Creative uses for Decorative Poly Mesh Wrap

Synthetic and natural sinamay deco mesh products are offered in a rainbow assortment of colors and styles. Metallic, Two-Tone combinations, Patterns, Solid Colors and Mardi Gras Stripes to match any theme or color scheme are available. 

MardiGrasOutlet.com carries the 2.5" mesh ribbon , wide 21" mesh rolls and 10" mesh rolls. All of these styles can be used for a large variety of creative applications.

Here are a few ideas to inspire you using this versatile decorative mesh.

Wrap bottles or vases with mesh to add texture and drama!

Cover unattractive plastic pots for plants.

Adding a layer of colored tissue inside the wide deco mesh creates a solid covering for these plant containers. Cinched at the top with an accent color mesh ribbon, the plant pot is transformed from ugly to festive for a fraction of the cost of a decorative planter.

 

Easily create impressive great gift wrap or accents for packages.

Small gifts can be wrapped up in the mesh. Accent larger packages with bows or mock flowers made with the deco mesh.

To purchase this fun decorative mesh for your project, click here:

For even more ideas and DIY craft projects on ways to use deco mesh, check out our video tutorials. We will show you how to easily create deco mesh wreaths, garlands, bows and so much more! We've have many more blog post tutorials as well.

How to: Festive Hanging Mesh Pom Pom/Puffs

Recently traditional paper flowers have been stylishly transformed into elaborate huge paper puffs. Hung from the ceiling, made into garland or grouped as a chandelier, these poofs are turning up at all sorts of chic events. This photo below from Martha Stewart Weddings shows paper puffs dangling from the ceiling at an elegant wedding. These versatile puffs are also showing up at casual pool parties and festive children’s birthday celebrations.


Although popular and easy to make, these paper puffs are very fragile. Inspired by Martha Stewart's delicate paper puffs, I created a similar festive puff  that is much more resilient out of  21” wide decorator synthetic poly sinamay mesh. This wide fabric like mesh is far less susceptible to wear and tear, enabling you to make this style puff far in advance of your event. This new style of mesh puff is waterproof  and reusable from event to event. In addition,  the weight of this mesh would hold up well to additional accents in these puffs. You could add twinkle lights, floral sprays or wire accents into the puff. Simply wire in what ever accent you choose.

Decorator poly mesh is so versatile.It was a natural choice to make these puffs out of. Some of the benefits of the mesh are ease of use and low cost. Being water proof makes it is perfect for outdoor events. There are no worries of limp paper puffs once the humidity hits the delicate paper (a real problem in the south). 

For more pictures of poly mesh puffs and more decorations using this decorator mesh product, see the post Draped poly mesh ceiling transforms gym from Drab to Dramatic.



To make these mesh puffs, we used 6’ of the 21” mesh fabric/ribbon. A standard 10 yard roll will make 5 puffs (2 yards per puff). You can assort the color mesh in a single puff or use a single solid color per puff. I think the solid puffs are more elegant and the multicolored puffs are more Mexican paper flower inspired and festive. Either way, coordinating your colors with other decorations and garland gives your event a cohesive look. For our project, we used lime green, hot pink, bright yellow, orange and a turquoise blue 21" wide mesh.

For this project you will need the following supplies:

21” wide decorator poly mesh rolls in your chosen color scheme (1 roll =5 puffs)
Scissors
Straight edge ruler
Floral wire in a matching shade  (if not standard green is fine)
Wire cutter
Mono-filament/ fishing line (to hang the puffs)

Tutorial : poly mesh hanging puffs/pom poms

1. Cut strips of floral wire in approximately 12” long sections

2. Unroll the poly mesh on a flat surface. Using a straight edge ruler as a guide measure out 24"(2') sections and cut in a straight line.

3. Cut 2 more 2’ sections (total of 3 per puff). If you are making multiple puffs, I recommend cutting all you 2’ sections at this time.

4. To assemble the puff, pick up a 2’ section of mesh. In the center of 2' section of mesh, gather the mesh up in your hand as shown, one piece at a time.

5. Layer on another piece of mesh, gathering in the middle just like the first. Finish off with the last (3rd) piece of mesh.

6. Wrap floral wire around the center gathered sections. Pull tight and fasten.

7. Make a small loop in the floral wire so you have something to hang the puff from.

8. Fluff the separate pieces of mesh in the puff to make a uniform ball shape.

9. Hang your puffs and enjoy your creation!

I hope these fun mesh puffs inspire you to create some festive event decorations of your own! If you come up with a creative new use for these puffs, send us your idea! We would love to see them.

Memorial Day Pound Cake Dessert for effortless entertaining!

