PRETTIE...VINTAGE PAPER FLOWER WREATH

My love of Vintage imagery is not just relegated to children's books, wrapping paper and gift cards from the late 1940's - early 1960's.....Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to find quite a few Vintage Sewing Patterns at my local Thrift stores.

Once I have scanned and cleaned up my favorite images....

I am left with quite a stash of often unused very pretty pattern paper.....which until recently I was unsure what to do with other than wrap a few choice goodies for friends with.

After making a few hundred paper flowers for my best friends wedding a year ago, (using this tutorial) and reams of purchased tissue paper - I had my "light bulb" moment. One thing let to another and my stash was quickly put to good use....I absolutely LOVE the random-ness of the printed directions and pattern pieces integrating with the kraft|brown.


One of my favorite crafting projects is to make one of a kind seasonal or celebratory wreaths which usually involve alot of tulle and/or tarnished glass christmas ornaments. For this wreath I decided to use a few (approx 120 - yikes!) of my Vintage pattern flowers and some Ivory tulle cut into 1 inch "ribbons" to make my now favorite and year round wreath.....


Basically I used about 40 of each flowers in 3, 3 1/2 and 4" sizes and tightly "packed" and hot glued them onto a 20" wire wreath frame in 3 layers. In between every 2 or 3 flowers I tied my tulle strips as a lite accent which also helped to "break" up the tone and texture of the pattern tissue paper.

The backside looks pretty messy and busy and I should have spray painted the wire frame a neutral ivory color but....hanging on the front of a decorative wall piece over my entryway mantle - no one can tell!

This entire project involved a significant time investment and the finished wreath is a substantial 24" in diameter ..... but it is a permanent fixture that has and will give me great pleasure and satisfaction for years to come. It is also used and loaned out (to worthy and carefully screened friends!) on occasion as a decorative accent for special events and celebrations. How lovely would a wreath similar to this look at your birthday party or wedding!?! Linking this project to: Tea Rose Home, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Whipperberry, Thirty Hand Made Days, The Shabby Nest, Common Ground, Farmhouse Friday, French Country Cottage

CHRISTMAS GRANOLA GIFTS

My family and close friends and neighbors will be receiving this granola packaged and ready for Christmas Morning!

CHRISTMAS GRANOLA (makes @ 12 Cups or fills 2 1lb Coffee Tie Top Bags)

• 4 Cups of old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 Cups of sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 Cups of sliced raw almonds
• 1 1/2 Cups of cashews
• 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup of honey (or maple syrup)
• 1/2 Cup of vegetable oil
• 2 Cups of craisins
• 2 cups of semisweet milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
• Toss the oats, coconut, cashews, almonds and brown sugar together in a large bowl
• Wisk together the vegetable oil and honey (or maple syrup) in a small bowl
• Pour the liquids over the oat mix and stir with a spatula until all the mix is coated
• Pour half the oat mix onto each baking sheet
• Bake and stir occasionally every 5 - 10 mins until the oat mix turns a nice even golden brown (about 30 mins)
• Remove the mix from the oven and let cool, stirring occasionally
• Add the craisins and chocolate chips
• Store the granola in an airtight container until ready to eat or package

Play around with this recipe and add or substitute some of your own favorite ingredients!! I will be packaging the Christtmas Granola in Chinese Take out containers and in Coffee Tin Tie Top bags depending on the size of the family...

Gift tags can be printed out on cardstock or sticker paper and embellished with twine, ribbon, crepe paper or flowers..... download here!

PRETTIE...THANKS TAGS

Our family have so many reasons to give "Thanks" this year and we are especially grateful for the blessings and support of good friends and neighbors - especially when family is far away. I am going to help celebrate the season and say "thanks" to let them know in a small way that they are appreciated by all of us - by making this fabulous Dark Chocolate Bark (only 5 ingredients + you can freeze it for up to a month if you needed too!)

After the chocolate hardens I am going to break up into big chunks to put in cellophane bags and package inside these decorated Kraft gift boxes with this "thanks" tag - which you can use to give your own "thanks" to somebody special any time throughout the year...... Download here...

PRETTIE...EMBELLISHMENTS

How gorgeous are these paper embellishments from here? I would love to decorate some of my kraft gift packages with any or all of these goodies or make a lovely garland with those butterflies!! These yellow and light green hues are fantastic - they are also available in blue, peach, orange and red too!

Sasha of The Gilded Bee is a tremendously talented and generous crafter. She created this paper carnation tutorial which is posted on one of my other favorite blogs Oh Hello Friend... These flowers are make perfect year round or seasonal home decor accents and will look lovely on some of my gift packaging as well! Click on the link/s above and get "lust" in her nostalgia and use of color too!

PRETTIE ....TREAT TAGS

We are starting to think about Halloween and our neighborhood will soon be rampant with kids ding-dong ditching and leaving treats at the door. I made these vintage flashcard inspired tags last year for my girlfriend who tied to a pack of Halloween oreos and delivered to each of her 3 sons friends - My boys gave out packets of ghost marshmallows with hot coco mix tied together with twine. This year I have made little cello bags of Creepy Crawlies for the older kids which I have used before as cup cake toppers, treat embellishments and in multiple craft projects - the cockroach will be the perfect "trick" to leave on my unassuming teenagers lunch one day!!

These are just 4 different ways to use the same tags in your packaging using (my favorite!) simple supplies. I am a huge fan of Japanese masking tape (top left), but regular masking tape (bottom left) is a perfect design element and hole reinforcer too! I used the same tags on the right but just trimmed to size and tied with cotton twine and wrinkled seam binding. Vintage paper lace is my favorite way to embellish the "plainest" of packages and usually reserved for special treats!

If you would like to downlad these tags for yourself, just click HERE....enjoy!

PRETTIE...SUPPLIES

Nutcups are the perfect party accessory! The come in a variety of sizes, shapes and forms and have a multitude of uses! Use them as placecard or napkin holders on your tabletop, fill them with ice-cream, candies or dipping sauces, use them as baking cups or to hold party favors. You can always personalize and decorate them to match your occasion and theme too!

White Vintage Nut Baskets from Wee Treasures Blue Polka Dot Nut Cups from Hey Yo Yo, Plastic Nut Baskets from SimplyChictiques and Pink Pastel Paper Nut cups from Carmelos. Do you have any other great ideas?

This sweet spring nut cup basket is from The Adventures of Blue Girl who also has a great tutorial to go along with it!

PRETTIE...PACKAGING

I am always on the lookout for and inspired by nostalgic packaging - kraft supplies and design sources are always on my to find list as well. The Packagery is a truly lovely store filled with simplistic elements that will make your packaging and paper projects stand out! I just like to look at the Cherry Manilla gift kit that I purchased and already assembled and have sitting out on my workstation!

These are a few of my other favorites that you can find in her store. The pink heart envelope seal stickers are definitely one of my next purchases!

PRETTIE VINTAGE ..PACKAGING

Summer is definately in full swing - our schedules sometimes seem hectic but there is still plenty of time for laziness and a little organization on my part. I recently scooped up an intact collection of Ruffles and Bows Birthday Cards - I raided my stash of kraft gift bags, tissue paper, my Hug Snug Binding and put these together for two girlfriends whose birthdays are coming up very soon. Giftwrap showcases the gift being given but I like original packaging and/or design to show a little more thoughtfullness and care...I love that these bags are one of a kind, simplistic and very prettie! The super fine vintage shred you can find here

Please feel free to download the images below and use for your own prettie packaging! What are some prettie packaging ideas that you have?!?