Burberry Goes Glam

A girl has to do what she has to do and in this case it was re-gift a Burberry box to fit an array of gift items that wouldn't fit into my normal size boxes. My friend Stephanie brought this larger Burberry box over for me to blog re-gift, little did she know I would use it for that and then to wrap up the birthday gift she ordered for a 19 yr.old girl. She kind of enjoys this whole re-gifting phase I am in and won't mind this re-gift solution. She has been thinking through an upcoming guest post on re-gifting store bags. When she does join us you are in for a treat, this friend has taught me more than a thing or two about gift wrapping.




I was lucky (again) that the Burberry logo wasn't too big, out came the Paris stickers and the melon colour put me into a whole colourway that I thought would be fun, but sophisticated for a 19 yr.old girl.



My very stylish friend told me I was a bit of a snob about gift bags and she is right. I love a boxed gift, I think it is the most gracious way to present a gift. There I said it. If I use a bag for your gift, it means one of two things, actually it means all of the following. I am in a hurry or/and I am not crazy about the person I am gifting, the recipient is under 10 yrs. old, or the recipient won't appreciate the difference. I just happen to think a boxed gift is so much more elegant and civilized. But.........I know gift bags are a choice for many who don't gift wrap for a living so I told my friend she is more than welcome to tell you how to re-gift a store bag in all kinds of clever ways and she is very, very clever. She may even convert me! I do have to admit that I love folding and pleating tissue and the effect of opening a gift under folded layers of tissue. So maybe it isn't that I am a bag snob, I just love tissue really neat and crisp as shown above. And in all fairness, I do give you lots of ways to re-gift store boxes so it isn't as if I am not helping you be economical in your gift wrap endeavors. Perhaps I just need to figure out a new way to use bags with pleated tissue.......another little challenge.

I did a flat wrap on the larger box so it would fit into the limited box depth. The only way this was going to work was if I kept the bows to a minimum. I used another larger Paris label to jazz up the flat wrap on the Anna Griffin Social Stationery Set and I used grosgrain ribbon on the matching Mousepad, pencil case, and tube pencils as it is the least likely to crush and crease, good to know when shipping a tightly-packed gift by the way.

Everything neat and tidy and layered just perfectly.

The new A Gift Wrapped Life gift labels that go over my folded and pleated tissue. Now tell me that doesn't look better than crumpled tissue.

I have a new wired black & white striped ribbon that I just love using. I have never been much for wired ribbon but I sure seem to be changing my tune with this one (that happens alot around here). The gift could go out the door this simple, in fact I love the understatement........but this is me who's wrapping so let's keep going.

I added in a gorgeous melon coloured silk double face satin to go with the coral tissue and orange ribbon and then topped it off with another layer of the dramatic black & white stripe. I love this combination with the soft Burberry tan box. I had no idea where I was going with this when I started, but really wish I had a good supply of Burberry boxes, they are gorgeous and a wonderfully neutral tone. I do have some of their bags so maybe there's another bag re-gift challenge for my friend.

I could have used my white paper flowers but I kind of liked the twist that came from adding the unexpected celadon green. In fact, I liked this effect so much, I'm going to order a tan giftwrap right now.

Happy July 4th Holiday to all my American readers ~ Hope you are having a lovely day with family and friends and lots of fireworks......hundreds of them.

All photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

Petite Laduree Box Re-Gift

If you are lucky enough to receive a macaron-filled Ladree box, you likely aren't going to re-gift the box but keep it for yourself. I know that, but in my case it was fun to try. I am pretty shameless about asking whoever is going to Paris to bring me back a few boxes, so I had a fabulous macaron delivery last month. Since then, these petite boxes in Laduree's striking new patterns have been sitting on my desk saying " I dare you to re-gift me!"

