Aunt Peaches

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Gift Wrapping

Friday Flowers: Kaleidoscopic Berry Baskets

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I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but around here, it’s strawberry season.

In case I didn’t mention it, I love strawberries. And strawberries on sale are even better. If I let myself, I could eat a whole box in one sitting. As is I probably polish off two boxes a week — which is a lot for a single person.

And, since I hoard nifty food packaging, (and-not-so-nifty too), I thought I would find a new way to embellish the boxes.


Painting these clear plastic boxes from the inside out is a lot like painting sale signs inside windows, but far more forgiving. Start by drawing some basic shapes on the inside of the plastic with a permanent marker — I chose flowers, but you could do letters or triangles or dinosaurs, etc. Unicorns might be cool…

…then it’s just a matter of adding blobs of paint. I started with blobs of white paint over every flower, then let it dry and added yellow circles. Then that dried and added red. Then purple, then green, then used more white to fill in the blanks. Very little artistry involved; it’s all about layering.

Boom, that was it.

These would make for nifty gift wrap, or a fun way to contain odds-n-ends around the house.

OK, now let’s be honest; what sort of food packaging do you hoard?

Custom Confetti Cards

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Mother’s Day is on Sunday.

Know what Moms like? Thoughtful greeting cards.

Know what Moms like even more than thoughtful greeting cards? Thoughtfully homemade greeting cards.

Know what Moms like even more than thoughtfully homemade greeting cards?  A thoughtfully homemade greeting card that reacts when you shake it that she can hang on the fridge or show it to all her friends as if to say BET YOUR KID NEVER GAVE YOU ONE AS COOL AS THIS.

Behold:

webcam to gif
Watch the confetti dance


Last Christmas, when I was fussing with window style CD envelopes to package my Holiday Jamz, it occurred to me that these little envelopes would make great tree ornaments. I was thinking, maybe little kids could use them as frames for their snowman drawings. Or their school picture. Or something cute. Then Christmas chaos happened and I was lucky to walk out the door in matching shoes. Another idea out the window. Until now…


Cute idea, no?

Let’s kick it up a notch.

Let’s embellish the outside and add some confetti to the inside.


That’s better.

This is a great project for kids of all sizes (even adult sizes). The CD envelopes serve as frames to just about anything you can imagine and make for a perfect canvas for embellishment;


Materials

  • Window style CD Envelopes. Staples sells a pack of 100 for $10.99
  • A drawing or photograph trimmed to a 5″ square.
  • Stuff to decorate the outside (paint, markers, ink, stickers, sequins…)
  • Stuff to float around on the inside (confetti, tissue paper, feathers…)
  • Glue or paste
  • Card slightly larger than the CD envelope (optional)


1. Decorate the outside of the frame with paint and a gold marker.
2. Add some sequins. Your Mom deserves some sequins, doesn’t she?
3. Insert your photo or drawing, then add a pinch of confetti in front of the image.
4. Seal the envelope and glue the back to a card slightly larger than the envelope (or just treat it like a postcard and write on the back.)

That’s it!


It’s hard to photograph the confetti moving around in there, but trust me, it moves.

And don’t worry — it’s sealed in good. No messy, exploding confetti all over your carpet, I promise.

Still nervous? OK fine. Be that way. Skip the confetti.

It’s still pretty darn cute:

What about adding some feathers in there?

Look, Lola made one too. She loves those stickers.


What? No pictures for Mom? Too insecure to draw? How about her name instead?  Use letter stickers to spell her name (MOM, obviously) then paint over it and remove the letters. Boom. She will love it!

Happy Mothers Day 🙂


Wrapping Paper Statement Wall

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If I had to guess, I would say 30% of the people I know have a room in their house with a big empty wall.

And not empty like Let’s Embrace Our Buddhist Calm Space empty, I mean empty like Dude Don’t Distract From My Totally Awesome Big-As-A-Car Television With That Thing You Bought At Marshall’s empty.

Back when we all had square TV’s we would put them in entertainment centers or sandwich them between bookshelves, but now that flat screens are all the rage, they usually end up sitting on a narrow credenza on the largest wall in the room. You probably know somebody with a similar set up. Let me guess, it looked like this:


The TV above belongs to Kiki, who would like to everyone who read last Friday’s post to know “I DID NOT REJECT YOUR PURSE. TELL THEM I AM A NICE PERSON. TELL THEM!!” …which I can confirm: Kiki is a nice person. She just prefers boring purses. Thank goodness she does not feel the same way about her walls (or this post would be really boring).

