Ribbon for Toastmasters Banner

In my “spare time” I’m active in Toastmasters. If you haven’t heard of Toastmasters before, it is a non-profit organization in over 100 countries, that helps people to improve their speaking and leadership skills. I’ve been active for about 3 years. The “Toastmaster Year” runs July 1 to June 30th… which means the year just ended. To finish up my term as Area Governor this year, I put on a Debate between two clubs. For more information on the Debate, check out my post over at the District 33 Toastmasters Blog.

Since we weren’t charging admission, we had no budget to work with. It would be great to order trophies, but for the winning club to carry around a traveling trophy would be a lot to ask. All of the participants got certificates… so I decided to make a ribbon to go on the winning club’s banner.

The steps are pretty simple, and all pretty visible in the picture:

Supplies Needed:
– Ribbon (I got 2.5″ wide ribbon from Michaels – make sure it does not have wire in it)
– Craft Paint (I used Gold)
– Freezer Paper (MUST be Freezer Paper – Wax Paper will not work)
– Paint Brush
– Iron
– Ironing Board
– Scissors (and pinking shears to get the zig-zag ends on the ribbon)
– Cricut Machine (directions for non-Cricut Owners can also found below)
– Plain White Glue
– Safety Pin

Step 1:
Using the Cricut Machine, cut “Stencils” out of the freezer paper. If you don’t have a Cricut Machine, print your letters in the size you want onto regular paper, then trace onto the freezer paper and cut out with a craft knife.

Step 2: Iron the freezer paper stencils onto the ribbon, shiny side down.

Step 3: Use the craft paint to paint a thin coat of paint on the letter. Repeat. Make sure that you don’t allow the paint to “glob” up at the edges of the stencil.

Step 4: Once the paint has dried, remove the stencils. Cut the ends of the ribbon with the pinking shears.

Step 5: Turn the ribbon over (paint side down), and iron lightly to remove any marks the stencils made.

Step 6: To prevent the ends from fraying, add a thin layer of white glue on the ends of the ribbon. Don’t worry, it will dry clear.

Step 7: Add the safety pin at the top so that the winning team can immediately pin the ribbon on their banner!

It is really super simple, and inexpensive… I already had all the supplies on hand, except for the wide ribbon… which I now have 10 yards of! I’ll have plenty to make a ribbon for the winner of next year’s debate!

Expect Moore… soon!