Yesterday I found myself in need of packaging for Christmas cookies in a hurry, and all I had was a white paper plate. I wanted to quickly pass along how I transformed the plate, in case you might find yourself in a similar situation. I gathered a few supplies:

and gave this paper plate a Christmas make-over. In less than 15 minutes I turned this plain plate

into a charming plate fit for my Christmas cookies!

I simply punched holes every 1 1/2 inches around the rim of the plate; wove the ribbon in and out of the holes; made a bow; tied a jingle bell onto the bow; added the holly leaves, and ended up with a sweet, festive cookie plate. Just make sure that you punch an even number of holes, so that the ribbon ends up on the back of the plate on the final hole. I started with about 45″ of ribbon and tied the two ribbon tails in a knot on the underside of the plate when I was done weaving. Trim the ends of the tails close so that they don’t show.

I actually am so pleased with how this turned out that I think this will become my packaging for baked goods going forward. Necessity really is the mother of invention in this case! My mind is already thinking about different variations of this idea, but, that’s for next year…..

The official countdown before Christmas has begun. Good luck with your final preparations. I wish you all a very merry and magical Christmas, and, as always, remember:

“May the waves kiss your feet; the sand be your seat; and your friends out-number the stars.”

-C-