It's wrapping season!

It's my favourite time of the year .... wrapping season! I have been asked many times if I am a "professional gift wrapper" and I always laugh and say "no". But I do like gift wrapping and designing packaging products.

So this month I am going to write a few posts about how I am wrapping my Christmas gifts. This weekend I started to wrap a few of my family's gifts. I have not finished holiday shopping yet but I always feel like I'm ahead when I get a few gifts wrapped up and under the tree. 

I select my holiday wrapping supplies early and try to co-ordinate everything. This year it is all about kraft, black, gold and a touch of white to match my contemporary woodland theme.

One of my favourite time savers for gift wrapping is to use plain gift boxes that are already "gift ready". All that I have to do is add some pretty ribbons and a few embellishments. 

Top left: This kraft box was decorated with ribbon. I added some artificial greenery and a gift tag that I created from a photo.

Top right: A wrapping paper band was added to this box using two sided tape. I purchased the felt mouse ornament and made the wood chalkboard gift tag.

Bottom left: Round boxes make great gift boxes and can easily be decorated using glitter, washi and lace tape. The toy deer and mini tree were glued into position on the top of the box so they could hold a photo gift tag.

Bottom right: These gold and kraft boxes are my favourite because the gold glitter does not come off ... less mess = less time cleaning up! Ribbon does double duty here - it keeps the box from opening and it holds the fox bookmark in place. Plain kraft tags are dressed up with ribbon and a hand written message.

I adore wrapping paper but I really don't like to wrap presents in the traditional way. So if I use gift wrap I usually try to do it in a way that will look "professionally" wrapped ... but it's not. 

Top left: Gold foil dots were added to plain canvas bags. I created this diy wine bag project for She Entertains' holiday 2015 online magazine.

Top right: I reuse these kraft boxes every year for my family's gifts. This year I'm adding patterned kraft wrapping paper and striped ribbons to decorate them. I glued one of my handmade wood chalkboards to a large clothespin to hold a kraft tag embellished with gold glitter tape.

Bottom right: I only wrapped the top of this kraft box with wrapping paper so it could be reused. My gift tag was something that I received from Anthropologie last year and never used - they would be easy to recreate and I'm going to do a post later on to show you how to make these yourself.

Bottom left: This is a simple idea for a hostess gift that I created for Creative Living online magazine last year . Use these clear boxes and fill them with candies from the bulk food store. I added a couple of bands of wrapping paper and a cute label to finish. You can find my free download for the label here.

Now that I'm (finally) on Instagram, I'll be sharing my gift wrapping ideas there too!

Have you started your holiday wrapping yet?

BRIKA whimsical wreath workshop in the Makeful learning studio

Last week I was invited to attend a workshop at the Makeful learning centre in BRIKA's Yorkdale popup store. The whimsical wreath workshop by DeLight Floral Design and My Little Secrets was fabulous. The supplies on hand were beautiful and everyone's wreath was truly one of a kind.

This photo was featured on BRIKA's Facebook page. My wreath (and hand) is on the left. Isn't the wallpaper in the background adorable!

I don't have space to hang seasonal wreaths in my home so I knew when I was creating my project at the workshop that I would have to do something a little more with it when I got home.

So the next day I gathered some supplies and figured out a way to display my whimsical wreath on the fireplace mantle using a hard cover book.

I had a plaid flannel ribbon scrap that was too small to tie as a bow but it just big enough to hang the wreath in place on the book. I folded the ribbon in half and looped it around the top of the wreath.

Then I simply stapled the ribbon in place to a couple of pages in the middle of the book.

The book had an embossed title on the cover so to cover it up and add little something extra to my wreath I glued a birch wood slice that I painted with chalkboard paint. I thought about writing a holiday message using chalk markers but my "hello" message will allow me to display my wreath well into the new year. 

If you have a crafty friend and you're looking for a fun evening to get your craft on you really need to check out the workshops at BRIKA.

