How To Make Gift Wrap Bows

Behind the counter, there were buckets and buckets of coordinating ornaments to attach with the ribbon and they were usually covered in glitter, my favorite! I wish Macy’s still had a gift wrap department so I could show you, but you’ll just have to use your imagination for now.

For example, a birthday package would have balloon wrapping paper, a bright purple ribbon, and a birthday cake ornament to tie with the ribbon. Something like this unicorn gift or these feathers. Note to self: do some fun birthday gift wrap ideas; Pinterest is seriously lacking some pins!

Christmas gift wrap included color coordinating ornaments and wired ribbon and that has become my favorite way to decorate my Christmas presents! I pick up some inexpensive (shatterproof) ornaments and attach them with some ribbon to pre-made bows or tie them into my homemade bow.

You could create a gingerbread man theme, elegant kraft paper with monograms, or stick to classic red and green like I did this year. The possibilities are endless!

I can thank my sweet Grandma Jay for teaching me the art of beautifully coordinated gift wrap; she always had a theme for her presents and planned it out well before Thanksgiving. I can only imagine how much fun she would have now, if she were here, with Pinterest-worthy ideas overflowing on the internet.

There was nothing quite like seeing my grandparents walk up to our door on Christmas morning with arms full of presents with matching paper and ribbon.

Supplies:

Wired Ribbon

Scissors

Stapler

How to make gift wrap bows:

Grab your favorite wired ribbon, stapler, and scissors!

Wrap a simple loop around your present and staple the two ends of the ribbon together on the underside of the gift. You can make a cross by twisting the ribbon and going the opposite direction on the box, but let’s keep it simple this time, shall we?

Take your ribbon and make a single loop.

Repeat going the other way so you have two loops on opposite sides.

Repeat the looping, making sure you have an equal number of loops on each side.

Staple the middle of all the loops and cut off the excess.

Your bow will look flat and kind of sad. Do not fret… it will be full and fluffy in a second!

Place your bow on top of your ribbon that is around your present.  Center the bow (or don’t, depending on where you want your bow) and slide another piece of ribbon under both of the other parts.

Here is the part that is a trick and almost impossible to photograph. You want to tie the ribbon around the bow, but make sure the knot is facing down.

Say what???

Here is how I do it: I make a loose knot and then rotate the ribbon so the not side is facing down and then pull it tight. Then I can pull the ribbon back down and I have a beautiful knot on the top of my bow. If you want to attach an ornament to this bow, be sure you slide it on BEFORE you tie the knot.

I trim the edges by folding the ribbon in half and cutting at an angle. *** Be careful! If you fold the ribbon the wrong way, you will NOT end up with this edge.  Practice on a scrap so you know which way to fold! ***

I can’t wait to wrap the rest of our Christmas presents this weekend, watch A Christmas Carole, and drink hot chocolate! Be sure read How to Wrap Beautiful Christmas Presents if you missed it last week and you will be ready to wrap your presents like a professional too.

Be sure to tag your gift wrap photos with #PDBJayCrafts if this tutorial helped you with your gift wrapping we would love to see your pretty Christmas presents!