Decorative Packaging

We’ve gone over some ideas for your scrap ribbon, now let’s highlight something you can do with bits and pieces of scrapbooking paper.

Here’s a list of some great ideas I found on other websites:

1. Make handmade cards.

2. Punch out as accents for your pages, cards or paper pieces.

3. Use the scraps in your die cutting machine.

5. Use the scraps as rubber stamp test papers.

6. Use the scraps to make scrapbook tags, punch out titles, shapes ect….

7. Give the scraps to your kids so they can make their own albums, use as drawing paper.

8. Make confetti.

9. Add dimensional texture to your scrapbook borders by layering.

10. Donate a box of scraps to your local schools (preschool, kindergarten ), day care, church.

11. Make gift tags.

12. Use the back of the scraps to write down messages, grocery lists.

All crafters know the feeling of completing a project, breathing a sigh of relief and smiling, only to look around and realize you’re work isn’t quite finished yet. You’re surrounded by the crafters aftermath. There are scraps of ribbon, small hardened globs of hot glue, paper cuttings, if you’ve been scrap-booking, and potentially many other discarded materials to contend with.

But wait! Before you throw you’re scraps away consider the possibilities…

Those ribbon scraps can be used for numerous projects, including scrap-booking (check out it-scrap is even in the name!) or you could compile a collection of ribbon scraps and glue them end to end and in horizontal, vertical or even diagonal rows across the front of a journal or photo album. You can even make an adorable child’s hair barrette with these ribbon scraps. First, create a bow out of a brightly patterned ribbon (of which you have at least 8 inches). Then, use you’re ribbon scraps in varying lengths as a fanned out star-burst of ribbons underneath the bow. Hot glue the end of each scrap of ribbon to the center of a plain metal barrette, overlapping each slightly. Finally, glue your focal point bow in the center. It’s fun and one-of-a-kind.

The ideas for using your ribbon leftovers are endless. Just use your imagination and put those scraps in a plastic bag until your project idea comes together.

Ribbons are pretty little things.  Because of their attractiveness, they are often seen attached to dresses, hats, shoes, bags, and hairpieces like headbands and clips.  They are also used as adornments on wreaths, drapes, table centerpieces, and Christmas trees.  But they are most frequently seen on gifts.  Tied around gaily-wrapped boxes or knotted daintily to hold tags or cards, they easily enhance the overall look of any present, and bring extra cheer to packages.

A Christmas ribbon is special because it usually bears Yuletide designs like bells, balls, stars, snowmen, angels, poinsettias, trees, and reindeers.  Otherwise, it carries the vibrant colors of the holidays like red, green, gold, and silver.  They can be sheer, printed, plaid, gilded, or made of velvet.  The wide selection of Christmas ribbons out there means the gifts you give during this important holiday need never be boring and drab.

How to tie a ribbon or make a bow is something kids usually learn when they are young.  It is, after all, not that easy to create knots and loops especially for very small hands that are just getting used to gripping things firmly. Thus, it is not realistic to expect toddlers and preschoolers to know how to tie their shoelaces or to be able to create complex projects using ribbons and bows. Frolicking in the playground, finger painting, pretend play, molding dough, and coloring are more realistic and developmentally-appropriate pursuits for this younger crowd. Older children, on the other hand, should definitely be able to do more than just don their shoes and socks and tie their shoelaces. Come art time, they are expected to be adept at using scissors, pens, glue, glitter, beads, brushes, and other materials and tools not normally recommended for kids under 5 years of age.  Consequently, their works of art display a more intense level of creativity and expression than the handiwork of younger kids.  There is more intricacy and sophistication as well as can be seen in creations like braided bracelets and beaded necklaces.

In the study of connections between color and emotions, the color red was perceived as both positive and negative. Red was seen as positive because it was associated with love and romance, but negative because it is also connected to violence, blood, Satan and evil. Finally, purple induced feelings of relaxation, happiness, sadness and tiredness, as well as power, fear, boredom, excitement and comfort. The positive reactions to purple were connected mainly to children and laughter.

