A Tutorial for Making Brad Bows - part 1

Hi everyone! Are you enjoying May? We are finally having some nice weather here in Minnesota, and we're even seeing a hint of those "May flowers". That has me in a flower mood, so this is what I came up with

I used the new Fabulous Florets stamp set. I made the tulip embossing smaller, to fit on a 3-1/4" x 4" piece of cardstock and sponged the raised areas with Pretty in Pink ink to make them stand out. (To see how to use the Framed Tulip embossing folder to emboss a peice of cardstock smaller than its standard size, please see my previous post. http://mnfroggie.blogspot.com/2011/05/springtime-card-and-tutorial-on.html) The stem was stamped in Wild Wasabi ink, and I matted the image on Wild Wasabi cardstock. The base is Whisper White and the strip across the back is Pretty in Pink cardstock stamped with flowers from the same stamp set using Melon Mambo ink. To make the main flower, I inked the image in Pretty in Pink ink and then used a Melon Mambo marker to define each of the petals. After I had highlighted each petal with the marker, I huffed on the stamp and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock, cut it out and mounted it on a dimensional. To get a Melon Mambo colored brad, I rubbed the top of a 5/16" Jumbo brad into my Versamark pad, then dipped it in Melon Mambo embossing powder. I held it with a clothes pen and used my heat gun to melt the embossing powder. Then I let it sit for a few minutes in the clothes pen to let it cool down. And finally, there is a tutorial below on how to make the bow.

Stamps: Fabulous Florets 
Paper: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink 
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, (Versamark - to make brad) 
Accessories: Framed Tulip embossing folder, 5/16" jumbo brad, sponge, Pretty in Pink 5/8" satin ribbon, piercing tool, paper snips 
Techniques: Sponging, Brad Bow

Brad Bow Tutorial
I recommend using this technique with thin or average weight ribbon – 1/8” or 3/8” taffeta, crocheted lace, 5/8” satin, 5/8” organza, 1/4" grosgrain or 1/2” seam binding. I will post a tutorial on how to make a brad bow with thick or heavy weight ribbon later this week.

1. Open up the prongs of your brad.

2. Poke a hole in your cardstock where you want your ribbon to be.

3. Fold your ribbon in a loop (like a breast cancer ribbon).

4. Bring the loop down so that it covers where the ribbon crosses itself.

5. Gather the ribbon in the center in your fingers and stick it between the two prongs of the brad.

6. Close the prongs of the brad (bring them back together) and insert them in the cardstock.

7. Open up brad on back side of the cardstock.

8. Adjust bow as you like and trim the ends.

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and that you try making your own brad bow.

If you would like to purchase any of the items used here today, please visit my business website www.trina_kuriger.stampinup.net

Don't forget to check back later in the week for the part 2 of my brad bow tutorial! Have a great week and happy stamping!