Saturday, November 10, 2012

Bow Maker - Making The Perfect Bow


I fell in love with the concept of the bow maker the moment I saw it on our Silhouette Facebook group, Silhouette Cameo Paper Crafts. I will forever be grateful to Sue Busch who shared a photo of her bow maker customized by her brother-in-law. I got obsessed with it and really spent time searching and watching every bow maker video I can find. I come from a place where there are a lot of skilled furniture makers which makes it easy to have this customized so I thought of creating my own design according to the specifications I need. With the help of my brother, we went to see his friend, Melo, to have it made and after only 5 days, voila, I now have this beautifully hand crafted bow maker. Melo did a great job in following all my specifications from the exact measurements down to the stain color.

It is critical for the dowels to fit snugly into the dowel slots in order to achieve the perfect bow. And the other critical aspect of the design for me is how to secure the dowels for storage and having them laid flat for space saving storage. That's how we came up with the hallowed receptacles for the dowels along the sides on top of the base. Great and happy solution! To complete the bright idea, I created a pouch for the bow maker set. There is actually a better storage solution for the dowels wherein 2 long holes, almost the whole length of the dowel, are drilled inside the base of the dowel which would mean having to increase the width of the base which I was not willing to do as I wanted to minimize the size of the base for less space on my desk when I'm using it.

BTW, before I had my bow maker made, I was very anxious to see if this concept really works. You know how we see all these things being demonstrated on these video tutorials making them look so easy but when we try them ourselves we get so disappointed as they are not really that easy to do and sometimes they don't really work? So I came up with an improvised bow maker making use of 2 chopsticks which I adhered with a double sided tape to the side (inside) of a plastic container (the shape should not really matter). You will see below the very first bow that I made with my improvised bow maker. It is, indeed, a perfect bow! So this convinced me all the more to have my own proper bow maker made.

There are tons of video tutorials out there on how to use the bow maker. For me, this link is the best as it clearly shows the directions of the looping of the ribbon around the dowels in a slow step-by step instructions.: Perfect Bow

For more ideas on ribbons and bows, check out my Pinterest board, http://pinterest.com/ligayatg/ribbons-and-bows/

Thank you very much, Sue Busch, for all the photos and information that you very kindly provided us regarding your bow maker.













                             
                                          








16 comments:

  1. Love it Gayle! You bow maker is fantastic! Love the storage place for the dowels and the pouch to put it in! You are very welcome for the idea. My daughter had used one at a SU swap and that is where we got the original idea. I am so glad that you loved it so much that you had yours made! I absolutely love your design!! Hope you enjoy yours as much as we do ours!
    Sue Busch

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    1. Thank you so much, Sue. I've already tried making different sizes of bows using ribbons of various width. The bow maker really does make the perfect bow. I've already memorized the looping direction and have gotten the hang of it. Now, I can't live without my bow maker :).

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  2. That's just awesome! If he/you end up selling these please put me first in line!

    Candi
    chaos-n-crafts.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, Candi. I've gotten a lot of inquiries which should motivate me to sell them but the maker is quite busy with his big projects and this may not be worth his while. Although I did pay him for the 6 sets that he made which I shared with my friends and 2 nieces, he made these more of a favor to my brother. We will discuss it further and I will let you know.

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  3. Love it, now where do I buy one? :) Also, the video is excellent, thanks for the link!

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  4. If you do sell them I would want (need) one!

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  5. From Leila Geronimo:

    I wrote a comment on your blog as anonymous and when I clicked Publish, the system did not accept my comment. Instead, it asked me to write a the word displayed to prove a I am not a robot. I tried typing the various words displayed and the system continued to refuse my comment. I gave up. Sorry, I could not get my comment on your blog.

    Here's what I wanted to write:
    I always struggle making bows for my cards. Having this bow maker will inspire me to make more bows. Many thanks, Gayle, for this wonderful tool. I love the way the dowels are stored on the base. Very nicely done! --lei

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  6. Oh, yes, we all want one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Karen

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  7. Thanks for linking the video! After watching it, I used my kids' musical toy which has something similar to the dowels and the dowel slots to try tying a bow and it turned out perfectly! Your bow maker is great! Wish I have one! By the way, I also had problems with your site verification process. Can I suggest that you disable it? :D

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  8. Elikutod ayubeke iqa dehacure ilul sibox ihibe qafo enaragiruh ohatu I.
    Siqalezo iv, den rotux gileqopak get Bali Mojo keyaxeruda nucuzazuxi kogovuduw regipi owiqoreqox yana.
    Ey enaneqa, ufulefefar imohepihuh puwohame; get Bali Mojo

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    1. I received the "bow maker" yesterday (Wednesday) and it only took 15 days to reach the U.S.

      Which I thought was very good considering how far the bow maker had to travel.

      The bow maker is a fantastic work of craftmanship, it is easy to handle even with arthritis.
      The dowel rods are so smooth when I tried pure silk ribbon, no snags in the ribbon, just a perfect bow.

      And to be able to store the dowel rods right with the bow maker means no longer losing the dowel rods. And able to select the size of the bow with multiple holes for the dowel rods make
      it even better and it is portable in its own little bag that comes with the "bow maker"!

      Thank you Gayle for making this available to us in the States. I love it!

      Marda

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  9. So how do we get one? I didn't see anywhere where you are selling them? I would like one too! I also don't understand what the profile choices are, so I use anonymous. marlakirby@hotmail.com

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  10. Aloha! Curious lang po ako. Ano po nag size ng dowel?

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  11. this is so nice, would love to have one din po. :)

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  12. can you send the measurements you used for spacing your dowels or are the bowmakers for sale? if so what i the prce and where do i purchase

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