Confetti Gift Wrapping Roundup

Confetti must be a trend right now because I'm seeing it all over the place! Colorful and free-spirited, confetti can give a celebratory punch of color and texture to gifts and cards. Let these ideas inspire you...and if you try one of them, let us know!

Party popper invitations at Oh Happy Day
Confetti party bags at Poppies for Grace (via PaperCrave)
Rainbow brad invitations by A Subtle Revelry
Confetti-dipped gifts (shown above) by Tokketok
Edited to add: Monica's version of the above idea at 3@12 (via Family Style)

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{Image via Tokketok}

Free Printable Patterned Gift Tags | Free Printable Friday

Sometimes you want a gift tag that just adds a little accent to your gift. These do trick, for free! Thanks to Ez and Marichelle for deciding to share these super fun patterned gift tags with us as a free printable! This duo once ran their own packaging shop but had to close when life took them down different paths.

Ez plans to share more gift wrapping posts and freebies from their old business. Look here for the tags, and keep an eye out on Creature Comforts for her future posts!

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{Image via Creature Comforts}

A Note About Sponsors

I've added a few ads to the sidebar this week. What do you think? I was just lamenting to G that there is only so much variety in the Google AdSense ads that show up on The Gifted Blog.

So I found a few relevant vendors and am trying out their ads here. Let me introduce you! First off, Minted. This San Francisco company partners with independent designers and lets you pick from the best of their work. (I'm going to try out their promotion for 25 free "mommy cards".)

Second, Paper Source. After getting to know a woman who works there, I better understand that not only do they carry a beautiful assortment of paper, but the people they employ are often artists themselves. This particular woman was using her income from Paper Source to set up her own letterpress studio. Love it.

Finally, I saw that Groupon is running a special for Martha Stewart Living and Everyday Food: a year-long subscription to both for $20. Early Christmas gifts, anyone? As of now there are 30 more hours to get in on this deal.

These ads work differently than the Google ones - if you make a purchase through any of these, a small commission will come back to support the blog. My attitude about ads on blogs has evolved over time. Bottom line, it's one way that I hope to turn my passion for making things into a living!

There's so much more I could say about the intersection of creativity and income, but I think that's for another post. I'd love to hear from you, though - do you think these vendors make sense for my blog? If you blog, have you tried to make money with it?

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{Images 1 and 2 via Minted and Paper Source}

Security Envelope Wrapping Paper | Gift Wrap Everywhere

At different points, friends will comment on how long I've been writing The Gifted Blog. "So, do you still have ideas for it?" one friend asked. I do! When you're a gift wrapping enthusiast, the possibilities are everywhere. It's like when you learn a new word and keep coming across it - anywhere I go can bring a new idea for how to wrap a gift.

It gave me the idea for a new series: Gift Wrap Everywhere*. I will be highlighting items I've run across in daily life that are perfect for unconventional gift wrapping. Seriously, gift wrap is everywhere!

First up: some indecipherable financial documents.

Boring. (And they sent two copies. Double boring!) But take a look inside the envelope.

The faux bois pattern of this large envelope was just begging to be repurposed as eco-friendly wrapping paper! I put the seam of the paper on top of the box and added an extra piece of washi tape as a decorative touch.

(I must have had Essimar in the back of my mind! Though, my tape design is so simple...more like Essimar Lite.)

I felt the result was a clean, modern look. Might it even count as manly gift wrapping?

*Inspired by Imrpov Everywhere and the idea that you can make what you love (even live theater) wherever you go!

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Wrinkle-Free Ribbon | 5 Minute Upgrade

This series was born when a friend requested quick ways to make a gift look nice before running out the door. Find more fast gift wrapping ideas here. 

I'm all for recycled gift wrap, but your gift wrapping shouldn't usually scream "I'm used!!" While browsing PaperCrave, I found this great tip from Real Simple. Use a flat iron set on low to quickly get rid of wrinkles in fabric ribbon in your stash. Good as new!

Of course, you can also bust out a real iron, or use a tip I learned from Jeffery Rudell's grandmother: carefully slide ribbon over a warm lightbulb to get the creases out.

Do you re-use ribbon?

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{Image by Real Simple}

Aloha Socks | Gift Wrap Story

N and I spent a chunk of time in Seattle as a part of our trips 'home' to see family. Our trip coincided with my brother-in-law's birthday, so I requested his wish list from my sister the week before. We weren't able to swing the Shiba Inu at the top of the list, but new athletic socks were ably procured at Costco.

I wondered how to wrap this birthday gift in an interesting way. Soft shapes are the hardest to wrap, and I wasn't keen on trying to wrap them as they were already packaged. Then it hit me. A lei! Brother-in-law A is from Hawaii, and after seeing different iterations of candy leis as graduation gifts, I was eager to try the technique myself.

