Tag Archives: white clay ornaments

READY, SET, WRAP! Placemat Pizzazz

I’m so excited to share this gift wrapping idea! I saw this silver placemat at the dollar store several weeks back when they first put out the holiday collection. I immediately saw its value for adding interest and expanding the size of the focal point on larger presents. I often find it hard to make a large gift look great because no matter what you embellish with, it just seems too small for the large surface area of bigger gifts. Although this particular present isn’t huge (just slightly larger than the diameter of the placemat), it still created a very dramatic look. I love how the design on the placemat almost looks like tiny hearts.

I chose to use a plain white paper because the placemat itself makes quite a statement. I wanted to bring in a splash of colour with the ribbon. As I was creating this look, I kept feeling like it needed something more. I am generally a “less is more” kinda gal, but I definitely broke my rule in this design. In addition to the silver placemat and red/silver ribbon, I also used silver elastic ribbon, black ribbon, DIY white paper ribbon, a red bell with silver ribbon, white netting and wired decorative garland. It may seem a bit over the top, but I really felt like the design could handle multiple elements because of the size of the gift.

Check out my latest video to see how I pulled it all together. I have found a few other styles of placemats since picking this one up and can’t wait to use them in future designs…oh the possibilities!

Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!

Happy Wrapping!

READY, SET, WRAP! Wintery Woodlands

In today’s gift wrapping tutorial, you will see how contemporary elements can be combined with more natural looking embellishments to create a classy Christmas gift look. I found this awesome silver/white woodgrain paper (at Superstore I think??). I feel like wood grain and silver aren’t really an expected combo, but the paper made a great starting point for this wintery design.

MATERIALS:

  • woodgrain gift wrap (silver/white)
  • green canvas-like fabric ribbon
  • white iridescent curly ribbon
  • silver wired snowflake garland
  • floral pick (pine sprig)
  • DIY white clay gift tag/ornament with DIY wood grain stamp to emboss the surface (If you wish to make your own, check out my previous post.) Otherwise, use a purchased gift tag or store bought embellishment….just be sure to stay true to the design.

Procedure:

Find the middle of your ribbon and wrap both ways across the gift (cross formation). Tie a knot with the bottom piece of ribbon in the knot. (I hate the look of the bottom piece being completely flat along the top.) Lay the cut wire across the knot followed by the white ribbon and sprig of greenery. Tie to secure. Loop the ornament and tie to secure. Use the green base ribbon to tie a traditional style bow over the embellishment to hold in place. Play with the design to create dimension and a balanced look. Have 57 seconds? Check out my latest video tutorial to see how easily this look can be created!

Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!

DIY White Clay Gift Tags

I love the look of salt dough ornaments and have certainly used salt dough for projects in the past, but I was intrigued when I came across this recipe from Tips From a Typical Mom. It’s unlike any recipe I’ve ever used, but I had an ample supply of both cornstarch and baking soda, so thought I’d give it a whirl. Although the ingredients are different, the procedure reminded me of my favourite cooked play dough recipe. The dough is super easy to make and very user friendly. I opted to bake my ornaments/tags, but she suggests air drying as an option, as well. I love how the colour turns out to be a very pure white and I didn’t have any issues with the dough itself.

White Clay Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup baking soda
  • 3/4 cup water
  • You can add food colouring if you want….but why would you? White rules!

    • Materials:

    I used a variety of cookie cutters for the tags. I just picked up the two green ones from Michael’s and they are pretty cool because they cut the shape and emboss the surface at the same time!
    • rolling pin
    • cookie cutters
    • DIY homemade woodgrain stamp (see video)

    Procedure:

    Place the ingredients in a pot and stir over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken.  Stir constantly to avoid scorching. When it appears smooth, like mashed potatoes, remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth to cool. Knead it on a smooth surface (I use my silicone mat for this.) Add more cornstarch if it is too sticky to work with.

    Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Roll out the dough to approximately 1/4″ thick and use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make a hole at the top of each tag/ornament.

    This is when I added texture to some of my shapes using my DIY wood grain stamp. I love the subtle look of the wood grain on the plain white ornaments. Of course, this step is optional, but it was easy to make the stamp and could probably be used with different mediums (although I haven’t yet tried it). When using the stamp to imprint the dough, you do not need to add much pressure and don’t worry if you apply it unevenly. The imperfection is what makes it look great!

    Bake for 30 minutes, turn and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

    Once cooled, thread a string through the hole. If you opt to use the ornaments as a gift tag, just write your message on the bag with a Sharpie! So cute! These gift tags could easily be reused for immediate family. If you opt to “gift” them, you may want to add the date to the back, as they make a nice keepsake.

    Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!