Design Crafters

For those of you who read my post on wrapping presents, here is a follow up on finishing your wrapping with a big, fancy bow on top of the present.

To begin, you will need a big roll of ribbon, about an inch wide, in a color that matches your wrapping paper.  Once you are ready, coil the ribbon around your hand about 15 or so times, so it’s all in one neat roll. The width of the coil when you press it flat will be about the diameter of the bow, so make it wide enough that the proportions are aesthetically pleasing when you take into consideration the size of the package and the width of the ribbon. Generally, the narrower the ribbon, the smaller you should make the bow.

When you have enough ribbon wound around your hand, cut the ribbon off the spool at a diagonal, and press the coil flat so it looks like one long strip, and then double it over.

Next, diagonally trim just the very corners of the doubled end, but make sure not to cut too much, or your bow will break in half and you’ll have to start all over again.  Now, unfold the strip. You should have a slightly hourglass shape in the middle.

Now, go get the package, and tape a strip of ribbon around the wrapping paper. Use the ends of the ribbon on the package to tie on your coil of ribbon. Tie around the hourglass part.  You should have a little bunch of loops on either side.

Lastly,start separating the loops on one side, and alternately pull one up and one down until you have fluffed the whole side. Do the same thing with the other half of the bow. What you should have is a puffball-looking thing tied on top of your gift.

Use your family photographs for photo holiday cards or for lots of different holiday gifts. In this post, we will talk about ways to find digital photo resources online. In part 2, we will talk about how to use your inkjet or laser printer to make masterpieces.

Digital photos are becoming the standard in photography. Though some folks still have the kind of camera that uses films, digital cameras have dropped in price so much, that most people prefer to use them. In addition to costing very little to buy the actual camera, consumers can save hundreds of dollars in film costs by uploading photos to the computer for editing.

Once the digital photos are taken and the memory stick or USB cable is used to upload them onto the computer, there are several options available for creating keepsakes.

Shutterfly’s website offers several different services that take your submissions and create lots of cool gifts. You can order photo books, ornaments, calendars, t shirts, mugs, address labels, stickers…the list goes on endlessly. Other sites to try include American Greeting’s PhotoWorks  and Kodak Gallery.

There are also some cool, non traditional photo gift sites:

• Design Mosaic: this site takes your digital photos and uses them as smaller parts of a larger photo of whomever you choose. Hard to explain, cool to see, worth checking out.
• Personalization Mall: takes your picture and puts it on anything…really…I saw pictures on golfballs.
• Smilebox: has a free slideshow maker that allows you to add music. Very cool to make slideshows and give them away at the holidays!

These are just a few of the resources available to help you make your photos absolutely amazing and very meaningful gifts. This year, share snippets from your life with your family. They will definitely appreciate it!

Photo Christmas Cards are a great way to capture your flowers in the peak of summer. Another way to share your garden is to cut flowers and herbs to make sachets for Christmas gifts. You will need dried flowers, essential oil, sheer fabric and a ribbon.

Drying flowers is a snap. First, find flowers in your yard or at the store that have vibrant colors. As flowers fade, the colors fade, too.

Look for petals that are thin, like roses, and that either have a nice smell or no smell. Cut these flowers with as long a stem as possible, to make drying easier. Don’t forget to include your herb garden when looking for drying materials.

Flowers that dry well include: roses, hydrangeas, pansies, and peonies.

Herbs to dry include: lavender, thyme, rosemary, and oregano.

Strip any foliage that you will not be using. Use rubber bands to secure like flowers into bunches. Hang upside down to dry. Attics or garages, or even greenhouses not in use, are great for this purpose.

Once dry, gather all petals and foliage together in a bowl. Cut squares of fabric, making it large enough to double over. Fold over fabric, place dried flowers in the center, add 2-3 drops of your favorite essential oil, gather fabric and tie at the top with ribbon.

Make your gifts shortly before the holidays in order to extend the life of the scent. Your friends will love them…make sure you save a few for yourself!