Decorative Packaging

Winter has officially arrived in my neck of the woods.  It has finally started snowing, and temperatures are frigid.  As much as we try to stay warm, it seems to chill to the bone on those days when we have to be out in it.  Most of us have to go out in the cold every day for work, or to take the kids to school.

Some of us are able to stay home most of the time or part time with the kids.  This is a great idea to surprise a friend, bus driver, or mail man with. Any jar will work but these types of jars are available at hobby stores for very inexpensive prices.  You can be a blessing to several people with one recipe.  When they come in from the cold they can mix up a cup of hot chocolate and unthaw from the inside out!

Here is a recipe for hot chocolate mix that would be wonderful to mix up and put into jars.  Include the recipe on a gift tag. The gingham checked ribbon around the top adds a touch of country home made love.

HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE MIX

1 box powdered milk (8 qt. size)
1 lb. powdered sugar
11 oz. Coffee Mate (store brand is fine) If you like mint, try using peppermint mocha…
1 lb. Nestle Quick mix

Mix well in large bowl and store in canister. Use 5 heaping teaspoons per cup of hot water.

If you like mint, try using peppermint mocha creamer, I have also used French vanilla creamer for a richer taste.  Another way to add a yummy twist is to make the original hot cocoa mix but include some individual wrapped white chocolate mint candies to melt into each cup.  This way you can please the whole family.

Christmas time is the season of giving!  Sacrificial giving of one’s time and creativity more than the amount of money you can spend.

I love this country way of decoratively packaging some home baked goodies or candies to give as gifts.  Paper lunch bags are very inexpensive.  You can place individual mini loaves or banana bread or pumpkin bread in a sandwich baggie and place in the bottom of the bag.  – fold down the top of the paper sack, punch two holes through the middle of the folded down flap, either side by side or top and bottom, push each ribbon end through each hole from the front to back, then take one ribbon up over the top and the other down and come up from the bottom.  Tie a knot making sure that your ends are even.

Make a gift tag, use thin ribbon or cord to attach the gift tag, you can thread the cord in from the back into the two holes and tie a knot after attaching the tag.  Then tie a bow with the ribbon to finish the wrapping.

This is a great way to give your neighbors some holiday goodies, with a Christmas card; you can use this same idea for treat bags at school.  You can change the theme by changing the ribbon style.  Today’s kids are very active in sports and activities at school.  You can give goodie bags to the team members and use a sports ribbon theme.

Isn’t it fun getting a gift that has been wrapped with creativeness?  Anything can be used to enhance a package. 

This country style of wrapping is attractive.  The red and white gingham checked ribbon looks charming on the natural brown wrapping.

And what enhances it even more in a unique and festive way is the blue spruce evergreen twig  or holly leaf tucked under the bow.  Complete the look with a coordinating green gift tag, or red and it will look fantastic under your country Christmas tree.

Sometimes it’s fun to have themed holiday. One year you can have a rocky mountain country Christmas. Deck your halls with popcorn garland, and paper chains, homemade ornaments and simple wrapping like this.

One year it would be fun to have a tropical Christmas. 

You could have palm trees and coconut decorations, with flamingo ornaments and traditional tropical island food and beverages.

I have a cousin who sets up a Christmas tree in each room of her home.  Each tree will have a different theme.  That would be fun, I think I have enough ornaments to do that but it sure would take a much larger home to have a tree in each room of this house.

Party favors are always a good idea.  It is expected that guests will receive some small token as a thank you gift for attending weddings.  In today’s economy, saving money is essential and while a bride won’t want to cut corners on her wedding gown or her photographer, you can save a lot of money if you make your own favors.

Votive candles are very inexpensive and can be purchased in bulk for an even greater savings.  Everyone loves candles; some prefer scented candles while others are just as happy with the warm glow of a candle.  You can order candles personalized and packaged for a fee but your guests will appreciate your added effort to say thank you to them.

This type of candle is a great thank you for weddings, bridal showers, or baby showers.  Anytime you go to a lot of effort to plan a large party or function, it is appropriate to give a small gift just to say thanks for fitting my special day into your busy schedule.

The glitter design can be placed on the glass votive jar by using a stencil and glitter paint, or free hand a design on to them with glitter glue. Decorative packaging is an important part of any gift.  The clear plastic boxes can also be purchased in bulk.  They will come flat and you have to fold them.  A lovely ribbon bow will complete the gift packaging.  Add a decorative gift tag and select the ribbon to fit the occasion.  You would want to use baby shower ribbon if that was the function.  I love the gold metallic lame’ ribbon that matches the gold glitter stencil on the candle, Choose the ribbon to fit the occasion.  You can buy the candles in colors and glass holders in clear or frosted.

Your guests will love the little gift and either save it as a memento of the occasion or burn it.  It’s a great idea to order bulk items at whole sale prices because once the wedding events begin its one party after another.  You can also order your ribbon in bulk at whole sale prices.

