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Memorable wedding favors are great, but when they are packaged just right, they are even better. Gorgeous packaging is especially useful for when your favors are the consumable kind. They eat the candy, but can not bear to throw away the box. It gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘souvenir’. Here are a few great tips for your wedding favor packaging.

Specially-Crafted Packaging

There are so many boxes out there: corrugated boxes, hexagonal boxes, flower-topped boxes, boxes covered in velvet, boxes with pillowed lids, of different colors, plaids and stripes. Cellophane bags, colored and clear, and even heart-shaped plastic bags look great when you want to show off what goes inside, though specially designed paper bags are available too. Usually, these crafted boxes, bags, and pouches have their own built-in mechanisms of sealing and unsealing and usually make wedding favor wrapping hassle free.

Homemade Packaging

Are special boxes and pouches too expensive for your wedding budget? Go DIY and make goody bags out of scratch. Get those small craft envelopes for flat tokens and hold the package together with brown string, and then insert some daisies in the string for effect. Or purchase the more expensive sandwich bags (no, not the Ziploc ones!), drop some candy or cookies inside, and tie the bag closed with a pretty, colorful ribbon. Some craft books can teach you how to make small boxes; get colorful, yet hardy paper from your local bookstore and start folding and cutting to make your wedding reception zing!

Ribbons and accents

Now that you’ve got those bags and boxes ready, you can then close them up and top them off with your choice of ribbons and accents. Punch out holes at the top of your paper bag, run ribbons through them and make a bow to seal your wedding favor. Choose ribbons according to your wedding color scheme, they come in all sorts of lovely colors and widths and you can even do all sorts of color combinations. Be sure to keep the ribbons short, according to the size of your favor; extra long ribbons always bring to mind the phrase “Less is more.” Ribbons are pretty on their own, but you can top them with small accents, such as seashells, especially if it’s a beach wedding, and pretty plastic hearts. More popular without ribbons are flowers. Paper or silk flowers atop a pouch or a box are quite charming decorative accents for your wedding reception.

Don’t Forget to Sign The Favors

Don’t forget to tag your wedding favors with a ‘Thank You’ card bearing your signature as bride and groom and the date of the wedding ceremony. Cards can be handwritten, though if your own scripting skills don’t come up to par, you can ask help from a friend skilled in calligraphy. Of course, if your guest list goes off to the hundreds, you should ideally get your cards done professionally. Since you are there, try out embossed printing for that textured look. Get the writing on the card to match the color of your wedding favor packaging, although you can never go wrong with traditional black on white.

L Hayes is a wedding professional and owner of Wedding Favors Emporium. They carry an extensive line of unique wedding favors. They offer many popular gift ideas such as place card holders, practical wedding favors, and bridesmaid gifts. For more information about wedding favor packaging, wedding planning, or wedding reception ideas, visit their website.

When Red Ribbon Week started back in 1988 it was to honor a young DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Agent by the name of Enrique Camarena. His friends knew him by the name of “Kiki”. He was kidnapped and killed in Mexico back in 1985. He had uncovered a multi-billion dollar drug scam which might have involved the Mexican Army, police force and government. When he left his office one day, five men kidnapped him. He was found about a month later buried in a shallow grave. He had been tortured and beaten.

In 1988 the U.S. Congress proclaimed the first Red Ribbon Week supporting the cause that “Kiki” had given his life for. It is one of the first times that ribbons were used to support a cause, the fight against drugs. Now ribbons are used all the time to show support such as, for missing children, fights against diseases, and support our military.

Many teachers were around when this first happened and they were concerned about teaching about drugs in the classroom. This was not their area of expertise. On the other hand they could see that in ten years this might be a requited subject so they started preparing for what they felt was the inevitable.

Teachers started gearing up for what they knew was coming. They started to take classes and educate themselves about drugs. These drugs were foreign to them and they needed time to learn about the causes of drug abuse and the effects and results of drug abuse. Teachers started implementing their own programs or programs offered by the states so that they might get ahead of the problem. They found ways to teach children about alcohol, smoking, and drugs. They implemented lessons into their science and health lessons. They role played and did demonstrations.

