Bowtiful Bows with Fantastic Ribbons

Have you got all that ribbon in the bottom of the box that's too short to do anything with? Or maybe you're like me and have lots of pretty ribbon that's 'too pretty' to stick on the average card. Fear not! The bow maker is here and it's going to save you loads of money in the festive season and make you look well posh. 

This is my Embellishment Attic Bow Maker and beautiful ribbons from fantasticribbons.com !

First! Choose your ribbon. This is difficult especially if you keep a close eye on the http://www.fantasticribbons.com/ website and want to buy everything.. Come on, it can't be just me.. At the moment they have a fantastic bumper pack including my favourite thing of all time WASHI TAPE and a gorgeous bow wreath kit! Ahh! Watch this space, payday it's just about the corner and it's only a matter of time before I treat myself.. again.

Now I have both the bow maker and the big and bowtiful.. You can use one or the other or both! But on this occasion I used the smaller one.

Slide your ribbon into the slot in the bottom..

Decide what width you'd like your bow and put the ribbon across to the right and down the appropriate slot.

Bring the ribbon behind and over to the left slotting it into the slot the same number of slots away from the end as you did the right one.. If you don't get this bit right you'll have a wonky bow with a knot off centre. I know some people have numbered the prongs to avoid confusion.

Now your ribbon is back at the front, take it down the hole so it's at the back again. 

Then bring the ribbon up the back and down the middle slot.

Next unattach your tail that you put in first on the left and tie a knot with the two tail ends.

Make sure this knot is super super tight it is the core of the whole bow! Don't be afraid to use all your strength!

Finally when you're all secure push the bow up and off the bow maker and you're done! 

There's tons of different variations on the dvd that comes with the bow maker that is demoed by the lovely and very talented Steph Weightman and Nancy Watt.

Keep an eye on the Mama Makes and Bakes Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/mamamakesblog or Instagram http://instagram.com/mamamakesandbakes for lots of bow inspiration over the festive period!

The bow maker can be purchased here: http://www.fantasticribbons.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=86 for £15.. Highly recommended from me! You'll never make a bad bow again! 

Zutter Bind It All Review

For my birthday, my mother in law bought me a Zutter bind it all, something she bragged about last year. I actually asked for one after seeing some impressive results on Pinterest and finally I've had the time to give it a go.

I actually took my time trying this one out as I wanted my partner to help me with it because it looked overly complicated.. Turns out it's not and I felt very stupid!

The machine itself punches the holes and then when you threaded the wire through it squashed it together so the pages don't fall out.. Simple as that really.

The key to using the Zutter bind it all however is the size of the paper/card you cut, if you don't get it right you could half punch and end like this.. Which could cause problems/pages falling out etc.

Overall I was pretty impressed with the results and it gave a real professional touch to the notebooks for the upcoming craft fair!