In the spirit of giving

Katy’s Daisies celebrated their first Holiday Open House in Magnolia Village by inviting any and all to make holiday centerpieces. You can tell by the smiles. . . it was a delightful evening!

Katy and her daughter Elizabeth taught “Holiday Centerpieces 101″ turning fresh greens and red and white carnations into sweet little centerpieces.

How to Make Easy Centerpieces, Hostess Gifts and Party Favors for the Holidays

Are you looking for simple cost-conscious decorating idea’s for the Holidays?

Here are two fun frugal ideas to decorate your home for Christmas. Dress up a plant or tiny tree with a little pot and decorative wrap from CathysWraps. Add a coordinating tag and you have a super-easy hostess gift. Mix and match in REVERSIBLE Water Resistant Sleeves! This Red Kalanchoe and Ivy Topiary came from a local nursery and were simply re-potted into a Pot from CathysWraps. Choose from the Red & White Polka Dot Pattern or our original Floral Print and fold the sleeves together. Add a coordinating gift tag and nestle in the pot for a simple stylish Homemade Hostess Gift or Holiday Party Centerpieces. Order your CathysWraps from our Etsy Store HERE. Colors: Red, Green, Black & White, Soft Pink and Hydrangea Blue.

How to Be Entertaining on a budget.

Simple and Easy Holiday Decorations you Won’t Find at Micheal’s Stores, from CathysWraps LLC.

What You’ll NEED:
A 4 inch potted plant from your local nursery or grocery store.
One CathysWraps pot, one Decorative Sleeve and one gift tag. Available HERE at my Etsy Store.
The moss is optional.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Re-pot a 4 inch holiday plant or mini tree into CathysWraps Pot, just drop it in. Fold CathysWraps Decorative Sleeve together, add a gift tag and nestle in your 4 inch holiday plant. If you prefer fresh flowers, make a little Mussie Tussie Bouquet, tie off with a string or a rubber band, trim stems short and add water. Note: Our wraps are water resistant but it’s best to keep them dry.

What do you all think, would you give these as hostess gifts?

Stiletto Woman Magazine, highlighting 50 of the most amazing women on the web for 2009.

Stiletto Woman Magazine is excited to inform you that the RESULTS are IN! These ladies exhibit leadership, perserverence, strength, knowledge, and so much more! Check out who made the TOP 50! Congratulations!

Make a Simple Pumpkin Centerpiece or Hostess Gift

This sweet little Fall Centerpiece was super easy and inexpensive to make. I found the Black Pansies on sale at Fred Meyer for .99 cents and pumpkins for .28 cents a pound. Just cut, scoop and plant.

Before the pansy turns into a pumpkin, plant it in the yard to enjoy next Spring.

You could also get a large Cinderella Pumpkin, scoop out the seeds, add a block of saturated floral foam and arrange fresh flowers and greens. We made these centerpieces for the Katie McKay benefit luncheon and they were amazing. The greens were gathered from our yards so the only expensive were the flowers and the pumpkins. The best deals for fall flowers and pumpkins were found at Trader Joe’s.

How to hang Flowers from a Church Pew or Aisle Chair

Maximize your bridal budget with wedding flowers that transform from wedding aisle décor to reception centerpieces. CathysWraps Vases and Doeys’ Church Pew Clips create dual purpose floral arrangements that can be repurposed as reception centerpieces.

Erin did, proving she is as smart as she is beautiful! She wanted practical cost effective wedding decorations so, we designed her wedding flowers to do double duty as wedding aisle decorations one minute and reception table centerpieces the next.

We sought advice from my local florist Katy Breen, owner of Katy’s Daisies in Seattle. Katy helped Erin select and order the flowers. The wedding was in a small town in Oregon, so I made fresh cuts to the stems and refrigerated them overnight before placing them in buckets of water and driving 4 hours to her parents home where it was up her aunts, cousins, mother and grandmother and I to make the flower arrangements. None of us have any floral experience and Erin took a great Leap of Faith letting in us. Thank you Erin!