In my classroom I found that having a play / skit about drugs brought the children a sense of ownership and they wanted to pass on their knowledge to their friends and peer groups. This they did by putting on plays and skits in assemblies for the whole school. Audience participation was a must and the students looked forward to participating.

Sometimes the best way to attack a problem is with a sense of humor so such a scary subject does not seem over whelming to a child. Thus, humor was incorporated into the plays and skits to soften the hard message that needed to be given.

Using fun plays, skits, and programs during Red Ribbon Week is a way to get students involved in the fight against drugs. Audience participation encourages all who are there to stand up and be counted in the fight against drugs. Just as “Kiki” stood up and had the courage to fight even though he died in doing so. His legacy lives on in Red Ribbon Week and in the DARE programs that are used through this country.

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Decorating your table for Christmas can be as simple or as elaborate as you want to make it. But, there is one primary secret to Christmas table decorations you should always follow.

By adhering to this simple secret it will make your table décor far more appealing while at the same time making your job easier. By ignoring this concept your table-decorating plan can completely fall apart.

So what’s the secret? Well it’s simple. All you have to do is decide upon a specific color theme and design theme, then stick to it.

Let me explain…

Do you want a particular color or colors? People, who especially love Christmas, still rely on the old stand-bys. I will admit that red, green, white, gold and silver are still my favorites and probably always will be.

Perhaps you’re in the mood for a wintery look. Simple. Just use white, blue, light shades of purple and you’re on your way. Along with candles you can add ornamental snowflakes, little snowmen, or strands of clear beads or snowy white garlands.

If you have a color scheme in your home that you would like to play off of, then that can make it even simpler. You can always find candles, ribbons, napkins, beads, etc. online or at the store. Add touches of winter greenery or tiny Christmas trees to solidify the look.

A Christmas wreath laid in the center of the table can be the beginning of a perfect centerpiece. It can be decorated with any object you may want to use as a theme. If you have no theme in mind other than something special, then ribbons and bows can always come to the rescue. Inside the wreath, place a large candle or several tapers. The tapers can be the same height or differing heights. The choice is yours. Just make certain that the flames or hot wax do not come in contact with anything that could cause a fire. I was at a dinner party once where that happened. We certainly had a lively Christmas party that night!

Hurricane lanterns placed in a row down the center of the table can take the place of a traditional centerpiece. Stemware filled with beads, nuts, berries, glass marbles, or any small festive objects can be used as well. You can use themed pieces to decorate in between. We’ll use Christmas bells as our example of a theme. Bells can be purchased in packages or they can be purchased already strung on wire. If they are on wire, they can be wrapped around the base of the hurricane lanterns, or you can attach them to ribbon and wrap the ribbon around the lanterns. Long strands of ribbon and beads can flow around the decorations.

Continue to carry out your theme with your table napkins. Use two napkins of different colors for each place setting. Place one napkin on top of the other. You can roll them separately or roll them together, but the important thing is to tie them together. Tie them with a beautiful wired ribbon with the bell attached to the ribbon. Because wired ribbon can be shaped, it is easy to make the perfect size napkin holder. With your napkins inside your ribbon napkin holder, artfully arrange them and place them in the center of each plate. You now have bells on your napkin holders and bells on your table decorations. You can continue the theme with bells tied to the backs of chairs, hanging from the chandelier or attached to your stemware.

The idea is to repeat your color or decoration. By using a theme, your Christmas table will go from ho-hum to spectacular! Happy decorating.

Judy Hardaway is the writer for Amazing-Christmas-Ideas.com – an online Christmas gifts and decorations resource site. For more decorating ideas as well as gift ideas such as Christmas gifts for men, visit http://www.Amazing-Christmas-Ideas.com today.

The other day, I was leaving for work when I heard a strange, watery sound. I thought it was our camel of a cat, Bender, gulping down water, as he is oft wont to do. Unfortunately, it was our other cat, Neko, puking. In one of the puddles of cat vomit, I found a small piece of purple ribbon, about one inch long, and figured that’s what had induced the vomiting.

The next morning, my wife and I walked into the kitchen to find Neko walking about with several inches of purple ribbon hanging out of his bum with a lovely bit of well-digested cat food stuck to the end. The considerable turd had smeared lovely brown streaks all over our kitchen floor.