So, Kiki wanted to snazz her  TV situation but couldn’t find the right fit. Big art just competed with the screen and little art just looked too dinky next to machinery and heavy wooden credenza. It wasn’t a good choice for an accent paint wall, and wallpaper was out of the question….

So we went to Paper Source. Found a couple of sheets of Japanese wrapping paper and put them in them in two simple Ikea frames laying around the house. It looked like this:

Dinky. Nice, but still not big enough to balance the heavy TV and the giant expanse of empty wall around it. So we went back to Paper Source, found the most awesome floral gift wrap ever, and back to Ikea for more frames. Then we got to work:

If you are the fancy type, I would suggest using spray adhesive and an exacto knife to adhere each piece of wrapping paper to the cardboard, making sure the pattern seams match between each frame. But since neither Kiki or I are fancy, we just folded each piece and slapped on some masking tape. This ain’t rocket science.

Originally, we planned on hanging these with 2″ gap between the frames creating more of a grid. That idea was ditched because some of the frames were slightly warped –not enough to notice on their own, but to stick out like a sore thumb in a grid formation. Also, if you are doing this project, I suggest hammering right through the frame as to avoid any wiggle room that comes with using picture wire.

Be sure to use a level, especially if you are using cheapo frames with wonky/warped edges. You will be staring at this wall every time you watch TV –if these are not hung straight, you will notice the imperfections every single time you look at that wall. This process will require some patience. I suggest working along to a movie that will periodically demand your attention in ways that will require frequent breaks. Tonight at the cinema: Brigadoon. 

And that’s it. Now stand back and admire your work!

 Who would have thunk a few cheapo frames and some wrapping paper would make such a big difference?

Yentl, Kiki’s cat, who has very discerning taste, offered her seal of approval. Thanks, Yenni 🙂

PS: On the topic of home decor –any Apartment Therapy folks out there? Apparently I am up for the 2012 Homies. Take a second and vote for me, wouldya? And while you are over there, click around and see what other folks are doing –I just found ten new blogs to follow. Cool beans!

Giftwrap Challenge: Confetti Bomb

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I know, I said would post these on Mondays. I’m late this week. I’m also not even going to present my own idea. It’s OK though, because this one is better. And timely, too–it’s New Years and you will be dragging a bottle of champagne some place or another…even if it’s your own kitchen counter, you/your host will be so impressed with a confetti bomb bottle! And it’s super easy too!

Check out these fab ladies tutorial via Etsy:

Giftwrap Challenge: Custom Photo Paper

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I’m not buying any wrapping paper this year. Stop by every Monday until New Years for an easy gift wrap idea featuring everyday items. 

Do you know the hallmark of a talented gift wrapper? It’s when the recipient spends more time examining the wrapping than the gift inside. They feel special just looking the present on their lap. And what could be more Christmasy than that?

A present like this is sure to look good under your tree. And if you have old holiday photos and access to a copy machine, them wham, you are in business. Use oversize paper if you have access, but letter size paper will cover most handheld items like books, music, etc.

I saw a similar idea in an early 1980’s Better Homes and Gardens Magazine using pictures of a birthday boy or girl –cute idea, but I like it with a holiday twist. You could also use old Christmas cards, or Christmas Music. Look closely at the photo above and you might see and image from Donny and Marie’s Christmas poking through. Don’t hold it against me. I’m a sucker for those Osmonds.


Giftwrap Challenge: Potato Chip Wrappers

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I’m not buying any wrapping paper this year. Stop by every Monday until New Years for an easy gift wrap idea featuring everyday items. 

Last week, my friend Ann (aka Nutbird) sent me a box of drop-dead amazing vintage wrapping paper. Pictures to follow, but the very fact that it came in a box and not on a roll gives you an indication of how old and cool this stuff is.

Then, as I was flipping through the stack with my co-worker, we noticed how different the paper is from what we see on the shelves today; not only does it look different, it sounds different. It crinkles. Crisp, delicate and precious, “almost like potato chips” she said.

Which got me to thinking…remember last year when Sun Chips came out with a biodegradable bag that was louder than an jet engine? That was fun. 