My wonderful cousin (and reader - hi M!) gave me a ball of yarn she found in a curbside 'free box'. Since it was already in my suitcase, I used this vibrant yarn and a length of plastic wrap to wrap the socks.

I rolled each sock, lined them up on the wrap, then rolled them to seal the plastic. I knotted the ends of the plastic wrap and tied yarn bows between each sock. We were vacationing with my extended family and I got some amused looks (and confused my grandma in the process).

My family joked that they looked like onigiri (Japanese rice balls).

A has such a fun and buoyant personality and graciously received our absurdly wrapped gift. We love you, A!

Wrapping socks in food-grade plastic was definitely a gift wrapping first for me. But it was a hoot! Can you think of other gifts you could wrap as a lei?

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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Free Printable Gift Wrap + More | Free Printable Friday

For those of you with a small gift to wrap or a party to throw, here is a beautiful set of free printables! Follow this link for free printable gift wrap, invitations, place cards and gift tags, generously shared by Kristen of Domestifluff. (I just realized this is the same Kristen from PaperCrave and several recent free printables!)

If you'd like to top off your pom pom gift wrap with a yarn flower like the one above, see Kristen's instructions for making your own. Kristen, thanks (again) for the goodies!

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{Image via Domestifluff}

DIY Doily Gift Wrapping

We're back home in Pasadena after a long summer pilgrimage to our hometowns. I'm settling back into life at home, including my blogging rhythm.



Fresh off rambling through antique stores in Iowa (so awesome!), I'm loving this doily gift wrapping idea from A Rather Lovely Wedding Blog. I saw so many handmade doilies in the shops but thought I had zero use for them. Now, thanks to this simple tutorial, maybe I'll pick a few up next time! Find the easy DIY instructions here.

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{Image via A Rather Lovely Wedding Blog}

Free Harry Potter Font | Free Printable Friday

My sister sent me a little follow-up email after I wrote about her Harry Potter gift wrapping:

Sometimes when I'm working on cards, etc, I go to this site for neat computer fonts: http://www.dafont.com. There are a lot of free fonts and it might help some gift-wrappers!

Specifically, you can find the "Harry P" font she used for my husband's gift right here. Enjoy!

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Make These With Me

...won't you? I'm teaching my first original class at Common Thread Studio and I want you there!

These Madeleine Mini Bloomers are designed by the popular Colette Patterns, and I'll be your guide to sewing your own. They take just a yard of fabric to make, whether you're an XS or an XL.

Sassy and sexy in a retro (not vulgar) way, I could barely wait to make a pair for myself. And then I made another for my sister. I gave this pair to her on our trip to Seattle this month (figured by Christmastime they'll be too cold to wear!).

Join me on Saturday, August 13th for some sewing fun. Class size is limited to 4, so join while you can! Class details are here.

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No-Waste Bridal Shower Gift Wrap | Gift Wrap Story

Our friends S and W were married this summer and I participated in the wedding as a bridesmaid (and tissue paper flower czar). I don't have much practice as a bridesmaid, and was so glad to have another bridesmaid to co-host the shower with me!

This creative gift wrap idea for S's bridal shower gift started with a purse from work. I think it used to display a set of fabric samples, and my boss gave it to me when we were organizing merchandise. I put it in my closet for a gift wrapping opportunity such as this!

I wanted to give S something practical, yet pretty. After wiping down N's high chair tray 2-3 times a day, I've come to love Method's pink grapefruit cleaning spray, and I've been a fan of their hand soap for even longer. I got a trio of Method cleaners that I hoped would make cleaning up for one another more fun for S and W. Service is definitely a cornerstone of a good marriage.

I also embroidered some dishtowels (inspired by these guys) and stitched up a tulle potscrubber (that puffy thing below). (Side note: Did anyone else grow up using these? After an unfruitful Google search for a tutorial, I'm starting to think these are a dying art that only 2nd-generation Japanese American grandmas have mastered!)

Taking a cue from a reader's family tradition (thanks, J!), I 'wrapped' the cleaning products in the dishtowels and tucked them in the purse.

And to secure the potscrubber? Inspired by the couple's tissue paper flowers, I accordion-folded a little stack of tissue...

and secured it with a length of pipe cleaner.

I threaded the long end of the pipe cleaner through the potscrubber and twisted it on the purse handle.

In the end I was excited to give a gift in not recycled gift wrap, but gift wrap that is totally reusable! I had a little "Yay! She likes it!" moment when the purse made an appearance as S's "get-away" bag when she and the groom exited their wedding reception at the end of the night.

Have you wrapped any bridal shower gifts lately? What did you give?

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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