Hope {Unfolding}: Crafty Tutorial

When I first started doing different crafts, I found that in order to find out how to do certain things, you either had to dig really deep or you had to pay for instructions. So, for a long time, I've wanted to do a series of crafty how-to instructions.....just some free tips on things I've learned along the way. I've found that you don't necessarily have to have mad skills to be successful at crafting. Alot of the time, it's just all about having the right tools or knowing the secret tips!

So, today's how-to lesson will be on how to heat seal your ribbons. This comes in handy for any project that requires ribbon, not just hairbows, because the last thing you want your beautiful project to do is unravel and look ugly after a few days!

Are you tired of the ends of your ribbons looking like this?

Sure, you can use fray check on the ends, but I've found that they still tend to fray and sometimes you can actually see the fray check after it dries. You can also run a lighter along the edge of the ribbon, but that is kind of tricky and some of the lighter ribbons will darken with that method.

So, my secret is to have this handy tool! It's a wood burning tool. I got mine at Walmart for about $20 in the craft section. It comes with different tips. The one you want to use is the angled one. So, you want to plug your tool in, turn it on, and wait for it to heat up. Make sure you never touch the end.......it gets extremely HOT!!

Once it's hot, you're ready to go. This tool is so hot, that the slightest touch to the ribbon will seal it. So, take your frayed edge and cut it straight with your scissors. You can cut at an angle or straight across, depending on how you want your ribbon to look when you're finished.

If you are using narrow ribbon, the easiest way to seal the end is just to run the edge of the heat tool tip along the edge of the ribbon. Right when you touch it to the ribbon, the ribbon will melt a bit and that will create a seal that will never unravel. You don't want to leave the heat tool on there for more than just a quick second.....just enough to seal the end. If you hold it on there too long, the ribbon will just continue to melt until you remove the tool. By touching it just to the end for a second, it creates a seal that is barely visible, but you can feel it when you run your finger along the edge. You will instantly see the ribbon kind of melt and form a seal as soon as you touch the tool to it.

This is what it looks like after its sealed. Pretty simple, huh?!

Okay, so what about the wider ribbons? It would be pretty hard to run the edge of the tool across a wide ribbon and get it even.

So, here's what you have to do. Grab yourself a metal baking sheet or pan. You will also need a metal ruler or metal straight edge of some kind.

Place the ribbon on your metal pan. You have to use the metal pan because if you don't, your work surface will burn. Now, place the metal ruler on top of your ribbon, where you want your ribbon edge to be.

Now, you are going to run the edge of your heat tool along the edge of the ruler, and you are going to pull the edge of that tool across your ribbon. You want to make sure and put pressure on the ruler with your left hand so the ribbon will be held down and won't move out of place. Then, with your right hand, with a little bit of force, run the tool across your ribbon, using the metal ruler as a guide to cut a straight line.

This is what it will look like after you're done cutting it. The heat tool is so hot that when you run it across the ribbon, it immediately cuts the ribbon in half and heat seals the end. It takes a little practice to figure out exactly at what angle to hold your tool, but it's really simple once you get the hang of it.