when the olympic officials finally come to their senses and acknowledge giftwrapping as a sport...

...i'm pretty sure i'll have a shot at a bronze medal; maybe even silver!!! :)

ok, yeah, so you already know i  am obsessed with making presents as fancy and fabulous as possible. and yeah, i realize it could be argued that it's silly to go to a lot of trouble for something that's going to be UNDONE almost immediately; but i LOVE doing it and it is secretly my belief that nearly everyone instantly becomes (metaphorically) a delighted five-year-old when an unexpectedly awesome-looking gift (or cake!) which was made especially for them is bestowed!

here are a few gifty items from my family's bumper crop of september occasions. we happen to have *3* generations all born on the same day, september 19th: my mom, my brother, and of course that newly minted five-year-old, nephew matthew! (alas, none of them are pirates, though i still have hopes of the latter!) first, my mother:

you might remember this crazy uber-layered card i made for city crafter's monochromatic challenge; if so, you'll see whence came all of the inspiration for the package and gift bag. i went back to those same supplies: lingerie lace*, silk flowers from a garland, and music paper. the present is wrapped in the instructions insert from a vintage sewing pattern, and when i "packed" the bag i used a bit of the actual pattern as "tissue paper"! (and if you're thinking, "hey lauren! why a wrapped present AND a bag?!" well... ummmm... the card has one of these same big, puffy roses, so there was really no other way of concealing it's exuberant beauty!!!) 

the lady at the state store wrapped my brother's bottle of wine in one of their mylar bags** and a couple of curls of ribbon. i added the stickers and LOTS MORE ribbon, to coordinate with my custom-made envelope (the paper is giftwrap) which holds the over-sized "super bill" card i made for him during laurel seabrook's "inspired by superheroes" challenge! 

finally, nephew matthew, whose triceratops i showed you over the weekend, also got a (dino-themed, naturally) lego set and the EAD dino stickerz card i made waaaaay back in february. this is the project i originally intended for the current texture challenge at the lovely carla's anything but a card blog! because to me, digital creations can sometimes be a little bit... well... *FLAT* unless one is thinking about texture all the way through the creating process.

a really simple way to add life and dimension to one's digistuffs is with drop shadows. ok, no, technically this is not actual texture, but it makes a huge difference, nonetheless. my digi dino panel was made using mindy terasawa's "stomp" stickers and printed with my ordinary inkjet printer on an 8.5x11" sheet of super-glossy kodak premium photo paper; and truly, it comprises 90% of the design, but the other 10% is the texture--and it DOES matter! because of course, i could have put the name-- and even a scalloppy border-- on there digitally. i planned and "left room for" those elements as i was laying out the design, but then i printed the panel without them, and constructed the name banner with scraps of patterned paper and nice chunky foam thickers; mounted the panel on a bit of black to make it pop, added all different sizes of circles around the edge, punched from one of doodlebug's awesome (elderly!) plaid papers, and mounted the whole thing on more black oaktag. the last being the only thing i had to hand-cut in this entire process. the result is fun, personal, and sturdy enough to remove from the bag and hang up on, oh, i dunno... maybe a certain special birthday boy's bedroom door??!

and now i think i'll go and look up socchi on the atlas. you know, just in case the call should come!!! :) :) :)


*are you wondering how to attach sheer lace to a bag WITHOUT a sewing machine and WITHOUT the adhesive showing? yeah, so was i, lol! what i eventually did was tack the top edge with a solid line of hot glue (knowing the subsequent trim layer would hide it) and then, to keep the rest from flapping in the breeze, i c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y put tiny dots of the same low-temp hot glue under each of the opaque flowers and smooshed them on to the bag with the side of my hand. yes, it took forever, and yes, occasionally, some of the glue seeped through and it was HOT. this is why i used the side of my hand and not my fingertips, i've learned that lesson a few too many times. :0 incidentally, this is why i have a low-temp hot glue gun and have been forbidden by lovely husband jeff ever to upgrade to the high-temp kind; apparently he enjoys being married to someone with at least a couple of unscarred fingers! :)

**i NEVER say no to free giftwrapping, especially when the store has exactly the right size and shape to accommodate a specialty item. if you choose the plainest option, you can always ADD embellishments, and you've saved time and money on the "basic" supplies!