Ribbon is the one card making embellishment which can really lift a card from something basic and turn it into something special.

The range of ribbons now available to crafters is extensive:

• Satin
• Silk
• Sheer
• Grosgrain
• Organza
• Velvet
• Wired
• Patterned – Gingham, Check, Plaid, Polka Dot to name but a few.
• Peel ‘n’ Stick

The key to using ribbon well is to always try to match the style of ribbon to the overall colour and theme of the card. If you are not sure about which work best experiment with a few different types of ribbon against the card and just go with what you feel looks right.

When you get to the end of a length of ribbon keep any decent pieces as they will make small bows to embellish future cards with.

Different types of ribbon tie differently and it is just a question of practising until you know how to tie the perfect bow. When cutting the ribbon you have to be careful as some ribbons are prone to fraying. If you are concerned that the ribbon will continue to look frayed when on your work you can always use a touch of special glue on the reverse of the ribbon to stop it fraying.

Care should be taken when attaching the ribbon to your card – you can use double sided tape, an adhesive such as Tombow glue stick or adhesive roller, or sticky glue dots. Again try to choose the correct adhesive for the ribbon you are using – organza and sheer ribbon will show any large glue dots or clumps of glue, and you should consider something like a spray adhesive.

Care should also be taken when storing your ribbon. If you put all your ribbon spools in something like a carrier bag then it will soon become a tangled mess and the ribbons will get crumpled. To avoid this consider buying a ribbon rack or some other storage system.

If your ribbons do become crumpled then you can use a ribbon iron which is an iron especially made for smoothing ribbon. Ribbon can also get crumpled if you have a few attempts at tying the perefct bow and again one of these machines can easily smooth it out.