Decorative Packaging

Have you ever received a gift that was wrapped in expensive designer wrapping paper?  I have and always felt very special to think someone would wrap something for me in such expensive paper.  I cannot afford the expensive paper so I am always on the hunt for imaginative ways to wrap in a way that it looks expensive but doesn’t break the budget.

If you have a box of crayons then you can make this very artistic gift wrap yourself.  You will need six sheets of tissue paper, two pieces of wax paper the same size as the tissue paper, and your favorite Crayola colors and an iron.

Remove the paper from the crayons and use a crayon sharpener to make piles of shavings.  Let the shavings fall in separate piles so you can distribute them where you want them.  Place the crayon shavings between the tissue paper.  (Three on top and three on bottom) Then place wax paper on the bottom and the top.  Set your iron to medium heat with no steam.  Then begin ironing the paper with constant pressure until the crayons have melted.  The wax paper will preserve your iron from any seepage.

Let the paper cool off and wrap your gift. Don’t forget to include a beautiful satin ribbon and equally beautiful and creative bow to complete your artistic masterpiece.

Finding creative ways to wrap gifts is a hobby of mine.  I remember when we moved out of state, my sister in law and mom used to send us occasional packages with special items in them.  Sometimes it was home baked cookies, or gifts for our daughter.  It was always so much fun getting a decoratively packaged package in our mail box.  They always decorated the brown paper wrapping with markers, and stickers.  Sometimes they would color pictures or use the funnies from the Sunday paper.

I love this idea, you can use this idea to mail a gift or as gift wrapping.  If you plan to mail this gift, use colored tape and not ribbon to decorate the box.  Weave the colors in and out to create the pattern. Then use a mailing label to write the address on.  Who do you know that could use a care package?  A college student would love to get a box of goodies wrapped like this.

If you plan to use this idea for a hand delivered gift, then try alternating horizontal and vertical strips of various colors of ribbon.  Use coordinating curling ribbon to add a festive bow.

There is a popular country song that says “Country must be Country wide”.  I believe that must be true because it seems that everywhere you look, someone is wearing plaid shirts with jeans and boots, and camouflage isn’t just for hunting anymore.

Camouflage ribbon comes in many colors, not just greens and browns.  This cute little hair bow is a great example of that.  These are very easy to make.  Depending on the size of the bow you want to make will determine the length of ribbon you will need.

You can start with about 6 inches of camouflage ribbon.  Then make the bow and if you want the bow smaller or larger, you just add or decrease the amount of ribbon.  Fold the ribbon into loops; stitch an x in the center to secure the ribbon.  Then add a flower or button or bead.  Then hot glue the bow to a snap clip or barrette.

This cake could easily be a wedding cake or even a pretty princess birthday cake.  If you want to make the cake yourself, but are not very skilled with icing tips and flowers, this is a great alternative.  If you use a red and green plaid ribbon this can be a festive Christmas cake. The ribbon pattern or color will be determined by the occasion.

You can even purchase pre-made bows if you struggle with perfect bow tying.  Whether you make your own or buy them pre-made, attach the bows to floral wire and poke them into the cake.  You will want to remove them before slicing.

The top bow is a larger version of the mini ones.  You can also attach it to floral wire and a wooden stick like a Popsicle stick. This way you can poke it down into the top of the cake and remember to leave long flowing tails on the ribbon.

Have you ever seen an example of “less is more”?   The simple elegance of this idea is wonderful.  This may have been an idea for a Thanksgiving table setting but the basic idea  can be used at any dinner party.

You could use personalized ribbon with your favorite quote, or bible verse.  But this particular idea has used a simple organic cotton ribbon or “green ribbon” on a table with natural woven cotton place mats.

They have scattered a few fall leaves but you could use any item from nature depending on you season for the event.

Since we are just coming out of the holiday season, most of us are partied out.  From Thanksgiving, Christmas, then New Years, it was one gathering after another.  We have much to celebrate about. God has given us so many wonderful gifts that we should have a dinner party in His honor to humbly give thanks for all the things we take for granted every day.

It is easy to get caught up in the technology world and so busy with our lives that we don’t take time to stop, and actually give thanks for the air we breathe, water we drink, wonderful variety of food He has provided naturally.  Most of us have been blessed with health, and families, and more wealth than 70% of the third world countries.

Each of these classic water or wine goblets have ben gently adorned with a hand scribed cotton ribbon with a quote of thanksgiving, gratitude, appreciation and love. What a wonderful world it would be if all of us took time to give thanks for all we have more often instead of complaining about the things we don’t have.

I love to crochet and I am not very good at knitting so I get bored with the same ole patterns. Here is a fun alternative for scarfs. This can be made of fat yarn or several strands of regular yarn.  I have even seen multiple colors of wide taffeta ribbon used to make this scarf.  All of the various materials will give you a different look, each one fabulous and unique to please all of those on your list of gifts to give.

Here are the basic instructions. You can adjust the pattern depending on what you use to make it with.  Play around with various materials, like thin satin ribbon in many colors, or even long strips of fleece.