Once the macarons are gone, these gorgeous petite boxes would be so lovely to pass along to a special friend with a little gift inside, a bar of perfumed soap, a little candle, or lipstick and nail polish in a colour she would love to try, something thoughtful and pretty. You know, on those days when you are feeling really generous and will actually share your pretty boxes! On this first one, I wanted to show the gold embossed oval pattern that surrounds the Laduree logo so I punched a hole in the lid (yes, right through the logo), knotted the ribbon on the lid underside and pulled the duplex (2 colour) ribbon through into two loops and then held it into position with a rhinestone ring. It was that easy, so easy I can't believe I haven't thought of it before. As long as the ribbon is the same width or wider than the ring, it will hold. Keep in mind you could do this with any flat napkin ring, round, oval, or square as I showed you a few weeks back. There are some interesting textures and colours that could be used in gift wrapping. Just another option instead of a traditional bow. Laduree is well-known for their pastel packaging palette so I wanted to enhance it's feminine nature with the sparkly rhinestones. Something gold to match the embossing would work nicely too, but now that I see it I do like some sparkle on this Laduree re-gift.

For the second, more dramatic purple and black palette I had no choice but to rely on my Paris labels to cover the logo and oval outline. A girl has to do what a girl has to do. I would normally fill in the label with the recipients name but I may want to use this one for some personal gifting coming up. Surprisingly, neither box took to my wider ribbons, I tried and it just overwhelmed the pretty pattern. A dainty duplex purple ribbon tied into a bow on all four sides seemed to do the job. With this method, the recipient doesn't have to untie any ribbons (as I know women have a love/hate relationship with untying pretty ribbons) just lift off the lid to see whatever little treasure you have placed inside. Actually, both styles work that way.

All photos by Sande Chase ~ Oooh la la Cadeau

Birk's Box Re-Gift

You know how my wrapping inspiration goes by now........I love this room by designer Alison Caccoma who's gorgeous work I found one day browsing the House Beautiful website. I wanted to capture the sumptuous feel of that velvet pillow and colour scheme. For Canadians, the blue store box shown below is our version of a Tiffany box, or was, we do have Tiffany here in Canada now too. It's not the exact blue, a tad less lively but the same message......something lovely inside. A friend gave me a gorgeous sterling double photo frame for photos of my two "boys" and I thought I should try a re-gift on our Canadian blue box.


The silver Birks box logo is quite small so a 2" wide double face satin taped to the lid underside covers it nicely. I layered it with a turquoise grosgrain ribbon just to give this monochromatic colour scheme a bit of dimension. If a store box has a extended lid as seen here, it can be awkward wrapping in gift wrap paper. You just aren't going to get nice crisp corners, best to bypass the paper and just work with the box colour. If the box is a good colour, you don't always need gift wrap too. PS. I don't know why lately I am getting this peach tint on my photo background, but working on upgrading my skills. It's on the list.

There is actually two layers of thin velvet ribbon at the bow. Because velvet ribbon is one-sided, it sometimes needs a bit more to better show it's colour and texture. There is one bottom bow, then a length knotted over the bow to give it some extra presence. This re-gift shows a very simple gift wrap technique that even the ribbon-impaired (not that there is anything wrong with that!) can do. It's also a nice way to use any lengths of satin that might not be long enough to wrap a whole box.

I order ribbon spools in 50 or 100 yards rolls as I go through it quite quickly. Right now I am working on selecting and coordinating my gift wrap papers and coordinating ribbon to be available in the new Wrap room section of my website along with a collection of my embellishments. Though I use 100 yards rolls, I am going to offer the ribbon spools in smaller spools (10 yards) so you can build up a nice gift wrap signature look of your own. I am also going to be running custom gift wrap papers with a distinct designer look. I think some of them will surprise you!

One more try............just wanted to see what happened if I added a pattern in the way of a small

turquoise taffeta check beside the velvet.

