Bostonasthma

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Wedding favors are a tradition that allows the bridal couple to make their wedding guests feel special. It is a small way to say thanks for joining in the celebration of their new life together. To make the wedding favors even more personal, some brides choose to make their own bridal favors. Here are some great “Do It yourself” wedding favors that your guests will just love!

DIY Wedding Favor 1: A Spoonful of Love

Materials:
To make these DIY wedding favors you will need 1 silver finish tea spoon, 1 silver heart shaped candy, a 5″ square of silver net and a 3″ piece of silver ribbon.

Method:
Place the candy in the spoon. Wrap the silver net around the spoon and candy and tie with the ribbon. Make a bow to finish with a flourish. Your DIY wedding favors are complete!

You can give these spoonfuls of love to all your guests as wedding favors. If you want to customize these DIY wedding favors you have several options. You can buy ‘Thank you’ printed ribbon, have the heart shaped candy customized with your names or even have the handle of the spoon engraved with a message. Try adding a personalized tag or use ribbon with your names and wedding date imprinted on it to give it a stylish touch.

DIY Wedding Favor 2: Handmade Paper Favors Bag

Materials:
To make these DIY wedding favors you will need a sample paper bag in the size you want, decorative handmade paper, scissors, glue, candy, ribbon (in your favorite color) and matching tulle.

Note: Depending on the size of bag you want, buy as many sheets as required. Sometimes it can be cheaper to buy an entire roll of handmade paper from wholesalers.

Method:
Open the sample paper bag along the stuck edges. Use this as a stencil and trace the outline on the decorative paper. Cut along the outline. Fold and stick as per the sample. Take a square piece of tulle and put some candy on it. Bunch up the edges and tie with the ribbon. Put the candy in the DIY wedding favors bag. Your DIY wedding favors are complete!

The special thing about these DIY wedding favors is that they are extremely versatile and customizable. You can use decorative paper, which matches the color or theme of your wedding. You can even make your own decorative paper (that’s another DIY wedding favors project by itself though!). You can also use the DIY wedding favors bag to hold favors other than candy.

Though DIY wedding favors can take more time then buying them already completed, the extra effort you put into them will be felt by all your guests and make them that much more special. So roll up your sleaves and add that personal touch to your big day!

Andrea Britt is owner of CharmingWeddings.com where you can find elegant, unique wedding favors, bridal shower favors, and wedding planning tips for your wedding reception and bridal shower.

Reprint Rights: Feel free to use this article on your website or online publication. Please remember that you must include the author’s copyright, resource box and live URL links, exactly as shown below, to the authorÂ’s website at the end of the article.

There are many green crafts children can make for Christmas. Not only are they fun and easy, they reuse items you probably have. Make your home sparkle with these fun Christmas ornament crafts for children – and their parents!

Ornaments – Do you have old decorations that have seen better years? Ornaments that are chipped or scratched can be made new and cool again. Try any or all of the following:

Fine glitter. You can use a spray adhesive or thin coat of glue to coat the ornament. Sprinkle the glitter all over. Add a bow at the top for extra color.

Chunky glitter. You will need a stronger adhesive or glue for the chunky glitter. Kids can coat the ornament with a brush and some school (non-toxic) glue. Shake on one or more colors of chunky glitter to cover the ornament. Add a ribbon or Christmas decorative flower at the top.

Glitter patterns. Using a glue stick, make stripes, polka dots, or graphic patterns on your ornament. Sprinkle fine glitter (use your fingers or a pour spout) over the glue area. If you are using multiple colors, put glue in the areas for the first color, then do the second color, and so on. You can also use fine coloured craft sand instead of glitter.

Personalize. Get some gold, silver, red or green permanent markers. Write Christmas sentiments, the family name, Christmas 2009, or make patterns on the ornament.

Decorate it. Cover old ornaments with Christmas confetti, foam felt Christmas shapes, or even gems and rhinestones. Simply glue them on – in a pattern or randomly. You can mix colors and shapes, or make it all the same. Choose decorations in a size to match the ornament (small decorations for small sizes, etc.)

