This Christmas gift wrap idea has come almost as much out of necessity in these tough economic times as it has out of creativity. This originated for my oldest niece's birthday gift last year. I decided to get her Barbie's that came with clothing and smaller chest for the movies they've put out to bolster Barbie's reputation. There are between two and four dogs residing in my niece's house, and I was quite disappointed to learn that the dogs had chewed up some of her favorite dolls. There were some semi-pricey ones I'd gotten her as well. I usually aim to spend about $20.00 on this child's gift each year.
Having heard about the dogs mishaps with the Barbie's and deciding that the best offense is often not defense(though that helps too), but prevention; I went to Target and proceeded to search out a tote that would hold the Barbie dolls. This way, if the dog attempted to chew, he would have to chew through the plastic tote to get to the semi-pricey dolls. I found a clear tote with a purple lid that suited my niece and fit the Barbie. I paid $5.00 for the tote. I bought the Barbie on-line for about $15.00, only it did not arrive in time for her birthday. So, I went to the store on payday, and bought her a six dollar Barbie to present in the gift at her birthday party.
This tote left me at a loss as to how to wrap the contraption. It did not suit gift wrap well, as it had odd dimensions. And paper gift wrap is expensive and disposable. I checked gift bags, but the biggest ones are over $5.00, for printed paper. I entertained the idea of making my own gift wrap out of old magazine pages, but that just wouldn't work for it. Finally, I decided to check Jo-Ann's Fabric and crafts and found flannel fabric on sale for $2.50 a yard. I bought a yard of fabric, took it home, placed the tote on it, and proceeded to knot the fabric on top. I wrapped ribbon either through the knot or around some of the fabric and presented it to my niece. Since my niece enjoyed sewing and had sewn her own pair of shorts as her first sewing project, the fabric proved to be a better gift wrap and craft idea than paper you simply throw away.
Since then, I have used fabric to wrap many gifts...and if someone has a good sense of humor, you can consider sewing their gift shut. Recently, I bought a cake pedestal for a friend's bridal shower and found the best gift wrap was a yard of fabric that I had at home and didn't have many plans for. My aunt's Christmas gifts were also wrapped in fabric this year to the tune of "What a great idea."
The best part is, the fabric does not need to finished, or even cut to size, unless you wish to. If you know of someone who enjoys sewing, they consider the fabric-wrap as much a part of the gift as the gift itself. And to think, how many times can you re-use this gift wrap? Or you can make something useful out of it. You can also personalize the gift wrap. If someone is into dogs, they have dogs. If someone is into music, they have treble clefs or guitars. Some fabrics are masculine and plaid, some are feminine and frilly. I wouldn't go too feminine, unless you just want a pretty wrap and not a concealing one.
Also, to keep this affordable, buy quality fabric on sale. A good cotton or flannel or even a $10 a yard brocade (on sale for $6 a yard), is a better deal for concealing and wrapping a special gift than the $2.00 a yard cotton that won't completely cover the gift and will fray on the first washing.
Best of luck, and I hope you enjoy this idea.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Wanted: Old metal trash can with character...character...hmm....
I decided this year to give my brother a nice photo frame that held three 5x7 photos. I picked out favorite photos of each of the three kids and placed each child's photo in an opening. I then added second options for some of the kids behind the first. I assembled the 10"x20" photo frame and wrapped it, carefully. Then I took some neckties I had picked up at goodwill and bobby pinned them end to end, using the tag loop to hook the connectors. I proceeded to wrap the photo frame with the ties.
I decided his gift was going into a trash can this year, and decided on the old metal kind. I was hoping to find a decent used one. I wanted the kind with dents and scratches that give it character. I was driving to work as I was thinking about this...and I said, hmmm....old metal trash can, with character...Hmmmm....sounds kinda like oscar the grouch. I went to Jo-Ann's that night and was grateful to find fleece on sale and got the closest match to Oscar I could muster up. I checked the furry stuff, but no ugly greens, I even checked the reduced rack and the remnants. I was stuck buying just fleece, but it would work. It was for a concept, not an art contest. Then I went to the felt, and found the appropriate color of orangy-goldenrod for the eyebrows. Later I went back for black for a mouth and a styrofoam ball for a head. I also purchased stick on velcro.
When I saw the price of the styrofoam ball, I considered buying a ball for the kids. I just bought the styrofoam and went on. I tied the fleece around the ball with a red ribbon that said Merry Christmas, which I tied into a bow to resemble the bow tie I remember Oscar wearing. I then held Oscar's head near the lid and arranged placement of the fleece and velcro. Once I got the velcro in, I inserted the picture frame, arranged Oscar, attached him, and added peanuts.
