Gift Wrap Inspiration: Embellished Wire

I absolutely love the simplicity of these plain brown boxes.  They are a blank canvas just waiting to be made into something beautiful.  I have been using them to wrap a whole set of gifts that I made for children in our playgroup.

I grabbed some colourful fine wire that I had on hand for another craft project (I think it's original purpose is for jewellery).  It is very thin and pliable, and I was able to bend the wire into abstract flower shapes.

Very simple, but beautiful.

Handmade Marathon:Update

The Handmade Marathon Call for Submissions is Officially Closed!

I am overjoyed with the submissions that I have received from such a wide variety of handmade businesses and I CAN'T WAIT to share each and every one of the 26 handmade marathon businesses with you!  My heart is FULL with all of the positive feedback I have received from you on this project - Wow! The excitement is contagious.  So, lace up your sneakers and get ready.

What is the Handmade Marathon?
Twenty-six days in total, each day representing a (real) marathon mile. Each day will feature a handmade shop/product line and readers + the handmade community will be encouraged to comment, cheer for and support the businesses featured each day.

In case you haven't heard the buzz, I'm running my FIRST marathon on November 4, 2012 in New York City! Many marathoners raise money and run for charity (an amazing way to honour charities) and I wanted to do something to raise awareness around supporting HANDMADE BUSINESS!

Why handmade?
(+) Supporting handmade means supporting someone's dreams
(+) Owning or gifting something unique and beautiful made from quality products
(+) Supporting a small business and helping that business thrive
(+) Becoming part of a community that believes in handmade

Cheer! Support! How you can become a Handmade Marathon Fan.

(+) Share your excitement on Twitter
I'm joining the cheering team for #handmademarathon with @thepetitcadeau, October 1-26, 2012. Click to Tweet.

(+) Watch all of the action as it unfolds each day by following The Petit Cadeau on Pinterest, or, specifically follow the Handmade Marathon Pinterest board.

(+) Wave your flags and pom-poms along with The Petit Cadeau Blog on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ for daily updates on the Handmade Marathon.

(+) Follow The Handmade Marathon "live" in your e-mail by subscribing for The Petit Cadeau blog updates as they happen!

(+) Like the products that you see featured? Share with your own networks, let the artists know in the comments section of the blog, and most importantly, SUPPORT HANDMADE!

I'll see you all at the finish line!

Alison

Get Inspired: Gift Wrap

Sometimes it's great to think outside the box for your gift wrapping and find some new and exciting shops in your local community.  You don't have to buy your gift wrap at the dollar store, or big box stores, you can support local business and find lot's of fabulous inspiration and unique items to wrap gifts.  

Where can you go for inspiration? Local art supply stores or paper stores are a fantastic place to start.  I visited recently opened local store Urchin - Art Materials and Papery and was really excited about all of the great gift inspiration that I found.  Here's a little photo tour of my visit. 

(+) a rainbow of baker's twine and small paper bags with lovely prints.  be still my heart! 

(+) an amazing assortment of beautiful paper.  Imagine receiving a gift wrapped in this paper - it's almost too nice to open.

(+) look at all of these gorgeous watercolour pencils and coloured pencils sold individually.  so exciting! these would work perfectly for the watercolour embellished gift tags that I posted about a little while ago. 

(+) do you make your own greeting cards? I loved these blank cards for getting the creative juices flowing.

(+) you never know when you might come across beautiful gift ideas, like these art books for kids.  We already own "beautiful oops" (I LOVE the concept of this book)

What are you waiting for?  Get out in your community and find some unexpected sources for gift-wrapping and gift-giving ideas.

Do you have somewhere unexpected that you like to shop for gift wrap?  Please share with us in the comments.

Great Gifts Product Review: My Postcard Heaven

It's no secret that I am an adoring fan of snail mail!  That's why I jumped at the chance to review products from my postcard heaven, a lovely stationery company run by Melanie in the UK.

My Postcard Heaven

My package arrived with a variety of bright and colourful postcards, and I was really pleased to see that each ALSO came with a lovely envelope, so that it could be sent as a postcard OR a more private note (whatever your preference).

Some Things I Love

(+) Bright colours

(+) Simple + fun messages

(+) The postcards fit all kinds of occasions (new baby, wedding, engagement, just because, love quotes and more).  Perfect for all of your snail mail needs, and then some!

(+) This company is really environmentally friendly, which makes me happy  You can read all about it here.

Some Things I Think Would Be Fun

(+) Using postcards as wedding shower and gift "thank you" cards

(+) Sending a postcard to a different friend each month, just to say hello!

(+) Using "hello" postcards to leave little notes in your child's school lunch

 Want more my postcard heaven?

(+) Web & shop
(+)  Follow my postcard heaven on Twitter
(+)  Visit my postcard heaven on Facebook


Interested in having your product included in a "Great Gifts Product Review"?  Connect with me at thepetitcadeau {at} gmail {dot} com for more details!

Gift Wrap Inspiration

I recently found myself in a hurry to wrap a gift - we were invited to a birthday party and I had been sick all week.  I grabbed my trusty brown kraft paper (I love it because it can be recycled afterwards, and it's SO versatile - like a blank canvas)

Then I grabbed my japanese washi tape and created the number 4 (the age of the birthday boy) - you could create any number you wanted - or a stencil & paint would also generate the same fun effect!

I created a little matching tag and tied with plain string.  There you have it, a simple a creative way to wrap in under 5 minutes.

Do you have any gift wrap go-to ideas?  Feel free to share with us in the comments below.