Ribbons & Bows. Use Christmas ribbon – patterns, red, green, gold, etc. Glue the ribbons in a pattern around the ornament. You can make horizontal stripes or crossing vertical ones. Alternate colors and patterns. Tie extra ribbons around the top, either in a bow or curl them.

Paint it. Using acrylic paints, paint over the old ornament. You can do stripes, dots or graphic patterns. You can also paint on snowmen, Christmas trees or snow scenes. Ornaments look best if you spray on a glossy sealer after the paint dries. You can also add glitter over the paint while it is still wet.

Fill it. If you have transparent ornaments, fill them with glitter or confetti, or extra fine potpourri.

Make it. Go for a nice walk in the woods with your kids and gather up some pine cones. You can also pick some mini pine cones to decorate the larger ones. Dry them out and then decorate with Christmas picks or flowers, some white ‘snow’ paint or glitter, and wrap ribbons around (leave extra ribbon at the back to hang the pine cone).

Kids love Christmas, so let them have fun with the decorating. Christmas crafts can also make cute teacher gifts. Pine cones and candy cane reindeer can make nice gift decorations. Making fun crafts, especially green ones, is a great way to spend quality holiday time with the kids.

Janet writes articles and blogs for party ideas and crafts. Visit her blog at http://www.partycrafter.blogspot.com.

If you are a simple kind of gal and enjoy the simplicity of life, then your wedding should represent just that. There are plenty of wedding flower ideas you can work with to create the wedding you always wanted.

In this article we will take a closer look at 3 simple wedding flower ideas for your wedding.

· The Bouquet – The arm bouquet is the simplest of the bridal bouquets. It is a lovely arrangement. It is carried in the crook of the arm by the bride or Maid of Honor and bridesmaids as they walk down the aisle. Similar to how a beauty pageant winner carries their roses after winning the title. It can also be held in the hands by the stem, which is bound together by green tape or crepe paper. You can use as few as one flower or as many as six for this simple bouquet. The bride will usually have six flowers, the maid of honor has four and the bridesmaids will have two or three flowers. The flower girl can also have this type of bouquet with one single flower. That is if you choose to forgo the flower basket filled with petals to be sprinkled down the isle.

· Church/Ceremony – Whether you are getting married in the church your parents were married in or have chosen to have your ceremony under a lovely white tent perched atop the highest hill in your families backyard. The flowers can still be simple and serve their purpose. If the ceremony is being held in a church you can attach one flower to pew closets on the aisle. Tie a nice ribbon around it  with a pipe cleaner and if the stem is green use a green pipe cleaner and no one will ever be the wiser. Try setting it up so the flower and ribbon are facing the aisle and the ribbon should be about six inches long. A long ribbon will give the illusion of a more elegant decoration. Layered ribbons are even nicer, cut one at 4 inches, one at 6 and one at 8 inches long and allow them to flow down the pews. You can do the same thing using chairs. Just attach a thick ribbon to “connect” the chairs (have the guests be seated from the other side that is not near the isle.) Attach the flowers to the ribbon on every other chair.

· Reception – Flower centerpieces seem to be a tradition at weddings. If you choose to go with tradition then you can make some simple yet lovely centerpieces. Almost all dollar stores carry thin vases that are big enough for one or two flowers. Sometimes you can even find colored vases and if they have your wedding color theme all the better. You will want to make three arrangements for each table one for the center which could have three flowers in it and one for each end of the table that could have two flowers each in them. Making your own flowers with crepe paper is quick, easy and affordable. It also allows you to have the “perfect” flower that is the flower you want in the color(s) you want regardless of the season.

By making all your own flowers using crepe paper or mulberry paper and keeping these 3 simple wedding flower ideas in mind your wedding will be simply delightful!

