DIY Mesh Tube Bows Centerpiece or Wreath for Fall or Halloween

Have I got a cool centerpiece or wreath to make for Halloween or Fall using bows made out of colorful mesh tubes! And the best part, you can easily change the colors of the mesh and types of centers for any holiday or season! Wow your family and friends with this adorable craft!

 

This post first appeared on Bowdabra.com where I'm on the design team.

Supplies:
Mesh Tubes - 4Pkgs. (dollar store)
Craft Foam Wreath - 10"
Hot Glue/Scissors
Mini Bowdabra/Measuring Tool/Wand

How To:
Let's begin by wrapping a craft foam wreath with mesh tubes. Use hot glue to attach to attach to the foam at the beginning and at the end.

This looks cool already!

To Make the Mesh Tube Bows:

Insert an 8" strip of mesh tube into the Mini Bowdabra. Straighten the mesh tubes and gather the ends of four assorted colors, inserting them down into the Mini Bowdabra.

Then fold the tubes together into loops at the 3" mark on the measuring tool,  inserting all into the slot in the Mini Bowdabra.

Continue folding the tubes into loops on each side until satisfied with the fullness of the bow. Use the Bowdabra Wand to scrunch down and hold the mesh tubes in place.

While the wand is holding down the tubes, cut off the excess tubes using scissors.

Then use the 8" strip of mesh tube to tie a couple of knots to tighten and hold the bow together.

Apply a dab of hot glue to the tube wrapped wreath and hold the bow in place until the glue sets. It will take a couple of minutes for the glue to firm up and secure the mesh bow.

Continue making more mesh tube bows to cover the wreath, gluing them on and around the mesh tube wrapped wreath. 

Don't you just love how adorable this looks!

Have fun decorating the wreath .  .  .

or centerpiece for Halloween! The cool thing about this centerpiece or wreath is that you can easily change the colors of the mesh and types of centers for any holiday or season! Making this creation very versatile!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

How to Make a Quick and Easy Ribbon Gift Bag

With the holiday and gift giving season upon us, here's a quick and super easy way to make a gift bag out of ribbon! You know a handcrafted giftbag offers a personal touch to gift giving and makes the gift that more special! And the best part, once you know how to make this lovely no-sew giftbag, you'll be making them throughout the year for those special occasions! All you need is any type of four inch wide decorative wired ribbon and fabric glue! It's a pretty simple design that comes together in no time - especially when you top the bag off with a beautiful Bowdabra bow! 

Supplies:

• Wired Ribbon 4" wide
• Ruler
• FabriTac fabric glue
• Cording
• Scissors/clamps
• Mini Bowdabra, Measuring Tool, Wand
• Bowdabra Bow Wire

Begin by cutting one strip of 4"wide wired ribbon, 16" long and two strips, 6" long. I am making a gift bag approximately 6" tall. To get to this measurement of the longer strip at 16 inches, take the width of the ribbon (4") and subtract it from the length (16") to get 12". Divide by 2 (short sides) to get 6 inches for the height. You can use this formula to make any height for a gift bag.

Once you have the lengths of the ribbon lined up, place the longer strip in between the two shorter strips. Fold over (1/4") the top edges on each strip and glue down, making sure the lengths are even. Also fold down and glue together the bottom edge of the longer strip (not shown).

Begin adding glue along one edge of the shorter strip and one edge of the longer strip, stopping where the shorter strip ends and .  .  .

press edges together to bond. Let dry.

Once that side has bonded together, continue adding glue to the next side of the short strip edge to the longer strip edge and .  .  .

bond together.

Make sure to add glue in the corners and press firmly together. Continue to the third side, moving around the short strip adding glue to its' edge and .  .  .

then the long strip edge, to bond the two pieces together.

Be sure to go around all three sides, pressing together, making sure all the edges are glued together, especially the corners. Add additional glue if needed.

Repeat the steps to glue on the last strip, starting at the top side edge and then the bottom and finally the side to connect all the edges - pressing the edges together. Let dry.

To make the handles, cut two strips of ribbon, 1/2" wide and 8" long. Lay on work surface. Cut two cording pieces 12" long. Lay ends of one cord on top of one ribbon strip in a horseshoe shape. Add glue along strip and under cord ends. Add additional glue on top of the cord ends that are on the ribbon strip.

Fold ribbon strip over the cord ends, matching edges and pressing together to secure.

Use clamps to hold cords in place while drying.

Once the handle strips are dry, add glue to the back of the each strip, one at a time, and attach each one to the front and back inside top of bag. Clamp in place and let dry.

To make the bow:

Cut an 18″ piece of Bowdabra bow wire, folding in half and placing down into the Mini Bowdabra, tucking ends under. Then cut a strip of wired ribbon 12" long. Dovetail the ends by folding each end together and cutting at an angle from the end up to the fold at an angle.

 Then take the 12″ strip of ribbon and pinch the ribbon in the middle and insert down into the Mini Bowdabra for the bow tails.

Next, pinch the end of the ribbon on the roll placing it down into the Mini Bowdabra.

                           
Create a loop by folding over the ribbon at the 3″ mark on the Bowdabra measuring tool. Twist the ribbon down into the Mini Bowdabra smoothing the ribbon out.

On the opposite side, fold over the ribbon at the 3″ mark creating another loop, twisting the ribbon down into the Mini Bowdabra. Leave about two inches of ribbon for the finish center and cut off ribbon.

Use the Mini Bowdabra wand to crunch down the bow.

While the bow is still in the Mini Bowdabra, thread the two loose ends of the bow wire through the loop, pulling tightly while gently pulling the bow out.

