wrap it with an origami bow

I have major magazine fetish. It's so naughty, when I gave up smoking years ago I took up magazines instead. And I'm not picky in my genre either, food, decorating, country homes and antiques... I'll read them all

I also do this thing where I'll read, re-read, attempt to recycle, retrieve from the recycling then read again - pretty much every magazine I buy is subject to my thorough re-reading process

I really loved the colours in Elle Decorating magazine; greys, white, palest pinks - so I decided once I'd read and re-read I'd do a spot of reconstructing with these 'orgami' bows. I call them origami because they are made of folded paper, but I'm sure they're not official origami

I cut my pages into half inch strips and fiddled around with them and a couple of those pins with the legs (I think they're called brads?)

I tried to make a traditional star shaped gift bow by making figure of eights with my strips of paper, but it looked a little lopsided

the rounder bow was made by folding the two ends of a strip to meet in the middle and pinning them together. The rosette style one was made with three loops of paper with inverted v shapes at the end

while I liked the minimalism of the magazine's colour scheme paired with the brown paper packages, these would look great made with brightly coloured origami papers, or use different coloured strips to make a rainbow bow!



wrap it in love

I decided to post this valentine-esque wrap it now, nearly a week late, because I have suddenly converted into of those pseudo cynics who claim the reason they don't celebrate valentines is because love should not be consigned to one day and year when in fact, you should spend every day honoring your loved one. Of course I am lying, and like the forgetful lover am trying to make excuses for my lateness. In honesty, I forgot to write this post, so I am bringing it to you now, to show that I love you dear readers, more than just one day a year.

I found this rose print wrapping paper in my favourite little gift shop in Crystal Palace and was instantly caught up in the romance of those swirling scarlet roses. I have never seen 'Casablanca' or 'Gone With the Wind' but this package instantly reminds me of those golden age classics

As you can see, I don't know how to tie a bow-tie, but the man delivering this gift is never without one. By the end of the night those roses have been stashed in a vase, the bow-tie hanging loose around his unbuttoned collar and his lady's lace slip is peeking from under the hem of her conservative length skirt.

If James Bond were a true gentleman he would come armed with a gift like this.

If the Milk Tray man ever thought outside the (chocolate) box he would leave more than a solitary card

If romance could be parcelled up and gifted away, this is how I think it should look.

wrap it like cowboys & indians

Since I am joining in with '30 Days of BOY' hosted by Dana Made It and Made by Rae I figured this week's wrap-it should be boy-centric. I brainstormed some ideas, anyone fancy a slugs & snails themed wrap it? Non? Instead I picked some classic games I imagine little boys play (before Halo Wars and Pokemon that is). So I bring you, Cowboys & Indians:

I dressed up my brown paper cowboy package with a lassoo (aka length of curtain braiding), sheriff's badge and strip of check vellum that I think looks like a cowboy's shirt non?

I'm not sure it's entirely pc to call it 'cowboys & indians' anymore, so this is the Native American inspired package complete with tissue paper fringe, feathers and a leather thong with some handpainted coloured beads.

And check back later in the week for a 'cops & robbers' wrap-it and maybe something Lego inspired too!

Blue Skies,
Charlotte xo

wrap it - furoshiki style

I've come over all oriental inspired with this week's wrap it since it is Chinese New Years tomorrow.

The red & gold colour scheme are quintessentially Chinese, red being the colour of new year and symbolising happiness... and what could be happier than gifting?

I'll be honest, these are actually Christmas gifts (albeit gifts that never got given at Christmas) and contain little jars of cranberry sauce and chutney - very apt at Xmas, but very difficult to wrap. Which is where the oriental inspiration really comes into it's own (albeit a little South-East of China) in the Japanese art of furoshiki

Now, I appreciate that these are not exactly works of art, and I know they don't do any justice to the Japanese artistry of the real thing and I promise a genuine furo-wrap sometime very soon but for now: I bring you my Japan-inspired tea-towel wrapped Christmas Chinese New Year gifts

... and if you're worried about tying yourself in knots with the real thing check out how evergreen wraps and martha stewart do it!

