From The Gifted Blog Flickr Pool

I wanted to highlight some additions to The Gifted Blog Flickr pool, the space for readers to show off their gift wrapping! First, this beautiful necklace and butterfly box by silverkeys. Yes, she made both the necklace and the box! You can read more about it and many other gifts here on her lovely blog.

Here is one from my sister. She wrapped Japanese cherry blossom candies in a clear bag, with tiny paper cut-outs adorning the ribbon on top. Cute! When I asked, she said she cut the little cherry blossoms out while watching TV.

Have a gift you're proud of wrapping? Snap a photo and submit it today! For those of you who aren't Flickr-savvy, e-mail the photo to me at giftedmailbox[at]gmail.com. I would love to see it!

To add your images or simply see more, find all the photos in The Gifted Blog Flickr pool here!

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Free Idea Friday: Printable Love and Ice Cream Gift Tags

We experimented with The Kitchn's recipe for one-ingredient ice cream this week and now we've got homemade frozen treats on the brain. Our ice cube trays are working overtime so we can try the real stuff tonight.

In honor of keeping cool in the dog days of summer, here's a link to a free printable 'Love and Ice Cream' gift tag set from Eat Drink Chic! I can see these paired with simple kraft paper gift wrapping for a summer birthday, or maybe used for favors at an ice cream sundae party. Thanks, Amy for sharing!

Looking for more free printables to spice up your gift wrapping? Click here for entire archive of free ideas on The Gifted Blog.

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Gift Wrapping On the Job

A student from my last Gift Toppers Workshop enlisted a coworker (above) and put her new gift wrapping skills to use! A and L work at Operation Nightwatch, an organization I deeply respect for their commitment to serving Seattle's homeless population with dignity.

To thank volunteers for their fundraising efforts, they procured two gift certificates and a gift basket - then gift wrapped them with grocery bag gift toppers!

Great job, A and L! Needless to say, I am delighted by this application of the gift toppers. It keeps their non-profit's dollars where they really matter, and it's a shining example of getting creative at work. How many of you are reading this from your work desks, wishing you could break out the scissors to make your own creation? I'd love to hear what you all do to satisfy your creative urges at work.


{Images by A}

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Seattle Gift Toppers Workshop

It was a joy to teach a workshop to friends and family in my hometown last month! I barely advertised because we received so many sign-ups from word of mouth. (Thanks, ladies!) I would love to have you at the next one. Just comment or e-mail (giftedmailbox[at]gmail[dot]com) to hear about future Gifted workshops in Seattle!

At the end of class I like to ask my students to choose their favorite gift topper. This class was the first where the grocery bag pom-pom (pictured above and below) came up as a #1 pick! I think it has something to do with Seattle's aesthetic. There's an appreciation of things that look a bit funky, a bit untraditional.

(Can you tell we're sisters?)

All in all, a great time with some wonderful women. Over half the class has known me since childhood, and I loved getting to spend more time with them in a creative setting.

Stay tuned this week for a report on how one student put her new gift topper skills to use on the job!

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Wrap Story: Bottle Gift Wrapping

This Wrap Story is part of a mini-series, documenting every present I’ve wrapped since the launch of The Gifted Blog. Click here for the whole series!

Our niece's 2nd birthday was approaching, and we had a little t-shirt to send cross country. After reading about mailing unusually-packed (or unpacked!) gifts on Giver's Log, I decided to give it a shot.

My husband dutifully selected and drank a bottle of juice for me. After a little cleanup and surgery, it was ready to receive its contents!

I wasn't anticipating the cap being purple (yes, the unforeseen challenges of a gift wrapping blogger!), but was happy to find various orange and purple packing items in my stash. The t-shirt got a little bow, and the bottle was sealed off with decorative Japanese tape from my sister.

To complete the purple and orange theme, I used a remnant of a thank-you card to back the mailing label. Ironically, this card was sent to us long ago by the birthday girl's mom - possibly in response to last year's birthday gift. I silently hoped this would come off as a thoughtful gesture, not a symptom of a conspicuous paper hoarding problem.

The final touch? A paper medallion glued on the cap.

Personally, I usually hate mailing gifts, but at least for this one I enjoyed the process of embellishing the package! What about you? What do you do if you have to send a gift?

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Inspired By: Origami Gift Boxes

This Inspired By post is part of a mini-series on the things and people that inspire my gift wrapping. Inspiration can strike at any time!

For your viewing pleasure, dreamy origami gift boxes folded from thrifted wallpaper. What luck to find 4 prints that look so good together! I wish I were able to hit the thrift stores more often to find some of my own. For more beautifully styled gift boxes, visit Lorajean's post here.

Edit: Whoa, Giver's Log / The Gifted Blog mind meld! I opened my Google Reader to find that AmberLee just posted about these. It's probably because of our psychic, gift wrapping bloggers' synchronicity.

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Korean Gift Wrapping: Hanji Box

A friend and former workshop participant gave me this beautiful hanji box from Korea. Hanji translates literally as "Korean (han) paper (ji)". Hanji is a traditional paper made from the inner bark of a mulberry tree native to Korea's mountainsides.

E. told me these boxes are readily available for sale and giving gifts in Korea. They are lightweight but very sturdy, and the different colored panels you see are different layers of hanji (even down to the stylized Chinese character on top!). You can make your own hanji goods from kits.

This is a nice contribution to our last reader question about gift wrapping in other cultures. If you haven't gotten a chance to chime in, please do! There are a couple of great comments already. I'm sorry if my initial call for input was intimidating - you needn't be living outside the U.S. or an expert to add your stories!

E., thank you so much for this lovely box. I can't wait to show you how I used it for gift wrapping! Have any of you given or received a gift in a hanji box?

