Wait… don’t throw out the paper!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, 5th night of Chanukah or Happy Festivus.

Now that the major activities are over, some of you may be starting to clean up, but don’t throw out that wrapping paper! There is so much you can do with it for activities throughout the year.

What you need:
Your favorite used wrapping paper from this year. (I went with the shiny gold and some red and green tissue)
A paper shredder

What you do:Shred the paper. Yes, it is really that easy.

What to do with the shredded wrapping paper?
Let you imagination do the thinking.

Having a New Years Eve party? Create some confetti bags to hand out – just be prepared to have to clean it all up the next day. I added some sparklers in my little bag here.

Use the confetti on the table as part of your food or drink table décor.

Save the confetti for gift bags throughout the year. This can save you a few bucks when you have to wrap birthday or anniversary gifts. Use the red for Valentine’s Day.

What would you use the wrapping paper confetti for?

Quick and Easy Table Settings

Holiday dinners are just around the corner, some even this weekend. This idea is really an easy and quick way to dress up the table. Your guests will be so impressed and think you spent hours!

What you need:

• Your dinner plates, silverware, wine glasses and napkins




• Chargers (I found mine at both Target and Walmart for 99¢ each)




• Miniature floral arrangements with stem (I found mine at Michaels for $1.99 and 50% off - so a buck a piece)




• Card Stock – one red (or whatever color you are going with) and one a silvery glitter

Step 1: Iron your napkins. It is not so much fun, but non-wrinkled napkins look better and it really does not take that much time.

Step 2: Take one of your miniature floral arrangements and wrap the stem in a circle. You will want to lock the stem within the arrangement.

Step 3: Insert napkin.

Step 4: Take one of your miniature arrangements and cut off the stem (yup, you don’t them for this part).

Step 5: Print your guests' names on the red cardstock. I printed out one sheet of paper using a couple different fonts (so I could play and see which I preferred), size 24.

Step 6: Cut out the names on the red card stock and glue onto the silvery cardstock. The silver should act just as a small border on the name.

Step 7: Insert your name card into the mini arrangement that has the cut off stem – you have now finished your seating arrangements.

Step 8: Put it all together!
Side note here regarding chargers. I have red and silver to show two examples of what the different colors look like. You can have all one color if you prefer or you can alternate colors at your table. If you do option two, make sure you have an even number of guests, otherwise you will have two of the same color next to each other.

This whole project took me no longer than 20 minutes and that was playing with different placements. And it only cost me $2.15/seat plus all items are reusable for next year or any future party!

Are you stuck on a project and need some ideas? Let me know!

My First Post and Flower Arrangement Idea

I am beyond excited to be writing my first post!

I have a request before I begin, while you and or your friends are event planning and you see something that you think is such an amazing idea but you have no idea how to create it, snap a picture and send it to me! I will do my best to show you how to re-create the idea quick, easy and budget conscience.

Let me begin – my work has an annual holiday party for their special guests. This year the party included these amazing centerpieces with orchids. They were perfect for the event and fit in with the “Winter Wonderland” theme.

So many guests commented on them so I thought I would attempt to re-create it so everyone can have some awesomeness in their home this winter.

Because my home is decorated in a lot of red and gold, I decided to change up the color scheme a little bit.

Here are the needed items:

• Vase (look and see what you have, otherwise head to the Dollar Store or to the sale section of Michaels)



• Rocks/Pebbles ($2 – if you go to the Dollar Store, I am sure to can get it for a $1)



• Sticks (Because my backyard is “young” I don’t have many sticks to choose from so I used the trimmed Christmas tree branches)



• Spray Paint (I happened to already have gold, look through your cabinet and see what you have in stock)



• Flowers (I went with red carnations because of the color and the cost $4)



• Shiny wrap (I found shiny wrap at Michaels for 98¢)



• Glittery wrap/Wire Ribbon (on sale at Michaels for $1.50)



• Glue gun

Step 1:
Prep you sticks. I had to trim off the needles from the branches; hopefully you do not need to.

Step 2:
Spray paint your sticks. I went with gold to match the color of my home décor but you can do any color you want!
Step 3:
Wrap your wired ribbon around the vase. This can be a little tricky in measuring and gluing. You want to make sure the two ends of your ribbon line up exactly. Add a little hot glue to the vase and seal one side of the ribbon, add a little more glue on the already applied ribbon and seal the other side. Before sealing the second end, make sure the ribbon is even on all sides!

Step 4:
Cut your shiny wrap into little pieces. I used spray glue and sprayed the braches then sprinkled the shiny wrap on the branches.
Step 5:
Add your rocks.

Step 6:
Add your sticks and flowers. Move branches and flowers around to make your centerpiece balanced.

You are all done. Quick and easy and all for about $10.