Decorative Packaging

Playing dress-up

Take pictures of your kids dressed up in your over-sized dress clothes, just like you used to do when you were little. Make an afternoon of it and have fun, but don’t forget to snap lots of pics!

Then create a page with vintage papers, ribbons, other trims and details that give the pics old fashioned flair. You may even want to use a sepia tone when printing off your photos!

First Flowers of Spring

Document the first flowers that bloom in your yard, neighborhood or local park. Take tons of up close pictures, then pick the best ones for your page. Select a background paper that is complimentary but doesn’t compete with the brilliant colors of your floral pics. You can caption the page or photos as “Spring Awakens in _______” Use thin spring green satin ribbon to write the name of your city!

Food Face Kids

Create a scrapbook page with pictures (one each) of your kids when they were in that spaghetti-all-in-their-hair phase (hopefully at an appropriate age).

First select a photo and background paper. The other supplies and papers you will need will be based on the foods that are all over “Baby”.

Once you’ve chosen a picture, use white card-stock to cut out the shape of a high chair tray and use it to frame up the bottom of the photo, it should be extra large compared to the tray in the photo.

Use Paper, yarn, ribbon, rat-tail, shred or whatever you can to make “fake food” that looks like what Junior has all over his face. Glue the food to the high chair tray. You can be as creative as you want, with more food splattered around the photo or whatever you think up.

Give the page a caption like, “Zoe wore her cake and ate it too” or “Devon’s first plate of spaghetti”

Being in my late twenties, I’ve been to more weddings in the past few years than in the two decades of my life before. My high school classmates are all getting married as are a large number of younger friends who are still college age. I happen to enjoy weddings, but I know that not everyone does. I would dare to say, however, that nearly everyone cracks a little smile when they arrive at the reception hall, sit down at their table and are greeted by wedding favors.

People get very creative with these table treats. I’ve received fancy chocolates, trinkets, disposable cameras, all kinds of things. But the ones that tickled me the most were wrapped in dazzling paper boxes or pretty bows. It’s like a little reminder from the bride and groom. They’re saying, all though this day is all about us, we appreciate you being here. It wouldn’t be nearly as special without you! Note the personalized ribbon, and multi color wedding ribbon added to this gift wrapped in tulle.

We all know people in our lives who are simply the artistic type. They seem naturally blessed with an eye for color and coordination, and this makes them well suited for projects such as making their own clothes, scrap-booking, and a practically limitless supply of other craft projects. For these people, buying store bought ribbons and bows is usually considered a waste of time. To that end, a perfect gift for someone with this temperament is a large and varied supply of ribbon.

Having these ribbons on hand, they can hand craft elaborate and beautiful bows for every gift giving occasion. After all, with a single piece of red ribbon, they are able to create a complicated and elegant collection of loops and knots that transform into a beautiful bow or flower. By adding these handmade embellishments to every gift, it not only adds a level of elegance to the gift, but it also puts a personal touch to every present. And with such carefully crafted bows, they are practically a gift in and of themselves, and they can definitely be saved and used on subsequent gifts for others to enjoy.

We have all heard the superstition that the number of wedding present bows/ribbons a bride and groom break while opening their gifts is the number of children they are going to have. Thankfully, we also know there is no truth in it. If there was, my husband and I could expect to have seven or eight kids, and that’s definitely not going to happen!

Here’s the truth about wedding present ribbon bows, they getting bigger and more beautiful all the time. How bubbly it feels to look over at your gift table and see stacks, or even just a few, wedding gifts with big, eye-catching bows on them. It’s like your wedding guests are telling you they think your celebration of love means as much to them as it does to you. No matter the cost, a wedding gift just isn’t complete without a large, sparkling statement bow.

If you’re giving a wedding gift in the near future, don’t forget to splurge on a big fancy bow. It will make the bride and groom feel like king and queen for a day!

Weddings, graduations, baby showers the list of spring and summer demands on your gift reserve can be endless. Sometimes the events and invitations come at you so fast you barely have time to change into your fancy duds, let alone go shopping for a gift. One solution is to keep a stockpile of small gift items which can be put together in a gift basket at a moments notice. You will also need gift basket packaging supplies on hand, such as the baskets, shred, ribbon and cellophane wrapping.

Here are some ideas of things to keep in your gift closet: picture frames, photo albums, unisex newborn supplies like blankets and bottles, gift cards, fancy snack foods, lotions and other “spa” stuff, books, kitchen items for newlyweds…

Keep all your gifts and gift basket supplies together and you won’t have to resort to a card with cash! Don’t forget to add some decorative ribbon to help decorate the basket.

Here’s another easy craft idea, one you can do with the kids.

One afternoon, tired of hearing the words “What can I do mom?” come out of my five year old daughter’s mouth, I decided to help her make some sock puppets. I found two mate-less socks and gathered some random materials; some buttons and pennies for eyes, ribbon, a pink balloon for the tongue, a coffee filter…just stuff  I found.

My husband used the coffee filter to make a chef’s hat for one of the puppets, while I turned the other sock into a french girl. I made her a little hat and used crinkle packaging shred for her hair. I cut a tongue shape from the pink balloon and glued it inside her mouth, letting my daughter help with the project.

In about twenty minutes we had two new characters to bring to life, “Monroe” the chef and “Fiona”. And the best part was it didn’t cost us a dime, just a couple of pennies. Fiona needed to see after all.

I have about twenty of them, and they don’t just sit collecting dust in my jewelry box. I wear them, sometimes all at once. These stretchy beaded bracelets are less of a noise and sliding nuisance than bangles and they come in such a wide range of colors. They can be bulky and chunky or dainty and classy.

Not only are beaded stretch bracelets my favorite accessory, they are also easy to make. All you need is a selection of beads, available at any craft or super store, and some stretch elastic cord. Measure the cord so that once the ends are knotted together and trimmed, you will have to stretch it to get it over your hand and onto your wrist and it will be snug but not too tight.

Then, tie a knot in one end and start stringing your beads. Your creativity is the limit. Create 1 or 101, it’s up to you. Stack them on your wrists or wear them one at a time. These bracelets are fun and easy!

While many of us consider tassels primarily for use on curtains and graduation caps, they actually have an interesting and diverse history. The name tassel actually derives from “tassau,” which is Latin for clasp. Almost exclusively used for decorative purposes, some of the most unique tassels were created by the French. Creating beautiful handmade products at a marginal price, tassels from these French artisans were largely exported across the globe.

Because of the high quality and low cost, not many other nations widely developed a “trimmings” industry. Rather, they simply enjoyed the products coming out of France. In general, however, tassels went through a wide variety of changes and forms. The most simple and non-ornate versions came out of the Renaissance, while larger tassels are more often associated with the Empire period. Not surprisingly, the Victorian Era was responsible for the largest and more decorative and ornate tassels of all.