Decorative Packaging

11. Tie sets of towels, hand towels and washcloths together with ribbon and keep them ready for guests.

12. Dress up a plain toss pillow with pattern ribbon tied around in a bow.

13. Make simple fashion doll skirts for your little girl out of wide ribbon. Just cut a length that will go around that tiny wast and then stitch on Velcro. You can make an easy halter top to match the same way.

14. Make rugs for her Barbie doll house out of wide striped grosgrain ribbon.

15. Gather sticks from outside in varying lengths. Once you have a large bundle, tie them together with ribbon so that the bottom is even. Then stand them on a table or in the corner of your living room.

6. Tie a ribbon bow onto a fake pearl necklace.

7. Lace rainbow ribbon into your daughter’s sneakers.

8. Use ultra-thin black satin ribbon as a necklace with a cameo or other garage sale find.

9. Make curtain tie backs out of wide patterned ribbon bows.

10. Use pretty coordinating ribbon in place of napkin rings.

1. Stitch silk flowers to ribbon to create a chain of daisies or roses.

2. Use sheer green ribbon to represent leaves or grass on a scrapbook page.

3. Use a brown ink pad to rub onto light colored ribbon to make it look aged.

4. Create a bold picture matte by picking a bright color of card-stock to mount the photo on,  then use black and white satin ribbon to make vertical stripes as a backdrop.

5. Use polka-dot ribbon to accent striped scrapbook paper and visa versa.

Little ones pick up all kinds of bad manners from their school friends. It can be hard to deprogram the old “see food” routine, elbows on the table and talking with half-masticated food rolling around in their mouths.

Instead of trying to accomplish all these lessons at one sitting, resolve to tackle one etiquette issue at a time.

Create a set of manners index cards, one for each of your family’s problem areas. Affix the cards, one each, to bags of chocolate candies with a pretty ribbon. Set the treats in the middle of the table and tell your family they can have their reward when everyone makes it through an entire meal without breaking the etiquette rule written on the card. Once they’ve mastered the skill, move on to the next one.

“What’s for supper?”. If you have kids, you hear this question at least a half a dozen times between when school lets out and the meal hits the table.

To alleviate this little annoyance, create a hanging weekly menu. Use a simple plastic page protector, the kind that goes in a three ring binder. Print off a weekly supper menu on your home computer, or write it out by hand. If you have little kids, you can use pictures instead of words.

Use a horizontal 8.5″ by 11″ format rather than a vertical. You can get as creative as you want or keep it simple. One idea is to put a dessert item on the menu for each day (if you aren’t a dessert free household) but place a sticker (possibly a food sticker, maybe scratch and sniff) over the dessert but on the outside of the sleeve protector. The kids only get to reveal the dessert if they’ve been good at supper and ate enough “real food”.

Use ribbon looped through two of the three holes to create a “sign”. Hang it in clear view and never answer the question “What’s for supper?” again.

How is the ribbon used in decorating and ornamentation? The bow is an ornament fashioned from ribbons.  It is usually handmade but there are machines that will make bows fast and easy. Bows are used for hair ornaments, to add accent on gift packaging, enhance a garment, or create a home décor.  We even see pets with bows adorning their furry heads.

A bow may look complicated but it is really easy to make. There are many ways of making a bow. Some are pretty complicated and use up a lot of ribbons. For the simplest technique, all you need is to gather a length of ribbon in a loop.  The size of the loop will depend on the size of bow you need.  Pinch it in the middle and tie with twine.  Twist each loop while spreading it in different directions.  You will have a beautiful bow in no time at all.

In recent years, crafting has been revived with a vengeance.  Remember the art of cross stitching?  It used to be a hobby of grandmothers.  Now it has turned teenagers, mommies and even men into fanatics. The point is crafting has caught the attention of many and has become more popular these days. Different crafts use different tools and materials.  A very common material used in most crafting projects is the ribbon.Ribbons are available everywhere.  Craft shops, flea markets and thrift shops will carry the kind that you want.  Do you need your ribbon in satin or grosgrain?  Would you choose a polka dot design over stripes?  It’s not always an easy choice. Whether you are sewing or scrap booking, a ribbon will add just the right amount of flair. Ribbons are not just for crafting.  It is an important material in packaging and decorating.

This is a craft I found online that builds fine motor skills for little hands.

Use a heavy-duty paper that won’t tear with excessive handling to make a heart shape, about the size of a saucer. Select a red or pink ribbon that isn’t slippery like satin. Grosgrain is a good choice for gripping, but thinner is better because it has to be tied at the end.

Cut the ribbon into a length that is at least 10 centimeters longer than the perimeter of the paper heart. Use a hole punch to make holes around the outline of the heart, about every two centimeters.

Have your little one practice lacing the ribbon through the holes and tying it in a knot or bow at the end.  

For more craft fun, your little one can decorate the heart with glitter pens, stickers, markers, old buttons or anything that tickles your fancy.

You will need: ribbon, scissors, self-adhesive Velcro, tacky glue, white office labels and pens or markers.

1. Measure and cut a length of ribbon long enough to to around your child’s wrist, plus some extra to fold the ends under.

2. Adhere one half of a Velcro piece to the folded under end of the ribbon, then flip it over and adhere the other half of the velcro to the other folded under end.

3. Cut the office label to fit, then write a sweet personal message on it and adhere it to the inside of the ribbon.

This is a seriously cute way to send your little girl to school the day of her Valentine’s Day party.  

Cover two small, plain, metal barrette with red or pink ribbon, then glue on those little candy conversation hearts! Pin back your little darlings hair on each side with these sweet accessories.

Use ribbon with hearts on it to make bows for a pair of her plain white ruffle socks. Add a dangling heart (from a pair of costume jewelry earrings) to the center of each bow.

Use a wider red or pink satin ribbon to make a bow belt for her jeans or denim skirt. Add a pink cardigan or turtleneck and she is ready for Valentines fun.