Shinoda Design Center » Tip of the Day

We ran a series of blogs called “Tip of the Day” a couple of years back. I re-ran some of the tips during this last Christmas season. For customers and readers that have never seen them before, I decided to compile a complete list of them. I had forgotten how many that I wrote and it took a bit longer then I expected it to. In order to make it easier to read, I broke the tips into subcategories.

I would like to start “Tip of the Day” up again. Feel free to ask as a Facebook comment, add a comment on this blog, or email me directly at jameks@shinodadesigncenter.net.

Floral Design Basics:

Halloween:

Tip of they Day: DIY Halloween Cobwebs

Christmas:

Candles:

Ribbon:

Cleanup Advice:

Tip of the Day: How do I clean up glitter?
Tip of the Day: How do I clean up styrofoam or snow flocking?
Tip of the Day: How do I clean off crystal frost from my window?

Fresh Flower Care and Handling:

Tip of the Day: Mixing Floral Preservative with Water
Tip of the Day: Extend the Life of your Hydrangeas
Tip of the Day: How to cut fresh flower stems

Shinoda Design Center:

Tip of the Day: Are the ceramic vases waterproof?
Tip of the Day: Do we sell food safe products?

Tip of the Day: Surprising fact about our Black Friday Crowd

Miscellaneous:

Tip of the Day: Remember the Tree Topper in Your Height Measurement for a Christmas Tree

James — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 20:42:23 +0000

During the last couple of weeks, I have had several conversations with customers about the height of the Christmas tree they should buy. They have measured out the height of the ceiling and are trying to pick out a tree that will fill the area. The first question I ask is always, “How tall of a tree topper do you plan to put on your tree?”

Tree toppers are often considered the heart and soul of Christmas Tree decoration because many people feel they define the tree. When putting on a tree topper, usually they are tall. Plus, as the tree gets taller, the tree topper generally does as well to maintain a ratio of tree topper to tree height. When deciding on how tall a tree the ceiling will allow, many people overlook the added height of the tree topper. The other day, a customer told me her ceiling was 12’3″. She asked if a 12′ tree would fit. I told her that it would but not if she planned on using a tree topper. She had completely forgotten that her tree topper was 10″ high and wouldn’t fit under her ceiling. She ended up buying a 10′ Christmas tree instead.

Checkout our other Tips of the Day.

Also, if you are not aware, we have launched a fully functional Beta Shopping Cart. Interested in shopping online? Read our blog post about the Beta Shopping Cart.

Not a Shinoda Customer? Setup an account.

Hope this helps!

Tip of the Day: How long will a taper candle burn?

James — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 19:29:19 +0000

When Christmas and Thanksgiving arrive, we sell a lot of taper candles. With heights ranging from 6″ to 24″ and a wide color assortment, for two months of the year, it becomes a major category. The one question I have gotten countless times is, “How long will this burn for?”

The answer is simple. The taper candle rule of thumb is burn time will be approximately one hour per inch of candle. So, a 12″ taper will burn for approximately 12 hours. There are many factors that can affect candle burn time such as elevation, air temperature, and humidity. However, this does work well as a general guideline.

See our full line of taper candles.

Hope this helps!

Tip of the Day: How much ribbon does it take to make a bow?

James — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:42:09 +0000

“How many yards of ribbon do I need to purchase to make 10 bows?”

That is a question I have heard a multitude of times in the warehouse. There really is not a good objective answer for it since it will involve the number of bow loops involved, the length you will make each loop, the number of tails you will be running off the bow, and the length of those tails. I can give you a general guideline with a bow built with our description.

Ribbon Size	1 1/2″ wide	2 1/2″ wide
Yardage	6 yards	6 yards
Diameter of Bow	12″ with 8 loops	12″ with 14 loops
Extra Set of Tails	2 yards for every set	2 yards for every set

See our full line of Ribbon.
Don’t understand the ribbon width numbering system? See Tip of the Day: How to translate ribbon width numbers into an actual measurement for that!
Have a lot of ribbon remnants and unsure what to do with them? See Tip of the Day: What to do with ribbon remnants
See other Tips of the Day.

Hope this helps!

Tip of the Day: How do I add snow flock to something?

James — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:43:15 +0000

Walking around the warehouse the other day, a customer stopped me. She pointed to a Christmas tree and asked me, “How do I add snow flocking to something?”

A light went off in my head saying, “This would make an excellent Tip of the Day!”

I walked her to our spray paint section and pointed out a can that said Holiday Snow Premium Snow Flock. This is the product you use to add snow flocking to. From the bottle, its uses are, “Winter and holiday decorating and display. Fresh and artificial Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands and other evergreen products, windows and mirrors. Not intended for outdoor use. Snow is not permanent on artificial greens.”

