Creative Gift Wrap for Shoes | Reader Question

"[I]t seems like every time I want to wrap something unusual (most recently, a homemade pair of baby shoes), I need some kind of box. In vain I searched for downloads for boxes that were the right size...I ended up just folding some paper and smashing the shoes a little. But is there a better way to wrap an unusual gift without a box? Especially if it is a smallish flexible one like baby shoes??"   --501

Hi, 501! Good question. How do you gift wrap a pair of baby shoes? Readers, we'd like to open this one up for discussion. It seems like there are two questions on the table:
1) Does anyone have a good source for free printable boxes?
2) If you can't find a box, what's a good gift wrapping idea for small, soft gifts?

I once folded a paper envelope for a pair of cloth slippers I sewed for my niece (similar to this homemade gift bag idea). But there must be other solutions. Don't be shy - pitch in with your two cents!

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{Images by Marco Bellucci and Allerina & Glen MacLarty}

It Makes Room | Why We Make

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.

One of the pleasures of becoming a mom has been rediscovering the public library. I first went to take N to storytime, but now I'm hooked on this free wealth of knowledge and inspiration. One library book I've been mulling over lately is Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life by Margaret Kim Peterson.

She writes very thoughtfully about the deeper things we can learn from tending a household. In the basic acts of feeding, housing, and clothing others, we help to ensure that life goes on. Peterson notes descriptions of God 'keeping house': creating a place to live, growing a garden good for food, making the first garments for Adam and Eve. There is dignity and meaning in being like God.

One description of making caught my attention in particular:

It is this capacity of handwork to make room for joy, room for grief, room for hope and waiting and process, that makes it so valuable a practice in a world that increasingly has no room for any of these things. Many of us have less and less experience with anything that unfolds over time...But life is not instantaneous. It takes time, and handwork can be a way to weave temporality and process back into our lives. (pg 80)

I experienced this exact phenomenon while sewing today with a customer who has come to sew at the studio a handful of times. In the process of cutting, sewing fabrics, and joining layers together, she told me about a painful life situation.

We absolutely experienced what Peterson writes about - as the sewing project came together, our relationship was created as well. She was comfortable enough to shed a few tears and bring a private matter to light. The sewing made room for grief...and as I offered prayer and tried to sympathize, I hope it made room for encouragement as well.

Peterson also writes:

There are, of course, other ways to join one life with another. Not everyone has to learn to knit or sew or spin. But there is something very real in the connections that are forged in handwork of various kinds, even though industrialization has changed the character of handwork from an art of necessity to an art of choice." (pg 78)

What relationships in your life have been strengthened by making things together? Where has the process of handwork (in any form) created room for joy, grief, or just the opportunity to experience life as a process that takes time?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. And if the book has piqued your interest, I encourage you to check out Keeping House.

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{Images by mazaletel and Andres Rueda} 

Printable Easter Gift Tags | Free Printable Friday

We're not usually so organized as to give N gifts for Easter, but growing up I distinctly remember receiving some cool Easter baskets from my mom.

If you're celebrating Easter and need a little extra something for your gift wrapping, consider using these free printable gift tags from PaperCrave! They can be printed onto cardstock for tags or even label paper to make stickers. Enjoy - and happy Easter!

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Labors of Love Gift Wrapping Roundup

It's been a while since my last roundup of gift wrapping ideas. The theme of this collection of creative gift wrapping is 'Labors of Love': gifts that have been wrapped with amazing care and attention to detail. Enjoy!

Newspaper & mizuhiki gift wrapping (idea #3) by Shiho Matsuda
Vintage paint-by-number wrapping paper at Just Something I Made
Pop-up message ribbon at Martha Stewart
Seed-embedded gift pouches at Design*Sponge
Juice concentrate gift boxes (shown above) by reader Michele

Hands down, the juice concentrate gift boxes are my favorite. You have to see them - your jaw will drop! Which idea is striking your fancy today?

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Baby Shower Gift Wrap | Gift Wrap Story

Compared to our peers, G and I had our son N pretty early on, while many of our friends were single or just starting out in marriage. So, we're pumped that some of our married friends are having babies, too!

E & S go to our church and have been friends of ours for several years now. I feel like I write this about all our friends, but they really are great. The kind of people you can be yourself around, generous to a fault, and super dependable.

Taking advantage of my new workplace, I sewed a couple of burp cloths a few days before E & S's baby shower. (I hope to write a tutorial for making them on the Common Thread blog sometime!)

We went to our trusty local bookstore and selected some books. We chose a favorite, Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding (hilarious protagonist, haven't tired of it yet) and one new to us, Shades of People. I think it's really important for kids - especially mixed-race kids - to see examples of families that come in all different shades and combinations.