And since half the joy of getting a present is opening it up, wouldn’t it be nice to give someone a gift that made lots of noise along the way? Lots of snack food wrappers, especially potato chips, come in these shiny bags that make the most beautiful crunching sounds. Wouldn’t you love to see one under the tree with your name on it?

Clearly, there is no tutorial required on this one. If you don’t know how to empty a bag of potato chips, please feel free to bring them to my house. We’ll do it together. Lola will help.

Cleaning the grease out of snack bags is easy too –just dip them in hot water with a splash of vinegar or amonia and watch the grease float to the top.

Happy munching 🙂

  

Giftwrap Challenge: Loofah Net Tubes

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Awkward shaped gifts can be a pain to wrap. Do you buy a special box? A fancy bbag? Wrap it in tons of paper and scotch tape? All options seem like such a waste…
 
Then last week, I had an “ah ha!” moment while watching the guys at the home center wrap fresh cut Christmas trees in net tubes. I don’t have access to some fancy netting machine, but what about net onion bags? Or better yet, what about loofahs? Just one loofah from the dollars store has yards and yards of colorful, highly flexible, nylon tube. Perfect way to shrink wrap awkward shaped gifts. I experimented with a pot and a cat bed –both came out great and required zero tape or special materials. Cool beans!

Giftwrap Challenge: Plastic Bags

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I’m not buying any wrapping paper this year. Stop by every Monday until New Years for an easy gift wrap idea featuring everyday items.

Despite my best efforts to bring my own reusable shopping bags, I always accumulate plastic bags. Always. They are good for scooping kitty litter, but not much else. What to do? Make some bows! Or pom-poms, rather. Click here for the tutorial. Yes, I am recycling an old post! Forgive me — I am with family back in Virginia for short break. Lots of fun and leftover turkey. Lots of new posts and pictures to follow soon 🙂

Gift Wrap Challenge: Cardboard Tube Tuffets

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I’m not buying any wrapping paper this year. Stop by every Monday until New Years for an easy gift wrap idea featuring everyday items. 

Between stocking stuffers and Chanukah gifts, it seems like everyone I know is always hunting for easy ways to gift wrap little things. I thought it might be fun to address the problem with one of my favorite materials –coffee filters, and something everyone has around the house –cardboard tubes. 

This is a fun, munchkin-freindly project that does not require special skills to come out looking fancy schmancy. No tape. No glue. No mess. You like it already.


The coffee filters are starchy enough to stay in place without the sticker, but a good Santa sticker never hurt anyone. Plus, it will keep away any pre-holiday gift peepers.

Not that I have any experience with gift peeping.

Confession: One time my cousin John left town a week before Christmas and had to deliver my gift wrapped up in a bike chain and a combo lock just to keep me away. The plan was to prevent pre-Christmas peeping by waiting to deliver the lock combo via phone on Christmas morning (clearly, John knows me a little too well).

Another Confession: Shortly after he left I used a screw driver to scrape away some of the paper between the chain links to see what was inside. Sorry, John 🙁

No coffee filters around the house? Use tissue paper.

Gifts too big for 2″ tubes? Use larger tubes from paper towels, or, *gasp*, wrapping paper.


Dear Person Who Found My Site by Googling “Grateful Dead groundhog tuffet” on November 17:
I have no idea what you are looking for, but I feel compelled to meet you half way. Here is a batch of Grateful Dead style tie-dye tuffets.  Pretend the groundhog is on the inside.

Happy Holidays!

 
 

Gift Wrap Challenge: Paper Plate Cookie Basket

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I decided not to buy any gift wrap supplies this holiday season.*

For someone who loves wrapping paper and ribbons as much as me, this is going to be, shall we say, difficult.

So, every Monday from now until New Years, I am going to post an easy idea for wrapping stuff with items everyone already have around the house. Not only will this help me clear out some junk, it will encourage me to resist future wrapping paper purchases. Wahoo!

*Note: The “holiday season” ends December 25 in my book. Lord helpeth the poor soul who stands between me and a bolt of candy stripe wrapping paper on December 26.

You like my cookie man? ‘Cause he sure likes you!

Folding paper plates into basket shapes is an old trick used by county fairs and church BBQs the world over. This one is a little new because my plate features munchkin doodles (leftover from the Jive Turkey). You could certainly do this with some festive plates, or stuff it with something besides cookies wadded up in cellophane, but you get the idea 🙂