Year End Wishes

Happy Monday Everyone! There will be no crafting this week, I'm afraid. I'd like to take it easy and look back on the year that's about to end. The first thing that comes to mind is:

One of the highlights of my year was starting this blog! I want to say THANKS to you, my dear visitors & regular readers! THANKS for your time, interest and for cheering me on with your comments. I certainly hope you'll continue to visit me when the new year arrives.

I wish all of you many, many more reasons to say THANKS!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Day and today I'm sharing some photos taken during the Martha Stewart Craft Fair held in New York City. At the same time, I want to wish you a Christmas that's...

Sweet

Colorful

Shiny

Filled with music

and extra-ordinary!

Have a truly Tada! Christmas!

Christmas Clutch

Hello and thank you for stopping by! Are your gifts wrapped and waiting under the Christmas tree or are you still shopping and wrapping like a mad woman? If you said yes to the latter, I've got an easy gift wrap solution for you.

Reassess those bags from all the shopping you've done
and turn a blah into a Tada!

Once a plastic sack, now a gift bag!

I intentionally made it to look like an evening clutch, cutting the top part of the bag and folding it over (then sealed with tape). It can contain a shawl or shirt for my very good gal pals.

The ribbon "brooch" is fashioned from the handles plus strips from the part that I had cut off. These are held together by staples and more tape.

This makes gift packaging faster, more fashionable and you get to recycle, too!

Fancy Boxes

Gift wrapping is a pleasure for a lot of people. But when you have to wrap too many gifts before the stroke of midnight, the pleasure turns into pain. So I've got a suggestion:

Save these blah food boxes, cut off the box top and
wrap the box in festive paper.

Tada! You've got yourself a fabulous gift container!

Because it's essentially a box, it works well for odd-shaped gifts. The ribbon handles makes the gift easy to carry. Make these gift boxes throughout the year for birthdays and Christmas so that gift wrapping will always be a pleasure!

Bake and Take

When Christmas comes around, a lot of us don our aprons, baking sheets and transform our kitchens into cookie factories! Here's a gift that clearly says "handmade with love" -- baked goods!

This Christmas, instead of not so eco-friendly packaging (ex. Styrofoam plates & disposable plastic), why not use containers that can be used even after the holidays are over? I'm thinking canning jars, biscuit tins or reusable plastic food containers like this:

I purchased these from Ikea -- three containers for on $1.99!

I cleaned the containers before lining them with this napkin
(doilies or parchment paper can be used, too).

Then I filled it with homemade brownies!

I put on the cover (don't you love this shade of blue?!) and
decorated with a tree ornament.

Three gifts in one -- the brownies, container and ornament!

You may also add a copy of the recipe and a greeting card to
complete the package.

Happy baking!

Gift Wrapping Ideas

Happy Monday Everyone! Last minute shopping and wrapping presents are occupying most of our time these days...Christmas is just a few winks away! This week, I'll be sharing some gift packaging ideas that are not only pretty for the recipients but pretty for Mother Earth, too!

Today's blah...these empty pint-size ice cream containers.

Tada! Washed clean and wrapped with colorful paper!
Finish off with a ribbon handle...

... or a delicate tassel.

Fill it with candies. Or stuff it with small gifts like cologne, warm socks and handmade jewelry. Then use this exceptional gift box again!

A Great Gift Bag

Hooray it's Friday! Can you believe that it'll be Christmas next Friday? Today, we'll end the week with a final paper bag project.

Today's blah...a plain paper bag.

Here's another blah...a printed paper bag.

Here's the Tada!...an all-occasion gift bag!

I transferred the handles from the printed paper bag to the plain paper bag (attached with hot glue) and decorated it with a cut-out whale (or whatever character you like). The whale is made of scrapbook paper (gift wrap remnants may be used too) and the whale's eye came from the bag of scrap. Alternatively, you can use a button or adhesive googly eyes if you have them.

Now this bag is ready of any celebration! Have a fun weekend lovelies!