Decorative Packaging

In my day, some might have called me a trend-setter. As a wife and mother, some of my fashion forward thinking has been replaced by a longing for ease and comfort, but I still appreciate wardrobe innovation and creativity. One thing I’ve never been crazy about are trends that are just marketing ploys for brand recognition, thinly veiled advertising.

However, there is one fad which might appear to be in this category at first glance, which I happen to like very much. These rubber wristbands with statements about faith, mantras about life or band logos are pretty cool. They are a cheap and colorful way to have the impact of a statement T and you can wear them with anything. Just a simple elastic band, these bracelets make fun party favors and stocking stuffers!

My daughter is about to turn five. Wow. That’s hard to even wrap my brain around. It seems like only months since I held her swaddled in a soft yellow blankie and rocked her to sleep. That didn’t last long. She wasn’t quite a year old when she decided cuddling wasn’t her style.

Now, her long ringlets of blond hair go halfway down her back, but I can remember when I first tugged and struggled to gather thin strands of baby fine hair into a tiny pink bow. Oh how the days fly by. 

Gifts are definitely lovelier and more meaningful when the packaging is done with a personal touch. The sender need not be an expert in wrapping packages to make a gift beautiful.

All it takes is a little creativity plus the right materials such as a decorative ribbon and a wrapper befitting the occasion. A ribbon can go a long way to adding that oomph in a gift.

My daughter and I are big fans of the High School Musical. So when this Disney movie premiered, we watched it right away. It was great seeing the gang graduating from high school.

This movie reminds me of my graduation many years ago. It was so meaningful especially that part in the graduation ceremony where the graduation tassles are symbolically transferred to the opposite side. It is as if one chapter of your life has ended and you are ready to start a new one.

          Though you might be tempted to place a few pumpkins, real or ceramic, somewhere in your freshly decorated fall surroundings, use the utmost restraint! A pumpkin or two in your kitchen can be festive and pleasing, but putting them in every room of your house is overkill. Remember, the point is to make it feel like fall, not like a classroom teachers attempt to educate her students about ‘things that go with autumn’. Stick to basic craft supplies, ribbon, candles and toss pillows to make your living spaces warm and inviting. Leave the googly-eyed pumpkins to the kindergarten teachers.

          Now that you’ve added warmth and fall color with your candle selections, it’s time to make your surroundings feel even more like they’ve been inspired by all things autumn. A key to making your summery living spaces transform into warmed-up, cool weather hide-aways is to add cozy throws in fall colors, extra toss pillows in solid burgundy, plum or terracotta orange. Again, work with your color scheme not against it. A little goes a long way. You may even want to add a second layer of heavier drapes over the lightweight sheers on your windows. Just purchase a couple panels in a fall colored tapestry, use a decorative curtain rod to hang them, and tie them back with a golden tassel!

      After you’ve removed the candles that don’t remind you of autumn, the next step is to make a list of all the sizes and shapes, pillars and container candles you need to replace them. Purchase candles that work with the color scheme of the space-golden yellow, rust red, deep plum, chocolate brown and pumpkin orange are some choices which give you a wide range of color families to work with. Choosing fragrances that relate to fall is a bonus, like pumkin pie or apple cider.

      If replacing all the candles in a room isn’t feasible, you may want to get creative by adding some wired ribbon in these fall colors to the base of the candles you already have. A tip-add a few extra candles on pretty plates or surrounded by fall-color stones because making your home feel like fall is all about making it warm and cozy!

     It may seem over-simplified to say you can add an atmosphere of autumn to your home by adding some well-placed candles and decorative ribbon in the right color palette and scents, but the effect can be quite impressive. First, take a walk through the areas of your home where you want to “change the season”. Remove any candles in colors that feel more spring or summer-like, shades of blue, pink, pastel green, lavender and white…

     When reading home decorator magazines or any periodicals geared toward women and their homes, you’ll find elaborate efforts to bring the changing of seasons in-doors and radically redecorate with every flip of the calendar month. Trying to keep up with that kind interior reinvention can be expensive and exhausting. However there are simple things you can do to bring little touches of the changing of seasons into your living space. With budget-friendly supplies and deliberate placement of the things you add, your home can reflect the beauty of fall in a matter of minutes. Gather some ribbon, scented candles, solid-color throw pillows and your willingness to get creative and meet me at my next blog…

I was thinking the other day about how I used to be so creative and inventive. It seems that with motherhood, so much of my creative energy seems to be drained by the constant demands on my time and resources. That’s why I’ve decided to take an organized and proactive approach to utilizing my artistic talents. I’m heading to the local craft and hobby store to stock up on craft supplies. When the creative itch kicks in, I’ll have the items I need on hand. I’m also going to surf the web for unique craft items I might not find on the store shelves.