Decorative Packaging

Isn’t this an adorable baby gift wrapping idea?  This idea uses a variety of texture, print, and color to make it have the “WOW” factor.  Using earth tones and non-gender monkeys allows this gift to be for a boy or a girl. 

We all loved the sock monkeys when we were kids.  I never had one but I always wanted one.  I thought I’d make one for my girls when there were little but I didn’t do that either.  That is why this idea caught my eye. 

Don’t be afraid to mix polka dot ribbon and stripes when wrapping. By using the unwrapped white gift box to separate the two types, it breaks up the pattern and looks wonderful.  Any solid color will work.  An animal print ribbon would also look great for this gift.  This gift is obviously two gifts in one, the first box is wrapped and the top is not.  The creative wrapper used a slightly smaller piece of decorative paper and glued it to the top then topped it all off with a ribbon bow and of course a safety pin.  Too cute!!!

Decorative ribbon, scrap book paper, tagging supplies and aluminum pie tins all used together can look similar to this.  It only takes a few minutes extra to make gift giving and eye opening experience!  You have taken the time to make your goodies with love so why not package them the same way? 

This could be a neat way to take cookies or a pie to a teacher to show your appreciation for spending time with your child to educate them.  Everyone has a mail carrier or other service people that are a part of your everyday life that could use a little extra encouragement. 

I mentioned in another blog about making one of these in a casserole tin, you can do matching ones for the dessert.  Simply place your treat inside and place the card board lid over it and press down the sides.  Glue decorative paper to the top in the shape of the lid.  Then add any decorative ribbon to the top with trimmed ends and finish off with a bow

What is one of the most frustrating things you deal with when you are trying to have picnic or outside cook out?  Besides ants thinking we brought the food just for them, or the bees flying into our pop, the one thing that drives me crazy that I can actually do something about is when the wonderful breeze blows up the sides and corners of the table cloth. 

Here is a cute idea for corner weights to hold your table cloth down and add a little spring decoration as well.  I love this for so many reason, one is that yellow is my favorite color!  I love polka dots and yellow and white gingham checked ribbon is a great combination of both. 

You will need:  Gingham Checked Ribbon, Table cloth, plastic Easter eggs, Hot glue / double stick tape, hole punch, and hole reinforcements that you would use for note book paper.

The discount stores carry large plastic table cloths for only a dollar or so depending on where you get them. 

Punch a hole in the corners and a few along a long edges if your table is very long, stick the glue backed hole supports on each side and glue them down. ( you can also place packing tape square on each corner both sides, and punch the hole through that)

Fill a plastic egg with sand, a few pieces of gravel, jelly beans or whatever…. It doesn’t have to be very heavy.

Cut a length of ribbon approximately 48 inches long, place a dot of hot glue at the top of the egg and place the center of the ribbon there.  Let glue dry and cool.  Let the ribbon fall down both sides of the egg and twist at the bottom and turn ¼ so you will come back up the opposite sides.  Place a dot of hot glue at the bottom too and hold till dry and cool.  Bring the ribbon ends back up to the top, place a dot of hot glue at the top again and tie a knot, pressing the knot down onto the glue.

Thread one or both ends ( in opposite directions ) of the ribbon through the hole on the cloth and tie a bow! That’s it.  You are finished.  Complete the job all the way around the table and you won’t have to mess with taping the cloth to the table or however you previously secured it.  

If you have daughters, then you probably have all colors and styles of these in your house already!.  But this idea is so cute, that I just had to share it.  You can buy a package of these clips for a dollar or two at the local discount store.  Jazzing them up is so simple that even someone who thinks they can craft can do this! 

YOU WILL NEED: bendy hair clips, buttons all sizes and colors, and decorative ribbon pieces, I love the gingham check and polka dot ribbons used here.

To cover any button with ribbon is simple, just cut a circle larger than the button, hot glue the button the wrong side of the button, fold the sides over and press down onto more glue.  You may want to use a tooth pick so you don’t burn your fingers.  Then simply hot glue the button to the base of the bendy clip.  It’s just that simple to create a hair clip to match any outfit you have. 

