Family Resources Kid's Resources
Family Support
The Parlor Join us on our message boards for conversation, introductions, support, encouragement and chit chat. Stop by and introduce yourself Here!
Recipes
Tea
Crafts
Garden
Forums
Fun Holiday Gift Wrapping
By Brenda Hyde
Ah, gift wrapping...are you a fancy wrapper? Or do you
go more for the whimsical approach? I'm a little bit of
both, with some rustic charm thrown in. First of all, I
firmly believe that kids should be involved in wrapping.
We have gifts they help choose and wrap, and then gifts
I choose and wrap. My husband throws in wisdom on
both counts! So today I have gift wrapping ideas for
everyone, and in all styles...
KID WRAPPING
*White tissue paper: I buy the BIG bundle at Sam's Club
for less than $5.00 of white only for year round wrapping.
We let all three kids stamp the paper with potato stamps.
This year we cut out stars and angels. We also cut a
carrot in half and I made crisscross cut lines in the top-
leaving it round. I patted it dry and they stamped with it.
It looked a little like a round snowflake! Be prepared to
have places for the paper to dry. Rope tied up tight
enough for the paper to hang on works, or the shower
curtain rod...or lots of cupboard space.
*White and brown lunch bags: BIG hit with the kids. We
cut the tops with decorative scissors. Armed with a hole
punch, twine (jute) and ribbon they made their own handles.
Then I had white glue and more ribbon, craft sticks, foam
snowflakes and sequins. All of this leftover from various
crafts throughout the year. The kids decorated 15 bags!
Other ideas:
*Brown craft paper stamped with rubber stamps or left
plain, then use natural raffia, gold ribbon or other gold
package toppers to decorate.
*Country themed fabric or plain muslin, tied with bows
made out of ripped fabric in coordinating colors. Great
for gift baskets! Tie on a cinnamon ornament too. If
you don't want to cover the entire basket, just cover
the gifts in the fabric and tie with a ribbon, then put it
in the basket. Place a bow on the basket itself and
the tag.
*Plain colored paper-use any color, and decorate the
packages with paper doilies. Small ones to put on
top of the package with a bow in the middle or big
ones to put on each side and then have them meet
in the middle, or cut shapes out of the doilies and
glue on the package! Buy colored doilies and use to
decorate the brown or white craft paper.
*One year I bought plain brown gift bags in bulk
and decorated them myself with ribbon, markers,
and cutouts from Christmas cards. I used pretty
colored tissue paper to loosely wrap the gifts and
let it stick out the top.
SUBSCRIBER TIP:
This year my daughter and I cut off the end of a whole celery stalk and
used the end that remains intact (the part that usually goes to the
compost) to stamp on brown wrapping paper with red craft paint. It
looked like roses all over. Didn't go back over it with green leaves
because of time but that would make it look even more like roses.
Thanks for the effort you put into your production. ~Michelle
About The Author
Brenda Hyde is a freelance writer living on ten acres in rural Michigan with her husband and three kids. Stop by and visit her garden blog, Garden of Grace & Whimsy, and her photography blog, A Dance of Words & Photos.
SeptemberLady "Born and have lived in Southern MD most of my life. My husband and I just finished building a new home on the family farm, where I hope to retire in the near future.
My interests: Doll collecting, cookbook collector (especially old ones), antiques, family/friend get-togethers, cooking/baking, flower and vegetable gardening, bird-watching."
Memorial Day: Backyard Grilling Memorial Day signals the start of barbecue season. Everyone wants to light that fire and charcoal that first meal. A few tips might pre- vent your entree from becoming a "Burnt Offering."
Read these tips for plenty of grilling ideas, make this year's barbecue perfect!
Growing and Using Garlic Chives Garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, is a hardy perennial (Zones 3-9) that will grow to about 12 inches high. The stems are skinnier and flat, instead of hollow as are regular chives, with greenish white blooms that are about an inch wide and not as rounded. They bloom in the summer rather than spring. The bloom stalks grow much taller than the leaves, sometimes up to 30 inches.
The stems and blooms are both edible and have a mild garlic onion taste. I've noticed many writers will list this as primarily as an Asian herb, as they are also known as Chinese chives, Chinese leeks, ku chai (China) or Nira (Japan), but it has many other uses as well!
The Perfect Porch Swing Perhaps it is the soothing rhythm or the reassuring creak of the porch swing that attracts us. Perhaps it is the companionable silence or quiet conversation. Or maybe swings simply remind us of more genteel times.
Although porch swings can be purchased in a wide range of materials, the most common are wicker and wood. You can also make your own porch swing from one of the myriad of woodworking patterns available at garden centers, hardware stores, or on the Internet.
*White tissue paper: I buy the BIG bundle at Sam's Club
for less than $5.00 of white only for year round wrapping.
We let all three kids stamp the paper with potato stamps.
This year we cut out stars and angels. We also cut a
carrot in half and I made crisscross cut lines in the top-
leaving it round. I patted it dry and they stamped with it.
It looked a little like a round snowflake! Be prepared to
have places for the paper to dry. Rope tied up tight
enough for the paper to hang on works, or the shower
curtain rod...or lots of cupboard space.
*White and brown lunch bags: BIG hit with the kids. We
cut the tops with decorative scissors. Armed with a hole
punch, twine (jute) and ribbon they made their own handles.
Then I had white glue and more ribbon, craft sticks, foam
snowflakes and sequins. All of this leftover from various
crafts throughout the year. The kids decorated 15 bags!
Memorial Day: Backyard Grilling
Growing and Using Garlic Chives
The Perfect Porch Swing