I love to do crafts. The only thing I don’t enjoy is making sure you have all the supplies that you need on hand.
Over the years I have gone through different craft “phases”. I tried making my own soaps and candles. I did scrapbooking and card making and I tried my hand at making things out of clay.
Don’t get me wrong. I love doing crafty things. It’s just that sometimes having to purchase all the supplies – not to mention storing the supplies when not in use – can be a bit too much. That is why I enjoy things that come in a “kit”. I like knowing that everything I need to complete a project is right there for me in one handy dandy kit.
Epson has introduced four easy to use printing kits. Two are on the crafty side, one that will help keep your cables and wires neat and organized and another to provide you with a little extra safety in your home. They are known as Epson LabelWorks™.
- Safety Kit
- Print durable, customized labels to improve safety in the home, office, classroom or just about anywhere else
- Add reflective tape to sports fear, ensure emergency supplies are labeled and add glow in the dark tape to flashlights in the event of a blackout
- Cable and Wiring Kit
- Quickly label and identify unruly electronic cables, whether at home or at the office, by isolating computer, printer, phone and router cables, AC adapters, DVR cables, TV wires, lamps and more
- Craft and knitting enthusiasts can also use these flag and wrap labels to their goods at the local craft fair
- Iron-On Kit
- Easily create personalized, machine washable iron-on labels for school items, uniforms, sports jerseys – perfect for preparing your child for summer camp of back to school
- This kit ensures that those mysteriously missing items make their way home
- Printable Ribbon Kit
- Print personalized satin ribbons for crafts, scrapbooks, decorations, gifts and more
- Customize your ribbons using a wide variety of fonts, symbols and frames
I was asked if I wanted to review one of the kits. I chose the Printable Ribbon Kit because I have an anniversary party coming up for my aunt and uncle and I thought it would be fun to make personalized ribbons to adorn their gift as well as to turn into a bookmark.
Almost everything you need comes in a plastic storage case with a handle. You’ll only need to pick up six AAA batteries (not included) for your label maker.
I’ve reviewed other label makers in the past. Normally they come with a huge booklet filled with instructions on how to use it. I was surprised to see the instructions for the Printable Ribbon Kit was just a few, easy to read pages. I literally made my first ribbon within minutes of popping the batteries into the label maker.
The kit came with two ribbon cartridges – a light, bone colored ribbon and a darker ribbon. Other ribbon cartridges are available. You can find the other available colors on the Epson website. Each cartridge has sixteen feet of ribbon. That’s a lot of ribbon. They retail for $19.99.
I have seen personalized ribbons on handmade cards, wrapped around party favors at weddings and showers and on crafts. I would have thought they were hard to make. I never expected it to be so easy. If you can type on a keypad you can make personalized ribbon.
After you insert the batteries and ribbon cartridge into the label maker you are ready to go. Simply type out our message or personalization and print it out. That is all there is to it. Of course you can do so much more than that. You can change fonts, font size, add graphics, frames and more. You can see examples of the graphics and frames in the image below.
I showed my kids how to use it ONCE and that was all it took for them to start printing out their own personalized ribbons.
I gathered up a few of the ribbons that we made to take pictures of for this post. I had to cover up some of the names to protect my family. Also, the photos are not that good. They are much nicer in person. Plus they are a bone color, not white like they appear in the photos.
I can think of a lot of uses for personalized ribbons. One thing I plan on doing it making a few for our friend’s daughter. She’s on a pee wee cheerleading team and I know the girls do up their hair in curls and ribbons on the top of their heads. I was going to make her ones with her name on it or maybe with a message like “Go (team name)” or some other sporty saying. I think that would be a cute idea.
I also like the idea of using the ribbon to hang up Christmas ornaments on the tree instead of those wire hooks (I’m thinking more for the heavy ornaments). I could type messages on the ribbon like “Ho-Ho-Ho”, “Happy Holidays”, “Seasons Greetings” or another holiday saying. I think that would be a fun idea and something my kids could help me with.
My daughter made a ribbon with our dog’s name on it and tied it on HIS ear. I don’t think our boy dog was too happy about a pretty ribbon on his ear. LOL!
You could also use them to sew inside clothing or personal items to help identify who an item belongs to. I have seen iron name tags but these are even nicer because they are made from a soft ribbon. You just need some thread and a needle to sew them on (or use an iron on adhesive backing).
The possibilities are endless, especially when it’s so easy to use.
Here are a few more ideas from the Epson website.
For more information about this or the other available Epson LabelWorks™ label makers visit the links (above) or the Epson website. The kit retails for $69.99. It’s a bit pricey but when consider all the fun things you can do with it I think it’s well worth the investment.
What would you make personalized ribbons for? Feel free to share your thoughts.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
Jill C says
Very cool! A must have for the b-day circuit!
Nancy Loring8 says
I like that it is compact and comes in a case. It’s funny because you never think you need a label maker until you do.