Taking My Own Advice | Wrap Story

You want to know one of the best gifts you can give parents of young kids? Babysitting.

G and I have been making a concerted effort to go on more dates (or even do 'in-house' dates). We were so touched when our busy friend offered to take N for an afternoon so we could go have lunch. E was getting ready for a trip to Yosemite so we picked up some hiking-friendly snacks as a thank you.

For some reason I started stressing about the gift wrapping. Maybe I was feeling rusty since I hadn't had many gift-giving occasions. I started overthinking things and trying to come up with a clever, hiking-in-Yosemite themed gift wrap. Oh, the pressure!

Then it hit me: keep it simple, stupid. Take your own advice and use a 5 Minute Upgrade idea. This was a great opportunity to try two of these quick upgrades out: bows on bags and fabric scrap ribbon.

I'd found these fabric pieces in the scrap bin at work, washed them to fray the edges, and had been hoarding them for future gift wrapping. They're a beautiful cotton-linen blend from Japanese brand Kokka.

And because one ribbon didn't seem like enough, I went for two. Whew! Thank goodness for simple solutions. Do you ever find yourself making things more complicated than they need to be?

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 Favor Boxes | Free Printable Friday

These cute printable favor boxes by Don't Eat the Paste come in four colors. I'd love to see someone mix and match them for wedding favors or maybe a series of small gifts for the same person!

More free printable favor boxes here.

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{Image via How About Orange}

A Year Ago on The Gifted Blog

2010
Pretty Japanese Packaging. Gift wrapped purchases make for a special shopping experience in Japan.

Have Gift, Will Travel. Reader tips for traveling with gifts.

Karakusaya: Kyoto Furoshiki Mecca. A trip to one of Kyoto's oldest furoshiki manufacturers.

2011
How to Store Gift Wrap. Advice on keeping your gift wrapping supplies tidy and accessible.

Graffiti Wine Bottle. A no-fuss way to dress up a bottle of wine for hostess gifts and celebrations.

Majoring in Gift Wrapping. Ever heard of a college thesis on gift wrapping? Makes me want to go back to school...

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Manly Gift Wrapping Roundup II

Ever since my last manly gift wrapping roundup I've been looking for more masculine ideas for wrapping presents. Let me tell you: they're rare! This year half the ideas have something to do with men's apparel. The cool thing is you can incorporate something already in dad's closet or a brand new gift you're giving for Father's Day.

Button-up shirt wrap at A Subtle Revelry
Leather belt gift topper at House of Howards
Playful gift mask by John Boak
Map + hand-lettered gift tag at Meeha Meeha
Tissue + leather gift wrapping at Corinna Wraps
Tie and suspenders gift wrapping at Lilyshop (shown above)

A year ago: Manly Gift Wrapping Roundup

Which one is your favorite? Would you use any of these for the men in your life, or would they be just as happy with the roll of all-occasions gift wrap in your closet?

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{Image via Lilyshop}

Inside Out Gift Box | Gift Wrap Everywhere

Gift Wrap Everywhere highlights items I've run across in daily life that are perfect for unconventional gift wrapping. Seriously, gift wrap is everywhere!

Around Christmastime I bought these chocolate star cookies from Trader Joe's.

(Strictly for the purposes of my LA Times photoshoot...not because they sounded yummy or anything, or because they made good snacks as I was photographing them and worrying about how the article would turn out...)

Ahem. Anyway, I had to wrap G's Christmas gift and remembered this tip I posted about way back in 2009. I unglued the box and put it back together inside-out.

I wrapped G's Christmas gift in a piece of striped t-shirt and N helped with the decorations.

It's a snake family.

It was a simple gift wrapping idea to execute, and I enjoyed using the cut out star as part of the embellishment! Next time you take a stroll down the grocery aisle (or rummage through the pantry) - you never know - you might discover the material for creative gift wrap!

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Free Printable Father's Day Cards & More | Free Printable Saturday

Father's Day is two Sundays away! I thought I'd post these free printables today to give you a little time to get these in the mail (or wrapped around a can of shaving cream, as the case may be).

Father's Day cards, invites, pennants and more by Ana of Love Party Printables.
Free printable HERE (via)

Printable shaving kit label by Jennifer of Delightfully Noted.
Free printable HERE

Assorted Father's Day cards by Mandi at Thinking About Pretty.
Free printable HERE

As always, a big thanks to the generous designers who've made these for the dads in our lives. Hope these goodies help you celebrate!

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Reader's Baby Shower Gift Wrapping

It's been a while since I've received a photo of a reader's gift wrapping, so I was happy to hear from Abeer in Ashburn, Virginia.

She writes:

I was on your lovely blog, and you mentioned if we were proud of a gift wrap to let you know. My sister-in-law had a baby and I gift wrapped this gift - it was a blue-white plaid shirt and I was able to find a similar ribbon! 

Abeer, thank you for taking the time to snap a photo! I love happy gift wrapping coincidences like that. I like how you've used cellophane to wrap this baby shower gift in an unusual way - everything is visible, yet beautifully presented.

Have a gift you're proud of wrapping? Take a photo (in natural light if possible) and drop me a line: giftedmailbox[at]gmail.com!

More reader creativity here.

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The Gift I Wrapped in the Bathroom | Wrap Story

A personal first, folks: I wrapped a gift in the bathroom. We'd flown up to Seattle and spent most of the day en route to SeaTac airport and then Whidbey Island with my parents and sister. The next morning was Mother's Day already and I hadn't wrapped my mom's present!

I picked out a piece of newsprint from the fire log stack. Then I grabbed my camera, the gift (lotion from my work), and a bag and headed to the master bathroom of the house we were staying in to get out of Mom's sight.

I'd planned ahead a bit by bringing the gift bag from work. (I think they're originally meant for coffee beans.) I really like them - they're sturdy and easy to make attractive with a bit of tissue paper (or in my case, newspaper) concealing the gift.

Done just in time for Mother's Day breakfast!

My sister (head breakfast chef), mom and dad.

I think my mom liked the lotion. But the story doesn't stop there - look what she did!

My mom turned the gift bag into a beautiful way to present the house owners with a thank-you. My dad's cousin and wife had graciously given us the keys to their place for our vacation, and my mom put some gift cards into the bag along with some dried grasses, stones, and shells from beachcombing with N.

So much cooler than what I did. Oh, moms.

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Imaginary Tweets: Pretty Lemonade Edition

Pretty lemonade.

Latest reads: The Fault in Our Stars (WOW), Peony in Love (just okay).

Made this this week.

Working on the lettuce leaf of this.

Cool, check out Lucy's Shanghai home on DesignSponge!

Pregnancy snack in heavy rotation: cottage cheese & mango/watermelon.

In my 3rd trimester! Feeling good, getting rounder by the week.

Recession wine tags made me laugh (via).

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{Image by Emma & Elsie via A Beautiful Mess}