Bao Mei Mei

Archive for January, 2012

Tired of the same old paper ribbon and sticky bows? Want to make your gift wrap special? I’ve put a few of my favorite together for you to try.

For a simple embellishment, use sheer fabric ribbon, tie around gift and make into a four loop bow. Add floral picks of greenery (found in the craft/floral department) using a small piece of thin wire or even a green trash bag tie works to attach the greenery to the bow. Fluff and separate the stems to make it look fuller.

Another great idea is to use the a theme. If you are giving to a fisherman, wrap with white paper decorated with fishing lure stamps or stickers (available in the craft department). Tie with a sheer cloth ribbon and embellish with packaged lures or rubber worms (no hooks) tied on with fishing line. Be sure to use an odd number, like 3 or 5, to add visually to the design. For a cook, wrap the package in cloth napkins (for small gift) or fabric with food designs in it, tie with a kitchen string bow using six to eight loops and attach kitchen utensils like small whisk, wooden spoons or measuring spoons. What recipient wouldn’t love a gift within a gift?

For a simple, elegant embellishment, wrap gift in white, silver or gold paper. Wrap with a coordinating fabric ribbon tied into a simple bow. Attach a few strings of blue or silver beading (found in fabric department). This is especially pretty with glittered paper.

For a knitter or crafter, try using yarn or lace cut into strips. Tie around gift in a knot and cut the ends to dangle loosely. You’ll need to use several lengths of yarn to make it filled out. There are many kinds of yarn available in craft and fabric stores, everything from the simple cotton yarn to loopy yarn to fur like. Attach mini ornaments, wooden letters or knitting needles to the top of the knot.

For a country look, wrap package in brown kraft paper, tie an evergreen printed cloth ribbon on into a four loop bow with tails. On top of the ribbon add a raffia bow using 6 to 10 strands, knot at the top and cut to even lengths for tails (no bow on raffia). Using part of the ends of the raffia tie on evergreen sprigs, pine cones, scented cinnamon sticks and wheat stems (available in craft stores). These are great for a country style holiday.

For a kids gift, wrap in the the Sunday Comics page or old comic books or pages from a coloring book. Wrap with a jump rope tied into a knot. Add small inexpensive toys.

Most of the embellishments can be found a local craft or fabric stores, or dollar stores.

So why not change the same old ribbon and bow routine for a little embellishment? It won’t cost much, you can use your imagination and the receiver will love the extra special touches.

Carol Owens is a writer and craft designer. She welcomes article and ebook writing;visit her at http://carolowens.com

Some of the most creative and unique christmas tree decorating ideas are actually the ones that are the cheapest. Don’t think for a minute that decorating a tree, whether it be an artificial tree, a wall mounted tree or a real tree has to be boring! The key is to use your imagination to come up with ideas that will reflect your interests and personal style. When it comes to christmas tree decorating ideas, necessity really is the mother of some great inventions!

Here is some inexpensive and creative christmas tree decorating ideas for revelers on a budget.

Christmas Card Images – This is one of the simplest of christmas tree decorating ideas. Cut the images that you like from last year’s Christmas cards and color the back with gold or silver magic marker. Then hang it from the tree with a shiny ribbon. This look is especially nice on a wall mounted christmas tree that is placed next to your main entryway.

Colored Glass or Plastic Balls – Embellishing common colored glass balls with glitter paints or aerosol flocking (fake snow) is one of the most tried and true of christmas decorating ideas. You can also glue on glitter or craft store jewels and attach braids or ribbons on a cheap glass ball and turn it into the dime store equivalent of a Faberge egg. Stickers, sequins and ribbons can also be used to make inexpensive decorations look more unique. A bit of glue and some glitter is also a great way to refresh the look of old or scratched xmas ornaments.

Cookies – Decorating your tree with cookies is as old as the tradition itself. Simply make gingerbread or shortbread cookies and decorate them with icing. Make sure to leave a little hole in the confection so you can hang it from fishline or a ribbon from the tree. Gingerbread men or shortbread snowmen look great, especially on a natural green tree.

