St Tropez...................gone gift wrapping

This makes me want to head where the sun shines bright and hot.....somewhere where you wear scarf turbans and cool cotton caftans. St. Tropez perhaps. When I received my Jo Malone refill order a few weeks ago there was a nice supply of gray and white stripe tissue that made me want to explore a more summery gift wrap presentation. Pinstripes always make me think of summer Once the tissue wrinkles were ironed out so easy I got going and by chance came across this fashionable Leggiadro illustration from a 2009 copy of Town & Country. Bonus.

If I have said it once, I have said it at least a hundred times..............there is gift wrapping ideas in those old magazines. I am always on the hunt for fun and fashionable images that will give gifts a more unique and personable appearance. I will match this one up to a friend who loves the sun and wearing designer shades. 

My gift wrapping dose of Vitamin D. 

Thank you to readers who commented this past week and a sunny and

warm welcome to new followers. 

Photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

A favorite blogger...............wraps simply and beautifully

I have always loved how Gigi of The Magpie's Fancy  turns her words into something that gives me pause, how she sees everything around her at home in Portland, Maine.....the day-to-day wonder that can be just outside our door if we look closely as she does as she moves through her day. I knew that Gigi likes to gift wrap, she has often told me so as we comment back and forth, but I was charmed by her post yesterday on Simple Gifts. I thought her post captured the heart of gifting this holiday season, to give thoughtfully..............simply and beautifully. 












Photo by Gigi Thibodeau of The Magpie's Fancy

Getting ready...............for Holiday Gift Wrapping

Remember the recent post when I told you about my talented blogger friend Lala from My Castle in Spain here? We share a love of presentation and when I saw her sweet home made gift cards I thought it fit in well where I am heading with my holiday wrapping this season. As you will see in the weeks heading towards our biggest gift wrapping day of them all, I will be mostly using natural kraft paper and black gloss gift wrap. Keeping the paper base simpler and more economical but more personal with easy and fabulous embellishments. Today's post is just a glimpse of the ideas I will share in the weeks ahead. 

I love my bows as you know. Any size, any fabric, anyway at all and I think I could actually use these to wrap a large gift or knit little mini ones. But what I am really liking this year is a neutral gift wrap palette and I am going to experiment with embellishments and bows of a different nature as well. Two years ago I tried mini ornaments strung into a ribbon nest and will look to expand that idea this year into a more vibrant direction.

Aren't these the sweetest felt bows? Let's see how I can fashion these for the girls and women and a bow tie version for the men this year. We can all do this and I will show you how to make this humble bow a gift wrap favorite. 

There will be an affordable abundance of glittery and sparkly baubles for the holidays so this is the time to start stocking up. When used with strips of torn silk which is a truly glamorous way to wrap a gift. I have rolls and rolls of it from my designer days and love the wider "tear' for a voluminous and elegant bow. You can often find a few yards of silk fabric marked down at your fabric store. Grab a few yards now if you like this idea. My drapery seamstress is going to refresh me on how to "tear' fabric into yards of gorgeous ribbon and I will pass it along.

Here is the same idea with a narrower version of torn fabric. Pick a silk fabric colour of your choice and go with it. I will show you many ways in the coming weeks to glorify simple gift wrap with lots of style and sparkle. I did say sparkle didn't I? I will be using a bit of glue and metallic glitter this year too so I can embellish my neutral papers with some artsy flair. One of the best ways to de-stress the gift wrapping part of the holidays is being prepared.................let's get ready. I have lots of gift wrap ideas this year. From the looks of it, a holiday gift wrap party and you are all invited to wrap along with me.

Next week will be busy here at A Gift Wrapped Life. I will have some wonderful news to share and will also be introducing the first contributor in the new Gifted Giving series. She is talented, gorgeous, and stylish and I love her "favorite gift" and it's personal meaning to her. I think you will too. 

A warm and thankful welcome to new followers. 

Photo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 via Pinterest

Gift Wrap Inspiration...........on a Sunday evening

Gift Wrap inspiration........started in the morning with these colours and mood.

By evening I was happy with this. 

Where do you find inspiration?

Photo 1/Photo 2 and 3 by Sande Chase/Background image from the book Woman In The Mirror/Richard Avedon

I miss my Blog Header

I love it. I hate it. I am going to leave it for a few more days. And I am going to stop thinking about it, it being the new Dynamic blogger template, and talk about gift wrapping because it is way more fun than trying to figure out an advanced template. I miss my header, my sidebar, and feel like I am the only blogger who gets their head turned so easily. Yes, I can go back to my original template with one click and I will this weekend, but in the meantime I will leave it in it's dynamic version so the rest of you can see how it works for a few more days. I will say this, the dynamic views do give you a way to see your own blog and material with a fresh perspective and that can be good thing after a few years of blogging. But I won't say that I will stay with it............for now. I have more questions than answers. Like why is this dynamic viewing not compatible with an ipad? What's with the inability to add a blog header? Why give us something visually exciting, then limit it's use to bloggers that really only want to go to Tumblr? Though truthfully, perhaps that is the point. So let's just lower my blood pressure a few hundred points and talk about gift wrapping because I ran across this photo with a missing source and thought it made a good presentation point. If you have a gift of multiple boxes, buy the same gift wrap in the varying colours instead of the same one. Just makes it more visually attractive doesn't it? Turns your head a bit more doesn't it? 












