Decorative Tapes & Ribbons

There are a wide variety of ribbons to use when wrapping gifts, or making different crafts.

Decorative tapes and ribbons are great accessories that can be used for a variety of things. With so many kinds out there, finding the right decorative tape and ribbon for whatever your project needs can be a task, unless you know what to look for. Learn a little bit about the different uses and kinds of decorative tapes and ribbons to use them wisely in your next craft project.

Uses For Gifts

Decorative tapes and ribbons are popularly used to dress up wrapped gifts for family and friends. Decorative tapes come in a variety of colors to match different kinds of gift wraps, so that they blend well and cannot be noticed on wrapped presents. There are a number of different colored and patterned decorative ribbons you can use to compliment gift wraps. For example, green satin ribbon can be used with red gift wrap to make a nice Christmas gift package.

Uses For Decor

Decorative tapes can be used in the home, as well, to correspond with different decorations. For example, you can hang green garland with matching green decorative tape, so that the tape blends with the garland. Decorative ribbons can be used on their own, or to dress up another piece of décor. You can tie ribbon around a stairwell banister, or drape it across a mantle. To enhance décor add ribbon to a variety of things like around a plain vase, or on floral pieces. Another idea is to use ribbon and tape in scrap booking, as frames or colorful ways to tape in memorabilia.

Materials

Tapes and ribbons can be made from a variety of materials, some ranging in the slightly higher price range depending on the material. For soft texture and a rich look you can use satin or velvet ribbons, which cost a little bit more. Cheaper ribbons are usually made of thin plastic or cotton. Decorative tape can also be found made with a satin backside, or velvet. You can also find tapes that are made of similar material to regular clear packing tape, but dyed different colors, like clear red or blue tape.

Homemade

Making your own decorative tape and ribbon is another option with decor, should you not be able to find some that you like at a craft or general store. Head to your local craft store and look at the fabric section, find one you like and cut strips from it to use as ribbon. You can even make decorative tape by cutting strips and gluing them accordingly to double-sided tape, and then using that to tape various projects.

Where To Find

You can find decorative tapes and ribbons at most general stores where you would find gift wraps. For a larger variety, head to your local craft store or a party store that will carry more gift wrap options. Again, you can find your own designs by looking in fabric sections of craft stores as well.

References

• Scrapbook: 101 Uses For Ribbon
• Studio 5: What To Do With Decorative Tape