For Christmas, make cute little paper bows for your packages.

I mentioned a few posts back that I would provide a DIY paper bow tutorial, and here it is. These cute little bows look complicated, but with a little glue, some pieces of paper and a few steps, you can make your own bow. These bows are great for a handmade look or for when you need a single, cheap bow. You could use any paper, Christmas (like shown) or party balloons for a birthday.

First, download this DIY paper bow pattern I created. I recommend printing it on card stock if you want to trace the three bow pieces multiple times. To ensure symmetry in your bows, fold a pieces of paper in half and just trace one side on the paper, placing the center of the bow piece on the fold. If you aren't really into printing a template, you can also just eyeball the shape and cut it from a folded piece of paper.

Click to download DIY paper bow pattern.

Next, find the paper you want to use. I used the scraps from my Christmas card envelope liners. These bows are a great way to use scrap paper you have around. Obviously, the timing of this post and all the red and green point to me making Christmas bows, but really you can use them for anything.

Warning: Your workspace might get messy.

After you cut out your pieces, grab the top of the bow or the one with two oval shapes. Now is when you need your glue. I used Elmer's glue for this step. While it doesn't dry instantly, it dries clear and is pretty harmless if you get it on anything. Fold the ends back to the middle so that the patterned/colored side of the paper is facing out. Glue both end flaps to the middle section. It will create two little loops with a flat middle section. To let that dry, I slid paper clips over the middle. That easily held them while they dried and came off without any problems. (See below images.)

You can use paper clips to hold the top of your bow while it dries.

I used pink paper clips because I don't like pink so if they go ruined I wasn't worried in the least.

I did a bunch one step at a time.

They dry pretty fast. In a few minutes, they were solid enough to move on to the next step.

Once dry, find the little rectangle piece you cut out. Wrap that around the middle of the top of the bow with the patterned/colored side out. You can either glue the ends just to each other or to the back of the top of the bow. You may need to hold that portion for a second before going to the next step.

Next, glue the little rectangle around the center of the top of the bow.

Last step: Put a dot of glue in the middle of the bottom piece of the bow. Place the top of the bow on it and let it dry. You are all done. Pretty easy, huh?

Then, put a dot of glue in the middle of the bottom of the bow.

Now that you have made one, you can do multiples at each step. I found this process to work faster. You can also experiment with the pattern to create bows that are more full or vary in size. I found that no matter what I cut, it turned out to be a cute enough bow.

Once assembled, just let them dry.

To attached them to a package, you can just tape them down or tie a sting around them. I even tied one to a headband, which works well for Christmas events. Let me know how they work for you and if you find any other uses for them. Happy bow making!

You now have a little paper bow for your present.