Over the next few weeks I want to spend time on Tuesday talking about gift wrap ideas. Everything will be pretty simple but hopefully you'll get some fun ideas to make your packages more interesting. I am a big believer in the power of gift wrap. Real gift wrap. Complete with double sided tape & fabric ribbon.
There are a million ways to make presents look pretty on the outside. One thing I always do is tie the bow so the back is flat. The ribbon underneath looks as neat and clean as the tied bow on top. Below are my instructions for how to tie a bow using this method. Click images to enlarge.
To start, give yourself a long length of ribbon. Lay it underneath your wrapped box so that the side on the right has a much longer length of ribbon. The longer side should be about 3-4 times the length of the shorter side.
Pick up both sides of the ribbon and bring them to the front of the present and cross to opposite sides as shown in the above right image. The longer side should go "under" the shorter side when you make the crossover.
Create a cross in the ribbon by bringing one end down and the other up. Your longest length of ribbon should head to the top of the box.
Holding the shorter ribbon side in place, wrap the long end around the back side of the box and bring it down to the bottom. You can see the back of the box in the right image above.
Turn the box back to the front and continue bringing the long side up to the center where you have made the first cross.
Tuck the long side to the right and pull it under the cross. If your ribbon was a compass, one end would be pointed Northeast and one end would be pointing Southwest.
Take the Southwest side in your left hand and make a fold (like the first bunny ear if you were tying your shoe). Fold it so it also points to the Northeast like the other end of ribbon.
Bring the Northeast end around the folded side counter clockwise.
Push the end in your right hand under the first "bunny ear" and pull it tight. Give it a little bit of shaping until you have a neat bow with its two ears on the top side and its two tails neatly below
Trim off any excess ribbon.
And TA-DA : You have a pretty package with a perfect bow on top and perfect ribbon underneath. Be sure to ask questions in the comments. This is a difficult technique to explain (even in person) but not too hard to master.
