL SCOUTS!!! Ok yes my mind is a bit warped and you are now asking yourself how Girl Scouts figure into this. Well, I will share my wealth of useless information. I remembered when I was a Girl Scout one of the first knots they taught you was a square knot, right over left and left over right, it comes out looking like a "square knot" hence the name. So what if I applied this to my bow making? Would it work? Would my horribly crooked bows come out straight for once?
Being the brave soul I am and being over-tired as it was almost 1 am, I attempted a feat that until now was an impossible task and guess what, IT WORKS!!!! I was so excited I wanted to tell someone, but I am sure they would have locked me up in the loony bin if I called them at 1 am to tell them I could tie a bow.
Not only does it work to make that perfect bow to add to cards, tags or scrapbook pages, it also works when you tie it around something. Of course I did a little research on this and Martha S. has a simple way to do it too, but I am sure I thought of it first *LOL*. Rather than invent the wheel, or in this case bow, here is a link to Martha's instructions.
So here are some examples of how that perfect bow, that we can now create to perfection, looks when applied to our projects:
For MY version of the perfect bow, take your fiber, ribbon, twill, string, whatever you are trying to tie, hold one end in each hand. Make a loop with the right end going over and under the left side first and pull to make a knot. Now make your bunny ears like you learned when you were 4 years old and put the left bunny ear over the right bunny ear and under and pull. If you are using a pattern ribbon you will want to make sure you have looped it with both same sides on the outside of the loop.
Now of course Martha S. has to do it in one step less then my version. Well of course, she is, after all, MARTHA!!! If you don't like the knot in the center, this version does lay a bit flatter and is great for cards and layouts. Do not use this if you are tying it around something as it just doesn't hold as well as MY version.
You can also do a double bow, which is simply taking the extra ends and making another bow right on top of the one you just made.
You can also do the "cheaters" version of the perfect bow, which is tie your bow in a knot and trim the ends by folding the ends in half long ways and cut at an angle from the top of the non fold side to the fold side.
This is just another example, tying a bow around a card. When doing this bow an extra finger for the center comes in handy (;-)
So now that you can do "Bunny Ears" and create that perfect bow each time and every time, you will want to experiment all around the house, just to make sure it WILL work every time. I warn you, don't get carried away, it really annoys those that live with you. Grab yourself a Latte and "tie one on."
Tracey Olson
traceyolson@ssreflections.com
Stamping Design Team
Reflections Publishing Group, LLC
***Disclaimers - While individual techniques may vary, always follow product manufacturers' directions and cautions for safety and best results.
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