Glitter Decorations – Just about any tiny object, sphere or disk can be dipped or painted with glue and then rolled in glitter. This is one way to transform “junk” into xmas decorations that can be hung from the tree. Glitter is very inexpensive and it can be used to transform everything from old antique keys to cereal box prizes to golf balls into xmas décor.

Origami – Origami is the fine art of paper folding. You can find instructions for making everything from snowflakes to storks out of Origami on the Internet. There are many sites that specialize in offering origami christmas tree decorating ideas. One idea is to make larger and smaller versions of the same design to create a balanced and minimalist look.

Party Streamers: simply strewing the ends of its branches with party streamers can create a very fashionable and minimalist looking tree. A strand of Chinese lanterns from the dollar store also very nicely compliments this look. This type of look is also very attractive on an upside down xmas tree or a wall mounted christmas tree as a bit of a breeze makes the tree come alive with movement.

Pipe Cleaners – This is one of those christmas tree decorating ideas that is great to do with the kids! Chenille pipe cleaners have to be one of the most versatile craft items ever invented. Simply twist them into the shape of snowflakes, stars, angels or anything that you can imagine. Best of all pipe cleaner xmas decorations can be wired directly onto the tree. This makes them ideal for trees that can’t, for reasons of safety, have too many dangling decorations such as the wall mounted christmas tree or the upside down christmas tree.

Popcorn Christmas Tree – There is nothing cheaper than popcorn and it is a great source of inspiration when it comes to christmas tree decorating ideas. Any type of christmas tree including the real, artificial or wall mounted christmas tree looks great decorated in garlands of popcorn. Popcorn can also be shaped into balls and hung like gigantic snowballs from the branches of a tree. Don’t forget too that you can easily dye or paint popcorn using food coloring.

Ribbons and Lace – One of the simplest christmas tree decorating ideas is to simply tie bows made out of scraps of ribbon and bits of lace and tie them to the boughs of a tree. This is also the safest way of decorating a tree if you have a wall-mounted or upside-down christmas tree. Decorating a christmas tree in ribbons that are securely tied to a tree is also safest for a toddler.

Snowflakes – This is one of those christmas tree decorating ideas that are great to do with the kids. Remember the folded paper snowflakes you made as a child? You can decorate them with any color of glitter. For the best results hang the smaller paper snowflakes at the top of the tree and the larger ones at the bottom.

Toys – If you are on a budget then you can find lots of christmas decoration ideas in the toy section at your local toy store. As long as it is miniature, it will probably look great on a tree. You can wire heavier items to the branches and hang lightweight items with colorful bows. Trains, little dolls and fish look especially nice on an xmas tree. This idea is also good for a small wall mounted tree in a child’s room.

Wired Translucent Bows – This is one of the more minimalist christmas tree decorating ideas but the effect is absolutely beautiful. Buy wired translucent ribbon on in two colors – silver and gold are hot right now – and simply tie them to your tree. The wire keeps the bows big and stiff so they look really attractive. This look is also perfect for a tree that you don’t want people to bump into such as a wall mounted christmas tree or upside down christmas tree.

For more information on Christmas trees, visit http://www.o-christmas-tree.com/christmastrees.htm – a year-round resource for all your christmas tree and decoration needs.

We’ve all seen them. Clusters of big, gourmet cookies, individually wrapped in shiny, colored cellophane, with bows and ribbons. They come in many styles and with different treats, toys or gift items attached to or inside a basket or vase of some sort. They make a terrific and edible gift idea. After all, who doesn’t love cookies? Sadly, they can be very expensive gifts, especially when considering that cookies don’t cost a whole lot to bake.

Here’s how to make your own cookie bouquets at home without spending a fortune!

