Before I left for CHA, I promised to post about all the cool stuff I saw. I had a technical hitch whilst I was there and I wasn't able to get many photos from the show floor and since returning home I've been working long into the night to meet some upcoming deadlines. So, it has had to wait until now to tell you all about CHA. There were a couple of cool tools for tying bows. The first one is the Bow-it-All from Zutter which was being demonstrated by it's inventor, Stacy Nicholas. I watched closely as she created a very full bow from a continuous length of ribbon by firstly wrapping the ribbon around the outside pegs of the tool and then the inside pegs, then the outside and then the inside again. She had a nifty little technique for tying it off so that the bow never came undone which I didn't catch on camera but check out the video in the link below to see how it's done. With this easy to use tool, she quickly created a beautiful 6 loop bow for me.   There are a ......

Many of my students have lamented that when it comes to tying bows, they end up in knots more often than not. If that sounds like you, then you'll appreciate this little video which shows you how to make perfect bows every time. It's short and simple, with just the facts on how to tie perfect bows using a great little gadget called Bow-Easy. If you'd like a printable version of the tutorial, head on over to Mill Lane Studio where you can download and print a step by step pdf. It will have you mastering the art of tying bows in no time. 'Til next time..... If you can't get enough of My Tutorials and you want even more inspiration,  click here to find my books and printable pdfs...

Whilst I was demonstrating how to tie perfect bows with the Bow-Easy at the recent Scrapbook Expo in Brisbane, one of the onlookers (a visitor from New Zealand) spoke to me afterwards and suggested I could tie a double bow. She was quite adept at using the Bow-Easy herself so she quickly demonstrated how she did it. I didn't catch her name but I just wanted to thank her for sharing her idea and I thought I'd share it with you too. You need to get to figure 4 on the Bow-Easy tutorial first and then follow the pics below. 1. Wrap the tail around the legs a second time so that it looks like this. 2. Push the tail through the slot and pull it through to the other side. Pull the tail towards you but leave some slackness in the loop you've just formed. 3. Wrap the tail up and over the loop and then back through the loop and out to the right hand side. 4. Tighten the knot by pulling it to the centre and then pull it firmly until the knot is tight. 5. Slide the bow off the Bow-Ea......

You might remember my post about the Bow-Easy bow making tool a while ago. I've just heard that Jenny from Stamp Antics has them in stock at the moment and can ship them Australia-wide ($9-95 incl postage!). Give her a call at the shop (07 3393 3022) or send her an email and she'll be happy to help you out. Jenny has asked me to demo the Bow-Easy at the Australasian Scrapbooking & Papercraft Expo (Brisbane Convention Centre -Queen's Birthday weekend 7-9 June). So if you'd like to see how to use it first hand, stop by the Stamp Antics stand....

This post edited 3rd April 2008. I've replace the photos of the black ribbon with a bright orange/yellow ribbon - much easier to see the detail! So, how do you get the tails of the bow to sit in a straight line with the bow instead of having the tails dangling down? Here's how I do it........ Follow the tutorial on how to use Bow-Easy up to Figure 9. Hold the tail in your left hand and pull it up and over the loop. The tail is actually underneath the loop so with a little bit of manoeuvering, you will be able to get it to sit on top. Now it should now be aligned with the bow loop. Tighten the tail on the right hand side (as in Figure 12 of the tutorial) and then pull it in line with the loop. This is easier to do with the right loop than the left because it is already sitting on top. And then the bow will sit in line with the ribbon! Easy!...

As I wrote earlier, we had a birthday bash to celebrate my son's 21st birthday - a wonderful milestone for both him and my husband and I as we see our eldest child move into adulthood. So, to the invitations...... Being rather short of time (his birthday falls at Christmas) I thought a visit to the newsagent to purchase some pre made invitations was the way to go but he had different ideas - he wanted something a little out of the ordinary that reflected his move into the adult world (having just graduated from University) and so I borrowed an invitation from Cristina Re . There are some great ideas on this website and beautiful papers as well. There's nothing difficult about these invitations (a bonus considering this was Christmas); and yet they are sophisticated and elegant. But then there were the 60 bows...... So later today, I'll post instructions on the little trick I use to get the bow to sit "in line" with the ribbon....

I've been playing around with my bow tying tool this morning. I usually make pretty good bows without using the tool, but when I need to make dozens of perfect bows (as was the case recently for my son's 21st birthday) then I reach for my Bow-Easy tool. I remember buying this tool at SDU (Stamping Down Under) many years ago. I got a great demonstration from the lady who sold it to me, but when I got it home I was baffled by the directions that came with it and I just couldn't remember how she'd done it. I've pulled it out a number of times since then and had a go, but more often than not, I didn't make a bow of any sort, let alone a perfect bow. But when I had to make the 60 bow ties for the invitations, I managed to work it out. Seeing as those instructions were a little difficult to follow, I decided a tutorial was in order. So if you'd like to see what a Bow-Easy is and how to use it, then click here ....