Cut 12 pieces of bulky weight yarn about 2x longer than the desired length of the finished scarf.  (You will need to work with 4 groups to knot, make your groups equal in width) (140 inch length can make an 86 inch length scarf) Macramé knots look best for this craft.  You can Google to find out how to make the square knot.

Divide yarn into 4 bunches of 3 strands each, Tie 2 bunches together with a square knot, and leave 6 inches of fringe at the end, repeat with remaining bunches. Pin knots to a piece of foam or card board to help you keep things straight.  Knot inner 2 bunches of yarn together, spacing knot 1 inch from existing knots, then knot left and right bunches together.  Alternate knotting the inner bunches and the left and right ones, spacing knots evenly apart, until about 6 inches of yarn remain on the end. Finish so that all the final knots are a mirror image of the opposite end.  Trim the ends evenly and make sure they don’t ravel.

Have you noticed that the new trends with scarfs just keep getting longer and longer? I have seen some kids trying to wear them that almost look like a hazard. This is a great idea and very Purchase them ahead of time so you can have all your craft items done before the holidays.

You can start with a long fleece scarf. You can also make them out of fleece. The fabric will quick to do. These would make great gifts, or craft bazaar items to sell. The best time to buy scarfs is after Christmas, when all the seasonal things are marked way down. You can purchase many of them at a fraction of the cost for one at original price. Fleece fabric will also go on sale to make room for the spring fabrics.

Kids can make this simple project for family members. All you need for this craft is either a long wide scarf, or ample amount of fleece fabric, pins, yarn, or knitting ribbon and a wide eye needle. Decide if you want to make it with two pockets or three and if you want to make some with equal width pockets or some narrow and some wide. Also you will need to determine how deep you want to make the pockets.

If the scarf has fringe, you can either cut if off and hem the ends, or fold the fringe down to decorate the outside of the pockets. Fold up the ends of the scarf to the desired depth and pin the sides and the middle. Use a ruler to be sure that you keep the lines perfectly straight. Using a darning needle, thread the knitting ribbon or yarn through the needle and then sew both layers. Use pins as the guide. Cross stitch the top seam and tie off the ends and hide the ends inside the seam.

Are you looking for a quick no-sew craft to dress up an ordinary white blouse?  I was given a wonderful sweater one year for Christmas that had interchangeable button covers.  A set of Christmas trees, a set of angels, and a set of snowmen were all made from resin and snapped over the simple buttons to dress up the sweater.

I guess that is why this idea caught my eye; I have other jackets and tops with buttons that could easily have this type of button cover added to them.

This can be done with felt, or ribbon. You need to choose a shape or holiday, and then cut out a cardboard pattern to trace.  You could choose a star pattern for the 4^th of July, Christmas trees, or hearts, or even a flower for spring. I have some Basque red rayon vintage ribbon that will be perfect for this Valentine’s Day hearts.

The hearts in the picture are made of felt and cut from 1-inch squares.  Fold each one in half and cut a vertical slit, or buttonhole the same size as the button.  When you wear them, button up the shirt and slip the shapes over the buttons.

Valentine’s Day is fun, but you can show your love in little ways like this all year round. Begin a new tradition as we ring in the New Year. The art of folding paper into useful objects has been around as long as there was paper to fold with.

Choose a double sided scrapbook paper or any decorative paper for this craft.  When you are finished, you can fill it with candy and hang it on a door knob of your child or the mirror of your spouse’s car, find a way to hang it inside the locker of your child, or it would be fun to hang it on the doors or your college hall mates.

If you use sports themed paper with sports ribbon, your boys wont be red faced at moms frills and fancy paper.

1. Fold and unfold a square of plain or patterned lightweight card stock to score it as pictured.

2. Fold the card stock in half vertically, and open.

3 Fold it horizontally.

4. Open.

5. Draw two opposite corners of the square inward, tucking in the other two corners.

6. Trace the heart template, below, and cut out.

7. Slide fold A behind fold B.

8. Hold in place. Then use a hole punch to pierce both; thread a ribbon through, and tie. Fill both sides of the heart with candy.

It’s fun to share the love all year long.  This is a cute idea at Valentine season to put love notes in or a sweet treat.  I am a firm believer that we don’t need a special day to say I Love You to those in our lives that need to hear it.

Who wouldn’t love opening their lunch box or purse, or reach into a jacket pocket for something and pulling out a little token of love?

Choose decorative paper.  Fine grade paper or origami paper folds neat and easy but you can use any you have.  Just make sure it is not too heavy.  Double sided paper is also a great choice.

Tools and Materials

Decorative paper
Pencil
Ruler
Satin Ribbon
1. Find or make a heart pattern out of poster board or card board.  Whatever you choose for a pattern, make sure it is sturdy enough to trace repeatedly.

2. Lay a square template that is centered over the heart. Make creases along the four lines by lightly folding the paper. Smooth creases with a bone your finger; a ruler will help achieve a perfect line.

3. Fold in each side of the heart, and then fold down the top, smoothing each crease with your finger. Slip the point of the heart into the open top, making sure that it fits snugly before completing the fold.

4.  Seal the packet with a bow, make slits wide enough to accommodate a piece of narrow satin ribbon in the top and bottom creases of the square. Multiple hearts can be nested, as long as each fits within the center square of another when folded.