Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing before the holiday crunch.

On the right, two stars are created from gutter mesh. The mesh is designed to prevent leaves and debris from getting into guttering and down-spouts. Our designers saw it at the home improvement store, and the wheels started turning. It comes in silver, so all it needs is a shapely cut, a touch of sequins and ribbon and voilé, a tree ornament! This would be a fun new look for trees, garlands, wreaths and even holiday packages.

Silver guttering mesh provides the base material for shiny star ornaments. They are carefully cut from the mesh, then sprayed with adhesive. Next, a few sequins are added for the holiday glitz. The stars are tied to the tree with silver metallic ribbon.

A different look is the treetop ornament (left). It is made of individual pieces of golden rye, fancy ribbon and lily grass. It's actually two designs — one larger, the other smaller to top off the holiday tree with a festive touch.

Dried and silk materials combine to make a topper for a holiday tree. Two separate designs are put together for greater visual impact. Easy to do, these pieces are perfect for using up odds and ends for added holiday profit.

The third idea is a clever use of wired edge ribbon (left). It is rolled and fashioned into roses. Berries make up the centers of the "flowers."

Silk foliage is added, along with bows for trim. The ribbon roses are placed together in a cascade-like fashion. Although shown on a tree, these creative "florals" could be used in centerpieces, as plant trims and — of course — on packages.

Floral Blueprints
French Ribbon Floral

• Remove wire from one edge of a 1 1/2" yard length of organza-wired ribbon. Take upper right corner and fold to edge down to opposite side. Roll and gather unwired ribbon edge into desired shape; begin with a tighter roll and loosen as you go. Roll entire length. Fold end of wired edge down to opposite side.
• Firmly wrap wire around bottom of ribbon flower. Tape securely in place. Form long flower stem by placing additional wire onto lower base. Tape. Place leaves onto stem and tape securely.
• Finish by gluing gold berries into the center of the flower.
• Make several blossoms and tape together to create a larger cluster.
• Save ribbon scraps all year long to make these one-of-a-kind decoration.

Anything can become a beautiful ornament. That is, of course, with your creativity! Here immature cones and a mini cone become an ideal Christmas ornament.

Easily glued together, it is a special gift for someone who is environmentally correct. How many bits and pieces are lying around our shops about to be thrown away as trash?

We can turn this "trash" into designs that make customers happy and increase our profits. All it takes is creativity.

One great idea is to create ornaments on wooden clothespins. These can be sold as tree ornaments or gifts for teachers.

Creating little gifts for sale opens up new possibilities by bringing lots of foot traffic into your store.

Glued together, natural cones form a star ornament for the tree. The red raffia tie is for hanging.

A simple ornament becomes a special ornament with the addition of a little fancy ribbon. These are the types of gifts we see in mail order catalogs for big bucks. Why are they so expensive there? Because they are done by hand, just like ours. Go ahead; charge what you're worth!

Floral Blueprints
Millimeter Ball Ornament

• Select a large millimeter ball — the type that is normally on a wire for use in floral designs.
• Cut two strips of ribbon. Make sure they are each long enough to run completely around the ball.
• Hold the ball by the top and use pan glue to spread on the backside of the ribbon strips. Glue ribbons securely in place, criss-crossing in the center of the ball's bottom.
• Make a small bow from matching ribbon leaving long streamers. Tie the bow securely to the top of the ornament. Use long streamers and tie together to make a loop for hanging.