These are some of the pics that I took at the BRIKA Yorkdale popup shop. If you like to buy handmade ... this is the place to be. There's a great mix of products by some very talented artisans. I loved the cafe and just past the cash desk is a diy area that you can gift wrap your purchases. It's brilliant!

The Makeful learning studio at the very back of the store is like a crafter's dream come true. The studio set up is so inspiring. Makeful is a new lifestyle TV channel that is all about celebrating the creativity within all of us! Whether you are into food, design or diy they have it all and it's in free preview right now. You can find out more about Makeful and the Makeful community on their website.

hostess gift idea for the holidays

Our family holiday entertaining plans are underway and I've already started marking dates on the calendar for holiday parties we have been invited to attend. That had me thinking about what to do about hostess gifts. I always try to give something that is practical, reusable and unique. And if time is not an issue, I always try to add something that I've created myself, even if it's just the gift tag!!

Last year I created these adorable hostess gifts and I thought that I'd share them with you for some early holiday gift giving inspiration.

I purchased large glass containers and filled them with beautiful decorated cookies. The containers will look like snow globes when you add a little course sugar to keep the cookies in place. I attached chalkboard tags that I decorated with chalk markers on with twine to the glass lids. 

The cookies can be eaten (right away or saved for another day), the glass containers can be reused, and this gift is sure to make someone smile when you walk in the door. Best part about this hostess gift is that it is so pretty you really don't need to wrap it up which will save you some time. 

If you are a baker and can make your own cookies that's awesome! Or you can do what I did and buy cookies from a local bake shop or custom cookie maker. My cookies were custom made for me by Branded Bites. Branded Bites used some of my illustrations to created my cookies. Just remember if you are looking to have custom cookies created you may need extra time to order them at this time of year.

And here's one of my favourite hostess gift wrapping ideas! Place two stacking boxes on top of a cake stand and tie them all together using a wide ribbon. Add an ornament to finish and you're done. The boxes could be filled with homemade baked goods or whatever you want. 

You can find more of my holiday ideas from last year here.

go old school with a diy holiday game

Here's a fun little project that I designed to keep the kids busy this holiday season. It's a game that is not played on a cell phone, tablet or tv ... it's old school and it can be played by two or more people. Put it on the kids table to keep the little ones busy for a little longer so the adults finish their meal in peace.

I designed the game for an issue of Creative Living Magazine and you can find the download for the printable as well as the complete instructions to make the game here.

A quick recap of the diy instructions: The game is contained in a soup/ice cream container. Six small wood blocks were used to create the "dice". My (free) download printable includes both the art for the top of the container lid and the game instructions that will be place on the inside of the lid.

I painted the wood blocks with chalkboard paint and used a white chalk marker and small letter stamps to spell out "jolly". To create the Santa face on the sixth side of each of the dice, I drew a moustache and two dots for eyes.

The red and white stripe washi tape is a cute finishing detail. If you can't find a striped washi tape like mine, look for a pattern and colour combination that matches the printable.

Now I'm off to finish my holiday baking. Happy Holidays!

setting the table for Christmas day

Yesterday I hosted a surprise birthday dinner party at my home to celebrate my husband's grandmother's 98th birthday. Grandma is the sweetest, nicest and most lovable lady I've ever known and such an inspiration ... she is 98 and still goes to yoga classes! 

Today I spent the day cleaning up from the party and started to prepare the dining room table for Christmas dinner. I have been making these adorable little burlap ribbon trees and I plan on putting them at each place setting.

After featuring my burlap trees in Creative Living Magazine, I had a few people ask me how I made them. So I thought that I'd share a quickie tutorial on how to make them here ...

My supplies: green burlap ribbon, styrofoam cones, T-pins, two sided tape for ribbon, striped paper straws, mini metal pails, florist foam, kraft sizzle and baker's twine.