Top photo from House Beautiful/Middle and Bottom photo by Sande Chase ~ Oooh la la Cadeau

Hermes ReGift ~ No. 1 and 2

I find it fascinating that gift boxes can become so iconic. Hermes Orange, Tiffany Blue, Kate Spade Green. As you know I have this little series going where I re-gift store boxes as I think they should pass along and be enjoyed for what they are, something in which to put a special gift. So when my friend passed along her little Hermes box I wondered if I should even try....in the iconic box category, they are at the top of the box status as we all know. Then I thought....am I crazy? Of course I going to try and have a fun little time doing so. I admire refinement and understatement a great deal, but I love ribbon and the art of gift wrapping even more! And I absolutely love orange.

I think I have only used this orange striped ribbon once, but boy did it call out to me when I went hunting for the ribbon of choice for my Hermes re-gift project. The double face satin was the perfect colour, not an exact match, but a luscious pumpkin variation with the Hermes orange. I couldn't resist a length of the striped ribbon around the round base of this petite box. It happened to be the perfect width and seemed to balance the voluminous over-the-top presentation I would try first.

Why use one crystal heart when you can use two? That these had an orange tint was only a bonus. You could use silver or gold charms, anything sparkly and pretty. Just attach to a finer ribbon and tie tightly so they sit up all perky and don't get lost in the ribbon.

When leaning twoards a simpler, more casual presentation, I always go for my cotton striped ribbon. I have this ribbon in about 8 colours and love the crisp bow tie and visual appeal. There are only so many ways to cover a logo so I do need to rely on my favorite Paris stickers. I simply loop the ribbon and on goes the oval sticker. You really can do a gift this simple with the right ribbon. A fresh sprig of rosemary or lavender at the top (on the ribbon) would be lovely and if I hadn't just used my rosemary today when roasting our chicken dinner I could have shown you. Sorry about that, but I can do a sample of this idea next week.

Another sticker, another way to use these bronze crystal hearts. I was trying to get them up towards the top, but then figured they might be pretty just dangling in the front. This thin red and orange duplex ribbon would also look great on red or black gift wrap. I just have this sticker taped down (to allow more experimenting) so the edges would be neater when affixed properly.

Interesting that Hermes has two slots in the base bottom, these slots can be used two ways and keep in mind you could do this to any good-quality box. I suspect they are using these (and sadly I have never received a Hermes gift so I'm not sure) to enhance the inner presentation. If you are really, really into gift presentation, an inside ribbon securing pleated tissue is the height of gift wrapping technique and sophistication. Ribbon looping through these slots would reverse depending on whether you want your ribbon inside or outside. Getting ribbon to tie around a round box is a slippery task, so these slots could help you to secure it. Some hatboxes come with side grommets, but I think this Hermes position might be a more discreet way. Just take an exacto knife and carefully make two neat slots. There is another Hermes variation I want to try, something a little bolder and colourful, so I will post when it all comes together. And I certainly know I shouldn't talk about inside presentation, pleated tissue and ribbon, without showing you a good how-to, so that will follow as well.

All Photos by Sande Chase ~ Oooh la la Cadeau

Kate Spade ~ Regift Box

My friend and I had a great chic-day on Sunday at Somerset in Troy, Michigan checking out the merchandise at Kate Spade. Before I regift a Kate Spade box, I should make a couple of things known, one I spend enough at Kate Spade to erase a guilt about regifting her store boxes and covering up the logo to do so. I would never do this if it is actually Kate Spade product in the box, I don't mess with perfection. The other thing is I admire her packaging and talent enormously, she has a marketing and creative talent that I think is simply brilliant. That being said, I did want to see how I could change the look of her signature Kelly green box if I was using the box for personal gifting. Other than using them for stylish closet display, I think good quality store boxes should be reused, it just makes "green" sense. The small rectangular box was easy as her logo is relatively small. I simply glued down a 1" Kelly green grosgrain ribbon over the logo and to the underside of the lid. I could have taken this in any colour direction at this point but had this narrow purple ribbon with a green shimmer that I thought went well with my endless supply of Paris labels. I moved the Violette label down a bit to leave room for the bow as the box was quite small. The recipient can untie the purple ribbon and the presentation will stay intact, ready for another regift of a Kate Spade box.