One of my favorite things about fall is going to the pumpkin patch and following the clues through the maze of hay bales or if I am real energetic, the corn maze.  Since I am directionally challenged, lol , I like the mazes with clues to decide what direction.  Sometimes they ask questions about farming, or American history.  It at least gives me a better chance of taking the right path rather than spending hours going in circles trying to find my way out, only to just take a short cut to the outside.

You are probably wondering by now what all that has to do with these cute little leaf hanger craft.  Well, many times they use clues hanging on a post or corn stalk.  This would be a festive way to do the clues.  You can put various leaves on them and ask a question concerning what tree the leaf came from.  If they answer correctly, they go the right direction.  Obviously, there would have to be other choices on there to choose from.

To make these festive hangers, gather leaves, press them in heavy books between wax paper to prevent any leaf juice from getting on the book.  Then paste them on paper, back it with a complimentary color and laminate the whole thing.  This will protect it from the elements. Glue thin organic cotton ribbon to hang them from to the back.  You can use any basic ribbon you have. Camouflage ribbon would look great on these as well since fall is also near hunting season.

These would also look nice as decorations in the house, or as gift tags on presents.  You can use them to decorate for your fall cookouts.

Wow, this mom went all out for her son’s birthday party!  And obviously she is extremely organized!  This impressive party table makes me wish I was at the party. As the mom of two girls, I know it can be a lot of fun to decorate a birthday party table. I was always assumed that decorating a boys table would be boring or very limited in ideas for creativity, clearly, this example voids that thought.

Much attention had been paid to detail, from the sports ribbon that is around each layer of the cake table to the decorative grass in the serving plate for the athletic themed chocolate candies.  Even the little rice crispy treats have sports pennants.

The treat bags have been decoratively closed with the same sports ribbon as the ribbon used on the cake serving stand. The curling ribbon used with the balloons coordinates with the color theme of orange, green and brown.  Satin ribbon creatively decorates the candy jars while serving as information tags for what candy is in the dish.

I’m sure the kids had a great time at this party, with all the attention paid to decorating, I’m sure mom had a whole scheduled plan full of fun activities.

Putting a little extra time and thought in to the themed birthday parties will enhance the memories and even though the child may not tell you how much the love it today, they will remember it as the best years of their life!

I think we all agree that there is far too much pollution.  There are so many hidden ways that our water is being poisoned with toxins, our ground has been polluted with chemicals. Our air can be toxic to breathe at times, especially when someone is illegally burning tires, chemicals, plastic, and building materials. In our history, I don’t believe anyone ever did things that would purposely make generations of people sick.  They were just trying to conduct business, grow bigger better crops, make faster cars, kill weeds, and get rid of pests.  But it’s the research that has been done that prove that these products definitely kill the pest and weed but they also build up and make us all sick too.

The good news is that new generations of people have learned how to make great substitutions for those items and make “Green” or environmentally friendly products.  In some ways it’s not a new product at all but a natural product that had been replaced.

What better way and time to use cotton ribbon than to use it on baby gift tag or  a baby announcement.  The children are the reason we all try to do our part help clean up the environment.  Using products that are totally green, meaning that it does not cause pollution to make it, won’t harm the environment because it is biodegradable or recyclable when it becomes waste is a small way everyone can help.

We have cotton ribbon. It’s also called “green ribbon”, Also known as cotton ribbon, organic ribbon, woven ribbon, all natural ribbon, eco ribbon and earth friendly ribbon.  We have a great selection of woven ribbon that is an earth friendly “green ribbon”. Our Organic Cotton Ribbon is made from 100% organic cotton fibers while our Cotton/Hemp Ribbon is made from 65% organic cotton fibers and 35% hemp. We also offer three other natural ribbon products: our Cotton Satin Weave Ribbon, our Cotton Twill Tape Ribbon and our Cotton Taffeta Ribbon which are all made from 100% cotton in a variety of weaves. All of our new natural ribbon products are biodegradable. We can also custom dye and custom print on our Organic Cotton Ribbon using non-toxic dyed colors.

Bulk Elastic Cord and Gift Wrapping

Bulk Elastic Cord has many great uses.  I have a variety of sizes of ribbon, cord, string in my collection of craft supplies.  You just never know what you will need.  This thin cording is wrapped several times around the gift and around this cute black bear Christmas ornament.  The “bow” or package topper is a gift in it self.  If a wider ribbon would have been used the bear accent would have been hidden.  Be creative as you warp all the Christmas gifts.

Elastic Cord and Gift Tags

This is the perfect tag for the perfect color paper. 

Happen to have a bunch of paint swatches left over from your last redecorating project?  Maybe you splurged on a premium quality wrapping paper and can’t find the right tag to match.  Simple fix: Cut out round tags from those colorful paint chips.  If you need more than a few, ask the store for cards with discontinued color shades.  Punch a hole in the tag; tie on with elastic cord or embroidery floss, or thin ribbon that matches and BAM… perfect tag!

Preppy belt wrapping is a wide ribbon tied onto a loop or o-ring and threaded belt-style through a second loop or o-ring. 

Use and O-rings and decorative ribbon in coordinating colors.

Don’t forget the tag. You can use elastic string to tie a personalized tag to any gift.