Jane Morris
For the most and best descriptive books on How to Make Paper flowers and flowers for your wedding since the 1920′s go to: http://www.ourpaperflowers.com My goal is to teach all who would like to learn this craft the best and easiest way possible with pictures, patterns and detailed instructions.

Valentine Day is for kids as well as adults. It’s the first major fun holiday since Christmas. Below are several ideas for Valentine arts and crafts that children can make, give and receive. Adult supervision is required when using scissors, hot glue gun or the oven, such as the crayon hearts.

Crayon hearts

These are fun to make and only require an adult to place the muffin tins in the oven and remove them when melted.

You will need: Crayon pieces
Heart shaped metal muffin tin
Cellophane bags
Marker
Colored Card Stock
Scissors
Ribbon
If you don’t have cellophane bags you can use squares of cellophane. You can also use a zip lock bag.

Heat oven to 245 degrees Fill each heart mold muffin tin with chunks of crayon. Bigger chunks are better than smaller chunks. Keep colors complimentary such as white, pinks, reds or opposites like blues and yellows. Bake until melted 10-15 min. Catch any overflow by using a flat cookie sheet underneath the muffin tin. Be careful not to move muffin tin around too much after the crayons have melted. You want nice bright color chunks not mixed together brown.

While crayons are melting, and it doesn’t take very long, let the children color on heart shaped paper.

Let cool, they’ll cool faster in the fridge but remember the more you move the muffin tins the more the colors will mix. Remove hearts from mold.

Cut heart out of card stock write message on back, write “to” and “from.” Place crayon in cellophane bag and tie bag with ribbon hole punch paper heart. Slip onto ribbon and tie a knot.

Suggested messages:
You make my hear melt
You color my world
Color me happy

These make great Valentine gifts for children because they can actually color using the hearts.

Monkey Around
Children love monkeys.

You will need: plastic monkeys. Try the dollar store or online party stores. If you can’t find monkeys you can always buy the game monkeys in a barrel.

Hole Punch
Cellophane or clear gift bag
Ribbon
Marker
Card stock
Scissors

Put one or more monkeys in cellophane bag, tie with ribbon.

Cut a heart out of card stock. (Write message. On back write “to:” and “from:”

Hole punch heart, slip onto ribbon and tie a knot to keep it on.

Suggested Message:
Lets Monkey Around
I’m going Ape over you
Come hang around with me.

Plant One On Me

Children are fascinated by seeds and plants. If possible see if your plant nursery or florist, has a few of the kinds of flowers the children will be planting so they can see what they look like.

You will need: packet of seeds any kind. Big seeds like nasturtiums, sunflowers, or zinnias are easy for children to handle and plant. They also sprout rather easily and quickly.

Colored markers
Terracotta pots, size depends on you
Potting soil enough to fill pots
Scissors
Card stock
Hole punch
Water
Ribbon
Cellophane bags

Have child paint, or marker terracotta pot. Let dry. Put potting soil in pot. Plant seeds. Water. Let drain for 15 minutes or so. Serve refreshments or play a game while the pots are draining.

Place pot in cellophane bag and tie tightly right above the pot so the soil can’t come out. Cut out heart from card stock. Write message “to:” and “from:” on back.

Hole punch heart run through hole and tie tightly around the bag.

Suggested messages:
Plant one on me
Watch our friendship grow
Watch our love grow
Our friendship will flower
Love will blossom

Hope you and your child enjoyed these Valentine day arts and crafts for kids.

Free report 12 months of Party Ideas Kids Find lots of party ideas for birthdays, Valentines, and other special occasions. Dee Power is the co-author of several nonfiction books including “The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success,” “58 Ways to Find Money for Your Business, “Inside Secrets to Venture Capital” and “Attracting Capital From Angels” She and her adult daughter CeCe Jensen enjoy coming up with new party ideas for kids http://www.partyideaskids.com

If you are looking for a unique party favor, guest soap, or maybe just a clever and crafty item to decorate the home with, try this very easy recipe for making a handmade decorative soap that will explode with a lush bouquet of floral fragrance and will impress your guests, gift recipient, or party goers.

