All Eyes On...Ribbon

It's time for another installment of "All Eyes On...". This month we chose to focus on ribbon. And how coincidental that the current PaperCrafts Gallery Idol theme for the remaining top 10 finalists happens to be ribbon? What great timing.

For our feature, we were challenged to use ribbon, whether it be ruffles, flowers, using up left over scraps, ruching, or any other "go-to" technique that we may have for ribbon. The only caveat...no regular bows.

I decided to focus on ruffles. I used a running stitch to gather the ribbon along one edge, creating a beautiful ruffle.

This technique is actually super easy. Trust me...if it wasn't, I wouldn't be doing it. LOL Like I said, all you have to do is create a running stitch down one edge of the ribbon using a needle and thread.

Scrunch the ribbon down the thread while pulling on one end to create the ruffle. Once you have it to the desired length, just tie the thread off and cut the ribbon. Quick tip: If you want to prevent the ribbon from fraying at the cuts, use your fingers to gently rub some clear glue on the ends of the cut ribbon. If you caused a little fray while rubbing on the glue, just wait until it dries and trim again. The glue will dry clear and hold the fibers together.

To adhere the ribbon to the card, I used some clear adhesive lines. I really like the Zips Ultra Thin by Therm-O-Web. If I need a wider line, I just double it up. For this card, I just used a single line along the back edge of the panel.

Now just lay your ribbon along the adhesive and press even to make sure the ribbon is secured. All that was left was to assemble the card.

When adhering the ribbon to the underside, the ribbon will add a bit of bulk. This was easy to compensate for by stacking two dimensionals on top of each other to gain a bit of height on my panel. There are quite a few uses for the technique. You can run the stitch down the center of the ribbon, zig-zagging from side to side to create a true ruched effect like I did here. Or you can run it straight down the middle to create ruffled flowers like I did here.

Are you ready to see what the talented Design Team has done? Click on any of the pics to visit their blog and get full details on their projects.

Project Supplies

Stamps: Wplus9 Design Studio's Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions and Woodgrain Silhouettes; Papertrey Ink's Faux Ribbon
Ink: Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip die ink; Papertrey Ink Lemon Tart pigment ink; Copic markers BG11 BG13
Paper: Stampin' Up! Kraft cardstock
Fibers: Papertrey Ink Lemon Tart grosgrain ribbon, twine, and Lemon Tart vintage buttons
Fibers: