How To Tuesday

For today's edition of "How To Tuesday" design team member Kim Kesti demonstrates a super cute and creative ribbon technique.  Here's what Kim had to say ... "I’ve seen a lot of pretty ribbons and embellishments lately that have a pleated look. It made me wonder how easy (or difficult) it might be to make my own.  With a little monkey business, I think I figured it out."  And here are Kim's step by step instructions ...

First, gather your supplies.  I’m using some of the wonderful Pebbles Raspberry ribbon, flower brads, and double sided tape. 

I first trimmed my cardstock to 8.5 X 5. 5” and folded it in half for a card base.  I added two rows of double sided tape across the whole length of my card. (I did try to use tape runner at first. Don’t. Trust me on this one).

If your tape has a backing, peel that off and begin to place your ribbon down. Pull up a little tab every ¾” or so. I spaced my tabs out so five fit across my card. The sturdiness of the double sided tape allowed me to lift my ribbon and gently reposition it until all the tabs were even.

Here’s a side view that shows the tabs a little more clearly.

I continued on with my second row of ribbon; polka dots this time.

Once all the ribbon was adhered, I grabbed my piercer and piercing mat. I finger pressed the ribbon down until I had an even pleat, pierced a hole right in the center and added a brad to hold down the pleat.  I wouldn’t recommend trying to insert the brad unless you have a hole pierced. Again, trust me on this one. Hee, hee.

Continue on until both rows of ribbon are pleated. I used a plain white brad on the top row and thise cute flower brads on the bottom row.

To finish my card, I simply added a strip of patterned paper; I felt like the words on the paper were enough of a sentiment.

What do you think? I hope you try this at home – leave us a link if you do! We’d love to see what you come up with. 

Pebbles supplies used:
Twitterpated Admire (751006)
Twitterpated Metal Brads (744218)
Raspberry Ribbon (744030)

Other supplies used:
Cardstock (American Crafts)
Brads