Red Satin Ribbon and Gold Stripes

If you have beautiful red ribbon........you can gift wrap anything beautifully. Red ribbon is the classic of them all anytime of year, but it is during the holidays that it shows it's festive and vibrant power. The wider the better, be lavish with it and make great big bows. Red satin ribbon here and here, and plain white gift boxes here. 

I especially like red ribbon with this gilded stripe gift wrap paper for a classic and elegant Kate Spadish presentation. 

Isn't gift wrapping fun?

Photos via Tumblr

A most gorgeous post of Laduree Green

Today was supposed to be a post about how to combine a solid Laduree pastel green gift wrap with a unmatched gift wrap end cut. Tie up some loose ends into a new gift package. I took the photos last week but when I went to load my photo card today I was a bit distracted and think I put it in the wrong slot..........it has disappeared. But Laduree green it will be in another way at least until we take the screen apart quite possibly the most gorgeous post I have seen this week. That is saying quite a bit after following all the NY Fashion week gals this past week but this is one pretty, pretty post from one of our most stylish bloggers. Go here for a most breathtaking peek at Laduree green. 












Photo from here discover via Dust Jacket Attic

A dress................as a gift wrap embelishment.

There is something about this gift wrap concept I like. Actually there is a few things I like. Novel. Fun. Easy. And it is perfect for wrapping up a fashionista gift for friends who love your gift wrap efforts and presentation. In fact, they expect it from you, don't they?

It was this fashion photo that got me thinking about using a paper dress as a gift wrap embellishment. I loved the volume of this skirt so my only challenge was finding a way to build layers and volume in the skirt, that was the part that I thought would be fun to capture in a gift wrapped manner. Or at least as much as possible when using paper instead of couture fabric. 

Once I found the gift wrap mesh that was hiding away in my supplies, the rest of the dress was easy to build. I simply cut leftover pink damask gift wrap paper to make the bottom skirt lining and the bodice is a wide black flocked ribbon, then took 3 tiered layers of the gold mesh and secured them with a pewter push clip. You begin carefully threading ribbon (the smoother the better) through the mesh holes at the bottom of each mesh layer (not too close to edge as it the mesh will pull apart) and let the ribbon pouf a bit as you move it along. You are moving the ribbon in the top and then under the mesh. In this case there is 3 mesh tiers, each each shorter and 3 layers of ribbons which gives the skirt volume. There is no precise measurement, you can play with any ribbon any way you like, as much or as little as you want. I used a 1/2" chartreuse satin, when I tried a wider version it pulled the mesh holes too far apart. I think I may have a solution to that problem but I will demonstrate on my next "dress embelishment" post. If it works. 

I really like that the paper dress and gift wrapping has dimension and fullness as this top view shows. Simply makes the presentation more visual and fun when presenting to your fashionista friend.

You can go crazy with pattern (using up leftover gift wrap pieces) as I have in capturing the look of my inspiration photo or twist it to a more subdued palette. Depending on the size of your "dress", you can even use patterned scrapbook paper for your patterned skirt liner. It does peek through the mesh overskirt so make it pretty. I will share some other "dress embellishments" over the next few weeks, perhaps a bridal dress for the wedding season ahead?

This pliable mesh is available in most party stores in a variety of colours. I had the gold metallic mesh on hand and it happened to fit the colour direction I was aiming for but any colours would work equally as well or better. Perhaps pick a mesh colour that will enhance the gift paper colours you have on hand. I also use this mesh for wrapping wine bottles in an dramatic but elegant fashion. 

I chose a Paris giftwrap as my background (see inspiration photo above) but when your "dress" has this much texture and pattern, it would look fashionably stylish on any solid paper as well. The bow is a simple 1/4" satin ribbon tied around the gift to fashion a bodice bow. It isn't totally necessary at this point, but I did think it finished off the presentation quite nicely. Try it, you will see it really is...... novel. fun. easy. Back to work, I have a wedding "dress" to design. 

Photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life/ Photo 2 via Tumblr

A week of beautiful bows..........

After a weekend of satin and lace...............a most 

stunning bridal bow. Isn't the shade of ivory divine?

Image via allthingselegant.tumblr

Yes, I really do iron tissue and ribbon......

It might not be the most interesting part of gift wrapping but it is the most practical and ecological. I have tons of better things to do these days of which I will get to in a minute, but that didn't stop me from ironing, yes ironing, a lovely pile of ribbon and tissue paper that I keep in a "to iron" box. I really like the gold stripe tissue that comes in Kate Spade boxes and there is no way I wouldn't feel bad throwing away perfectly good and stylish tissue paper without at least trying to see if it could be successfully "de-wrinkled" and used again. I will show you why and what I did with this golden mass in a upcoming post...........just not today. Explanation up ahead.