The day before her wedding we had fun visiting with one another while making up the flower arrangements. Each one is just a bit different and each was made with love.

We refrigerated the floral arrangements overnight and on the day of the wedding, did the last minute assembly at the church, adding CathysWraps Decorative Wraps and Doey’s Church Pew Clips while my husband hung the flowers on the church pews.

Post Ceremony, we transferred the wedding aisle flowers to the reception and repurposed the wedding aisle décor as reception table centerpieces, decorating the bar area, the powder rooms, the entry way and the cake tables.

It was a Beautiful Day and a very classy wedding. I’ll post the recipe soon explaining how to recreate this just picked look for your wedding flowers or special event.

How to make a Gerbera Daisy Centerpiece.

What You’ll Need

3 to 5 gerbera daisies and leafs
Moss
A 3 inch block of Wet Floral Foam
Floral tape
A pencil
CathysWraps pot and decorative sleeve.  http://www.cathyswraps.com

Step 1. Trim a block of wet floral foam. Float in the water and LET IT SINK to the bottom.

Step 2. Trim stems and make a 1 inch slit in the stem to help the flower absorb water. The stems are soft so make holes in the foam first with the pencil and then gently poke the flowers into the holes. Water slightly.

Step 3. Fold the sleeve and nestle the pot into the CathysWraps. Tuck the moss around the flowers.

Step 4. Tape any left over foliage to the extra stem lengths with floral tape. Make holes with the pencil and stick the supported leafs into the foam.

And voilà, a DIY Gerbera Daisy Centerpiece.

You could fill CathyWraps pots with wheatgrass and then add your gerbera daisies. Or buy a 4 inch indoor gerbera house plant, transplant into a CathysWraps pot and just slip on a decorative sleeve. How cute and simple would that be? For more ideas, check out at this centerpiece in Real Simple.

Easter Basket ideas for your little bunnies.

Celebrate Easter with fresh flowers in a sweet little basket!

Centerpieces that double as party favors

Whether you want to create unique wedding flowers, to stretch your wedding budget, or to create a personal style for your special day, you’ll love cathyswraps vases.

Dangle your flowers from the wedding aisle, the chairs or the windows, then use them again as centerpieces at the reception and again as party favors.

Imagine the possibilities of creating personalized centerpieces for anniversary parties, baby showers, corporate events, birthday celebrations and weddings that double as the party favor.

Flowers-from wedding aisle, to reception, to party favor.

cathyswraps are perfect for creating flower arrangements that are wedding aisle decorations one minute, reception table centerpieces the next and finally party favors for guests to take home. At cathyswraps, stylish vases enable flowers to be versatile and thus cost effective.

cathyswraps vases adapt to hang from church pews, chairs, shepherds hooks windows, mirrors and woodwork. So, whether your event is a formal wedding or a casual beach ceremony, an elaborate corporate function or a bar mitzvah, a sweet sixteen party, graduation or special anniversary, let your flowers be fun, practical, and versatile in chic little personalized vases.

All cathyswraps sleeves are reversible and designed to mix and match with coordinating tags.

I’d like to give special thanks to my photographer Steve Schimmelman, Sun Photography and to my florist Katy Breen, Katy’s Daisies; to my generous neighbors Linda, Lisa and Sidney who let us pick these flowers from their beautiful gardens and to my friend Karen who helped pull it all together.

How to make cookie bouquets for hostess gifts, party decorations & favors

Christmas Cookies and Kermit Mums…yumm.

Unique affordable baby shower decorations.

How sweet is this for a baby shower centerpiece.

This affordable party centerpiece uses simple hydrangea blooms, seeded eucalyptus and Japanese anemone from the garden gathered in a whimsical pink cathyswraps vase. Here the gift tag was personalized with a photo of baby and big sisters doll was borrowed with a small bribe of cake.

When economic times get tough, use your imagination and borrowed treasures!

Enjoy!