For Memorial Day, decorate with touches of red, white and blue,  fly your American Flag and serve some all American favorites like fried chicken or barbecue. End your meal with a fun red, white and blue inspired dessert. This festive star spangled dessert that requires no baking was featured in Better Homes and Gardens July 2009 magazine.  It is easy to prepare and looks so festive. This  is the perfect light summer dessert to end your patriotic Memorial Day meal.

Star Spangled Pound Cake

Ingredients:
Store bought or homemade pound cake, sliced
fresh strawberries
fresh blueberries
topping of your choice
Directions:
Using a star shaped cookie cutter (3”), cut slices of pound cake into star shapes. To prepare the strawberries, cut off the green tops, slice them in half top to bottom. Use the 1” star cookie cutter to cut out star shapes. Layer star shaped cake on a dessert plate, top with star shaped strawberries and blue berries. Drizzle on a sugar glaze or whip cream.

Precious, super easy and yummy!

Memorial Day Wreath with Deco Mesh

Memorial Day is the holiday that officially kicks off the summer! With the three day weekend packed full of summer activities, it is easy to forget the true meaning of the Memorial Day holiday. More than just a day to celebrate being out of school or off of work, this American holiday is a great day to show our appreciation for those people who have sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. Take an opportunity this Memorial Day to celebrate and remember the reason for the holiday with your family.

A great way to honor service men and women is with a patriotic red, white and blue wreath. This wreath is made with the 21" wide decorator mesh and is waterproof. It would hold up well out in the elements. The Memorial Day wreath pictured combines solid  21" wide blue poly mesh and 2.5" red poly mesh ribbon  with a red, white and blue striped 21" deco mesh.

Making a wreath out of decorator poly mesh is very easy. The decorator mesh is easy to manipulate and very forgiving if you need to re-adjust the shape. For directions on how to make a similar style wreath see the previous post for  Mardi Gras Wreath made of Sinamay. You will need about 10 yards total of decorator poly mesh to make this style/size wreath. In the wreath shown the mesh is wrapped around the wreath form twice (once on the inside edge of the wreath form and then again on the outer edge) using the same technique shown in the tutorial.

A home-made wreath would be a fun Memorial Day craft project for the family. Create something special with your family this holiday and have a memorable Memorial Day!

2011 Update:
We now have video tutorials on how to create these deco mesh wreaths. Click here to view the whole list. Decorator mesh is also great for bows, gift wrap, garland and so much more!

Draped poly mesh ceiling transforms the school gym from Drab to Dramatic!

Remember being on the prom decorating committee?

The huge task of creating something magical out of something mundane seemed overwhelming back then. Movies like Footloose and High School Musical make it look so easy to transform plain school buildings into the extraordinary.

This week I was part of a group given the task of transforming our children’s plain school gym for a festive Cinco de Mayo themed fundraiser. Lowering the towering dimensions of the high ceiling gym was a priority, as was making the old gym feel new for all the adults attending. To accomplish both goals, we created a new draped ceiling with white strand lights and rolls of brightly colored poly mesh. I think the end result accomplished all of our goals. The gym was transformed into an event worthy venue.

The synthetic simamay poly mesh we used for this project is my new favorite product. In previous posts, I used natural sinamay for wreaths and wrapping projects. This new poly mesh sinamay comes in 21” by 10 yard rolls and is very inexpensive. It is so easy to use that it makes any one look like an experienced event designer. The mesh is not only durable, but also waterproof. It would work well for events both inside and out. This product is available in a huge assortment of colors and a few different widths.

For our project we chose bright lime inspired colors from our invitation: hot pink, lime green, bright yellow, orange, and turquoise. Our plans included draping the ceiling in alternating color bands of these colors with white lights hung between the poly mesh. To add another layer of fun we hung paper lantern inspired puffs from this false ceiling.

Initially, we were going to hang paper flower puffs from the center of the ceiling, but after working with the poly mesh we changed our minds. The poly mesh has enough weight and stability to hold a shape. The paper flowers would have to be made on site at the last minute to retain their shapes. The mesh puffs could be made days in advance and were much easier to transport. In the end, we decided to make lots of mesh puffs in advance for the ceiling and saved a few of the more fragile paper flowers for last minute table decorations.

To see a detailed tutorial on how to make the mesh puffs check out this post: Festive hanging puffs made of poly mesh.

ADDED April 2011: After repeated requests for a tutorial on this ceiling treatment, we posted the directions here, Draped Deco Mesh Ceiling Tutorial. If you are planning an event in a large room check out the tutorial.  The poly mesh rolls are great way to decorate a large space on a limited budget!

I think my prom committee would be proud!