More Style Than Cash

Re-cap - Day 69

By Ingrid Talpak on October 17, 2012 5:09 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Once again it is time to recap what has been going on the last 9 days.

I wrote a lot about getting prepared for wrapping your gifts and everything that you would need for it.

Now is a great time to look for those bits and pieces that you will be needing to make your gift wrapping easy and effortless.

Getting all the little things out of the way now will help you enjoy the season more with your family latter.

Continue reading Re-cap - Day 69.

Printable Gift Box Pdf - Day 70

By Ingrid Talpak on October 16, 2012 5:00 AM | 6 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Here is an idea if you are planning to give several people the same small gift.

I love to give out small little gifts and designed this gift box a few years ago.

The box itself is easy to make from a single sheet of card stock and the wrapping paper is just printer paper with the word Enjoy printed on in script.

A little bit of gold curling ribbon and a very simple card made from white printer paper finishes off the elegant presentation.

These are quick and easy to make and I now always keep a few on hand that I can use at the last minute. I have a printable pdf of both the box and the wrapping paper.

Continue reading Printable Gift Box Pdf - Day 70.

Templates for Small Boxes - Day 71

By Ingrid Talpak on October 15, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

If you are planning to give several people the same small gift then it is very useful to know how to make small boxes.

Generally you should be making them with card stock as paper is just not strong enough to hold even the lightest gift.

Many small boxes only take one sheet of card stock to make so they are fast and inexpensive to put together.

Continue reading Templates for Small Boxes - Day 71.

Free Boxes for Christmas Gifts and Mailing - Day 72

By Ingrid Talpak on October 14, 2012 5:00 AM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Sometimes you can find the perfect gift but it comes with out a box.

That is even more frustrating if it is going to be a gift that you were planning to send through the mail.

For a special gift I don't mind spending a dollar or two at a party supply store to buy a box but those gift boxes wouldn't be strong enough to send through the post.

The cost of sturdy boxes can be surprisingly pricey especially if you are buying a lot of them. There are ways to save when you need a box.

This is a trick that I have used for years to send out parcels through the mail and is very handy at Christmas.

Continue reading Free Boxes for Christmas Gifts and Mailing - Day 72.

What Else You Need for Gift Wrapping - Day 73

By Ingrid Talpak on October 13, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

There always seems to be other bits and pieces that you need to wrap your presents. You have your wrapping paper, bows (or gift toppers) and gift tags and you would think that you are ready to go.

But have you remembered to buy scotch tape (because you don't want to try sealing your gifts with post-it notes or safety pins - trust me).

So here is a list of items that, you should have, and a few things, you might find useful, to have around when you begin to wrap your gifts.

Continue reading What Else You Need for Gift Wrapping - Day 73.

Christmas Gift Tags - Day 74

By Ingrid Talpak on October 12, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Gift tags, those tiny little scraps of decorative paper that can be totally bland or add sparkle to your gift. You really do need them, not only to know who to give your gifts to, but so the person that receives them knows who to thank.

At the least they should be a properly cut square or rectangular piece of paper but they can be little works of art if you have either the time or money to put into them.

You have plenty of time that if you enjoy doing crafts this is one of the ones you can take your time and start making now. Don't leave these to the last minute or you might be running around desperately trying to find a pen that works and a clean sheet of paper to make tags from.

Continue reading Christmas Gift Tags - Day 74.

Christmas Ribbons, Bows and Gift Toppers - Day 75

By Ingrid Talpak on October 11, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

You now know where the Christmas wrap is so start hunting down the ribbon, bows and gift toppers. Is it all there? Is it all usable? Do you need to find other ideas?

While there might be some sort of minimalistic chic to a present that is just wrapped with decorative Christmas wrap there is something more special about any gift that has a bow or topper on it.

That added touch is so simple to put on and can take a gift from looking ordinary to extraordinary.

Continue reading Christmas Ribbons, Bows and Gift Toppers - Day 75.

Checking Your Wrapping Paper - Day 76

By Ingrid Talpak on October 10, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

If you have a bin full of Christmas wrapping paper already to go then good on you.

If you think that you might have some stored away because you are pretty sure you picked some up during the after Christmas sales then maybe you should take a minute to check if you do.

