How To Use Snowflake Designs for Gifts and Packaging
We’ve just added eight snowflake designs in a unique downloadable book to The Stencil Store. You can find the snowflakes in the Holidays Collection. Four of the designs are for snowflake cutouts and four are to make snowflake stencils. The book includes many projects for using these snowflake patterns including creating a 3-D Centerpiece, decorating napkins and some thrifty gift making ideas. Here are some craft projects that you can create with these patterns.
Here’s a great way to turn an old jar into a nice gift. Clean the jar well and remove any labels. Use the snowflake stencils to paint on the jar. You can find paints especially for glass at a crafts supply store. If not, craft acrylics work well too. Just secure the stencil to the jar with tape and use a dabbing motion to lightly tap on some paint. Remember, stenciling is a dry brush technique, so don’t overload your brush. Use more layers of paint to achieve deeper colors instead of more paint in a single application. Also, don’t brush back and forth because that will drive paint under the stencil. You can use one snowflake, several images of the same snowflake, several paintings of different snowflakes and even different color snowflakes. It’s your design so be creative.
If you want the snowy effect, consider lightly spray painting the jar with white before or after the snowflakes with a soft light spray. Don’t cover the glass in white, just mist it. Hold the can of spray paint a little further back then you usually would. Maybe make it a little heavier near the top. There are so many ways you could enhance a jar.
But wait! You need to fill it with goodies and top it off. Make some cookies or fudge or other goodies for your jar. Whatever you specialty is. Does the person receiving it have a love for a special candy like peppermints, butterscotch or M&M’s? Then fill the jar with that. It’s so easy to make them happy. Maybe your friends would like a jar filled with homemade bath salts. That’s easy. Just mix 2 cups of Epsom salts with 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 9 drops of essential oils (flavor of your choice – like rose, gardenia, mint, chamomile…). Lock the top of the jar back in place and cover with a piece of festive fabric and secured with a ribbon. Again, you can customize this for the person you are giving it to. If they like cookies, fill it with cookies. If she likes the scent of roses, make a rose scented bath salt. Your gifts will be the ones of envy!
Spruce up a plain brown bag by painting on some snowflake designs from stencils or gluing on a snowflake cutout. Then tuck your gifts inside wrapped with some loose tissue paper. Again, if you want the snowy effect, hold a can of white spray paint about 12” away from the bag and spray a very light mist over the bag. It will only take one or two passes to get that misty, snowy look.
Have you seen those nice cloth or velvet wine bags at the discount stores? If you find some plain ones they are great for enhancing with painted snowflakes. Just secure your stencils in place and tap on a little paint. The one in the picture above is red and green velvet with a gold cord and tassel. So I painted my snowflake designs in gold paint and then used a light coat of gold spray glitter.
During the year I collect boxes. Sounds strange I know but after covering them in a solid color of paint, they are a blank canvas for decorating. Stencil on a few snowflakes. Don’t just stick with white snowflakes. Imagine a box painted dark blue with pink and light blue snowflakes. It’s up to you. You can make your snowflakes traditional or absolutely funky.
Make a sachet by stenciling a snowflake design onto a small pouch. You can always find ready made pouches or small draw-string bags at your craft supply store. Wet a few cotton balls with a fresh scent or essential oils and slip into the pouch. Enclose the sachet in a box of clothing or socks or a scarf and the scent will waft out when it is opened. Or just hang it on the outside of a gift bag.
Stencil a snowflake on the corner of a nice linen handkerchief. You can give it as the gift itself or wrap a treasure inside. I like to hang them over the side of a basket and fill the basket up with goodies like the one pictured above which is overflowing with red and green apples.
Like I mentioned before, the best thing about making your own is that you can custom build any item for the person who is receiving it. If you have traditional friends, work with red, green, silver and gold. But if you have friends into retro, then create snowflakes in bright colors like cyan blue, neon green and hot pink. They will feel very special when they receive a gift tailor made for them (including the wrapping). Don’t forget about all of the fun you’ll have designing and giving!
Happy Stenciling,
Penny