DIY Gift Wrap

Something I HATE spending money on…gift wrap! The present is inside the paper people, not the paper itself. And something I never ever have…gift wrap for weddings and showers. I went to a bridal shower over the weekend for my dear friend Amaya, the other bride to be in my life. And we had way too much fun!

Anyways, back to the paper, I went out and got her a very cute little something and realized I had nothing to wrap it in. I went over to the bridal bag area and they ranged from $5.00-$10.00! What!? Are you kidding me?! Sorry Amaya, you’re not that dear to me! Just kidding!! So I went home to see what I could do.

I feel like everyone has a white box or bag in there gift wrapping box. It is such a basic necessity. And after what I came up with, white may be the only color I ever get again! I got out my stamp box and chose a large flower and some blue and teal ink. In literally 5 minutes I had the lid of the box stamped with alternating colors. Then I took my stickles and added a little sparkle to the flowers, and chose a ribbon to tie the box with.

No scissors, no paper, not tape. Yet…Viola!! A perfectly beautiful box for the bride to unwrap. It was fast, easy, and didn’t cost me a thing! I also folded a white piece of scrap cardstock in half to make a little tag. It matched perfectly!

Today I am spending the rest of my afternoon revamping all the white bags and boxes in my gift wrap stuff so they’ll be all ready next time I need a little something. And the fair opened this weekend so my honey is picking me up after he gets off work to go! Yay! I could really get used to this whole not working thing. :)

See you next week!

mandy

Turn Something Old into something New

One thing my mom taught me very early on is to always accept gift graciously! And say, “Thank you for my present, I love presents!!” :) When I was 16 years old, I went on one of my very first dates. We went to Sea World, and he opened up an oyster for me. He had my pearl set on a chain and everything. When you’re 16 years old this seems like a very extravagant gift, and I felt so bad to take it. Well, it was also my birthday in 2 weeks, so I told him, “give me my necklace for my birthday”!! Seemed like a pretty good idea at the time… right!? Well, it was a hard lesson because sadly my romantic love interest didn’t last till my birthday, and I never got my pearl. So sad. Everyone in my family can still ask, “Where is the Pearl?” and we know exactly what we are talking about. Lesson learned: Always accept gifts willingly and graciously.

So it was just Valentine’s day, and I LOVE getting flowers. But so often I hear women saying they hate flowers because they just die. The answer is, NO People!! Always accept the flowers (in addition to any other little goodies he might have hiding up his sleeve) ;)

Enjoy them for the week and I’ll show you a GREAT way to recycle dead flowers and turn them into something new again. I see people all the time drying out their roses. They turn them upside down on a string and hang them in a garage until they're crusty and dusty. I don’t know about you, but crust and dust is something I like to avoid in my house. Then those crusty and dusty rose petals proceed to drop like flies for the rest of their sad lives.

I have a better solution...all it takes is wilted flowers, a thick hard cover book, and a little shelf time.

When your roses are still soft, pluck the petals off of them; as many as you want to save. I find the large ones work better for future projects.

Then arrange them on the page so they are not touching each other. Flip to another section in the book and fill the book with as many petals as you’d like to save.

Then… Slam the book shut!! And let them cook on a shelf for a week or two… or until you get around to creating your project.

My favorite way to use flat and dried rose petals are to make matting’s. For example, if you have a 4x6 photo, buy a 5x7 frame and you’ll be left with a 1 inch matting to be filled. Glue and arrange your rose petals on a piece of card stock, glue your photo on top of that and put it in a frame. The roses are clean, sentimental, and will NEVER get dusty!!

The possibilities of rose petals are endless. You’re only limited to your imagination. Feel free to share any other ideas that we can do with our rose petals.

And remember... Always accept the Pearl!
Have a great week!!