If you are the type of person that has to buy wrapping paper every year on the 23rd of December because you don't know, can't find, or just don't remember where the wrapping paper is then definitely, take a while and go look.

Beautifully wrapped gifts can really add to the excitement of Christmas but if you are un-organized and un-prepared it can be quite stressful trying to get your gifts wrapped in time.

Continue reading Checking Your Wrapping Paper - Day 76.

Planning Your Wrapping Center - Day 77

By Ingrid Talpak on October 9, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Want to see all of 99 Days to Christmas that has been posted so far? Go here.

In movies gift wrapping seems to be this delicate event full of joy and happiness done in pristine homes that often have their own wrapping rooms.

In real life wrapping gifts can be a bit messy as you never seem to have enough space to do it.

While the kitchen table would be ideal you don't want anyone to see what your wrapping so either you end up doing it on the carpet in your bedroom or on the basement floor.

If your wrapping supplies have to be available to the other members of your family as well any system you have, with your gift paper, ribbons, bows and gift cards, has to be easy to maintain and easily accessible.

Continue reading Planning Your Wrapping Center - Day 77.

The One Thing You Have to Do Now If You Are Having A Christmas Party - Day 78

By Ingrid Talpak on October 8, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

So you have decided that you are definitely going to have a party, you have a pretty good idea of what kind of party it is going to be and you are already running a guest list through your head.

There is one thing that you have to do now before you go any further to make sure that this party actually happens.

You have to pick a date. Easy you think? Maybe. The holiday season is actually quite short and there are only so many weekends in a month. You need to check your own calendar to see when you are available before you start any planning.

Continue reading The One Thing You Have to Do Now If You Are Having A Christmas Party - Day 78.

Re-cap - Day 79

By Ingrid Talpak on October 7, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Every ten days or so I am going to be re-capping the 9 previous articles so if you have missed a few days you can quickly catch up. While at this point Christmas is still months away you shouldn't think that you can put things off everything until latter.

It is best to deal with things a little at a time because you never know what curve balls might be thrown at you as Christmas gets closer (and then you will find that you are really strapped for time.)

Getting a few of the smaller chores out of the way is going to save you a lot of time and effort latter in the season when you want to be enjoying yourself.

Continue reading Re-cap - Day 79.

Your Party at Home - Day 80

By Ingrid Talpak on October 6, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

You've thought it through and what you would really like is to have a Christmas party in your own home.

While you can do a party on a shoe string you still do need some cash. How do you have a marvelous time at a party and make sure that you don't go over board on the budget?

There are ways to trim the costs and still have a great party.

Continue reading Your Party at Home - Day 80.

Thanksgiving Place-cards - Printable

By Ingrid Talpak on October 5, 2012 2:41 PM | 1 Comment | 0 TrackBacks

Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend and I have designed this cute little Thanksgiving Place card for the table.

The nice thing about having Thanksgiving so much earlier than American Thanksgiving is often the weather is still beautiful and we get to enjoy the amazing color of the autumn leaves.

The image on this place-card is from a cookbook from the 19th century.

Continue reading Thanksgiving Place-cards - Printable.

Taking Your Party on the Road- Day 81

By Ingrid Talpak on October 5, 2012 9:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Yesterday I asked you to think about your perfect party, what would you want it to be.

While yesterday the sky was the limit and you could have anything you wanted, today I want you to keep the essence of your perfect party intact but maybe think outside the box on how you could achieve what you want.

What ever you thought of yesterday I want you to take that as your starting point and start making some plans.

Continue reading Taking Your Party on the Road- Day 81.

Party, Party, Party - Day 82

By Ingrid Talpak on October 4, 2012 9:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Since we were talking about Halloween parties yesterday what about Christmas?

Have you always dreamt of holding a really wonderful party over the Christmas season?

Do you have great plans to do it but then never get around to doing anything about it?

Or do you leave it too late and find out that the very people that you want to invite had made plans ages ago.

What kind of party did you have in mind? There are so many different options of entertaining over the Christmas season that there is a style of party for almost every time of day. Today why don't you sit back and consider the type of Christmas party you would like to hold.

Continue reading Party, Party, Party - Day 82.