Someday Veteran's Day is going to hit a lot closer to home for our little family. Today we are so grateful for those that are serving & sacrificing for us.
It's a bit gray and dreary in Maryland, but we're spending the day together and have plans to go pick out our wedding bands.
A limited number will be in the shop tomorrow at 4pm EST. Minor changes to the papers will be detailed in the etsy listing images. Keep in mind that these covers are not letterpressed like the first round. Save your holiday season in a mini book.
Over the next few weeks I want to spend time on Tuesday talking about gift wrap ideas. Everything will be pretty simple but hopefully you'll get some fun ideas to make your packages more interesting. I am a big believer in the power of gift wrap. Real gift wrap. Complete with double sided tape & fabric ribbon.
There are a million ways to make presents look pretty on the outside. One thing I always do is tie the bow so the back is flat. The ribbon underneath looks as neat and clean as the tied bow on top. Below are my instructions for how to tie a bow using this method. Click images to enlarge.
To start, give yourself a long length of ribbon. Lay it underneath your wrapped box so that the side on the right has a much longer length of ribbon. The longer side should be about 3-4 times the length of the shorter side.
Pick up both sides of the ribbon and bring them to the front of the present and cross to opposite sides as shown in the above right image. The longer side should go "under" the shorter side when you make the crossover.
Create a cross in the ribbon by bringing one end down and the other up. Your longest length of ribbon should head to the top of the box.
Holding the shorter ribbon side in place, wrap the long end around the back side of the box and bring it down to the bottom. You can see the back of the box in the right image above.
Turn the box back to the front and continue bringing the long side up to the center where you have made the first cross.
Tuck the long side to the right and pull it under the cross. If your ribbon was a compass, one end would be pointed Northeast and one end would be pointing Southwest.
Take the Southwest side in your left hand and make a fold (like the first bunny ear if you were tying your shoe). Fold it so it also points to the Northeast like the other end of ribbon.
Bring the Northeast end around the folded side counter clockwise.
Push the end in your right hand under the first "bunny ear" and pull it tight. Give it a little bit of shaping until you have a neat bow with its two ears on the top side and its two tails neatly below
Trim off any excess ribbon.
And TA-DA : You have a pretty package with a perfect bow on top and perfect ribbon underneath. Be sure to ask questions in the comments. This is a difficult technique to explain (even in person) but not too hard to master.
I can't get enough of these pages in the current Anthropologie catalog. Craft magic. Craft heaven. They are making me so excited for the holidays.
It has to be said that the products I am reviewing here were sent to me for free. But it also has to be said that I would never agree to review something that I wasn't interested in buying myself. That would be awkward and unfair to everyone involved.
Color Inc Pro Lab asked my to order three of their 12x12 photo products. I was thrilled to and used my engagement photos (taken by Lisa Welge) for each. Right now we are making space for the images to hang in our house and eventually they will sit on a guest book table or something at the wedding. As you've probably guessed, I love the engagement photos we had taken taken and love them even more in these large and stunning print processes.
Click images to enlarge.
The first photo went on to a gallery wrapped canvas. Canvases are available in all different sizes and this one, of course, is 12x12 inches. The image is printed on a canvas with subtle texture and stretched around the sides of the wooden frame. Your image can be seen along the edges which is a pretty cool effect. I don't know the technicalities, but it looks like the canvas is treated with a glossy coating. The gloss and the texture work great together. There is a wire on the back for hanging and the entire piece is very light. More details here (click gallery wrapped canvas).
The next photo was produced as a standout mount. I had never heard of this before and was excited to see what it would look like. The result is the photo printed glossy (with almost a metallic sheen - it's beautiful) and then mounted a light black plastic. It has two holes on the back to hang on the wall. I love the effect of a photo that goes right to the edge without a frame. I would love to do some sort of wall collage with these - two rows of three would be really cool. You can read more about the mounting options and see pricing here (click finishing services).
Sorry about the glare and the awkward close up - just trying to show the shiny clarity of the image!
The last product I tried out was a photo frame for a 12x12 image. There are a variety of frame styles to choose from (click here and select photo frames) and they can be cut to many different sizes. The image comes already in the frame. It is printed on what seems to be a thick board and is treated with the glossy sheen again (not very technical, I know). There is no glass covering the frame so again, the product is really light. I keep talking about the weight of all these products because that's a big deal to me. I hate having to find a stud to hang a frame. I love that these are easy to just get on the wall where ever you please. The print quality of this image as well as the other two is just perfect. Read more here under "photo frames".
My one last point (before we get to the huge giveaway) is I recommend creating an account with Color Inc and downloading their photo uploading software "ROES". For someone like me who is used to uploading photos to walgreens.com, it was a big change to switch to ROES. I understand why though - Color Inc is the big leagues of photo printing (and I mean that in the best way). It's fun to play with all of their options for cropping and see what products they offer. And their customer service is great if the program starts out a little confusing. Try it out. And last I checked, there was free shipping with orders over $15.
ALSO : You can get 25 4x6 prints from Color Inc for free by entering" eb09" at checkout.
And NOW - on to the giveaways! Color Inc has generously offered to giveaway one of each of the products I tested (the 12x12 wrapped canvas, the 12x12 standout mount, and a framed 12x12) to three lucky readers. Take some time to browse the Color Inc website and then leave a comment with what you would do with your winning photo product.
I'll draw three random winners on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Yesterday was a battle. The cards were stacked against me so to speak. My printer rebelled. Traffic on every road swelled. Nothing was clicking and everything felt like a mess.
Today I woke up and have not stopped moving. In a fury of activity have been attacking the mess. I am working on making the upstairs a neat and tidy space for getting work done. Books made, packages wrapped, blog posts typed, the whole nine yards. I need a way to separate my work life from my home life which despite all odds I do not think is impossible. Moving my computer & projects upstairs and clearing some stuff out is a good start.
Work / Life balance - I am creeping ever so slowly towards you.
Please take a moment or two to visit the fun sites sponsoring this blog for November. Good holiday shopping ideas in the next few links...
Welcome Polka Dot Robot. I love this hat. Be sure to check out the blog as well.
Welcome Liz Eaton Jewelry @ Hello Again. This necklace has to be my favorite but the entire shop is lovely.
Welcome Allie Lehman. Check out her fun blog and look at these invites she's designed.
Welcome Creativity Prompt. Avital is running an online workshop for building a 2010 planner. Too cool. And orange.
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Welcome back to previous blog sponsors : Color Inc Pro lab, Tiffzippy, CraftLove & Apple Blossom Studio. Keep an eye out from more giveaways from this creative bunch.
My interest was piqued when I saw this last week. And then there was this blog post by Max Wagner. That pinwheel collage over the fireplace (scroll down a ways)? OH ME, OH MY. There is not a fireplace in our reception venue, but I think a smattering of pinwheels in gray, white, cream and a few shades of orange would be just perfect hanging off our placecard / guestbook / gift tables. A little bit of color and a little bit of whimsy to brighten up the place. They would also be fun hanging off the table Paul and I are sitting at. To the left are my not to scale or even correct shape sketches.
I'm pretty excited about these pinwheels. They are super easy, super inexpensive and really difficult to mess up. I think I will hook them all together with a combination of fishing line and hot glue and hang them off the table with ribbon.