You can also glue a variety in sizes of buttons on top of each other in complimenting colors. Then glue the whole thing to the bottom end of the bendy clip.

Isn’t this a beautiful Easter basket?   It is shaped as a rose so this could easily be a spring basket favor or centerpiece depending on how large you want to make it.  This beautiful rose design disguises a plastic bucket used to mix paint.  You can also use a butter bow, or whatever you have. 

2 1/2-quart mini bucket or bowl, floral color Crepe paper, Hot-glue gun, Green card stock, Gold velvet ribbon, Leaf pattern

Ribbon and Rose Easter Basket

1. With scissors, snip 1/2 inch down from edge of tub and then all around. If there is a ridged edge, trim that off, too. Wrap strip with a 1/2-inch-wide piece of gold paper (cut against the grain along the height). Set aside for handle.
2. Measure depth and circumference of tub and cut piece of pink paper (along the grain) so, when folded, it lines the inside, outside, and bottom of bucket. Crease paper so the fold lines up with lip, and slide onto tub. Cinch paper at the bottom, and secure with daubs of hot glue.
3. Snip 2 slits in the pink paper 1 inch up from the base on the inside of the bucket. Load up ends of handle with generous amounts of hot glue, slide through slits, and press to secure to tub.
4. To create inside ruffle, cut pink paper, slightly rounding the ends. Place inside tub, and stretch upper edge of paper to create ruffled look. Use a pattern to make exterior petals out of more pink paper, and glue to side. Cut 2 green leaves out of card stock or felt, and glue to base of tub.
5. Add decorative shreds or Easter grass and candy.
6. If you use a butter bowl without a handle, you can easily make one with wired ribbon by hot gluing it to the insides of the basket before you place the crepe paper petals inside.

Decorative packaging doesn’t have to be complicated.  You can personalize any gift bag or box to fit your occasion.  Any package can have the “WOW” factor and it only takes a few minutes longer.  You can give an impressively wrapped gift and stay within anyone’s budget.

Buying in bulk at wholesale prices is the first key to saving money.  These mini gift bags are made from card stock weight durable paper.  Purchase wholesale ribbon to fit your occasion too and save even more money.  Select scrap book paper that fits your occasion and cut any shape you like or just a square like the ones in the picture and glue them on the front and back of each bag.  Use decorative ribbon to gather the handles and keep them closed with a festive bow and gift tag. 

Bags like these would be great for party favors, thank you gifts at weddings, or any occasion at all.  When you buy in bulk at whole sale prices, you are prepared for all occasions that pop up when a gift bag is required. 

Gift cards are a great gift for anyone. Sometimes it can seem impersonal to just hand someone a card in an envelope for an occasion, but I never heard of anyone who did not like getting one.  I still have several I need to use.  When you have extra time and a little creative energy you can add love and pizazz to any gift. 

This is a really neat snow globe that takes about ten minutes to put together and part of that time is waiting for glue to dry. Imagine the look on the teachers face when she opens a gift like this one? 

Most of the stuff you have around the house can be used to make this project.  A Mason jar is little big, but you can use the smaller ones.  Spaghetti jars, or mayonnaise jars jelly jars all work well too.  It’s just whatever you have.  Polish it up so it’s crystal clear.  Try the seal on the jar by filling it with water, screwing the top down tight, and inverting it.  Let it sit for a while to see if any water leaks out.  You don’t want your snow globe to leak.  Depending on the season, you can use any tiny objects for a theme.  This globe uses Christmas ornaments, but you can make it a beach theme,,, by adding a little blue food coloring to the water, and add palm trees, flip flops and blue glitter.  My daughter would love this.  She is a beach nut.

Here is what you need:  Any jar, gift card, hot glue gun, glitter, trinkets, water, and any basic decorative ribbon like a nylon satin ribbon or polka-dot ribbon.

Glue a strip on the bottom of your jar lid.  Stand the gift card up.  Let dry completely.  You can also glue some trinkets down to the bottom of the jar as well. (After I glued them down, I decided that I wanted some of the ornaments to float, it took up some of the large space.  The hot glue comes right off, so you can play with it until you get it exactly the way you want.