You will need the following supplies:

• 2 lb Box – natural Glycerin soap found at most craft stores or online – We chose avocado cucumber
• Plastic Soap Mold – We chose both square & circle shapes with a flower motif 
• Food Coloring – We combined red & blue to make lavender
• Soap Fragrance – We chose a pear berry scent, but you can also mix a variety of different fragrances
• 1 Package of clear lollipop bags – We chose these because of the already built in ribbon
• 1 Piece of decorative scrapbooking paper, 12in. x 12in.
• 1 Piece of plain white scrapbooking paper, 12in.x 12in. – We chose to make our gift tags, but you can also use label stickers instead of making your own
• Raffia ribbon in a coordinating color – 1.5 to 2 yards, or 15 feet
• Crafts Scissors
• Hole Puncher
• Glass Measuring Cup – We used one with a handle for easy pouring
• Wax Paper

Depending on the size of your mold, heat the desired amount of natural Glycerin soap in the microwave.  We used 2 small pieces of soap for a medium size mold. So, for 2 small pieces heat on high for 10 seconds, then 5 seconds intervals until melted.  Note: If you don’t have a microwave, a double boiler can be used.

Add food coloring, 2 – 3 drops per color.  Next, add your soap fragrance, 3-6 drops.  Stir quickly and pour in to your mold and let cool (20-40 minutes). While soaps are cooling, lay a piece of wax paper down on to your work space. Using your thumbs, apply gentle, constant pressure to release from mold.

Wait 1-2 days until soaps are firm before placing in to the clear bags. Now, for a few extra special touches, hand address paper gift tags or pre-made labels/stickers and set aside.  Using your craft scissors, cut decorative scrapbooking paper into strips long enough to wrap around the center of your soap.  Once you have determined the size of your strips, cut raffia ribbon the same length leaving enough so ribbon can be tied in to a bow.

If you are right handed, wrap a strip of decorative paper around the center of the soap & hold in place with your left hand. Using your right hand, wrap the raffia ribbon around and over the top of your strip. If you are left handed, just do the reverse. Before securing the ends of the ribbon, we ran it through the gift tag then tied a bow at the ends. If you decide to do this step, punch a hole through the top of your paper gift tag. 

Gently place your nicely wrapped soap in to the clear lollipop bags and nicely tie the ribbon to create a bow. You now have a truly unique party favor, or unwrapped, an impressive and fragrant home décor item to add to the home.

Linda Johnson is a degreed and experienced crafter and interior decorating specialist, with years of experience helping friends, family, and clients solve their decorating and craft ideas. Find out more craft and decorating ideas, and submit your own great ideas for free by visiting http://www.showcasetoideas.com/

An Unforgettable Wedding Gift – Cake Towel

One of the most remarkable and beautiful wedding gifts I have ever seen was created by one of my sisters for another sister’s wedding. She built a pristine “wedding cake” from white towels and decorated it with ribbons, held in place with pearl pins, and hid a cd in one of the layers, not that anything additional was needed. The “cake” was such a work of art it stole the show from the real cake! Everyone wanted to know who had made it, how long it took, etc, and no one with a camera passed up a chance for a snapshot of it.

Creating a towel cake can be as simple or as complicated as you need it to be. It is easy to make it unique with your own special touches and add personal touches that will make it an unforgettable part of any wedding or shower.

This is easy to make and the bride to be will love the personalized touch! The colors can be coordinated to go with the wedding theme and colors.

Step 1. Roll the Towels

Fold each hand towel in half lengthwise twice. Start with one end and roll the towels together. Set aside. Repeat this process with the wash cloths. Fold each bath towel in half lengthwise and repeat the folding until the width of the towel is roughly 6″. Roll the two towels together in the same way as the hand towels. You should now have the three layers of the cake.

