Xmas in July: The Big WRAP-UP

If you've been following the fun Christmas in July Event on the Eyelet Outlet Blog every Saturday afternoon this month, you'll know that the design team has gone all out with the holiday inspiration! Since this is the fifth and last Saturday of the month, Susan thought it would be appropriate to WRAP UP with... well, some giftwrap ideas. And you know, you never have to ask me twice when it comes to fancy giftwrapping, lol!

I love gift bags. I suspect most folks do, because they're sooooooo convenient! I think we crafty types love them because they are so incredibly easy to customize--especially if you happen to have lots of lovely Eyelet Outlet Washi Tape, which I do. Thus, I buy the plain bags in bulk, in a couple of sizes, so that I always have them on hand. Sometimes I decorate a little panel to go on top of the bag, but this time, I've applied the tapes right to the bag itself. I've used  Merry Christmas Washi, Wide Tree Tape, Music Note Tape, Merry Christmas Skinny Tape, Heart Washi (not all the tapes have to be official "holiday" ones; music notes and hearts add to the vibe of any celebration, don't they?) and strips of Skinny Washi Tape in pink and green.

Once I had a nice base, I thought I'd add a tag; or in this case, a cluster of tags. Ok, yes, technically, you really only NEED one, but any time you group a few "like" things together it makes a design more dynamic, so I chose three different sizes of tag to combine, and I made one of them from a piece of holiday themed transparency, so that you could see through it. I decorated the tags with a sweet stamped Happy Snowman from Pretty Pink Posh, to whom I've given a smart Bowler Hat, Pearl Bling Eyes, Tiny Brad Buttons. Then I added... you guessed it... more tape: Heart Washi, Holly Tape, Merry Christmas Washi, Skinny Heart Tape and a few more shades of solid color Skinny Washi Tape, some of which I overlapped, to get even more variety of widths! 

I couldn't resist adding a small Paper Flower with a Candy Cane Brad before I attached the whole cluster to the bag's handle with a bit of twine and called it done.

I hope you've enjoyed Christmas in July as much as I have! If you've missed any of the awesome Saturday posts they are all collected under the "Christmas in July" label on the Eyelet Outlet Blog; just click the link to see amazing inspiration from all of the designers! And of course you know that my fellow EO designer Stephanie and I will keep on celebrating Christmas in August, September, October and November at ♥Jingle Belles♥ so feel free to join us in getting a jump on the holidays!