A Day for Gift Wrapping

Today's entry is dedicated to gift wrapping. The above image was a Mother's Day gift wrap. The paper is from my stash. The wooden rose is from Michaels. The sheer ribbon is adorned with Mizuhiki from my stash.

The above wrapping was another of my homemade wrapping papers. This was a care package sent to a Yankees fan. The above is the outer box. The below images are the actual gifts. When I mail packages, I always use baker's twine rather than ribbon. Because I am not around to fluff the ribbon, I find it easier to use twine. Each package always contains an added surprise on the outside of the gift.

The below gift was a going away gift for a co-worker. It uses a metallic Japanese paper. The gold paper is considered good luck. The Mizuhiki is used in a very traditional way here. For good luck gifts, the cords are always wound in a clockwise direction. The beginning of the loop is always hidden and the final loop always finishes in an upwards position (which symbolizes an upward move). Money is always included on the outside of the package--either a money envelope or a coin for good luck. The ribbon used is a double sheer ribbon in black and gold.

The below gift was a wedding gift for a friend who was getting married for the first time at the age of 60. We wanted to give an elegant wrapping with a fresh white rose which was represented in her bridal bouquet. The first image below is the outer wrapping.

This is the inner wrapping. We made a handmade photo book for her to use. Here I used something from the outer wrapping and used it to coordinate the wrappings by repeating it on the inner wrapping. Here I used the beads for both uses.

The image below was a specialty wrapping. It was a calendar which is usually difficult to wrap due its thin nature. This is the envelope wrapping technique that I have discussed before. I really like the colors and the  highly saturated colored ribbon.

The final gift was a mother's birthday gift. The brief was Country Garden. I used some embroidered paper from my stash. The wooden flowers and the butterfly are from Michaels. I used a sheer wire rimmed ribbon to finish off the design. This is the outer box wrapping.

The below image was the actual gift which was a hand decorated photo frame. As you can see, I used a related element from the outer wrapping to duplicate on the internal wrapping--in this case, another wooden rose from Michaels.