{Ribbon Love}

One stash item that I constantly seem to be buying is ribbon - I love it in all colours and styles, and use it on my pages a lot. I've noticed that a few people have mentioned to me that they too love ribbon, but they struggle to use it on their pages, so I thought I would show you a few ways in which you can use up your ribbon and make it a starring feature on your page. 

This bulk buy ribbon pack from Amy Tan's new collection 'Sketchbook' caught my eye immediately - who could resist such a plethora of beaturiful designs and bright colours?! Not me! 

The first way I've used ribbon is as a substitute for patterned paper. I used a neutral background so that the colours really stood out. I stuck my photo down, but didn't put adhesive right up to the edge of it, so that I could slip the end of the ribbon under the photo at each side. Then I simply glued strips of ribbon all the way down the edge of the photo and roled them over the edge of the page. 

This photo is of friends having a lovely time together, and it makes me happy, but paired with ribbon it makes me super happy! You could get a similar effect with a piece of stripy paper, but you might struggle to find one with various designs and colours that are just right for your photo. Look at all that colour - fabulous!

My second page focuses on the more subtle shades of ribbon in the pack - there are some lovely tone on tone designs in an off white/pale grey colour, which I've paired with a snowman photo and a dash of orange to complement the carrot nose in the picture! All my elements run down the centre of the page, and I used ribbon as my main embellishment.

Rather than having just strips of ribbon, I took two different patterns and tied them together in a knot. Then I cut them to length, making it so that the knots vary in position under the photo.Small details like cutting a triangle from the end of the ribbon give a finished look. I find runner adhesive like Herma or American Crafts runners to be the easiest way to ashere ribbon to the page, and very effective.

The third way I've used ribbon on my layouts today is by creating a banner for my page. I picked a few designs that complemented the shades in my photos of my little boy showing off his first sign (now in constant use, as he always seems to be hungry!!). You only need small pieces of ribbon for this, so it's a great way to use up ends of rolls, or little bits that are left over after another project.

I cut small pieces of ribbon in varying lengths and folded them over a piece of twine, stapling at the top to keep them in place, and cutting the ends into flag shapes. I stuck the banner down using small bits if runner adhesive under the ribbons to stop them from moving out of position.

All of these techniques are things that you might otherwise have done with patterned paper instead, but I love the added depth ribbon gives to a page, and how tactile it is on a completed layout. Why not ry substituting some paper with ribbon on your next page?

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