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Wrap Story: Flower Arranging 101

This Wrap Story is part of a mini-series, documenting every present I’ve wrapped since the launch of The Gifted Blog. Click here for the whole series!

Have you ever read a blog post and thought, "How do they do it?" There are so many creative people out there, sharing amazing bits of their lives online. Sometimes it looks too good to be true.

Case in point: have you ever browsed through Heart of Light's posts about flowers? She posts about whichever arrangement she happens to have in the house almost weekly. I really admire her ability to incorporate beauty into her everyday life, to count a bunch of flowers from the farmer's market as a staple, not a luxury.

Me, on the other hand? I'm cheap when it comes to flowers, and not so hot at arranging them. But I gave it a go anyway for a friend's birthday. We were going out for a Chinese seafood dinner, and I thought it would be fun to bring along some mini-arrangements for the table.

I picked up a bunch of alstromeria at the grocery store and pulled out a few clean baby food jars. Making a nice flower arrangement is much more manageable on a small scale!

I looked to our patio 'garden' for greenery. You'd think an arrangement is all about the flowers, but the odd fern makes all the difference. Feeling adventurous, I clipped some mint and baby spider plants, too. You can see them in the all-green arrangement below!

It turned out that the table was overflowing with luscious food, and the flowers were actually a bit in the way. But they gracefully transitioned to drinks at the birthday girl's house, quietly adorning the dining table.

So, you won't find me posting about flowers every Friday á la Heart of Light, but I'm glad that I tried something I would otherwise just admire from a distance. What about you? Are there any bloggers you view with awe? What would it be like to try something they do for yourself?

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Help me help you

We are home after a wonderful vacation to see both sides of our family. We made more than one trek to Seattle's stunning Central Library and feasted several times on tender sweet corn from Iowa's verdant fields. Now that we are back, I have a thousand blog-related ideas buzzing around my head. But one thing at a time!

One of my priorities right now is to make The Gifted Blog easier to navigate. Already I have plans to tag posts by type (gift box, gift topper, gift tag, etc) and material (paper, cloth, recycled, etc). As the number of posts grow (can you believe this is #167!?), I want readers to be able to find what they're looking for.

So, tell me: what are you looking for? What sorts of categories would be helpful to you? This is a huge project and I'd love your input before I begin in earnest.

{Image by kannon}

5 Tips for Hosting a Blog Giveaway

Giving a prize away on your blog can be a great way to spread the word about your work, thank loyal readers, or spotlight the artist that provided the giveaway item. For those of you thinking of hosting one of your own, here is my advice after recently hosting a 15-prize giveaway. Read on and learn from my mistakes!

1) Request e-mail addresses.
Have a sure way of contacting your winners. Unclaimed prizes are sad prizes!

2) Collect info efficiently.
I made a form through Google Docs and asked each winner to fill it out via e-mail. This puts their info into a password-secured spreadsheet that's much easier to read when it comes time to ship things out!

Of course, with only 1 or 2 winners, this kind of organization isn't necessary. (It should have been obvious, but I realized - as I sewed 15 handmade envelopes shut - that more winners equals more labor. Something to consider as you evaluate the time and resources available to you!)

3) Be prepared to ship internationally.
You may have more overseas fans than you think! Or, simply specify where you are willing to ship your goodies when you announce your giveaway.

4) When in doubt, check with the post office.
Unless you are absolutely sure, take your prizes to the post office to be weighed and priced out. Turned out that my sewn envelopes cost about 3 times what I first expected - still a small price to pay to ensure each prize got to its destination!

5) Be yourself.
You are representing your blog and yourself with what you send. Take this unique opportunity to jot a note, person-to-person, or reflect the style of your blog with the packaging you use. (Many thanks to my mom for providing the materials and inspiration for my giveaway packaging!)

I should note that there's no guaranteed result of a giveaway - it's impossible to predict exactly how your readers will respond! Have you been on the receiving or giving end of a giveaway? What was that like for you?

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Done!

While the bulk of the Thank You Giveaway gift card holders were sent from our family vacation in Seattle, I just mailed the last one today. Done!

In total, 15 lovingly sewn gift card holders made their way into the world as a thank-you gift to my fabulous readers. You can see two of them at annekata and silverkeys.writes, two of my favorite blogs to read! [Edit: Here is a third at Queenie and the Dew, pictured below the list of book covers!]

There were so many kind comments about the gift card holders that I'm reconsidering the idea of selling them. I always get stuck on the pricing, though. Help me out - what would you consider a fair price for these guys? You can see them here if you need a reminder of what they look like.

Thanks in advance! Stay tuned for my tips on hosting a giveaway (after learning some lessons the hard way!).

Free Idea Friday: Printable Thank-Yous, Boxes and More

Edit: Sadly, it looks like Nonpareil Magazine and its wonderful downloads are no longer available online. We will miss you, Nonpareil!

Planning a stylish party, shower, or wedding on a budget? Designer Kellie Medivitz does it again with printable thank you cards, paper cones, medallions, envelope liners/gift wrap pages, and favor boxes. For free! Get yours here at Nonpareil Magazine.

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Green Gift Wrapping Roundup

Here are posts about gift wrapping that incorporate recycled items or gift wrapping that can be used again after the gift is opened. It is really wonderful to see the innovation of each of these bloggers!

Baby food jar gift packaging at Little Miss Momma
Puzzle-piece kid's box at The New Domestic
Trash can & bucket gift "baskets" at A Little Tipsy
8 luxe wallpaper wraps at More Style Than Cash
Shirt and tie gift wrapping at Design*Dump (shown above)

I am really impressed with all the gift wrap variations you can do with wallpaper (or any sturdy paper!) just by studying how high-end brands do their packaging. And the tie gift wrap for Father's Day is an amazing (and hard to attain) meld of crafty and masculine! Which idea is striking you today?

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