G did the initial gift wrapping the night before the baby shower, putting both books together. (This must be his efficient engineer side coming out.) Then I had to figure out what to do with the burp cloths. It was similar to the dilemma with this gift - a hard component and a soft component. How could they work together?

Ah-ha! A bow. I pleated the burp cloths and tied them with a bit of recycled sari ribbon.

S has Indian roots, and since we didn't find a book about Indian culture, I thought it was kind of fun to incorporate ribbon made from saris for her!

Another length of ribbon secured the bow to the package.

Almost forgot to add a tag! (Not really into gift tags right now...wish I could leave most gifts without them.)

My assistant.

The completed baby shower gift wrap. Yay, E & S! Can't wait to meet your baby!

Readers, what favorite baby shower gifts have you given or received this year?

This Wrap Story is part of a series documenting every present I’ve wrapped since the launch of The Gifted Blog. Click here to see them all! 

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Linked up at Craft Schooling Sunday.

Free Printable Favor Box | Free Printable Friday

Edit: Sadly, it looks like Nonpareil Magazine and its wonderful downloads are no longer available online. We will miss you, Nonpareil! To find a variation of these boxes, take a look here.

I've featured printable favor boxes before, but what I really like about these is all the ways they can be tweaked and dressed up. Aren't these images inspirational?

Click here to get your free printable box templates from Nonpareil Magazine, designed by Kristen Magee of PaperCrave! What would you put in yours?

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Thank Zoo Very Much | Gift Wrap Story

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

A few weeks ago we drove down to San Diego. G had an academic conference, and N and I came along to make it a family getaway. Our longtime friends J & S hosted us for a couple nights.

Our one plan for the trip was to go to the San Diego Zoo, and I had a feeling beforehand that our generous friends were going to treat us. Time to ask: what would Baachan do? (See story here on my grandma's gift giving prowess.)

Come prepared with a gift, of course! I found this awesome set of cards at Common Thread for our dog-loving hosts.

(Meet Titus, one of their two doggies.)

We had a great time visiting with J & S and immediately felt comfortable in their neatly-kept home. We were treated to lots of time together, a walk to the park, and a yummy pizza dinner. Then, unexpectedly, S came down with the stomach flu. On the morning of our zoo trip, she was in no shape to come, and J decided he would stick around to take care of her.

However, they'd just purchased a zoo membership to take us to the zoo (I knew it! So generous.). J drove an hour round-trip just to pick up the membership packet in person and give us their guest passes. We felt very taken care of.

And we had a blast! (Though we really had to goad N into smiling for the camera...j/k.)

I picked up an extra zoo map and brought it back to the house for a quick, tape-less gift wrap. (Gift wrapping nerd that I am, I had this planned this since before the trip.) I brought some wool yarn from home for an easy, non-wrinkling gift wrapping material to pair with the map. I learned these tricks from readers!

We had a really great trip, thanks to J & S. I was so grateful for their comfortable hospitality, and for all the ways they went out of their way for us. Have any of you been hosted overnight lately? What do you bring (if anything) for hostess gifts?

For more tips on traveling with gifts, please click here.

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Coffee Filter Gift Lining | 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 for every 5 Minute Upgrade post to date!

Out of tissue paper, or just looking for a different way to line a gift box? This reader of the Garnish blog used one of their loaf liners to package a gift. I like it! The pleated edges add a nice touch to this present's presentation. I'm thinking a standard-sized coffee filter could also be used.

We use this reusable gold filter to make coffee, so I'm afraid I can't try this one. Let me know if you give this gift wrapping idea a shot! Better yet, give us a peek in The Gifted Blog Flickr Pool.

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Giving and Receiving in Iran

I kind of like folding laundry, and I like it even more when I'm listening to This American Life. This morning I listened to an episode titled Oh, You Shouldn't Have:

"Stories about the perils of giving and receiving gifts: Ones that go over spectacularly well in spite of being in poor taste, and ones that flop even with the best intentions. Including what happens when—surprise!—your whole past gets laid out for a live TV audience."

Entertaining and thought-provoking as usual. Since some of you have asked about gift-giving customs in other countries, I wanted to recommend the 3rd act in particular. In it, an Iranian-American tells her stories about Tarof, a custom that influences all giving and receiving in Iranian culture - even the simple act of offering a guest a piece of fruit.

Whether you're folding laundry or not, tune in here (look for the 'Play Episode' button). The whole show is great, but you can skip straight to 34:10 to learn more about the art of giving and receiving in Iran.

Have you recently experienced another culture's way of giving or receiving?

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{Image by Håkan Dahlström}