Decorative Packaging

While browsing pictures, I found this super cute cake.  It is a layer cake made to resemble a cupcake.  A Giant cupcake!  But the part that caught my eye of course, is the satiny ribbon bow cutely stuck in the side of the cake.

Don’t be afraid to use non edible things on a cake.  They are fast to add, easy to remove and in most cases give your cake the WOW it needed.  We have been putting candles on cakes for years and I have never heard of anyone eating the candle.  However I’m sure someone has.  Lol  

This cake would be a great smash cake for a baby girl’s first birthday party!  They have so much fun exploring the texture of the icing and cake as it squishes through their fingers. 

The bow can be made simply by tying a bot from satin ribbon and placed in the icing.  If the baby gets the bow, there will be no wire or anything that could hurt her.  But it would be best to remove it before she digs in. 

Cartoons and decorative ribbon can create two gifts in one!  A wonderfully wrapped gift and funny reading material in one little decorative package.  

I remember when we were little; we would love to get a present wrapped in the Sunday funnies.  It was special.  It made us feel special too. We all waited our turn read the funnies.  So when an occasion came up to receive a gift, mom would wrap with the funnies or even use our favorite clips to tape on the gift.

I love the lime green paper as the back ground under the comics.  The crafty wrapper of this gift, choose orange ribbon, green yarn, and complimentary decorative ribbon to fashion a bow. 

You can use almost any ribbon you want, if your gift was around the fall, you could even use camouflage ribbon and make it seasonal.

Its spring time finally and its time to get busy doing all that spring cleaning again.  Open the windows, and air out all the dust and stale air that were trapped in all winter.  Sometimes it’s easier to paint a room to freshen it up.  Since I love to paint, That is the usually the method I end up with. 

I love this simple way to spruce up your hand towels without spending a fortune.  Cut a length of ribbon ½ inch longer than the width of the hand towel.  This will allow for ¼ inch seam on back side of each end.  This ribbon is 4 inches wide.

This is also a cute way to transform your own towels to festive holiday towels, Use the holiday ribbon to fit the next occasion.  Easter ribbon would look so cute on pastel towels.    

 If you want your ribbon to have gathers like this, then sew a double basting (wide) stitch down the center of a ribbon that is much longer than you need.  Do not back stitch.  Then pull both thread ends at the same time, Work the gathers evenly down the length of the ribbon. Pin the ribbon to the towel.  Sew a zigzag stitch down the center. Back stitch at the beginning and end.  Leave enough ribbon to overlap the back and stitch down. Pull the basting thread out as you no longer need it.  Tack down the ends of the ribbon on the back side. 

Enjoy your new matching decorative hand towels.  You can even use some of the same ribbon for curtain tie backs or shower curtain swags.  

What is black and white and red all over?   LOL…. 

Yep you guessed it… a newspaper!  Lol but to be grammatically correct… I suppose I should say black and white and read all over lol!

This post is simply to remind you that if all you have is newspaper and any basic ribbon, you can wrap a beautiful gift for any occasion!  

Maybe you are giving some perfume, body spray, or any other gift in a bottle, this is a way looks so cute to wrap it. 

Simply roll the bottle up in the paper.  You can hide the bottom in two ways, either save enough paper to fold under and tape, or wrap the bottom first by placing the bottle on paper and folding it up and taping in around the base of the bottle, then roll the bottle in paper.  Secure the top with a decorative ribbon bow, and cut the extra paper into even strips.  Then curl it by wrapping it around a pencil and holding it for a few minutes. Gently pull the pencil out and the curl will remain. 

You cannot curl newspaper like you can curling ribbon.

These cupcakes are so cute!  They look like baby rattles and would be adorable at a baby shower.  Some friends throw baby showers and use diaper cakes as the centerpiece.  This is a fun way to have cake and a diaper cake centerpiece too. 

You can buy candy sticks in any discount craft store in the cake decorating section.  The cupcakes are simply cupcakes baked accordingly to the directions.  Decorate the top with icing in the theme colors.  Choose gumdrops that coordinate with that color.  Stick the candy stick through the cupcake and insert the opposite end into the gumdrops. 

Choose an accent color for the narrow satin ribbon to tie around the “handle of the rattle”. 

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

Do you have the gift of hospitality?  Maybe you don’t think that you do but perhaps you have taken a dinner to a family whose mom is sick, or recovering from some type of procedure.  Maybe you have taken a hot dish to the home of a family who is in mourning.  Maybe you just made a double batch of a casserole and wanted to share it with a college student or new bride.  Maybe your husband volunteered you to bring a hot dish to his food ball party he was invited to…These are all using the gift of hospitality. 

Here is a fun way to decorate a simple aluminum casserole dish to deliver your warm meal in.  By using aluminum dishes for sharing food, it makes it much easier on the person receiving the gift.  They don’t have to worry about washing it, or returning it to the right person. 

Most stores sell these pans in packages of 2-4 with the foil/cardboard lids.   The decoration is very simple.  Cut a piece of decorative paper from your scrap booking stuff, and tie a wide ribbon around it tied with a simple square knot.  Don’t forget to cut the ends nicely. If this gift is for a sporting event party, you could use sports ribbon to make the bow and the guys would appreciate the gesture.

This is cute idea for a table cloth would look wonderful on a country breakfast nook table.  Choose your favorite colors of ribbon and a solid table cloth in a complimentary color.  Perhaps you have a favorite linen cloth that has some stains on it but it has sentimental value, this is a creative way to disguise the stain or worn spot and still be useful.

You can tack the ribbon to the cloth at every intersection, like quilting with yarn.  You can pin the ribbon in place and then sew it all down.  It will be much quicker to simply make a cross stitch in each cross weave to secure the ribbon from slipping. 

 Use a variety of ribbon for a real country look.  Don’t be afraid to mix striped ribbon with polka dot ribbon.  If you stay with the same few colors, you can use any combination of styles and texture to create a beautiful conversation piece.

Framed Ribbon Pocket Board

I love the detail in old picture frames.  The problem is that what is in the frame is usually faded or unrecognizable.  Now I can have the frame and let it be useful too.  I found a way to transform a flea-market picture frame into a great type of bulletin board.  You won’t use push pins, the ribbon pockets will hold your things.

Once you have made it, and hang it, the wall display lets you show off favorite pictures, postcards, recipes or notes. You can use it by your desk and help sort your bills or greeting cards to mail on time.  Gardeners can even store seed packets or colorful keepsakes.

Matting the Frame

Cut a mat board to fit your frame. Cut additional strips of mat board to the same width as the frame. To create a decorative look, glue decorative ribbon to the top edge of each strip. Experiment with animal print ribbon and make some for dorm rooms. Working from top to bottom, create “pockets” by gluing the bottom edge of the strips to the board with hot glue. Overlap strips as you go. Fit the mat into the frame and secure it to the back of the frame with hot glue or a few brads.