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Using Ribbons

We love ribbons! From grosgrain to gingham, printed and patterned, we just love all the creative possibilities for scrapbook pages. Even better, these versatile embellishments are soft and acid-free so you don’t have to worry about damage to your album pages.

So how can you make the most of this versatile embellishment? We’ve got some fabulous ribbon techniques and inspiring layouts to share!

Ribbon Tip
Always use a clean, sharp pair of scissors. Glue is a particular culprit—glue residue left on scissors will make cutting uneven and can get ribbons dirty. A dull blade will give a ragged edge. Many scrappers keep a pair of scissors set aside especially for fabric, ribbons and fibers.

Borders & Bows: Travel Page
By LeNae Gerig

One of the easiest ways to use ribbon is to place it along the background paper, as LeNae did on her travel layout. Look closely at the photo to see Hot Off The Press owner Paulette Jarvey and her husband Mike (HOTP Director of Technology)!

When creating borders, LeNae first decides where she wants to place her ribbon, then applies the adhesive to the paper—not to the ribbon. “Trying to position a ribbon with adhesive on it can be tricky…the chance that it will stick to itself or someplace unintended is just too great!” Here she slid a frame Attachment™ along the ribbon before securing it to the background paper.

LeNae recommends a dry adhesive (Glue Dots™ or double-sided tape) to attach the ribbons to the page. A liquid adhesive will soak into the fabric and show through the ribbon, making it look stained. And if you apply too much, it’ll seep out from under the ribbon. After attaching her ribbon to the paper, she wrapped the ends around to the back of the page and secured them with tape. “I prefer this method to trimming off the ends of the ribbon—it avoids the problem of fraying,” she says.

Bows are another easy and versatile ribbon technique. Look at the tag on this page to see—by tying a knot in a piece of ribbon and trimming the ends at an angle, LeNae has created a simple little bow that can easily be attached with a Glue Dot. Little bows like LeNae’s can be made from any type of ribbon, and make great accents on the top of tags or the corner of a photograph.

LeNae’s bow-tying tip: Tie the ribbon, then trim it at an angle to avoid fraying. “Always tie the knot before cutting the ribbon,” she advises. “Working with a 6”-long piece of ribbon is much easier than trying to tie a 2”-long piece!”

Travel Page Supplies

Ribbon Loops: Christmas Cheer Page
By Paris Dukes

Another favorite technique is the ribbon loop. Simply fold a piece of ribbon in half to form a loop, then secure it to an embellishment to “hang” it, as Paris did on her slide mount and journaling accents. Paris glued the looped red grosgrain ribbon to the frame with adhesive, then secured it with a brad. She comments, “Punch a hole through the paper or the slide mount before putting the brad through—it will make it so much easier!”

Notice how Paris added polish to her layout with red grosgrain bows topping the other two slide mounts. Her title is a faux-ribbon fabric sticker!

Christmas Cheer Page Supplies

Tied Bow Borders: All Boy
By Shauna Berglund-Immels

Can ribbon be used on a boy-themed layout? Take a look at this fun page and you’ll see that ribbons are truly universal. Shauna chose a tan grosgrain ribbon to match the tan paper and Max’s shirt and to contrast the blue in the background paper. It’s a playful combination of colors and textures—perfect for this little boy’s page!

“This border looks harder than it is!” says Shauna, who simply attached a piece of tan ribbon along the border of her large blue mat, securing the ends at the back of the paper. Then she tied a 4” length of tan ribbon in a knot around the border ribbon, placing it toward the top of the border. She repeated this with another piece of ribbon at the middle of the border. A third knot was tied around a large safety pin, which was then pinned to a matted quote embellishment. She glued the matted embellishment on the page near the bottom of her ribbon border. A simple, effective ribbon technique!

All Boy Page Supplies

Inspired by the creative possibilities of ribbon? Then check out Hot Off The Press’ fabulous supply of ribbons, from the Cardmaker’s line to the Attachments™ range which features printed and patterned ribbons.