Hand Drawn Bow | 5 Minute Upgrade

This series was born when a friend requested quick ways to make a gift look nice before running out the door. Want more fast gift wrapping ideas? Click here to see every 5 Minute Upgrade post to date!

I saw this idea in a nice post on SimpleMom titled Eco-friendly and green gift wrapping ideas for this holiday season. Out of ribbon, or just looking for a way to personalize plain gift wrap? Break out the crayons and have at it! This would be a fun way to decorate a gift to be mailed or taken on a trip for the holidays - no ribbon bow to get squashed!

It doesn't have to be symmetrical or even that realistic - even the most childish-looking bow would have me smiling. What about you? Too simple for your tastes, or just right?

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Eco-Felt Ornament Workshop

You are cordially invited to The Gifted Blog's Eco-Felt Ornament Workshop! This is my only workshop of the season, and I'm excited to announce there's a "buddy discount" for anyone who registers with a friend.

Who: You (and a friend)
What: Slow down during this stressful season and treat yourself to a mini crafting retreat! You'll make a set of three beautiful ornaments with eco-friendly felt.
When: Saturday, December 11th, 10:00-12:30 pm
Where: My home in Pasadena
Cost: $30 for individuals; $25 if you sign up with a friend

Some of you know how much I enjoy hand sewing, and this is the perfect chance to see for yourself how much fun it can be. Inspired by the beautiful work of Lupin Handmade's Laura Howard, I whipped up this eco-friendly take on the traditional bauble ornament (with her blessing)!

In this class, you'll use basic stitches to make a set of 3 beautiful ornaments. These can be used as gift toppers or given as a very special gift themselves. (Though I won't fault you if you can't bear to give yours away!) We'll use two kinds of material: a felt made with recycled plastic bottles, and felted wool and cashmere sweaters rescued from the thrift store. I'm so happy with the results of this combination!

Beginning and advanced hand sewers are welcome. I'm prepared to teach you how to thread a needle, or let you loose on the sequins to stitch away!

In short:

Saturday, December 11th

10:00-12:30 pm

Pasadena, CA

$30 / $25 with the buddy discount

To register, please complete the form below.

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Christmas Gift Wrapping Idea: Start with a Theme

With Thanksgiving behind us I can focus The Gifted Blog on the obvious - holiday gift wrapping! I will continue posting about gift wrapping of all sorts, but from now through December 24th I will share my best Christmas gift wrapping ideas, as well as inspiration from across the web.

Today's Christmas gift wrapping idea is from Cassandra Radstaak of {rad}. If you'd like to get a head start on your holiday wrapping, why not begin with a theme? She writes:

Above is the scheme I came up with - red, white, silver and blue, mixed with craft paper items. I have red and white twine, some glittered peace signs and wrapping paper that is red, white and silver. Craft paper items are a staple of mine so I always have them on hand. A little nature with some glitter and snow.

While the idea of a "theme" for Christmas gift wrapping can seem restrictive, I love that Cassandra was able to pull from items she had already (such as the animal stickers, ornaments and peace signs). The vibe is already eclectic and fun!

This is something I probably never would have considered before, but after wrapping several gifts in very different ways last year, it would be a relief to have one set of colors and materials to work with. What about you? Any other Christmas gift wrapping ideas I should know about?

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

{Images by Cassandra Radstaak: 1 & 2, 3}

Pinwheel Gift Bag | Free Printable Friday

For my U.S. readers, I hope you are having a great Thanksgiving holiday.

Today's free printable is a mini gift bag designed by Pilgrim of draw! pilgrim. (No Thanksgiving pun intended!) If you have some small gifts to give, take a breather from turkey leftovers and put a few of these mini gift bags together!

And if you like the look of this cheerful little bag, you're in luck. You can find a host of gift tags, thank you cards, labels and more here. Pilgrim designed a month's worth of free goodies in honor of her birthday, and they are all adorable. Go nuts!

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Save the Date

We're taking off this morning to spend Thanksgiving with family, but I wanted to be sure to let you know to save the date! My next workshop is Saturday, December 11, 9:00-11:30 am *10:00-12:30 pm in Pasadena, CA.

You'll learn how to stitch a set of eco-felt ornaments for your tree, cubicle, or anywhere that needs a touch of cheer! These would make a perfect gift as well. If you're able, take a couple of hours off with me to create something beautiful!

There will be a special "buddy" discount if you sign up with a friend, so start thinking about who you'd like to come with. Details to come - looking forward to having you!

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

With a little help from my friends...

Thanks to my talented friend Hanna Kang-Brown, The Gifted Blog is getting a new look! I haven't updated my banner since switching over to Blogger, and a change has been sorely needed. Here's a sneak peek at 3 of the drafts she sent (click for larger view).

"Flourish"

"Easy chic"

"Fresh"

Seeing these for the first time was like opening a box of chocolates! Which do you like the best? I was amazed at how she was able to convey a different attitude with each one. Way cooler than I would have been able to pull off.

