The “Red, White and Blue Ribbon Stars” craft featured in the July issue of Martha Stewart Living immediately caught my attention. I don’t have any Independence Day decorations, and the garland pictured in the magazine looked like a perfect way to jazz up the cabinet in my entryway.
I went to Michael’s and picked up some patriotic ribbon. I brought it home and stared at it for about an hour. I could not for the life of me decipher the instructions in the magazine. I decided that the problem was that the double-sided tape recommended in the instructions was just not strong enough to hold the ribbon down, so I moved on to scrapbook glue dots and eventually to my trusty glue gun, which helped a bit, but I still couldn’t make a convincing star shape.
I brought the magazine and supplies to my mom’s house. She’s a bow-tier extraordinaire, so I figured she could make me some stars in no time. Nope. She was even more perplexed than me.
We eventually decided to make five loops individually (like five tight “awareness ribbon” shapes) and then assemble them into a star, hot-gluing them together in the center. We covered up the mess in the middle with paper circles like the ones in the magazine.
I went to Michael’s and picked up some patriotic ribbon. I brought it home and stared at it for about an hour. I could not for the life of me decipher the instructions in the magazine. I decided that the problem was that the double-sided tape recommended in the instructions was just not strong enough to hold the ribbon down, so I moved on to scrapbook glue dots and eventually to my trusty glue gun, which helped a bit, but I still couldn’t make a convincing star shape.
I brought the magazine and supplies to my mom’s house. She’s a bow-tier extraordinaire, so I figured she could make me some stars in no time. Nope. She was even more perplexed than me.
We eventually decided to make five loops individually (like five tight “awareness ribbon” shapes) and then assemble them into a star, hot-gluing them together in the center. We covered up the mess in the middle with paper circles like the ones in the magazine.
I’m not totally happy with the outcome. The stars are a bit heavy, so the garland doesn’t sit nicely. It definitely looks homemade. And I should have planned the length/star ratio better. Oh well, I guess it’ll make my entryway look festive for the next few weeks.
Have you tried this craft and figured out the star-folding secret? Let me know!
*Top image from MarthaStewart.com
