Festive Finishing Touches; DIY Holiday Bows

So how about this? The perfect holiday bow. You having a party? You ready? It is. The perfect holiday bow is just a few twists and turns away. Brian Krampus at Milliger is learning how to make a festive finishing touch for your Christmas decor. I'm so excited about this segment because I've always wanted to learn how they do this because they're just so perfect. Yeah, they are perfect. And I've got to tell you this. Look at the bow that matches my shirt, that matches the brewer's colors, kind of. You could have yourself a brewer's tree if you want. Blue and gold. It could be blue and white and gold. Kara, as well as Christine, joining us right now. Guys, hey, happy holidays, I guess. Because look at the background over here. Oh, we're running. Oh, my goodness. I can't believe how ahead of the game you guys are here at Miller Girls. But then again, you start so early, Chris. We start more than a year ahead of time. More than a year ahead of time. Now, we're going to make the perfect bow. But before that, can we show what this is, Kara? What is this thing? This is for Nicola. This is our tinsel spray. So you said someone took like six hours to put tinsel in their tree. This is so easy. You just shove it in there. Wait, what? Oh, look at that. Nicola. Oh, you. You would never know. You would never know, and then it comes off on the same thing, and you reuse it the next year, thank you for grabbing that. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. That's what I was going to say. Guys, we're going to make a bow, and Chris says that it's as easy as... Tying a shoe. Okay, let's see. So if you can tie a shoe, you can make a bow, and this is the rising star of holiday decorating. So I'm just going to make one loop, and this is a ribbon that is double-sided, so I like the shiny side, and I'm going to add some of the John Mark ribbon that we have here. Now, you were saying that John Mark is kind of the guy that brought the bow back. Oh, he has really changed the industry, because he's done elaborate, fancy ribbons with very strong wire inside, so that you can make it undulate, and you put it on your tree, you know, it... It has a lot of motion, it has a feeling of going somewhere. Now I noticed you just made that one loop for each ribbon, and then you put them side by side, and now you're making your third ribbon with your third bow. So she doesn't loop the bunny ears. And if you buy a whole bow, you can just take it home and do all the bows for your tree. So I have this kind of situation going on. And Kara maybe you can cut these for me. I would love to do that. I also love that you have so many different styles. Oh we have hundreds of styles. The Nutcracker, you got the Grinch as well. Wow this is so fun. Here's the Grinch one. That Grinch one is awesome. That is a fun bow. On a tree, on a door, on a wreath, on swag, on garland, on a present. You just see the legs and you know right away. Right, who it is. Here's Presto Chango on your swag and you've got your ribbon. Oh, that's a great idea. Everything looks better with a ribbon. Okay, so easy. And you're already on your fourth different type of ribbon. Right. And this is like under two minutes that you've created that. Now, you're an expert, Chris. There should be a competition for this. Your husband did mention that you guys have... Only 10 trees up so far at your house. And counting. And counting. Wait, at her house she's got 10 trees? Yeah. Is that a milligrant? 10 trees, guys. Oh, and her. And counting. That means there's more coming. Does she have a big house or is there one in the bathroom? From it. So it's the house, but it's also like little trees and big trees. It's not just all big trees, right? No, it's not. If you look to the left over here, they have trees like this. So these are considered a tree as well. So they could be smaller. And Donovan was saying he needed something smaller for his place. And you've got smaller trees. We have every size. So when you get to this point, you're going to take a wire and draw it from the front of their little clump of... Loops, draw it around the back, and pull it really tight, that's the secret. It's a secret. And twist it, I think we can do that. And then we'll shape it out a little bit. And we're ready to put it on our tree. Now, do you cut the excess wire off, or do you leave that in case you have to wrap it around? No, you can just wire it right onto your tree. So you can see, like, some of these we have tucked in the tree here. And this is another, you know, option or way to decorate. You can do this on a garland, on a tree, your swag, whatever it may be. But that gives you the ability to secure it. It's really one of the most inexpensive decorations on a tree because it covers so much space. It really does, and it makes it look grand, if you will. Hey guys, did you see the cardinals on the tree? Nicola, I know you like cardinals. Look at the amount of cardinals on this tree, hey? Spiritual experience there. Oh, look at that. This could be... They're all over the place. Wisconsin winter-type tree. Oh my gosh! We have a few of these too, and I feel like I need to grab some because my parents are no longer... around and Christie's grandparents, you know, I feel like I need like at least a nice remembrance tree, four or five cardinals to fly on their trees. Yeah, there's some like that. You earlier on you guys, you said something that stuck out to me that you guys decorate. For your customers, your clients. So you decorate inside, you decorate outside. You can do trees as well? We can do trees, we can come in and set up your tree. We can decorate the entire tree, or you can do the fun part, put the ornaments on. Yeah, that is the fun part as well. I like having a mom that has 10 Christmas trees, Karen. Thank you. Well, I remember as a little kid, we would all be in the room doing our tree, and she's like, no one's doing it until all the ornaments are hung. And at first, you're like, oh, my gosh, there's so many. But as you're decorating, you have so much fun as family and all the great things that you're talking about. Every ornament brings back. Do you guys have any, like, ribbon classes or anything coming up soon? Is that something that we need? Well, all of our design workshops usually incorporate some sort of a bow, And it's amazing when people come in. People come into the design workshops, and they're like, I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to make anything. Or, I'm not very creative. I'm not very good. I'm not creative. And so we have an expert staff that are both design teams at those stores, and we teach them how to do this. And it's amazing the smiles that they have when they leave, that the sense of accomplishment of what they can do. It's a life skill. Yeah. Well, I was just going to echo the same thing. This makes you feel good. Like, I can do this. Yeah. You know? And the most fun part is picking out all the combinations that work in your setting. Well, you guys... I always do great, which is why we're here today. It's a customer appreciation day, guys. So here at Milliger's, we're seen, as well as third event location, 20% off. Full purchase price, okay, so if it's already on sale, then you're not going to get the $20 off. But also, Karen Didion, who we saw earlier on, is going to be at Sturdivant at noon today. And then she's going to be back here at 3 o'clock as well. And we have refreshments at both stores, from 3 to 7. A lot of refreshments. I saw a wine back there. No wine. Wait, wait, wait. I saw bottles upon bottles of wine. Cases and cases. Cases of cases of wine. So I don't know when you break those out. And it's a free event. You can ask, like, can I come? Is it free? Yes. We appreciate you guys, we're so thankful for you. 66 years here in business with our family. We couldn't do it without you. Yeah, 100%. Awesome guys, and I wanna say that our viewers represent down here in Racine in big ways. I mean, truly, there are so many great customers that you have that are here a lot, that watch us a lot, so we appreciate that as well, guys. Beautiful bows from beautiful ribbon, and beautiful family, and beautiful displays, guys. The holidays are here. Racine, Milliger's, Sturdivant, Milliger's, yeah, Customer Appreciation Day. Swing on by. Oh, and we appreciate that. I'm surprised he hasn't run into my dad down there. That's where he likes to hang out. Oh, at Milliger's? Take a little work break. He's got a tab there. Oh, nice. Like, he doesn't even, they just, they bill him. Yeah. Yeah, it's like old school. Great spot. You know, we like it.