The width of my banner hasn't matched the body of the blog for several months now, and it was a task that was really nagging me. When Hanna offered her design skills, I was excited, but hesitant. I have had creative control over every last detail here from day one, and I wasn't sure what it would be like to give even a small bit of that up.

I decided to pray about it. Blogging has become a spiritual testing ground for me, a place where God is shaping the kind of person I am becoming. Will I ask for his input or do it my way? Do I really believe he's in control of my success? What does it mean to do this creative work "for him"? Long story short, I asked God for direction, heard a pretty intense verse, and decided to go for it!

I'm so glad I did. Hanna was able to take my rudimentary input and distill it into designs that I immediately resonated with. I'd love to know: which do you think should become The Gifted Blog's next banner?

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Free Printable Birthday Card | Free Printable Friday

It's my birthday tomorrow! It seems only fitting to share this beautiful - and free - printable birthday card with you, courtesy of SusyJack*. (Although, now that I know about it, maybe you should find a different free card to print for me.) Susy mentions you can use this as a framed print or gift decoration, too!

As you may have noticed, I re-named this series "Free Printable Friday". (It used to be "Free Idea Friday", but most of the ideas are printables!) The "Free" category is the most-viewed category on The Gifted Blog. Please let me know if there are ways I can improve it for you!

Finally, if you use one of these free printables for your gift wrapping, show it off right here! We'd love to see.

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Mobile Gift Wrapping for Me

I'm careful about posting personal information here, especially about my husband and son. But, I wanted to share: I'm turning 29 on Saturday! Man. It's the last year of my 20's. Any advice, guys?

I remembered this awesome gift wrapping executed by my husband G for my birthday last year. I meant to blog about it, but it got lost in the Christmas gift wrapping posting fray. November 20, 2009, I awoke to an unusual mobile hanging from our dining room chandelier...

Can you guess what was beneath the rice paper?

Gift wrapping ribbons!

And a decorative corner stamp. (Put to good use here.)

Thanks, honey. This has got to be the first gift wrapping in the world that pairs electrical conduit with Japanese rice paper, then turns it all into an exercise in equilibrium. You're the best.

And I'm serious about soliciting your words of wisdom...anything I should know as I round out my 20's? Any advice you would give your 29-year-old self if you could?

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

My Mom's Creative Gift Wrap Ideas

As you may have read, our son N's birthday recently passed. At 2 years old, his gift-unwrapping was marked by happy shrieks and industrious paper-tearing. I wanted to share two of my mom's creative gift wrap ideas with you. Both are eco-friendly. Both survived the trip from Seattle to Pasadena in perfect condition. And both made me realize (again) how the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

The first is the simple cardboard tube below. I blurred the image, but you can see my mom cut out the letters of N's name in red and glued them down the front of the tube. I like that the "tag" and decoration on this creative gift wrap are one and the same.

Yellow tissue paper concealed the gift.

How easy is that? All you need is a tube bound for the recycling bin and a bit of tissue. Love it. We pulled the gift out to reveal a Japanese bullet train shirt by Namu!

The second example of my mom's creative gift wrap is this Snapfish box. Not much to look at from the back...

but the front was decorated with a picture of our family waiting for the train in Japan! Nice design work, Mom. This is a perfect example of taking what you love and making it work for your gift wrapping.

It wasn't until N opened this book my dad wrote and my mom designed that I realized it was wrapped in the box it was shipped to my parents' house in! It's doesn't get much greener than that - all that was added was a piece of heavy paper run through my parents' printer.

(And the book itself is classic. I refrained from showing the page about farting...thanks, Dad.)

Thanks to my parents for the gifts - and thanks, Mom, for the creative gift wrapping ideas! I'd like to hear: what do you all think? Have you repurposed an item bound for the recycling bin lately?

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Why We Make: California Impressionists

I write The Gifted Blog because I love to create. I've been reflecting on what it means to be a Christian and to love making things. I hope this series will be a jumping-off point for thoughtful discussion among us, no matter your spiritual background. For the whole series, click here.

I recently completed a job organizing the library of a local curator. Covered with the patina of time (and dust!), each one of these hundreds of books held a bit of personal history. From time to time I set aside books to look at later. One of these was Colonies of American Impressionism: Cos Cob, Old Lyme, Shinnecock, and Laguna Beach by Deborah Epstein Solon.

Anna Hills, High Tide, Laguna Beach, 1914

I was interested in the book because of a friend with family history in Old Lyme (hi S!). But I was most interested to learn about the California Impressionists, a group of artists who adopted the style of the Impressionist movement that originated in Paris. They "shared an unshakable sentiment about the land itself -- that nature is everywhere bountiful, innervating and good, as well as mystical, mysterious, and romantic. This attitude thoroughly pervaded California art" (pg 24).