I sewed the eyebrow onto Oscar and cut it to size, then I sewed on the black felt mouth opening and two cotton ball eyes which would have to be enough detail for his face. I really would have liked more time to plan better details for all of Oscar.
Having remembered many scenes of Oscar tossing various debris out of his garbage can, I didn't take long, to add styrofoam peanuts on top of the Oscar fleece as well as used water bottles and probably an empty can or two that I normally would have placed in recycling. Anything else that suited my fancy in the two days I had to create oscar went into the trashcan. I did include a snake in a can gag gift I had found at Spencer's during my trek through the mall to Target to get the rest of my Christmas gifts.
I also attached Oscar's head to the lid, so that when he was opened, he popped out and tossed debris with him. This proved a bit of a challenge at first. I was lucky in that the lid handle provided metal cylinders to push something though to hold it on, but what would hold well and fit? I tried wire, but mine was too thin. I tried thread, but it broke immediately. I considered yarn, but knew it would wear thin. Finally, in a last ditch effort, after locating a darning needle(larger eye with blunter tip for fixing socks), I threaded a ribbon through it and then through the fleece, and then pushed it through the cylinders that held on the lid handle. Hot damn! It worked. I knotted it off and proceeded to finish packing Oscar. Once he was full, I made sure the lid was on tight and loaded him into my truck.
When I carried in the decoy trash can(I had hoped to borrow a friend's but it proved to be too small), and Oscar right behind it, my brother said to me: "You put my gift in a trash can." I couldn't lie though I thought about it before I saw the shrimp, and I said, "Yes, I did." When it came time to open it, I told him he had to open it fast. I did this for effect. I also told him he had to open everything. He did, was slightly surprised by the snake in a can, and promptly put it back together to hand it to my 11 year old nephew (who was working through his own box in a box in a box) to open.
The best part, was hearing him exclaim, "Awesome." when he opened the photo frame to find candid photos of each his children in the matte.
Now to start planning for next year...
I decided his gift was going into a trash can this year, and decided on the old metal kind. I was hoping to find a decent used one. I wanted the kind with dents and scratches that give it character. I was driving to work as I was thinking about this...and I said, hmmm....old metal trash can, with character...Hmmmm....sounds kinda like oscar the grouch. I went to Jo-Ann's that night and was grateful to find fleece on sale and got the closest match to Oscar I could muster up. I checked the furry stuff, but no ugly greens, I even checked the reduced rack and the remnants. I was stuck buying just fleece, but it would work. It was for a concept, not an art contest. Then I went to the felt, and found the appropriate color of orangy-goldenrod for the eyebrows. Later I went back for black for a mouth and a styrofoam ball for a head. I also purchased stick on velcro.
When I saw the price of the styrofoam ball, I considered buying a ball for the kids. I just bought the styrofoam and went on. I tied the fleece around the ball with a red ribbon that said Merry Christmas, which I tied into a bow to resemble the bow tie I remember Oscar wearing. I then held Oscar's head near the lid and arranged placement of the fleece and velcro. Once I got the velcro in, I inserted the picture frame, arranged Oscar, attached him, and added peanuts.
I sewed the eyebrow onto Oscar and cut it to size, then I sewed on the black felt mouth opening and two cotton ball eyes which would have to be enough detail for his face. I really would have liked more time to plan better details for all of Oscar.
Having remembered many scenes of Oscar tossing various debris out of his garbage can, I didn't take long, to add styrofoam peanuts on top of the Oscar fleece as well as used water bottles and probably an empty can or two that I normally would have placed in recycling. Anything else that suited my fancy in the two days I had to create oscar went into the trashcan. I did include a snake in a can gag gift I had found at Spencer's during my trek through the mall to Target to get the rest of my Christmas gifts.
I also attached Oscar's head to the lid, so that when he was opened, he popped out and tossed debris with him. This proved a bit of a challenge at first. I was lucky in that the lid handle provided metal cylinders to push something though to hold it on, but what would hold well and fit? I tried wire, but mine was too thin. I tried thread, but it broke immediately. I considered yarn, but knew it would wear thin. Finally, in a last ditch effort, after locating a darning needle(larger eye with blunter tip for fixing socks), I threaded a ribbon through it and then through the fleece, and then pushed it through the cylinders that held on the lid handle. Hot damn! It worked. I knotted it off and proceeded to finish packing Oscar. Once he was full, I made sure the lid was on tight and loaded him into my truck.
