[donotprint] In the past, I’ve never given much thought to the presentation of my homemade Christmas gifts. My biscotti was usually handed out after being zipped into one of those bags. Then a couple years ago I bought these cute little snowman bags. Last year tags were added. This year I wanted to bump up the labeling. After putting the biscotti and other gifts in the bags, and adding my made-from-scratch tags, I wanted more.
That’s what this post is about-adding that personal tie. Now, doing anything with the inkjet printer besides regular printing is pushing me out of that comfort zone. However, after several attempts I am much more comfortable pushing this little machine. (I mention inkjet because I would never run ANYTHING through my laser except paper.)
I love things personalized. I know these tags personalize our gifts, but what about adding a ribbon tie? If you are a scrapbooker, you probably have lots of preprinted ribbon. I have those too, but just like cards, I’ve always had problems getting them to say what I wanted to say. I guess that’s where my making Christmas cards started years ago. [/donotprint]
Here is my finished product – filled, tagged, and tied up – ready to be given out.
So let’s get started. I’ve only used grosgrain ribbon for this technique because that’s my favorite ribbon, but you might experiment with others.
Ribbon Printing [print_link]
- Type out what you want on your ribbon in your word processing program or PSE. If you want a longer ribbon, use legal size paper.
- Add centering lines to each side of the ribbon phrases. They will help you make sure your ribbon is straight. This is a crucial step to success. Or you can use a light table, but that’s too much trouble. Mine’s somewhere in the basement jungle!
- Now cover your words with repositionable and removable tape. If you use this type of tape you should be able to reuse this paper over and over again, as I did.
- Line up your ribbon over that tape, using the centering lines as a guide; making sure the ribbon is flat and completely taped down. If your ribbon has creases you might want to iron it before you place it over the tape.
- Now make sure that you put the paper with the ribbons attached in the printer exactly as it had printed before and print.
There you have your own personalized ribbons. Add a name or initials and you’ve personalized the gift. Quotes and even graphics would work for this project. Of course, these work great on scrapbook pages. Have you tried this technique? I’d love to hear about your ribbon-printing projects.
Thank you for sharing this tutorial. It will be very helpful. Have a delightful holiday season.
Renee
Renee,
Thanks for dropping by and checking it out.
What an excellent idea!!! These look great. Thanks for sharing, I know I’ll be using this one.
Cathy
Cathy, Thanks for visiting. It is a fun technique.
Wow, this is a really clever idea..if I’m feeling brave enough I’ll give it a try! Thanks
Thanks for the info on how to print on ribbon. I will give it a try. I do a lot of scrapbooking, and this will add that extra touch, when I personalize the pages! I love your Good bags!
Patty, Thanks for dropping by. Do try it. It is such a fun technique and really jazzes up scrapbook pages and gifts.
Great thanks for the material