A business owner or marketing department could assume from these findings that using red or purple is a risky venture. If the product your are packaging is associated with romantic love then red might be a suitable selection for bows, tags, ribbons or boxes. However if the item is purposed to relax or elicit a feeling of peacefulness, red may not be the best choice.

Purple is probably best used for products associated with fun, adventure and extravagance. Avoid purple when a product is for organization or is utilitarian, because purple is a recreational color sometimes associated with chaos or disorder, and spontaneity.

In a study conducted using college students as participants, the color green generated the most positive responses, closely followed by yellow. Green was associated with nature, connecting it with comfort and serenity. Yellow was perceived as lively and energetic, generating emotions of happiness and excitement. It was associated with the sun, flowers and summer time. Next on the list of highly pleasing colors was blue, with a 79.6% positive response. Blue gave way to feelings of calm, peace and hope. However, there were negative emotions connected with blue,including sadness, depression and loneliness.

Any of these colors; blue, green or yellow are pretty “safe” decorative packaging choices. Using these colors provides a pretty reliable certainty that shoppers will have a positive response to your product.

Colors have long been associated with specific emotions. For example, the color red is often connected with excitement; orange with distress; purple with confidence; yellow with feeling cheerful and carefree; and blue with serenity. The color-emotion connection is much more complicated though, because color can be associated with several different emotions depending upon a person’s personal experience and tastes. Person A might be attracted to packaging or gift wrap which features blue ribbon bows, while Person B has a negative reaction to blue because it was her ex’s favorite color. However, there are some strong, reliable connections between specific colors and their associated emotions which can be used to better package and market your products or decorate your home.

Before considering names, slogans, or logos, our brains register the color a products packaging. Be it the finishing touches, like a pre-tied bow on the corner of a box or the color of the lettering, consumers subconsciously take in color. In scientific terms, it’s the frequency of the light waves, bouncing off a given surface, but we don’t have to think about what color is or how our brain processes those light waves to know whether or not it pleases us.

Bright colors have more obvious visibility at a distance, but that’s not a given for success when color appreciation is on the table. There are deeper connections at work, which are symbolic and and founded in personal memory or cultural messages. Add a bit of pink ribbon to anything designed for little girls, for example, and you’ve automatically attracted your target consumer group. Add that same pink ribbon (or anything slightly pinkish) to a product for boys and you have certainly set your product up for disastrous sales.

Many of the people who pay attention to a blog dedicated to all things related to decorative packaging and embellishments are probably business owners or crafters who are already aware of the power of visual appeal when marketing their products or creations. However, they may not be aware of the strong connections between color and emotion.
The color of ribbon or trim used on your product can be the difference between attracting the undecided consumer and deflecting the potential customer.
Color can set the tone for your marketplace expectations. If the color used in your product or craft creation strikes the buyer or recipient as too loud, too strong, too weak, too odd, too anything; it could have a negative effect on your sales success. In the next few blog

4. Once you’ve nailed down the desired atmosphere for your wedding, you can choose an embellishment item that can be repeated throughout the details to give them a cohesive feel. If your affair is formal and traditional, tassels are a great choice. On the other hand, if it’s a whimsical romantic wedding, you may want to go with gossamer ribbon and flowers everywhere. If your wedding is modern, a little embellishment goes a long way-a few yards of black satin ribbon will set the tone when used in small doses.

5. With everyone fussing over the bride, don’t you think it’s nice to pamper the bridesmaids a bit? Create wedding day essential cosmetic and toiletry kits for each member of your wedding party. Attach a special handmade card with a little note thanking them for standing by you on your big day. Secure the card with a length of ribbon in your accent color, making it a potential keepsake for your friends.

6. Provide each member of your wedding party with scrap-booking supplies suitable for making one page. Take photos throughout the wedding planning-rehearsal dinner-and other bridal affairs. Have your friends work on a “Planning of the Wedding” scrapbook and tell them they are off the hook for getting you wedding present.