Marion Kavanaugh Wachtell, Pasadena, c. 1920

Living in an urban, 21st-century version of California (not too far from the bridge pictured above, actually), it's easy to forget the vast wilderness this state once was. I can see how the painters of this time were impressed by the majestic natural environment surrounding them. Solon goes on to explain why nature was so important to these artists (emphasis mine):

Nineteenth-century Americans believed nature was created by God, and art by mere humans. The role of the artist was to mirror the glory of nature, its order and plan, and to evoke in the viewer the same feelings of awe, intimacy, and miracle that nature evoked. Truth was in nature, in creation, and therefore landscape became a more important subject than still life or genre painting could ever be...It was the landscape that could be morally edifying and uplifting in addition to expressing religious or spiritual conviction. (pg 24)

Benjamin Chambers Brown, The Jeweled Shore

Personally, I was struck by how clear their motivation was - God made nature, so let's paint nature as glorious as he created it. There is something refreshing and pure about this. The artist puts him or herself in the humble position of reflecting a greater work: nature itself.

I'm almost envious of how sure these painters were that their work could be "edifying and uplifting" for the soul and glorifying to God. I wrap gifts. I blog about it. It's not always as clear how these things can be "for God," how they can affect people in more than a superficial way. And yet, art that pleases God can't be limited to the California Impressionists of the early 1900s! Through excellence, listening to God for direction, and integrity, surely I can honor him, too, in my own way.

How about you? Do you feel that what you make reflects God? Or does your creative process seem separate from the spiritual?

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Two.

Our little guy turned 2! Though the Terrible Twos are emerging, we love N to bits and are delighted to witness his personality bloom. He likes to drum. He pretends our travel pillow is a walrus. He is talking up a storm these days and the glimpses into his mind are hilarious.*

With a nod to last year, here's a little picture essay of some of the gifts from his friends and family. This boy is very loved.

Auntie M cut out lots of fluffy clouds for this gift (which turned out to be a helicopter - love it!).

The polka-dot box on bottom is from Gymboree, via my grandparents. It's pretty darn cute, and I realized it's as close an American counterpart to this cute Japanese wrapping as I've seen. With gift wrapping services disappearing from major chains, I have to say, nicely done, Gymboree.

I'll post details on a couple of the gifts from my parents because I think we could all learn a trick or two from my mom's gift wrapping ideas. I hope you'll join me!

* I can't resist. Here are some sound bites from the past weeks.

While recovering from a temperature
N: Fever.
Me: No, that's a beaver.
N: Fever beaver.

Peering into garbage can
N: Messy.

Chasing squirrel with arms outstretched
N: HOLD IT??

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Vintage Popcorn Boxes | Free Printable Friday

Edit: Unfortunately, it looks like these lovely boxes are no longer available for download. Find a similar popcorn box template here (page 14)!

Here's a perfect match with this week's kettle corn recipe: free printable vintage popcorn boxes! Created by the lovely Natalie Jost for a birthday party, these would be great 'gift boxes' for your freshly-made popcorn. If freshness is a concern, you could put the popcorn in a tied plastic bag before putting it in its own vintage popcorn box.

Alternately, use one for a 'movie night' gift. Throw in a bag of microwave popcorn, some Sour Patch Kids and a gift certificate to Netflix. Some yellow tissue paper and you're done!

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Homemade Kettle Corn | Gift Wrap Story

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!

Ah, kettle corn. Crispy, salty, and sweet. Want some? Read on for a 4-ingredient recipe you can make at home! Pop some up for a quick hostess gift, snack for playgroup, or movie night munchie.

A neighbor from our university Women's Club had a baby boy, and I brought her family a dinner through our Meals for Moms program. I was going to make a main dish and salad. Then I had to go and read this blog post from a fellow Club member. Rhubarb-strawberry crumb bars!? If she can make a homemade dessert, I can at least try...

Kettle corn to the rescue! We always have salt, sugar, and oil, and thanks to this recipe, popcorn kernels are a staple, too. I tied on a letterpress gift tag from Krank Press (remember those?) for a festive touch.

Kettle Corn
Adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen
Makes 10 cups, cook time 10-15 min

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

1.  Put popcorn, sugar & salt in small bowl.
2.  In a large pot with a lid, add oil and 3 kernels of popcorn.
3.  Turn heat to medium-high and cover. When the third kernels pops, your oil is ready.
4.  Add the bowl of popcorn, sugar & salt. Give it a quick, 1-second stir to coat kernels.
5.  Cover the pot again. Once popping starts in earnest, lift off the heat and shake vigorously up and down for 3 seconds, then heat for 3 seconds. Continue until popping stops.
6.  Pour popcorn into a large bowl & enjoy.

Yum. Trust me, it's worth all the vigorous shaking. Let me know if you try it. And please join us Friday for a free printable for popcorn gift-giving!

 If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.