Any wrappers out there?

No, Eminem, you don’t count.

Unless you are at home with unwrapped Slim Shady pressies. 

I am talking about last minute gift wrappers.  I have to confess that I am a chronic last minute wrapper.  But you kinda have to be one when you purchase the presents the day before Christmas, right?  You can call me Special K.  That’s my official rapper name.  And yes, we all know it has multiple meanings. 

The real topic here is not my ability to jam with Marshall Mathers…it’s fun and easy ways I prettified (that’s now a word) presents with bows and tags.  Every year, when Christmas comes around, I use real ribbon to tie bows.  I figure that I can reuse them each year (a little cost cutter in the long run) and this year I figured that I could do the same thing with the tags.  So I got to work creating a couple little name tags for cheap. 

Here’s one that was made using a scrap of fabric (I didn’t even bother to hem the edges) and a bit of grosgrain ribbon.  Using a slip stitch, I just affixed my letter to the textural fabric for a tag that is simple and stylish. 

Maybe you are a number-er.  I had some friends that introduced this method to me.  They would number the presents so that the small little gifts would be opened first and the bigger, better and badder presents would be kept for the end.  It added a bit of climax to Christmas.  And the receiver got more and more excited with each gift.

And this mini flowery version boasting the letter J was really easy and adds a little feminine touch to my boyfriend’s gift.  Plus it was oh-so-cute next to the cheap twine & yarn ribbon wrapped around the box.

Speaking of easy ribbon, these big beautiful bows are so easy to make that I even taught my boy-toy how to do them. 

And that’s when it struck me…maybe you would like to get a little how-to tutorial.  Keep in mind that this video was taken at 2 in the morning…so I apologize before hand about my humoungous belly (it gets bigger throughout the day so it was at maximum capacity here) and my less than enthused attitude.  It must have been my Special K attitude coming out 🙂 

Bower Bows from Katie Bower on Vimeo.

Here are some additional tips if you plan on tackling your own Christmas presents with big bows –

• Use wire ribbon…otherwise it won’t floof.
• I used 3 ½ yards of ribbon – which is for maximum bows – using less ribbon will just make a few less ‘curls’
• Tuck the raw edges of the ends under the bow itself to hide any unsightly frays
• To remove the ribbon, just slide the whole thing off the end of the present instead of attempting to untie.  Especially if you are like my family and take turns…the time to untie can literally kill the small children waiting their turn.

So there you have it – a little video of Bower Bows and a few ideas on how to make your tags a little more fun.  Anyone else make their own tags?  I can’t wait for next year when the tags will read our first child’s name.  Oh alright.  I confess.  I really want them to read my name too…Special K 🙂