See our full line of Spray Paints.
See other Tips of the Day.

Hope this helps!

Tip of the Day: How much ribbon do you need to decorate a Christmas tree?

James — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:29:50 +0000

Today, when I started to think about the Tip of the Day, my brain was not working right and I could not think of anything. So, I called the Santa Ana warehouse for suggestions. The first question that I was asked was, “How much ribbon do you need to decorate a Christmas tree?” I have been asked this many times before and my mental logjam was broken.

This was not an easy answer to come by. Most companies and most designers will tell you that the number can be very different. It all depends on how tightly or loosely you wrap the ribbon and how much spacing you put between the wraps. The number can vary quite widely. The answer came from moving to a different product. I found some recommendations for the amount of Christmas garland decorations to place on a Christmas Tree. These are the general recommendations of where to start:

Tree Height	Amount of Ribbon
4′ – 5′	40 feet – 55 feet
6′ – 6.5′	70 feet – 75 feet
7′ – 7.5′	84 feet – 98 feet
8′ – 9′	120 feet – 150 feet

Remember, these are generalized suggestions. You can use these as a guide on how much ribbon to start with. These guides also apply to fabric or netting used as garland in a tree.

See other Tips of the Day.

Hope this helps!

Tip of the Day: How many lights should I purchase for my Christmas tree?

James — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 23:34:52 +0000

Last year, we ran a series of Tip of the Day articles. Since so many of the questions are coming up again, I thought I would re-post some of the tips from last year. So, if this looks familiar, it should. This was originally posted on 9/1/2011.

First, let me say that there is no exact number for the lights that should go on a Christmas tree. This is due to the variability in how bright someone wants the tree, how closely or far apart they want the differing level of lights to be, how tightly or loosely they place the strands, and the type of tree itself.

The following recommendations are very loose places to start and are generalized for the average Christmas tree.

Tree Height	Lights
4′	150
6′	300
8′	550
10′	700
12′	1,000
15′	1,250

See our line of Christmas Lights.
Checkout our other Tips of the Day.

Also, if you are not aware, we have launched a fully functional Beta Shopping Cart. Interested in shopping online? Read our blog post about the Beta Shopping Cart.

Not a Shinoda Customer? Setup an account.

Hope this helps!

Tip of the Day: Another Common Sense Tip for Christmas Lights

James — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:21:20 +0000

Back in early November, I wrote the original “Tip of the Day: Common Sense Tip for Christmas Lights“. Today, after hearing a story about a Santa Ana warehouse employee, I decided to expand on this tip.

The Santa Ana employee had purchased a lit tree from us. She got home, placed the tree, decorated it, and then plugged it into the wall. Unfortunately, none of the lights were working. After trying to fix the lights, it was determined that the tree was defective. To bring it back to us, not only did the tree need to be taken down, all of the ornaments had to be removed as well.

So, to expand on this tip of the day:

From the original tip:

Check to make sure your light set works before installing them!

Add to this:

If you have purchased a pre-lit garland, tree, or wreath, check to make sure the lights work before you start decorating the item.

See our selection of Lights & Accessories.
See our selection of Pine Wreaths.
See our selection of Christmas Pine Trees.
See our selection of Pine Garland.
See other Tips of the Day.

Also, if you are not aware, we have launched a fully functional Beta Shopping Cart. Interested in shopping online? Read our blog post about the Beta Shopping Cart.

Not a Shinoda Customer? Setup an account.

Hope this helps!

Tip of the Day: A Couple of Helpful Suggestions for Christmas Tree Decorating

James — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:48:24 +0000

This upcoming weekend I will be putting up my personal Christmas tree. Over the years, I have learned a couple of best practices that I thought I would share with everyone.

First, if you plan on using a tree topper, put the tree topper on first! This is counter-intuitive to how many people decorate their tree. The reason for placing the tree topper first is to lessen the risk of knocking off or breaking ornaments while attempting to put the tree topper on. Since the degree of difficulty in placing the tree topper goes up with the height of the tree, this becomes even more important with trees over ten feet in height.

Second, wrap any tree garland immediately after the tree topper is set. Again, this is for the same reason. If you place it before the ornaments go on, there is less risk of knocking off or breaking ornaments while wrapping the garland around the tree.

Checkout our other Tips of the Day.

Also, if you are not aware, we have launched a fully functional Beta Shopping Cart. Interested in shopping online? Read our blog post about the Beta Shopping Cart.

Not a Shinoda Customer? Setup an account.

Hope this helps!