Then I thought I might as well iron a generous handful of green and gold ribbon that my friend used for my birthday gift last winter. Add a few colours to my collection. Yes, I already of a ton of new ribbon but I  can't not use these lovely satin lengths and so should you. A reminder of sorts for the holiday ahead. 

The left is the wrinkled state, the right where I ironed. Smooth and easy as can be. What is not going to be easy is the next few weeks. I am opening up what is lately referred to as a Pop- Up shop here in my local area to tidy up my excess gift inventory. You rent a temporary shop for a limited time period and have a big sale, when everything is gone.......so am I. I am going to be a real retail girl for the next month, the kind that has to dress up every day, open up the doors each day at regular hours, orders take-out for lunch (sushi next door-bonus), and have a few fun events like a Gift Wrap workshop. Sounds kind of fun doesn't it? It may mean less blog posts, it may actually mean more as a way to pass gaps in customer traffic. Hard to say, right about now I am doing crazy really well.

Is it kind of weird to iron your tissue and ribbon? And then re-use it? Let's put it this way, these days it seems even weirder to have piles of it this holiday season and just throw it away into the garbage doesn't it? If anybody gives you a gift with any kind of ribbon, store it in a box and when you have the need for gift wrap materials or the desire to do mindless ironing, then go for it. I found it to be quite relaxing. The same applies to store tissue and gift wrap paper, you have nothing to lose by trying. There is a few ribbon exceptions. If it is, you know, the really, really cheap kind of ribbon that many of us use for mass gifting, it may melt right into your iron so watch the temperature, do a test spot and take it from there. I store my ironed ribbons on those velvet hangers you can buy by at Target. Gift wrapping in your closet. See you soon..............off to work I go.

All photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

Gilt Glamour Gift Wrap Challenge ~ Part Two

This the second try at capturing the essence of the Ralph Lauren store in Paris. Just a little bit of gift wrapping fun today.........a nod to the interior designer that I was for 25 years. I say fun gift wrap, only because I doubt anyone could replicate this look exactly but you could come pretty close with another brooch style. This spectacular gilded "chair" pin is mine and whenever I run across it I think of those design days and how I loved a good chair. Today I am using it for demonstration purposes as I am not actually giving this away, I am not completely crazy. This one is a keeper.

There are many brooches that can embellish a special gift presentation. Everyday I see costume jewelry that is very affordable and that can be used in this manner. The rear pin found on any brooch is what holds it in position on one of the ribbons. That easy. Shaped pins, chairs, cars, bows, animals, almost any thing you can think of so keep your eyes open. Select the brooch style that has personal meaning to your recipient. It does give the gift presentation a personal twist and won't you look clever?

I guess the idea here is to be novel, use the "gift" as a part of the gift presentation, and use the scale to make it stand out more. Just my suggestion, but this idea seems to work best if you select a box not too much bigger than the the brooch embellishment itself. This was an Estee Lauder box that has a pretty little perfume compact inside. Two gifts in one.

All Photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

The Summer Camp Gift Wrap Challenge

Since I have been somewhat of a  delinquent blogger this summer I thought I would make it up to readers with a  Summer Camp Gift Wrap Challenge. Here are my self-imposed challenge rules; one neutral base paper, two ribbons, and any of the scrapbook supplies I bought last month at Michaels. I will post one example each day for the next 7 days. Wait a minute........give me 10 days as I am also on a self-imposed cycling challenge. The purpose of this challenge is to prove a point, you can gift wrap in a creative fashion with limited resources all purchased at one spot. This first one shown above is probably my most extravagant example, but it uses one length of black ribbon and a shorter length for the turquoise, both pulled easily through a rhinestone belt clasp. 

In presenting this challenge I am making a quality concession. This 100% polyester single face satin is not of the quality that I use on a daily basis but it is 4" wide and affordable at $14.99 for a 10 yard roll. I used approximately 1 yard of ribbon on this box. A wider ribbon obviously makes more of a statement but in this case I want to point out why I normally use a better quality ribbon. If you look closely you will see threads and a somewhat jagged cut along the ribbon edges, there is no way to prevent this that I could determine as it is simply the ribbon quality. The more expensive the ribbon the smoother the scissor cut when it comes to satin ribbon. The satin ribbons I normally use on this blog are double-faced silk satin and come from Germany. This is not likely an issue for general gift giving, but when you want ribbon perfection (as I need for orders) for a special gift you will need to upgrade the cost. 

The gift paper is a simple ivory paper referred to on the label as Craft Paper. A 30" x 20' roll was $6.69 Canadian which I think is good value. It is available at Michaels in white, ivory, and natural and has a subtle tone-on-tone stripe and a great folding weight. As a generic go-to gift wrap choice to keep handy for a variety of occasions, I think the ivory is elegant and subdued. As you will see in the next week, its subtle palette can shift in many directions. 