Use one T-pin to keep the ribbon in place at the top of the cone. Wrap the ribbon around the cone to cover the pin and continue wrapping down the surface of the cone. Once you get to the bottom of the cone do one final wrap around so that the ribbon overlaps enough for you to add a piece of two-side tape to end. You can see in the photo above (bottom right) that the burlap ribbon should come down a little lower than the bottom of the cone so that you do not see the cone. Add a paper straw into the centre bottom of the cone.

Add a chunk of floral foam into the pail to support the paper straw. I tied baker's twine around the pail and added kraft sizzle to hide the floral foam. 

These trees are pretty simple to make and I think that if I store them properly they will last for a number of years.

I'm also adding these s'more favors to every place setting. I have decorated the clear take out boxes with the green burlap ribbon that I used to make the trees and lace ribbon left over from my holiday gift wrapping. We have an outdoor fireplace in the backyard and I'm hoping that the weather is nice on Christmas day so that we can toast our s'mores outside after dinner.

diy - oreo cookie hostess gift

I don't always have a lot of time to do holiday baking and over the years I have come up with a few creative ways to make store bought items look like they are homemade. Dipping oreo cookies in melted chocolate is one of my favourites right now and if you add holiday sprinkles they are sure to delight both young and old. Package a bunch of these cookies up in a gift box and you've got a great gift for a teacher or your next door neighbours. 

Here's how I make these ... 

Step One. Gather your ingredients. Oreo cookies, chocolate candy melts in a colour of your choice, holiday sprinkles.

Step Two. Melt the chocolate candy melts according to the instructions on the package. Dip cookie into melted chocolate as shown. 

Tip to keep the chocolate melted a little longer ... I place the container in a larger bowl containing boiling water.

Step Three. Quickly add sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.

Tip: I use a baking drying rack to keep the cookies standing upright to dry so I can keep dipping more cookies.

When your cookies look as good as these, you want a clear box or a box with a window like this one for your gift packaging.

These are so simple to make and the kids will love to help you out ... so go ahead and let them!

Find more of my food packaging ideas for the holidays here.

Our burlap Christmas stockings ... a quickie tutorial to make your own!

After almost 20 years, I finally decided to make Christmas stockings for my whole family. Not that my children did not have stockings for the past 19 years. I designed and quilted three large "sacks" that featured appliqued images of Santa the first year my oldest daughter was born. I made one for my daughter, one for my husband and one for me.  By the time my next child was born, almost 6 years later, my husband and I decided to stop buying presents for each other and my handmade stocking/sack became my youngest daughter's stocking. I never displayed our stocking as part of our Christmas decor ... they only came out the night before Christmas along with the special plate and mug that we used for Santa's treats.

A couple of weeks ago, after seeing so many magazines and blogs with stockings hung on fireplaces, I could not resist the urge to have stocking that I could use just for Christmas decorating. So I bought four plain burlap stocking from Creative Bag. I already had the lace ribbon and wood letters. I picked up the four beaded snowflakes from Creative Bag ... I think they were the last four and I was so happy they had four left because I had my eye on them for a while but just didn't know what I would do with them. 

Here's what I did:

1. Gather your supplies - burlap stocking, lace ribbon, ornaments, wood or metal letters, baker's twine, thread in colour to match the stocking and a needle. 

2. I sewed two rows of lace ribbon to the cuff on my stocking. You add as much or little lace as you want ... there is no right or wrong way to do it. 

3. Embellish each stock to personalize. I used wood letters stained brown for each of our family members. First I sewed the beaded snowflake ornament to the stocking. Note that I sewed the ornament with the hanging element facing downward so I could attach the wooden letter to it with the baker's twine.

Here's another close up of one of the stockings. Santa will not be filling these stockings. Ever. They are just for me.

