Decorative Packaging

This fabulous wreath chandelier is so amazing!  I want to try to make one of these to hang over our table.  I think I would like it to stay through the whole Christmas season so I will attempt to make this from artificial cedar wreaths so it wont drop constant needles on the table.

You will want to decide how long you are going to hang it before you decide whether you use fresh or artificial.  You can use fresh if you planned to use it for a Christmas eve table and still be lovely throughout Christmas day.  I would choose to hang it in an area that is cooler than other places.

You will need:

1 large wreath

1 small wreath

50’ of wine-colored satin ribbon or velvet ribbon

Turn the small wreath upside down, tie one end of a 5’length of ribbon through the frame and knot tightly.  Repeat this 2 more times, evenly spaced on the small wreath. Bring all three ribbons together and tie a knot 15 inches above the center of the top of the wreath.

Tie three 4’ lengths of ribbon to the larger frame just as you did to the smaller wreath.  Place the large wreath on top of the small one and line up the ribbon ends.  Knot them 20” above the center of the large wreath and trim the ends.

You will need to screw a hook in the ceiling if you don’t already have a fixture you can hang it from.  Hang the wreaths from the top hanger ribbon knot. Tie pieces of ribbon four foot long to the end of each ribbon hanger and tie a pretty classic bow.  Leave the bow tails 12 inches long!

Polka dot ribbon is so cute.  I have never seen polka dot ribbon on a pumpkin but I love this.  Pumpkins aren’t just for Halloween.  The black and gray look polka dot ribbons look pretty against the orange background of the pumpkin.

You can pin the ribbon at the top and bottom of the pumpkin or hot glue it.  The contrast of the wide ribbon and the thin ribbon are perfect.  Craft stores carry wispy wood like grass garland for fall.  Cut off a section long enough to fit around the top of the pumpkin.  This will hide the tops of the ribbon ends. Fall leaf garlands are also available at craft stores and would look nice around the top of the pumpkin.  I have even seen pumpkin leaf greenery that would also look wonderful.

You can add pearls and ivory satin ribbon for a more delicate look.  These will look lovely as table decorations for a fall party or buffet cook out.  Candles on a table outside will only blow out or become a fire hazard.  Using a variety of colors and styles of ribbon will create a very colorful and festive table.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays!  It’s a time when families come together and celebrate all the many blessings God has given them.  It’s fun when all the kids can hang out talk about all the newest things and school.  All the adults can reminisce years gone by and probably watching a football game. And enjoy the wonderful smells from the kitchen and eagerly anticipate the feast.

While you plan to set a beautiful table for the adults to dine, and you might want to include a beautiful setting like this cornucopia napkin decorated with oak leaves and satin ribbon.  When you finish all that, don’t forget to set a fun table for the younger ones too.

The adults will enjoy the fine china plates and linen table cloths and napkins.  But the kids need a place where they can just enjoy eating and not spilling or breaking anything.  One way of doing this is to use brown mailing paper for the table cloth.  Use some fun paper plates in bright colors.  All kids love curly straws too.  But I love this pumpkin turkey!  It is very easy to make and doubles as a centerpiece and a crayon holder.  The kids can color and doodle on the paper table cloth.

Use an ice pick to make holes in the back of the pumpkin.  Make the holes big enough to insert a piece of a straw into.  Poke it down flush with the skin of the pumpkin.  The hole in the pumpkin only needs to be deep enough to insert the tip of a crayon.  The straw is used to make a clean hole for the crayon to fit.  You don’t have to use the straw if the hole isn’t real wet. If the hole is wet then the crayons won’t color.

Be sure to place several colors and make sure there are enough crayons for the kids to share.  They will have fun playing tic-tac toe, hang man, or just coloring pictures.

Here is a unique way to continue the use of pumpkins for decorating after Halloween.  There are a couple ways you can do this.  It just depends on how long you want them to last.  You can also incorporate some gourds and mini pumpkins to your display to enhance the feeling of fall.

This would be a neat thing to make and take to a party you have been invited to.  The hostess will love it.  She could use it inside or outside for added decoration.

One way to create this beautiful floral pumpkin is to use a real pumpkin.  Use an ice pick or other sharp pointed tool that will make a hole about the same size as the stem of the mums.  You can begin by making a hole a bit larger and filling the pumpkin with water.

Begin at the top and begin poking holes around the top, then do a second row all the way around, spacing them according to how large the blossoms are.  You can always poke another hole here and there if you need to fill in a spot.  Poke 3 rows of holes then begin inserting the flowers.  You will know how close each row from then on should be you will want to place this on a plate or plastic protector to prevent the water from seeping out onto your table.  This would look wonderful with a beautiful festive holiday ribbon bow.

The alternate way is to use  a floral oasis ball.  Soak the oasis, and begin inserting flowers.  Place onto a shallow dish to hold more water.  Cut the stem off of the pumpkins that the kids cut out and insert into the top of the oasis and it will look as if you have a real pumpkin.  Of course, finish off with a bow!  It would also look great with mini grosgrain bows on a wire poked into the arrangement randomly.

Kids love parties!  We all love parties don’t we?  One part of the fun of any party is prizes.  Maybe you plan have a drawing, or raffle tickets, or a cake walk but make sure you provide chances to win a prize.  If you were having a Halloween party, this would be a great prize to win.  It is too much work to make for everyone if you throw big parties.  But if it’s a small party, you may want to allow a chance for everyone to win one.  You could also make one to give as a thank you gift for the hostess of the party.

We know several people with Halloween birthdays.  This is a cute gift for them.  You can make it inexpensively if you want, or use premium candy for the extra WOW factor.

This is a great project for any holiday.  Just change the materials you work with to fit the holiday.