Add some glitter to the bottom of your jar. Fill the jar with water. Glitter is so fun, and sparkly, I love glitter. Put the top on your snow globe and add a decorative ribbon around the rim of the lid. Hot glue it down too. 

This is one of the most creative ideas I have seen in a while.  It really caught my eye.  I have a lot of clay pots of all sized but what I don’t have is a variety of cake plates or cupcake displays.  This idea may not be elegant enough for a wedding but it sure is a great idea for parties.

Use small clay pots; glue them with gorilla glue or hot glue or any glue that is for porous surfaces.  You can also use paint-able caulk to glue the two pieces together.   The large saucer clay piece is obviously a drain plate for larger pots. 

When the glue dries, you can paint the clay any color you wish.  If you use a neutral color then you can add ribbon accents to suit the holiday or occasion.  If you painted it white, then add baby shower ribbon bows to the base or to the edge, it would look wonderful at a baby shower to hold all the yummy cupcakes.

Polka dot ribbon cookie plate

I absolutely love this idea! Many of our ladies at church have fine serving dishes. I know it doesn’t matter and it’s not a competition on who has the prettiest plate. This is such a cute way to bring something fun and pretty at the same time and you can coordinate it to any season or occasion you have.
The heavy duty paper plates like “Chinette” work very well for this.
All you need is a heavy duty paper plate, or even a plastic plate, a hole punch, and some cute ribbon. Since I adore polka dot ribbon that is what I have the most of.
Punch some holes around the plate evenly spaced, thread the ribbon through the holes however you like, and finish up with a cute bow. Add the cookies and you are all set.
This is a great way to give your neighbors a blessing too. Who wouldn’t love to just have you randomly give them a pretty plate of cookies or brownies?

Here are some very simple and detailed directions describing how you can make a beautiful florist bow at home to add to your own garden flowers to enjoy.  I found a couple of hints that will make it extremely easy to make the perfect bow.

Supplies:  Decorative Ribbon, Florist wire, scissors, wire cutters,

For a larger bow, use wide ribbon, wired ribbon is the best to use because it will mold and stay the way you make it. Don’t use your good fabric scissors to cut wired ribbon because it can put a nick in them and ruin them.  Use the wire cutters to cut any and all wired ribbon.

Cut 3 yards of ribbon.  Notice that most ribbon has a “right” side and “wrong” side.  The trick to making nice bows is to keep the “right” out where it can be seen and the “wrong” side hidden. At one end of the ribbon form a loop and hold it with your thumb inside the loop and the fingers on the outside of the loop.

This is the big secret.  On the back side of the first loop, give the ribbon a good twist.  This will turn the “right” side of the ribbon to the outside of the bow.

Form a loop, coming back to your fingers under the first loop, twist, form a loop on the opposite side.  Keep twisting and forming loops on opposite sides of the first loop.

Keep doing this until you have the first loop and five loops on each side.  You may make the loops the same length or you may each additional loop a little longer than the previous loop.

Being the tail end of the ribbon up to the twist area, but don’t twist it.  If you want 2 long tails, there should be a long loop hanging down.

Take a piece of florist wire (around 9-10 inches long), and pass it through the center of the first loop and bend it so that the two legs are about the same length down the center.

Here is another big secret.  Twist the bow and not the wire.  Twisting the bow will make a nice TIGHT bow.  No falling apart later because it is tight.

Start to fluff the bow.  Pull the loops to the right and left so that they start to look like a full bow.  Be tough, and pull hard until you get them where you want.  If you twisted it tight enough, there should be no problem getting those loops to go where you want.

Cut your last big loop in two for tails.  You may cut them slanted, or swallow tailed or pointed, any  way you want.  With the tails cut, now you can do the final fluffing, with the wire in the ribbon, you can have big, full, loops.

Here are some bows made from various different ribbons.  You can use the wire to attach your bow where you want it, or you can use tape.  If you want a bigger bow, make two and twist them together. Remember, the wider the ribbon the bigger you can make the bow.