Creative Ideas | Kelly Tirman

Tag Archive for Creative Ideas

Never Buy Wrapping Paper Again

December 15, 2008 kellytirman Kelly TV, Urban Living

I have always liked the look of good quality wrapping paper however I avoid purchasing it due to the cost and environmental impacts. My mom loves to tell people that even as a small child I would carefully unwrap presents in order to save the boxes, ribbons, and paper for later use.

Several months ago I noticed that walmart.com uses crumpled butcher paper instead of peanuts to pack their shipments. Although I was happy to see that they were using materials that could easily be recycled I thought it would be great to reuse/re-purpose this material before recycling.

After a few experiments I have managed to come up with several patterns that turn this ordinary butcher paper into amazing wrapping paper. I have wrapped all my holiday gifts this way and I plan on using this idea any time I need wrapping paper in the future.

Additional Tip: Have your kids decorate the wrapping paper for you – it is a great way to keep them entertained.

About Kelly Tirman

Kelly Tirman is Natural Connector, Crowdsourcer and Change Management Business Professional specializing in eCommerce & Social Business. She currently works as a Senior Business Operations Manager for Walmart’s Global eCommerce Business however in her “free-time” Kelly blogs on several topics including Urban Living, Raising Multilingual Children, Organic Beauty. She happily resides in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

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2 comments Creative Ideas, green, holiday, video, Walmart, walmart.com

Improve Your View, Give Yourself Something Beautiful to Look at

November 18, 2008 kellytirman Decor, Kelly TV, Urban Living

If you are an urban dweller chances are your homeowner’s association or landlord isn’t keen on you adding bay windows to improve your view. Here is a simple tip on how to turn any ordinary window into a greenhouse window.

Here is what you will need:

Measuring Tape
Screwdriver
L brackets (four brackets for each shelf)
1/4 inch thick glass cut to fix your window (one for each shelf)
Small potted plants and/or collectibles

Prep: Measure your window to determine the size of your shelves and how many shelves you would like in your window. Consult your local glass company for the pieces of glass (I use Theisen Glass).

Installation: Secure your L brackets in place with a screwdriver and place your pieces of glass on top. Once the shelves are in place add your potted plants and/or collectibles.

About Kelly Tirman

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2 comments Creative Ideas, home improvement, video

Thanksgiving Leftovers, Personalized Doggie Bags.

November 1, 2008 kellytirman Kelly TV, Urban Living

I have to admit I am not much of a cook; thankfully however my husband is. Matter of fact, his cooking is so AMAZING that in five years of marriage our house has become the de facto holiday hangout and preferred venue for dinners parties in general.

Since my personal culinary experience has more to do with consuming then creating; I have had to find activities to amuse myself while my husband spends countless hours perfecting recipes. My main form of amusement is to play “Martha” which includes setting the table and creating party favors or goodie bags.

Personalized Doggie Bags

Since my husband’s cooking is so scrumptious the last several Thanksgivings I have made personalized “doggie bags” which seem to be a big hit because let’s face it, leftovers is what Thanksgiving is all about.

Here is what you will need:

Place cards
Hole punch
Cooking twine
Take out container

Basically after dinner is complete I create a doggie bag for each guest. I reuse the place cards by punching them with a decorative hole punch and then I use cooking twine to tie it all together. It is really simple and everyone loves the leftovers especially since they didn’t have to spend all day in the kitchen to get them.