'Fast, Cheap & Easy' Last Minute Wrapping

we're down to the last-minute shopping and wrapping, aren't we?!

here's a Fast, Cheap & Easy solution for decorating your packages:

bows? schmoes. let's be more creative!

forget bows and ribbons. find something FUN to put on the front of your packages!
shown here are styrofoam and plastic snowflakes

[from the dollar store, naturally!]
a dot of hot glue or a sticky glue dot holds them onto the paper securely

then add a sticky label on top of the snowflake

and use stickers to spell out the recipient's name.

[ALL available at the dollar store, WalMart, etc]

 this little trick works on bags and on wrapping paper

and through it's a bit late, is a perfect solution for gifts to be shipped - there are no bows to squash!

what else could be used?
paper or felt cutouts, photographs, pages from a coloring book, a pair of fuzzy sox....

what can YOU find?

Fast, Cheap & Easy: Funkin Pumpkins!

the subject of  'fall decorating with pumpkins' just isn't complete

without mentioning fabulous FunkinsTM

[and seriously, go HERE to their website to see some JAWDROPPING ideas]

Funkins are lightweight resin pumpkins available in craft stores

and, for the truly CHEAP among us, at thrift stores.

these are really cost-effective, because they are reusable every year.

the thing is, Funkins LOOK like real pumpkins - and so just like real pumpkins,

you can carve them, paint them, embellish them, light them up...

 however, because they are lightweight, 

you can do things with Funkins that you can't do with real pumpkins:

hang them up, suspend them, cut them in half and hang them on a wall, impale them, 

add them to floral arrangements and potted plant displays... and more.

they become all-purpose decor props for fall and Halloween!

In the photos above, you see two large sized Funkins sitting in gorgeous black urns

at the entry to a residence that a partner and I decorated for several years.

each one is impaled on a wooden dowel that's been inserted into the dirt in the urn.

this holds the pumpkin upright in windy conditions.

this is a 'Fast, Cheap & Easy' TM way to add fall style to an existing planter.

 

 on the front porch, another Funkin joins a spooky topiary and some painted wooden pumpkins

to create a welcoming vignette.

the monograms on the Funkins shown in these photos

were all done with a simple black regular-tip Sharpie Marker

to coordinate with the welcome mat design, and to fit the elegant style of this client's home perfectly.

have you ever used a Funkin in YOUR fall decorating?

leave a link to your photos in a comment below, and let us see what you've come up with!