Step 2. Assembling The Layers

I used large wide rubber bands to hold each individual layer together for ease of handling. To decorate choose ribbon in colors that coordinate with the towels or wedding colors. My niece had requested purple towels so I selected a wide white ribbon adorned with pearls. Cut the ribbon into 60″, 40″ and 30″ lengths. Tie the large piece around the bath towels layer and repeat for the other two cake layers. When complete, stack the cake layers starting with the largest layer at the bottom. I used small pins to hold the layers in place. If you do use pins try to place them through the tags on the towels not the towels themselves.

Step 3.

This is the fun part! Use your imagination and decorate with silk flowers, fall leaves or wedding bells. I placed the cake on a footed cake plate for presentation.

These tasteful cakes look so delicious. But please do not eat. It is the soft cotton washing clothes artfully hand wrapped to resemble a tasteful cake. This delicious looking designed favor will make your mouth water, but it is calorie free. They are great for wedding favors, bay showers, gift baskets, Christmas stocking items and all other occasions

Different Towel Cakes for Different Occasions

A towel cake is a unique and creative way to give a Gift for a wedding shower or a housewarming gift. I use matching bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths for the Towel cake. There will be 2 – 30 X 54″ bath towels, 4 – 16 X 26″ hand towels and 3 – 12 X 12 wash cloths. For a romantic theme, I use bath products such as lotions, bubble bath, incense, bath beads and other items. For a bath/kitchen theme, I use wooden spoons, wire wisks, spatulas and other cooking utensils. The color schemes vary and can be specified by the customer. The ribbons used can be specified to be a wedding theme, otherwise the ribbons will be color coordinated to the color of the towels used. The towel cake pictured is a chocolate cake theme. The bottle in the top of the cake is a champaign shaped bottle of scented bubble bath. Additional picture will be posted in the future.

Wedding Towel Cakes are Full of Charming Surprises!

The first thing to consider when makeing wedding towel cakes is what kind of towels to use. The usual “recipe” calls for two bath towels, two hand towels, and two washcloths, all white. But you can adjust towel cakes to include any type or number of towels you want. If you know what color towels the couple would prefer, choose accordingly. Don’t skimp on quality. You’ll only save a few dollars, and the appearance of your towel wedding cakes will suffer.

Decorations for your wedding towel cakes are limited only by your imagination. The tiers of wedding towel cakes would look elegant “belted” with wide ribbon. Or tie smaller bows and pin them here and there. Faux flowers are another possibility. Pearl-topped straight pins inserted around the edges give a finished look, help hold the cake together, and are a gift in themselves. Make sure, though, to warn the recipient of the hazard.

Your finished towel wedding cakes will have to sit on something, and a pretty bath tray would be perfect. You might want to buy the tray before putting the towel cakes together to make sure of a good fit. You could also set the cake on a matching round bath mat or rug. Surround the cake with scented flower-shaped soaps. Tie a bow around the handle of a fancy pumice scrubber and lay it beside the towel cake as a “server.”

Cake Towel Gain More Popularity

Cake towel is practical and yet full of personality; so despite of the price which is a bit higher than traditional wedding gifts, people still prefer it as cute and romantic Wedding Gifts for the once a lifetime occasion.

Currently, towels sold as, for instance, a gift are folded in various manner and arranged in a storage box, and the top side of the storage box is covered with a transparent film, so that the customers can see the arranged towel(s) inside the box through the film, thus drawing the attention of the customers and increase the customer’s desire to purchase. Among these, with the focus on characteristics such as the towel’s texture, thickness, and flexibility, some towels are formed into animals and dolls by way of attaching the towel cloth by sewing or fastening with a pin or the like, thus being offered exclusively as decorations.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for cake-shaped decorative accessories using a towel cloth as a gift or present, and there has been a demand for other types of decorative accessories that have a cake shape.
Traditional wedding gifts such as chocolate gifts are so common that people want to add some personality and uniqueness to their wedding gift; cake towel seems to be a perfect choice.

Looking for something special for your Wedding Gifts? Cake towel is a practical yet romantic Gifts to send in this unforgettable occasion.