Take the end of the ribbon in the center over the bow wire, tucking under into a decorative knot for a finished look! 

Attach the bow to the top center of the ribbon gift bag, gluing in place. Fluff the bow for a fabulous designer look!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

Trash to Treasure Tin Can

As a crafter, if you're like me, I have lots of bags full of tin cans that I rescued from the trash! It's gotten to the point that whenever the hubs comes across a tin can, he knows to ask me if I want to keep it. And he knows I'm going to say yes, so why does he bother to ask me, lol! There are so many things you can do with tin cans - like using them in home decor, or containers for sweets or supplies, vases, planters, etc. - the possibilities are just about unlimited! And a tin can is one of my favorite crafting items, too!  I can always find something new or different to make with a tin can! 

Hello and welcome to our Creative Craft Hop hosted this month by Donna @ Modern on Monticello! We are delighted to have two hosts - Donna and and Sara @Birdz of a Feather! They each take turns hosting every other month! Thank you ladies for hosting this awesome Creative Craft Hop! 

If you're coming over from Jenna @The Painted Apron, I know you loved her pumpkin made with household items! Jenna always amazes me with her lovely creations! At the end of my post I'll tell you the next stop on this hop! But be sure to visit all of the creative crafters who joined this month for some amazing inspirations! 

Today I'm sharing a fun way to upcycle a tin can into something I think is quite beautiful and useful! 

Materials Used:

• Tin can
• Wrapping paper
• Measuring tape/yard stick
• Mod Podge Matte
• Parchment paper
• Paint brush
• Quick Hold glue
• Masking tape
• Wood round - 4"
• Sticker beads (Dollar Tree)
• Thin foam sheet (3mm)
• Ziplock plastic bag (large)
• Scanner/Printer
• Heat source (hot plate/iron)
• Foam pad
• Ball stylus
• Seed beads

Disclosure I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! The affiliate money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

How To:

To start, wash and clean the tin can with a dish detergent like Dawn removing any labels, glue, oils, dust or dirt. I must say right off that I have no idea what was in this tin can before I rescued it out of my storage bag. I had already removed the label and it was basically clean and ready to be transformed! Yay!

Next, measure the height and diameter (around) of the tin can. (13"x6") and cut out one piece of the loopy chain pattern paper and two pieces of the floral pattern paper in those measurements. 

Lay the loopy chain pattern paper on the can where the metal comes together and begin gluing it on - adding glue in increments, attaching the paper and smoothing it out between the rims.

My measurement included the rims of the can - that's why the paper is folded at one end. Continue adding glue and applying the paper until .  .  .

the can is completely covered with the first paper.

Then glue the two pieces of floral paper (wrong sides) together. Let glue and paper dry. Place floral paper down on work surface  and lay the seam of the can on the center of the floral paper. 

Begin gluing on the floral paper around the can. One side at a time - stopping about three quarters of the way around the can. At this point you want to give the floral paper ends an "open lapel" effect. So gently glue a quarter of the bottom paper together leaving the top and midway down of the paper open. Add a piece of masking tape after gluing the bottom of the paper closed (see photo). Open the top of the paper, rolling each side of the paper back, like a lapel. Let the glue dry. Remove the masking tape after the paper is sealed. 

For the top, cut out a large enough circle of floral paper so the ends will overlap the edges of the wood.

Add glue to the bottom of the wood piece and .  .  .

secure to the floral paper circle. Cut slits in paper to fold up and cover the wood sides .  .  .

smoothing the paper down and over the edge.

Once the paper is smoothed over the edge and top of the wood circle, glue on a floral paper circle the same size as the top wood circle to cover the entire wood circle. 

The decorative look of the tin can is beginning to come together!

I found adhesive bead stickers from the Dollar Tree in my stash and added them to the top and bottom rims of the can.

Unfortunately, the adhesive on the stickers is not very strong - so I had to add more glue to ones that would move or fall off. 

But, I'm still loving the look that they give! Especially since the purple color blends in so well with the floral paper.

To add dimensional flowers to the tin can, scan a purple flower from the floral paper and copy it to Word where you can enlarge the size.

Then brush on a layer of Mod Podge to a sheet of foam paper and .  .  .

 place copies of the flower on the mod podged foam sheet. 

 Use a cut opened large ziplock bag to smooth the paper flowers out and

let dry!

Once dry, cut the individual flowers out.

gluing on extra petals where the petals are covered with gold on the paper.

Heat on a griddle or iron for a few seconds to let the paper and foam petals curl.

Then place the flower on thick foam and use a ball stylus to press down the center of the flower to give it additional dimension and curvature.

Once satisfied with the curvature of the flower .  .  .

 add Fabri-Tac glue to the center (pistil) of the flower and ,  ,  ,

add seed beads to the glue. Make sure you squeeze them together and press down for added dimension. Once dry, paint on Mod Podge to seal the seed beads.  

Let dry.

Attach one flower to the top using glue and one just below the opening for a gorgeous treasured look!

I'm loving this look and hope you do, too!

Just gorgeous with faux flowers or anything else you might think of!

Up next is Donna @ Modern on Monticello and one of our awesome hosts sharing her fabulous Easy DIY Beaded Wind Chime!

Be sure to check out all of the talented bloggers sharing their awesome creations below:   

Make a Pumpkin with Household Items

Trash To Treasure Tin Can

Easy DIY Beaded Wind Chime

How to Make Easy Leaf-Inspired Air Dry Clay Coasters

Easy Paint by Numbers

DIY Brown Paper Maple Leaf Garland

Vintage Spice Bottle Wreath Upcycle