This is the project that inspired me to make my family Christmas stockings. I originally purchased one burlap stocking to use for a baby gift. One of our friends' daughter was expecting her first child early December and I thought that it would be cute to package the baby's gift in a stocking. Since we didn't know if it was a girl or a boy when I was giving the gift, I left the burlap stocking plain and just added a gift tag and spoon ornament that I made for the baby's first Christmas. 

The spoon was a vintage silver baby spoon. I hammered it flat and engraved the numbers "2013" using metal stamps and a hammer. The bird charm is a metal scrapbooking piece that I have had for a few years and I tied a vintage green velvet ribbon to the handle. My wonderful hubby help me by drilling the hole so I could add a jump ring and piece of twine for hanging. 

In my last blog post I showed you how to create your own chalkboard bunting using canvas banners, chalkboard paint and chalk markers. Today I'm going to give you the {free} download for the "twenty thirteen" graphics I used on my holiday bunting. 

I added my twenty thirteen chalkboard bunting to one of my fireplace mantle displays by tying it onto an antique frame. I used lots of white satin ribbon and wrapped it around the frame for a very casual look. 

I really dislike the fireplace mantle in our living room. It's on my list to change ... someday. I painted three antique frames in decorator's white to match our fireplace and leaned them against the wall for my display. I think that the style of the frames compliment the (ugly little) wood molding on the fireplace.

My mantle was pretty simple to pull together ... three white vintage frames (only one was decorated with bunting and a special ornament), pre-lit garland, burlap ribbon and a large letter "E".

As I was creating the download for the "twenty thirteen" graphics I was thinking that this bunting would be great for a New Years Eve party ... so I add "fourteen"! You can see my tutorial for making the chalkboard bunting on this post.

If you make a "twenty fourteen" bunting to use for a New Year Eve's party please let me know! I'd love to see pictures!

chalkboard bunting tutorial and free "Mr. & Mrs." download

Chalkboard + Love = Wedding {bunting}

Planning a wedding and looking for some diy ideas to personalize your special day? Here's a fun little project that you can make in an afternoon. Turn plain canvas bunting into a chalkboard bunting using Martha Stewart's chalkboard paint. Here's how I created mine ... 

Gather your supplies: 3 canvas or linen banners, Martha Stewart’sblack multi-surface chalkboard acrylic craft paint, foam brush, chalk, chalkboard marker, white tracing paper, ribbon or twine, paint brush optional.

Note: my template download was created to fit a large triangle canvas bunting shape - you may need to adjust the size of the template to fit your canvas bunting.

Step 1. Paint both sides of each canvas banner with two or three coats of black chalkboard paint. Allow to dry completely at least 1 hour between coats.

Step 2. Allow paint to cure completely at least 24 hours. Condition chalkboard canvas by lightly rubbing chalk over the surface and wipe with a soft, dry cloth to remove chalk.

Step 3. Download file for type and print out on regular paper. Cut out triangular shapes and place the type templates over each banner. Place tracing paper between the template and canvas banner. Trace the lettering with a pencil.

Step 4. Use a chalk marker to retrace the lettering on each banner. Chalk markers are available in a variety of different sizes. I wanted my chalk lettering to look like calligraphy so I used used a paint brush to apply the liquid chalk. Simply create a “puddle” of chalk liquid by pressing down on the chalkmarker on a smooth surface. You can see my tutorial to do this here.

Step 5. Tie ribbon or twine of your choice to each triangle to create the bunting.

The reason that I like to use chalk markers is that it can be removed with water if you make a mistake while you are working. Once the ink is dry it will not rub off when you touch it.  

Download the template here.

Looking for more diy bunting ideas for your wedding? Check out this post from Weddingbells! It features four more of my diy bunting projects. 

Maybe you are not planning a wedding  but love the idea of chalkboard bunting? Here's another idea for the chalkboard bunting!

I designed this bunting to use in a photograph with my daughters for our holiday cards. It is going to be hanging on the fireplace mantle in our family room very soon! 

I will share the template for the words "twenty thirteen" in my next post if you are interested.