"1st Grade" page By LeNae Gerig

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Designer's Tip: Using ribbon on a page makes for a quick and inexpensive accent. On this page I used ribbon in several ways. I embellished an existing page border with a strip of yellow ribbon and bow, I added blue ribbon to the extended photo mat and top it with aknotted length of ribbon and finally as a corner accent.

Supplies

• Finished in a Flash™ School Days Kit
• Susan’s Bright Ribbons
• Glue Stick
• Zips™
• Zots™
• Fine tip black pen

- indicates that the product page has a video demo.

Instructions:

1. Wrap a knotted length of red ribbon around the bottom left corner of a 7”x5” photo and tape the ends to the back of the photo. Mat the photo on the left side of a 9 1/2”x5 1/2” rectangle of sponged yellow paper. Glue blue ribbon down the center of the right side and wrap the ends around to the back of the paper.
2. Mat the yellow rectangle on a 10 1/2”x7” blue plaid rectangle and glue 1 1/2” from the top of the page and 3/4” from the left side.
3. Overlap large tags near the top of the blue border ribbon. Knot a 4” length of blue ribbon and cut the tails to 1” long. Glue to the top of the tags. Glue a small, 1 1/2”x2” photo to the top tag and glue an apple punch-out to the bottom tag. Secure the “school” Brad Buddy™ using both Zots and the apple brad.
4. Glue the “1st” and “grade” punch-outs overlapping the top left of the photo and secure 2 star brads. Use Zips to secure the yellow ribbon across the border at the bottom of the page. Glue a yellow bow to the right side.

To adhere ribbon
I use different products depending on the situation. For the yellow border I used Zips™ Adhesive Lines directly across the page. I applied the ribbon to the adhesive and then wrapped the ribbon ends around the sides of the page and secured them with acid free tape. The tape will hold the ends securely and prevent the fraying that can take place with cutting the ends.

For the corner ribbon, I knotted the center of a short length of ribbon (a great way to use up odds and ends) and used an adhesive dot to secure the knot directly to the photo and then wrapped the ends around the photo, securing to the back with tape.

Finally, when gluing a short length of ribbon directly to paper, I simply place the ribbon on scrap paper and run my glue stick across the ribbon length. Lifting both ends, I center the ribbon on the paper and then wrap around the edges and secure with tape.

Other tricks
Sometimes you may not have enough ribbon left to tie a bow, but still want a ribbon embellishment. I like to knot the center of the ribbon with an overhand knot and then trim the tails to 1" long or less. Trim the tails at an angle to prevent fraying.

Wrinkled ribbon? I run mine under a low iron, very quickly, especially if it is synthetic. Flat irons for hair work well too.

FRIDAY FREEBIES

This week's Friday Freebies gives you some inspiration on how to display your special photos or capture a special day! LeNea created this 12x12 Frame using, Hot Off The Press' Chocolate Paper pack!

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