A reader recently asked my what type of scissors I use for my ribbon. I purchase dressmaker quality scissors (the type my drapery workroom used) and have them routinely sharpened. That is not the issue on this ribbon, my sharpest scissors couldn't cut a perfect edge. I recognize I am probably the only person in the world who would notice or care about this imperfect cut but I am funny about my smooth ribbon edges.

This heart-shaped rhinestone buckle was $9.99 at Michaels and can be reserved for a special gift where you need a bit of sparkle. This idea can be used with any ribbon or buckle material and it will simply change the nature of the gift wrap presentation. In other words, hold on to those belt buckles or look for sale or vintage finds. In this case I have used the 4" ribbon which is wider than the buckle but you can also do a flat buckle ribbon application which I will show you later this month. In the meantime.........see you tomorrow. 

Wedding Envelopes.........with an extra touch

My sincere apologies for not posting in the past few weeks, it has been what summer is supposed to be......busy and full of weddings, parties, quick weekend trips, getting my Dad settled back home and catching up with our son who is home for a few months between rotations. Our humid, humid weather zapped the energy out of most of us during July and though I am never one to wish away time, I do hope August is just a tad cooler. I cannot for the life of me figure out why I have not thought of this obvious idea before, I am always looking for ways to make a wedding envelope more of a presentation. In the past I have searched out and found boxes for that occasion only to arrive at the reception and find they won't fit into the holder slot. A reception is no time to gain promises that your awkward card shape will find its way to the bride and groom. With that in mind, I tied a simple but gorgeous length of ivory double-face satin ribbon would give any simple wedding envelope the extra touch that I think it deserves for this romantic occasion. 


Photo by family friend Bev Pentland

Yummy Treats at Summer Camp

These delectable notebooks caught my eye while spending a few humid minutes browsing a new blog named Simply Seleta. Actually it was way longer than that, you must go visit her charming blog that I found via the aqua-infused blog House of Turquoise. I loved the colours and simplicity of these personalized notebooks from Paperwink that were featured in a past post at Simply Seleta, wouldn't they make a lovely summer hostess gift? At $15.00 for a set of 3, I thought this personal gift treat was almost as satisfying as eating gelato in these delicious flavours. So yummy that it inspired another summer camp post of simple gift wrapping. Did I tell you that I had some pistachio gelato in Chicago on the holiday weekend? It wasn't as good as the huge scoop I had in Rome last fall, but I could live on that stuff right now. Especially today with the temp at 110. That is the Feels Like temp, but at that point I don't think it matters much..........it is just plain hot. Bring on the gelato.

It is all about the technique and this is a pretty simple and affordable presentation. Any solid gift wrap, a yard of satin seam binding ribbon, and two of the 8 Martha Stewart flower stickers. I showed you the same flowers in the bright tones the other day when I embellished the Kate Spade box. The 2 remaining white ones bring a fresh summer look to this gelato palette. 

While I was playing around, I also tried just a few other applications. Moved the flower around a bit. You could use this gift card to write a personal gift message. If I was a better camp leader I would suggest drying and pressing real flowers from your summer garden for a future embellishment. But buying them is about 100 times easier and summer camp is supposed to be kind of lazy.

I took an hour break from camp and headed over to my embellished world where more is always better (I did tell you I am a lousy camp leader). Since it is so cool here in my studio I wrapped up a trio of green paper flowers in satin binding ribbon just to see how they would look on this ribbon striped gift.

More can be better in my world....... flower on top and then another flower on the gift card.

Todays camp tools.

These Paperwink notebooks are also available in several other delectable colour combinations.

Photos 2, 3, 4 5, and 6 by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

Birds Nesting............in gift wrap

When I was wrapping up a trio of gifts yesterday which included this delicate rosebud frame I happened to notice these little birds sitting beside them in my inventory room. It seemed to me that I should try and work them into the gift wrapping as they matched the gift wrap and the frame finish. The photo I borrowed above is my parents on their wedding day and since so many of you have asked.............that handsome guy you see is doing very well, positively perky with all the attention he has been receiving from attentive nurses and family.

And I did work them in........I anchored their little feet into a voluminous nest of double face satin ribbon tied into multiple bows which was a gorgeous match to my aqua Bird Nest gift wrap. I have been on a marathon of gift wrapping this past week so orders have been flying out the door. I am dangerouslyy low on my ribbon supplies so need to spend some time at my desk instead of idle bird-watching this weekend.

Since I hear birds chirping around here all day long, I have become accustomed to thinking about them more.........no wonder they worked themselves into my gift wrapping. The subconscious mind is an interesting place. I have a few more "bird" ideas I want to try in upcoming posts. If I start putting rabbits on my gifts, you will know I have gone too far with this outdoor frame of mind. I see quite a few of them too.

A trio of Birds nested in Ribbon. And a few waiting.

I hope you have time this weekend to watch the birds, the sunset, or just enjoy the sunshine.

Thank you for your continued comments for my Dad and a wonderful Welcome to new followers.

I am so happy you have landed here at A Gift Wrapped Life.

All photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life