When I carried in the decoy trash can(I had hoped to borrow a friend's but it proved to be too small), and Oscar right behind it, my brother said to me: "You put my gift in a trash can." I couldn't lie though I thought about it before I saw the shrimp, and I said, "Yes, I did." When it came time to open it, I told him he had to open it fast. I did this for effect. I also told him he had to open everything. He did, was slightly surprised by the snake in a can, and promptly put it back together to hand it to my 11 year old nephew (who was working through his own box in a box in a box) to open.
The best part, was hearing him exclaim, "Awesome." when he opened the photo frame to find candid photos of each his children in the matte.
Now to start planning for next year...
Is that a wooden shoe? No, its a wood box, stapled shut.
He finally did it. My dear brother went and used wood, and created a good wooden box to house my gift in. You need a couple of things to pull this off...wood, staples, a durable gift, or one that won't be damaged when hand tools go through it, and gumption. You need gumption to open it too.
Knowing my brother isn't stupid, once I got the tools, I was able to beat the box up a little. However, we need background, its not meant as whining, though it was a quite stressful day, but when you drive to a town three hours away for a funeral the night before the family gathering(for those not affected by the funeral), and you drive three hours back and don't finish the stuffed animals you'd planned to give to two of the kids, you get a little stressed.
After a potentially quick trip to target to buy two gifts and stopping at home to unload the boyfriend's car and load up my truck-my brother's gift would have left no mirror in boyfriend's car. I was a little stressed and I had brought in the bag where my handy-dandy multi-purpose tool was waiting for Christmas reverie. The tool I needed for Christmas gift wrap was sitting warm and snug and useless on my couch. No one wanted to bring me a screwdriver.
Let me explain the box before I get too far ahead of myself...The sides were nearly one inch thick, and about 8 inches long. The box was about six inches across. The ends were thin pieces of veneer or laminate type wood at a mere 3/16 of an inch. The ends were stapled on. He did leave little lips at the edges of the box. This could have easily been removed with some prying from my multi-purpose tool flat head screwdriver part. No one found me a screwdriver though, since said gerber/multi-purposee tool was sitting comfortably at home on my couch.
My brother did acquiesce after a few moments and brought me a hammer. I attempted to pry it off with the claw-head, as I didn't know the lip trick. The things they don't teach you in wood-shop in seventh grade, and if they did(which I'm sure they didn't), you have long since forgot. Finally, after pulling and clawing with the hammer claw, I decided my brother was smart enough not to put anything breakable in the box, and would leave room for destruction.
I smacked the head of the hammer into the thin wood type board on the ends and then clawed the rest of the veneer type stuff off the end to find a nice bag of Starbuck's coffee. Next year, I think I'm bringing a drill complete with attachments...now off to Home Depot to buy a good drill and pea grinder.
Knowing my brother isn't stupid, once I got the tools, I was able to beat the box up a little. However, we need background, its not meant as whining, though it was a quite stressful day, but when you drive to a town three hours away for a funeral the night before the family gathering(for those not affected by the funeral), and you drive three hours back and don't finish the stuffed animals you'd planned to give to two of the kids, you get a little stressed.
After a potentially quick trip to target to buy two gifts and stopping at home to unload the boyfriend's car and load up my truck-my brother's gift would have left no mirror in boyfriend's car. I was a little stressed and I had brought in the bag where my handy-dandy multi-purpose tool was waiting for Christmas reverie. The tool I needed for Christmas gift wrap was sitting warm and snug and useless on my couch. No one wanted to bring me a screwdriver.
Let me explain the box before I get too far ahead of myself...The sides were nearly one inch thick, and about 8 inches long. The box was about six inches across. The ends were thin pieces of veneer or laminate type wood at a mere 3/16 of an inch. The ends were stapled on. He did leave little lips at the edges of the box. This could have easily been removed with some prying from my multi-purpose tool flat head screwdriver part. No one found me a screwdriver though, since said gerber/multi-purposee tool was sitting comfortably at home on my couch.
My brother did acquiesce after a few moments and brought me a hammer. I attempted to pry it off with the claw-head, as I didn't know the lip trick. The things they don't teach you in wood-shop in seventh grade, and if they did(which I'm sure they didn't), you have long since forgot. Finally, after pulling and clawing with the hammer claw, I decided my brother was smart enough not to put anything breakable in the box, and would leave room for destruction.
I smacked the head of the hammer into the thin wood type board on the ends and then clawed the rest of the veneer type stuff off the end to find a nice bag of Starbuck's coffee. Next year, I think I'm bringing a drill complete with attachments...now off to Home Depot to buy a good drill and pea grinder.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)