6.19.12

forty in a box.

my dear friend susan, aka spicy turned forty last week. she is one of my most loyal, loving friends. and, my life is blessed beyond measure to have her in it. so… it was a sad day to not be with her to celebrate her big day. to make up for my absence, i sent a special package her way. You are my fave blog is featuring this special box today. it was one of the funnest projects/gifts i have ever planned, and wrapped. six hours of wrapping, to be exact. {in case you were wondering. all done somewhere between 10pm and 4am} and that darling colored paper? you can find out where it is from, here.

{photos by me.}

4.9.12

easter bags.

a little late in the day, but happy monday m’friends! i am still living in weekend-mode around here. quickly, before the day passes i wanted to share an easy way to gift wrap by using brown paper shopping bags —

the easter bunny left these filled with surprises for our kiddos at the end of their egg hunt. color-coded of course!

  • they were created by folding the top down, using a martha stewart 1″ hole punch – stepping on the punch with your foot helps to make it through all those layers of paper! + ribbon!

when the kiddos found these kiana exclaimed, oh look! the easter bunny shops at Roche Bros. too! {our local grocery store. the store logo is on the back of the bags…teenagers can be such stinkers!}

how was your weekend? xo.

{photo by me.}

2.29.12

♥ + chalkboard oilcloth

kiana’s birthday was yesterday. she’s 14.  i can’t wait till she’s sixteen, because we really need another driver in our family.  i feel like kiana has always been years ahead of her age, so she should be twenty.  yet, the idea that i only get her at home for four more years just breaks my heart. so, i’m happy to accept fourteen and the fact that it looks really good on her.

to celebrate, i planned a simple family breakfast. i realized as i downloaded the pictures i was obviously obsessed with the decor because i didn’t take any pictures of the food or our family, minus two pictures of kiana. for breakfast we had whole wheat crepes, omelets, bacon, fruit, juice, and coffee – it was quite the spread and an amazing accomplishment to get that much food cooked in our before school morning routine!

for the decorations, i used lace, ribbon, and chalkboard oilcloth* as a tablecloth. why give birthday cards when you can write and draw all your greetings right across the table?!?

{please forgive my poor lighting on these photos. the sun was just coming up when we celebrated at 6:30am}

i had more fun than you can imagine doodling all-over this oilcloth for my sweet teenager. i easily could have stayed up all night dancing around the kitchen to pandora with chalk in my hand, drawing happiness.

my absolute favorite right now is brown kraft products + lace.

pretty bearzy opening her gifts — i love this girl.

for the most part, a successful fourteenth birthday morning. our big girls still drove to school with big papi fighting all the way over who should be sitting in the front seat.

***

*using/caring for the oilcloth: i used regular crayola white chalk + very inexpensive {we’re talking dollar store} sidewalk chalk. the sidewalk chalk proved to be softer & worked much better than typical chalk. the typical chalk didn’t always work. also, when cleaning the oilcloth, it wipes perfectly clean with a moist paper towel. after sela spent the day coloring on the oilcloth, i simply wiped the entire thing clean, rolled it up & stored it till our next chalk-coloring session. voila!

the best part of the chalkboard oilcloth is how versatile it is – after i cleaned up breakfast, and sela came home from preschool, we moved the oilcloth into our home office – ta-da! inside sidewalk chalk!

are you obsessing over this chalkboard oilcloth? thinking of the bajillion things you can make out of chalkboard oilcloth?!? placemats. kids chalk quiet books. the list goes on and on, right? i purchased my oilcloth here, i bought 3 yards at $10.50/yard – you can find it at other places/sites. if you find it cheaper, i’d love to know. and, lots of ideas/products on etsy!

{all photos by me. this is not a sponsored post.}

2.15.12

brown kraft paper + white boxes

i hope to see you there! i would be thrilled to meet my readers, and put a face to a name! xo. {all photos by me.}

2.13.12

yarn wrapped kraft bags

in honor of valentine’s day tomorrow, i came up with an easy, inexpensive way to spruce up plain kraft bags —
simply wrap yarn around the handles, and voila!
you now have a snazzy little keepsake bag to give your valentine a gift in…

step 1: starting on one side of the handle, tie your yarn in a knot.

step 2: wrap the yarn around the handle.

step 3: at the end, using strong tape {i recommend clear packaging tape}, tape the end in place inside the bag.

get creative with this! ♥

my other valentine ideas for this year, herehere – and here!
xoxo.

{all photos by me.}

12.21.11

wrapping presents.

these were a few of the gifts i wrapped this year. i have always been fond of brown kraft paper. in my eyes it is perfect. if you’re looking for other wrapping ideas, look here.

do you enjoy wrapping gifts? despise it? it can be a lot of work, after everything else that needs to be done — but, i love wrapping the gifts just as much as giving what’s inside… it makes my heart warm.

cheers to pretty ribbons!

xoxo.

5.23.11

clothespins replace the bow…

i dote on giving gifts… for every occasion.

and, as much as i like planning & preparing the gift,
i also love making the gift wrap unique.

at the recent bijou market i grabbed these darling clothespins from vintage fern.

i haven’t seen any in her shop, but perhaps if you send her a message – you can get some!
{or, this would be a great do-it-yourself-project!}

i love using them in place of bows. it’s so easy, simple, and adorable!

{all photos by me. this is not a sponsored post.}

© 2013 jane rhodes.