DIY Paper Gift Bow

Happy holidays everyone! 'Tis the season to be crafting! I tried making my own Paper Gift Bow this year because it's not only cheap but you can reuse paper that you were going to throw away anyways. Hope you get a chance to make some for this gift giving season!


Materials:
- Sheet of paper
- Scissors
- Tape
- Stapler


Steps:

1. Cut your paper strips out! You will need:

- 3 long strips/width of the sheet of paper (mine was 8.5 inches)
- 3 shorter strips (7.5 inches)
- 3 even shorter strips (6.5 inches)
- 1 very short strip (2.5 inches)

Depending on the size you want to make your bow, change up the measurements. Also the wider the strips the more difficult it might be to twist, so keep that in mind!




2. Take each strip and twist both sides so that the ends meet in the middle. Do each side one at a time and tape it so they won't move. Leave that little piece for later. Hopefully my pictures will help!

<<<<<<<<<                     >>>>>>>>>

3. After you make all your pieces, put together each layer (of 3 pieces of the same size) so that they kind of make a 6 petaled flower. Then staple all of them together. Largest one on the bottom, with the other two on top. Take the smallest strip and make a loop, holding together with tape. This will be in the middle of the bow, covering the staple. ;) Don't know if I'm making sense but I'm trying to... Pictures always help!

Here's my first Paper Gift Bow!




What I've learned:

-You can have pointy corners or rounded ones depending on how tightly you decide to twist your paper strips before taping them.
- I tried to twist them together more so that the corners would be pointy!
- Card stock might be a good alternative to paper if you want a "tougher" bow.


Why not recycle and save money at the same time! Added bonus: impress your relatives with you're crazy craftin' skills!

I liked this project so much! I want to try making similar stuff especially around the holiday season! Stay tuned for more! 

Alison :)