Turn Coloring Pages into Gift Bows

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Prismacolor, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #relaxandcolor  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

It’s no secret that I love art supplies. Crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint… I love it all! However, not all art supplies are the same. As much as I adore crayons in so many ways, they aren’t the best thing to color with as an adult. And if you’re like me and you spend a lot of time coloring with your kids (or maybe even after the kids are in bed) then you really care about using materials that work really well.

One of my very favorite brands of markers and colored pencils is Prismacolor. I actually got my first set of Prismacolor Premier colored pencils last year for my birthday. What I love about them is that the pencil is a little softer than the ones my kids use, and it’s a lot easier to blend colors together and create a smooth and not scratchy look.

Did you know you can also buy single Prismacolor Premier colored pencils and markers at Michael’s? If you don’t want or need to buy a whole big set of colors, you can pick out a few favorites to use in your adult coloring book. (P.S. Make sure to check out Michaels coupons for additional savings, in newspapers and online!) I picked up a handful of the brush style markers. I had been wanting some better markers for a while now and I was excited to try these out. The way the color goes onto the paper is beautiful to watch and makes coloring even more fun. These markers also cover an area evenly, and they don’t leave those streaky marker lines like your kid’s markers do. I also noticed that the paper didn’t tear, curl, or thin out even when I went over the same area with a few layers of color.

Now after a while you probably have a whole stack of coloring pages that you’re quite proud of. You’ve probably hung a few around the house, but generally don’t know quite what to do with them all. One of the very first projects I shared on my blog about 4 years ago was this idea for turning your kids’ scribbles into gift bows and it was very popular. It’s such a fun way to turn something that has meaning to you into something cool and share it with others.  And so I’ve been thinking for a while now that I’d love to turn my own coloring pages into gift bows as well!

How to turn your coloring pages into gift bows

Since I had one design I really loved, I scanned and printed a few extra copies so I could make a lot of bows with it. You can also just use the original coloring sheet itself.

1. Start by cutting your paper into pieces that are 3/4″ wide and about 8.5 inches long. You will need about 8 per bow.
2. To secure the bow you can use double sided tape, glue dots, or a hot glue gun. You want to first create 4 little bow pieces. Lightly fold each piece in half to mark the middle. Add a dab of glue and twist the edge back around to the middle to create a bow shape. Do the same thing to the other side. (I went into more detail in my original post)
3. Start attaching bow pieces. I used four to create the base of the bow, then I added three more to create a second layer and then one more to the very center of the bow.
4. And you’re done! You can also use strips of your coloring pages to create ribbons or other gift wrap accents.

In a way, this is a lot of work for just one little bow. However, once you get the hang of it, you could turn a whole stack of old coloring pages into super cool gift bows in less than an hour. I would say it takes about 5 minutes per bow. Plus there are a lot of other similar ideas you could do with your coloring pages. Basically you can use them in place of scrapbook paper in any project or craft.

I also make a few bows with this paper bow printable template from How About Orange. You can either trace and cut the template onto your coloring page, or you can even just print it directly onto the back of a coloring page. This way is a lot faster, but you can also get more bows per piece of paper if you trace and cut.

I just love how these turned out! I think maybe next I’ll color some Christmas themed coloring sheets with gift bows in mind. You can find free printable coloring pages here, including some Christmas ones.

So even though I’ve always been more of a fan of colored pencils, I may have switched over to being a markers person. They are just so much fun to use! What about you? Are you team markers or team colored pencils?