wrap it with a doily

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I think I should just go ahead and re-commission this week as official doily week, what do you think? As you know I am a super fan of a brown paper package with a little embellishment be it a ribbon curl, origami bow or recycled Xmas decoration and since I am mega obsessed with doilies at the moment I figured I'd do a little wrap-it round up of doily packages. Thrifted crochet, vintage paper or entirely handmade, I do love a little doily action:

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wrap it like a polaroid picture

This Christmas I found myself with a growing bookmarked collection of Polaroid inspired decorating ideas. Now before I send you running for the hills, not yet recovered from the hangover of the previous Christmas, I plan on saving all my little bookmarkies for later in the year - and I mean much later, with an Autumn baby birthday party to plan for, I am most definitely not one of those people who annoyingly calls mid-August to enquire about your plans for Boxing Day Lunch (hello nan!). But since gifting and the lesser appreciated but still as lovely gift-wrapping are year-round pursuits and since we make a regular feature of lovely packages I thought I should share this one right now.

As I might have mentioned before I am a big fan of dressing up a brown paper package so, inspired by this post here are my Polarised gift tags:

A Christmassey one - sorry to all you Grinches but I am lamenting the huge hole in my heart and living room where my twinkly tree stood!

A sneak peak at the contents:

 

Anf my favourite, not least because oh my- how cute is my kid? Perfect for toddlers who can't read their name yet (true story: a couple of years ago my mom came downstairs on Xmas morning to find my younger brother had opened all the presents looking for his new toys!)

Happy wrapping folks!

Blue Skies,

Charlotte xo

p.s. for those of you too painstakingly self-aware but not quite hip and edgy enough to own a polaroid (like me, for instance) check out Poladroid, where you can upload your digipics and polarise them!

wrap it... with your christmas leftovers

This week might find you clearing away the clutter of Christmas, decorations packed neatly, lights bundled haphazardly, a deep fresh new year breath in your home and heart when you realise it's your bosses/sisters/neighbours birthday/anniversary/engagement. Faced with a gift-giving opportunity just when you thought your were in the clear until at least Valentines day leaves brings you out in a cold sweat as your mind flashes back to that frantic Christmas Eve where we find you in the middle of the floor with an extra large brandy to keep you company, strips of pre-cut sellotape hanging from every finger (and it looks like your elbow too!) while you curse whoever designed wrapping paper to be two inches too short! But fear not friends, before the panic sets in and you resign yourself to the giftwrap service of an overpriced faceless department store take a look around you. Your holiday clutter and Christmas leftovers could be your saving grace

This is the mutt of giftwraps - two strips of coordinating paper not big enough to be useful, brought together with a spot of sparkle



And while we're talking about that ribbon, I am usually a fan of a cross-tied ribbon (like a 'traditional' parcel) with a big bow. Here my too short ribbon not only covers the divide between papers but I like to think gives a modern twist



This is my favourite of this project. I love the sense of whimsy and play - perfect for a child (or big kid). I used more leftover ribbon (hence the red, gold and green colour scheme) and tied on little plastic toys from our Christmas crackers - a heart shaped keyring, pencil sharpener, miniature spinning top and teeny stencil.

To finish, as many ribbon curls as one package can hold, I wanted to create the image of a cracker being pulled with this gift

Also inspired and accessorised by the cracker, here I reused a chocolate coloured gift box that just two weeks ago sat underneath my tree, but was starting to look a bit battered around the edges. I used the quintessential and often mocked paper hat as trimming, scrunching a little to disguise the creased edges and securing in place with a lot of double sided tape



And even if you opt for a simple brown paper-white string combo (which is always my starting point when I'm not dressing up for photoshoots!) you can still accessorise your gifts with tags cut from your cards. Go for a traditional 'label' shape (and you can even buy label punches in craft stores) or cut around specific shapes. Me, I love my pinking shears and will find any excuse to use them.

Of course some of them will still look super-seasonal so stick them all in an envelope, slot it in the December pages of your diary and feel super smug that you have already started your Christmas planning!