It does seems a shame to not recycle boxes at least a few times before they get folded up into pieces of cardboard and put out to the road. It just seems to make sense to me to pass them along in a new version............just for the gift giving fun of it but mostly for the recycle factor. I am sure there was a time when re-styling a box seemed like you were trying to upgrade the gift and borrow some gift status but those days are long gone. We have to get over this when it applies to gift wrapping, to recycle something into a clever new use is just plain good sense. It is why I tell you to re-use boxes, iron your ribbon and tissue, use the leftover strips of gift wrap. To not be wasteful but clever. Gift wrapping can be considered a wasteful production, I understand this, but gift giving is a part of life so we can at least be conscious of how to best modify our packaging waste.
I think to re-style a box says a something positive about your gift giving effort. For those times and those special people who you know will appreciate your effort and creativity. Who actually look forward to your gift wrapped creations. It means you took some extra time, you actually put the presentation together and if anyone has trouble with you re-using a store logo box then I would say save your lovely box for another time. I think we tend to think of store boxes as disposable items, a free way for stores to push their brand, but you do know that you somehow paid for this box in the purchase price don't you? It is your box to use as storage, closet fashion decorating, and of course what I am suggesting here today. A no-cost, clever, creative way to make your gift givng more special, more thoughtful, and more fun for you and them.
I made an order mistake and ended up with a stash of Sweet Treat postcards instead of Sweet Treat gift tags and I am way too private to send a postcard and have my written thoughts travel the postal system for anyone to see. I have been using them up as glitter gift tags (with a hole punch) and as you see them here.......to re-style some beautifully designed gift boxes. Sometimes the store logos are larger so they need something larger to cover it than my huge assortment of gift labels. And there is nothing to say you can't use this a larger gift tag with your message written on the back. Certainly less cost than a greeting card and certainly more original in my opinion.
It is no secret that I do believe a boxed gift has more gift presence than a bag gift and that applies to it's look and the unwrapping experience. Bags were designed for ease and though there are some very clever ones, opening a boxed gift still provides more pleasure, more occasion. Do you agree? Maybe it's more reminiscent of the department store heyday where everything was tissued, boxed, and ribboned but it certainly suggests the gift is more special. The reason stores still offer gift boxes as an option even for items that could easily be bagged. Ask a consumer at the check out if they would prefer a box or bag and I am going to guess most say "box please". Though putting the two together (see the gift bag that was in the box) in this stylish Henri Bendel way is probably the best of both words.
The more I think about postcards the more possibilities I can see for gift wrapping. This meringue image is sweet enough to frame isn't it? But other postcards can give you a ton of inspiration. Postcards bought in Paris, Italy, New York, stash up when traveling. If you use an image, a postcard or a gift label as I have shown before, it can go a long way into making your packaging more polished, more eye-catching. It's almost too darn easy.
If I was going for total frou frou presentation I would add some of my special real fur white ribbon as I have shown here. A bit more youthful, maybe a gift for my younger nieces, a sweet sixteen birthday, or my princess friend who I might add is 50 something but you know what they say "Once a princess, always a princess". For the next few weeks, I am showing an assortment of gift wrapping ideas from last Friday, the day I was playing like crazy to delay my cycling. Nor worries there, it's raining like crazy. I will be back to the Small Comfort Series and lots of other topics like how to cover that huge logo on the new Kate Spade boxes. I admit I thought I might be stymied, the challenge too big. The logo is now oversized and placed in a most akward position as a box regift, but I think I took on the challenge quite well. Let's see what you think.
All photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life
All photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life
