Christmas Craft Project: Turn a Gift Box into a Holiday Floral Arrangement

I took a looong break from  crafting and blogging over the summer, but the upcoming holiday season has reinvigorated me and inspired some new projects.

I bought this cute Santa wine bottle gift box a few years ago at an after Christmas sale.  I loved the image on it, but didn't really have any plans for what to do with it.  Then I realized that I could repurpose and show off this festive container by using it as a vessel for a holiday floral arrangement.  In fact, you can use any medium or large size gift box to make a similar arrangement.

So I bought some floral foam and some fake greenery and berries to make an arrangement to use as a decoration for my holiday table or mantle.  I don't have any experience arranging flowers, but I've posted hints and suggestions, along with the full directions for this project, on my Hubpages.

I've also come up with a fun holiday project to use the box lid.  Check out my Hubpages for the full tutorial!

Update: Rustic Metal Star Christmas Decoration

Before the holidays, I posted a tutorial on adding handmade touches to store-bought Christmas ornaments.  In my post, I mentioned that I thought I should find another frame for my rustic metal star decoration.

Well, over the holidays, I had to buy a cheap frame to use to replace the glass in picture frame which had broken.  Since I was buying this frame simply for the glass, I chose a simple wooden frame that I knew I could transform to work with my rustic star.

I painted my cheap wooden frame with acrylic paint in a blue/green teal color.  But while my paint was drying, I dipped my brush in some clean water and gently brushed it over the surface of my frame in long strokes.  This thinned my paint in places and let the original brown surface come through a little, giving my frame a slightly worn or aged surface.  It was exactly what I wanted.

Then I attached my rustic star to the frame and stuck my cardboard backing back in place.

We've been having rainy weather, so the colors are a bit off in my photos.  But I love how this rustic metal star looks on my holiday mantle.  Hope you had a wonderful holiday season!  Best wishes for a bright new year!