I absolutely adore the new Kate Spade petite boxes that came with my little purchase. I was more excited about these tiny boxes with their gilded edges than the pink crystal studs.......well almost. The one on the right is how it is received at the store with their signature cotton ribbon. I do love the simplicity of their presentation, but that doesn't mean I can't gussy it up a bit, does it? I wanted to see if I could take a very classic American look and make it look a bit more French. Give me a hatbox in any size and I think Paris. I had exactly one small piece left of this dark real mink ribbon (yes, there is such a thing!) and curled it around into a circle with a hidden hole in the center, just big enough to pull the hem ribbon coming through the grommets and make a bow. Stay tuned, I'm not nearly done playing with this petite box. My friend has a Hermes box for me to experiment with as well, do I dare to touch absolute perfection? Is that in really bad taste? Let's see if I can pull it off, you'll have to give me a few days as I think this through.

Both photos by Sande Chase ~ Oooh la la Cadeau

A Jo Malone Kind of Gal

Photo by Chris Everard

Doesn't she just look like a Jo Malone kind of girl?

I am definitely a JO MALONE kind of gal and have been for a very long time now. Not only do I love it's clean, but woody smell, I am acutely fragrance-sensitive and the JO MALONE 154 seems to be one fragrance I can tolerate and it has a chameleon-like ability that I enjoy. My day doesn't start until I shower with the 154 shower gel and occasionally I will wear the more floral Blue Agava & Cocao (as my husband loves it like crazy). 154 is the address of the original London shop where JO MALONE created her first fragrances .The appeal of a Jo Malone gift is it's understated packaging, this company has always understood the importance of elegant gift presentation and it's legions of devoted followers must feel the same. As a tasteful gift, you just can't go wrong, everybody adores a JO MALONE gift. Most JM gals have a favorite, sometimes several as Jo MOLONE has a philosophy of fragrance combining that encourages the creation of your own bespoke signature scent. You can start them (of gift yourself)with their purse-size bottle of Grapefruit, Lime Basil and Mandarin, or Amber &Lavender. Don't forget to ask for the samples so you can experiment with layering other combinations as well. I buy it at the little JO MALONE shop located in Saks at Somerset or at Holt Renfrew in Toronto.

The cream and black JO MALONE boxes are like Laduree boxes, just too nice to throw away. After 10 years I have all sizes and shapes (anybody who buys JM knows what I am talking about). Do I dare to re-gift a classic JO MALONE box? ...........shouldn't mess with perfection, but you're darn right I'm going to try!! You should if you have a large selection of wonderful shopping boxes, it's environmentally correct to re-gift boxes in this way. I wonder if Jo Malone would agree or mind? First, if it isn't JO MALONE product in the box, then figure out a way to cover the logo, no point in pretending.......or getting someones hopes up! I used an over sized Paris sticker (this one is Versailles)to fit over the logo nicely.

I could re-gift this box a zillion ways ( I will show you a few more soon) but you know by now how my inspiration works, a designer sees a great photo (especially by Chris Everard-maybe I should send her a gift soon?) and off I go on a little gift wrap challenge. This silk ribbon in the most exquisite green colour is heaven to work with and does this gorgeous box it's due justice. I almost feel guilty......but not quite enough to stop

JO MALONE packaging is so distinctive, when I do gift this product I still wrap it up the box anyways so there is at least some surprise. A triple ribbon layer of double face satin, black and ivory striped cotton ribbon and a wispy garment binding over pearl paper give this petite box a crisp, spring look. And by now, you know I couldn't resist adding petite cabbage rose ......a perfect match in soft green.

Top Photo by Chris Everard-Sarah Kaye/2nd photo from Jo Malone/Bottom 3 photos by Sande Chase- OoohlalaCadeau