Ribbon.............with a vintage french style

Narrow to wide, grosgrain to jute, even ticking, the Etsy shop  Flea Market Chick has a fabulous selection of vintage french style ribbons. They may not be exactly vintage but she has captured the look in her large assortment. I was excited to run across this Etsy source because I love black and ivory grosgrain, especially the sweet narrow one (no. 5) and I like the stylish understatement of these neutral ribbon colours and patterns on a solid black gift wrap paper or Kraft paper, it is one of my favorite gift presentation styles. Simple and elegant, always. There is plenty to be said for using a variety of these ribbon choices if you have a gift of multiple gift packages. You just can't go wrong. 








Images via Flea Market Chick. 

A Zest of Lemon

Something about this yellow and amber kitchen shot from House Beautiful (yes, this magazine is getting better and better) made me want to see if I could capture the sunny vibe in a little gift package. That gorgeous marble counter top reminded me of the marble-look wallpaper I found a few weeks back when I was cleaning that bountiful storage room of mine. Yellow is a uplifting colour, but too much and it can get too cute (maybe why it works so well with black) so I thought the taupe marble background toned down it's sunny disposition just a notch. I will do a full-powered all yellow one coming up in a future post.......just because I do like to prove myself wrong now and again (before someone else does it for me).

Look what else I found.....fake lemons and lemon leaves.

This is the one I started with but something was too-cute, maybe something to do with carnations. So off came the little flowers and one strip of the yellow grosgrain ribbon and in went the lemons. I like the green foliage with the top one much better. I've left this try-out shot in as it shows the marble-look wallpaper a bit better than the top photo. You will see lots of this cotton striped ribbon on the website, in lots of colours. I love the visual impact, the affordable price and the way it holds a bow, nice and crisp just like a cotton shirt.

If I had an all-white kitchen I would running out right now to add some exuberant doses of this sunny hue. So vibrant, so summer. I feel like making lemonade. Actually, my kitchen wallpaper is the colour of those tulips, it's a golden yellowand black toile pattern and I never get tired of it. No wonder this kitchen caught my eye.

Top and Bottom photo from House Beautiful/2nd and 3rd photo by Sande Chase ~ Oooh la la Cadeau

Starched Linen

As one of my new website products, these Chapon chocolate pralines come in this interesting and novel dome shape that doesn't take to wrapping very well, so I dispensed with any thought of using gift wrap paper and simply used two lengths of a wide 5" ribbon to meet at the top. It's difficult to show you the quality of this luscious pure linen ribbon, but it's the real thing and has this divine starched quality that requires careful handling. Too much touch and it creases just like a just-pressed linen shirt. I handle carefully, no tie, and gather it into soft folds and then secure with ribbon or wire. I like to make sure the brown cording shows over the ribbon. Though I normally don't favour a wired edge, on this ribbon it holds the linen and top loops beautifully. It's an understated and refined ribbon and I adore it.

Chapon chocolate is air-shipped to me from Paris in a special container, then must be stored at a specific temperature range. Luckily the tiny cold room is a bit out of sight, otherwise I would be breaking open these petite treats way too often. One for them, one for me. They have a delicious, intense flavour and also come in a little mini version which I like to surprise sneak into special gifts. Though I love their packaging images, I still embellish with a hand-dyed silk in a rich chocolate brown. Though very tiny, it is still a gift after all! Just two equal ribbon lengths secured with a smaller, finer ribbon and let the silky tails fall. Voila! A petite little bon bon! Next trade show will be spent sourcing unique embellishments, more flowers, crystals, feathers, labels, whatever I can find to give gifts a most creative presentation and then add them to my new Wrap Room so you can do the same (if you are so inclined-don't worry instructions will be added) Lots of creative ideas (many I can't share yet) in the works, it will be a busy summer. This road construction keeping me inside might actually be productive timing, as much as I hate to admit it.

Luxury with a patina.

Another new line for my website.

Simple luxury.

Candle tapers in muslin bag from Cote Bastide in France.

One of my personal new favorites. So understated.

Working on a whole new website look so you are seeing

my behind-the-scenes photo shoot styling before the

new product goes live on the website. You are seeing it first,

or would you rather I keep it all a big surprise?

1st and 2nd photo by Sande Chase -A Gift Wrapped Life ~ Oooh la la Cadeau / 3rd photofrom Oooh la la Cadeau/4th photo from Cote Bastide.