My wife got the privilege of mopping while I got the privilege of removing said ribbon. Neko didn’t much care for that. I pulled the ribbon out and, much to our amazement, it was at least a foot long. How on earth does a foot of purple ribbon fit into the intestines of a rather smallish cat without killing him?

My wife continued to mop. I kept an eye on Neko for any signs of bleeding or continued discomfort. Much to our amazement, another piece of ribbon soon became visible. I pulled on the end only to discover yet another foot of purple ribbon lurking in our poor Neko’s intestines. As soon as the second piece had been removed, Neko was back to normal, running, pouncing, eating our feet. And we don’t leave ribbon out anymore.

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Trying to bring out your creative self before others? Need ideas to start with? I have some simple ideas that are easy to follow but superb projects to work on. I will show you how to make wonderful lavender balls and bolsters and cushions for outdoor use. All you need to do it to follow the instructions in the exact way as stated below and start your journey to the creative you!

Lavender Ball

Materials: Scrap of lace fabric; thread; dried lavender; 20cm of 1.5cm-wide lace; tapestry needle; 1 tassel; 25cm of 3mm-wide white ribbon; 25cm of 3mm-wide mauve ribbon, tied into a bow.

Finished size: 5cm diameter
Method: cut 12cm-diameter circle in lace fabric. Gather around the edge of circle and draw up. Fill with lavender; pull up tightly, stitch ball closed.
Run a gathering thread along one edge of 1.5cm-wide lace, draw up. Over-sew raw ends together and stitch on top of ball. Using a tapestry needle, thread the tassel ties and pull through bottom of ball, securing ties at the top.
Stitch white ribbon in a loop for hanger to top of ball and stitch the mauve ribbon bow on top.

Lavender Bolster

Materials: 18 x 12cm lace fabric; thread; 30cm of 1.5cm-wide edging lace; 8-cm of 3mm-wide white ribbon; 80cm of 3mm-wide mauve ribbon; dried lavender.

Finished size: Approximately 20cm long.
Note: 5mm seam allowance is included.

Method: Using a tiny, narrow zigzag-stitch; sew lace edging to the 12cm edges of lace fabric. (if lace puckers while stitching, place paper underneath.) Fold lace, right sides facing, with raw edges together and stitch side seam. Cut ribbons in half and tie one length of each ribbon around one end of the cylinder; fill with lavender. Tie other end with ribbon and tie ribbon ends into bows.

Outdoor Replacement Cushions

Materials: Cotton covers, thread, foam, appliqués.

Methods: Buy beautiful cotton covers for replacement – - they are available easily from the market. Insert well-cut foams into these covers and stitch them from the top. Also buy beautiful appliqués that may go well with the outdoor furniture and attach them to these plain covers.

You can read more information before you buy outdoor replacement cushions [http://www.maddoxstore.com/shop-best-prices-outdoor-replacement-cushions/], and read exclusive reviews patio swing cushions [http://www.maddoxstore.com/where-to-buy-discount-patio-swing-replacement-cushions-and-canopy/] from my websites.

You will find each year during October is Red Ribbon Week; “Say no to Drugs” week. There are many things you can do as a small business owner in support of Red Ribbon Week which are relatively inexpensive, but make a huge difference. If you are in the automotive business you can tie a Red Ribbon on each car you service. If you are a car dealership you can put a Red Ribbon on every car on the front line. The ice cream man can tape a Red Ribbon on the bottom of each Popsicle stick. Medical and Professional offices can put a dish full of ribbons and safety pins on the counter for patrons.

Your total cost for a Red Ribbon spool is about $2.50-3.50 and you should cut them in 4 to 5 inch lengths. If you are dealing with small children use tape, for everyone else a box of safety pins costs about $3.00 or so. Illegal Drugs are a huge problem in the United States cutting short lives, adding to crime and costing billions each year in police, first responders, hospital and rehabilitation. The lost productivity to businesses alone is said to be in the tens of billions per year.

All small business owners should show their support for a drug free community. The cost is next to nothing and the good will and positive PR is nothing short of excellent for your business. Won’t you join us in making a statement against illegal drugs and unite your community to be proactive in teaching our youth to; “Say No To Drugs!”

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.