Photo - unknown source.

simple summer beauty............in gift wrapping

I so enjoyed your comments from my last post on style re-invention. It seems we all think alike, it is never too late to change your personal style thank heavens. Of course, keeping things simpler is never easier than in the relaxed summer month and this certainly applies to gift wrapping. In fact, overly-embellished gift wrapping can look too contrived this time of year when bringing along a gift for a poolside afternoon, a cottage weekend, or an impromptu dinner. With that in mind I gathered a few gift wrapping ideas of a more relaxed beauty. 

If I had to pick a classic summer ribbon, this duo in black and white stitched grosgrain would do the trick nicely. It is a classic pick and looks so instantly chic on kraft paper, a humble type of gift wrap that  shows it's simple charm so well during the summer months. 

Don't forget the natural beauty of twill as a summer ribbon of choice. Use it to gather a handful of fresh garden flowers as a gift embellishment, wildflowers will suit this type of gift presentation beautifully.

How sweet and easy. A bag of summer fun (bubbles, chalk, sparklers, movie tickets, ice cream vouchers) would make for a welcome hostess gift. The lace bag edge is made with scrapbook scissors. 

It seems we all love Pom Poms and they take on a crisp summer look when crafted from wax paper! Go here to see how blogger Slim Paley got tulle-inspired by my Pom Pom post.

Enjoy the weekend in a most relaxing way. 
Which includes your gift wrapping efforts. 






A warm welcome to new readers and followers. 
So lovely that you joined me this summer.

Photo 1 from trendtablet/Photo 2 and 5 from Pinterest/Photo 3 from here/Photo 4 from thepartystudio

Dammann Frères.........and a hip gift wrap technique

Photo by Chris Everard

This photo has been sitting in my photo file for some time. With the intention of wrapping something that would capture this sleek but luxurious interior vibe. But then I noticed, someone beat me to it. I know you think I have forgotten all about gift wrapping haven't you? But I haven't, not at all and if you let me ramble on with the sights and sounds of what inspired me I can promise you this............more creativity ahead. It just works that way for me. Just in time too, we have a big gift wrapping season ahead.

Gift wrapping is all in the details and what this gift box shows is that there can be simple details layered into an elegant and understated form.............and I am crazy for the detail and execution of this product wrapping from Dammann Frères. Sometimes gift wrapping requires a bit of thinking outside the box so to speak and if you look carefully you will see some of the wrapping elements I have talked about before but something I doubt I would have conceived on my own.

No doubt Dammann Frères is working with some pretty remarkable design elements that add to it's sophisticated packaging and presentation. A blind-embossed and hot foil stamped logo label and a blind-embossed (which give the Dammann Frères logo it's raised look) and suble logo on black ribbon aren't exactly run-of-the-mill packaging in anyone's marketing book. You have seen me use both these basic gift wrap papers many times so it just goes to prove that it isn't always the materials but the detail and thought that shows your gift giving creativity.

But this is where they surprised me the most, they wrap their gift boxes right side up. Then they use a contrasting piece of black gift wrap paper folded like I have shown you a million times but they lay it over the top seam and tucked into the folded end. Are you following me here? This is not only a brilliant way to avoid jostling a box and it's contents (by turning it over so it is face down) but they actually work with a top seam as a design element. They simply do it in the most perfect way. 

The narrow logo ribbon is simply brought around the whole box and then overlapped at the top and sealed with the logo label. I don't know about you but I can see endless possibilities with this "flat" technique, all types of colour variations. This "no fuss" gift wrap style would be perfect for masculine presentations and travels well as you can see.

The Dammann Frères store located in the Place des Vosges in the Marais district of Paris is a retail designer's dream as well, artfully blending old-world and hip at the same time and if you are a tea lover this is your retail mecca. The wall of teas, caddies, and chests are displayed in a visually repetitive but organized manner which works perfectly with the overwhelming selection and the courteous staff know their trade. We found this store via our tour guide Richard from Eye Prefer Paris who is pictured to the left, but I will tell you his story next week.

My package ready for pick up.

I can't think of too many gifts that are more special that the Dammann Frères selection of Tea Chests. Wouldn't any tea lover adore their own traveling set of teas? Visit the Dammann Frères website, watch the video, and explore their long and interesting history. And if you are in the mood for some serious virtual travel inspiration then link over to the Hotel Gritti Palace in Venice where each afternoon they serve the Dammann Frères teas in the Bar Longhi at a civilized High Tea Ceremony..............along with a selection of traditional Venetian pastries.