You will need the following:

A Themed container, Holiday candy, Holiday tissue paper, Floral foam, Curling Ribbon, Bamboo skewers or 18 gauge wire, Holiday garland, Hot glue and glue sticks, Floral pins, Floral tape, scissors, wire cutters

Cut the foam to fit your container snugly inside- if you use a light weight container, add weight to the bottom like rocks.

Cut a piece of garland to completely conceal the floral foam and secure it with floral pins

You may want to use silk flowers in your bouquet, choose ones to fit the holiday.  Black roses were used to add to the Halloween theme

You might want to choose seasonal candy that is in colored wrappers of that holiday.  Tape or hot glue the candy to a skewer or wire or use floral tape, cover the stems or wire with garland by adding a drop of hot glue to the top, and spiral wrapping the stem and secure with a dot of hot glue at the end. Now is when you want to add the curling ribbon just under the candy by tying a knot to and curling the tails.

Arrange the candy by poking down into the foam.  If you want the bouquet to look good from all angles, then face the candy all to the outside.

Wow, this is perfect for a fall wedding and reception!  I love the deep chocolate brown sheer wedding ribbon with this huge orange Shasta daisy.  Imagine how the reception room will look when the guests walk in and see all the tables elegantly decorated, and all the chairs are draped in white with this striking bow around the back.  Gather your fabric or use ribbon and wrap around the chair back mid-way up and tie a bow in the back and slip one daisy in each bow.

Perhaps you don’t want to do all the chairs in the reception, due to time, or money, you could do the wedding party table and it will help accentuate that table.  This is a great color combination for a ribbon around a candle also; just place a flower blossom into each bow.  If you check out our ribbon selection and don’t see the type or color you are looking for call the number on the website.  We add new ribbon all the time as it becomes available to us.

Fall mums placed around strategically would be perfect for inexpensive decorations too.  With the brown and orange in the ribbon and flower, you can add a deep burgundy or wine color mums would make it a very warm and inviting room.  Mixing groups of brown, orange and wine mums could help fill up corners in a large room, they can line a hall way.  With all the warm fall color, the bride will definitely be the bell of the ball in a gown of white.  She will glow as she walks down the aisle.

Here are some fun ways to use pumpkins to decorate for fall.  Some of these ideas done have to be taken down after Halloween.  They can stay up until or through your Thanksgiving celebration.

Kids love to carve the pumpkins and they love all the mess that goes with it too.  I must admit, I love watching my kids dig their hands in to the pumpkins to get its guts out and I love watching their faces even more.  It’s fun to roast the pumpkin seeds for snacking later.

But here are some adorable and fun ideas that require little to no carving.  Just gather some ribbon, paint, dried flowers or leaves, candles and possibly some hurricane globes.

Have fun painting some friendly faces on your pumpkins and even add some grosgrain ribbon to add personality to your sweet little girl pumpkins.  You can group your family of pumpkins on a bench or fire place.

A grouping of varied size pumpkins with similar black marker faces will look very festive on a white mantle and be very happy and welcoming. This can take about five minutes to complete and if you use washable marker,you can wipe off the face if you don’t like how it turns out.  Then go over it with a permanent marker.

Did you ever consider filling an unused fireplace with pumpkins? To copy the more graphic gourds, use tape mark off stripes and circles. Spray with glossy black and white paint.

This idea does require cutting but only the top and gutting it.  Spray paint the pumpkin black with matte finish paint and simply scratch out the images you want to reveal.  Add water and flowers to complete your vase.

These little pumpkins make organic little candle holders and really light up a fall table.  Simply snap off each stem down to the base and position the candle in the valley.  You could cover each one with clear glass hurricane shade to create.  You will want to use floral U pins to prevent the shades from slipping.

Fall decorating is so much fun and one of my favorite times of the year!  Your decorations can be useful as well as decorative at the same time.  Some can afford to go all out and buy beautiful arrangements each year to place around the house and yard but in many cases, simple is best.  A few embellishments to items you already have can really enhance the autumn warmth of your home.

Fall is the time of harvest!  We live near an apple orchard and just can’t wait until they start picking the apples so we can buy large quantities of fresh apples. This is perfect to use for a centerpiece and be useful at the same time.  Just fill a basket or bowl with red and green apples. Add a few fall leaves, wheat, berries, or nuts in the shell to the basket and you have almost completed a fall centerpiece.  Add some wired decorative ribbon gently shaped in wavy bends around the outside edges for elegance. You can tie some simple bows on the handles if your basket has handles.

For a large room and table, you can also add several varied heights of candle sticks placed near the apple basket to add height to the arrangement.

Place some fat orange or yellow pillar candles in a bowl.  Fill the bowl around the base of the candle with candy corn or orange and black jelly beans and accent the mantle or to add to a long buffet table. If you have wicker baskets with floral or greenery in them, you can weave thin fall ribbon in strategically around the basket to help it be an accent for fall too.

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.

I just found the cutest idea for a wedding favor.  Today’s bride is involved in the personal details of her wedding and this is a great way that she and her BFF’s can spend quality time together while making these.

I like this idea because this is a gift that will not be just a trinket to sit on a shelf to be dusted or added to the many other little thoughtful things from other weddings.  This can be used as a Christmas tree ornament.  Each year as you hang your precious ornaments on the tree, you can be blessed all over again by this little gift and the memories of that special couple on their wedding day.

Buy miniature ornaments in your wedding colors.  When you buy in bulk, you can get them at whole sale prices, just like wholesale ribbon.  Then use personalized ribbon to tie little loops for hanging the ornament.

I make a lot of ornaments at Christmas time for gifts.  I like the custom printed ribbon idea because that would allow me to put the year on the ornament without writing it on there.