Creative Gift Wrapping

I love finding unique ways of wrapping gifts. It just seems to make the gift a little more special and personal. I don't like spending a lot of money on gift wrapping, though, so I try

to come up with ways to use the things that I already have on hand creatively. This project can be adapted to many different styles, and is ideal if you need to mail the presents and worry about bows getting crushed. There are no bows here, but I don't think anyone's going to miss them.

After wrapping in your choice of paper, measure a length of ribbon around the width of the package, and snip with just a small overlap. I always save short lenghts of ribbon and these will usually work here unless you happen to have an oversized box.

Now take the length of ribbon and fold it in half.

Then using a hole punch, create a hole in the center of the ribbon. You can also snip a small hole with scissors if you don't have a hole punch handy.

Set this ribbon aside.

Now take another scrap of ribbon, about 12 inches in length and fold in in half. Tie a knot at the folded end as shown.

Now thread the folded and knotted ribbon through the hole in the first ribbon.

Wrap the first ribbon around the package with the "tail" that you just threaded through centered on the front. Secure on the back with tape or hot glue; thread a tag onto the ribbon "tail" as shown, tie a bow, and you're done!

I like to make my own tags by cutting out pieces of the wrapping paper or even pictures from magazines and pasting them to cardstock with decoupage medium or thinned white craft glue.


These are a few other packages that I've wrapped in this manner. I think my favorite is the one wrapped in newsprint with a dog photo cut from a magazine as a tag. Happy wrapping!

Until next time,

Dawn and Dusk

The skies here in Maine have been especially beautiful as of late, so I thought I'd share with you, a photo collage of some pictures I've taken recently at dawn and dusk.

Here's wishing for you many beautiful days!

Until next time,

Project: Easy Planters from Flea Market Finds

This is the time of year that most nurseries put their annuals on sale. Sometimes you can pick up some incredible bargains, but by now, most of your flower pots and planters may already be in use. Here are a couple of fun, easy, and inexpensive ideas for transforming some of your flea market finds into clever planters.

I found this pretty old silverplate chafing dish for $1.00 at a local flea market. While it would certainly serve its original purpose, I decided that it would be more fun and practical to repurpose it.

Silver Chafing Dish Planter

To begin the project, remove the bowl and turn it upside down on a towel. Using a large nail and a hammer, punch holes in the bottom of the bowl. You could also use a drill with a bit for metal to make the holes.

Once the holes are in place, return the bowl to its normal place above the water reservoir. This will serve as a "saucer" to hold water that drains from the plant.

Now for the fun part! Fill with potting soil and the flowers or plants of your choice.

And now for the lid! Just add a plate hanger. The lid will be a clever and unusual accent to any wall, indoors or out!
And here's another idea. This one's even easier. Just fill an old colander with potting soil and plants. The colander makes a great planter because it already has plenty of drainage holes! You'll want to place it in another container to catch excess water. I used yet another flea market find, and old enamelware bowl.

Once you get started, you'll see lots of potential planters all around. Just about anything that will hold soil and accomodate drainage holes will work. I'd love to see what you're doing. If you'd like to email some pictures (see my profile for email address), they just might wind up featured in a future blog entry. Happy creating!

Until next time,

Wildflower or Weed?

I love the wildflowers here in Maine.  Even many of the ones that most people consider to be weeds.  Take this one for example.  I'm not certain as to what it is (most people call it a milkweed because of its milky stem), but it is one of my favorites.

I love the large purple flowerheads that begin dotting the perimeter of my yard in early July.  What I love most, though, is the sweet, heady fragrance that it exhudes.  I think it is reminiscent of a lilac in both scent and intensity of fragrance.  I just cut a bouquet of these and placed it in the living room.  I can smell them all the way across the room, and by tomorrow the whole house is likely to be perfumed by these lovely "weeds".

Whatever they are, they attract more than their share of bees and butterflies.  I like them!  I think the happy bee below would agree!


I hope you're having a delightful holiday weekend.
Until next time,

Old Photos

Today, I spent time trying to wrap up some open-ended projects, all revolving around photos. One of my plans is a update for my photo wall. I'm planning to use gold metallic or black painted frames to highlight a collection of black and white images so I've been painting frames that I've collected from here and there to get them ready for some art. I've put together a photo collage of some of the prints that I'll be using. Some are of family; some of pets. By the way, that's me on the bottom left. I hope you enjoy the pics.


Until next time,