What You Will Need:

* Chopsticks or Wooden Skewers – Make sure they are heat-proof. If you’re baking smaller cookies, then Popsicle sticks would also work.
* Cookies – Find a delicious cookie recipe that makes larger size cookies, your favorite or your gift recipients favorite will do fine.
* Container – This needs to be a sturdy container that is a bit bottom heavy, especially if you plan to include more than a few big cookies. You can try putting some pebbles in the bottom to make sure the container won’t tip over, if needed. Some ideas for containers include: a coffee mug, a metal or plastic pail, a basket, a vase, a planter, cookie jar or glass jar, glass bottle, a toy or wood box of some sort, teapot, porcelain or pottery serving ware.
* Cellophane – The shiny, colored kind looks best, but the colored plastic wrap you get at your local supermarket would work too.
* Ribbon – The curly kind works well for this. Any colors you like.
* Decorations – Anything goes! What’s appropriate to the occasion and what does the gift recipient like? Some ideas include: stuffed animals, small toys, candy, balloons, fake or real flowers, stickers or whatever you find at the local craft store.
* Block of Styrofoam or florists foam – You know that stereo you bought last December? You probably kept the box, just search your garage for some spare, clean, Styrofoam.
* Something to cover up the Styrofoam or florist’s foam – You can use a big ribbon, some moss, plastic grass, tissue paper crumpled up or whatever else you have handy.

Instructions:

1. When you place the cookie dough on the cookie sheet, press the dough down a bit to flatten it so that it doesn’t spread too much while baking and so that the stick can be inserted properly. Before you bake the cookies, you must insert the chopstick or wooden skewer into one side of each cookie. Push it in almost the length of the cookie without going out the other end. This is an important step, as if your cookie is too big and your stick is not sturdy enough, it simply won’t hold it and the cookie may fall apart when you pick it up. When baking big cookies, you probably won’t be able to fit more than 3 cookies with their sticks to a sheet.

2. After baking the cookies with their sticks, cool the cookies thoroughly, then wrap each one with the colored cellophane. A different color for each cookie would be ok, or all the same color appropriate to the occasion. Tie each one with some curly ribbon at the base where the stick comes out of the cookie. Tie it very tightly so the cookies will stay fresh on the stick. You can adorn each cookie with additional, larger ribbons or bows at this point. When using curly ribbon, don’t forget to curl it!

3. Now cut your Styrofoam or florist’s foam to the size of the top of the container you chose. Then fit the foam in so it is nice and tight and near the top of the container. Remember, you can place something heavier in the bottom of the container so that it does not tip over. Small pebbles work well for this. Remember that the sticks will poke through the foam and into the bottom of the container.

4. Here comes the fun part, let’s assemble the cookie bouquet! Take each of your cookies and stick them through the foam so they go all the way through the foam and further, near to the bottom of the container. You can assemble the cookies in any manner you like, but most cookie bouquets have one cookie at the center that is taller than the other cookies, so keep that in mind. Decorate with additional ribbons, toys, candy, flowers, gifts etc. Each item can be attached with additional ribbon to the container or the sticks of the cookies or even with a glue gun (if appropriate).

5. Give your gift and watch the smiles! Make sure to give the bouquet as soon as possible after you have assembled it, you don’t want the cookies to go stale!

Tips:

Make sure you bake enough cookies for your container, if baking small cookies, you may run out if you are filling a large container. Always bake more than enough. Surely your extras won’t go to waste.

Bake both large and small cookies and use them both in the bouquet for a nice varied look like a more traditional flower bouquet.

More Ideas:

Some cookie bouquets use cutout cookies, these can be fun to make and decorate. Use your favorite sugar cookie cutout recipe and cut into shapes appropriate for the occasion. For cutout cookies to work, you may want to double your sugar cookie recipe as the cookies need to be nice and thick for the stick to go through them. For this type of cookie, wooden skewers will work best, chopsticks may be too thick. Then decorate the cookies with frosting. No need for colored cellophane with these cookies, use regular plastic wrap or clear cellophane so that the beauty of your hand decorated cookies shines through.

Remember, your cookie bouquet doesn’t need to look professional, it’s the homemade touch that makes it a truly special gift.

Ricky Alberta is the editor of Cookie-Recipes.net, the premiere website for cookie recipes of all kinds including chocolate chip, sugar, peanut butter and Christmas cookie recipes, cookie baking tips, a cookie blog and message boards.