A few more days and 2006 will be over. As another year passes, I begin to reflect on what this year has given me. If there's one word to describe how I feel, it is THANKFUL. Yes, I am so much thankful for all the blessings God has given me, my family and my friends. Being here and typing away this article is one such blessing I am truly grateful for. It has been such a wonderful year for me as a mother, a scrapper and a businesswoman. It wasn't smooth sailing all the time but the bumpy road made it more exciting!

And to you, our readers, I THANK YOU for your continued support to MyScrapworks. I hope the projects I made here will inspire you to use everyday materials, especially those headed for the trash bin, to create personalized handmade products.

May this season be more meaningful to all of us as we celebrate the “Reason” for this season. I'd like to share with you two quotes that I strive to live my life with: “The best things in life are not things”. “Simple pleasures are life's treasures.” Merry Christmas to all of you!

NAPKIN RINGS
(another take on toilet paper tubes)

This year, I'd like to celebrate our 1st Noche Buena in our own house as meaningful as can be. We may have simple dishes but I'd like to put a more personal touch, not just on the food that I will prepare and cookies that I will bake, but also on our dinner table.

Another idea on using toilet paper tubes came when I was planning to set up our dinner table, but with a little flair this time. I like seeing the table set-ups on the Lifestyle Network that are complete with centerpiece, dinner plates, silverware, and table napkins with rings. I thought about making those rings using the tubes since I can easily make a set for every event without spending a lot. (that's another brownie point I could earn from my hubby!)

Napkin rings add oomph to your table set-up. It can also double as a name card for each of your guest. It also reflects the mood you want to create on your dinner table. So let's start making them now in time for our Noche Buena! Merry Christmas!

Here are the materials:

• Toilet paper tubes
• Patterned papers. For this project, I used Christmas-themed papers
• Ribbons, fibers
• Embellishments (beads, mulberry leaves, tags, etc.)
• Adhesive, ruler, pencil, cutter, scissors, paper trimmer
• Measure 1.5” inches on the paper tube. You can make approximately 3 rings out of one tube. Cut accordingly.
• Trim 1.5” x 10” strip of patterned paper. Adhere to the tube with glue. Trim off excess paper and let dry.
• Now, you're ready to embellish the napkin ring using ribbons, tags, beads, etc.

Options:

• You may want to make a name tag assigned to each seat or use a ready-made tag with quotes then just add embellishments.
• Using letter beads, spell out the name of each guest.
• Use mulberry leaves, beads & ribbon to decorate the ring to reflect the festive season.

Get a peek of Airees' Scraproom in our Escape Features. Click here! - Angela